Blessings of Faith:The Faith Factor Series

By Emanuel Sultana

This book tells of 23 blessings available to every Christian. Some of the chapters are Abundant Life, Assurance, Boldness, Daily Provisions, Eternal Life, Healing, Inheritance, Miracles, Power, and Victory.
These blessings provide us with a privileged and victorious life. They are not only available to every Christian, but also the birthright of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emanuel Sultana
• Release date: Dec 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301916283

Emanuel Sultana

Born in Detroit, Emanuel's parents immigrated to the United States from Malta in the early 1920’s. Malta is the little island where the apostle Paul shipwrecked on his way to be imprisoned in Rome.A graduate of Christ For the Nations Institute in Dallas, Emanuel and Betty were "church starters" serving as pastors in Full Gospel, and Assembly of God congregations in New Mexico and Oklahoma. In retirement, he enjoyed writing Bible studies on various topics and especially about “faith” in our Lord and Savior."Have You Faith of God" is the fourth book in the"Faith Factor Series." Filling out the series are "The Blessings of Faith," "Unconditional Surrender," and "Once Saved, Always Saved?"He and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) celebrated fifty-five years of marriage and are blessed with five grown children and twelve precious grandchildren.Betty, with the Lord since 2007, has penned a volume called "The Poems of edres."Emanuel went to be with the Lord in June 2017.

Book preview

The Faith Factor:

Blessings of Faith

Emanuel W. Sultana

Copyright 2008, 2012

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The Faith Factor trilogy

can be obtained at Smashwords.com

or online book retailers:

Once Saved, Always Saved?

Blessings of Faith

Unconditional Surrender

This book is dedicated to

my wife of fifty-five years

Elizabeth (Betty)

who was called home

to be with her precious

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

in 2007.

*****

Scripture quotations used in this book are from

the New King James Version, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982,

by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations

are from the New King James Bible copyright 1982

by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Those marked ( NLT) are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,

copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House

Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL. All rights reserved.

Those marked (JBP) are from The New Testament

in Modern English, by J.B.P, published by

The Macmillan Company, copyright 1958, 1960, 1972

Those marked (MSG) are from The Message,

copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002

by Eugene H. Peterson

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form,

except for brief quotations in reviews,

without prior written permission from the publisher.

Cover photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daves-f-stop/7535731560/">-

Dave Morrow - via http://photopin.com>photopin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc

By this gospel you are saved,

If you hold firmly to the word

I preached to you.

Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:2

*****

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Abundant Life

Access to God

Answered Prayer

Assurance

Authority

Baptized into Christ

Boldness

Children of God

Daily Provisions

Divine Care

Eternal Life

Forgiveness

Healing

Holy Spirit, The

Inheritance

Justification

Miracles

Power

Righteousness

Salvation

Sanctification

Tithing

Victory

Unbelief

End Notes

About the Author

Sample from Once Saved

Sample from Unconditional Surrender

*****

Preface

Show me Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.

— Psalm 25:4-5

From Betty’s Writings

So many times, when I am waiting for an appointment, I engage in the famous pastime of people watching. What a diverse and fascinating creation we are. Each one is so much of an individual, and yet we are so much alike in many ways.

Probably one of the most common traits of the human is our philosophy of when all else fails, read the instructions. Unfortunately, this notion is carried over by Christians and followed in their Christian life.

I have realized in my own life, that every time I am having a hard time in accomplishing what I’m trying to do, it is because I haven’t taken the time to turn to the book of directions. This applies not only to the monumental occasions of life, but to the little everyday, how to cope events.

One of the most beautiful ways that God showed His love for us was to give us His Word, the Holy Bible for our set of direction. If a lawyer went to court without his notes on the case, we would think him very unwise. If a doctor sought to practice medicine without any training from a textbook, we would brand him lacking ability and incompetent. If a soldier went to battle without a weapon for protection, we would consider him extremely foolish.

Why are we, as Christians, willing to face life without a guidebook or training??? When God asked us to read and study His Word, it was not just to fill our idle hours, but to give us life more abundantly, to be able to face the evil one, and to grow in the knowledge that He has for each one of us.

Elizabeth E. Sultana

(Betty)

*****

Introduction

Habakkuk’s Burden

If we were to rank the various things the Bible teaches, we would find the doctrine of faith very near the top. Why is that? Because faith is not just desirable, it is absolutely crucial to our spiritual lives. There is no substitute for it.

It is amazing that the word faith appears just twice in the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. It occurs once in the Book of Deuteronomy, and then again in the writings of Habakkuk—who had strong faith. Yet, Habakkuk struggled to comprehend the ways of God. Deeply troubled by the sins and immorality and vice of Judah he shouts to the Creator, God, your people have become totally ungodly! Even the law and the courts are ripe with bribes and dishonesty. Now, the wicked outnumber us. How can you stand to look on such evil?

Does this scenario sound just like our mess here in the United States? Paul made it clear that in the last days men will have a form of godliness, a façade of religion, but will deny its power and validity (2 Tim. 3:5).

Our nation has been on the slippery slope for a long time. If you look around you will see corruption, greed, moral decay, and a steady move away from the ways of Almighty God. Have you noticed the increasing aggressiveness of atheism and their contempt of believers? Or the dishonesty that surrounds us in every level of society and government? There has been an increase in immorality since the United States Supreme Court fabricated the so-called wall of separation between church and state. On the other hand, we have been negligent in allowing the ACLU and their puppet atheists to lock God out of the schools and public areas.

Today, everything appears to be out of joint!

Who is regulating affairs on this earth today—God, or Satan? Does God see or hear? Is He impotent or indifferent?

Let’s be absolutely clear—God is in control. He is the Creator of the cosmic universe from one end to the other, supposing it has ends. He is the everlasting God. His wrath will fall on the unbelieving, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, and all liars—their doom is in the lake that burns with fire (Rev. 21:8). David, in his prayer for the Lord’s righteous judgments, says, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God (Ps. 9:17). Moreover, Isaiah prophesied, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you will perish; and those nations will be utterly ruined (60:12).

Being a daily witness to all this deceitfulness we too have often felt like shouting, Help Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men (Ps. 12:1). God, do something!

And God’s response to us is this,

"If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land."

— 2 Chronicles 7:14

The Just Shall Live By Faith

The prophet Habakkuk wrestled with God’s seemingly disinterest in the nations troubles. He eventually realized that rather than worry about the chaos he could not control he would put it in the hands of Jehovah. What happened?

Then, the Lord answered me …

"Write my answer plainly on tablets,

so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

This vision is for a future time.

It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.

If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,

for it will surely take place.

It will not be delayed.

"Look at the proud!

They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.

But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God."

— Habakkuk 2:2-4 NLT

But the just (righteous) shall live by his faith; this phrase was central to the whole of Jewish thought. "The Talmud records this famous remark made by Rabbi Simlai: ‘Moses gave Israel six-hundred thirteen commandments. David reduced them to eleven (Ps. 15), Micah to three (Mic. 6:8), Isaiah to two (Isa. 56:11), and Habakkuk to one! The righteous shall live by his faith. Jewish scholars felt that these words, only three words in the Hebrew text—fairly summarized the message of the whole Bible."

In the New Testament, every writer was inspired to write on the theme of faith. We hear these proclamations, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed; add to your faith; contend for the faith; and faith overcomes the world. We have come to think of Romans 3 and 4, Hebrews 11, and James 2 as the great faith chapters. The concept of faith is also clearly presented in Paul and Peter’s epistles; Galatians 3; 1 Thessalonians 3; and 1 Peter 1.

The Apostle Paul considered the doctrine of faith crucial and wrote on it extensively. For example, faith is the main theme of his Epistle to the Romans. He says, For in it [the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘the just shall live by faith’ (1:17). Our faith comes from hearing the gospel message that tells us how we may have God’s life and live by it.

The just (righteous) shall live by faith. This declaration is repeated in Galatians 3:11 and again in Hebrews 10:38, emphasizing the fact that the biblical way of living for all Christians is by faith. The only requirement of Jesus was that we have faith in Him; this is all that is still required besides a proper relationship with God.

In the Letter to the Hebrews, the author is addressing Christians who had been under instruction for some time. They were not novices, as some would think, but seasoned students belonging to a long-established Church. These believers were sure of their salvation. And so, the writer of Hebrews tells them—and us as well—the necessity of faith: Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to Him must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (11: 6). He is not talking about our natural faith that has severe limitations and often ends. Not at all, he is referring to that supernatural faith that God gives us when we press into Him, a faith that believes His Word and takes His promises.

The Bible says that without faith we cannot even approach God—period! Without faith in God, there are no answers to our passionate prayers. Without faith there is no salvation, no forgiveness, no deliverance, no miracles, no eternal life, no spiritual or moral transformation—and no power to resist Satan.

Therefore, the Bible cautions us to be careful that our heart doesn’t become so callous and unbelieving that we turn away from God. In doing so, we stop the work He has started doing in us. Consequently, if we lose our faith in Christ, we become the most miserable people in the world.

Conversely, the Scriptures clearly assure us that faith is the instrument by which our heart lays hold of Christ Jesus. By faith, we can receive every spiritual blessing that flows from His work on the Cross. In his second epistle, the Apostle Simon Peter addresses the Church with the exhortation to those who have received the same precious faith (1:1). The Greek word for precious is isotimos, and it means a faith not of equal measure, but equal in value and honor, to all those who receive it. Therefore, all of God’s subjects are first-class citizens and have equal rights of citizenship in the kingdom of God.

God has given us this precious faith so we do works of righteousness, be victorious in Christ, and receive every spiritual blessing and promise as we exercise our faith. Faith, however, must be put in action for it to be beneficial to us.

Faith’s Potential

Just what is possible through faith? How large is faith’s potential? Consider these two declarations made by Jesus himself:

"With God all things are possible" (Mat. 19:26).

"If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mk. 9:23).

Notice that both of these verses have the words all things are possible. In the first, the words apply to God. In the second, these words apply to the believer. Now, we don’t have difficulty in accepting that all things are possible to God. Why can’t we accept the fact that all things are possible to the one who believes? Jesus spoke these words and the Apostle Paul endorsed them when he said, I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). Therefore, we can truthfully say that FAITH is the greatest power in the world today.

"Three men were walking on a wall:

Feelings, Faith, and Fact.

Feelings had an awful fall,

And Faith was taken back;

But Fact held firm and pulled Faith up,

And Feelings came up too." ⁴

Now and then, someone says something like, I don’t feel saved, or I don’t feel forgiven yet, or I’m not feeling the witness. Feeling? Is it any wonder that the word feel is only found once in the KJV New Testament? It is in Acts 17:27 where most versions now use the word grope or reach out … and find Jesus. That is with good reason, you see, the word feel doesn’t belong to the Christian.

We don’t walk by sight or feelings. Our word is faith, or believe. We don’t know because we feel, but we know because we believe God’s Word! For in Him we live and move and have our being—which implies that our life, existence, and even our actions are in God.

Faith Versus Believe

"If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mk. 9:23).

Let’s take a moment to examine the words, faith and believe. In this verse here, note that the word believe is used twice as if to give emphasis to the necessity of faith. In this case, the question was not if Jesus had the power to heal this father’s son, but if the father had faith to believe it. Faith in the living God is always rewarded. So the father says, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.

In the original New Testament, the Greek word for faith is pistis (noun) and the word for believe is pisteuo (verb). Both these words, pistis and pisteuo, mean to commit to one’s trust, that is, faith in Jesus Christ through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. The Bible tells us that every believer, every child of God has supernatural faith, that is, the measure of faith that God gives us by virtue of being a Christian.

Though some might disagree, there is not the slightest difference in the words faith and believe. Biblically speaking, exercising faith is believing, and vice versa, believing is exercising faith.

In our English language, the opposite of faith is not unfaith but unbelief. In Greek, the opposite of pistis (faith) is apistia meaning unbelief. We see the same linking stem pis that occur in all these words: pistis = faith, pisteuo = believe, and apistia = unbelief.

Blessings in Christ

We are blessed! In Deuteronomy 29:29 Moses writes: The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us … The simple meaning of this is, though God has kept many things secret or unexplained, such as the timing of His coming again, He has not kept back anything that is profitable to us.

In 1 Corinthians 2:12, Paul wrote: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. What God has thought proper to reveal to us, he has wonderfully revealed. What he has revealed is essential to our well-being. Then by the Holy Spirit, we are able to receive and understand the truth of His Word.

We are a blessed people! The Book of Psalms opens with the benediction blessed. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. Then the concluding verse of the next psalm, Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Ps. 1:1; 2:12)

Commenting on these verses, Charles H. Spurgeon the esteemed 19th century preacher writes:

Have we a share in this blessedness? Do we trust in him? Our faith may be slender as a spider’s thread; but if it be real, we are in our measure blessed. The more we trust, the more fully will we know this blessedness. We may therefore close the psalm with the prayer of the Apostles: ‘Lord, increase our faith.’ ⁶

Psalm 103 opens with that familiar call to praise for the Lord’s blessings:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me,

bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits."

Then in the following verses, the psalmist lists the gift-blessings we receive. God forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from destruction, crowns us with loving kindness, and on and on. Can you believe there are thirty blessings listed in this psalm that are meant for you and me?

No doubt, these blessings, both temporal and spiritual from God confirm what is written in Proverbs, Blessings are on the head of the righteous (10:6).

Our Lord Jesus Christ delighted in blessing people. On the Mount, Jesus taught the crowds,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

Blessed are those who mourn,

Blessed are the meek,

Blessed are those who hunger

and thirst after righteousness,

Blessed are the merciful,

Blessed are the pure in heart,

Blessed are the peacemakers,

Blessed are persecuted."

— Mat. 5:2-10

In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul’s opening greeting is this warm salutation, "to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus … Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Yet, this promise becomes empty words if we do not know what these spiritual blessings are. We can divide these spiritual blessings" into three categories:

* Blessings that we receive immediately when we are saved. I have outlined a number of these in this book, such as salvation, forgiveness, justification and a number of other blessings. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we possess these even before we know they are ours!

* Blessings that we cannot enjoy now, but we will receive when Christ returns. These include the glorification of our bodies, our mental and moral perfection, and the admission into the presence of God. These treasures are as surely ours as if we possessed them now!

* And blessings that are ours by virtue of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We receive the riches of faith, though these treasures will not come to us unless we make a serious effort to possess them. Some of these are the victory over the sins of the flesh, the constant working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, fruitfulness in Christian service, and an unbroken spirit of worship and prayer. These are to us what the Promised Land was to Israel, to be entered into as our faith and spiritual appetite increase.

Blessings