Acero de refuerzo

Let's look at Luke's Gospel at something else about faith.

And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by

the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

LUKE 17:5,6

When the apostles asked the Lord in verse 5 to increase their faith, Jesus answered them, saying, in effect, "You don't need more faith. You just need to use the faith you already have." He said, "... If ye had faith

as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."

I want you to see the last statement in that verse. Jesus was not talking just about a sycamine tree. He was giving a physical illustration using objects that were probably in the vicinity of where He was at the time.

What was Jesus referring to in regard to the sycamine tree. He was talking about faith's ability. He said that when you speak to something in faith, whatever you speak to must obey you.

Luke 17:6 could easily read, "If you say to money, 'Be plucked up and come over to my house,' it should obey you." You remember Jesus said over in Matthew 18:18, "Verily I say unto you, WHATSOEVER ye

shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and WHATSOEVER ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Going back to Luke 17:6 again, Jesus said, "... If ye had faith as a

grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Jesus was saying, "If you have faith just as a grain of

mustard seed, you could do this. And you already have that much faith"!

circles used to talk about the size of the mustard seed. But Jesus wasn't really emphasizing the size of a mustard seed as much as He was emphasizing the power of a mustard seed! In other words, that mustard seed had the power within itself to cause a big mustard plant to grow,

but it had to be planted in order to be effective!

In other words, a seed laying on top of the ground can't get the job done. It must be put in the soil. In the same way, your faith has to be planted or spoken, and you have to continue to speak to it to get the job done. Then whatever it is you are using your faith on according to the Word must obey you. Jesus said that whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven, and Jesus is not a liar.

Our minds have told us that having money is a difficult thing. Having money is not difficult, but we have to change our thinking about money. (Actually, it's more difficult not to have money!)

When I talk about the subject of "Money, thou art loosed," what I want you to see is that the Spirit of God is saying that we have the ability to loose all the money that we need or desire in life by our obedience and by speaking the Word with confidence and full assurance.

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in MUCH ASSURANCE; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

1 THESSALONIANS 1:5

Many people have been making positive, even Word-based, confessions about money, but there's more to it than that. You have to make your confession in the spirit of faith, which believes and speaks (2 Cor. 4:13). When you know with "much assurance" that money must

obey you as the sycamine tree obeyed Jesus in Luke 17, you will begin to see results in your finances.

Look at the first part of First Thessalonians 1:5: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only...." Paul didn't say the Gospel didn't come in words; he said it didn't come in words only. So when you're talking about loosing money or about any Bible subject, you can't teach it or learn it in words only You have to have the truth down in your spirit. Then it will become power unto you for whatever it is you need.

That's why when I preach, I exhort people to listen with the intent to receive. The Bible says, "... receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). That's talking about being teachable.

I often teach about the men who gathered around David in First Samuel 22. It says they were in distress, in debt, and in discontentment (v. 2). David was a man who had the spirit of faith, and I believe that when David had meetings with his men, he spoke to them, not just in words, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And I can just see one of those men who was broke standing up one day and saying, "I've got it! What you're saying is catching on; it's catching hold of me. I believe I can do what you're telling us we can do."

It's the same way today when people listen with the intent to receive from men of God who have that same spirit of faith. After awhile, they'll say, "I've got it! Glory to God! This man of God got to the place where he could give to the church twenty thousand dollars above his tithe. I believe I'm going to get there too."

God does not have any "pets" or favorites. He doesn't just want ten or fifteen people in the Body of Christ to get rich and make it big in life. No, God honors anyone who will say, "Lord, I believe what I've been

hearing from Your Word. It's in my heart; I'm taking it as my own."

Don't Wait for Someone Else To Do It for You—