 Hello, this is David Diger Hernandez and you're watching Spirit Church here on the encounter TV network without faith It may as well be that God never promised a thing It is by faith that we become and receive all that God desires So how do you increase your faith? How do you grow your faith? I want to give you seven biblical keys to increasing your faith But first Steve Amock the zoom was here with me He's gonna lead you in some very anointed worship and then we're getting right into this message. Let's worship now So the first key to increasing your faith number one endure trials James chapter 1 Verses 2 through 4 says this dear brothers and sisters when troubles of any kind come your way Consider it an opportunity for great joy for you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow So let it grow for when your endurance is fully developed You will be perfect and complete needing nothing first Peter chapter 1 verses 6 through 7 says in this you rejoice though Now for a little while if necessary You have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold That parishes though it is tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ When your faith is tested it is refined trials produce faith trials Increase faith because when you are going through a trial God is processing you and removing impurities when a refiner is Purifying gold with fire That refiner knows that the gold has been purified when he can see his reflection in the gold When you go through trials and when your faith is tested God causes his reflection to be seen in you As you face trouble as you face difficulty as you face Circumstances that cause you to say Lord. I don't know how you're going to get me out of this It is then that your faith is truly put to the test It is then that you are purified refined that impurities are removed from you and as those impurities are removed Your Christ-like character begins to manifest Truly trials will increase your faith number two Receive the word Romans 10 17 says so faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ Now in context this scripture is talking about salvation In fact when people heard the message of salvation their faith was stirred to receive the message of salvation But this biblical principle can actually apply across the board The word Produces faith for what it promises when you hear the words of salvation It produces faith for salvation when you hear words of healing it produces faith For healing when you hear words of deliverance it produces faith for deliverance The word produces faith For what it promises faith resides in your spirit and your spirit is strengthened by the word The word is the spiritual sustenance for your soul and when you receive the word you begin to think like God thinks. You begin to know what God desires. You begin to see what God likes and dislikes and becoming familiar with his nature. It helps to manifest the union that you have in the Spirit by receiving the word. You grow your Spirit and by growing your Spirit you increase your faith. When you put just the news, when you just put secular podcasts, when you just put television programs into your mind, it does something to you. It affects your soul most often in a negative way. But when you put the word of God in your mind, when you receive the word of God in your heart, faith is produced. If you want to increase your faith begin to decrease the intake of the secular and increase the intake of the word. Number three, pray in tongues. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 4 says, a person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally. But one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. 1 Corinthians 14-4 tells us that the one who prays in tongues is strengthened in their spirit, strengthened personally. The gift of tongues strengthens the spirit man. And as you begin to make a practice of using that heavenly gift on a daily basis, you will begin to see results. You will begin to see transformation. When you pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is praying for you through you. When you pray in tongues, you are speaking aloud those prayers that the Holy Spirit groans in the realm of the Spirit. When you pray in tongues, you are coming into agreement with God and in coming into agreement with God, your faith is increased. I challenge you to pray in tongues if you don't already for at least 15 minutes a day. And if you make practice of this gift, if you begin to use it more often, you will begin to see a transformation in your nature. You will see that depression begins to turn to joy, that chaos inwardly begins to turn to peace, that negativity begins to turn to faith. Practice praying in tongues on a daily basis and you will see your faith increase. Number four, and this is an important one, well they're all important, but this one is lacking I think in our generation more so than the others. Number four, fellowship with the faith filled. Jude chapter one verses 20 through 22 says, but you dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God's love and you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Now this is powerful because the scripture very clearly teaches that we must build each other up in the most holy faith. How can we build each other up in the most holy faith if we're never connecting? When you fellowship with spirit filled believers who themselves have a relationship with the Lord, who themselves walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, who themselves surrender to the commands of God, then you too will begin to see your faith increase. When you spend time with those who walk by faith, you are inspired to walk by faith. You hear conversations of God's power. You hear testimonies of God's deliverance. You hear the Lord being glorified in your fellowship and being around the right people will help to put you on the right path. Now I know some who are hearing me now may hesitate when they hear about gathering with other believers because they've been hurt. They've been offended. They've been rejected. They've had bad experiences with people who didn't live up to their expectations. Well, leave your expectations on God because here's the spoiler alert. People will disappoint you. People will let you down. But that's no reason to disconnect from the fellowship of believers. Fellowshiping with believers is key to your spiritual growth. God never intended that we practice our faith in isolation. So number four, fellowship with the faith field. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you do that if you're having trouble with it. Number five, find clarity. Now there was a discussion in the early church concerning circumcision. Some were saying that circumcision was a requirement of salvation and this was hotly debated for quite a while. So the Apostles gathered together and they reached a decision on the matter and when they reached a decision on the matter, clarity was brought forth. But look at what happened when clarity was brought forth. Acts chapter 16 verses 4 through 5 says this as they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. As a result of finding clarity, faith was produced. Whenever you find something that causes you confusion, ask yourself, what is it that I believe that's causing me to have this contradiction within myself? And once you've identified the lie and exposed it, you find clarity. When you find clarity, the confusion goes and your faith is increased. Number six, keep your conscience clean. Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19 through 22 says this, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he had consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh. And having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with the true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. A guilty conscience kills faith because it shifts your focus from God to self. And whenever you're dwelling on your mistakes, whenever you're dwelling on your past, whenever you're dwelling on all of the ways that you fall in short, it's not possible to focus on the one who produces faith in us. So repentance, receiving the forgiveness of God, and then moving on from your mistakes is very key if you want to see your faith increase. Now, there are some who battle heavily with letting go of their past. And because they can't forgive themselves for the things they've done, because they can't forgive others for the things they've done to them, they find it difficult to continue in their growth. And no matter what they read in the scripture, no matter what they hear from a great sermon, no matter what they read in a great book, they're always brought back to that place where they messed up or where someone offended them. And because of that, their conscience is not clean. And if your conscience is not clean, it's not possible to pray with focus. It's not possible to receive the word with gladness. It's not possible to walk in faith. Clean your conscience by asking for the forgiveness of God, repenting of your wrongdoing and then forgiving yourself and allowing yourself to move into the future. Number seven, act on faith. James chapter two, verses 14 through 17 says, what good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith, but don't show it by your actions. Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing and you say goodbye and have a good day or stay warm and eat well, but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see faith by itself isn't enough unless it produces good deeds. It is dead and useless. Obedience brings your faith to life. When there is no action, faith begins to die. If where you are doesn't require faith, you're not in the will of God. If what you're doing doesn't require faith, you're not pursuing the will of God. When you walk with God, there will be times that God challenges you to do something that you feel is beyond your means, that you feel is beyond your ability, that you feel is beyond your comfort. And it is. And it is that way because God wants to show you that he himself is your source, that he himself is your strength, that he himself is your ability. Only when you begin to obey the word, only when you begin to step out and act in faith will you see your faith increase. If you live in disobedience, if you live in inaction, if you receive the word but don't act on it, if you fellowship with other believers and are inspired but never act on that inspiration, if you find clarity but don't take the path that was cleared before you, it was all useless without action. Step out in faith. No more excuses. No more debating, no more wondering. Trust God. Do what he said. Do what his word says. Step out in faith, act on faith, and you will see your faith increase. So number one, endure trials. Number two, receive the word. Number three, pray in tongues. Number four, fellowship with the faith filled. Number five, find clarity. Number six, keep your conscience clean. Number seven, act on faith. I want to pray with you now and ask the Lord to plant this word in your heart that you might see an increase of faith in your life. Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift that one to you now who is believing for an increase in their faith. Lord, they want to grow. They desire to become more like you. So I pray, Holy Spirit, to breathe upon this word. Holy Spirit, touch that one receiving now. Inspire faith as only you can. Use this word, Lord, to inspire your people unto faith. The name of Jesus we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say, Amen. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you. We are praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it. If you'd like information on how you can join our online church, Spirit Church, go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash Spirit Church. When you go there, you're going to see a form. If you scroll down a little ways, you're going to see a form, fill that out. And then you are a member of our online community. And now to your comments, these comments come from 10 benefits of prayer and fasting. If you want to be inspired to make fasting a regular part of your spiritual life, then go and watch this message. I will show you 10 benefits of prayer and fasting. And while you're at it, make sure you're following us on all the platforms. And if you subscribe to us on YouTube, click that notification bell so that you can receive notices when we release new content. And don't forget to leave a comment and I may read your comment on another edition of Spirit Church. So here are the comments from 10 benefits of prayer and fasting. Precious James writes, I was so blessed by this teaching, Pastor Hernandez. God bless you and your ministry. Brian Ford, thank you for this message, Pastor David. I've been watching this program daily as well as watching your old videos. And it has helped me a lot in my spiritual growth. I watched your sermon concerning prayer and fasting in the past, but I was spiritually immature then. Thank you for your sermons regarding the Holy Spirit. It gave me the courage to become more aware of him. God bless you and your ministry. All the glory belongs to God. Deepak Sangma writes, Thank you so much. I am so blessed and surprised because we the youth here in Nagaland are on 14 days of fasting. And this is exactly what we needed at this moment. This video was not a coincidence, but planned by God. Your message helped me to understand the reasons behind observing a fast. God bless you, sir. May God's truth and light be reached on every nook and corner of the world through you. Well, God bless you, Deepak. I appreciate you watching. And that is a result of the Holy Spirit doing what he does. He guides, he leads. This is his channel. And we often get messages from people saying, This was perfectly timed. You can thank the Holy Spirit for that. Megan M, the final commenter writes, Thank you so much, pastor. I agree. I try to make fasting a part of my lifestyle as well because it is very beneficial. God bless you. Well, another thing we should make a part of our lifestyle, if we are to be committed to the faith, is partnering with ministries in the gospel. You know, I talked a little bit about taking an act or a step of faith in this message. And I want to challenge you now to take a step of faith with me. I want you to partner with me in the gospel. I want you to be a part of what we're doing here at Encounter TV. We can't do this alone. We need you. Together we can do more than we could ever do alone. I want you today to consider becoming a monthly supporter of this ministry. When you become a monthly supporter, you're helping to fund the media, the live streams, the events, the Holy Spirit School, people are saved, healed, delivered, ministered to, raised into ministry. They receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the gospel is being preached. The word of God is being spread because God is using people like you all around the world to lend this ministry a helping hand. So I'm asking you to consider that today. Maybe you've watched the content you've received from this ministry. You've wanted to get involved. Here's how you can do it. Become a partner for ten dollars or more a month and here are the benefits you will receive as a monthly partner, aside from knowing that you're walking in obedience toward God, aside from knowing that you're helping us win souls, pray for the sick, bring the ministry of the Holy Spirit around the world, aside from knowing that you're funding the media, the live streams, the events, the Holy Spirit School, you'll also receive these benefits as our partner. You will have access to our monthly Zoom call that Steve and I do with our partners. It's exclusive to our monthly supporters. You'll be the first to know ministry announcements and you get a behind the scenes look at the ministry every single month. You're also going to get a 10% discount on all ministry apparel, event seat reservations, a monthly email update and you'll receive a beautiful Dove lapel pin so that you can wear it and show your support of the gospel. At $30 or more a month you're going to get all of those benefits plus you can select one of the books from our book catalog, I'll sign it and we'll send it to you as our initiation gift. At $100 or more you're going to receive all those benefits plus your discount will double from 10% to 20% and you'll not only receive one of those books you will receive all four of the books in our book catalog. Whether you're partnering with us on a monthly basis or giving a one-time gift I want to encourage you to take that step of faith right now and I know God will meet you there. All you got to do right now is go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash partner to sign up to become a monthly supporter. If you want to give a one-time gift go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash donate but whatever you decide to do I'm asking you to do it right now. Stand with us as we continue to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all around the world in the power of the Holy Spirit to events and media. And that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV Network. Until next time remember nothing is impossible with God. Support us by clicking on the donate link now.