Faith Farming

"...And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
  --Genesis 5:21-24

Do you walk with God?

Something mighty happens when we walk with God; when we are in his presence. Not much is recorded about Enoch, but there is no doubt that he enjoyed a very close relationship with God.


"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
  --Hebrews 11:5-6

Enoch's testimony while he lived was that he pleased God. And how did he please God? By faith. That must be the case, because verse 6 tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.

So, here's my question to you today: Are you hungry to please God? If the only way we can please him is through faith, then how is your faith garden growing?

You see, faith isn't a movement or a denomination, it's a way of life.  If I'm not living by faith, if I'm not walking by faith, then I'm not pleasing God.

So, how do you walk?

Do we walk by the news, our feelings, our education, our circumstances?  If we are believers, if we believe God's Word, then we must live by his Word.

But when trouble strikes, where do you turn?  Do you turn to family and friends to complain or ask for assistance? Do you turn to a government program or your church to ask for a helping hand? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't ever ask for help, but where do you turn first?

Remember, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.  (Heb. 11:6 again).

Enoch made it his life to seek God and to please him. What does it mean to diligently seek him? Where do we look?

We need to make sure that the first place we turn is the Word. Faith is born out of the Word

"...whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
  --1 John 5:4

The message translation says: "The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith."

Anything that contradicts the Word doesn't stand a chance against faith. But, we have to choose the Word over the contradiction. Faith born from God's Word will bring our circumstances and anything that is out of alignment with the Word to its knees; sickness, disease, lack...

The Word positions us to receive the harvest of God's blessings -- and we receive through faith.

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
  --Romans 10:17

Faith grows out of the Word just like apples grow out of apple seeds.  Faith to be healed is in the Word and can grow out of it.  Faith to live the abundant life is in the Word and can grow out of it.  Whatever we are going through, for every situation we face, there is a scripture in the Bible that contains the seed, the potential, to overcome it.

Many Christians are lazy and unrealistic. We think we can go to church for an hour a week and be in a position to receive the fullness of God's blessings.  And the preacher had better not go overtime, because there's lunch and fun stuff to do after church! We need to have a commitment. We need to engage the Word of God. Get out a concordance and find a scripture that covers your situation. Write it down, and begin to go to work. Spend time with it. Meditate on it. Confess it.

It's no different than a farmer planting seed. You have to plant God's Word in your life and then tend it. You have to weed it. You have to diligently watch over it. Imagine yourself with your harvest. Believe you receive it every day.

"The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."
  -- Mark 4:14-20

Remember, faith is calling those things that are not as though they were. Don't wait until it's manifested, declare it as soon as you discover the scripture that tells you what you have, and praise God for it.You have it now, because you have the seed.

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
  -- Joshua 1:8

So, how long do we spend meditating in the Word?

Until it starts speaking. Once you hear the voice of God's Word -- the voice behind the printed words on the page -- the power to get what you seek is inevitable. The printed words are hope. What you hear is substance. The substance grows out of what you read and fills it.

You have to hear from God, not just hear the Word of God. Then you have to do what he tells you. Don't let anything block your faith; strife and unforgiveness are common blocks.

The seed itself is incorruptible. It cannot fail to produce. God's Word cannot return to him void.

Rise up as the mighty man or woman of faith that you are. Stay engaged with the Word, hear the voice, do what it says, and prepare to receive a hundred fold.