I

 

How to Get the Desires of Your Heart!!!

 

 

I don't know about most of you, but I have often wondered why I can't have a more abundant life. Others, Godly and ungodly alike, have much more than I do, but I have finally found the secret to getting everything I want. It is so simple once figured out, that I can't believe I ever missed it. The secret is faith, and learning to operate in it. I hope that I will be able to help you in that area. I could give you the final solution here, but it is so simple that most people would still miss the point it if I don't take some time to develop the principles. So if everyone will bear with me until the end, and keep an open heart, God can use even me to help you get everything you want in life.

Romans 10: 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God

 

It is amazing how often we as Christians can read or hear a verse over and over, but never stop to understand the significance of a particular word in that verse. While I was studying the other day, I started wondering how many times the word faith is used in the Bible. With just a little bit of research, I found that faith was used 250 times. But then I thought that the words belief and trust were very similar in meaning to faith, and with a little more research, I found that there were 455 scriptures that referred to believing and 191 scriptures that referred to trust. I was astonished to realize that since God's Word makes at least 896 references to the concept of faith, then just maybe I was not giving due diligence to understanding what God meant when he said of Abraham,

Genesis 15: 6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted to him for righteousness.

 

The first thing and most important thing to define and understand about faith is saving faith. Without being saved, nothing else in this book is going to work, and even if it did, in the final analysis, it wont matter, because you will lose everything. One thousand, One hundred thousand, or a million years from now, nobody is going to care if you were successful in this life or not. What is going to be important is are you in heaven in the loving arms of the Father, or are you in Hell, eternally separated from the love and presence of God. So let us get this point established and rooted before we attempt to go any further. And even if you are still not interested in saving faith and just want to skip to the part where you get the desires of your heart, don't bother, it won't work for you.

 

 

II

 

SAVING FAITH

 

Isaiah 12: 2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.

What does a person have to do to take the most important step in the Christian life, to make God their salvation. What is the formula, the 12 steps, what do we have to do so that God knows that we are worthy to be saved. The answer is, nothing. There is nothing that you can do to be saved. It is hopeless. Anything you are doing is not enough. You are not worthy, so you might as well not even try. Give up. Why then did I write this book, if there is no hope for salvation, and none of the other principals in this book work without salvation. Here in the book of Isaiah we see that Israel was depending on God to save them, but salvation is not complete without the spiritual forgiveness of sins. The verse does not say they had do anything but to trust, i.e. believe, i.e. have faith in the Lord and He would become their salvation.

John 8: 24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is God, that there is no other way to the Father but through him and you shall be saved. It seems so simple, but often it is the hardest thing for a Christian to do. We all want try to live Holy enough, or attend church enough, or take communion, or get baptized. The problem is, all of these things are done by our own power. After all, God doesn't show up at your house on Sunday morning, dress you and drive you to church. All of these things are good and helpful in life, but none of them can save us, and none of them are required for us to be saved. A man who is in a complete physically vegetative state, weak and near death, lying in the bottom of a dry well on a deserted island, if he is able to accept in his heart the free gift God is extending to him, he will be saved. This man can not change the lifestyle he has been living, and even if he could, none can live Holy enough, even after receiving salvation. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that means even you, and that means even sometime today. There is some point in God's perfect laws that you have violated today, because I guarantee there is someone somewhere that you could have loved more than you do. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. But doesn't the Bible say a man has to be baptized to be saved. Yes it does, but as John said, Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus‘ baptism is in the spirit realm, not in the physical realm, and no baptism besides the one given by Jesus can save and none other is required for salvation. It is by faith and faith alone that man is justified unto God.

Romans 3: 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Paul was telling the Romans that the law could not justify anyone, because the law caused a person to become aware of and in tune with their sins. The law was not given for man to try to live Holy enough to be justified by God. That is what the Pharisees tried to do. Even though they came a whole lot closer to living up to the statutes of the law than most of us, even so, God's perfect law is the law of faith and love. If ever you had less than the perfect love of God in your heart, or had less than 100% faith in God, never doubting anything he has said, even for half a second, then you could not be justified by the law, or keeping commandments. Since I am confident that covers everyone reading this, then it is safe to say, that you need to rely on Jesus Christ, the only one that has ever walked in the perfect love and faith of God. Paul says, Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Paul went further to explain that God "might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Because His word says Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, and God has said over and over in his word that He would forgive those who place their trust in Jesus Christ, Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe, then we are confident in the justification which comes by faith in him. So is Paul saying the law is evil, or useless? No there is a place for the law. The establishing of the fact that fallen man has need of a Savior, because nothing he can do of himself could ever justify him to God. Paul said, Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. The understanding of our inability to live up to God's standard, the recognition that God Himself in the form of Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, and the acceptance of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ was the whole purpose of and culmination of the law, so the law has now been completed.

 

Romans 4: 1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father was found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin." 9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,

Even Abraham, who did a great work by leaving his country and following God, was not justified by his actions. According to the scriptures, Abraham followed God, not to gain righteousness, but because of righteousness. And why did God say Abraham was righteous? Because he believed God. John 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Believing God's word, will allow us to see that God is for us and enables us to take an action. God is not interested in our obedience for the sake of obedience. We sometimes, when dealing with our children tell them to do something, and they do it because they know there is a punishment for not doing what they are told. While it can be beneficial when they do what they are told, I prefer it when I ask my child to do something, and they do it because they love, respect, and trust me. If I had the most obedient child on the planet, but they hated, feared and did not trust me, I would not be blessed by their obedience. This is the same with God. He always gives us instructions which are good for us. While it is still beneficial for us to respond out of obedience, and God can rejoice when we receive some benefit from listening to Him, much more is He blessed when he asks us to do something and He knows we did it because we love and trust Him. Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged." God is not interested in our obedience for the sake of obedience, God is interested in a close relationship where we know Him, because by knowing God, we will trust Him. Psalm 36:5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 6 Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast. 7 How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. Having a lack of understanding in in the area of how much God loves us and that every word given by God is true, will cloud our ability to hear and understand what he is saying to us because of our unbelief. John 8:43 "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for his is a liar and the father of it. 45 "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 "Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

I have been feeding myself since I was a small child. The process of taking a fork with mashed potatoes from my plate, placing it into my mouth, chewing and swallowing, is so basic and easy, I usually don't even have to think about it anymore. Still even with this simple task, sometimes I screw it up. There have been times that, after leaving the table, I look down and find I have mashed potatoes on my shirt. I don't even remember dropping them, but I must have because there they are. Other times, I swallow wrong and choke on the very substance, food, which is necessary for life. I have even heard reports of people who have died because they choked on a food and did not cough it up before suffocating. But maybe the act of eating is too difficult a task to compare to the works necessary for salvation. How about breathing then. Breathing is an automatic function of the body and no thought has to go into performing it. Yet there have been times while I am just walking around breathing, when a fly or other insect flew into my mouth, down my throat and choked me. There have been other times I have been sitting, breathing, and I inadvertently inhaled saliva from my own mouth, and choked. The point is, there is no task, regardless of how small and insignificant which man can not screw up. I am not trying to pick on the right of baptism, but it is a favorite I have often heard in the body of Christ as a necessity for salvation. If at the point of baptism, even though the person believed in Jesus with his whole heart, believed he was doing everything just as God wanted it to be done, but he had any impure thought in his heart, (and remember, if faith alone doesn't save, then the spirit is not reborn until the person comes out of the water, so there is no chance there is not an impure thought somewhere), then the act of baptism is invalidated because it could not be performed perfectly, and God, as illustrated by the law, can not accept less than perfect. So just as Abraham, we too receive the gift of righteousness through faith. Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into the grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. There is no more beautiful gift than knowing I don't have to do anything to receive Jesus into my life, because I guarantee if there were any other condition , I would still be dead to God. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

As humans, we often put restrictions on the people we believe God should offer salvation too. We forget God is not a respecter of persons and that everyone, young, old, black, white, Hispanic, Islamic, male, female, and homosexual, can receive the grace and salvation of God. Unfortunately we often put rules and regulations on people, they have to attain a certain goal or cleanliness before "we" believe they are worthy of receiving forgiveness. That is like trying to clean fish before you catch them. I know everyone has heard this old cliché, but it is true. Our only job is to tell people about the free gift God is offering, the loving nature of the God we serve, and as much as possible, be an earthly representation of love and forgiveness. Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Afterward, it is up to the person to hear and believe, or reject the message to their own damnation. Whether they accept or deny will determine whether God has the opportunity to cleanse them, but it is God's job to do the cleansing, and he does not need our help. It would certainly be beneficial if we were a light to the world, but no matter how brightly we think our light shines, we still can not do God's portion of the work. Acts 26:17 ‘I will deliver you from the Jewish peoples, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,' 18 ‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' I am not suggesting it is never a good idea to admonish someone to leave behind sin, but it is not our jobs to drive someone away from God or pronounce their damnation because we do not believe they are making the proper corrections to their life. Rather we should tell them the truth in love, emphasizing that God has something better for them (never in a manner of a holier than thou or condemning attitude, for we all still have plenty of sin in our own lives) and backing everything up with pertinent scriptures. Then step back and let God work the miracle of regeneration in peoples lives.

 

Romans 6: 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

All this talk of justification by faith often leads to the question, does that mean sin is irrelevant. And that is a question which was posed to Paul often enough during his ministry. Absolutely not, or as Paul said it, "God forbid." Sin is always relevant, not as a point of salvation, else we would have all been disqualified. For salvation is of the works of Christ, not us. But sin does hamper our ability to believe God and to walk with Him. I do not believe God separates Himself from us when we sin, but sin will cause us to move away from God. How many of us would have been able to sit in front of our mother, grandmother, or minister, and casually look at a "porno" magazine. How many of us would walk up to a police officer while we were smoking marijuana. I would think the person who could do such a thing would be rare indeed. So it is with God. When a person is doing what they consider to be sin or wrong, the natural tendency is to move away from fellowship with God, so that our own conscience will not convict us of our wrong doing. Sin then is a very real barrier all of us must overcome so we are not embarrassed to be in the presence of the Father. Sin is also a barrier which has to be overcome so that we are not ashamed to be a light unto the world. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Romans 10: 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, "Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

So for any who are trying to approach God in their own righteousness, regardless of how small the "duty" imposed, are ignorant of the righteousness which is of faith. God does not want us to be ignorant, because a lack of knowledge of who he is hinders our ability to trust in Him completely. Any works doctrine, or law keeping for the purpose of having right standing with God will take away from the true "duty" of our existence, and that duty is fellowship with God. This does not mean works then are evil, or to be avoided. The works are only profitable when they come from the heart as a result of the faith which is manifest in us. A person who truly believes God and His word, without having to place himself under the law, will walk more uprightly, and do better works than any Pharisee who has ever lived. Works can not replace or compel faith, but faith can replace, and compel works.

Matthew 9: 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you."

Mark 2: 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are forgiven you."

Lastly, I include these scriptures here to conclude and demonstrate the point of this chapter. Most people read this story and believe Jesus was rewarding the paralytic's friends because of the works they performed by going to extremes to get their sick friend to Jesus. I believe Jesus, who looks on the heart, saw that it was the faith of the paralytic and his friends which caused these men to go to great extremes. This story would have had a different ending if the men had shown up in desperation or wishing. Desperation or a wish could also cause a person to go to such extremes, but they are not faith and will not have the same result as faith. I know a lot of you may be feeling like I am condemning you, because you have a sickness in your body which you have asked for healing, and did not receive it. Condemnation is not my goal, and I can only encourage you that hopefully as you continue through this book, you will gain a greater understanding of the principles here. Some of you can also take solace that while I am writing this book to you, I am sitting here battling sinus problems which are making it difficult to breath properly, and I take daily medication for high blood pressure and acid reflux. I tell you these things so you understand there is a growth process in all things. While I have seen some success in my own life, I am not claiming perfection. My hope is that as I continue through this book, if you will take the journey with me, then we may both grow in this area together.

Romans 9: 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Romans 4: 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. 13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed-God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoke, "So shall your descendants be." 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us, it shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

III

 

WALKING IN JESUS

 

Colossians 2: 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

As we have received Christ, so walk in Him. As we have discussed, we received Christ through faith, by faith, and not of works. Now we are in Christ, we should continue the same way. Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He is always there and will continue to be there for us. Even when we are in sin, and are hardening our heart to Him, he is waiting patiently for us to return so that we can always be in fellowship with Him.

We do not maintain our salvation by not sinning. Just as with the original salvation, it is of faith, not of works. All of the same "rules" from the previous chapter still apply now that we are born again. Therefore there is no worry that Christ is going to turn away from or deny us because we sin. Philemon 4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus,. How God responds to us has nothing to do with who we are in the natural, it has to do with who we are in Christ Jesus. Once we realize and understand this then we can have the freedom to always go to God for help, even when the help we need is strength to live a better life. It is good to know that we will not be denied because of our shortcomings. The normal doctrine of works in this area goes as such, if we commit a sin, then God turns away from us (forsakes us). If we ask God to forgive us of our sin, we will be forgiven (and then he‘ll come back). If we do not ask for forgiveness, then if we die, we die unsaved. My first problem with this theory is the "if we commit a sin." Of course we are going to commit a sin, because we are human. So it follows, we are going to be asking for a lot of forgiveness. Not a problem right. Except, what if we forget one of the sins that we have committed? Lets suppose for a moment a person is a born again Christians, and someone steps on their toe, unrighteous anger rises up in their heart for a split second, they get it under control, and continue on their way. Later that night while they are praying, and asking God to forgive them of their sins, they forget that particular momentary lapse. According to this works doctrine, this person is now going to spend eternity in Hell.

Ok, so there are many who say, we do not have to ask forgiveness for each and every sin, we just have to continually ask for forgiveness for our sins corporately. By asking God to forgive us for all our sins then we are confessing that we still sin, and are then getting forgiveness. Ok, that sounds somewhat better, but I still see a problem. Lets play the what if game. What if the same scenario from above occurs. The person has the momentary lapse, but as they are walking out the front door of the building so they can go home and pray for forgiveness, the bus which is coming to pick them up swerves out of control and smashes them into the sidewalk, killing them instantly. They are not going to make it home in time to get that salvation. According to this works doctrine, this person is now going to spend eternity in Hell.

Ok, so there are some who say you have to confess sins as they happen. Ok.....What if this person's foot gets stepped on, they confess the momentary lapse. As they walk out the front door of the building, the bus loses control and comes skidding toward them. They look up and see it at the last second and say, "Oh Sh--," and are instantly smashed and die. They didn't have time to confess this sin. According to this works doctrine, this person is now going to spend eternity in Hell.

The last doctrine I have heard in this area is this; it is not every sin which we lose forgiveness for, just the big ones. Now who decides how big a sin is before it is considered big, I do not know. According to my Bible, God said, James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery." also said, "Do not murder." No if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. Remember, James was saying, if we show favoritism (partiality) toward any one person, then we are guilty of murder and adultery. God does not see big sins and little sins. God just sees sin. The law is like putting a man in a room with the ceiling 50 feet high, and God telling that man, just jump and touch the ceiling, and you can be saved. It does not matter if the man did not have legs, and could not jump at all, or if he were super human and able to jump 40 feet. Either way, he is still coming short of the ceiling, and God does not grade on a curve. In Deuteronomy 21:20 "And they shall say to the elders of the city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' 21 "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. For which of these sins was this son stoned? Answer, all of them. God makes no distinction between gluttony, over eating (so if you are over weight, you are a glutton), stubbornness, rebellion against your parents, and drunkenness. So if we are ever lazy, or are over weight, or think less highly of another than we should, then under the law, we are considered by God to be the same as Hitler, Mussolini, Jack the Ripper, and so on and so forth. We can not categorize sins as big and little because God does not categorize them. Well actually, we personally can categorize them however we want, but our categories do not mean anything in the final analysis of sin. Sin is sin is sin, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the best sinner in Hell, therefore, I for one am glad for grace by faith.

There is nothing we can do to make a works doctrine of asking for forgiveness foolproof against the chance that just maybe we are not saved from one moment to the next. What if we die at that moment. This possibility completely disregards the scriptures; Psalm 34:22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned., and John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 "But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at that last day. 40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

There is a sin unto death, so that a person gives up their salvation voluntarily and knowingly, and though it is often taught as being so, that sin is not suicide. I do not have a complete answer or understanding of the sin which is unto death, but I can say the teaching which says a person can be saved, then lose their salvation, and get saved again, is wrong, Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. Now for those of you who believe it is so easy to fall from "salvation," do not let the above verse worry you greatly by saying that once someone falls they can not be renewed unto Him, because there are many criteria therein that will guarantee only someone who is extremely well versed in the scriptures and has a full knowledge of the things of God, can "lose" their salvation. I believe someone who has such a strong understanding of God is not going to accidentally stop believing and thus fall accidentally. I believe for someone so strong in an understanding of God, they will have to knowingly trade their salvation for worldly gain, thus becoming reprobate. The Holy Spirit of God will withdraw itself and there will never be an unction to get right with God again, because it is now impossible for such a person to become saved again. Unfortunately, the discussion for the eternal salvation of the believer is much more in depth than what can be addressed during this discussion(such a discussion could fill volumes), but I felt it did need to be lightly touched upon, because it is just as important that a person live without making works a part of their walk with Jesus contingent upon their own performance as was the salvation process. Again, I want to point out that this does not free you to sin, but frees you from sin, and if you can get this revelation, then you will walk holier on accident than you ever did by trying to perform righteously.

Exodus 4: 1 Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.'" 2 So the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." 3 And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 "that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

I know many people used to watch and probably still watch re-runs of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, but most people do not have the training to handle a snake by picking it up by the tail. Moses most assuredly did not have any training in handling a snake, because when his rod became a snake, he ran from it. Moses did not want to reach out and take a serpent by the tail. That just is not natural, and most assuredly is a death sentence to an untrained person. However when God told Moses to take the snake by the tail, his faith in what God was telling him to do caused him to react by doing the task God requested. Psalm 40:4 Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

 

Luke 8: 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?'" 46 But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 And He said to her, "Daughter be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

Mark 5: 25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." 29Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" 31 But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, "Who touched Me?" 32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, "Daughter your faith had made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

Now when we are reading the complete story, we know the woman believed, had faith in, trusted, that if she but touched the hem of Jesus' garment, then she would be made whole. This woman acted on the faith she had, went and touched the hem of Jesus' garment, and was made well. This scripture is important because it shows Jesus perceived the power go out of him, but did not know who it was who touched him or who had been healed. The faith the woman had in Jesus, and the faith she had that Jesus would heal her activated the power which is in Jesus/Holy Spirit/God the Father. Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. Jesus did not take time to size her up and determine if she had been paying her tithes, if she was pure enough in her heart, if she was reading the scriptures enough, fasting and praying enough. All those things are not for God, and God does not require them of us so that we can receive from Him. Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. This does not mean we should neglect those things, because as I stated earlier, doing them will allow us to focus on God, and on His promises. Understanding that walking with Jesus is by faith, allows us to take the focus off of what we are or aren't doing and put it back where it belongs, on God. Psalm 52:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. 9 I will praise You forever, because You have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good. It will also make those things easier to do, because they are no longer a "chore" we are having to do to get some attention from God. Don't misunderstand me. If we only do good works because we think God wants it, then it is better than not doing good. Just remember when we screw up and fail, just as God sent His Only Begotten Son while you were yet a sinner, He has even more love for us now that we are his children, and He is not mad at you. Psalm 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory. I have listened to a lot of teachers on radio and the internet, and one of my favorite teachers has a favorite saying, "God has a picture of me in His wallet." I like this saying, because it shows the personal parent child relationship God feels for us, and that he wants us to have with Him.

John 6: 63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.

John 4: 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him, 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Now is the time to broche the subject, just who is man? Man is not simply a bunch of enzymes, thoughts, emotions, and hormones, wired together inside a physical body. When God made man in His image, He meant much more than that He was just making a creation who resembled Himself. As God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, man is also three parts. Man is spirit, soul and body. The body, is the easy part, because it is the outward portion of man which is visible to all who see him. Moreover it also includes the bones, muscles, brain, heart, everything which can be touched in the physical. The born again process God describes in the Bible does not touch the body. I do not mean healing or some type of regeneration can not occur simultaneously with salvation, but primarily, the body is not a partaker in the salvation process. At the resurrection, we will be given a perfected body, but not yet. The soul is the thoughts and emotions which make up a man. The learned responses and the autonomic responses which drive most of us while we are present in the body. The soul however is also not effected by salvation as a general rule of thumb. There can be some immediate manifestation of an understanding or the healing of emotional trauma, but that is not the primary focus of salvation. The spirit is the central, and real part of man. The spirit realm, for "God is Spirit", is the parent force for the natural realm. Everything which exists came first through the spirit. This is the portion of man that is made brand new at the time of salvation. When a man is reborn, he becomes a brand new creature, perfect and pure in the spirit. 1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. This is the portion of man which fellowships with God, and on whom God looks when he sees his children. When God looks at me, he sees the perfection of Christ, not my messed up body or my impure mind. I can therefore have boldness in the day of judgment. I can also have boldness now, because God treats me just as he treats His only begotten son. Right now, not later. When He looks at me, He sees Jesus. Psalm 17:6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. 7 Show Your marvelous loving kindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them. 8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings, 9 from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who surround me. No outward or soulish sin can touch the spirit, for it is forever pure, and does not participate in sin. It is therefore not for the spirit that it is beneficial to live holy, but for the soul. It is the soul that acts as a valve between your born again perfect spirit, and the natural world. Anything which comes from our born again spirit, or the Spirit of God dwelling in and with our born again spirit, is always pure and perfect. Nothing can get from our perfect spirit into the natural world lest it can get past our thoughts and emotions. Anything the body/flesh desires is always self serving, but those desires are dominated by what is in the thoughts and emotions. The emotions will always side with the flesh, but by renewing our minds and thinking the way God thinks, we can bring the emotions under the dominion of our thoughts. A good illustration of this is a water pipe. On one end of the pipe we have our bodys and the natural world. On the other end of the pipe, we have our born again spirit and the Holy Spirit living together. In the middle of the pipe, we have our minds and emotions, which acts as a valve. Just as with water a water pipe, the flow can only go one way. If we open the valve, regardless of how much we open the valve, the flow will always be from the source of power/pressure (the spirit) in the direction of the body, which does not create any pressure of its own. In the case of Jesus, the valve was all the way open, and He was able to walk in the spirit perfectly. It is possible, because we simply do not understand the Word of God, to be a born again Christian, but to have the valve completely closed, forcing a person to rely completely upon themselves to walk uprightly in God's sight. Most of us are somewhere in between these two extremes. There is a way to open the valve more and more, but we will save the discussion for a later chapter. Suffice it for now that you understand the basic concept of the spirit, soul and body, with the soul being the valve which regulates the flow.

John 3: 11 "Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17"For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be save. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Again, this seems like a good point to remind the reader, none of this makes any difference if the Spirit of Jesus is not working inside you. Psalm 2:7 "I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'" 10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. You can do all and understand more about the scriptures than anyone else, but without the saving grace of faith in Jesus Christ, nothing can flow from your unredeemed spirit except death, damnation, and destruction. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spatially discerned., and James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Notice the scripture did not say, most good things, or all but these few good things come from God. Rather all, every one, if it is good, it is from God. This means anything not of God is evil and sin. Hopefully we all understand that sin is death and destruction. Therefore if it is not coming from God, then it is coming from your unredeemed spirit, and nothing good can come of it. Some things from man's natural spirit, soul, or body may for a time seem good, but in fact they are just evil waiting to happen. Even love, the thing Paul said was the most powerful force in the Christian life, flowing from the unredeemed spirit, is only self serving and self gratifying. As "impressive" as this kind of love may appear in the natural, this kind of natural "self" love is really death and destruction.

1 Timothy 4: 8 For bodily exercise profit's a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 9 this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. 10 for to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

Colossians 2: 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the hand writing of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

By partaking of salvation through faith in Christ, according to the scriptures, your spirit man has experienced the same circumcision, baptism, and resurrection as Christ. Therefore there are no further requirements for the keeping of laws and doing of actions for the purpose of staying in God‘s good graces. The only way to achieve this lofty ideal is absolutely through faith. To add anything else to faith then faith is no longer faith, and is as dead as you were before accepting Christ. Works will flow from the spirit into the body, according to how much the valve is in line with faith (or in line with the word of God) but works will never flow back up the pipe against the pressure to influence the spirit one wit. 2 Thessalonians 1:11Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The faith which spurs a person to act is a good pleasure to the Lord God, and the subsequent act carries with it a power which is inherent. Most Christians, and I must admit I most often fall into this category, can not tell the difference between an act which is out of a sense of obligation, and an act which is of the spirit by faith Even when we are the ones performing the act we are often unable to tell the difference. Tithing is an excellent example of this principal. Many Christians give because they feel they are supposed to give. They give a certain amount because they feel they are commanded by scripture to give that amount, and because they are hoping God will take their gift, increase it and give it back to them. They are in essence giving for the purpose of getting God to bless them. The problem is God did not say we should only give him our money. He said we should give him the first tenth of all our increase. That means the first tenth of all our time, the first tenth of all our possessions, the first tenth of our money, the first tenth of all our service, the first tenth of our business, and on and on the list could go. All God has requested of us can not be dropped into the offering bucket as easily as our cash. Quite often God would prefer our time more than he would our cash. Many of us have more of an attachment to our time and realize money is just paper, and in the long run doesn't account for much. Again, I am not suggesting anyone stop doing an act they are doing out of obedience just because it might not be done with the purest of hearts. There is still tremendous benefit to obedience for obedience sake, and God can certainly use our obedience to grow us and teach us the more perfect giving spirit He wants us to have. Rather I am only trying to impress upon us, there is a more perfect way of giving, and we should strive to learn those concepts and truths. 2 Corinthians 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. Once a person gets a revelation of this, and realizes God really does want to be first in all things, at all times, as stated earlier about the revelation of walking by the works born of the spirit, becoming grounded in the truths of God will cause a person to live a holier life on accident than ever on purpose. The same is true in this area of tithing and giving. As the brain/valve comes in line with the word of God, giving will start flowing from us in all areas of our lives, to the point that we won't even always realize we are giving. The amounts we are giving in all areas will far exceed the traditional ten percent rule we think of as the tithe, and the people around us will start to feel like we are fire hydrants with the valve knocked off We will begin gushing forth the goodness of God to such a degree people can not even stand in the power of the flow without being knocked off their feet. Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, I believe Jesus Christ was such a fire plug, with the valve broken off so that the flow could not be stemmed. The Pharisees, the logical law keepers, were offended because their finery was getting splashed by the flow. By comparison, the little children who saw and believed, were happy and excited to play in the gush, never questioning the life giving water gushing forth could be anything but good. It is in the same spirit of little children with which we must come to him, so we can through faith in Christ, be the righteousness which is from God by faith; that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection. By knowing the original fire plug, we too can learn to walk as He walked.

I can already hear many saying, (because I have said it in the past myself), "that was what Jesus did, I could never walk like that." We can and we should. Acts 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention expecting to receive something from them. 6 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." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And, Acts 4:32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. And, Acts 5:12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch 13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women. 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. It sounds to me like Peter and the apostles were walking fireplugs gushing forth, and the spirit of Jesus who flowed through them had a cleansing effect on any around them who were willing to receive it. Remember, these were the same people, who not long before the time these things happened, were hiding, denying Jesus, and out of despair going back to the lives they had before Jesus called them. When they were filled with the Holy Spirit, things changed. They started having an impact much like the impact Jesus was having. Many of us may argue, "yeah, Jesus did it, and the Apostles did it, but that was only as a sign for the early church. No one outside the apostles could do it." I would like to remind you that Jesus said, Mark 16:17 "And these signs will follow those who believe; In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover." Jesus said it would be those who believed who did these things, not just the apostles who believed, and not the people who believed and the apostles laid hands on. I believe, (and this is certainly not a doctrine), once the church got large enough that "men of power and influence" were joining the church, the apostles were gone, many "powerful men" did not have faith in themselves for miracles to flow through. Because they were "powerful" men in the natural, I believe it was very hard for many in the church, after the passing of the original apostles, to tell these men the truth. Maybe it was because they deemed it to be "good" that these men were a part of the church. So the doctrinal beliefs became, well these signs aren't for everyone, and only certain saints can perform them. eventually it became easier and an excuse for the majority of the body of Christ to follow suit. Not having to receive or display the power of the Holy Spirit was easier, because it is difficult walking in the spirit when you live in a fallen world. Don't get me wrong, the valve on my fire hydrant is barely cracked. People can stand right in front of the spout without worrying too much about getting wet, so I am right there with most of the body, and could easily adopt the attitude that those things were for someone else in a different age. The problem with this theology is you have to change or disregard what Jesus said, and that is a very dangerous thing to do. Once we start trying to fit what the Bible says into a box by ignoring or excusing the things which "haven't worked for us" then we are playing a dangerous game indeed. Revelation 22:18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. If any of you want to play around with changing what is here so it suits your doctrines, go ahead. As for me, if the book says it, I am going to say it is true, whether I am walking in it successfully or not. Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Remember, Stephen was not one of the original apostles. He was one of the seven who were commissioned to "wait tables" in the early church. My take on this is, you could not even wait tables in the apostles' church unless your valve was very much open, for the apostles had said, Acts 6:3 "Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;. And just remember what was quoted earlier in the chapter, 1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. If we are born again, and have received the gift of the Holy Spirit we should not be waiting for some future event to make us like Jesus or the apostles. Our spirits are already like His now. The question becomes now, will we do what it takes to renew our minds so that the valve is in line with the Word of God.

I would like to switch gears again at this point. There are many examples in the gospels of Faith giving birth to actions, inspired by the overflow of power and grace which radiated from Jesus. The doctrine of faith over the doctrine of works has applications in all aspects of the Christian life, not just in getting and remaining saved. 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. This is wisdom, there is nothing you can do to get God to heal your body, or the body of someone else. It is not a question of whether or not God wants to heal you. His Word already answered the question. Just as faith will cause a person to take a certain action, also the physical manifestation of God's power may follow a person‘s action. There are times when, if a person believes God has healed them, they have to act on their faith. 1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might live for righteousness- by whose stripes you were healed. If they are unable to act, they really did not believe in the first place. The action itself is not rewarded, but it is not until the faith has its perfect work and is complete that an action takes place. I want to spend a little time exploring some of those instances in God's Word I believe illustrates faith in action.

Matthew 8: 5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." 7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go you way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

This centurion had a great understanding of faith few have attained. He did not go to Jesus to ask him to do something, or if he was capable of doing something. What this man was saying is, I do not have the New Testament Scriptures in front of me, so I do not yet know your nature, and I am not well enough versed in the Old Testament to understand your will. The reason I am here is to ask you, will you do this thing. Jesus said, yes I will come and heal your servant. The centurion answered and said, No, all I needed answered was whether or not you would do it, I already know the answer to whether or not you can do it. Jesus told many people their faith had healed or saved them, but I am unaware of any other time in scripture were Jesus was astonished by the faith he found in someone's heart.

Matthew 15: 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying "Lord, help me!" 26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

This is another instance where Jesus was speaking with a woman who was not from Israel This story illustrates that Jesus' primary mission during his first visit was to be focused on the nation of Israel. I believe this was because of the promises made in the Old Testament Covenant. I also believe those promises were made because God knew His ministry time would be short to establish disciples of those he was tutoring. He knew the disciples would need a lot of attention so they would be ready to carry on His work after He was removed in the body. Jesus knew from the beginning, if he were to come to the whole world, his time would have been so consumed by the masses who would have come to Him, He could not have spent any time with the inner circle of His followers. Those disciples needed His attention to get them prepared for their ministries. Still, I believe this instance shows, Jesus has always had a heart for all people, and was a chance to teach the disciples that their priority would be to reach the rest of the world. The Scripture says Matthew 15:22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word, And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." Jesus certainly heard the woman crying out long before the disciples brought it to his attention, I believe He was waiting to see if they would take the initiative to show compassion to one of the flock He would be sending them to later. When they did not, He stepped in and ministered to her Himself. Again, this is not a doctrine, rather just my belief. I feel this explanation best represents Jesus' love for all people, as established by the Word of God. Though his immediate priority was in preparing the nation of Israel, Jesus still had a heart for any that came to Him in faith. This woman's answer showed how great her faith was by saying she did not need anything more than the left over crumbs of Jesus power to receive the deliverance her daughter needed.

Matthew 9: 27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" 28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."

Because the blind men believed so strongly Jesus could heal them, they followed Him into a house so He would heal them. I believe Jesus had many who sat by the wayside, or in the roadways crying out to Him for healing, wishing there was something Jesus could do. Wishing is not faith. I can wish to win the lottery some day but because it is only a wish, I don't even bother buying a ticket. I don't really have any faith it is going to happen. If I somehow knew what the numbers were going to be for the next lottery, because I would have faith that I would win, I would be there bright and early to purchase a ticket. When Jesus entered the house and the blind men, not wishing He could heal them, but knowing it, followed Him inside, Jesus then knew they had faith to be healed. Now I know many of you may be thinking, but Jesus is God, how could he have not known already? Remember this, when Jesus came to earth in an earthly body, He did not operate as God, but as a man. He left all his Godly powers so He could experience and function just as we do, else He would not have been able to claim He shared in our weaknesses and temptations, Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. And again, Hebrews 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels, 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: "What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is nut put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him for whom are all thing and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings, 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You." 13 And again: "I will put My trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God had given Me." 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that though death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren , that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. Hebrews 3:1 therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. Therefore while Jesus was walking on the earth, He was walking as a man Just like you and I. We have said this so many times, I don't think most of us realize what it truly means. The Bible does not mean God squeezed his Godly powers into a body which hid His powers from man, and then walking among us, He let His power ooze out. The Bible says Jesus Christ was a man. Yes, He was God, but when He came to earth, to fulfill His self appointed mission, He left all of His Godly power. If that were not so, then these Scriptures are lies, and that is not possible. God can not lie. If God were to lie, then the worlds would come apart because the Bible says everything that is physical is held together by the integrity of His words. Jesus was a man, just as Adam was a man, and you and I are man. Nothing more, nothing less. The only difference between you and Jesus is, when Jesus was born, because he did not have an earthly father, he did not receive the curse of Adam. He had the same pure spirit God gave to Adam when He placed him in the Garden of Eden. Jesus, with his perfect spirit, was able to walk in a fallen world, without making the same mistake Adam made. Therefore, He fulfilled the law and was sinless. At His baptism, Jesus received the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit, He received the same power available to you and I today. If Jesus was anything more, He could not claim He has suffered as I have, and He would be a liar. Again I say, God can not lie. I probably should have explained this point earlier in this book, but it seemed good to let some things simmer, and to drop this point in here. The fact remains, Jesus said, to the born again, spirit filled Christian, (and though this is not a direct Bible Quote attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, remember, the entire Bible is the Word of God, and since Jesus is the Word then Jesus said,) because as I am, so are you in this world (excerpt from 1 John 4:17 because as He is, so are you in this world.) I know many are probably choking on what I am saying here. Some might believe I am raising myself to the same level as Jesus Christ. That is not true. I am not raising myself any higher than this, I am a man, like all others, living in a fallen world. I, as much as I can renew my mind, am attempting to walk in the Holy Spirit who was sent to me by Jesus Christ as the helper. What I am saying is, I am glad, nay ecstatic, and you should be too, Jesus Christ, though He is God, loved me and the rest of humanity so much, he lowered himself to my level. He did this so He could carry me where I never had the strength in myself to go. I've heard many describe what Jesus did as a father, looking down at his toddler child, playing in a play pen. The father being overcome with love, decided to crawl into the play pen and play with the toddler. I see this analogy as grossly inadequate. Jesus Christ, looked down at all the toddlers playing in a pit with a poisonous viper. The viper is famished and ready to eat. Jesus Christ looking down saw our plight. He became a physically ordinary toddler, who was not soiled, so that the viper would lust after Him, the tastiest morsel. He then entered the pit so He could lead as many as would follow away from the viper. When none followed, He turned, and crawled into a small hole in the corner, so the viper, who lusted for total domination, followed Him. He then offered himself to the viper, so when the viper had consumed him, would be too large to crawl back out of the hole. His sacrifice spared the rest of the toddlers still in the pit. Jeremiah 39:18 "For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me," says the Lord.'" Now the only toddlers in danger of being consumed, are the ones who crawl down into the hole, enticed by the hiss of and looking for the viper.

John 4: 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." 49 The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" 50 Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.

Jesus, while speaking with this man, said something a little different than other times. He made the proclamation, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Why did Jesus feel it necessary to say this thing at this time. This man had come to him saying what so many others said, "come heal my son, he is sick." What is the difference. I think Jesus was letting this man know, you are not believing I will do it, you are only wishing. When Jesus said this, something inside the man sparked and he believed. What he said, and his outward action may not have changed, but Jesus, knowing the difference in the heart, said, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. I believe, if Jesus had told him to go his way and that his son lived the first time, the man would have left disappointed because he would not have believed it. Most of us probably would not have gotten the same message from what Jesus said to this man. Jesus knew exactly, through the Holy Spirit, what needed to be said so this man's faith would line up with his actions. The man just was not quite there. I do not understand how Jesus' saying changed this man's heart. I can tell you this, I am certain this verse does not say, it was because this man kept begging Jesus and pestering Him to come heal his son, that Jesus finally said...."Jeepers, you are bugging the heck out of me.....ok, I'll do it already....just go away." I can guarantee that is not the message of this verse.

Luke 18: 40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord that I may receive my sight." 42Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."

Unlike the man in the last example, Jesus did not need to correct anything in this man's believing. He simply asked him what it was he wanted. When the man told Him, He recognized, in the spirit, the man was not wishing for healing. He already had faith to be healed.

Acts 3: 16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."

Just as when people approached Jesus for healing, things occurred according to the faith of the believer, so it was with the apostles. When the apostles were the conduit through which Jesus Christ was working, it was by the spirit they had knowledge when someone sitting by the way had the faith to be healed.

Luke 8: 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing! Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

This passage shows not how faith works, but rather how faith does not work. The disciples lack of faith caused them to act in the same way earlier examples show faith caused an action. In this instance, the lack of faith caused the disciples to act in fear. While most of us can sympathize with the disciples for their lapse in the face of what might have appeared to be imminent death, the question they asked shows how fleeting was their faith. "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" The disciples should not have been surprised at this point. They have heard on more than one occasion, Jesus talking about the fact that He is the Son of God. If they had truly believed as they professed, then they would not have been afraid as long as they were with Him. Psalm 61:3 For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah 5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

Luke 8: 49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." 50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."

This passage goes along with the last. Jesus is giving instruction to the ruler of the synagogue what action his faith should cause him to take. He should not be afraid. Apparently the fact Jesus told this man to not be afraid was enough to bolster his faith in Jesus.

Luke 12: 26 "If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?" 27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith?" 29 "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind." 30 "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things." 31 "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you." 32 "Do no fear little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Jesus is explaining to the listeners that the Kingdom of Heaven, which is in place now wherever His believers are, (not some later time in Heaven), that it is sin for a believer to doubt and fear for the things which are necessities. The reason I say it is a sin is because Jesus did not say it would be better not to seek what you will eat, or it is beneficial to not be anxious, or best not to fear, Jesus said, "Do Not Seek what you should eat," "nor have an Anxious Mind" and "Do Not Fear." Jesus gave these as commands because as He said, "for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Jesus said it is God's pleasure to give these things to us. If we fear, or are anxious, it means we doubt what Jesus has said, or else we doubt God's ability to do what He promised Doubt and fear are not faith. For those of us, i.e. me, who still struggle in this area, do not feel discouraged nor condemned. When the father looks upon us, 2 Corinthians 5:5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee, 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I don't think I have to remind anyone that none of these things happened in the fleshly body or the mind and emotions. All of these changes, which are obvious from reading the scriptures have already occurred, happened in the spirit man, and the spirit man is where God looks when He sees us.

 

John 12: 42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 44 Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 "And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 "And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 "For I have not spoken of My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 :"And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

This seems to be a paradoxical statement in that many among the rulers believed, yet did not confess Him because they loved the praise of men. Does this mean then that because they did not take an action, God did not save them on their faith. No, what this means is, though like the devils spoken of later in the book of James, they had a head knowledge of who Jesus was, they did not have a heart knowledge of who Jesus is. They may have even understood that He is God Himself, but they may not have believed or cared that He could give them the promise through faith in Him. Just because a person has an understanding of true forgiveness, they still have the right and ability to reject the offer of salvation. There are many today who say that yes, they believe Jesus is the Son of God, but that they do not believe that He has anything for them.

John 19: 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe

IV

HOW TO GROW FAITH

 

Luke 17: 5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." 6 So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

 

 

Now we have established many things. I have said over and over that we have to renew our minds. What do I mean by renewing our minds, and how do we go about it, so that our faith will grow. When we are speaking of faith, we are not talking about all faith. There is the gift of faith which is in the Spirit and is the faith of Christ. Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. This passage says Jesus authors our faith, not us. So if Jesus authored our faith, does that mean because I do not have perfect faith, He did not do a good job of authoring it? 2 Corinthians 4:13 And since3 we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak. I am just going to mention again that our spirits are pure, holy, and complete, just as Jesus is. We do not have to grow the faith is in our spirits. What We are correcting is the faith, belief, or thinking processes of the mind. The mind is the valve which controls the flow of the spirit into our life. So then the way we "renew our minds" so we can walk in faith, is; John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." It is by studying the word of God and by brining our thinking in line with the word of God . By getting our thinking in line with the Word of God, we learn to walk in the spirit, not by sight. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 12: 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to thing of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

The number of times God tells us to keep His Word always in our minds is staggering. God knew we would have to spend a tremendous amount of energy learning to put His truths into action. Our natural minds do not grasp the things of the spirit, but by diligent study and meditation on the Word, then we can learn to operate in the spirit. Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Acts 13: 38 "Therefore let it be know to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 "and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

 

We can never hear too much of or read too much of the Word. The more we expose ourselves to God the more we will learn to trust and recognize His power and will. No one knows the truths of God in themselves, that is in their natural man. Learning to think as God thinks is the most difficult portion of the Christian life. The natural mind and emotions want to be pampered, come first, and take their ease without having to pay any consequences for those choices. As stated earlier, anything not of faith is sin, and I dare say most everything we have in our minds is sin. Not because it is necessarily evil, but because most of it is contrary to the word of God. God says He has healed us, yet our feelings tell us we are sick. God said we are the righteousness of God, yet our emotions condemn us. Much of the problem is we spend so much time watching television, movies, reading books and magazines that are full of selfishness, lust, hatred, violence, apathy, all the things not of God, that has become the way we think. It is not only outright sinful entertainment which keeps us from believing God. Often it can be things that appear good for us to be involved in which keeps us from focusing on and spending time with God. If we are watching training videos for work to the point we do not have time to read our Bible and meditate on what is said, then we are going to have problems in this area. If we spend more of our time watching sports, the news, whatever is coming between us and the time necessary to become completely knowledgeable in the Word. Even if the things coming between you and spending time with God are righteous, such as teaching, preaching, or church service, we are going to have problems. Nothing can routinely come between us and personal time with God. I understand most of us can not put our lives on hold while we spend eight hours a day reading our Bibles. However, all of us could carry our Bibles and read verses throughout the day whenever we have a moment, and then meditate on those verses while we are doing other things. "But I can't carry a Bible around all the time, it's just too big and bulky." You know, they make some very small New Testament only bibles which can fit unnoticed in a pocket, and that would be far and above what most of us are doing. I guarantee the benefits would far outweigh any possible inconvenience. Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge; 18 for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, 19 so that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you.

 

2 Timothy 3: 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Proverbs 30: Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

 

The Scriptures are adamant that the Word is good for us. God spent thousands of years getting His word published so we could have it with us always. Of course just carrying a Bible does not do anything for us. It is not like in many movies where one need only hold the Bible up and scare off Satan. You have to take the words from inside the covers and plant them in your mind and heart, so the seed can start to grow and produce the fruit of understanding.

Luke 8: 11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 "Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 "But the ones that fell on good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

If we have prepared ourselves and we spend time in the word of God, then we will have results. This example shows there is a growth time and harvest theory that happens when someone hears the word. We often prefer to get the full grown fruit from a pastor when He preaches to us on Sunday, and while that is a good place to get fruit from till our own plants grow, we will never be able to sustain ourselves unless we get into the word and plant our own garden. So quit letting the things of this world choke out the truths of God's Word and get in there and start sowing. If you do not see immediate results, remember, you have to give the seeds time to grow before it can produce any nourishment. Of course it goes without saying the seed has to be planted to grow. It can not be left closed up in the silo (Bible) and expected to be of benefit.

 

John 5: 37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 "But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are thy which testify of Me. 40 "But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

John 5: 45 "Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you- Moses, in whom you trust. 46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 "But if you do not believe his writhing, how will you believe My words?"

It is possible to read the words and still not understand what we are reading. This usually happens because we read with preconceived ideas or with an attitude of resistance. When reading the Bible, we have to try to just open our hearts, and let God explain what we are reading. At first we may only receive from a verse or phrase here and there. However as we become more grounded in the Word, our understanding will start growing and pieces will start fitting together in ways we have never imagined. As this happens, things you are learning on your own, will start multiplying (instead of just adding) in relation to the Word we are receiving from preachers and teachers we are listening to. All of what I have written here has come in this way, first by hearing the teachings of others, and then by digging in the Word to either confirm or refine what I had heard. While we can learn much from others, without getting into the Word on your own, the truths we glean from what someone else teaches will have a limited influence on our lives. The soil we have in ourselves would not be deep enough to sustain the growth. The only way to prepare the soil for further revelation is through private study and mediation on the Word. John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. As born again believers, as we study the Word, we release the power and life sustaining water which flows through the spirit from God.

Galatians 2: 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

By faith, we can learn all things through the spirit if, and the if is important, we renew our minds. We have to have a concrete basis on which to judge all things we are believing. Just because someone else said it, even though they may be a mighty prophet of God, or the pastor of your church, they are not God. Their word is not The Word. We have to be able to judge all things for ourselves. The only safe way to judge is to get totally grounded in the Word. If we are not grounded in the Word, we will be tossed about as a ship driven by the sea. A kite is a beautiful thing to watch floating on the breeze, but a kite can not fly on its own. If it is not anchored to something by the string that holds it, the kite will flutter free and plummet to the ground. So it is with us, if we are not firmly anchored in the Word of God, we are going to hit the ground, and the fall is going to be painful. Even with this book. I am representing what I believe as truth. By my study, I believe them to be truths. In reality, all I am doing is setting forth concepts to study and grounding the concepts in the Word of God, the best I can. The Scripture says, Philippians 2:12 therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Never rely on another man to study the scriptures for you. Pastors, teachers and prophets are there to expound, exhort, and help us grow in the Word, not to tell us what or how to believe. That is our job. The only way to succeed in this area is to study it for ourselves. To have strong enough roots in ourselves so that God can speak His truths directly to us. I hope to never hear anyone say, "I have taken your book and am trying to stand on the things that you say." What I hope to hear from anyone who reads this is, "I have read your book, it gave me a lot to think about. According to my studies I believe..... " The body of Christ would grow so much faster and stronger if everyone would take the initiative to learn and grow in God's word, even when it seems hard, to stick with the effort, until revelation starts coming. If the body were growing in that way, then pastors and teachers could have occasion to learn from even the least of the members of the congregation,. The entire congregation would be flowing in the spirit, and the whole body would grow much like the early church grew. Because so many of us are content to have someone else teach us what to think and are willing to wait for the pastor to study the Word for us, the poor pastor is having to learn for each of the members of his congregation. Thus the body is going to grow very slowly indeed.

Acts 8: 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" 37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

The reason Philip was able to reach the eunuch in this example was because the eunuch was studying the word and was seeking the truth. He had reached a spot, because of his personal study, when Philip explained the truth of those Scriptures, he was able to recognize and respond to the truth. So many of us in this day and age want our devotion time to come in a microwave package so we instantly know what the man standing at the front of the church knows. The Kingdom of God does not work that way. God repeatedly described his Kingdom as a farm, where there is seed, time, and then harvest. Thorns and weeds sometimes seem to grow over night, but this is not true either. Thorns and weeds may grow faster than fruit trees, but you have to spend time away from the hoe that is God's Word for the weeds to have a chance to take root and grow in your life.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

So then, what is the most important thing to receive from the Word of God? I am glad you asked that question. It's amazing how it seems we are on the same page here. It is my belief the greatest thing to learn from God's Word, is who He is. If you know and understand God as much as is possible while in this life, you will not be quick to jump on board theologies and theories that do not line up with God's nature. God's nature is perfectly represented in the Scriptures. Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! When reading the rest of this Psalm, we see that David was saying the only reason he was able to believe for deliverance from his enemies is because he knew God. He had faith he would see God's goodness in this life. How did David know this about God. Because David was a man after God's own heart and because he was well grounded in who God is. David understood that God is love, 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who doe not love does not know God, for God is love. This passage does not say God has love, or that God loves a lot, this Scripture says God is love. Everything God does is anchored by, grounded in, and is love. I believe if a person were to get into the Word and just find out all the ways God loves them, they would start finding it impossible to not renew their mind. People would come to a point where they would start walking in a faith which would preclude doing anything other than loving and trusting God. The love and trust of God would then drive a person to act on their faith. I do not believe there is another truth in the Bible as strong as this one point. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 

 

Psalm 31: 1 In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in your righteousness. 2 Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. 3 For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name's sake, lead me and guide me, for You are my strength. 5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. 6 I have hated those who regard useless idols; but I trust in the Lord. 19 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! 20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. 21 Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!

 

God wants to be our provider and protector. He wants to be our Father. He wants to be and do those things now, not in some distant by and by place, in a galaxy far, far away. Right now, right here, in this place and at this time. God is not waiting till some day when He can love us, and spoil us. God is ready and waiting. All He needs is for us to accept the love He so wants to give us. Jesus said on more than one occasion, Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." and Matthew 12:28 "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." So why would Jesus spend so much time trying to explain how things are going to be in Heaven, which is often taught by many to be what is referred to as the Kingdom of God. It seems to me that would be a gigantic waste of His time since it would have no application in this world. After all, any that were going to make it could just wait and see for themselves. What Jesus was telling us is, He has established the Kingdom of God here and now. This is what it could be like today. So why isn't it like that for most of us. Because the Kingdom of God operates exclusively by faith. Since most of us are failing in the faith department (quit getting condemned, I have told you, we are all human and we fail, all we can do is realize there is so much more for us, and keep on striving for it) we are not living the things God established in his Word. So much more is available to us. I include myself in this category, but I refuse to quit trying just because I haven't gotten it right yet,. I am very unlikely to have a great success any time soon. I have too much work to do in renewing my own mind so that I am always thinking in line with what God's Word says.

1 Corinthians 2: 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

 

I can not emphasize enough how important it is to study and become familiar with all God wants for us. How much He loves us. The awesome power with which he can bring His will to pass. Until we have a clear picture of these truths, we can not allow God's full anointing to flow through us to the lost world around us. Our unbelief, fueled by our lack of knowledge in this area will stop the flow of God in our life. Most people do not believe they can hinder the things God wants for us, but certainly in our own lives we can. After all, if we could not hinder the flow and power of God's will in our own lives, then everyone on the face of the earth would be saved. God has said, 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. God's will is very evident in this Scripture. Why then are so many dying every day unsaved? Because when God made man, he gave him free will. Because God gave free will, He will never violate our free will. God has given each and every one of us the right and the ability to deny His will for our lives. This includes born again Christians. I felt it was God's will for me to write this book six years ago, but I did not do it. God's will did not change. I could have continued for the rest of my life, avoiding writing this book. Because God so loves me, He kept prompting, knowing He had something special in mind for me. I still do not know what "that something special" is at this point, but I know writing of this book is part of it. Even though I was outside the will of God when I refused to do as He asked, God never stopped blessing me. He heaped the blessings on top of me to the point I was starting to buckle under the weight of them. As God continues to bless me, I know things are only going to get continually better, especially now as I start flowing with the will of God instead of trying to swim against the current. Not because God loves me more when I do as He says, but because I am in a better place to receive all He has to offer. It is by trusting and believing God that we become the most blessed and will be the most useful in His Kingdom.

Psalm 56: 3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. 4 In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? 111 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

 

 

Now the antitheses to trust is fear, which is likened to unbelief. When God said that He would provide every good thing for you, then why do we try so hard to try to get those things for ourselves. It is because we do not believe God really loves us enough to follow through with what He said. We understand the fact that He loves us, human kind, corporately. We completely miss the fact that He loves ME, MYSELF, I, the individual person. God loves YOU, each person individually, more than the rest of all His creation. Get that concept. Find Scriptures which bear these things out. YOU must meditate on these truths till they become more assuredly true to YOU than anything YOU can detect with your five senses. If YOU can get these truths, then YOU would no longer be able to find a way to fear or doubt. YOU would just know God is faithful to do all that His Word says. YOU would know He wants to do it for YOU individually. Once YOU have this concept so deeply ingrained, then we will say, just as Jesus did, John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me." 42 "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent me." YOU will never again enter a time of prayer like YOU are imposing on God's time. YOU will know He is standing by, watching every move YOU make, and hanging on YOUR every word, because YOU are just that important to Him. He doesn't have something more important, or that he would rather be doing than listening to and blessing YOU. It actually blesses God to bless YOU. Psalm 25:27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, "Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

2 Corinthians 5: 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

There are many applications for this verse, but the application that I am going to focus on is this, God has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. If we have received Him then we have the promise and there is nothing left for us to get from God. He has given it all to us. All we can do is walk in it or not. It is the renewing of our mind through God's Word which will open the valve, and any thing other than God's word will either close the valve again, or at least take up valuable time which could be used in the renewing of our minds. I would also like to present the idea, when the verse says (excerpt from) 6 that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, it is not merely referring to being physically in the body, still alive, we are physically absent from the Lord. I believe it also has the dual meaning that while we are comfortable operating in the flesh, then we are absent from the Lord in the sense we are not seeking Him and getting our minds renewed. Without getting uncomfortable in the flesh we can not operate in the spirit, which is where the Lord dwells. We need to get to the point we know there is more than what we have. We need to make the decision to quit operating in the flesh and to start trusting God with everything. Not just when we have a problem, but in everything at all times. Then we can start renewing our minds and start walking with God in the way God wants us to walk with Him.

2 Corinthians 1: 24 Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.

V

OLD TESTAMENT -VS- NEW TESTAMENT

 

Isaiah 43: 10 You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior,

Because we have touched on the subject already about the nature of God, I want to address the place most people get a misperception of who God is. Believe it or not, the primary reason people do not understand God's nature is because they read the Bible. The problem is, they read the Bible with preconceived ideas which have been espoused for centuries by religion. Now it is not always wrong to have preconceived ideas. It is just that the ideas have to be true. If everyone would approach the Old Testament with the idea espoused by the Bible, that God is Love, then we would come away with a totally different picture of what has traditionally been taught using those Scriptures.

Genesis 3: 22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"- 23therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24So HE drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

One of the very first misinterpretations is that God, because of Adam's sin, separated himself from man, and could no longer have anything to do with him. Because God wouldn't have anything to do with man anymore, then He threw Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, driving them out with a flaming sword. I looked up the Hebrew word used which said God "drove" them out the garden. The possible definitions of the word used in the Hebrew is to put out, divorce, drive out, remove from a possession, expel, etc. Where I had always been taught that the driving out had been a violent angry response to sin, a study of the original word used does not support this picture. Nor does the old English translation of drove out. Cattle can be driven from a pasture, and it usually works best and goes easier if the people doing the driving are not hooting, hollering, and whacking them with sticks. We drive people out of auditoriums after concerts all the time, only in the modern vernacular, we say that we ushered them out. Some might say still, God "ushered" them out of the garden as a punishment because He was angry. I say God sent them out of the garden because He loved them. God said very clearly why He was putting them out of the garden, and it was, "lest he (man) put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." God knew that because of man's fallen nature, it was only going to be a matter of time before Satan convinced man to submit to things like cancer, asthma, birth defects, aids, leprosy, and a list of other horrible diseases too long to mention. Imagine if you will, if Adam and Eve had stayed in the garden, and had eaten of the tree of life. Now we would all live forever in our current bodies. For those of you with arthritis that gets worse every year. Imagine living with that forever, with the pain increasing every year. What about the child born with a birth defect. Maybe the lungs are formed outside the body, but not being able to die from the deformity. Imagine the people who have fallen into pits and wells, were trapped and starved to death, and their bodies were only found after several hundred years. Imagine the person involved in an industrial accident, where his body is run through a giant grinding machine, and he is ground into millions of pieces. None of these people would have been able to die and would have been in constant agony. For born again Christians, death is not a thing to be feared, and in some instances, it is a release from pain and suffering. So God removed Adam and Eve from the thing which would have compounded the first sin beyond any stretch of the imagination.

Genesis 4: 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

Ok, so God loved man and did not want him to suffer forever, He was still so mad He quit fellowshipping with man. Really, is that right? Sounds to me like God is still talking to and fellowshipping with man, else how would Cain have known his offering was unacceptable. Besides, the Bible explicitly says, God said to Cain. This verse clearly illustrates God was still coming to man. I guess that means a Holy God was not so repulsed by unholy man He could not stand to be in his presence any longer. This also illustrates that God never punished sin by withdrawing from the sinner. Remember, once you are born again, the Holy Spirit is always right there, waiting for you to access Him.

Genesis 4: 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" 10 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." 13 And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." 15 And the Lord said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

So Cain kills Abel, and has a conversation with God about the murder, and again God responds in love. Yes there were consequences to the action, because Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Cain by committing the act of murder, cursed the ground, not God. Earth was put under the dominion of man and man's sins have an effect on the earth. But didn't Cain say that he would be hidden from God's face from that day forward. Yes, Cain did say that, God did not. It was Cain's decision to stop fellowshipping with God, just as it is always man's decision whether or not to fellowship with Him. But for all this, God had compassion for Cain, so He set a mark on him so that no one would Kill Cain for the murder Cain had committed.

Genesis 6: 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis 6: 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

But what about the flood? That had to be wrath,. I don't see any way that could have been an act of love. Well it was love. Remember, God is love, and if you look hard enough, you will always find the love of God in everything He does. Genesis says God was sorry and grieved in His heart that He had made man on the earth. Did God who, knows all things, Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" not see this instance in the earth. Did God who sees all, knows all, and told us of the things that will happen in the last days because He has already been there, did He just overlook this little insignificant flood. God knew, before He created man, this day would come. Knowing did not make it easy for God. It does not say here that God hated man, He was sorry that He had created Him. God had certainly not created man to be destroyed. That is how strongly God felt about what must happen. By the time the earth got to the point that there was only one man left who had faith in God, God knew He had to take this action. God is a very long suffering God, and had let man go just as far as He could let him go. God was deeply grieved by what would happen next. God also knew that it had to happen. There was no choice. God knew that there had to be people left on the earth that would listen to Him, or the Savior could not come. Had God let this sickness (utter corruptness) continue past this point, then His plan for salvation would have been completely cut off, and all mankind would have been lost to Him for all time. God had to stop the infection from spreading, so, with a heavy heart, He amputated the corrupt flesh, so the rest of the body could survive and be healthy. A man who has lung cancer in one lung, has the infected lung removed before the other lung becomes infected. A man who gets gangrene in his leg will have the leg amputated, else he will die. The concept also holds true here. God removed what was necessary to remove so that the infection would not spread to all men. Had the corruption spread, it would have ended any chance for Jesus Christ to bring us the gift of salvation.

Genesis 19: 1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square." 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." 6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 "See now, I have tow daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof." 9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

My limited research into the city of Sodom shows it was one of, if not the primary city of the region where it was located. This would suggest, just as in today's world, the influence and attitudes of the city would spread from the gates of the city out into the country surrounding the city. The area where Sodom was located was part of the area God had promised to Abraham. When God gave the land to Abraham, God intended the descendents of Abraham to inhabit the land. What would the land have been like if the later Nation of Israel, had come upon an area where the widespread sexual immorality demonstrated in these Scriptures were prevalent in the land. As quick as the Nation of Israel was to go after and follow the edicts and customs of foreign gods in the surrounding land, they might very well have become as the Sodomites were. When the angels entered the city, the men of the city, probably because they beheld the beauty of the angels and lusted after them, formed a mob to come take the angels from Lot's house and rape them. Because this was a major city in the area, this means hundreds if not thousands of men had banded together for this mass rape. These men would not be dissuaded from their desires by willing partners, the offer of Lot's daughters to sate their lusts, or even by being struck blind. After the men of Sodom where blinded, they continued to try to get into Lot's house in an effort to violate the angels by force, even to the point that they exhausted themselves. Now for my part, I have not heard of anything which sounded as demonic in nature as this story. The entire population of the city, except for Lot and those in his household, appeared to have been taken in by this attitude. What would have happened if this demonic spirit had been left in place in the land the Nation of Israel was later to inhabit. I believe these cities were a direct threat to the redemptive plan of God. Would there have been a virgin left in the area for the Lord Jesus Christ to be born to if this perverse spirit was not removed from the area. Sodom had many vices and sins other than the ones mentioned, but I believe this particular vice was focused on in this narrative because it was the area which could have stopped the plan of God had God not intervened. Again God has wrath, but God is not wrath. God is love and though He hates immorality, He is long suffering toward those living immorally. Sodom and Gomorrah where not the only cities in the world who delved so deeply into immortality, but they were the only cities in the world who practiced such immorality in an area where they might have influenced the future of Israel. I believe God, because of His great love for mankind, acted in accordance with His love and removed another sickness which was threatening to destroy the entire body.

Numbers 12: 5 Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7 Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. 8 I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?"

Numbers 15: 32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp." 36 So, as the Lord commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.

Once the Children of Israel left the land of the Egyptians, God started dealing with them differently than with anyone else. I have heard one man I know describe it as "God's ticked off police" phase of the Old Testament. He reasoned that some law enforcement officers will, when they are just mad at you, arrest you and throw you in jail for petty insignificant crimes, such as throwing a cigarette butt on the ground. His reading of the Old Testament, and especially the laws and punishments prescribed in the Law of Moses, followed the same pattern, because God was just plain fed up. He believed God, in the New Testament, has calmed down enough to start extending grace again. According to my reading of the Bible, Malachi 3:6 "For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." and 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. God is not one way one day, and another way another day. God is constant and His nature is consistent. So if god is Love and perfect love casts out all fear, then the law must cast out all fear, or it is not love. What then is the answer. I am glad you asked that question. God, because He loves us, knew something had to be done to bring Israel to a place where Jesus could come fulfill His plan. That something was that man had to realize they needed a savior, and they had to be made aware of just how dangerous living in sin is. The law accomplished both of those goals. The law of Moses showed man that he could never live holy enough to save himself. Man realized, through the law, he needed a Savior. Those who were under the law did not have a clear understanding of who or what that Savior would be. They did however, through the law, come to understand they could not live well enough to save themselves, thus they accepted God would have to provide for their salvation. The law, because it provided for immediate consequences to sin, helped bring people to the realization that the wages of sin was death. Man was missing this point early on, because the natural consequences to sin are normally slow to manifest. A person who goes and lives a sexually immoral life is damaging himself, both emotionally and he is taking chances with physical disease. No one immediately recognizes they have been emotionally scarred by living promiscuously until , years down the road, they are incapable of maintaining a relationship. A person who contracts a communicable disease does not even realize it until symptoms of the disease show up at a later time. Almost all sin is this way. If it were not, then none of us would be involve in sin. If a man knew going to a prostitute to fulfill his lust would end his life within that same hour, you could legalize prostitution, place the prostitutes in a prominent house, then advertise there services, but you would not see very many people going inside. If a man knew lying about insignificant things would instantly cause him to lose his possessions, friends, and family, the "little white lie" would be a thing spoken of as a thing to be greatly feared. The law of Moses brought these concepts of consequences and sin and married them together in time. As stated earlier, there are some benefits to "living holy, even if out of fear of retribution. So too there were benefits to giving the law to the children of Israel. The benefit was at least outwardly, even those who did not understand the nature of God and faith, lived a better life than they might have otherwise lived. This kept things in check until Christ could come and fulfill the law, and that might not have happened if God had not placed this system of rules and punishments on the Nation of Israel.

Hebrews 11: 1 Now the faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that eh was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude- innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command. 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasured in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. 27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourging, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented- 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Hebrews 3: 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

I know this section of Scripture is very long, and next to it the explanation of why it is here is going to seem very short by comparison. I am going to start the discussion with a statement that is going to surprise and possibly offend many. It is against most of the teaching I have ever heard. The statement is Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and because God does not change, man was not justified in the Old Testament Covenant by the keeping of law or by the sacrificing of animals. They were justified by faith in God through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said; "So I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,'" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. The people of the Old Testament Covenant did not have the full understanding of what they had faith in, or who Jesus Christ was. It was Adam's faith in the One that would bruise the head of the serpent. Abraham's faith in his Seed that was to come. Moses' faith in the one like unto himself that was to come. None of these men listed above were deemed righteous because of what they did. They received righteousness the same as you and I, by faith. They believed God. Both what He told them to do, and what He said about the one who was to come. It was not Noah's drunkenness which pleased God. It was not the fact that Abraham was married to his half sister Sarah. Nor was it Abraham's repeated lies to rulers of the land that Sarah was his sister, (though she was his half sister). Lies he told because he was afraid someone would hurt him to take his wife. Abraham was not justified by his choice to go into Sarah's hand maid Hagar to father Ishmael. It was not that Isaac was married to two sisters while both sisters were still alive. It was not that Jacob stole Esau's blessing through trickery which pleased God. It was not the fact Moses murdered an Egyptian guard, or when he later rebelled by striking the stone which God specifically told him to speak to. Sampson and David both committed sexual immorality and murder. All of these things, according to God's perfect law are worthy of death, yet every one of these men was considered righteous by God. How? Because they had faith. All righteousness has always, now, and will always come by faith. In times past by the shadow of Jesus to come, and now and in the future, faith in the actual Man/God Jesus Christ. God has never had any other form of Salvation than the one we have now. The only difference, we can look back on the things that have happened, and have a fuller understanding of our Salvation. I pray that as time goes on, and in the ages to come, our understanding will only deepen. Psalm 18:1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Ok, here is the part where I really step on a lot of religious toes, but I believe what I am about to say has to be said. The body of Christ has got to get away from that old teaching that God puts problems in our lives to make us stronger or to test us. God does not slap people with cancer to teach them a lesson. Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Jesus Christ is the express image of God, and He never walked up to any of the Pharisees and said, "I have told you and told you to quit teaching these religious doctrines, so now I am going to smite you with some leprosy till you get things figured out." Because Jesus did not curse people under the new covenant, then we know God does not curse us either. Well, but if God doesn't do it, He at least has to allow it. Wrong! God does not walk around with Satan on a short leash, allowing Him to attack certain people. Again I point to the life of Jesus, who never walked up to someone and said, If you do not love your neighbor enough, I am going to "sick" Satan on you. Malachi 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed you?' In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 11" And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts; 12 "And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says the Lord of hosts. Did anyone notice what these verses did not say. They did not say that if we fail to do anything then God will send the devourer to us and allow him to ravage us until we have learned our lessons. The devourer is already there, 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. The Bible says Satan is walking about seeking whom He may devour. He is not on a leash, and he is not an emissary of God, sent forth into the world for the purpose of teaching people a lesson. Satan is evil and bad, and the Bible says all that comes from God is good, including His thoughts toward us. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you, 13 and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. God does not think evil thoughts toward us. I guarantee the most evil thought ever is that God sends a wolf into His sheep pen, so the wolf will attack and devour the weak sheep, thus the herd will be stronger. No the only sheep who have to worry about the wolf are the sheep who have found a way to get out of the pen, and have run from the protection of the Shepherd. Why is it Satan can attack us so frequently? Because as Jesus said, Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? All of us still have sin in our lives, and often that sin is the ultimate sin, the one where we start trusting in ourselves for anything, instead of standing in faith in what Jesus did. When this happens we limit the power of God to rebuke the devourer on our behalf, Psalm 78:40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! 41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy, 43 when He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan; We are the ones who decide how much power God has in our lives. God is a gentleman, and if we believe that we should have Satan devouring our increase, or riddling our bodies with sickness so we can learn our lessons, then God will stand there, with tears on His face, praying to YOU, that YOU would hear His voice and allow the healing and the prosperity that He has already provided for us, to work in our lives. Satan on the other hand is just skulking around, waiting for us to leave a crack somewhere. A wrong belief, where his sickness, disease and financial ruin can take root. When the devourer came into the land of Egypt, to strike the first born in Egypt, God did not send him there. Satan is just a spiritual idiot who when he realized the hearts of Pharaoh and all of Egypt were hardened toward God to the point he could have his way with them, he leapt at the chance. It was the hardness of the Egyptians hearts which gave the devourer access to the land of Egypt. What God did for Israel was to show them what they needed so the devourer would not have access to them. Because they acted in faith, Satan could not touch them. He wanted to, but He could not. God was only able to stop Satan from touching the children of Israel, because they allowed Him to work on their behalf. Now God may have lifted His protection from the Egyptians. God protects, as far as he is allowed by people, even people that do not believe He exists. He protects so people have a chance at a later time to accept the Salvation He offers. This was another of those unfortunate instances where the sickness that was in the hearts of the Egyptians was threatening to stop God's plan for the Salvation of all mankind. I believe that in every instance where God's protection was lifted so that wrath was poured out, God stood there, His heart breaking and weeping for every soul who did not make it through the night, but then He turned and took His people into His arms and said to Himself, "I have done this great injury to "MYSELF" so that these, My children can have life, and have it more abundantly."

Job 1: 1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. 4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" 12 And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person," So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

I am sure there is someone out there, who is thinking, "Aha, I got you here, I can prove God sends Satan to get people. Just look at the book of Job." Well, I don't agree with that interpretation of the book of Job then. God knew that Satan had been looking for access to Job. When God asked Satan if he had considered Job, Satan said, "Yes I have, and I have not found a way to get to him ‘YET(the yet being implied by the looking).'" God was letting Satan know He was aware of his desire for Job. Satan was not going to stop looking for a way to get at Job. What I believe is God has already told us where the crack in Job's armor was. Where Satan, if left unchecked could have gone after Job. Job 1:5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did regularly. It appears to me Job had set himself up as the "salvation" for his adult children. Job was afraid to let his children, who were old enough to have homes of their own, be responsible for their own salvation, Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Salvation is God's job, but Job was setting himself up by trying to be the salvation for his children. God who looks on men's hearts, knew Job was starting to believe in his own righeousness rather than having faith in Him. I believe God also knew that if Satan found this crack in Job's hedge on his own, then he would have immediately had access to attack him on such a deep level it might have even killed Job. What God did by telling Satan, (excerpt from Job) "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person," was to limit, without Satan's knowledge of the limit, how much influence Satan would exercise. In essence, God got Satan to agree to only go so far, even though in reality, as I explained earlier, it is us that allows Satan to work on us. God just covered how deeply Satan could effect Job by taking his focus away from seeking to see just how deep the cracks were.

Job 2: 1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and from on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." 3Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause." 4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 "But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" 6 And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life."

Why did God keep pointing out Job's righteousness, if the point is he was not walking in righteousness? Because Job was trusting in himself instead of his faith in God. Because God was saying about Job what Job said and believed about himself, Proverbs 6:2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. As I said before I believe God knew Satan could go much farther and deeper than Satan knew he could go. God spoke with Satan again about Job, because, I believe He knew Satan was getting frustrated. God knew Satan was to the point of disregarding the agreement made earlier, and would start picking at the cracks in Job's hedge, to see if he could do damage to Job himself. God, because He knows all things, knew what Satan was contemplating, and again He stopped him by offering him access he already had, to buy time to continue working on Job's heart, and in the process spare Job's life. Again, I say Job still did not have an understanding of why these things were happening to him, but at least He never lost his basic faith in God, and thankfully the faith he did have carried him through this tough time. He would not curse God. I believe however, he was still putting faith in himself and his own actions. In the next few chapters of Job, he speaks several times about his righteousness. Job 6:29 Yield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands! 30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory? and Job 9:14 "How then can I answer Him, and choose my words to reason with Him? 15 For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge. 16 If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice. 17 For He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause. 18 He will not allow me to catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness. 19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; and if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? 20 Thought I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; thought I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. 21"I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. 22 It is all one thing; therefore I say, "He destroys the blameless and the wicked.' 23 If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent. 24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges, if it is not He, who else could it be? and Job 10:5 Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a mighty man, 6 that You should seek for my iniquity and search out my sin, 7 although You know that I am not wicked, and there is not one who can deliver from Your hand? I could go on and on quoting what Job had to say about himself, and his own righteousness. It appears to me Job needed to learn the lesson, Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; and Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,. I believe Job started out properly, but as he began walking more righteously than those around him, he forgot his Faith in God which had made him righteous. He started trusting in the things he did to keep him righteous. Many of us make the same mistake every day. We believe that we are doing something for God. You can never do anything more for God than to believe Him and his Word. By believing God and His Word, righteous actions will flow from you because of the faith, not through your effort.

Job 38: 1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

Job 40: 8 "Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Job 42: 1 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, "'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' 5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

This is the beautiful part of the book of Job. God knew when Job would be able to respond correctly to what had happened. God knew the moment Job's heart could be turned back to faith in Him rather than faith in himself. I believe at the very second Job reached this point, God showed up and started dealing with Job. God knew exactly what to say to draw Job back into the protection God wanted to give Job from the beginning. Religion has always used the book of Job to teach "God is going to smite you with stuff to teach you a lesson." I believe the real message of the book of Job is not what was done, or the fact that regardless of how bad it got, God could still use it to work his purpose. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. This verse does not mean God causes all things. It means what things we get ourselves into, if we will then turn to Him and submit to His purpose, then He can work even the mess we created to our good. The real message of the book of Job, is who is bringing the death and destruction to Job. It was not God. It was Satan. We have something under the new covenant Job did not have. God has promised us that if we resist Satan he will flee from us. James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. God told us that if "we" resist the devil, he will flee from "us." Stay in faith, and resist the devil, including his sickness, disease, depression, and everything which is not a good gift, and he will take his toys and go home. God has promised us that Satan can not stand against us.

 

Just one final parting thought for this chapter. Search all things in the Old and New Testament with prayer. Everything not understood of why God did things can be made clear through the 3-D glasses of love and faith. Again I do not have a complete understanding of all things, but I believe I have a strong enough basis that if I am getting a message from the Bible which does not contain elements of love and faith, I know I am not looking at the passages of Scripture in the correct light. I at least know to keep searching for the right answer.

VI

 

UNBELIEF

 

Mark 9: 23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

Matthew 21: 18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again," Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea.' it will be done. 22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

It is time to talk about the antitheses of faith, which is unbelief, doubt, fear, worry, concern, and any other word we can think of similar to these. Matthew 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 "So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." According to Jesus, and He is the authority, we only need faith as a mustard seed. Jesus used this example to explain that it does not take a huge amount of trust in God for the miraculous to happen. This is confusing to most of us because just about every one of us will say we have at least a small amount of faith. Besides, everyone probably remembers I said earlier, "our spirits are pure, holy, complete, just as Jesus' is. We do not have to grow the faith that is in our spirits. What we are correcting is the faith, belief, thinking processes of the mind" The father of the child with the palsy told Jesus he had faith, but that he also had unbelief. This man somehow understood his goal was not to get the faith bigger, it was to deal with the doubt. Mark 5:35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." I have many times gone to pray for healing for myself or someone else, and I know I have faith for healing because I have seen it before. Why then do I sometimes not see healing come. It is because I still have doubts. Will God work through me. Am I good enough. Are all my beliefs pure enough. I know on the base level, none of those things even matter, because in Jesus Christ, I am more than pure and holy enough, but those small lingering doubts often cause me to draw back from the healing I know God has provided for me. There is no doubt in my spirit. So then where is the doubt? In our minds, the valve which allows the faith and knowledge in our spirit to flow into the physical world. These small nagging doubts are what causes us to shut off the flow of God, Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

It is the doubts we harbor in our hearts and minds which cause us to be tossed about by the winds of the world. I am not saying that if we renew our mind and start thinking the way the Bible tells us to think, we will never have any negative circumstances come against us. I am saying if we get our minds renewed, when negative circumstances come, we will respond to them differently. We will not get depressed or discouraged. We will not be fearful of the results. We will not accept the evil of the world as being a test from God, something we are supposed to patiently endure. Evil will be just that, evil and from Satan, and a thing to be resisted. None of this happens over night, and I don't know how absolutely a person can walk in the way, but it is encouraging to me to know there is so much more I can achieve. I know the only thing holding me back is my understanding of God's Word and thus His Will. My wife has an analogy she likes to use, and it is of an airplane flying from one airport to another. As the airplane takes off, it is heading in the general direction of its destination. Because of wind, obstacles between the airplane and its destinations, and pilot error, the airplane will soon be flying in a direction which will never take it to the airport. The pilot makes some course corrections and the airplane is once again headed toward the destination airport. These course corrections do not occur only right after take off or only in the last leg of the flight. If the course corrections are not continuous and frequent, the airplane will be hundreds if not thousands of miles off course. So it is with us in the Christian life. We do not hear principles one time and then say, ok, I will never doubt again. Doubts and fears are a constant thing within us and have to be frequently adjusted with the word of God. If we stay in the word and make the adjustments we will at least be heading in the direction we need to go. Every time a sickness, allergy, financial problem, job problem, or any problem that we can imagine, comes against us, we need to get into God's Word, dig out every Scripture God has on the subject and start speaking and praying it over yourselves. If we are believing for next weeks groceries and have even a small flare of doubt for even one second, then we should take that as a sign we need another course correction. Get your bible and start pouring over the Scriptures which speak of God taking care of all our needs. If the little toe on our left foot starts hurting, and even for a moment, we think, "Oh well, that's just what happens when you get old," or "You have to expect a little pain and you just have to grin and bear it," those are signs that we are accepting the evil Satan is brining to us instead of resisting it. If we resist all evil we only receive the good that God has to offer. Pain is not good. Pain is never good. That does not mean pain will never come, but that is not what God made us for and it is not what God wants for us now. But what about Jesus, wasn't He inflicted with pain, Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; 15 so shall He sprinkle man nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider. Isaiah 53:1 Who has believe\d our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root our of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our briefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Yes He was afflicted and bruised, but it was by men, not by sickness and disease(I am not referring to Jesus‘ time on the cross when He took all sickness, disease, and sin into His body to pay for our sins). I do not recall a single Scripture anywhere outside the cross that talked about Jesus being sick. None! Satan tempted Him in the wilderness and He defeated Satan with the Word of God. I do not for a second believe that was the only time Satan tempted Jesus, rather the wilderness scriptures were added merely as an example of the temptations and how Jesus defeated them. You resist Satan, and he will flee from you. Not by just saying go away, I don't want it anymore, but by writing the Word of God upon our hearts and becoming totally filled with it. Then when Satan pokes us with a stick, the word flows forth and frustrates his every effort. If that is not the case with any of us, then that is a sign another course correction is needed. Jesus said tribulation would come, because we live in a fallen world. We will have ungodly men come against us. Most of us don't have time to be afflicted by ungodly men because we are too busy walking around being martyrs in our sickness, poverty, mental anguish, and financial problems. God has a more perfect plan for us and wants us to walk in a way the fallen world around us would marvel at. There is not a single Scriptural example of Jesus begging or toiling for food. Not one time did he have to go to Peter and say, "Man, I am just so bummed out, can you pray for me." God does not want us to be in that position either. I realize I am not Jesus, but I also realize God wants me to be exactly like Jesus, in this world, not just the one to come. Satan does keep coming at me to do everything he can to make sure I never reach God's standard, but God has not and never will afflict me with sickness and injury to make me a better person. There is plenty of afflictions already in the world, and by learning to not submit to the ones I do not have to endure, I hope to eventually become more like Jesus. Then I only have to endure the afflictions brought against me by the godless, for those are the only afflictions a Spirit filled Christian does not have control over in their lives, and there are plenty of afflictions to go around even then.

Numbers 14: 11 Then the Lord said to Moses: "How long will these people reject me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?"

Matthew 6: 30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

John 14: 1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And where I go you know and the way you know."

How many of you have ever seen a small child being carried by their father. The child is usually content and happy, often sleeping comfortably in their arms. What would most of us think of a man who we saw carrying a small child, and the child was constantly begging, "Daddy, please don't drop me. Don't drop me daddy." We would think, wow, that poor kid. They can't even trust their good for nothing father to carry them without dropping them. Deuteronomy 1:31 ‘and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.' 32 "Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord you God,. Well what about this scenario, you see a teenager walking behind her father. The teenager has her head down and is trying to stay a set distance behind her father. She appears to be afraid to look right or left. The father goes into a store, and the teenager is left standing outside for a moment. You approach the teenager, and when she glances up, you see that she has leprosy. You are astonished because in this day and age, leprosy can normally be treated and kept under control, but it is obvious by looking at this girl that in her case the disease is running rampant. You walk over to the girl and ask her if she has been to a doctor to have her condition checked. The girl looks at you and says, "My daddy is a scientist and he gave me this leprosy because I was always disobeying him. He wanted to teach me a lesson, so I have to bear this disease until I learn to do as I am told." You would be astonished, outraged, and speechless. Most of us would snatch our cell phones out to call the police and Child Protective Services so fast it would pop our shoulders out of socket. We would go and get in that fathers face and tell him how cruel and evil he is. Why do we think that God, who is love and who gives all good things, would do the same things we would hate another man for doing. After all, the father in this scenario is a scientist and once his daughter learns her lesson, he can probably reverse the effects of the disease he gave her. Or maybe his answer would be, "I just wanted all her friends to have a chance to see that I am a merciful father and I will take the affliction away when it suits me," or "I wanted to give her a chance to live well in front of her friends so they could see in her a strength and love in her they would not have seen otherwise." Why are we as Christians walking around, so proud of the "sickness and hardship "God has given us." We then try to telling our lost friends, "Come serve my God, He is a really good God, as a matter of fact, if things are going really well for you, He will give you a disease so you can show the rest of the world how to suffer in a dignified manner." I am sorry I am hurting some of your feelings, but the truth is the truth. Most of us would form a line to have the chance to kill the earthly father who would do such things, but we think because we cloak these same concepts in religiosity these same things will draw a fallen world to the feet of our Heavenly Father. Why? So He can Smite them with the same sicknesses they are already in danger of facing. That is not God. It has never been God's nature to do such things. Hebrews 3:17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Yes there are some examples of it in the Old Testament where it appears God put sickness and disease on people as a punishment. I admit I do not have a ready answer for all examples at this time, but Jesus told us He freed us from all curses. I do not believe God ever wanted to have to do much of what happened in the Old Testament. His nature has always been constant, but God was forced to deal with a fallen man who did not have and could not receive the Holly Spirit. He was forced, and I say again, forced to deal with man contrary to His own nature to ensure His Salvation plan was not thwarted by the stiff necks of an unbelieving people. 2 Kings 17:13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets." 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. If that were not the case, then God would have just given the Old Testament Law to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Then He would have dealt with all mankind as He did with Israel from the outset of fallen man. Rather God knew He would have to do what was necessary in a select group who was strong enough to endure, so everyone else could be saved. The Salvation plan is finished. Unless anyone believes God is preparing them to be a new nation of Israel, so He can work a new and even better Salvation plan, (which would imply they don't think the plan which is in place is good enough) then God is never going to have to deal with anyone outside His nature again. He especially is not having to deal with anyone in the style of the Old Testament for the purpose of "teaching someone a lesson." All lessons have been taught. The answers are in the Bible. You have been given the Holy Spirit Who will teach you all things. 1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. Mankind has been redeemed from the curse of the law, but have been granted the blessings therein through Christ Jesus. We no longer have to endure the things Israel had to endure for our sakes. Christ already came and delivered everyone from the hand of Satan. All that is left is to accept the free gift.

John 12: 35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you, Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become the sons of light." these things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. 37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."

2 Corinthians 4: 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

It is Satan, our own minds, the teachings of the world, and our own doubts which keep us from learning the true nature of God. If we could just get an understanding of who God is then understanding the Bible becomes a whole lot simpler. In John 12:40, it is often understood that the "he" who blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts is God. Look at the verse again. It clearly says "he" blinded them so that they would not turn so that "I" should heal them. We all know it is God who does the healing, not anyone else. Therefore the "I" in this passage has to be God. If the "I" is God, then the "he" has to be someone else and that someone else is Satan. If we take just this little faux pas on our part and start looking at many other instances in the Bible, I believe a lot of the judgments and sickness that "he" struck people with will turn out to be things Satan has done, not God. There are many times God prophesies things are coming, but just because He warns people, through prophesy, does not mean God is the one causing the action or even the one who "allows" the thing to happen. Take our earlier discussion about Job. Job was convinced it was God doing all those things to him, for some redemptive or judgmental reason. In fact, we discovered, it was Satan who did all the evil things to Job. As I stated, I believe God did not "sick" Satan on Job, rather God, by telling Satan what he told him, kept Satan from finding out just how weak Job's position was at the time. I believe God was protecting Job because Job had walked outside God's hedge of protection. God knew that if Satan found him out there, on his own, then Satan was going to kill him. So God did a little slight of hand, without ever lying to Satan, to get Satan to focus on the "challenge" of getting to Job without going past where God suggested he stop. After all, because God has given us free will to choose all things for ourselves, then God would be unjust to hold us inside His protection against our will. That does not mean God has to completely abandon any efforts to protect us from ourselves, it just limit's the Holy one of Israel in how He can protect us. Psalm 78:41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,. I know it seems I am rehashing and pounding the same point as earlier, and that is because I am. However, the concept fits both points. The biggest point of unbelief in the Body of Christ is the wrong beliefs where nothing happens but what God allows. We believe God is allowing whatever evil is in our lives to teach us something. This teaching and the teaching of works are the two teachings, according to my limited experience, which causes more people to give in to the lies of Satan than anything else I am aware of. For those of you who believe nothing happens except what God allows to happen, and you are getting violently angry at what I am saying, just remember, I could not be writing this if God did not allow it. God does order our steps, and if you will allow Him to lead you, then He will direct your steps. If you choose to take your own path, God does not hit the button on the shock collar until you get back on the right path. That is something that we use to teach unreasoning animals, not our friends. Some might be saying, ok, I get the importance of what you are saying, but what does it have to do with unbelief. Believing anything about God which is not true is a form of unbelief. You have to know and understand God to believe Him. Deuteronomy 9:23 "Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,' then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice. 24 "You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you." If you are believing anything else then you are walking in unbelief. This is not a criticism, because I will guarantee, even Paul, and Peter, and Jesus' brother James, all walked in some level of unbelief (for even they were not perfect). I just want the amount of unbelief we walk in to be as minimal as is possible for each of us.

Luke 1: 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."

Moving on, has anyone ever thought about why Mary was chosen to fulfill the part of the virgin who gave birth to Jesus. It was in part because of her lineage, but Mary was not the only virgin to ever come through David's line. What was it then. Elizabeth answered this question when she said Luke 1:45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." It is because God knew Mary would believe Him when He sent His messenger. Mary could have forestalled God's plan for her life simply by disbelieving what God said to her. She could have, when the angel of the Lord told her of the impending birth, said, "I do not believe it, I do not believe this is of God, and I believe you are lying to me." Or, she could have said, "I do not believe God is capable of doing this thing," or "I do not believe God is sending this message to me because there has got to be someone holier than I." How many people has God called to one thing or another, that because the person refused to accept what God said of them, the plan God had for their life did not come thru. How many people have been called into the ministry, but they never went. They went thru life unfulfilled because what they were doing was not what they were meant to do. God never grabbed someone and placed them in the ministry or anything else without their consent. Nor would He have impregnated Mary with the holy seed of the Holy Spirit if she had refused the calling. God knew Mary's heart and that she was receptive to His plan. However, if she had not been receptive, then there would have been another who God called. Who knows besides God, there might have been another virgin along the line of David to whom God did say these very things. If this rhetorical virgin had told God no, (God will still call you, even if He knows you will say no, lest you say in the day of judgment, Lord You never called me), God would have moved on and called Mary. God always knew Mary would be the one. Just as God knows who will answer His calls to the ministry and who will not. We all know those who were called and they refused the call. Whatever God wants for you, do not be the one that denied yourself by not accepting the gifts He offers. Do not get the impression I am suggesting God is put off when we ask Him questions. All questions are not unbelief. Luke 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you, therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." Mary asked how God would, not whether or not God could do such a thing. Just imagine how different the Middle East would be today if Abraham had asked God how the promise would be fulfilled instead of trying to guess, and thus impregnating Hagar with Ishmael. Asking the right questions of God is not a sin of unbelief, so I encourage anyone who has questions, ask freely.

If you noticed in both of these readings, God told us how we get into unbelief. We forget His works and His wonders He has shown us. Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." 8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?" 9 "Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?" 10 "Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?" I guarantee every person reading this book, if we stop and think long enough, can think of a wondrous thing God has done in our lives. Maybe someone just became a Christian moments before they started reading this book, but if they will think about how vile all men are before they are redeemed, then they can at least look at the wondrous redemptive process and start from there. If God had not shown us how great the gift He offered was, then we would never have been able to accept it. Keep the gift of salvation and all God's wonders always in your minds. Meditate on them and dwell on them. For any of us who have ever seen any miracle, either in healing, our finances, broken relationships, whatever the case, then meditate and dwell on those things also. If we get distracted and start thinking about the cares of the world, we too will forget His works and will cease to believe God. Mark 4:35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filing. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And thy awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? "How is it that you have no faith?" Another way we get into unbelief is we forget His Words. This includes the written Word and the promises and instructions given by the Bible, but also the personal words of instructions God gives each of us personally. Jesus told the disciples, Mark 4:35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side." He did not say, "Let us get half way across and drown. If they had understood who was giving them instructions, and they had kept his saying in their minds, even when the storm was at its worst, there would have been no room for fear. God's word is absolute. If He has told you to go preach his word, then go preach it and leave the how to him. If you do not know how to go about His instructions then ask Him questions. If there is no doubt God told us to do something, then there should not be a fear of being able to do it, whether by ability or financing. I understand we are human, and those fears will arise, but when they do, it is time to make a course correction by meditating on His written and personal words given to us. I wonder what Jesus' reaction to the disciples would have been if one of them had gone to Him, calmly woke Him up and said, "Sorry to bother you Master, for I know You said that we would make it to the other side, so I know it is true, but I was just wondering, is there something I need to be doing in the mean time? Do I need to row, bale, or pray, or should I just be still?" He might have received the praise spoken by Jesus of the Centurion, Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"

 

Numbers 20: 7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."

Another way we get into unbelief is by becoming frustrated with our surroundings. Moses was surrounded by whiners and complainers, and allowed their bad attitudes get to him. God told Moses to gather the people and if he would only speak to the rock water would gush forth. Because Moses did other than what God told him by striking the rock, (I do not know if that means Moses believed he had to add to what God said to get the results, or if it was because Moses did something that obscured what God did by striking the rock, thus giving someone the opportunity to say, "The water was already there, and by Moses striking the rock, he set the water lose by breaking the cap on top of the flow of water.") we see God was not pleased by Moses action and called it unbelief. God gives specific directions and words and to do any thing outside of those instructions is unbelief. We do not have to add to what God said to do, nor should we do anything which draws the attention to us instead of to God. Even when we are in situations where everyone around us is in unbelief and is whining and complaining, we have to check ourselves, study God's word, remember what God has done for us and told us to do, and then do not add any of our own "righteousness or works" to His gifts. Then we will know we are walking in faith. Remember, Jesus' righteousness is enough to make our whole person righteous in the sight of God, so if anyone screws up, God no longer has to get us for it. Romans 11:16 For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 10 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty but fear.

An important point is made in this Scripture. Even when we fail and get into unbelief, if we will only reach out to Jesus, He is ready and willing to save us. Jesus is always there, and He does not get fed up with our failures. He often asked the question about how long He would suffer the disciples unbelief, but I do not believe He was saying He was getting ready to cut them off for their constant failures. I believe He knew time was short to get the disciples ready before His time was finished. Because Jesus was constantly having to repeat the same lessons, and then very time the disciples seemed to learn something, they soon forgot the lesson. Jesus, because He was in His earthly form, did not have access to all the foreknowledge of God the Father at the time He was walking on the earth, and as such, He was justifiably concerned about the disciples ability to trust in Him and in God when the time came to stand without Him there in a physical body. Mark 16:10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. 12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

The final thought for this chapter is this, until we are able to believe, without seeing a manifestation with our physical eyes, that God's Word is the absolute truth, then there will always be room for doubt in our hearts. We have to become so immersed in God's Word that if we were on our deathbed, or spending our last penny, or facing what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle, what God's Word says takes precedence over the physical manifestations we see. Matthew 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." God has given us all things in the spiritual realm and all we have to do to get those things into the physical is to believe, not doubting anything, and we will have whatsoever we say. We have to get your mental valve lined up with the Word of God and His will for our lives. If we have to see it before we believe it, then very few of the things God wants for our lives will ever manifest themselves. We will turn off God's ability to work in our lives to the extent that He wants. He will be left trying to pick up the pieces of the mess that we have made.

John 20: 29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Matthew 14: 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Psalm 78: 9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. 10 They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, 11 and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. 12 Marvelous thing He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 13He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters stand up like a heap, 14 in the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink in abundance like the depths. 16 He also brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. 17 But they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. 18 And they tested God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. 19 Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 20 Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" 21 Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; so a fire was kindled against Jacob , and anger also came up against Israel, 22 Because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation. 23Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, 24 had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. 25 Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. 26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; and by His power he brought in the south wind. 27 He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; 28 and He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. 29 So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire. 30They were not deprived of their craving; but while their food was still in their mouths, 31 The wrath of God came against them, and slew the stoutest of them, and struck down the choice men of Israel. 32 In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works. 33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility, and their years in fear.

Psalm 106: 6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. 7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea- the Red sea. 8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. 12 Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. 13 They soon forgot His words; they did not wait for His counsel, 14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. 15 And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. 16 When they envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord, 17 the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram. 18 A fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. 19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. 20 Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. 21 They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, 22 wondrous works in the land of Ham, awesome things by the Red Sea. 23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them. 24 Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, 25 but complained in their tents, and did not heed the voice of the Lord. 26 Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, 27 to overthrow their descendants among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

 

VII

 

PROMISES TO BELIEVERS

2 Samuel 22: 31 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

 

Now we should have the concept of how much God loves us and is faithful, despite any mistakes that we may make. We know anything we ask of God by faith, we are qualified to receive our requests by the blood of Jesus, not by any actions that we ourselves do or do not take. We know that real abiding faith in God and in His word will produce actions, but actions will never produce results from God. We know we have to meditate on every good thing God has ever done for us. And last, but certainly not least, we know we have to become so full of the word that what God said to and about us becomes more real to us than anything we see, hear, taste, smell, or feel. I wanted to add some specific promises for specific needs all of us have at one time or the other. If YOU and I will meditate on all these things, and apply them with the precepts already established by the Word of God and set forth in this book YOU and I will walk a little closer to how Jesus walked.

 

God did the work, you only have to receive it

Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

 

Did anyone notice in this Scripture, Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith? All we have to do to release faith is to learn to agree with the Word of God. We do not have to finish our own faith, it has already be done for us. Just understand it, accept it and confess it, just as we did for salvation and it will work for us the same as salvation did.

2 Corinthians 4: 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

We all have the same spirit of faith. None are lacking in this area. I know we do not all operate at the same level, but the faith is already there in the spirit. What we lack is the knowledge to operate in the faith. I am reminded of a joke I learned as a kid, growing up in Texas where Aggie jokes are very popular. An Aggie graduate went to work for a logging company and the foreman, as was customary with all new employees, gave him a handsaw to work with. Every day, the foreman would check the amount of work that the employees were getting done, and he was surprised to find out that the Aggie was turning in more cut lumber than any other employee, even the employees that had been supplied with chain saws. The foreman was very impressed, called the Aggie into his office, and presented him with a brand new chain saw. The Aggie was thankful and went back to work to try out his new chainsaw. After about a week, the foreman noticed that the Aggie, while still turning in a respectable amount of cut lumber, was not turning in nearly as much cut lumber as he had when using the handsaw. The foreman called the Aggie into the office and scolded him for getting lazy after he promoted him to the new saw. The Aggie was contrite, and apologized profusely, ensuring the foreman that he had been working harder than ever because of the honor given to him by the foreman. The foreman asked the Aggie if it were possible that there was something wrong with the chainsaw and the Aggie told him that the saw did seem to be slowing his progress down tremendously. The foreman asked for the chainsaw and the Aggie handed it over. The foreman grasped the handle of the starter rope, pulled it two to three times and the chainsaw roared to life, running loudly, at which point the Aggie asked, "What is that sound." The Aggie in this story had been given a very powerful tool, but he did not know how to operate it. Instead of starting the chainsaw he was attempting to use it the same way he had used the handsaw. The power was there all along. All he had to do was learn to run the equipment and he could have turned out much more work with much less effort. It is the same with most of us. God has given us very powerful tools, tools which take all the work and striving out of the Christian life, but we try to operate them without turning on the valve. In essence we are frustrating the grace of God by trying to use a chainsaw the same way we used the handsaws we were using before we were born again.

John 14: 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the father'? 10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. 15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 "And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

 

 

Even Jesus did not do any miracles in His own power. God did the miracles through Jesus. Jesus did not do anything as God, because while He walked on the earth, He walked as a man, not as God. God worked through Jesus the same way Jesus says later in these verses that He would work through us, for He said, John 14: 14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. Jesus did not say you have to do anything more than just ask, but we know from other verses in the Bible that asking has to be done in faith, without doubting. The faith is in your spirit and is complete in Christ, so the only thing which remains is the renewing of our minds to remove the doubt.

John 16: 25 "These things I have spoke no you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 26"In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 "for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.

 

 

What Jesus is telling us in these verses is, we do not have need for Him to ask the Father anything. We do not have to pray to any of the "saints" or to Him. We should ask our petitions of the Father, of God Himself. Because we are in Jesus, we are children of God and God will hear any of our petitions. When we were small, we did not have to hire a lawyer, or call up the preacher, or hire a mediator to ask our parents to feed us at night. We told them that we were hungry and they heard us. It is the same with God. WE are His children. He does not need for anyone to speak for us. He wants to, and does hear the request straight from YOU.

 

Ephesians 4: 4 there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each on of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

 

 

Remember, grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift, not according to what we have accomplished, what our talents are, or what we can do for God. It is for God's good pleasure that we were made, and it is for His Good pleasure when He gives us gifts and treasures. God has done all the work, just get into agreement with the work and the Christian life becomes something God does through us instead of what we do for God. I guarantee that anyone who can get to the point that it is Christ living in them instead of them living for Christ, everything they are struggling with now will seem like child's play. That does not mean, surrendering to God's will is easy. Not because there is a lot we have to do, but because there is a lot we have to learn so we can to let go of things and turn them over to God. The only way to learn to let God walk for you is to study the Word of God until it becomes first nature to you, not second nature.

 

Faithfulness

 

 

While it is important for us to be faithful in all we do, my focus in this section is the faithfulness of God. If God said it, He will fulfill it. He does not rescind His Word. His Word is binding and can never be changed. God said that He is not a man that He should lie.

Hebrews 10: 19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

 

 

God is faithful, so if we are having problems in our walk with God, the problem is in us. The problem in essence is that we are not (paraphrased), "drawing near with a true heart in full assurance of faith". If there were a true understanding of just how much God wants for you, then there would never be a doubt as to what God would do for you. God is always faithful, Psalm 36:5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds, and wants to shower more over His children than any of us know. Most of us miss what God has to offer because we have doubts about whether God would do anything special for me. I am not good enough. I am not smart enough. Your right, but just as we would love to give gifts to our grandchildren, so God wants to shower us with gifts. Many people use this verse to refer only to the fact that we have to remain faithful to the confession of faith in the saving grace of Christ Jesus. This verse means much more. It also means, if we are believing for deliverance, healing, financial prosperity, whatever we are believing God for, we have to hold fast to the faith that God is faithful, and get our minds renewed to the point we can believe it without any fear, doubt, worry, or any other manifestation of anything that is not faith.

Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These things are promises from God and as such, they are always present in our Christ Like Spirit. If we are feeling any thing else then we are not walking in the spirit. We are walking in the flesh, and moreover, our minds are not renewed so that we are thinking the way the Bible teaches us to think. God does not want us to experience any other feelings than these because to feel anything else is to experience death to a certain degree. It was Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden which allowed these negative feelings and emotions to enter into the human condition. God did not build these things into any of us. They are a result of Adam's sin and as such, they are death, and they are themselves sin. God wants us to walk in joy, peace, and all the rest of the fruit of the Spirit, not because it will allow us to manifest and do anything for God, but because it is better for us. God loves us. The added bonus to walking in the fruit of the Spirit is that we can then manifest the power of God and be a light to the world.

Exodus 34: 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

 

 

For those of us who are not perfect, and this means that all of us need this section, this verse is here for our comfort. Even though we continually fail to walk exactly as Jesus walked, even though God has put that same power on the inside of us in our spirits, God is not perplexed with our failures. God is not upset with us. His feelings are not hurt. God loves us and will always offer longsuffering and mercy. If we never get any better in our Christian walks, or maybe even get worse in our Christian walks than we were the day we accepted salvation, God still loves and forgives us. As a matter of fact, as far as God is concerned, we are as perfect and as pure as Jesus Christ and He does not even see our failings. If we are feeling condemned, frustrated, or any other emotion over our failures, those feelings are not from God. God wants us to know we are perfect in His sight and He does not impute any failures of the flesh to us. Many believe by teaching this level of forgiveness, it will cause people to go live in sin. I believe If we can get this concept it will not free us to keep failing, it will free us from failure so that we can move on and continue to grow. We should never become so disheartened that we no longer seek the face of God and attempt to renew our mind. If we get discouraged and quit, it is our own prosperity, and I am not necessarily referring to finances here, which will suffer. If anyone who reads this doesn't get anything from it besides the fact that no matter how badly you fail God still sees them as completely perfect and they can therefore go boldly into the presence of God, Ephesians 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him, to continue trying again, without condemnation and fear, then this book has been absolutely successful.

Protection

 

 

God offers many kinds of protection to believers. Protection from negative emotions, protection for our property and finances. Protection for our family and close friends. Protection for our physical bodies. But most of all protection for our spiritual selves.

2 Samuel 22: 1 then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he said: "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence. 4 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

 

 

David knew God is the one who delivers one from his enemies. Because David had this understanding and because he knew God would always take care of him, David always had faith. That does not and has never meant that God would casually eliminate any people who come against believers. To do so means God would have to kill anyone who would persecute the Christian. If God were to kill all those who persecute Christians then Paul would never have existed because God would have killed him when he was persecuting Stephen. What then was David believing for if God does not always deliver you from the physical persecution of the unbeliever? God will give you the grace to stand even in the face of certain death, just as he gave the Early Christians the grace to sing and praise God even when they were being fed to the lions or burned at the stake. Psalm 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You. 11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. 12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 9: 9 The Lord also will be a refuge in times of trouble. 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Acts 7: 54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he has said this, he fell asleep.

 

God often delivers those who trust Him in miraculous ways. Daniel in the lions den. Meshach Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Paul was stoned on more than one occasion and raised up. I can not explain why Stephen was not able to walk away from the stoning which killed him, just as Paul later did, but I do know God gave Stephen the power and the ability to overcome the situation even as he was murdered. It is not necessary and the Bible does not allow for fear of those who would do us harm. Proverbs 29:25 the fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. God will see us through those trials, and by our strength, he will convict the hearts of those who wrong us. This is not limited to physical harm. It can also refer to those who cheat us in business, use us spitefully by lying and speaking evil of us. God will bear us up through those trials also and those who speak evil will be snared by the words of their own mouths.

Philippians 1: 19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

 

This is one of those instances where I get to amend what I have written even before this book goes where anyone else has the chance to read it. A few days after writing that I did not know why Stephen was stoned to death and Paul was later to walk away from being stoned to death, God gave me the answer in the scriptures above. Rather than going back and changing what I had originally written, I left it just as I had finished it before moving on. I merely added these verses and this section so some of you will have the opportunity to see how God can answer questions about His Word by using His Word. As I was reading this section of text, it struck me that Paul was saying He had a choice as to whether or not he would die in his current circumstances. I know that sounds unfathomable, but there it is. This is another one of those Scriptures I have heard taught one way my whole life, but an honest look at just exactly what the Text says does not bear out those teachings. I have always heard that what Paul was saying here is, whether or not God thought the Philippians would have further need of his teachings would determine whether or not God would allow Paul to die in his current circumstances. An honest look at what Paul wrote completely dismisses this teaching. At no point did Paul say He was waiting for God to tell him whether he would live or die. Paul said, "yet what I shall choose I cannot tell." I looked up the word, in a Greek study Bible Dictionary, and found that the word which was translated as "shall choose," was haireomai. The definition given for haireomai is; to take for oneself, I.e. to prefer or choose. I then went to the lexical aids for the word haireomai and found other possible definitions for the word were as follows; to take up, to choose, to choose out, elect, to be called or named, or hairetos, a verbal adj. signifying that which may be taken. Unless a person were willing to take the literal meanings of the word haireomai and then say Paul misspoke, and he really didn't mean what is written here, then you would have to admit Paul was saying that in this, and possibly all situations, someone who has a full understanding of the Power of God working inside them, has a choice as to whether or not a situation will kill them or not. This verse did not say Paul had the power to choose what people would do to him, just that he had a choice as to whether or not what they would do to him had the ability to end his life or not. Jesus did something very similar during the crucifixion where the gospels say, "Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. The word in Matthew which was translated as yielded up is aphiemi, and it means; to send (an intense form), to send forth, cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up. In John the word which was translated as gave up, is paradidomi, which is; to surrender, I.e. yield up, entrust, transmit; betray, bring forth, cast, commit, deliver (up), give (over, up), hazard, put in prison, recommend. Jesus said, John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. and, John 10:15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." Jesus said He lays His life down and takes it up again. No one can take His life. Most of us keep getting stuck on who is doing the speaking, thinking, "yeah, but Jesus is God." That is true, but as we discussed earlier, Jesus did nothing as God while He walked this earth as a man. He operated in the same power as other men. The only thing Jesus had over anyone else is that He had a revelation of the power which resided in the Holy Spirit, which in turn resided in Him. You and I have that same Holy Spirit, and it sounds to me like Paul was saying the same thing about himself that Jesus said of Himself. They had the power to choose. Therefore, anyone who is a born again Christian, and has received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit also has the power to choose. Anyone who has their life taken from them against their wills, is simply because they do not have the revelation of this choice and are defeated for a lack of knowledge. What about Stephen then? Stephen was a man full of the Holy Spirit. Taught by the Apostles themselves. How is it that Stephen's life was taken from him? There are two possible answers. Just because someone has the basic concept does not mean that they are able to walk in the power of the revelation, because they may have doubts they are harboring in their hearts. However, in this case with Stephen, I feel that when Stephen looked into Heaven, and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, Stephen made the choice that he would rather be there than to remain here, thus he said, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit." I believe Stephen was announcing that he had made a choice, and his choice was to "lay down his life" and move on to heaven rather than remain where he was.

1 Peter 2: 4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone," 8 and "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

 

 

God will not allow His children to be put to shame. No one who has ever been killed or persecuted for their faith in God have ever been thought of as losers. I realize there are certain segments of society who may believe such a person is a loser, but by and large, if for no other reason, most people, even non believing people, admire such a person's dedication. The problem with many Christians is we are not living victorious lives. It may even be many Christians are even living in such a way that most of our neighbors do not even know we are Christians. Then during a funeral, or during a conversation, when someone mentions that we were Christians, everyone who knew us is astonished by the news. God has again been limited by our lifestyles and choices so that He can not erase the shame we have brought into our own lives. God wants all His children to be victorious, but He will not thrust victory upon us unbidden.

1Thessalonians 4: 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

 

 

The greatest victory we have over the unredeemed is the assurance that we will spend eternity with the Father. Even when things are the darkest, if we can stay focused on the larger picture, then we will have joy and peace in persecution. When it comes right down to it, if we win we win, and if we are killed we win. 2 Timothy 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. God has provided everything that we need to live a victorious life. All that is left is for us to get into agreement with the Word of God and procure the victory that has already been provided.

Guidance

Psalm 18: 30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

 

 

God's way is prefect. There is nothing that could happen to us which God has not already prepared for. He knows what is necessary for us today, as well as tomorrow. Often the way God delivers us from the trials and tribulations of this life is by leading us around the pitfall rather than through it. I believe that more often than not, the reason we are persecuted and have travails is because we do not heed His voice when He tells us not to go that way. God has provided for us to be led by His Holy Spirit and He wants to be in on every decision we make. When we get up in the morning, He wants to help you decide which pair of socks to wear. Not because He has a need to be absolutely controlling, but because He is just that absolutely interested in our lives.

John 16: 7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 "of righteousness, because I go to My father and you see Me no more; 11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

 

 

I have often heard, and have said myself, "If only I were walking on this earth in the presence of the physical manifestation of Jesus. Jesus said it was better for us that He go away. Many have taught that the reason it was better for Him to go was because He had to go and complete the plan of Salvation and He could not do it if He did not go. Jesus said the reason it was better for us if He were to go is because if He did not then the Holy Spirit would not come. When Jesus went, the Holy Spirit was sent in his place and instead of everyone having to go find Jesus' physically, each one of us now has the Holy Spirit living inside us. Because the Holy Spirit is there, we have instant and constant access to the leadership and the power of God, which is always at the fingertip of every believer.

John 17: 7 "Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 "I pray for them, I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10"And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

John 17: 20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 "that they all may be one, as You, Farther, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

 

 

Jesus did not say that the power, the guidance, and the Holy Spirit were for His disciples only, but for all who would believe on Him. Even those who would come later and believe, not by seeing Him in the flesh, but by the words of those who came before them. God is constant, and He did not prepare His Holy Spirit for a select few, but for every believer every where and for all time. Just as God spoke to Paul and led him from nation to nation, working miracles and giving him the words to change nations, God is willing to do the same through us. Just as God was willing to give direction to Peter through visions and dreams, God is also willing to do the same for us. Just as God was willing to lead Philip to the Ethiopian Eunuch, give him the words to teach the Eunuch, and then supernaturally translate Philip from the desert to Azotus, so God is willing to do all things for and through us. God will lead us in all things, by telling us where, how, and when to go, as well as what to do and say when we get there.

1 Ephesians 1: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

 

 

God will give us guidance, not only by speaking to us through the Spirit, but by illuminating or giving you enlightenment in the Word of God. The words God speaks are Spirit and Life and he will use those words which have been written and given to us as the Holy Bible to teach and lead us. Every circumstance that we find ourselves in has been covered by the Bible. Many people believe the Bible is outdated and can not give relevant advice or leadership for today's world, but I say that is because they are reading with spiritually dead eyes and minds. The Bible when revealed to us by the Holy Spirit has the answers for all of our questions as pertaining to our conduct, and what is good and holy in the sight of God. As for the individual guidance of what God wants specifically for each of us to do and where He wants us to do them, those are the things God speaks directly to us.

 

John 10: 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

 

 

Now the question is, how do I distinguish God's voice from other voices I hear. All of us have our own minds, our imaginations, our natural consciences, Satan, and myriad other voices in the world. As we practice hearing the voice of God the Bible promises we will learn to distinguish His voice from other voices. Jesus said His sheep hear His voice and believe. One of the primary ways we learn to hear God's voice is to become saturated with the Word of God. Then when we hear any other voice and that voice does not line up with what God has said, then we know that voice is not of God. There are numerous verses in the Bible which discuss how to receive guidance from God. If I were to break down all the principals in this book and explain even the little bit I understand on each subject, it would take a lifetime to compete this book, and it would be thousands of pages long. This book is only intended to express the truth that there is a world of spiritual growth and experience out there and most of us are missing it. Hopefully knowing this spiritual realm is there will make us hungry enough to start seeking for the truths concerning the Christian life in the Bible and through anointed teachers of His word. Did I mention that everyone should spend a large amount of time digesting the scriptures found in the Bible.

Power

Mark 11: 20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 "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." 24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

Whosoever says to this mountain "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt but believes shall have whatsoever they say. Why is it that we have so much trouble with this verse. It does not say we might, we may, we could, or if we hold our mouths right, it says we WILL have them. I would assume the main reason most of us don't believe this verse is because we have so often asked and not received what we asked for. Why did we not receive? Because we asked for things for which we doubted. Or we ask for things which we could never believe for, because deep down we knew whatever things we were asking, we wanted them so we might consume them in our own flesh. Any time we ask selfishly, we can not believe for the request without doubt. If for healing that we might glory in ourselves, or wealth that we might gain wealth, on and on the list could go. There is no way, if we know our own motives are impure, we can truly believe for what we are asking. I know many times in myself, on the surface, I convinced myself that what I was asking was for the glory of God, but no one can deceive themselves in their own hearts. This is why Jesus said if we believe, not doubting in our hearts, we would receive . On the surface, we can fool even ourselves, but deep down inside, we always know the truth about ourselves.

Mathew 19: 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

 

This verse is interesting for what it does not say. It does not say that it is God who can do anything. It says "with God all things are possible." God chooses to work through people and because His decision is final, He must work through people. This verse makes it clear that the things God does is going to be through people, not God doing the thing on His own. God does this so that we, his children can share in a measure of His honor. God wants you and I to be able to experience the good He does so we can know how good He is.

1 Chronicles 29: 10 Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.

 

 

David knew God is the source of all power and honor. There is what appears to be power and honor in the world, but those things are only pale counterfeits which deceive the masses. People believe it is wealth, fame, political power, or physical strength which produces power and honor. All of those things outside of God are empty deeds and are every bit the whited sepulchers that Jesus described when He was speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees in Jesus' day were the doers of the law rather than the believers in God. While there are still plenty of "law doers" today, I propose that the majority of the Pharisees today are the movie stars, the politicians, the athletes, and the successful businessmen who operate in the world system, outside the will and power of God. These people outwardly appear to have everything together, just as the average Jew of Jesus' day thought the Pharisees had it all. Then as now the confused masses believe the rich and famous have it figured out. Satan is certainly happy with this deception because he loves nothing so much as a pursuit of power which most often supersedes a relationship with God.

Psalm 68: 35 O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.

 

 

God is more awesome than the gifts He gives. There is always more to God than what we are capable of receiving. We typically, in our conscience mind, want everything God has, but most of us, in our hearts or subconscious, can't even receive what God has already offered beyond the initial salvation from sins. The power God gives us is great, but there is always untapped power we have not even been able to comprehend. The things Jesus did while He was on this earth were amazing, but He did not come close to tapping the full power of God, else He would not have told the disciples that they would do greater works than even He Himself had done. John 14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. I am not suggesting that Jesus was lacking in His walk with God or that there was more God could have done through Him at the time, but Jesus' mission at the time was limited. He only had a limited time to accomplish everything He had to fulfill for our sakes. God always has a reserve of power of which we as believers have not even scratched the surface. I have also heard it said that Jesus did not mean what He appears to have said in this verse, because the "greater" works had nothing to do with healing, walking on water, etc. Those who teach this particular doctrine are usually referring to the widespread written Word of God, widespread evangelism in the world, and widespread use of television to promote the Gospel. I can not even begin to contemplate how someone would equate these verses to mean, what a few dedicated men did centuries ago to get the King James Bible printed, the paltry amounts of money most of us throw in the offering bucket, (so that a very few of us actually go out and do the work of the ministry), or harnessing the "power" of a technological advancement to reach our neighbor because we ourselves are too timid to go talk to them ourselves. Anyone who believes this way is being very loose with the interpretation of scripture and down right intellectually dishonest. Jesus did none of those things, yet He said those who believe would do the works He did. Just as with other verses, He did not limit those "things" to a time period before the compilation of the Bible, limit them only to His Apostles, or make any other restrictions. He said "he who believes," and that means anyone who believes and is willing to walk as Jesus did, He has given them the power, in His name, to do the works He Himself did, and even greater works. If every man, woman or child on the face of the earth, who professes to be a Christian walked in Christ perfectly to the degree that they accessed every bit of God's power that is available to the believers, God's power would not even be strained, not even a little bit. When God said that He is all powerful, He meant just that. It is not God's power which is limited in the earth today, it is the ability and the willingness of His children in the earth to wield the power God offers, so that the un-cleansed masses might see, be drawn, and be cleansed, thus multiplying God's influence in this fallen world. I realize that if every Christian on earth were walking exactly as Jesus walked while He was here, there would still be those who would deny the faith and turn to their own destructions, but just imagine the impact that kind of light would have on the dark and dismal soul of a lost world.

Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 

 

God wants you to walk in His power. This verse does not say to be strong in your power, or the power of your pastor, or the power of your congregation or even the power of your finances. It also does not say to be strong because you have the knowledge that the Lord is powerful. This verse says to be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might. That means to be filled with God and to be filled with His power. Just how strong is God's power? It is limitless. God does not want His children to be limited by their preconceived notions, ideas, or doubts about Him. God will not become wearied by your continued failures, but not understanding that there is always more of God will leave you thinking, "Just maybe, I have already tapped all God has or will offer me." If you are less than what Jesus was, then I guarantee you have not reached your potential in Christ, because if you have not done the works Jesus has, then I guarantee you have not done the greater works.

 

 

Healing and power over Satan

 

 

The reason I grouped healing and power over Satan in the same section is because often times when Jesus was healing, He sometimes just healed people, and sometimes He cast demons out of people and as a result they were healed. Matthew 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 "So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. I realize that every sickness is not a demonic manifestation, but if the person is not possessed by a demon who is hiding inside them, then at least they have been invaded by seemingly natural infestations of germs, viruses, mental illness, or other malicious cells such as cancer. I said seemingly natural, because much of what we accept as natural in today's fallen world are not natural. When God created the world, there were no such things as death, thorns, weeds, or animals that ate other animals. Likewise there was no sickness. All of those things came because of the fall of man and as such they are not natural. We, because we have grown up in this fallen world have learned to accept these things as natural. The problem is, just because we accept a thing as natural does not make it true. For thousands of years people believed the Earth was flat. The Earth did not become a globe just because people suddenly accepted it was so, it was round from the very beginning. Likewise, just because we accept that sin, or sickness, or any other thing which is a result of the fall of man is just natural, does not make it so. Those viruses, or malignant cells which have invaded your body are just as much a demonic manifestation, meaning that they are not what God intended for His people, as true demons are. If we could get this concept then when the Bible says to resist Satan and he will flee from you, likewise sickness and disease are subject to the same power of God.

Luke 9: 1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 4 "Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 "And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them." 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

 

 

We know Jesus had the power to heal. I don't think there is anyone who would question the fact that Jesus gave His power to the disciples. Even during Christ's time here on earth, He sent His twelve disciples out into the land to cast out demons and cure diseases. Notice, when He gave them instructions, He did not tell them to seek out those who God wanted healed. He only said, if they are sick, heal them. The only limitation placed on the disciples was that they were not to force themselves on anyone who did not receive them. In essence, if someone does not wish for you to heal them or to tell them the truth, then leave them alone. It is as if Jesus were saying, "My gift is only for those who wish to receive it, I will not force anyone to take what I offer." The biggest point, in my mind, to take from this Scripture is how it early the event occurred in the book of Luke. This is not late in Jesus' ministry after He has the disciples well trained. A person does not have to be a super saint to pray for their healing or the healing of others, they just have to understand what it is they are praying for. This does not mean a person has to have a complete understanding, but it does mean they have renewed there mind enough that their doubt will not short-circuit the power of God in their lives in a given area. We, today, are at a tremendous disadvantage in this area, because of the incredible access we have to various forms of media. The news loves to report bad news and as a result we are usually inundated with death, disease, and the decay which results from living in a fallen world. Each of us has plenty of death and decay in our own small part of the world without wallowing in everyone else's too. Unfortunately, it has been my observation, that especially in news medias of all types, it seems whenever someone does manage to report a good story, they play it up to the point that it appears good news is a rarity in the world. This tends toward pessimisms, and while I am not saying Christians should have their heads buried in the sand, I am saying Christians need to go out of their way to find the good news and the miracles which happen every day, instead of digesting bad news only. Then we should spend enough time, on a daily basis, in the word of God to counterbalance all of the bad news we hear during the day.

Luke 10: 1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 "Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4 "Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. 5 "But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.' 6 "And if a son of peace is there your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. 7 "And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 "Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. 9 "And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

 

 

As I sated above, any true Christian believes Jesus gave healing powers to the disciples, but what most of us miss is while Jesus was still on this earth, before his death burial and resurrection, Jesus sent others, besides the twelve disciples, out into the field and gave them the same power and instructions He gave the twelve. Here Jesus appointed seventy others and sent them out. As we learn later in the book of John, the four Gospels are only a synopsis of the things Jesus did, and the miracles Jesus performed. John said that if all Jesus did while he was here had been written, then the world itself could not have contained all the pages of the books which would have been written. I know what I am about to say may be a leap of logic, but it is possible, given this verse and John's later statement, Jesus made a regular practice of sending numerous people ahead of Him to heal the sick and cast out demons. We as the Church, have to quit thinking of the power of God as something whose use is limited to pastors, preachers, apostles, teachers, etc. God's power and anointing is for believers, and as such He wants us all to walk in His power, that His name might be glorified.

Mark 9: 38 Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us." 39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in my name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 "For he who is not against us is on our side."

 

Poor Jesus, He was having to deal with a religious spirit, even among His most trusted disciples. They find someone in one of the towns they go to, who had heard the good news about Jesus from someone. This person had gotten a revelation about the fact Jesus' name is powerful to anyone who believes, and they started walking in that authority and power. Here comes poor old misguided super disciple, who is going to protect Jesus by stopping someone from doing great and powerful miracles in His name. Why? Because "the man" hadn't been to any of their anointing meetings yet. After all, who did this guy think he was, hearing, believing and receiving without permission? Oh but if only we could be like this man and get past those limitations in our own lives and in our minds. This man, whom the disciples found , was truly doing miracles, as the text clearly says he was "casting out demons in Your name." We do not have to seek permission from anyone. The permission has already been given by Jesus, else this man could not have done these miracles. It is the religious spirit which was pervasive in that day as well as today which wants to limit spiritual matters to only the leaders of the church, rather than have every last born again believer walk in the fullness of the Father.

Matthew 10: 7 "And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

 

 

Freely you have received, freely give. The reason most of us have problems with this statement, is because we do not believe we have received anything. We try to give the only thing we believe we have, and that is forgiveness of sins. But so what! While I was working in law enforcement, I saw two members of a street gang called the Satan's Disciples, who after they had gotten into a fight and severely beat each other, they turned around, shook hands and forgave each other. If the only thing we as Christians are offering to people today is forgiveness, we are truly shorting people on what God offers. I will be honest, Dr. Phil probably does a better job of forgiving than most of us. When we limit the power of God in our lives, we limit all of it, including the area of forgiveness, and in essence most of us are demonstrating absolutely nothing to this lost world. Healing and power over demons is a part of the atonement Jesus made on the cross. It is not for a bygone era, or for a select group of people in history. God's power is for those who believe, and I hope, at least by this point we are talking about YOU. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." 17 "And these signs will follow those who believe; In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "They will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."

Acts 4: 29 "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."

 

I know there are some who are stuck on the fact that all of the above examples happened during Jesus' earthly ministry. Here Peter and John are still operating in signs and miracles after Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father. Also prior to this verse, the Bible says Acts 4: 23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders has said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them. This verse is not only about granting boldness to Peter and John, and I do not believe, as has been commonly taught, this verse is referring to the apostles. The Bible clearly teaches, at the time this event occurred, the apostles were already living with a multitude of believers, Acts 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those were being saved. I believe when Peter and John made this proclamation, they were speaking to and about the group of their companions, not just the other apostles.

Acts 28: 7 In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

 

Let me just go ahead and give the next "but." But we are still talking about the original twelve apostles of Jesus. It was by them these signs continued after Christ. What about Paul? He was not one of the original twelve. He was appointed as an apostle, by Jesus Christ Himself, and it happened years after Christ was already gone from the earth. I have heard it taught by some, Paul was added as an apostle to replace Judas (those who say such must have missed the first part of Acts where Mathias replaced Judas). I do not find this "theory" borne out anywhere in Scripture. The fact that Paul was added as an apostle is indisputable. The fact that Paul eventually joined, for a short time, the other apostles, is also indisputable. What I do not find is the theory espousing that Paul was added because Judas was no longer among the original twelve. In fact Paul was the thirteenth recorded Apostle. Others teach that Paul was added because the first twelve apostles were for the nation of Israel only and Paul was to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul was in fact an apostle who went often to the gentiles, but according to the Scriptures, all who are in Christ are sons of Abraham. If this be true, and it is, then would not any one of the other apostles have been sufficient? While we are speaking about Paul, lets just go ahead and continue with his conversion and ministry for a moment. Acts 9:10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 "And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." 17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. Ok, I have checked and rechecked, but this guy, Ananias was never one of the original twelve apostles. As a matter of fact, who is this guy who he can lay hands on an apostle, heal him, and anoint him with the Holy Spirit? Just who does he think He is. Maybe he is one who believes, and that is always enough. Well, maybe God had to use Ananias because none of the other apostles were close to Paul at the time. When God needed Paul to be heeled and anointed as the apostle to "replace Judas", God just had to make do. Yeah right! Were talking about the same God, who when Philip was baptizing a Eunuch in the desert (we will talk more about who Philip was in just a moment) when Philip came up out of the water he was translated from there to the town of Azotus. If God can translate Philip from one place to another, surely He could have gotten an apostle to Paul, instead of just making due with a one time stunt (I do not for a moment believe this was the only miracle wrought at the hands of Ananias, it just happens to be the only ones recorded) from a nobody, of which no one has ever heard. What about later when; Acts 21:8 On the next day we who were Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

VIII

 

WORKS DOCTRINE

Now there were 4 men on a mountain in California. The first man was walking along a ridge and looked far off across the valley, where he saw a large redwood tree standing next to some railroad tracks. God spoke to the man, told him that there was an earthquake coming, told him to go stand on the tracks beneath the tree, and He would protect him. The man looked at the distance to the tree, and seeing a comfortable old cabin nearby, he decided to take shelter inside to ride out the earthquake in comfort. The second man was much closer to the spot. As he was approaching the tracks from the bottom of the hill. God spoke to the man, told him that there was an earthquake coming, told him to go stand on the tracks beneath the tree, and He would protect him. As the man started toward the tree, he saw a cave in the side of the mountain, decided that the cave would be much stronger and safer, and went inside it for protection. The third man was walking along the tracks, and when he got to the tree, God told him that an earthquake was coming, that he should stop and stand still, and He would protect him. So the man did as God bade him. The fourth man was an engineer who was working in a train way station not too far from where the tree stood. Now this man, because he was working for the railroad, knew that an unmanned runaway train was headed down the tracks toward his way station, and must pass the section where the redwood tree was standing. Now God spoke to the man, told him there was an earthquake coming, told him to go stand on the tracks beneath the tree, and He would protect him. Now as the time for the earthquake approached, the first man had found all the soft pillows and warm blankets in the cabin, and had made for himself a very soft bed to pass the earthquake. The second man had found the strongest point inside the cave and was sheltering there. The third man standing on the tracks looked up and saw a train coming. The man thought to himself that surely God had not meant for him to stand on the tracks when it was obvious that a train was coming, so he went around to the other side of the tree and stood there. The fourth man arrived, saw the train coming, but because he believed God, he went and stood on the tracks. The earthquake came, the side of the mountain came lose and a massive rock slide occurred. The cabin where the first man was hiding was uprooted and the cabin, along with the man where buried by the landslide. The man cried out to God asking why He had taken everything from him and afflicted him. The landslide covered the mouth of the cave where the second man was hiding, trapping him inside. While he was not injured in the earthquake, he soon became hungry and thirsty and cried out to God, asking why He had not provided food and water for him. The third man was caught on the high side of the redwood tree and when the earthquake occurred, the rocks slid down and crushed the man. The man cried out asking God why he had sent him out to the tree to be crushed and injured. The fourth man stood on the tracks even though he could see that within a matter of moments he was going to be crushed by a runaway train. As the earthquake occurred and the landslide started, the train was swept away by the wave of earth. The large redwood was well rooted and the spot where it stood was the strongest part of the mountain, so the tree was able to stand through the earthquake and the landslide. The man looked around him after the dust had settled, saw that there was plenty of room where he was that three to four other people could have stood in safety. The man went away, uninjured and praising God that He had given him such a large place to protect only him. I wonder how many of us in life do other than what God has told us to, and because of it the blessing that was meant for us ended up going to someone else. Had all four men believed God and done as instructed there would have been plenty for all of them. Because three of the men acted without faith, the blessing that had been laid up for them went to the man that was there where God told all of them to be. It is the same with us. All four men took an action, but only one was able to take the correct action. It was absolute faith in what God said that allowed the man to take that action. The others had lingering doubts about God's intentions and because of those doubts they were unable to stand in faith when the time came. It is not action that activates faith. It is faith which activates action. An absolute faith in what God has told you to do will make it impossible to not do what God asked. James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe- and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. These verses from James do not mean we have to do something to prove we have faith. The true message of these verses is, if we truly believe something, our belief will cause us to act a certain way. If we are having to act in an effort to get God to do something, it is because we do not believe God already provided for our needs. We feel we have to do an action to get God to perform what He already promised He has done. The proper way we should look at these things is, If we truly believed God provided for our provisions, we would do what ever it takes to reach that provision. It is like a man who believes there is a million dollars buried in his back yard. If he truly believed the money is there, he will dig up the back yard to find the money. He is not going to stop just because he gets a blister on his hand. Even if he doesn't have a shovel, the man will use a spoon, a stick or whatever comes to hand to dig up the yard. The man who doesn't believe the money is there, but only wishes it is there might start digging, but will not persist for very long. The person who says I believe the money is there, but is not willing to go out into the yard to dig for it, really doesn't believe the money is there at all. They believe someone has lied to them about the money, or perhaps they believe someone else has already taken the money. Either way, it is because they don't really believe the money is in the yard that they will not go dig for it. A true belief or faith will cause a person to go dig, and they will likely be exited to go dig, knowing the end result will be a windfall of cash. True faith will cause an action. If the action is missing, then it is apparent the belief was not genuine. Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. God knows the heart of man and knows whether a person is doing an act out of obedience, faith, or in an effort to gain recognition for themselves. Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. This was the sin of the Pharisees. The actions of the Pharisees was very holy, but Jesus despised the content of their hearts. We have seen many examples of people who have lived seemingly good lives. Gandhi is one example of someone who lived a seemingly holy life, however we know, because he denied Christ, Gandhi's actions were self serving and not truly righteous. Proverbs 28:25 He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered. 26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Righteous acts can never produce faith, but true faith will always produce righteous actions. I wonder how many "saints" we have looked up to for the wonderful things they did, when we reach heaven we will find out they were working in their own power for their own recognition, and they never had a relationship with God.

Ezekiel 33: 13 "When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.

A man's righteousness can never procure anything from God. It is the grace of God which has already provided for all of our needs. Galatians 3:2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain? 5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?- 6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. All obedience to our faith does is to put us in a position to receive what God has already given us. If you do not believe God has provided what you need, don't even bother with the action. If God hasn't already done whatever it is, none of your actions are going to suddenly "motivate" or "guilt" Him into doing anything more. Jesus provided for everything we would ever need, and He provided it two thousand years ago. Galatians 2:16 "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

 

Galatians 5: 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Ephesians 2: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

I do not know how many ways I or the Bible can say it and still be misunderstood. Works do not produce righteousness and are not of faith. Faith is righteousness and will cause you to act, but it is not the action which causes you to be justified or causes God to move. God has already moved. He sent Jesus Christ to forgive all your sins and to provide for all healing, all prosperity, everything necessary for a successful fulfilled life. Nothing was left out. God did not forget something you now need, so that you have to get in God's face and pray enough, fast enough, tithe enough, or any thing else enough to get God to give you something or justify you. Either you believe Jesus did it all for you two thousand years ago, and it is a free gift by the grace of God, or forget it. You can never be good enough to get anything from God based on any physical action you take. It is faith which pleases God, and it is faith in what God has already provided for you. All you have to do is reach out and take the free gift. Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Yes, the reaching forth and taking the gift is an action, but it is faith which produced the action, not the other way around. I hope everyone reading this is getting sick of me beating this dead horse and I pray the reason everyone is so ready to move to the next point is because you understand this point. I fear however, many will read this, saying, "Yeah, yeah, I have it all figured out," and then will go pay their tithes and say in their hearts, "God, see what I did? Now you have to bless me." If that is your attitude, then even something as basic and fundamental as giving will profit you nothing. When you see a need and you just give, out of the love God has placed in your heart, knowing in faith God is faithful to repay, then God has already provided your abundance. So many of us are giving so God will prove Himself like He talked about in Malachi. God has already proved Himself when He bankrupted Heaven to send His son to die in your place, so you can have life more abundantly. Furthermore, you no longer need for God to rebuke the devour on your behalf. God told the New Testament Christian, "If you will resist Satan, he will flee from you. The Old Testament believer did not have power over Satan and had to depend on God in this area. It is still God's power, only He has lent His dominion to you and commanded you to resist Satan. God is not going to resist Satan for you, any more than He is going to walk into the kitchen, fill a glass with water, and bring it to you because you are thirsty. God gave us the authority and the action we are now to take, is to stand on the authority God has given us, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Again, I am not suggesting anyone should stop giving or living righteously. I am only suggesting we get a clear view of where the power to do those things comes from. We can never live holy in our own power, because the very fact we think we are doing anything ourselves is a sin. Titus 1:13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn from the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled, and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. It should be Christ living through us, not us living for Christ. Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

1 John 5: 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

And this brings us back to the primary point. How do we learn to love and to believe God? By love. By getting into the word and renewing our minds. By becoming knowledgeable enough in His Word to honestly say, "I know Him." Knowing about Him is not enough. Knowing someone who knows Him is not going to get it done. It certainly helps if we can find someone who has an intimate knowledge and relationship with God, someone who we can spend time with, who can teach us. In the final analysis though, to truly walk in anything we have discussed in this book, you have to have a deep intimate relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You have to know Him like you know yourself. No one would ever be able to convince you that you were going to strike yourself with cancer, because you love yourself too much. You don't want to see yourself suffer. What we don't understand, is as much as we love ourselves, God loves us more. Yes, to receive everything God wants to give you, there will be some sacrifices we have to make, but once we get to know God as deeply as we know ourselves, the sacrifices can no longer even be considered sacrifices. We would refer to anything the world considers a sacrifice as our mentor Paul when he said, "These things are but a light affliction." Take the time to get into the Word of God and make it your own. It is a love letter written to you by God Himself. None of us would marry someone and then never speak to them again, yet we married ourselves to Christ and seem to be content to have someone tell us about Him on Sunday mornings. You are short changing and short circuiting all that God wishes to do for you. It will not happen automatically, but I guarantee, if you dig deep enough into the word to start believing God, you will not be so easily distracted from seeking a deeper walk with Him. 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

 

HOW TO GET THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART

Nehemiah 9: 7 "You are the Lord God, who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham; 8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites- to give it to his descendants. You have performed Your words. For You are righteous.

God brought Abraham into a covenant and God's covenant with Abraham has been passed down to all believers. All God has ever promised in His word, He is faithful to give to us. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. God, if we will let Him, guides us to the fullness of all His gifts. Most of us miss the abundance of God because we refuse to go where God sends us. I believe whenever God sends us to a place and we do not go there, the gifts of God still show up and are either consumed by someone else, or maybe even just fall to the ground unclaimed. Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 "Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" We can ask diligently, with all belief, but miss out on the promise because we are being stiff necked in some area, and therefore are refusing to go to the spot where God has provided our answer. If we are asking for financial blessings, God does not drop counterfeit money out of the sky and into your lap. He works through people and circumstances to get those finances to us. When the finances are in place, God will tell us where to be so we can benefit from His work, but if we are too busy, "doing our part so that God can make up for our lack," we may be putting ourselves outside of the blessings of God. Obedience to God is never for God's benefit. If it were, then He would not have given us the choice to do other than what He commands. Obedience to God is for our benefit. God is always faithful to do what His Word promises, but many of us, because we are disobedient in some area never see the promise fulfilled. Matthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." One of the primary reasons God told us to be like little children is because little children trust their parents. Even a child who is abused will still believe their parents are going to take care of them. We on the other hand, knowing that in Jesus, God is our parent, yet we do not believe He will fulfill His promises. We believe when we ask for bread, He gives us stones or when we ask for fish, He gives us serpents. Why do we believe these lies. Because somehow, we manage to miss the provision God is constantly providing us. Instead, we act through disobedience and disbelief and receive nothing for our efforts. Then when we receive nothing, we turn around and try to make doctrines out of how God is really blessing us by making us sick, killing our family, destroying our property or finances, etc. God did not do any of those things. It was us through our disobedience who missed God's provision. The reason we would rather place our failures on God is because then He is responsible for our situations instead of ourselves. 1 John 5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. While many of the storms we face as Christians is because we are disobedient to God's instructions, I am not sugesting there will never be storms in life if you are in the perfect will of God. Matthew 14:22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." When Jesus told the disciples to cross the sea in a boat, they were doing what He told them to. When Jesus came to them, walking on the water, they were in the midst of a terrible storm. They were exactly where they were told to be, however, at some point within the storm, they forgot Jesus had told them to cross over, because they were in fear and unbelief. If God tells us to cross the sea, and we act on His word, and a storm of life arrises to hinder us, He will accomplish His word. We will not be prevented from achieving God's purpose. God always provides a way. I am not sugesting the disciples did not have reasons to be afraid and to doubt, but if they could have kept their minds stayed on the instructions Jesus had given them, they would not have been surprised to see Jesus coming to them in the storm. They would have been expecting a miracle. Some of these men were fisherman and would have been very knoledgeable about the weather. I believe they knew when they got into the boat, a storm was coming. The bible says Jesus had to make them get into the boat. We know from earlier verses, Jesus often sent the disciples ahead of himself, yet this time, they did not wish to go. The likely reason they did not want to go was because, while standing on the shore, watching the storm clouds move in, they knew in the natrual, it was a bad idea to be on the sea that night. Yet, give them credit, because Jesus is Jesus and they believed Him, they got into the boat and went. Unfortunately once the storm arose they became fearful, much like Israel in the desert for fourty years with Moses. The disciples looked around saw the natural circumstances, forgot the miracles they had already seen, and doubted God would deliver on His promises. Yes the storm will come, but Jesus has already overcome the storm, and if we are faithful to continue, He also is faithful to accomplish His Word.

 

A Psalm of David

Psalm 37: Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 6 He shall bring froth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who pospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret-it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicdked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Feed on God's faithfulness, for God is always faithful. God wants nothing more than to give us more than we could ever need. So why is it that so many of us do not have the desires of our hearts. Because the Bible sets the stipulation, 1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. Anyone who is asking, but does not believe what they are asking is God's will, then it is impossible to have the faith necessary to bring our petitions to pass. Let me say this again. It is impossible to have faith for something we do not believe is God's will. That means if something is God's will, but we by reason of not knowing God, believe it is not God's will, we can not have faith to bring it to pass. If what we are believing for is opposed to the will of God, then our born again spirit knows we are out of the will of God, and our misplaced faith is short circuited. How then do we ever manage to truly believe for anything. We have to spend time with God and in God's Word. As we get closer to God, He will start to influence our hearts and our minds. The way we think and what we believe will start to change. God will literally place His desires into your heart. The proper understanding of the above verse is not that God will give us whatsoever we desire in our hearts. The proper understanding is, as we become more like God, God's desires will be placed into our hearts. Literally, God will give us the desires of our hearts. When our desires line up with God's desires, God will bring it to pass. We will no longer have to struggle with believing. We will know we are in the will of God. The Lord will bring forth our righteousness. This does not mean God will extol the righteous things we do. Rather it means, as we become more focused on God, and what He has done in us through Christ Jesus, His righteousness will start to flow out of us. Again, as we become closer to God, the perfect love of God will drive out fear. In this verse, the word fret is synonymous with fear. God told us, through David, fear can only cause harm. While it is true that in the natural, living in a state of fear will cause physical and emotional problems, I believe this verse is referring to the fact that living in fear is an inroad of Satan. I think we can all agree, Satan having inroads into our lives is a very bad thing. God tells us not to fret or fear. The way we avoid fear, is to drive out doubt by becoming stayed upon the truths of God and who He is.

And now you know the secret of how to get the desires of your heart. It is not about receiving wants, it is about changing our hearts so our desires line up with God's desires. We can live and even be Christians without focusing on God. I guarantee, and I believe most everyone reading this book can attest from their own experience, living in this state is a hollow life indeed. God wants so much more for you. You can never want more than God is willing to give. He has already given the most precious gift possible, in His son Jesus Christ. All other gifts pale by comparison, yet we believe God does not want us to have things because He is not willing to give us anything so wonderful as wealth. God loves you more than life itself, else He would not have been willing to die and suffer for you. I know this is an enigma, because God is not dead, however, I do not believe any of us truly appreciate how much Jesus Christ suffered when God placed all sin, disease and curses upon Him. I believe Jesus suffered more during the three days He spent in Hell atoning for our sins, than anyone else will suffer for all of eternity. I can not point to a Scripture which bears out this belief, but I believe it is true. Jesus knew what He was in for when He set aside His Godly powers and joined us in the viper's pit, and Jesus gladly paid the price so we did not have to. Why then do we believe God wants to withhold anything else from us, or to have us suffer? For His amusement? Jesus suffered enough for everyone. The suffering is complete. God wishes above all things that we prosper and live and health, even as our souls prosper. Search all things in the Word of God with an understanding that God is love. Get to know the depths of His love and I guarantee He will give you the desires of your heart.

1 Samuel 2: 35 ‘Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

 

Amen.