When you hear the term, ‘little faith’, do you automatically think quantity of faith? For a long time I have thought of little faith as an amount of faith. It is usually used to tell people they don’t have enough faith. If they had more, they would see the manifestation of what they are believing for. I have a slightly different view on this. You don’t have to agree with me, but this makes more sense to me. First, some Word:

Matt 8:25-26 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (NKJV)

“Why are you fearful, o you of little faith?” The disciples were full of fear, not full of faith. So one aspect of little faith is fear. Why were they afraid? Because they were weighing up possible outcomes for their situation based on the natural circumstance they found themselves in. They viewed the natural as true and therefore unchangeable. When you look at your mountain as immovable, you are of little faith.

Matt 6:30-31 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (NKJV)

“O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry.” When you worry, you are of little faith. Why? Because again you are looking at the natural circumstance you find yourself in and weighing up possible outcomes believing that the circumstance is true and again, unchangeable. Whenever you decide the circumstance is unchangeable, you are of little faith.

Matt 14:30-31 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (NKJV)

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Little faith is doubt. When you doubt God’s word you are of little faith. Jesus spoke to Peter and commanded him to walk on the water. Peter obeyed and started walking. Then he started looking at the natural circumstance he found himself in and thought, “It is not possible for a person to walk on water. Jesus couldn’t have meant I was to do this impossible thing?” Immediately his faith changed to little faith and he started sinking. Questioning God’s word and commands makes your faith little because you doubt His Word’s ability to supersede the circumstance you are in.

Matt 16:8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?”  (NKJV)

“O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?” Recognizing lack and looking to your own ability is little faith. Looking at the natural circumstance you find yourself in and thinking that there is a mountain that can’t be moved is little faith. Do you see a pattern developing here? The next two verses are the same verse, but taken from two different translations. Notice the difference in the words:

Matt 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (NIV)

Matt 17:20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (NKJV)

Little faith is unbelief. You see, there are at the same time two realities existing in our lives. The natural reality and the spiritual reality. Little faith is believing the spiritual reality is unable to influence the natural reality. Little faith is judging the outcome of a situation based on what you can naturally perceive with your senses and by relying on your feelings. Faith is judging the outcome regardless of what you can perceive and regardless of what and how you feel. Whatever reality you choose to believe in, is what will be true in your life. Faith is believing that the spiritual reality of God’s Kingdom is superior to our natural reality. The understanding that you have the authority and power to make the natural reality obey the spiritual one is faith. Look at the illustrations below.

The way I see it is that little faith is not the opposite of mustard seed faith. What determines whether your faith is little or mountain moving, is dependent on WHERE you choose to place your faith because faith always gets what is believes for. If you place your faith in the natural, your faith becomes little and then it is ineffective. If you place your faith in God, your faith becomes mountain moving and effective because He can then be the finisher of your faith. So in my humble opinion, it doesn’t matter how much faith you have, it only matters where you place it. Once you’ve placed it in God, act accordingly and see how the impossible will bow its knee to Jesus.

Next time I will look at Jesus’ remedy for little faith. Bless you all!

Cornel

Read more about Cornel’s book “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” here!

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Imagine the last time you bought something at a vending machine. Did you notice the instructions on it? It usually says something along the lines of “Insert Money Into Slot” and “Press Desired Item’s Button”. It’s a really easy principle. Put the money in, do what you’re instructed to do and enjoy your snack. Now when you read the instructions, do you have any doubt that if you follow them, you will get what you want? Of course not. But just believing that the instructions are true doesn’t actually give you the drink. You can even have the money, and press the button, but you will only get the drink if you put the money into the machine before pressing the button. Just pressing the button is of no use. It will only tell you to insert the money. Now let us compare this to the Kingdom of God. The “vending machine” represents all the covenant which contains all the promises God made to us. Healing, blessings, freedom, peace etc. The “products” are the manifestations of those promises. The “money” required is faith while the “instructions” is the Word of God. So what does the Word say about your “money”/faith?

James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (NKJV)

Faith and money are two very similar things. By itself, money is not worth the paper it is printed on, but if you use it, it is one of the most powerful tools in this world. Similar to money, faith is the currency of heaven. But as James tells us, faith by itself is dead. Just like you have to use money to buy something, you have to use your faith to make it alive. Let me give an example by using a scripture that promises us healing.

1 Peter 2:24 By whose stripes you were healed. (NKJV)

Natural: Put your money in the vending machine.
Spiritual: Put your faith in God’s promise found in Scripture.

Natural: Push the button:
1. Coke
2. Sprite
3. Fanta

Spiritual: Choice of options:
1. Lay hands on the sick
2. Anoint with oil
3. Call for the elders to pray the prayer of faith

Natural: Receive your drink.
Spiritual: Manifest your healing

Many preachers will tell you that you just need to get more and more faith. You don’t need more faith. You just need to act on what you have! You can have $10,000 but you only need to put $2 in the machine to get a drink. The faith you act on will tell you what you actually believe. So if you want to see more promises manifested, check the instruction manual on what to do with your faith. Here are a few basics you can start with:

James 5:13-14 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (NKJV)

Mark 16:18 They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (NKJV)

Mark 16:17 They will cast out demons. (NKJV)

These 2 verses in Mark 16 cover anything you could possibly need in terms of healing and freedom from oppression. If it’s sickness, heal it. If it’s a demon, cast it out. Just take your faith and do what you’re supposed to do with it!

Matt 7:24 “Therefore whoever HEARS these sayings of Mine, AND DOES THEM, I will liken him to a WISE MAN” (NKJV)

Bless you all,

Cornel Marais

Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!

I often hear people asking God to give them boldness. I think if those people knew what boldness actually was, they would stop asking for it. Boldness is nothing other than being entirely sure about something. It is confidence gained by knowing that something is true and refusing to back off from that truth. If I ask you, “What is your name?” You can immediately, without any hesitation or having to think twice, answer me and tell me your name. Why? Because you know for a fact, what your name is. Now after you tell me your name, I can say you are lying because your name is actually Fred. Will you believe me and go, “Oh, sorry, you’re right. Don’t know what I was thinking!” NO! You would correct me immediately. If I persist in telling you that you are a lair and that your name is Fred, you will eventually get angry and fed up to the point where you would either punch me or show me your driver’s license.

When somebody mispronounces your name, or misspells it, the first thing you usually do is stop right there and correct them. Why? Because otherwise, it is not you. The mispronounced or misspelled name is not you, because it does not represent who you are. Boldness in terms of speaking and doing God’s word is nothing more than that. When you know for a fact that what you are speaking is truth, you won’t have a problem speaking it. And when you hear something contrary to that truth, you will speak up and correct it. But before you speak up and correct, you need to know the truth. In terms of who you are, there is no better picture than the one reflected in Scripture. It tells you exactly who you are and what you can do. But you won’t be or do if you are not convinced. That is why people pray for boldness. They want God to convince them that His Word is true. Once they know for a fact it is true, they would have boldness to stand on it with everything they have.

The first step to get boldness is in making a conscious decision that either you believe the Word of God, or you don’t. If you chose to believe the Word of God, it becomes the basis of truth in your life. You have to look at everything through this truth. You have to look at your experience through truth, and not use your experience to look at what is truth and what is not. When the Word of God tells me, “By His stripes we were healed” then that is truth. When I am sick, then my sickness is not in line with truth even though it is a fact. It is not mind over matter either. It is more like gravity and flight. Gravity doesn’t cease to exist when a plane takes off, but one reality has been superseded by a higher truth. When you actually believe the Word of God, then the faith you place in it supersedes the world you live in.
The Word of God supersedes sin, sickness, disease, poverty, lack, brokenness, sorrow, inability, guilt, shame, condemnation and more by grace through faith. Once you believe it, you will start superseding whatever mountain is in your way. When your experience seemingly contradicts truth, all you need to do is to find out what the Word of God says about that situation, and believe it to be true. Once you know what God said about you or your situation, you will automatically have boldness. The only time you don’t have boldness towards something is when there is a choice involved and you don’t know which choice is true concerning you.

2 Cor 5:5-7 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are ALWAYS CONFIDENT, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT. (NKJV)

You will always have confidence and boldness as long as you live by faith. If you stop living by faith or stop believing the Word of God, then your experiences will once again precede the higher truth. Then your plane will land and gravity will keep you on the ground again. You can ask for as much boldness as you like, but the only thing that will cause you to have boldness is faith in Christ. Lacking boldness is just a symptom of lacking faith. Boldness cannot be given to compensate a lack of faith. You will be bold to the degree that you have faith in Jesus and His Word, and the free gift of righteousness, which is the Gospel. So next time you want to ask for boldness, rather just decide what truth is and stick with it!

Grace and Peace to you all!

Cornel Marais

Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!

We have all faced tough times, especially when fighting for the Gospel of Grace. The most difficult time for believers to have faith is right in the heat of battle, or honestly, just after suffering a defeat. That is when we need to think most like sons. That is the time when we need to reinforce our mind renewal. None of us have faced anything as bad as what David faced in this next passage, but look at what he did to get out of it!

1 Sam 30:1-6 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. (NKJV)

David and his mighty men came back from a battle, and found the town of Ziklag raided by the Amalekites. They burned the town to the ground, and took all the women and children, sons and daughters captive. David and his mighty men, warriors who have fought and bled together, who have been victorious in so many battles, were so distressed and grieved and wept until they had no more power to weep. After crying and weeping, the mighty men turned on David and wanted to stone him. Not only did he face this terrible event in Ziklag, but now his most trusted warriors wanted to stone him. That seems like a pretty hopeless situation to me. But what did David do? “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” Other translations use the word encouraged himself. David encouraged HIMSELF. There was nobody there to encourage him. His ‘whole world’ was against him. He didn’t have a pastor to run to, a friend to confide in or a nice book to go read. It was up to him to get himself to the point of being strengthened in the Lord.

Philem 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (KJV)

This verse tells us how to make the communication of our faith effectual. That means we can have two kinds of faith. We can have ineffectual faith or we can have effectual faith. Ineffectual faith is when you believe for something and it does not manifest. That is a scary thought, yet we have all been there. Did we do something wrong? I wouldn’t phrase it like that, but I would rather say you believed with ineffectual faith. To have effectual faith, Paul instructs us to acknowledge every GOOD thing which is in us IN CHRIST. Effectual, in the Greek of that verse, means to be powerful, active, operative, or to do something. We all want faith that is powerful, active and does what we believe for right? To get that kind of faith, we need to do something. Acknowledging everything good that is in you in Christ, just means to get back into the word and find out what God has put inside you, recognize it, speak it, meditate on it, and build your strength by stirring YOUSELF up in the Lord your God. There is a Psalm that we often read and think, “Wow, this is such a nice praise song.” In light of everything we have just read, let’s read that Psalm again and see if it in fact is a praise song or not.

Ps 103:1-6 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. (NKJV)

This is how David encouraged himself when things were looking hopeless, when he was facing defeat. This is not a praise song as much as it is a conversation a man is having with his soul. He is not singing, “Bless the Lord”, he is commanding his soul, his mind, will and emotions to line up with God’s word! Read these verses again but read them loud and in a commanding tone. Then you’ll get the idea of what was really going on here. David was forcing himself to think on everything he has in the Lord. Any person starts doubting when they face hardship. But we have a way out of doubt! Strengthen yourself in the Lord! He strengthened himself in the Lord by commanding his soul to submit to his spirit. That is was the Bible talks about as the definition of fasting, as afflicting the soul.

Isa 58:3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ (NKJV)

Affliction is a form of oppression that comes from an outside source. By oppressing somebody, you are deliberately forcing them into submission. When you are afflicting your soul, you are deliberately forcing it into submission to your newly created spirit. Fasting in this sense has nothing to do with eating. If you don’t eat, you are afflicting your body, not your soul. Transforming your life happens through renewing of the mind, not starving of the stomach. Your mind is in your soul and has to be forced into submission to your spirit.

Eph 4:17-24 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (NKJV)

Paul says to not walk in the futility of the mind, like the gentiles do. If your mind is in futility, your are alienated from the life of God. It doesn’t mean you are separated from God or that His presence left you, but the benefits of your unity do not manifest. Jesus said He came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. He didn’t mean have an abundant life, He meant to have LIFE IN ABUNDANCE. Enough life to conquer the death we face in the world. That abundant life of God is always there, but the access into it is through mind renewal. Paul goes on and he says strongly, “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him.” Learning is a process of deliberately putting information in your mind. You don’t just hear and know, you have to learn Christ but renewing your mind. Once your mind has been renewed to the new life in Christ, and your thoughts are in line with the Kingdom, then you have been renewed in the spirit of your mind. The spirit of your mind is the nature of your mind. Does your mind in nature think in line with the new creation, or does it grow fearful and doubtful every time the slightest problems arise? When there is a storm in your boat, do you get scared and cry out to God that “Don’t you care whether we perish or not?”, or do you stand up and out of a renewed mind rebuke the storm?

What would a king do if his generals came running into his throne room crying and moaning, “The enemy is attacking us! What should we do?” If it is a smart king, he would get new generals. Why do you train people in the art of war if they don’t know what to do when the battle comes to them? You don’t see Jesus crying and moaning at God’s feet because there is a storm trying to kill them. He gets up and does what needs to be done. Paul says WE have put off the old man and WE have to take up the new man. He is not talking about trying to sin less. He is talking about the old way of thinking. Put of the old man whose mind is futile and who is alienated from the life of God and put on the new man who with a renewed mind shares in the life that is abundantly found in God.

Matt 17:19-21 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (NKJV)

Jesus told His disciples they failed because of unbelief. If you had but the smallest amount of faith, you would have succeeded. But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting. We know he wasn’t talking about the demons, because Jesus didn’t fast and pray and got the boy free. A few chapters back the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of not fasting, and Jesus said it is because He told them not to. So Jesus couldn’t have meant the demons, because that would mean He purposefully set them up for failure. Jesus was talking about unbelief, or having ineffectual faith. The disciples had faith, they just had ineffectual faith. To get rid of ineffectual faith, we have to acknowledge every good thing that is in us in Christ, by deliberately forcing the soul into submission, otherwise known as fasting! Jesus wasn’t saying, if you can’t do it, stop eating until you can, He was saying renew your mind! Make your faith effectual! I can’t do it for you boys, you have to renew your own mind! When the devil comes with his fiery arrows, his intent is to get you to doubt God. The moment you doubt God, your faith becomes ineffectual. You need to recognize such attacks and deal with them by not letting your soul make the choices. Jesus told his disciples this too.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” (NKJV)

He told them to not allow their hearts to become troubled. Take hold of your emotions and let your spirit rise in supremacy over them. Many times the ‘emotions’ we experience are actually demonic attacks, aimed at troubling your heart. Depression is an emotion caused by a depressed demon. Anxiety is an emotion caused by an anxious spirit. The moment that spirit attacks you, you will begin to feel those emotions. Those emotions are all lies and aimed at destroying your faith in the Gospel of righteousness. Treat them like you would any other demon. Fight them with the word by bringing your soul into submission, taking every thought captive and forcing it into obedience to Christ Jesus your Lord. In Christ we are all triumphant, we all have the victory in every situation. In Christ we cannot be defeated. The only way to have defeat is by surrendering your faith. By not believing. Keep standing, never give up. Encourage one another. Don’t judge people who are in trails, come alongside them, speak the Word to them. If nobody is there to help you, learn to help yourself by persevering in the faith, renewing your mind, and by looking full into the face of Jesus, standing at the right-hand of God!

In Christ,

Cornel Marais

Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!