The Charismatic Gift of Faith

# 615 - Today's Du-votional comes from: Mr 11:20-22, “Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God”

Here it is, that same fig tree that Jesus had cursed back in verse 14, was now deader than a doornail. And Peter's remark is nothing more than a question. “How is that possible Jesus? And Jesus replied, “It's possible through faith in God.”

The Bible talks about two kinds of faith. There is saving faith, that gift of God given to all His children through His means of grace, spoken of in Eph 2:8,9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

And there is what we will call the charismatic gift of faith. which is described in 1Co 12:9, “ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, “

This gift is simply believing that God is able to do the seemingly impossible. Not all believers have this gift. 1Co 12:11 says, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

So this charismatic gift of faith comes directly from the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who prompts the believer when to use it. For instance, Peter had this gift and he used it when prompted by the Holy Spirit to heal the lame beggar outside the temple, that we read about in Acts 3:1-8 and in Ac 3:6 we read, “Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

What did Peter have” The gift of healing and the gift of faith to use it properly. Namely for the glory of God! So he did. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he had no choice.

God determines when this gift is to be exercised, and it is always used for His purposes and His glory! It should never be used to line the purse of the healer. Jesus said in Mt 10:8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Father, thank You for the gift of saving faith and all the other gifts You have given to Your church, guard us against any and all abuses of these gifts, and may Your name be glorified wherever and whenever they are used.