Fire On Your Head

“…. he that has seen Me has seen the Father….” -John 14.9

In the October 30th selection of My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers gives us this awesome thought:

Until we know Jesus, God is a mere abstraction, we cannot have faith in Him; but immediately we hear Jesus say- “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,” we have something that is real, and faith is boundless. Faith is the whole man rightly related to God by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

The darkness that marks ‘god-seeking’ cultures is profounder and more tragic than we know. Even in modern evangelicalism, there is enough of a measure of humanistic thought that in most cases believers remain unbroken over the condition of mankind. If one were to survey the nation of India, for instance, and the number of gods or goddesses men pursue there, it would become clear that the whole of the nation is pursuing “God” as a mere abstraction.

Men will spend weeks standing on one leg, days and sometimes months in fasting, whole nights in meditation and reading of ancient texts, or cut and pierce their bodies in numerous ways, just for the positive sense it gives them in knowing that their souls are bent in a spiritual direction. From one village to the next, their deities change name and form, and most of the time there are multiple gods to worship in each household. There is no spiritual stability, no answer to the problem of sin, no consciousness of God’s holiness and love, but instead the bewildering pursuit of the divine in mere abstractions. Paul did not see these kinds of religious pursuits as valid in any way, stating that they were literally worshipping “demons” whether they knew it or not. (1 Cor. 10.20)

We cannot have faith in God until we have seen His Son for who He is, and believed in Him unto salvation. The nations are groping in darkness, incapable of finding anything but false and fading lights, and not until the Church has penetrated their darkness with the light of truth in Christ will they have any hope at all. The darkness is not bound to idolatry in India, but is the plight of mankind in every culture and in every form of life where Christ has not become the center. Across the board men are seeking their gods in abstraction, be they wooden statues or cars, homes and big screen T.V.’s, and only those who have come into communion with the One true God through the Gospel have the unfading hope of true Light. Only we have stability and certitude about eternity, for it has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and it is founded upon the revelation that God has given in the Scriptures. Do we dare keep this great light to ourselves?

They must know of His great love. They must know of His power to break the stranglehold of sin and shame. They must know that He has come in the flesh, died, raised, and ascended, and that He’s coming again. They are groping about after “mere abstractions,” when the revelation of God the Father has already been given. They must hear of the Man, Christ Jesus!

How can we live so indifferently, so numbly, so stingily. Have we failed to realize that unless the nations see God through the revelation of the Gospel they will only pursue Him through abstractions, and will fall totally short of the glory of grace altogether? Do we really believe that unless they come into the Gospel they will perish, forever?

We need to be freed from humanistic mixtures and hollow hopes for their progressive improvement, and brought onto the grounds of apostolic certitude. Paul shed blood and tears, took stones in the face and lashes on the back, for the singular purpose of setting forth the Man Christ Jesus to those who were seeking God in mere abstractions. We need the same sight, the same courage, the same burden, the same faith, and the same missionary spirit, or else they perish forever. It’s time to wake up, saints. It’s not a dream. It’s not an option. Woe unto us if we preach not the Gospel.

“If sinners be damned at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. Let them go with our arms around their knees. Let no one go there unwarned or unprayed for.” -Charles Spurgeon

There are many people in the body of Christ who are asking God these two questions:

“WHY? Why have I been prayed for to be healed, and yet, I’m still suffering?”

“WHEN? When, Lord, will I be healed?”

Perhaps some of you reading this have asked these two questions.
You have requested prayer. The pastor or a visiting evangelist laid hands on you for healing, but you stayed the same as before. You cannot help but wonder, “Why?”
You see in the scriptures that “…Jesus… went about doing good: healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil…” – Acts 10:38
You believe it is God’s will for you to be healed, based on the promises and provisions of the New Testament….and you are CORRECT!
So, now you ask, “When, Lord?”

I asked these same questions myself. You see, several years ago, I received a revelation about healing from Luke 4:18 and Matthew 10. I began to see multitudes healed on a regular basis OUTSIDE THE 4 WALLS OF THE CHURCH! But…inside the church, it was a completely different story.

This perplexed me and caused me much anguish. I spent much time of the next few years, praying, fasting and asking Father about it. Then, I received another great revelation from Scripture. As a result, I now see as many healed inside the Church as I do outside the Church.

The answer is found in several passages of scripture. We’ll look first at James 5:14-16:

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

A great part of my failure INSIDE the Church, among BELIEVERS, was that I was trying to apply the same principles there as I was using in the “…As you go,…” area.

You see, our Lord Jesus, in the days of His flesh, healed ALL that were sick…BUT…NOT ONE OF THEM WAS A CHRISTIAN when He healed them! Many times, after healing them He would warn, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you!”

All Jesus required of these sinners to GET HEALED was enough faith to ALLOW Him to touch them and say, BE HEALED!…or RISE AND WALK!…

Now that Jesus has gone to the cross, died, been buried and has risen again from death, He has born-again children of God who sometimes need healing. We, as followers of Jesus Christ are no longer ignorant sinners. We are born of God! We Know Him! We have His words and we read them (or at least, we should). “To whom MUCH is given, Much is required”.

Notice verse 14 of James 5, “Is ANY sick AMONG YOU?” Then, in verse 16, “…confess your faults (sins) one to another, and pray one for another THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED…”

You see, my dear brother/sister, the Father requires something MORE of us!
As we will see in future articles on this subject as we go over a number of passages of scripture in detail, the primary hindrances to healing inside the Church, are bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.

The Church at Corinth, in the days of the Apostle Paul, was faced with this same situation. Some of them had become sick and were not healed. Others became sick and actually died as a result. This brought up the inevitable question, “WHY?”

Paul endeavored to answer it in his first letter to the Corinthians. In 1Cor. 11:17-18(AMP):

“But in what I instruct [you] next I do not commend [you], because when you meet together, it is not for the better but for the worse. For in the first place, when you assemble as a congregation, I hear that there are cliques (divisions and factions) among you; and I in part believe it”.

Also, in verses 27-31(AMP),we read this concerning the taking of communion:

So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ's] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself. That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death. For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

Brothers and sisters in Christ, THERE IS HEALING IN THE ATONEMENT, and that is what communion represents. We can be healed as we partake, UNLESS WE PARTAKE UNWORTHILY, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY!

We are commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to WALK IN LOVE, PERIOD!  We are even exhorted to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven. For He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what thanks do you have…? And if you greet your brothers only, How are you different…? Be ye therefore perfect (mature, walking in love), even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect (loves His enemies).” – Matt. 5:44-48.

WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST!

Communion is a representation of His body. The bread represents His body. He took stripes on His body to provide for our healing. Are you beginning to get the picture here? Communion means “common-union”.  When we allow bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, envy, strife, jealousy, slander, etc… to have a place in us, we divide the body of Christ. These things hinder your faith and cause your heart to condemn you.

1 John 3:18-23:

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.  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.

Perhaps you are thinking, “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY DID!”

The greater the offense – the greater the opportunity to exercise the God kind of love, and FORGIVE!

Remember the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis? His brothers did him wrong, and THEY WERE THE PEOPLE OF GOD!!! Did he hold it against them? No, and he wasn’t even born-again!

DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?  Forgive those who’ve wronged you.

Your servant-brother,

Joel Crumpton

If you would like to hear more on this subject and go further in depth with both *being* healed, and ministering healing you may want to listen to our two part series of our Fire On Your Head Podcast

“Are Any Among You sick?”

Download this episode (right click and save)

“As you Go, Heal the Sick!”

Download this episode (right click and save)

A Unique Freedom

A friend of mine stated that his hero was Superman, because he had always wanted to fly. There is something inside the heart of a man that longs for total freedom. Flying would definitely be considered as a form of freedom.  This is a unique freedom. A man can be free politically, socially, geographically, and free from poverty; for there are many freedoms. There are natural freedoms, and there are spiritual freedoms. And when spiritual freedom is truly realized, you are actually liberated in another form of freedom, a transcending of the supernatural superseding into the natural. Only a person with true supernatural freedom could be free to such a degree that the limitations of gravity have no effect on him, to the degree that it would prevent him from exemplifying the Name of the One who made him free enough to fly.

The entrance into such freedom is the entrance into the ultimate freedom; which is freedom from the bonds of death. You can be free from all the earthly dangers and such, however, unless you are free from sin you are still bound. This is a supernatural freedom because it took a supernatural event to constitute; the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Truly, Truly I say to you; ‘If you continue in sin is a slave if sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son does remain forever. So, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’ John 8:34-36

Superman?

Even if you are bound in all of these other venues, if you are free in Christ, then you are truly free. And if we are totally free, then why is a Christian’s hero, Superman? A fictional hero with supernatural powers, who can fly? There is something that now resides inside each believer that now longs for more freedom. We are now supernatural, because we have been born in the Spirit. There is a longing to be free even from the natural elements and experience that which is greater; to overcome natural problems and obstacles; to enjoy creation to a degree that would only be possible with supernatural ability. When we have freedom in the Spirit, it is freedom across the “board.” We have supernatural ability, but not many of us know it or how to tap into it. I am not claiming to know all the answers but I do know that it’s available. Jesus can do anything, and he chooses to use us to accomplish His eternal missions. We should not have to look at fictional characters to find an example of that which is supernatural. We should be able to find supermen and women within the church, within ourselves!

Another friend of mine has had a reoccurring dream. In the dream, he is able to swim under water, without holding his breath. Then he is able to come up out of the water and fly through the air. After flying around, he dives back into the water and swims around again.

Supernatural Substitution

Because we are mankind, and created in the image of God; there is in the heart of every man a longing to experience something supernatural, something more, above and beyond all that this present life has to offer. When we watch movies, we are taken to another place, raptured into the characters themselves. When we watch sports, men and women with great natural talent; we are elated, we are thrilled, and it takes us beyond ourselves, because those that we admire accomplish things that we cannot do, but fantasize about through them. “People say that we have no king here in America; I say we do have a king, his name is Sport and his queen is Entertainment,” as pointed out by Leonard Ravenhill. Why is it that we are so consummated with celebrities, athletes, movies, and television shows? Some of the biggest movies as of late have been superhero ones. Why are the Harry Potter books so captivating and fascinating among Christians? What about Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia? (Yes, I have seen these movies.): The latter of which some people call Christian. (Similarity does not equal authenticity. The movie and the book mix Christianity with Greek Mythology and Paganism, a counterfeit gospel, which does not display the real Messiah.) The reason we look to the world for supernatural fulfillment is because the church settles for less. She is satisfied with these substitutes, even though deep down she still longs for more.

Supernatural Question

All creation longs for the supernatural experience and they will do anything to get it. They will kill, wage war, and even fly airplanes into buildings. They consult mediums, wizards, witchcraft, psychics, pornography, and mammon. All of this is evident in the church. I also find myself looking for more in the wrong places. The world for the most part is missing something and they are looking everywhere to find it. They are longing for something that they can’t seem to find and they are creating their own temporary fulfillments, such as flying fictional characters.

Supernatural Answer

Who are the ones who hold the keys to the supernatural? Who are the ones who have true supernatural wisdom? These traits are supposed to be major characteristics of the church. However, there have only been relatively small demonstrations and examples of a church of this kind since the first century. Without this manifestation of a supernatural church, the world and the body will continue to seek the substitutions which are made with human hands and the demonic. They need the true supernatural ones to arise and be revealed.

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21

Sons of God is an extremely supernatural exposition of the thematic vocational explorative of the currency, rank, and situational placement, of the identity of an authentic Christian. We are the ones who show the supernatural way (John 14:6), and demonstrate the true supernatural power.

And when I came to you brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my words were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Supernatural Splendor

The world will understand this through us being revealed as sons of God. When we heal their sick, and raise their dead (Matthew 10:8), then the “light bulb” will illuminate in their spirits by the Holy Spirit, and the spiritual bondage that clings to their hearts will break away.

There is a song that I have been listening to lately, and the lyrics are: “The first time I noticed my heart, is when I noticed you.” Our supernatural hearts do not beat until the defibrillator of revelation shocks us and sparks into us the electric pulse of the life of the Spirit. The world needs this spark. The world and the church need models of supernatural splendor that display the power of Jesus wherever they go. They need those whose supernatural hearts are beating to show them how to become alive. We must awaken their supernatural heartbeats.

Sailing the Supernatural Seas

“There are a million bottles washed up on the shore,” with no one to rescue them. The church itself is like a great a great ship stuck inside of its own bottle. There is a way out-the smashing of the bottle, the christening of the voyage. The church had a test run in the first century, but has been stuck at port ever since, afraid of the storms which may come, even though it was built to endure them. “It is safe inside the bottle,” so we think, even though is nothing more than shattering glass. Put our faith in Jesus and push put into the deep. We cannot remain hidden, we must be seen and challenge the powers of the spirit that be. Jesus is sifting the earth. We must embrace it, less it is forced upon us.

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. Luke 20:18

I am reminded of another song lyric which goes like this; “Lord you’re the Captain that I wish that I could be and I will sail with you forevermore from this day forward.” The One who builds the ship is the One who created the seas, and He knows how to handle them.

I have another friend that recently did a talk to some youth on the person of Christ. He was using the story of Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. A storm arose and threatened the ship. Jesus was sleeping and His disciples were frightened:

And behold a there arose a great storm on the sea, so the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him saying, save us Lord we are perishing!” He says to them “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:24-27

During my friends prep time we were discussing the passage and it occurred to me that the natural scene reflected what was going on inside of both Jesus, and His disciples. This is the reason why there were two different reactions to the situation. Jesus was at peace on the inside, which is why He was able to enforce peace on the outside. The disciples did not have the same peace of God in the inside as Jesus, which is why they were frightened by the turmoil on the outside. Jesus had faith because He had no storms on the inside, thus He knew the storms on the outside where easily overcome-able.

Likewise, David had no fear of Goliath (1 Samuel 17), because he had already defeated the lion and the bear, and he knew his God would deliver Goliath into his hands. We are afraid of material circumstances when we could overcome them in the Spirit, long before we even face them (Matt 6:6).

We can respond just like Jesus and just like David. This requires a death to self and a facing of fear with faith. Many in the church do not want to embrace this death to self. They “want their cake” and they “want to eat it too.” They want to go to Heaven and they still want to do what they want to do in this life as well. This is why many will fall away when the hour of testing comes. So let us find the secret place with God and be the mystery revealed of His power to the earth. They long for us to be revealed and show them the way to God, so they can be free too.

Supernatural Witness

Come on! People are looking to make believe fictional characters that don’t exist as heroes. They believe in what they can see, even though it does not even exist. We believe in what we cannot see because it does exist (Hebrews 11:1). And when they see that supernatural witness inside of us, they will know that He does exist! He has given us the gifts and the power to make His name and His power known in the earth; speaking that which does not exist into existence; making the unseen seen.

For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10

Truly, truly, 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 the Father. John 14:12

Supernatural Examples

David Hogan, a missionary in Mexico, has seen over four-hundred people in the ministry down there raised from the dead, over the past thirty years. They have almost seen all the miracles in the Bible:  sicknesses stopped dead in their tracks; limbs growing back, eyes popping in heads. External miracles as well: finding ancient wells, becoming invisible when people were trying to kill him. One time he was stopped by terrorist and an angel delivered him, as he sped away on his motorcycle, he forgot about the cliffed embankment ahead, and he flew off the 2000 foot edge. He landed nine miles away at the camp where his men were. Yes, he flew nine miles or so through the air on his motorcycle. If God can create something from nothing, then why is that so hard to believe?

I could go on for books and books worth of testimonies of the supernatural just from his life. Yes, God still moves like this and there are still things to be done that will advance the kingdom that have yet to be seen, if only we believe.

Another brother, John G. Lake, was a missionary to South Africa. He and his team were praying for a demon possessed girl at a mental institution in Wales, UK. All of the sudden light shone all around him, and the next moment, he was flying in the air from South Africa to Wales. He cited certain landmarks along the way that were verified in a future journey. He arrived at the institution and cast the demon out of the girl. The next moment, he was back in Africa. On another occasion, he met with a local preacher, and after they were done the man got up and flew out of the window. Others told him that the man was known as the flying saint. This is biblical; Elijah, Elisha, and Philip were transported in the Spirit.

Supernatural Element

Read Hebrews 11:1-12:2. We are supposed to carry the torch, the fire of the supernatural men and women that have gone before us and spread the Holy Spirit kingdom power all over the globe in Jesus name.

In 2001, I had a dream. In the dream, I was in the church. The entire church was assembled on a rock face, kind of like a rock quarry. I was seated in the middle next to a man in a booth, who was a prophet. The prophet would change from himself into Jesus and then back again. The prophet was not Jesus, but I believe that this was signifying the role of the prophetic place in the church in recognizing the real Jesus in the last days. Suddenly from my left, a great cloud, dark blue and smoky looking, appeared. Many people freaked out and shouted, “It is the Lord. Jesus is coming.” The prophet, however remained silent, so I followed his lead. Next, the cloud moved from the left side of the sky to the right, and it was revealed that this was not the Lord, but the devil acting like Him. Many of those in the church were deceived because of this and fell away. Next another cloud appeared in the right side of the sky, (the other was still on the left). This one was golden in color and there was a bright light in the center of it. It was more like an expanse than a cloud. The prophet began yelling, “Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming!” Then the cloud moved over to the center of the sky and pushed the other cloud–satan–away.

Supernatural Flight

On the other side of where the prophet was sitting, my friend was sitting. (The only two people that I recognized in the dream were the prophet and my friend, in this part.) When the cloud arrived at the middle of the sky, it was so bright, one could not look, but he could. Next, like a space rocket, my friend flew from where he was straight into the expanse and then exploded into a fireball. There he was in the expanses, for he had seen Jesus in the midst of the expanse, and he was changed, transfigured and flying. His arms became wings, suspended straight out on each side, he was in the midst of God looking down at the church (He looked like a phoenix). Instantaneously, when I saw him fly into the cloud, so much faith emerged, that I flew out there too. I also had an encounter with Jesus and instantly exploded into a fireball as well. Here we were, mirroring where we were in the church; I was on one side of Jesus, and he on the other. All together, four of us flew out into the expanse, all of us flying and on fire. Each one of us had a different color flame, (which I interpreted as different gifts and ministries). From our position, you could see the top of the quarry [church]. Behind it was a black, great, and deep darkness. There were multitudes coming over the edge into the church.

The Supernatural Church

Those who were like us were going out into the darkness and sending them here to the church to be discipled, until they too would be sent out as well. When I was in this state I could fly all around. Faith was not even an issue, for we knew that God could and would do anything. Anything that came our way was nullified because we resided in God and His power was all consuming. Words cannot describe the state of faith I was in. I only hope that one day I will experience here and not just in a dream. And I will in Jesus name. Once pride entered my heart, I immediately lost the ability to fly and fell down into the water that was at the bottom of the quarry. It was there for our protection, to catch us when we fall, and then we could climb back up the rocks. The dream ended with me on fire and full of faith, flying out into the darkness. As I went, light was shinning from Christ through me, showing them the way to salvation. And I saw people, the further I went all heading in the direction of the church, for a revolution was taking place and multitudes were being saved. Others were coming behind me, to accomplish their heavenly mission as well.

The church revealing the mystery of God is the mystery of the church revealed. We are all supermen. Let us seek God until these things burn in and out, through us, in Jesus name! Amen

The voices beckon from every direction,
Calling, asking, tugging, pulling,
Moving the soul to voluminous reflections,
Blurring, clouding, jerking, lulling.

All the world’s claims ring out in the night,
Gripping the mind, contortions and strife,
Boasting in frivolity, “There is no fight,”
Blurting out mixed definitions of life.

Gold glistens deceptively, persistently,
Flattery rocks the ego ’til it sleeps,
Bitterness rages ‘neath the surface, vehemently,
Envy takes lordship, and it plays for keeps.

Self-consciousness dictates poisonously,
Images and mirrors take precedence then,
Souls are thus mangled, sons damaged thusly,
Exchanging simple faith for the maze within.

“Where is your God?” they keep pressing the questions,
“What is your life, but a fragmented mess?”
“All you have labored for, vanity, a weak bastion,
All dissipates like the foam of a crest.”

Endlessly, ceaselessly, down strikes the hammer,
Paradigms shift and holy dreams shatter,
Sons forsake feasts and succumb to the famine,
Clarity fades, vision is left tattered.

But You, O Captain of hosts, shine upon me,
Lifting me up from the lying floodwaters,
You, gracious, kind, speaking ever-strongly,
Crash through the darkness, “Up, sons & daughters!”

“Wallow no more in the bondage of sin,
Dwell no longer in this deathly place,
Stand to your feet, lift high your chin,
March with me now through the wilderness of grace.”

Once more, now, vigor, life bursting forth,
Fountains flow copiously, freely, and purely,
Even in dry lands, I behold the Source,
The waters that nourish, the balm that cures me.

What then of voices, what of the mirror?
What of comparisons, pressures, and blame?
Death has no sting in this newly found Era,
Life now pervades all fibers of my frame.

Glory belongs to the King of the ages,
Ancient of Days who delights in my ‘now’,
For intensely present on all history’s pages,
Is the God who loves weak ones, though we know not how.

Rise then, dear soul, rise above noise and clutter,
March through the wilderness, drink hidden springs,
Follow your Captain, look to no other,
True light will direct the sons of the King.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 ESV)

Every so often, I get told by individuals that they perceive me to be a “faith teacher” in a derogatory way as if studying about, living this out, and writing about it is a bad thing.  Sometimes people rightly perceive this to be my favorite topic, or that I’m not capable of writing or preaching about any other subject.  I’m hardly ever offended by such notions since the Word of God says “the just shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38) and Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (King James Version)  Therefore, I don’t get how one could allegedly spend too much time finding out HOW to live like a righteous person in God’s eyes, and how to please Him in the Christian walk!

That being said, this article is born out of reflecting on things as a result of reading Watchman Nee’s “The Normal Christian“, especially the chapter early in the book called “The Path To Progress: Reckoning.“  I also decided to unofficially add this to what was a two part series on how to increase your faith, because I think this is a fitting continuation of that series.  To read them click here: part 1, part 2.

The key important thing about faith to remember is that it is always based on the promise already stated.  This is what distinguishes it from hope.  Hope doesn’t know for certain what will or could happen, but longs for the desired result.  Faith however, stands on some kind of prior knowledge, what has already been established--the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1).  One needs to stick to the Word of God, and have confidence based on what is written in it, and like the context of this particular verse states, then you will know what to speak to the mountainous problem you may be facing.  Therefore, another key to increasing your faith is changing your focus.  Instead of focusing on the problem, don’t just speak to it, but find out what exactly the Word of God already says about that situation or circumstance, and how a believer is to face it, and focus on that and only speak of the victory Christ promised, and not give any voice to any discouragement tempting you.

Faith looks at something as if it is already done, because it knows that it is, and nothing shakes that.  However, hope has no such specific assurance but flows out of faith–it can only hope for the desired outcome because it relies on what has been promised.  Faith is the acceptance of God’s fact.   Hope trusts in something still future because of what it already knows and accepts as fact.  For example, in the referred to chapter, Nee goes on to teach that just because the Christian might still struggle with sin or be living in lifestyle of sin doesn’t contradict that he has (past tense) been purchased with the blood of Christ and is made a new creation.  The way faith would be applied to this significant fact, is to look at the word “reckon”–or as other translations like the ESV tell us– “consider”–as used in in the following context:

“For the death he died (past tense) he died to sin, once (past tense) for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead (past tense) to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:10-12 ESV, emphasis and parenthesis mine)

You cannot reckon or consider anything without first having had the concept or idea introduced to you to be able to ponder it or think of it, or act on the knowledge you’ve been given.  ’Reckon’ or ‘consider’ are words that only relate to the past in this regard, and give context to the word ‘therefore‘ which leads into what is to take place now in the present for the believer: not letting sin reign in your mortal body, based on the act that has happened–you have died to sin, because of what Christ has done.  The way to overcoming sin is to consider or reckon what the Word of God has already stated, concerning what has already been accomplished at the Cross of Calvary–in this case, that Christ died and overcame sin, and that you, if you’ve given your life to Christ, you were hidden in Him, and by that, died with him when He hung on the cross.  Therefore, you substantiate that into existence in your own life as a Christian.  But how you ask?  Past posts of mine tagged ‘faith‘ go into significant detail on this, but to give a concise answer, I say focus on the promise from His Word and do not let the circumstances distract you:

All temptation is primarily to look within; to take our eyes off the Lord and to take account of appearances.  Faith is always meeting a mountain, a mountain of evidence  that seems to contradict God’s Word, a mountain of apparent contradiction in the realm of tangible fact–of failures in deed, as well as in the realm of feelings and suggestion–and either faith or the mountain has to go.  They cannot both stand.  But the trouble is that many a time the mountain stays and faith goes.  That must not be.  If we resort to our senses to discover the truth, we shall find Satan’s lies are often enough true to our experience; but if we refuse to accept as binding anything that contracts God’s Word and maintain an attitude of faith in him alone, we shall find instead that Satan’s lies begin to dissolve and that our experience is coming progressively to tally with that Word.” Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life, p 72.

Hanging on To The Promises of God

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called (past tense promise) to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going…For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Heb 11:8, 10, emphasis & parenthesis mine)

Despite the decades that passed before Abraham and Sarah would see the promise fulfilled and give birth to their son Isaac, they had the promise of the word of the Lord when He told him “Look up at the heavens and count the stars –if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be” (Gen 15:5) They hung on to this promise given them in order to have the hope that it would be fulfilled. “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised” (Rom 4:20-21) By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered (or reckoned) him faithful who had promised. (Heb 11:11, parenthesis mine).  There’s much more we could learn from the life of Abraham, but for brevity’s sake we’ll leave out of today’s post.

Despite the dreams given to him years earlier in his youth of leadership, Joseph did not look like he’d be ruling anybody or anything while he was locked away in a dungeon. I have always imagined these dreams and the promises they meant would go through Joseph’s mind many a night as he lay shackled in a dark dungeon forgotten by the very people he’d helped.  He reckoned that God would do what He said He would with his life.  Or what of the promise the Lord made Moses concerning leading the people out of Egypt?  It didn’t look like it was about to come to pass when immediately after speaking to the Pharaoh, who increased their work quota, and it took ten plagues before he finally had enough and released the Israelites to go on their way. But I’m sure Moses reckoned that God would do what He said, and could cling to that promise despite the natural circumstances looking like they were getting more and more difficult.

Despite the prophecies, Jesus Christ, our example and savior, it didn’t appear to the pharisees standing watching and mocking that He was going to save or rule anybody, let alone live when He hung bloody, naked, and twisted on a wooden cross.  But yet what was spoken would come to pass.  Oftentimes, the promise is the most difficult to believe in right before its eventual fulfillment.  We could go on with many more examples from Scripture of people receiving that which they were promised, and if you read through Hebrews 11, you’ll notice the same pattern written of a promise made, followed by an expectation of fulfillment by most of the people mention there.

Also consider how Isaiah 55:11 says  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

God’s written and spoken Word will be accomplished, since God is not a man that He can lie (Num 23:19), and if He has spoken in it in the Bible, you can rely on it and put your confidence in the Lord about the matter.  What He has already spoken, will come to pass.  If He has spoken to you in the prayer closet, you can rest assured He will perform what He said He would, for the very word He gave you often times was to give you an anchor to hang on to when the circumstances immediately following it test your confidence in the matter,  so believe that you have received it.  It is done.  If you need healing in your body, then learn from these figures in the Bible who were put there as our example and take courage.   Be like Abraham who did not consider (or reckon) in his old age that producing a child with his wife was impossible.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)

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Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

In the last few years of my life, I’ve swung the pendulum from one way of thinking to another in my understanding about faith and how it works.  Some people get really offended at the implication that faith is something that grows and is developed–in other words, the idea of having more, implies you must not already have enough–and that gets used to condemn people for not being at certain stages of their life. Even when you’re not, people think you are condemning them when trying to help them and edify them into greater experiences in God. However, I think it’s wrong to push people and make them feel worse about situations they’re in and believing God for help getting out of, of course.

I try to be careful how I communicate to people who are really discouraged or needing breakthrough in their life, of course, and I’d never beat other sheep of God’s for not being healed immediately, and I’d never put guilt on them and blame them for not receiving their miracle yet. That is wrong, and oddly enough, by virtue of teaching HOW to grow in faith, it’s an accusation I get launched at me often, but if you hear me out you’ll know the truth behind my words.

That being said, I cannot for the life in me find what many people think about faith (having it or not enough of it), IN the Bible.  Our faith IS “growable” and spell checker is not letting me write that word, but it IS the word I want to make up/use–growable–but that is not what I’m trying to write about today, and have written in more detail elsewhere on this site. One important thing I’m finding out about faith these days, and this is what I want to write today–that it has no “perishing point”.

Look at this:
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, though it is tested so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV)

Gold and silver are perishable things (1 Pet 1:18). Those type of things are something I’ve spent considerable time meditating on and thinking about. Gold and silver are things you find in the ground, in caves or hidden in safe places. They require finding. They aren’t just on the surface of the ground for any passer by to have access to who couldn’t care much less about finding it. At intense temperatures with a lot of heat, these valuable stones are purified and all the dirt and dross burns away after a certain point.

Gold has a certain perishing point.  If you kept the temperature rising, the gold would eventually turn to liquid, and if you kept increasing the temperature higher still, then eventually the gold would evaporate or dissolve. If you took a pile of gold and projected it into our sun, at some point before it got right near the sun it would have completely dissolved. However, your faith has NO point at which it dissolves or perishes–according to Scripture. Peter refers to it as being more precious than gold, that perishes though it is tested by fire. Gold, not faith is the object here being referred to as perishable. Can you imagine that or think about that for a moment?

Later in the same chapter it says “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.“  (1 Peter 1:22-25)

If our souls need purification, and we’re born of imperishable seed, and not perishable–then why do so many of us spend so much time dwelling on and feeding ourselves with perishable stuff and dwelling more on the ‘perishable’ realm of our lives? I know a lot of Christians that read the Bible for 5 minutes a day -if at all– but gosh–don’t ever ask them to quit the TV for a week or suggest withdrawing from the internet for 2 days to dig into the hidden manna, and, dwell on that imperishable stuff that doesn’t fade or have a perishing point.  Many ministries and preachers build their ministries using substance of this earthly realm, using materials that are combustible, flammable, and unable to withstand the fire on that upcoming day (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and for more along that line, read What Are You Building With?, and keep posted for an article the Lord is developing in me about the kingdoms of men and of heaven).

“Fiery” trials…

For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:49-50)

The things we must remember are some simple key words.  EVERYBODY will be salted with fire.  Salt universally is a key ingredient to many foods and dishes.  I remember one time making my famous Bremner spaghetti omelet for my translator and mutual friend during my first visit to Peru and scrambled to find enough of the ingredients at the nearest supermarket to properly prepare it for my guests.  I’ve made it numerous times, but this time it didn’t have anywhere near as potent of a taste as normal.  That’s when one of my guests said “it’s because you didn’t put salt in it.” Salt naturally helps retain some of the flavor. Living in a hot climate, I’m also in the habit of sprinkling a little bit of salt on some of my food in order to help me retain water in my system and not dehydrate.  Well in God’s scheme of things, he’s going to ’salt’ us using *fire*.  Do you want your flavor to be retained with God’s fire, or are you of a different flavor that’s not worth being enhanced, because instead it will bring other stuff to the surface to be burned?

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.  “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1-6)

What causes the wicked to be melted in the presence of it, causes the pure in heart to be made purer and more refined in its presence, like precious gold and silver–but yet not perish like the wicked.  What for the righteous is a baptism, is destructive for those not on the right side of the flame.  Fire serves as a method of distinguishing:

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,  John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:15-17)

I have gone off a bit to talk about the fire of God, just to get to this point I’m about to make:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29).  The “un-shaking” nature of this kingdom somehow mysteriously lies in the nature of its King–likened to a  consuming fire, Who in the presence of, only the purified things can withstand the presence and not be destroyed or shaken by it.

We have other passages of Scripture using different analogies like water or wind, not just fire, but I felt for this article focusing on the imagery of fire would serve the purpose, but consider what the word of God is like according to Isaiah 55:10-11: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.“

Being from Canada and seeing the long term effects of snow, I can appreciate the concept of this passage.  In the last two years, we had record amounts of snow.  One thing about rain and snow, being both water, is that it doesn’t disappear, but the change of temperature merely makes it change.  When you have record amounts of snow, you have tall snowbanks in the winter.  But when you reach spring, the record amount of snow becomes record amount of flooding.  The snow doesn’t just vaporize and go back to the sky, but it becomes something else and accomplishes a new purpose.  Water too, doesn’t have a perishing point, but just a point of vaporization.  And it doesn’t disappear, but accomplishes that which it was sent for.  I think there’s a LOT in that concept of the Word of God being like rain and snow watering the earth that we could write a series of meditative articles on, but that’s for another time.

With all that we’ve just looked at in the Word, allow me to say this: God is faithful to fulfill the purpose for which He has sent word into your life.  It may feel like you’re burning up from fiery trials He’s putting you through, but there is no perishing point, and God is not and never will put you through more than He feels you can bear.  You are just being purified.  He will finish what He started in your life, and what He has sent your way will accomplish its purpose.  Your faith has no perishing point.

Abide in Him.

There are so many in the Church who are always complaining that God does not REQUIRE them to spend hours in prayer, or that they do not feel LED to do this or that. They are content with doing only those things that they are certain God requires of them. Only the very least that they can do without feeling guilty.

But is this the proper attitude of one who loves the Lord with ALL their heart, soul, mind and strength?

Would a truly loving wife want to do only those things that she was certain her husband has asked her to do? Or would a husband who loves his wife as he should, want to do the least he could for his wife without feeling guilty?

Is it not those soldiers who do more than they are required to do who receive the metal for bravery and heroism?

Those who risk their own lives to save others will receive the highest honor.

In Luke 17, Jesus uses the example of a servant who does only what he was commanded to do. He ends by saying, “When you have done ALL that you are commanded to do, say, ‘we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which was our duty to do”.

What kind of crown will you have on coronation day to cast down before the feet of King Jesus?

Will it be a “card-board”, Burger King crown? Or will it be something worthy of the King?

Those who get promoted and honored are those who go above and beyond the call of duty. We have the example of Paul, of Peter, of the hero’s of the faith in Hebrews 11 and of our Lord Jesus Christ!

We must never allow ourselves to be motivated by guilt or fear in our service of the King of kings. “Neither circumsision nor uncircumsision avails anything: but FAITH which WORKS by LOVE”.

When we spend much time alone with Jesus, we see His heart. We understand how intensely He desires that sinners should be saved from sin and damnation, and that backsliders should return to their first love. We become zealous and bold to bring them back to Him.

When David’s mighty-men were close enough to him to overhear him thinking out loud that he greatly desired a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem, they risked their lives to get it for him without having to be told. They did it not out of a sense of duty, but out of love for their king.

We know how great His love for us is.

How great is our love for Him?

What are we prepared to do?

Check out this video on The Obedience of Faith

The secret of fasting is denying yourself something you need to survive in this realm to partake of something you need to survive in the spiritual realm. Eating of that realm gives you the substance of that realm. Then you will be able to dish out here, what you have tasted of there. If you are able to resist eating, something that is essential to life; then you will be able to resist anything that the enemy temps you with.

Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let Us  make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creepy thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Here we see the creation and the call of man. Man was created in a supernatural state, and from this supernatural state of being man was to subdue the earth. Read verses 28-30 and you will see further that all creation was given by God to the authority of man, the only one created in His image.

Genesis 2:15-17 Then the Lord took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Then the Lord commanded the man, saying “From any tree in the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

They were created in God’s presence, and  already in a supernatural state. They were called to fast the knowledge of the world. They were to live entirely off the words of God, the knowledge that comes from Him of how to cultivate the garden they were given to keep.

In verses 3:1-6 we see their reaction to His commandment.  The serpent came and tempted them to disobey God by simply eating of the knowledge of this life. They gave in to the desire for food…

Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

This was the beginning, the first age of man. And for Adam and Eve, this is all they knew. The wisdom of God was to retain the state in which they were created, living from God alone. The goal of the enemy was to get them to taste of the wisdom of the age, causing them to fall into a state of spiritual death and relinquishing their authority on the earth to the evil one. He tricked them into looking away from God and at themselves. (ref. Matthew 16:23) The temptations here are often repeated throughout Scripture and commonly referred to as: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” When we respond as they did, looking to ourselves–our own understanding-to try to accomplish something–then it is a work of the flesh. It corrupts our perspective of living off the words of God–the supernatural state of being–to acting in accordance with the age.

Genesis 3:7-10 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Then they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called out to him “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked so I hid myself.”

After they tasted they could see just how devastating it was. They no longer saw themselves in a supernatural state, covered in the presence of God. They now saw themselves with merely natural eyes, realizing they were naked. Their scenario is remarkably opposite of ours. They were initially supernatural, and we natural. They forsook the command of God to eat to the world. We are to forsake to the world to eat of the command of God. Now they were naked and their sins were exposed. The knowledge of the world had entered their hearts. Suddenly, they had to be sought out by God. The entire state of being, their entire world had been flipped up-side-down!

Genesis 3:21-22 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Then the Lord God said. “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he may stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”-

No longer can man enter into God’s presence without a sacrifice being made.  In verses 23-24, God kicks man out of the garden of Eden. Why? Because God did not want man to be stuck in this state forever. He wanted to restore Him to his original state so he could fulfill what he was called to do. (ref. Eph 3:9-12) The discipline of expulsion from the garden was mercy so man would not give in again and eat of the tree of life, living forever in a fallen state.

Man forsook God, eating from a tree the knowledge of this life. He hid himself because he was naked, exposed in his sin. What did Jesus do? He forsook the world, eating only the words of the Father, hanging on a tree He sacrificed Himself so man could again come freely into God’s presence. And, just as man hid from God, God hid from Jesus, which caused Jesus to declare “My God, My God, ‘Why have You forsaken me?’ “ (ref. Mt 27:45) Jesus undid everything that was lost in the garden, understading this will shed more light on His life and ministry.

Luke 4:1 Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. In one sense; the garden was the condition of man before the fall and the wilderness was the condition of man after the fall. So here we go; satan comes to tempt Jesus in the wilderness the same way he tempted man in the garden.

Luke 4:2b-4 …And He ate nothing in those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written. ‘Man shall not live on bread alone [but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God  (Mt 4:4b).]‘

Satan shows up and tries to interrupt Jesus, who is fasting-eating of heaven. He tempts Him to eat of this life. Jesus declared that man lives on the word of God. He chose the better way. When God was speaking to man in the garden, those “words” were the very food given to sustain his spiritual life.

Luke 4:5-13 The devil continued to tempt Him, but Jesus was able to resist the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (as some say). His obedience and denial of the wisdom of the age caused Him to overcome the age. (ref. Phil 2:5-7) We must resist the food-the wisdom of this world, and live off the Word of God.

Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout all the surrounding district.

Now we see the emergence of someone who is able to fulfill the call of God in the earth! The earth subdued Adam with its temptations. Now Jesus fufills Adam’s call and subdues the earth with God’s Word.

Jesus went into the desert full of the Spirit, and He came out in the power of the Spirit. It is one thing to be full of the Spirit, and it is another to walk in the power of the Spirit. The secret is to desire something more; to eat of the things of heaven, not just the things of this life. Jesus, in John 4:32, told His disciples that He had“Food to eat they did not know about.” This is the food we must want. To eat anything that comes from the Father’s mouth, even the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. (ref. Matthew 15:27)

What is with the manna in the wilderness? God was teaching a nation to rely on Him and break their mental bondage to Egypt.

Revelation 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.

Overcoming-eating of the hidden manna. It’s not just being in the Church, but the point is to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Hearing what God is saying in this life will reap the reward of overcoming and make us able to eat of the hidden manna.

Luke 4:16-21 Jesus went into a synagogue and read from Isaiah this famous passage…

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

Jesus had eaten of heaven which brought actuality to His statement. Its is one thing to teach the word and it is another thing to be the word, to show that it is alive in you. He was not just teaching Scripture, He was fulfilling it. This is when the Spirit moves, when we eat of heaven we become living fulfillments of the word. Start eating of heaven and living for eternity here and now, and that hidden manna will become His Word fufilled in your mouth.

To listen to a sermon of this message, click here.   Scroll down to the sermon player and select; The Hidden Manna.

A common reason I’ve heard that justifies not believing for miracles or divine healing, is the idea that “God wills some to be sick” or there’s some “divine purpose” behind someone’s disease or infirmity.

“I prayed, and the sickness never went away, so I guess it’s God’s will for me to be sick.”

Whatever it is people choose to believe affects what they will seek God for and how they will live their spiritual lives. Beliefs can produce total victory or total defeat–the choice is always up to us as to if we will believe God at His Word or not.

Allow me to take a whole entry to show you a SCRIPTURAL example of God’s will being done despite what the circumstances initially showed. But hold on tight, because as usual, I’m going to make sure to challenge commonly held assumptions while doing so.

The texts for our consideration are found in Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-43a. Each account details the time when a man brought his epileptic boy to the disciples and they were unable to heal him.

To glean from and paraphrase using all three accounts, the situation goes something like this: Jesus comes down from the mountain after His transfiguration. Mark records that the disciples were in a relatively heated argument or as the Greek literally means a “joint investigation”. In other words, the scribes and the disciples were trying to figure out how come the disciples were unable to cast the demon out of this man’s boy.

It should be noted before going any further, that in Matthew 10, and Luke 9:1-6 Jesus had already sent out the disciples in His name to preach and heal and cast out demons—and demonstrate the kingdom of the One who sent them in His name. So the disciples have already been endued with authority to do such things, such as the case here with his man’s son, only now they are unable to for some reason. And at this point chronologically in each Gospel account this is recorded in, they’ve already done such deliverances and healings themselves, through the power of God in them. They are experienced on some level and have seen results already, so the question that comes up is why no result this time?

Two spiritual matters are brought to light in this story, and usually only one of the two is focused on: this passage is usually shown to teach how certain demons can only be cast out of people by prayer and fasting. I will challenge that assumption in a moment. But we tend to forget what Jesus told this man, and what He told his disciples privately later:

“But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  And Jesus said to him “If you can!  All things are possible for one who believes.”  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24)

Belief & unbelief and faith & lack of it are a key component of the issue here.

I’ve always wondered if Jesus was being slightly sarcastic when he said “If you can!” in response to this man’s plea. IF this man knew more about Jesus before bringing his son to the disciples, he probably would know Jesus CAN, but probably the lack of ability on the part of Jesus’ disciples made him second-guess if Jesus could also. As Matthew Henry states in his commentary on this passage “Thus Christ suffers in his honour by the difficulties and follies of his disciples.” And so it still is to this day.

Jesus rebukes the demon, and it comes out of the boy. Everyone glorifies God, and Jesus enters the house He was on his way to, and the disciples then come up to Him and ask Him why they were unable to cast it out. All of you have heard and remember that He tells them “this kind can only go out by prayer and fasting.” However, if you’ve got a good Bible, there will be a note there at the end of Mark 9:29, and some translations of your Bibles will not even have verse 21 in Matthew 17 (which also states the same thing).

I get told all the time when talking about certain subjects “not to build doctrines on just one verse”, and people say that to me about speaking & praying in tongues (never mind that topic for the moment, and never mind they build their cessationist doctrines on one verse and a lot of assumptions, but anyway) for just one example. Some go so far as to “correct me” if I ever use the end of Mark 16 to say what believers are capable of because “it’s not in the original text”. If I can’t use “one” verse or passage to prove a point, neither can doctrines about this one verse be established when it’s convenient either—people can’t have it both ways when it suits their personal doctrines. But let’s look at what IS in our Bibles. Matthew’s Gospel records another component as to why they were unable to cast out the demon:

Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

Why does any of this even matter?

Oh boy, the mud is about to hit the fan now! If you ever want to make someone feel insulted, just imply that they lack faith in or for something. Even if you don’t say it, people somehow pick up on it and assume that if you’re saying people can have more faith for things, that that necessitates people already sometimes don’t have enough faith. Well, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Try not to be offended about it if you feel I’m talking about you, because I am. This applies to all of us for at least two reasons.

1) Faith is measurable.

All believers have a “seed”–if you will–of faith, but each of us water it and feed it at our own pace, our own amount, on our own frequency. Some people move mighty mountains, while others buckle under pressure if they don’t know how they’ll pay their $30 credit card bill that month. Frankly, NOT everybody has the same amount of faith! I don’t care if it’s politically incorrect or rude to say so!

However, I personally will never step on somebody for not believing as hard for something as I do, any more than I’d kick a baby for not walking yet. The Bible says of Jesus “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench” (Matt.12:20). We need to be patient as believers with each other and not get frustrated with someone just because they aren’t where you’re at yet. Build them up. Edify them INTO what you’re showing them, don’t just prove them wrong and think that settles it. You may already notice my style of blog writing is that I don’t prove something to be a problem without offering what I think is a solution, or that I don’t try disproving something just to prove something wrong alone in itself, without trying to invite the reader INTO what I’m sharing. We should show others ways to increase their faith, but not jump on them for not being there yet and put blame and guilt on them.

Maybe it’s possible, after all the things the disciples had already done in their ministry with Jesus, they had not yet seen something this severe and were not ready to handle it? Is it possible maybe that they weren’t mature enough in their faith yet to handle this particular deliverance properly? Who knows, I’m just speculating and any other assumption from the text is just that—speculation. But Jesus DID tell them they had “little faith”. If I were to say to someone–no, if I were to insinuate or simply IMPLY they were unable to obtain results in something because of little faith, I’d never hear the end of it from people about how arrogant I am. But this is an honest explanation Jesus gives.

I’ve rejected before the popular Christianese saying “if you only have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains”. That is obviously not what this passage is teaching. Jesus can’t be talking here of the size of a mustard seed if he just told his disciples the reason they couldn’t do something was because the size of “their faith seed” was too small! We learn from other passages where the kingdom of God is described as a mustard seed, that it starts off small, but then grows and dominates the garden (Luke 13: 18-19)—that is something worthy of consideration. Maybe it’s likely our “faith” is something that grows and increases in time if it possesses the very characteristics of the example used to describe it—a mustard seed. Check out a previous article for further study on “mustard seed faith” for more about that.

2) This passage also shows that just because healing didn’t happen (initially anyway) doesn’t mean it was God’s will for someone to stay sick.

Not only did the disciples not accomplish something they were given authority to do (but as we established, lacked faith to carry out), Jesus Himself goes ahead and does it. This passage is not just a teaching on Jesus teaching his disciples a lesson about something—this shows Jesus is perfectly capable of healing and performing the miraculous out of His compassion, and His desire to heal is not always demonstrated properly just because of our inabilities to accomplish what He has ordained and authorized us to do.

Would it bother some people to admit that healing is NOT automatic? This seems to be the favorite evangelical/cessationist argument to use on charismatics: “why don’t you use your gift of healing to heal so and so?” I dare to say that healing hardly ever happens and operates without faith being involved on someone’s part—whether it be the healer or the “healee”—usually the healer though, because you’ll never find Jesus refusing to heal someone b/c their faith is too small to BE healed, but He does rebuke His disciples for their faith being too small TO heal others.

I hear people say all the time “well why doesn’t Benny Hinn or so and so or those charismatics go into hospitals and heal all the sick people?”  When someone says this particular statement or a derivative of it, I like to say “good idea, why don’t you do it sometime since it bothers you and you’ve noticed it’s not being done enough? God clearly put that on your heart for a reason, maybe He wants you to do it?”

It’s easy to be armchair critics and point out what others aren’t doing when we’re doing nothing ourselves, and overlook what IS being accomplished by certain other ministries, but anyway. The only person really demonstrating “automatic” healing in the Bible is Jesus–if you could call it “automatic” healing. But even Jesus Himself prayed more than once for someone for healing before they got it on their way to see the priest, they were healed (Luke 17:12-16). Let’s not make up functions for how God operates that aren’t actually in Scripture, or if they are–not to overlook other examples of healing also. Sure there were some who would touch the fringe of His garment and be healed (Matt 14:35-36, Mark 6:56), and the woman who touched His garment got healed of a blood discharge instantly upon touching him (Matt 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34), but that’s not the only way healing was transferred in Jesus’ ministry. In the future I intend on posting an entry detailing examples of healings in the Gospels not being immediate. My motivation for doing so is to give hope and encourage people not to give up so easily when it doesn’t happen right away, but to persevere. (such as the blind man who saw people as trees at first, Mark 8:22-25). There were even incidences where lepers came to Him, and Scripture records that.

I can sum up for you why some people see healing when they lay hands on the sick and others don’t.  And it’s not just faith; it’s tenacity.  Some people persist, like Jacob did for the blessing.  Some of us just give up too quickly if we don’t get results right away and not only give up, but build doctrines out of our failures like “it wasn’t God’s time” or “God doesn’t will to heal all.“

I’ve heard people reject the ministry of David Hogan, a missionary to Mexico for almost 30 years and has seen dead raisings in his ministry, because “they don’t like his attitude.” I think his “attitude” is why I trust him–it further evidences the fact it’s God working through him and it’s not man’s own ability. But I mention him because many people associate his ministry in Mexico with dead raisings and other supernatural miracles. Sure, in talking about him there almost becomes folklore and mythology in that Chuck Norris kind of way. But people forget the conditions and circumstances He lives in are FAR from what any of us even talking about him could relate to–like people have to bury their own dead, and not everyone can afford proper burials or for their loved ones to be taken to morgues and things like such. This is a man who’s been beaten within inches of his life, stabbed, shot, etc.. He’s doing hard work none of us could even relate to.

There’s places he goes where people just don’t have funerals and life insurance coverage and things like that. But specifically, people forget that the first time Hogan prayed for someone to be raised up, it didn’t happen. Nor the second time, or the third. This happened MANY times before seeing the first one rise up. And on the occasion he saw his first dead raising, he had prayed by the body for 14 hours solid before the results came–how many of us can even spend ONE hour in personal prayer?

I know you would do it differently if you were David Hogan, of course!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, circumstances can destroy any sound doctrine, and most doctrines in the church are built around failure instead of the Word of God. But how many of us are willing to persist when we lay our hands on someone and they don’t immediately show results? How many of you reading will keep going for it, or will you let your “sensibilities” tell you it’s foolish or that your evangelical peers will think you’re a flake if you speak too much about it or go “too out there” with this stuff? Having our theological “if God wants them healed He will heal them Himself” ducks in a row more often than not is an excuse for inaction.

Are you afraid if you go up to that person in a wheelchair you might look stupid? Trust me, you will look stupid, so quit worrying about it. I remember being in Charlotte, North Carolina a couple of years back, and was at Concord Mills Mall with some FIRE students. I chickened out the first two times I saw someone in a wheelchair. I made those same excuses to myself as everybody else does. But then it grated on me–”well, no guts, no glory“. The third person I saw, I went up to him, and he said no. Dang. I really was in the zone too! Then it dawned on me, what’s the worst that could happen? They say no if you ask? Or they don’t immediately get up if they do let you pray for them?

Allow me to finish with this and share other thoughts some other time, some other entry: What if, in order to get the breakthrough, God told you first to pray for a thousand people who would not be healed, before you started seeing healings regularly? If you have a brain, you’ll lay your hands on everything that lets you until you’ve reached number 1000! Then, go back to the first person and pray for them now that it’s working.

“Steve, God will not allow many people to operate in healing, because it will cause people to fall into pride”. Right, like you’ve never been in pride before! And God would keep somebody sick in order to avoid having you fall into pride? THAT is pride already!

Trust me, there is NO reason for anyone not to go for it we just make all the excuses in the world out of fear of failure, fear of rejection on the part of the person we seek to heal. Fear of taking responsibility for a miracle God enabled believers to do.

You’ll never know now will you if you don’t go for it…

Check out a really thorough teaching on faith and growing in it that I preached in Holland at a FIRE Summer School one year if you want to dwell more on these themes:
Download mp3 (right click and save)

God is a rewarder of those that seek him…

How does God reward?

How do we seek him?

Is it worth it?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

I just read this verse tonight and my heart was stirred. When I forget that God is a rewarder of those that seek him and let my culture of equality determine my thoughts it always breeds passivity in my life. But when I remember and know that God rewards those that earnestly seek him, I want so much to be close to him and be rewarded with his presence.

So how important is faith? This verse says that it is absolutely impossible to please God without faith.  The last verse of Romans 14 says that anything that is not done in faith is sin.  In Luke 18, Jesus’ biggest concern when he comes back is “When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?” This is what He is focused on and 1 Corinthians 13 says that faith is one of the only eternal things that remain.

What is faith? This is something that has really captured my thoughts lately. It is a substance according to Hebrews 11. I believe that in some miraculous and merciful way faith is like the currency of the supernatural realm. As we step out in faith and offer it to God, He will release the miracle. It’s not a formula but it’s an aspect of our relationship with him.

What is faith like? It’s something that is always growing, it is alive. We have to protect it against doubt and skepticism, and it is powerful. Every time we see God come through as we step out in faith it sets a standard and a high water mark in our lives. So then to stay in faith I believe that we have to keep on getting more radical and trusting him with more. In my life three years ago God challenged me to give a significant amount to missionaries each month and test his faithfulness to provide for me. Money was so tight, but God gave me the faith for it and He met absolutely every single need that year. Then the next year he said “David, I have been there and supplied every need, can you trust me to give more through you?”.

And my faith grew.

Each year God challenges me to trust him with more and more. It’s a beautiful and exciting thing. I just encourage every one of you to grow that mustard seed of faith. Step out in trust and see how powerful God is.

1 John 5:4:

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—
our faith.