“The gift of faith” is a wonderful grace-gift from God! It is listed among “the gifts of the Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (cp. verse 9). I believe that when God imparts the “gift faith” by the Holy Spirit, supernatural faith is dropped into the heart of an individual for something that would seem impossible otherwise. This faith not only impacts the person receiving the gift of faith; when shared, it catalyzes faith in others! They have heard from God regarding what appears in the natural to be an impossible situation! It’s “gift faith!”
In my opinion we have a clear instance of this gift expressed in an Old Testament account – the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14. Israel faced incredible odds! “The Philistines, Israel’s historic enemies, mustered to fight Israel with 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude.” Fear gripped the nation! “When the men of Israel saw that there were in trouble they hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns… and all the people followed Saul trembling.” (1 Samuel 13:5-7)
But, in my opinion, Jonathan, Saul’s son, experienced a “gift of faith!” The Bible says, “One day Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side… It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.’ And his armor-bearer said to him, ‘Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold I am with you heart and soul!’”
And the result? God did exactly that – He gave a great victory! Jonathan and his armor-bearer initiated an attack and killed about twenty men. Then God acted! The Bible says, “There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people! The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked and it became a very great panic… Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion… So the Lord saved Israel that day! What a wonderful expression of supernatural faith in an impossible situation! “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few!”
I saw “the gift of faith” powerfully demonstrated at a church business meeting. My wife, Sharon, and I were at a business meeting at University Church in Waxahachie, Texas a number of years ago. A cloud of discouragement and despondency seemed to shroud the meeting. A large indebtedness the church had incurred over the years seemed like a “ball and chain” that kept the congregation from moving forward. Suddenly my wife, Sharon, received a supernatural “gift of faith” from the Lord. She stood up in the meeting and expressed her confidence that God would help us. She said if we trusted Him and cooperated with one another the indebtedness could be paid off more quickly than we ever imagined.” The cloud of discouragement dissipated! An awareness that God had just spoken to us through Sharon filled the room! Faith arose like the dawning of a new day among all of us at the meeting – the atmosphere was electric with God’s presence! … And in a few months, with God’s provision and help the indebtedness had been paid off! People in the congregation at the meeting that night still remark to Sharon and I about what God accomplished through that “gift of faith!”
Praise God for the “gifts of the Spirit!” Praise God that He still does things like that among His people! Praise God that “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or few!” (1 Samuel 14:6)
Presumptuous sin is a funny thing… It takes things into its own hands… It doesn’t ask for guidance… it operates on human hunches… It looks at circumstances and acts based upon the way things appear… It mixes some religious insights with human reasoning… It rationalizes disobedience… It defends itself on partial truths when confronted with obvious rebellion… It is convinced that to sacrifice is better than obedience and that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than obey… And I think we’ve all been tempted with “presumptuous sin” at some time or another… But we’ve got to face it – In God’s eyes this kind of sin is a serious matter!
