THE WALK
PART 9
THE WALK OF FAITH

Do you believe that God has the desire to intervene and change things not only the way people believe but also inanimate objects? Do you believe that God can and will release His super-natural power just like He did in the Bible? I hope you are a spiritual dreamer and still cling to your child-like faith. I am amazed at how many Christians deny the power of faith to move God and do not believe that He will perform miracles that have no limit to size or difficulty. I was listening to a Christian carry on a conversation the other day about their views about physical healing and the gifts of the Spirit. They calmly explained that Jesus performed miracles in His ministry for the purpose of building His credibility and to establish Christianity. They went on to say that miracles are no longer needed because now we have the Bible and the abundant life that is mentioned in the scriptures only pertains to the spiritual realm. Allow me to say, this doctrine is the most depressing outlook of faith and one of the very reasons that many churches are cold and lifeless. When man begins to carve out the all the thoughts and ways that are higher than his own – all that is left are ceremonies, programs and philosophies. Imagine how you would feel if you created the universe and yet your own children doubted that you could answer their prayers.

God is the authority of all things. He is the Lord of the impossible and has never failed in anything. His words produce life and His will creates what He imagines. There is no higher power and He has always been who He is. He has no beginning and He will reign as an omnipotent, Majestic King forever. When He created people He gave them a free-will and an extra dose of “spunk” that generates their motivation to think and stimulates their energy to pursue. The problem comes when man forgets who made him and why he is here. It does not take humans very long to develop a blinding attitude of pride and even when they receive Christ into their hearts this dark side must be “cleaned out” and destroyed or it will keep them crying in the bassinet for their pacifier. How deceived people become when they think they have “outgrown” God and are convinced they know more than Him. They can see the scriptures are written very plainly with ink on paper, but they do not have a clue as to what they mean. They sing songs of victory but do not experience it. They speak of God’s presence but are too dignified to reach out for Him. They pray long dignified prayers about things they do not even believe and yet somehow all of this is considered living for God. On the subject of praying, I cannot understand why we would pray and ask God for help if we did not believe He will do it. Allow me to connect with my opening question and present a specific example. If your car was not running very well and you were in a tight financial condition where you were unable to pay for repairs, do you believe you could pray over your car and ask God to “heal” it? Now brother, that is weird! You cannot just go around and ask The Lord to fix things that are broken. Are you saying that you believe He CAN do it – but that He DOES NOT do it? You don’t believe He can repair washing machines, charge batteries, multiply food or stop roofs from leaking? Ok – what about praying over your bank account and asking God to stretch your money so that you will have enough resources to meet your needs? No way! God gives us a brain to figure things out and a strong back to work for what we need! Ok – I was just checking where you stand with miracles and it is obvious that your prayers are powerless to bring change. But, let’s keep going.

Allow me to say that being sent a comforter in the person of the Holy Spirit – was not just to wipe the mud and blood from our face as the devil stomps us. God lives inside the heart and spirit of the believer and He longs to be released in His FULL POWER and GLORY! Our prayers were designed to be sown as seeds and faith was given to ACTIVATE these visions. They are not limited to just the spiritual world because we do live in the earth and the material, physical realm is a vital part of our existence. If we lose our foundation of seeing Him and knowing Him as our FATHER that longs to provide for us, then what kind of personal relationship do we have. The enemy is the lord of religion and is an excellent teacher of lies that portray God as a stone sculpture that sits on the top of a mountain where no one can approach Him. This “long distance” view of God has been digested by the false church and the absence of God’s presence is felt in their midst as, “having a “form” of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such TURN AWAY”! (II Timothy 3:5) “Ever learning and never able to come to the KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH”! (Verse 7) This is the exact same spirit of the Pharisees. They only possessed the intelligence level of knowing ABOUT God but never knew Him personally.
You see, if we cannot allow our heart to accept the truth that God can and WILL do anything we can believe Him for – then how can we have the faith to be saved? If we cannot believe Him for a new kitchen table how can we believe that He can resurrect us from the dead and reunite our spirit and body to live forever in heaven? We read in the Bible where Jesus raised the dead but why would any Christian scoff at the idea that Jesus can heal them of cancer? I am so glad you asked that question. Since, “Jesus Christ (is) the same yesterday, and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8), we can definitely rule out that He has changed His mind about releasing His power. Where does it say in God’s Word, that He stopped performing miracles and stopped releasing His super-natural power through the prayers and faith of His saints? NO WHERE! The problem has always been with man and His lack of spiritual development. God is ready to move the mountains but He is waiting for man to develop and believe! It is the IMMATURITY of His people that are holding back much of His ability to change situations and their laziness, doubt, fear and disobedience is to blame! When people are not spiritual they will always try to whitewash their carnality with legalistic, manmade doctrines and a blind arrogance that would rather argue and tear down than express love and unity. The false church is led by the dark influence of pride whose conscience is seared as they hide behind their stained glass windows. My heart breaks for all those who are hypnotized under its spell as it could be they have never been born again. The reason why many do not have faith is because they do not have the NEW BIRTH. May the coming judgment of God shake the foundations of the earth and may His grace awaken those who are asleep.

As we grow deeper in our personal intimacy with Father, we begin to enjoy His presence. The more we drink in His promises, the more we obtain His revelations that change us. As the eyes of our heart gains a “higher” and a clearer, mature vision, we begin to see WHO HE IS and what He desires for us. We discover that we can WALK with Him and pour out our problems and literally BELIEVE that He will help us. Let us look once again to the often used scripture that explains what faith is. I’ve seen this passage hundreds of times brother; don’t you have something new to show us? Well, I have also read this many times but I know that I have not received the revelation from it yet. God’s Word comes in layers of revelation. It is like each phrase is a phone book of insight that can only be processed as our spirit and mind can handle the higher wisdom. The anointing in His Word is far above our ability to comprehend and is absorbed at the level of our development. The reason why this passage is presented again is because we need to see it again. When the seeds of our understanding begin to take root and bear fruit then our impatience and frustration will grow into wisdom and worship. “NOW FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) This seems like such a simple explanation but its truth is hidden like a treasure that is buried in the ground. It is not hidden FROM those who seek its beauty but rather it is kept FOR them. The mystery and wonder of this revelation is another example of an Almighty God trying to relay His thoughts past the “dark glass” of mortal perception and into the renewed conscience. Revelation is in the context of God “revealing” Himself to those who seek Him. The reason why most Christians do not understand scripture or cannot hear the whisper of His voice is because they have not been seeking “first” the Kingdom of God or His righteousness. We can have all we want if we are willing to sacrifice our time to dig for it. It is something to consider how easy it is for people to believe in the super-natural belief of a bodily resurrection from the dead and the eternal heaven of perfection, but roll their eyes in mockery at the idea of believing God for healing or prosperity.

God has faith. The “evidence” is whatever He envisions. He believes and knows that what He says will appear and whatever is manifested when He speaks IS the “substance” that He has created with the power of His belief! The same is true with our evidence of “THINGS” not seen. These visions, desires and prayer petitions are waiting in the incubation chambers of our patience and His timing. His covenant oath is a bond that promises our faith connection to Him and it is our pledge to commit our heart and mind to Him. This relationship is the ultimate revelation of spiritual intimacy between man and God and is the heartbeat of understanding His divine reality. He is not the one holding us back from doing His will! Our refusal to dedicate our life to Him hinders the inferno of Holy Ghost power and the release of His glory in our life. The bride of Christ will overcome and the remnant seed will follow Him to the end with their last breath. Selah. How can something that has not been manifest yet be something that we can see and feel? The petition that we are interceding about must become so real in our spirit and mind that it becomes more than just a whim or a passing thought – it must become a tangible “consistency” that is as REAL as the literal touch of a tree or stone. This type of hope is not a wish or a dream but a KNOWING along with an aggressive embrace that will NOT fall prey to doubt or fear. Our faith cannot be anything less than a complete CONFIDENCE that He has heard us, that He will respond through us and that He is in the process of making it come to pass! This type of relationship is developed through presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, confessing His Word, fasting, praying and ABIDING in His divine reality. This is the reason why true faith is nearly extinct – very few are committed to reaching this level of love and devotion to Father. It is much easier to spend an hour in church each week than to actually WALK with Him. It is much easier to believe that whatever happens will happen than to be used as a catalyst of change. It is much easier to read the paper and shake your head about how bad it is than to get off the couch and actually help someone. “What does it profit, my brothers, though a man say he has faith and has not works? CAN FAITH SAVE HIM? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say’s to them. Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; but you do not give them what they need; what does it profit? Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. Yes, if anyone would say, you have faith and I have works: show me your faith without thy works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18)

Knowledge without faith explains why when troubles come people turn to every practical, logical, human idea they think of without ever considering turning to God until they are completely out of ideas. Desperation will usually not work because true faith can rarely be planted, watered, developed or harvested – overnight. Father is not looking for us to call on Him as a last resort but rather to be built up in Him strong so that when we need faith it will already be available for us to release with the assurance that victory is on the way! This is why the Lord is angry with religion. It is not real! It looks good on the surface but is not genuine. It is like a cardboard town, fools gold or a diamond ring in a bubble gum machine. There is also a difference between positive thinking and living in faith. It is wonderful to be an optimist but to have FAITH is to have the attention of God. The lost can be positive minded but they cannot have faith because they do not have the spiritual connection. The unsaved do not have the legal, spiritual privileges of God’s Kingdom because they are not a part of that realm. God is not necessarily moved and is not obligated to act just because someone has a need. We can see the vast amount of suffering and dying in the world with people crying out for help. But His will is established by His own perfect divine order and the truth of His Word is the foundation of His integrity. He waits for us to see the evidence and receive His substance.