Master the Fundamentals of Faith During Spring Training

Everyone wants to win. Whether it’s in life, faith, family or purpose, there’s a God-given desire inside you for success. But winning doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from discipline, consistency and a decision to master foundational principles.

Baseball proves it. When you watch the World Series, or any professional sports game, talent isn’t the only thing on display. As Jeremy Pearsons, senior pastor of Legacy Church, in Colorado Springs, said, “What are you watching when you watch the World Series? You’re watching masters of the fundamentals.”

And long before that, legendary coach Vince Lombardi captured this same truth when he held up a football and said, “This is a football.” He took elite athletes back to the basics because he knew champions are built by mastering the fundamentals.

The same is true in your faith. If you want consistent success, it’s time to master the fundamentals of faith. Let’s look at six fundamentals of faith that unlock a life of winning.

Believe It in Your Heart and Say It With Your Mouth

Faith begins here. “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23-24, NKJV).

Faith is activated with words. When God was creating the world, He spoke. When you want success, you must believe and speak.

Just like a hitter must step into the batter’s box confident in his swing, you must believe in your heart and speak with your mouth. This is one of the first ways you master the fundamentals of faith.

When you believe God’s Word and declare it, you activate His power in your life. Practice these foundational principles daily to stir your faith.

• Believe what God said.
• Speak God’s promises.
• Refuse to let doubt dominate your thinking.
• Align your words with God’s Word.

Faith Will Not Work in an Unforgiving Heart

Forgiveness is a foundational principle that will free your faith. And, conversely, unforgiveness is a faith blocker, no matter how much you say you believe.

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against” (Mark 11:25).

Practicing forgiveness is foundational to your faith. Forgiveness is an act of will. Thankfully it’s not something you have to do on your own. The Holy Spirit will work with you to forgive anyone, even yourself. He wants you to win! So, when the Holy Spirit is prompting you in a certain situation:

• Choose to forgive quickly.
• Release offenses to God.
• Say, “In the Name of Jesus, I choose to forgive.”

Abraham’s BLESSING Cannot Be Received With Thomas’ Faith

Thomas said, “I won’t believe…unless I see!” (John 20:25). But faith doesn’t work that way. Faith believes first, then sees. Abraham, on the other hand, is an example of someone who mastered the fundamentals of faith. Scripture tells us that Abraham pleased God by believing without physical evidence. Abraham didn’t demand proof. He kept his spiritual eyes focused on what God said. That consistency is what allowed him to receive the promise.

Be like Abraham. Receive the blessings God has promised by making His Word the final authority in your life. Abraham believed God before there was any evidence, and that’s how he received the promise.

• Trust God’s promises more than what people tell you.
• Refuse to base your faith on what you see or feel.
• Believe God’s Word even when circumstances disagree.

Faith Calls Things That Be Not as Though They Were

Faith doesn’t just observe reality; it speaks God’s reality into existence. Our example is God Himself. He calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17).

There’s a tendency to speak what we see. You will hear such talk called “realistic” or “practical.” But if you’re going to master the fundamentals, you must speak what God says instead of what you see or feel.

Think of a catcher calling a pitch before it’s thrown. In the same way, faith calls the result before it appears. Your words must line up with God, not your situation. How do you practice this?

• Speak the result God promised.
• Call yourself healed, provided for and successful.
• Stay consistent in your confession.

Faith Demands Corresponding Action

In baseball, no one wins merely by talking about the game; they win by playing it.

Faith works the same way. “You have faith, I have actions: prove to me your faith apart from corresponding actions and I will prove mine to you by my actions”(James 2:18, New Testament in Modern Speech).

Real faith always produces action. It takes a step forward even when it feels uncomfortable.

When you master the fundamentals of faith, your actions line up with your belief.

• You act on what God said.
• You take steps that align with your faith.
• You choose obedience over being passive.

Faith Works by Love

Faith is powerful, but it only operates through God’s love. Galatians 5:6 says that faith works by love.

If you want to truly master the fundamentals of faith, you must live a life of love.

God is love (1 John 4:8). Everything He says and does is love. This kind of love is not emotional; it is God’s character. This love comforts and disciplines. It protects by stopping the enemy. It provides what is good for you every time.

When thinking of the awesome importance of the love of God, Kenneth Copeland describes love as the curtain rod on which all the fundamentals of faith hang. Without love, faith cannot work. Without love, you will not be successful. Without a firm trust in God and His goodness, faith cannot function properly.

Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, that if you are a great orator who can speak in many languages, if you have gifts of understanding and knowledge, if you have mountain-moving faith, and even if you are willing to give to others to the point of death, without God’s love you will gain nothing.

It’s easy to use faith when everything is going your way. But, when situations change unexpectedly, people don’t trust you or when an illness strikes, what do you do? You continue to walk in faith knowing God loves you.

Live by faith in God’s Love.

Consider God’s love as a gift to help you live a successful life.

• Walk in love daily.
• Choose love in every situation.
• Let God’s love guide your responses.
• Make love your priority.

Success Is Built on the Basics

When you watch the World Series, you’re watching players who master the fundamentals. They don’t skip the basics; they live by them.

The same is true for you.

Success in your life will not come from complicated strategies. It will come from consistently applying God’s foundational principles of faith and giving love the primary place that it deserves.

If you want to win in your journey with Christ, solidify the fundamentals of faith wrapped in God’s Love.

As you stay committed to these God-given foundational principles, you will see His promises come to pass in every area of your life.

Keep going. Stay consistent. And remember that victory belongs to those who master the fundamentals.

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