 So we have this is probably going to be the last class okay because we are through with what we had to discuss unless you have something more to ask or you know any questions we will hopefully complete the course today and this week I will post your final assignment you can take some time you have sufficient time to complete your final assignment so that is regarding the faith class so let's pray and we can get into it who has the mic today can you pray Nansen let's pray heavily father thank you for this morning and thank you for the privilege you have given us a lot it's a mercy and a kindness that we are here sitting at your presence and about to start the class Lord we're going to study now about faith Lord in the daily life we need faith Lord help us and lead us with the spirit to understand everything whatever we study with our understanding we can't understand well but Lord when the spirit lead us and helps us understanding level is higher than a human Lord help our teacher also leader, guide and help each and every students here and even online also Lord I submit everything at your feet in Jesus precious name of the Lord amen amen amen and thank you Nansen so in the last class we discussed about the different enemies of faith so there can be hindrances there can be challenges when we you know trust God and stand in faith so then we discussed we said that there are things like lack of knowledge fear anxiety they can also be just a lack of a desired goal or we are not sure about what we want all these things can be a hindrance in our faith journey so today we will look at some of the like general principles that one needs to be aware of in order to apply faith correctly so the next subject of the topic here chapter 21 is known as the perimeters of faith a perimeter means any idea what it means I'm not even here yeah kind of distance okay you're thinking along the right lines let's see I couldn't hear distance okay perimeter distance good so perimeter means there are there is a boundary okay a boundary within which faith can operate now if we go beyond the boundary or you can also use the word limit if you go beyond the limit we cannot have the results that we spoke about so you have to work within the boundary or you have to work within the within the limit of faith okay then you can see the operation of faith and the outcomes successful so what is it that is outside the limit or outside the boundary of faith any idea see faith is amazing like if you have faith you can move mountains if you have faith you can inherit the promises of God we discussed about all these things but is there anything that will make our faith sort of inoperative or it won't work so what is that limit or what is that boundary any idea when will our faith not work okay answer that question when will our faith not work when we doubt yeah doubt see it's like faith is there but doubt is hindering the faith that that's all right but faith won't work only when is it that the faith will just not work sister can I say something our sister Gertrude there's an answer here so we'll just listen to the answer on campus and then you can come in please yeah go ahead and pray and that is not according to will of God means that may oppose God's purpose okay correct so something which is outside the will of God is outside the boundary of faith yes or no yeah so that's clearly outside the boundary of faith anything else which will make our faith inoperative or ineffective not valid yeah or when you go against right completely opposite to God's word that also is outside the boundary okay great yes sister Gertrude anything you wanted to add yeah same thing I want to say if it is not in God's will okay so if it is not in God's will all right so now we're understanding that there are certain matters where faith will just not that kind of faith will just not be valid so what are these categories in which faith will not be valid so that is something we have to understand so faith always remember this faith always operates within the will of God okay faith always operates within the will of God so only if the it is something that God God has permitted allowed or it is in his will then when we have faith for that matter it can take place now if there is something it is outside the will of God clearly no matter how much we believe you can't make it happen understood so faith operates only within the will of God no where the will of God is known so that is one principle to always remember so before we say that oh I'm going to put my faith in this or I'm going to believe that this is going to happen or this is going to be fulfilled ask the question what about the will of God what do I know about God's will regarding this matter okay so if we know in God's will that yes God wants this to happen then apply the faith it will work but if we don't I mean if it's not God's will we can stand in faith forever but it will not work got it so always remember that faith operates in the will of God now what are some of the other things the boundaries that we have to be aware of so faith cannot override the sovereignty of God sovereignty of God is you see God has a nature God has a purpose now if I want to change the purpose of God or the way God works I even if I try to believe it it can't happen okay so the sovereignty of God is whatever he wants he does we can't stop that or the according to his will there are certain things that he has put in place it will operate only like that now if I believe that it should operate in a different way it won't work out now for example if you take in the sovereignty of God's will that the Sun rises in the East and the Sun you know sets in the West now if I have faith that the Sun will rise in the West and the Sun will set in the East you think that can happen I have faith I have full faith I have strong faith I have no doubt what is the problem with my belief I I have faith I have finished this course I've read all the chapters I applied everything whatever you know speak your faith pray the faith everything I've done now I am believing Sun will rise from the West and set in the East is there any problem with my faith some look very doubtful not clear whether there's a problem with my faith or not okay so Akhil is saying you are going against you are going against the will of God okay so the sovereignty of God is the way God works now I am trying to change it and I'm trying to change the way God works that can't happen so these are the these are the questions we have to ask ourselves okay I have faith I am believing but does my belief hold true with the Word of God or the nature of God the sovereignty of God what God wants to do we can't change it remember earlier we said God has a plan and a purpose for the world so now even like in terms of world events and the things that are happening we observe right whatever biblical prophecies are coming true because that's the way God has spoken and said things are going to happen now what if we try to change it we say no God we don't want all these things to happen you change the plan things like that you know even if we believe faith will not operate all the principles of faith are correct but faith will not operate but on the other hand on the other hand right if we look at people in the world they also have a lot of beliefs some people believe that okay if we do you know if we are kind to people then we will also be blessed so when they believe things like this even though it is not in the Word of God or they are not believers somewhere things like that are a part of the way God has made the world okay so somewhere it works because it is not against the way God works but when we have beliefs which are completely different from what God is like or what God's word is it won't work so I think the common mistake we all make is you know we pray prayers of revenge okay we pray revenge we say oh those people I have been so mean to me God I have full faith that they will suffer I have full faith that they will experience something bad okay now is there a problem with my belief I fully believe but is there a problem yes there is a problem why it's not in line with the word it's not in line with the nature right it's not in line with also like God's sovereignty what does God want God ultimately wants everybody's good okay so things like that so when we believe outside of what God wants it won't work out now what are some of the other boundaries we can't violate God's written word we cannot oh this is another important thing we cannot control people okay how does control people look like through faith any thoughts any examples maybe somebody online control people through faith is that possible okay Lucy says you know okay she says you can't control people with faith okay for example imagine okay there is a person he's working in an office and there are three people due for promotion he himself and two others okay now the person let's also again imagine that they are not hard working they are not you know upgrading themselves they're not doing anything which will give them the promotion but they have faith okay so they have full faith that okay that promotion has to come to me so all their prayers are like God you you make that manager give it to me you you like you know you make them do this so what are they actually trying to do they're trying to control somebody with their faith whereas see it's good to have faith that we will be blessed because that's what God's word says but not outside of the principles like when I have not done what is required and I'm simply trying to control them with my prayer or my faith now that is where problems arise we cannot control another person's will with our spirituality you got it so I can't pray of course I can pray like God you influence them you work in their hearts you speak to them that is correct Holy Spirit you minister to them that is correct but when we try to control control is I fully believe they have to give me the promotion I fully believe they have to do this I fully believe you know there are people as believers we speak like this but actually that's not correct because we can't control the will of others through our faith or manipulate people so we call it manipulation manipulation is you know they you want them to do what you want them to do you don't care about their will they should all do what you want them to do got it so this is actually it can become a serious problem if we try to go in this path of believing to control the will of others or manipulate others through our faith especially like you know I think especially like when we are leaders in leadership and all to just through our faith try to kind of control people so that doesn't work first of all it won't work secondly it's very wrong okay so these are things that we need to remember so faith will not work and it cannot control or manipulate another persons will they themselves have to be willing to do certain things okay so that is about the will of people that faith cannot control and faith cannot force a gift or work of God into a heart of unbelief so again to operate in the gifts of the spirit we need faith got it so without faith it becomes very difficult all the gifts if you list out the gifts of the spirit we would need faith to operate in them okay just a moment okay so yes so we have the discussion with regard to this subject and there are some statements now these statements are things that we've already discussed but I'm just going to take us through one more time so these statements say that faith is not mind over matter anybody here do you know what that means mind over matter anyone online how would you interpret mind over matter okay have you heard like recently there are many many theories where people say if you believe something it will happen okay you can anything you want it will happen that's what you know it is said so I remember back in my school days I think it was our 12th class and everybody wanted to get the rank and everyone wanted to work hard so we had one friend of us in our friend circle so he went somewhere and they taught him some meditation and he was like you know what every day if you take half an hour you should just sit in one corner and you should just imagine like you're getting the you're getting the top rank you're getting the highest marks so just imagine if you imagine it if it becomes a part of you and if you believe it you will get it okay so he used to he used to say that and used to tell all of us also you go sit you just believe if you believe hard enough it will happen okay now I don't I don't know if that's what the bible says about believing see believing doesn't mean just you know whatever we want you imagine it and you desire it and you think that it is happening to you then it'll happen right so that is like mind over matter where you have settled it in your mind without any reason reason or anything that yes I'm believing it because of my belief it's going to take place okay so just because we believe that way will not make it valid you have to check all the other all the other sort of parameters and see whether it is in God's will is it in God's timing is it in God's nature is it according to God's plans sovereignty if all of that fits in then you believe then you receive it but not just random right so now that I recall I really don't know you know who got the highest rank but definitely not that particular person but maybe he tried his best to to believe in whatever he was taught at that point he attended some course and they told him no you believe hard enough and if you believe it'll happen to you so today there are there are teachings like this in the world around us but the faith the biblical faith that we are talking about is very different you got it so biblical faith is not like that you just believe and it it will happen to you that is mind over matter where you don't have any reasoning whatsoever you just believe and you expect it to take place but it won't work got it okay so some more statements mental gymnastics mental gymnastics mental gymnastics is the same thing in the mind we are trying to convince ourselves that this will happen or that will happen we will get this we will get that but where do we believe where do we actually believe where do we believe we did sorry heart correct so faith is of the heart you remember faith is of the heart so just because in our minds we are going through all these things does not mean that there is faith okay and sometimes it can take a little bit of time before we start to believe in our hearts okay so I remember my my very experience as far as the gifts of the spirit or exercising believers authority is concerned um so I had heard a lot of teachings you know a lot of sermons attending church services weekend schools all that but even then the faith was not there or maybe it was there but it was too small I don't know what it was so I remember some of my friends they were very bold like when they used to pray and all you're so boldly they'll pray for healing of against a demon but I don't know why for a long time I just couldn't do I know all the verses I know do I understand that you know believer has authority gifts of the spirit can manifest I do believe but somewhere my level of faith maybe it was not that strong but in my head if you ask me I'll tell you yes it's true it can happen okay so in the mind I'm hundred percent but somewhere in the heart it's not yet there or it's not yet strong enough are you all understanding what I'm trying to say okay so uh don't take that as a failure it's not continue to meditate in the word of God okay continue to journey as you journey the faith of the heart will increase and you will see that there'll be a total shift in the way you minister in the way you hear from God you got it so from the mind just because right now maybe all of us are sitting here saying yeah it's correct it's correct I agree I believe that's only one stage we have to go from there to having faith in the heart for that it takes work for that it takes meditation in God's word for that it takes you know time in prayer so whatever we know know here it goes into the heart produces faith right and through that faith comes everything else the way you step out and you serve God or you have a communion with God so just mental gymnastics again mental gymnastics is yeah I agree I believe it has to happen you know we have we have to look at all the parameters only then we can confirm then faith is a way of life we live by faith so the bible teaches us that faith is for all matters first is salvation we are saved by grace through faith okay but after that in everything we need faith faith is not just Sunday morning you know church or when when we have to pray we need faith but other times we don't so we've got to live by faith apply faith in all situations and circumstances so now let's quickly move on to chapter 22 over here yeah so there were some answers on the chat which I didn't read I'll quickly read it so I think these are in response to uh mind over matter and Akhil says trying to control external with okay I'm not very sure I can read that word okay I move on to the next statement that says mind and imagination using one's own perceptions to overcome or change a scenario and Sanjay says it comes under the new age meditation correct or positive thinking cults they believe anything and everything is possible yeah yeah so we have a lot of this going on around in the world today right positive thinking and meditation new age meditation and and things like that so stay away from that faith is not that a lot of people may ask you you're talking about faith faith yeah even we believe even we meditate but it's not the same isn't it we can only have faith in the word of God we can only have faith in what God approves anything we like if we have faith it doesn't apply right as per the word but in the new age meditation you can do all that you can believe anything you want okay so there is a difference so if someone asks you is there a difference you need to tell them yeah biblical faith is very very different it can't work without God's will and God's word okay fine so now let's go to um this next chapter where we learn about presumption presumption presumption is believing in something um without any basis from the word of God okay or God's will just believing see we can believe anything that we want now for us to understand maybe a very simple example could be that we we believe okay now if you take me for example if my life calling is to to be in the ministry okay and to serve God now I just imagine that I'm going to become the prime minister of this country okay now on the basis of what do I believe that you can ask the question right now if God has shown me that that is what is going to happen then fine I can believe it but if I just imagine if I just choose and you know decide I'm going to be the prime minister of this country I'm going to believe from today I'm going to believe from today I'm going to confess okay from today I'm going to fast fast and pray I can do whatever I want but what I'm imagining it's a presumption presumption means God God's will is not there in that but I am saying that it will happen that's a presumption so I'm just giving you a big example but we can have presumption in small little things also got it and that is very dangerous because it will lead us in the wrong direction okay it will lead us in the wrong direction so when we say faith and we say faith is of the heart sometimes as believers we we say that forget about the mind you know take keep the mind somewhere no need you need only a heart to believe we don't need any form of reasoning thinking we will just believe right with the heart one believes so there is no involvement of the mind at all got it but that's not what the bible teaches us it's okay for the mind of a believer to also be active now if you take for example something like imagine okay just imagine now if God is asking me to go to China just example okay God is asking me to go to China and I know I have to go to China now without thinking about it okay I got a prophetic word I got you know some when I was praying I got a picture it's confirmed God wants me to go to China so I believe it now what I do is what is faith faith is bold faith steps out so I'll just pack my bags you know book the next ticket to whichever city or place in China I'll go why should I think why should I plan there's no need when God is saying I just believe it and I do it is that correct is that wrong or what are your thoughts about you know acting on our faith like that because you're supposed to believe right just pack your bags go finished it's okay some are saying no okay how what would you do let's imagine you know God wants you to go to China what will you do what Nelson you learn Chinese where should you go okay so you'll pray and you'll ask where should you go okay fine okay let let's think you know where you have to go and what you'll do next step you'll go okay fine what else how else will you others respond to this okay so Daniel will think about what is the purpose why should I go he'll think about that how will you respond how how will I respond is the question yeah Abraham when he did he went without knowing where he's going he went Abraham okay fine okay Cisco wait for the confirmation from the Holy Spirit uh you will hear from the Holy Spirit wait for the confirmation from the Holy Spirit okay it's already confirmed sister then what would you do if it's confirmed I will go if it's confirmed then just go okay so that's Mr. Gertrude's answer Akhil says honestly I will try to reason out again wait for God's confirmation to be sure of this okay Daniel says I'll finish the formality complete the official formality wait for the confirmation another person Lucy says planning work on things Sanjay God never speaks guides without having a clear plan purpose for us in mind Akhil you you want to say something yeah to be honest when things are like very comfortable and you know in a nicer way then the tendency is like you know we agree upon and we act immediately on the will of God but sometimes when it is like for example it is like a communist thing country and when things are little not so rosy somewhere back of the mind we just try to you know wait more again and just try to seek if it is really God's will and just try to you know go in that what I'm basically trying to tell is if it's in a comfortable scenario we act I act immediately if it is not then you know this time to be a little skeptical and I think that's my honest okay sure I heard you but I couldn't hear you all that clearly so I'm just kind of trying to summarize what you shared you said that first of all confirmation right and then you will think through some more and then act yes but if it is in a comfortable and convenient thing that God is telling the tendency is like you know immediately act without trying to you know seek God's will and confirmation for the second time but when it is little out of the comfort zone then the tendency is like you know are you sure God or this time to get a little more confirmation before you you know really take the plans okay so have a confirmation before you take the next step yeah yeah okay okay thank you thanks for sharing that so I mean I just asked you this question to understand whether we we give importance to our minds right whether we give importance to our thinking or we just say that you know believing is minus thinking and thinking and believing don't necessarily go together because for some believers it's like that when God is saying you just do it what you're asking questions or you're trying to plan Abraham went as Nelson said when Abraham went we should just go see it's all correct even with scriptures what Nelson shared also is correct but if you look at other scriptures that is a proverb that says that one should ponder you know the path that he takes so that simply means one has to think about the direction in which they are going now we can take both the scriptures Abraham went without knowing where he was going he went but there's another scripture in the same bible which says you need to think about where you're going you got it so there is a balance of you know the the word so in any situation before we act on our faith we must engage the mind okay the mind is important and God has given us the mind and one very beautiful thing for us is the renewed mind as a believer when we have a mind which is trained by the word of God that mind can actually help us to make good decisions okay so in a situation like this like where God is telling you to go yeah so ultimately you need to go but through the renewed mind we can process and we can see okay what are the principles that we can follow maybe as somebody suggested if it is confirmed that you need to go and you have an idea of when you are going you can plan you can prepare right so if God is saying okay I want you to go be a church planter what what will a church planter need so from today you can plan that out you can say okay then I would need a church I would need you know people I would need resources what should I do okay how does the registration work in that country what are the government rules many things I can work on right now I can understand all those things because I'm headed in that direction so faith and renewed mind go together just because we are saying faith leaving the mind out is not the answer with a renewed mind a believer can assess or evaluate or you know try to make a good decision on how we must act on what God is calling us to do so that will help us overcome this you know presumption that we are talking about presumption is where we don't think we just whatever we we sense that God told us we believe we're ready to jump okay so presumption will lead us in that manner but when we employ the mind we will have a better understanding of how to step out how to actually do what God is calling us to do so the ability to think must be utilized by the renewed mind secondly we have the Holy Spirit now some of you gave a good answer you said I will ask God where exactly I have to go so through the Holy Spirit we can get more information revelation details right so we can pray and say okay God please help me to plan this properly then God can give us more information you build on it and then you act on it right so the renewed mind the Holy Spirit and our ability to reason okay reasoning simply means you know when when something is told to us we should be able to weigh it you know right wrong which is good which is not good which is the better decision so that comes with maturity that comes with practice that comes with knowledge right so we can grow in our knowledge as well for believers just only faith you know we depend only on faith even when it comes to you know things like growing in our learning things outside for example you know I'll just give you some simple examples let's say you know I I want to plant a church okay and I know that my call is to be a pastor now maybe God is showing me that I have to plant a church in a city right so then I really have to think okay if I'm in a city what kind of people might come to my church so invariably it'll be people who you know who who are educated who are working right so now if that kind of crowd comes to my church then how am I going to minister to them so then I can think of the different skills that I would need or you know few things that I need to learn you got it or let's say you know I'm going to run a church so it'll be like an organization I need to know a little bit about managing the accounts I need to know a little bit about you know working with people these are all skills so as a pastor I can't say that okay I will only increase my knowledge in the Bible how to preach don't tell me I don't want to learn anything else I don't want to learn I don't want to learn about organization finances teamwork I don't want to learn only Bible so what happens is we are limiting our knowledge you are understanding right but the soul the mind the capacity to increase in knowledge the capacity to reason also comes from God so the more we develop and our mind also becomes stronger it becomes easier to do the work it becomes easier to lead the people you got it so it's important it's important to grow in knowledge it's important to grow in skill it's important to you know grow in developing our capacity to assess reason and analyze all right so let's go for a break now I'll come back complete the remaining of what we have today and with that we should be able to close off right okay so we'll stop right here