Mark 11:23-25

King James Version
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Notes from the Instructor:
In this lesson we will deal with several of the most deadly hindrances to faith. I use the phrase deadly because we are going to deal with something so subtle but so powerful it an completely defeat you. One doesn't have to look far, maybe not even past ourselves at times, to discover what I call the faith struggle. During my years of pastoring I have observed precious people who seemed to be strong in faith give up totally. They came to the conclusion that what they were believing for wasn’t going to happen.

The invitation that changed it all

Matthew 11:28-30
King James Version
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Foundational Thought #1:
In the context of Matthew the 11th chapter something is being introduced that has never been heard of.

1. Come I will give you rest, learn of me (JESUS), you shall find rest unto your souls.

2. These are terms of Grace not law or self-effort.

3. When we read anything in scripture that God gives we know we are talking grace.

4. Jesus said to come unto Him; this equals rest.

5. When you come to Him you make a huge discovery. Suddenly you have mental rest or tranquility of mind. I like to call it soul rest.

6. Faith is a state of mental rest. Jesus called it peace.

John 14:27
King James Version
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Foundational Thought #2:
One of the main hindrances to faith is focusing on our doing instead of what Jesus has done.

I stated earlier that it’s subtle and it is.

• Our activity seems like such a good thing to do.

• Praying, fasting, quoting scripture, and giving money are all taught in scripture.

• However, doing these things believing you will get the response from God you desire hinders faith rather than builds faith. 

God's response to mankind

Romans 8:32
King James Version
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

This is a Grace statement.

• God gave us His son.

• In the son, Jesus, are all things.

• God has freely given us all things with Jesus

Mans response to God:

• Lord, I believe.

• Lord, I receive.

• Thank you, Jesus, for being to me all I need.

• I praise you for becoming my great provision.

• I now can confess you are my savior, healer, prosperity.

2 Corinthians 4:13
King James Version
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Jesus our source:

One of the first lessons I heard from Brother Kenneth E Hagin was the following statement:
“Faith begins when the will of God is known.”

Foundational Thought #3:
We can know the will of God when we see what he has provided for us in Jesus.

Romans 5:2
King James Version
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
 

1. When all grace has provided is seen, faith comes alive because I know it's His will for me.

2. Faith connects us to Jesus not to things.

3. Faith connects us to the source of all that we need in this life.

1 Corinthians 2:5
Amplified Bible
So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

Foundational Thought #4:
Here we find the posture of the believer, faith that rests in the power of God.

Romans 1:16-17
Amplified Bible (AMP)
16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek,
17 For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.