Article Display
Email  |  My Account  |  Donate
"Hey you!"

"Who me?"

"Yes you! Has anyone ever told you that you have an attitude?"

Hmmm...as a matter of fact — yes! You know, come to think about it, I have been accused of simply believing that I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me; that God meets all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

I also believe that should any sickness or disease come upon me, that I will live and not die and declare the works of the Lord, and that all things are possible to them that believe God. "What kind of attitude is that?" An attitude of faith and expectation in God Almighty.

I believe the Believers of the 20th century are establishing the attitude that God can and will do great and mighty works in this generation. This generation of Christians is also expecting to see demonstrations of His power and manifestations of His Spirit that the world hasn't seen since the birth of the "early church" in the Book of Acts almost 2,000 years ago.

The Body of Christ currently upon the earth are here for such a time as this! To usher in the greatest outpouring of God's spirit and to reap the largest harvest of souls from the initial seed planted by God — Jesus Christ. To take the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. To turn every place they go "upside down." The common denominator in all of this will be the Believers' exhibiting an attitude of faith and expectation.

To get this attitude, one first needs to know what it is and how to develop it. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The word "hope" here can also be "expectation" — so faith is the substance of things you're expecting.

We should know that without hope (expectation), you cannot have faith, because without hope, your faith will not have anything to give substance to. And we know faith is what moves mountains, and the hand of God on our behalf.

Let's define some terms for faith, expectation and attitude.

Faith Is...
    Absolute certainty in the trustworthiness of another.
  • Mental acceptance of the truth or actuality of something. (Syn. Belief)

    Expectation Is...
    • To look forward to.
    • To look for as likely to occur or appear (anticipate).
    • Implies a considerable degree of confidence that an event will happen.
    • It suggests a reaching out in readiness to receive.


    Attitude Is...
  • A manner of acting, feeling or thinking that shows one's disposition (character) or opinion.
  • A frame of mind affecting one's thoughts or behavior.
  • A general cast of mind with regard to something.
Developing this attitude of expectation into your life is a progressive process. This point may be better explained in First Corinthians:
However Brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to non-spiritual (men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates), as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ - unable to talk yet!

I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], For you are still (unspiritual, having the nature) of the flesh - under the control of ordinary impulses. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men?

For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not [proving yourselves] ordinary (unchanged) men? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Ministering servants [not heads of parties], through whom you believed, even as the Lord appointed to each his task:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow, and [He] gave the increase. So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but [only] God Who makes it grow and become greater.
(1 Cor. 3:1-7)
Notice verse 6..."I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow, and [He] gave the increase."

This scripture refers to the Word of God as "milk", "solid food" or "seed." The word of God is also referred to as "The Word of Faith" (Rom. 10:8). How does faith come? "...By hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). How does expectation figure into this? (Remember faith is still the substance of things we are expecting.)

The more you hear the Word of God and speak your expectations, the more you and your attitude will develop and continue to grow. The more you feed your faith and expectation with the Word of God, the more it will begin to develop; like a muscle.

The more we feed and exercise our muscles, the more they develop and grow. The less you do, the less they will grow. Feeding (hearing, reading, mediating, speaking, etc.) upon the Word of God is key to developing an attitude!

After this becomes a daily part of your lifestyle, you will take upon a disposition (character); one of a person that will not cast away their confidence no matter what obstacles or hindrances that may come, for they know it has a "glorious compensation of reward" (Heb. 10:35).

Copyright © Todd Bailey Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Todd Bailey
Web site: Todd Bailey Ministries
 
Todd is a graduate of Norvel Hayes's New Life Bible School's "Special School of Ministry" in Cleveland, Tennessee, and RHEMA Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is the author of the book, The Power of Choice.
Read more...

About Us

The online ministry of cfaith has been helping people discover faith, friends and freedom in the Word since 2000. Cfaith provides a unique and comprehensive collection of faith-building resources for the worldwide faith community.

At cfaith, you can strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of the Word of God by digging into the vast collection of teaching articles, streaming audio and video messages, and daily devotionals. No other website offers such a unique and extensive collection of spiritual-growth resources aimed at helping you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Read More...

 

 

Support Us

Why support cfaith?


(All contributions are 100% tax deductible)


SUPPORT CFAITH WITH ONE CLICK!

For every Internet search you make using
goodsearch, cfaith will receive one penny!

GS Logo 250x38

Contact Us

Business Hours:


Monday—Friday: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. CST
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Phone:

(763) 488-7800 or (800) 748-8107

Mailing Address: 

CFAITH.com
9201 75th Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

 

Login Form

Please ignore the “Secret Key” field; it is not needed to log in to cfaith.

Login Change Article

Spring360x442
You need to enable user registration from User Manager/Options in the backend of Joomla before this module will activate.