This is a brief note, to remind us of the third factor of faith, for without it there shall be no works and therefore our faith will be dead. We know first that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God...etc. Therefore the first step is to hear the Word. We hear the word from preachers and proclaimers of the gospel, and most importantly by reading the Word, the Holy Bible.

This takes us to the second step of faith. Step two includes believing the Word. This cannot be done without step one. Believing the word involves overpowering our natural, fleshly mentality and erasing our taught way of thinking, for the ways of the Spirit confound the ways of the flesh. Step one helps us to acheive step two. Then here comes the step three, which is often forgotten but highly important.

The third factor in our faith is believing that the Word applies to you. This is why Joel Olsteen's congregation always says "This is my Bible, I am what it says I am, I can do what it says I can do, etc." This is a statement of faith to help us in obtaining this third factor of understanding. Without the third factor of understanding, which is interconnected with the first two, we are unable to act in faith and perform the acts that the Bible declares us to be able to do. We can talk about having faith all day long but without believing it, and knowing that it applies to us, we can never move the mountains in our lives, never raise the dead, never heal the sick. We must know, without a shadow of doubt what the word is, that it is true, and that it applies to us also, and then shall our faith arise and be mighty. I pray that this is a blessing, mainly a reminder, to you, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.