Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Chosen by God to be Fruitful

At the very beginning of creation we read of God's first recorded words to Adam: "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; ..." (Gen. 1:28, NKJV).

God's command is to be fruitful, which is part of God's purpose of man. This is quite separate from multiplying, which relates to filling the earth and refers to subduing the earth, so that it is productive and brings forth fruit. This is an important principle to see because God wanted Adam to exercise rulership as part of his fruitfulness. In other words, he would be directly involved in producing order and being in authority over the animals and plants kingdoms. He was to be in control and as long as he was in fellowship with God abundance, prosperity and fruitfulness would result. The same principle applies to redeemed man in the walk of the Spirit. We are to be fruitful. When Jesus spoke to the disciples he told them: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you" (John 13:16).

The fruit we are to bear is the type that will last and determine our reward in heaven, which is of course eternal and will last forever. In this message we shall look at the fruit that the Holy Spirit wants to bring forth in our lives and how to achieve abundant fruitfulness.

All fruit starts as a seed and when we are saved there is a seed planted within us. It comes from the Holy Spirit tree and is the very nature of Jesus, who was filled with the Holy Spirit and fruitfulness.

Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

There is no fruit apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit will produce the nature of Jesus in us to the degree that we co-operate.

The seed and the fruit

The parable of the sower indicates what can happen to the source of the fruit, namely the seed. Without restating the parable in full, the seed is the Word of God and some fell on the path (wayside), some on rocky (stony) ground, some among thorns and some on good ground.

Jesus gave the explanation: "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who recieved seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (Matt. 13:18 - 23).

The seed is supposed to produce fruit in each one of us, but we determine how great that fruit shall be. This is true both of salvation and of the seed of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5 is in essence a contrast between the walk in the Spirit and the walk in the flesh. There is a choice hence the exhortation from Paul: "Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16).

We shall now consider the parable of the sower in relation to the seed of the fruit of the Spirit, for the principle is identical. The first seed falls by the wayside. Jesus relates it to the message of the kingdom that is neither received nor understood and the Devil therefore snatches it away. This can happen to the seed of the fruit of the Spirit for if it is neither received nor understood it will not be watered and the Devil will snatch away the idea that we should be fruitful at all. This happens when only salvation is preached and nothing more. It is assumed that any fruit will be self-germinating and automatic. Part of that message is that the gifts are not for now either! We need to be sure that the concept of fruitfulness is not snatched away by the father of lies and the accuser of the brethren.

The rocky ground is the man who initially desires to be fruitful for God but has no root to reach down to the nourishment. He doesn't read the Word because there is something good on TV. He doesn't go to the prayer meeting because it means getting up early after a late night movie or a late night birthday party. And if the prayer meeting is at night, he'll probably have to go out dinner with friends. He doesn't fast because it means missing a meal or two. This kind of shallowness will not produce fruit because of all the rocks in the ground. There is an initial enthusiasm after salvation but the spiritual life then gets too hard because some effort is required!

The thorns and thistles are more common than generally realized. We tend to assume that we are of course the good ground and can deceive ourselves that we are better than is the case.

James said: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

Unless we are actively putting into practice the principles of the Word of God we will be deceived into thinking that we are following the Lord when we are merely onlookers.

Two of the main thorns are the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. These prevent the fruit of the Spirit from growing to full maturity. If we can weed out the thorns and thistles then we shall have abundant fruit. All fruit come from the same seed. You do not produce some of the fruit and not others.

The fruit of the Spirit and the character of Jesus

The fruit of the Spirit is in essence a description of the character of Jesus. We are to be like Him, and aware of those things that hinder this.

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

In the context of a race any excess weight slows you down and you miss your potential. With the gardening picture the problem is both the soil and the weeds. God nevertheless is keeping an eye on us as His sons and daughters and will correct and discipline (chasten) us.

The writer of Hebrews said further: "If you endure chastening God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you ar illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore stengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather healed" (Heb. 12:7 - 13).

The fruit of the Spirit and the harvest of righteousness and peace are in essence the samething. Therefore we need to see discipline in a positive way and not despise God's ways of making us fruitful. We reap what we sow and if we sow to the Spirit we shall reap a bountiful harvest in the form of a really fruitful life for God.

The Devil is also sowing as the parable of the wheat and tares illustrates but we sow too. The seventh of the things the Lord hates is a man who sows discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:19). Control of the tongue is the suprime objective of self-control and God wants the Holy Spirit to control our tongues. One of the reasons that tongues were given to the Church at Pentecost is because God wanted His people to praise Him with a pure tongue and that had to come from the Holy Spirit. This is still true in the natural area and God wants your uncontrollable tongue - "But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8). It is He who will produce that fruit of self-control as we yield to the Spirit of God. The fruit of the Spirit is the corporate result of the process of turning seed into ripe fruit. You don't have some but not others, e.g. patience but not self-control! They are all part of the same fruit. It starts off as a seed but it's all there in potential. First, you see the blossom immediately after salvation, and then it falls off sometimes to the surprise of the person who expected to be that way permanently. After blossom you have a tiny little piece of fruit that forms. If you pick it and eat it you will find that it is hard, green and bitter and you would reject it, but it is still nevertheless fruit. Only in later stages does the fruit come into ripeness and is visibly identifiable as fruit because the color changes. Too often we only think of fruit as fully formed and ripe and fail to recognize the stages of growth. Growth takes time and we are being repened by God into mature fruit. It need not take so very long and will be affected by the climate we are in. If you are in a greenhouse where here is warmth and water you will grow more rapidly. Equally true is the reverse, namely that if you are stuck out in the icy cold and not fed or watered, the fruit will be less and take much longer to produce. Fruit is important because it show wha kind of tree you are from. Even if you are producing fruit God will still prune you and you will be cut back regularly to produce even more fruit. It is the result of a spirit led life and does glorify God as Jesus siad: "By this My Father is florified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8).

This is why we are told to recognize people by their fruit because it shows what kind of seed is inside them.

Two different views of the parable of the sower


In the parable of the sower Jesus said that the seed would bear fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold and some on hundredfold. There are two different views of the meaning of this:

1. Some consider that the seed has equal potential in each person and that we can all produce one hundredfold as our maximum potential because the seed of the Holy Spirit is capable of this. If you then produce sixtyfold you have achieved sixty per cent of your potential and similarly thirtyfold is thirty per cent. In other words, it all depends on the soil and how we feed and water the seed.

2. The other view is that believers have diferent potential by the svereign grace of God. Some are capable of much, others of less and God is looking for faithfulness. This view is supported by the parable of the talents where they were given different amounts. If you are a thirtyfold in potential and produce thirtyfold, then you have done equally as well as the potential hundredfolder who produces a hundredfold. Actually if you produce thirty and the other person produces ninety you have done better as far as God is concerned even if an outside observer thinks the ninetyfolder has been three times as productive as you!


Whichever view you choose the key is to achieve your maximum potential and not be concerned if others appear to be doing better. There is tremendous potential in the Holy Spirit to be really productive for the Kingdom and it is also true that we can quench the Holy Spirit and limit the fruitfulness. It is up to us to keep our soil weed free and open to the light of the Word of God and the Living Water that comes from Jesus. There is a day coming when God who is no man's debtor will reward those who have faithfully served Him and led a fruitful life. It is indeed a high calling. There is no easy way or soft option for the man of God. We have to take up our cross daily, die to self and follow Jesus.


Conclusion


Perhaps the best way to conclude is to consider what Paul wrote in Timothy and pray that God will be pleased with us on that day when we finally meet the One we seek to serve:


"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:7, 8).


When we meet Jesus may He be able to say: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matt. 25:21).


Many people toward the end of their natural life regret the missed opportunities and the wasted years, when they chose to live for themselves rather than God. Solomon started off walking with the Lord but the care of this life and the deceitfulness of riches led him astray. When he looked back and wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes he wished he had been wholehearted toward God. He discovered that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and that the commandments of the Lord are the route to happiness and he wished he had followed them. May we make the most of the days God has given us and determine afresh that we will be led by the Spirit of God, living a fruitful life worthy of our high calling.


"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Eccl. 12:13, 14).

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Walking in the Spirit

Paul said to Timothy: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Tim. 1:6, NKJV).

Christians ought to learn to live by the laws and principles of the Kingdom of God, and to invest our faith that God who has begun a good work in each of us will bring it through to completion. The flesh, the natural man and the Spirit are opposed to one another, and we have to put off the old and put on the new in order to be able to walk in the Spirit.

Six aspects of the Spirit led life

Paul said: "... for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).

Paul said to Timothy: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7).

These two passages of Scripture highlight six aspects of the Spirit led life that God has called us to and we should expect them in increasing measure:

1 Hunger and thirst after righteousness

Jesus tells us to hunger and thirst after righteousness because we shall be filled. Although we have the imputed righteousness of Jesus, Paul is really here about living out our part - In other words, right living. We are to live by God's standards and be blameless, innocent and holy. This will affect all the areas of our lives. It means submitting rigidly to all the laws of the land, including speed restrictions and yellow lines, being 100% honest about our tax returns, submitting to our employer and being a good employee. We need also be willing to submit to the leadership of our Local Church. God wants us to do these things for Him, as unto the Lord because they are the environment within which He is training ue in sonship. If Jesus had to learn obedience (Hebrews 5:8) then we have to as well, and co-operate to produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11).

2. Walking in peace

God has also called us to peace. The Kingdom of God is not in termoil and confusion. It is peaceful and orderly and God wants us to be peaceful and orderly too. Jesus left us His peace which the world cannot give (John 14:27). It is part of His Kingdom and we should constantly experience the peace of God. In order to do that, we need to have a right relationship with God, with our family and with other believers. This means constantly walking in fellowship with God as Jesus did, being in unity and harmony with our family, and being able to fellowship freely with everyone, as there are on personality clashes or friction. If any of these areas is not right we cannot enjoy the peace that God intends for us.

The Bible is very practical and tells up how to deal with each of these situations. As far as God is concerned we may need to confess our sin or get back into faith on some issues. With the family it may be getting the roles right so that the husband can lead by example, treating his wife correctly and making sure that the children are obedient. Problems with other believers may just need an apology with a willingness to forgive and forget. The key to not quenching the Holy Spirit is to make sure that you are walking in peace and if something comes up to deal with it that day and not let the sun go down on your anger. The longer you leave it, the harder it is and it goes no affecting you. If you are not in peace ascertain why and allow the Holy Spirit to show you the correct steps to get back into peace.

3. Walking in joy

The Kingdom of God is meant to be full of joy and the happiest place to be. The Holy Spirit is full of joy and we need to cultivate the joy we have inside. If anyone could ever accuse us being miserable then we are quenching the Holy Spirit who very definitely is not! This needs to be expressed in our praise and worship in Church as well as in our homes and we should be known as the happiest people around. This is not just a good testimony for others but allows the Holy Spirit to express through us how He feels no matter where we are. When Stephen was stoned and his face glowed, it was surely with the joy of the Lord as he saw Jesus, and the joy of the Lord was his strength. It enabled him to be in victory during the stoning and he just 'fell asleep' and passed into heaven (Acts 7:55 - 60).

4. Walking without the spirit of fear

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power. Fear is able to quench the Holy Spirit because it effectively paralyses a believer and intimidates him. This can be true not only in meetings but individually and we need to experience the perfect love of Jesus that cast out fear. If you have fear then it is not from God, and you need to be freed from it.

David, the psalmist said: "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Ps. 34:4).

5. Walking with power

God has given us power and need to be sure that we are not limiting the power and quenching the Holy Spirit. God has given us power to be witnesses and to have authority over all the principalities and powers that seek to oppose and hinder the work of God. We are in a spiritual war whether we like it or not, and we are the targets. We need to move in the power of God and learn what power we have. We can pull down spiritual strongholds, pray obstacles out of the way, cast out demons in the Name of Jesus and move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We are positionally seated with Christ, higher than the angels, the fallen angesls, unredeemed men, the animals and the plants. We need to see it and realize what God has entrusted to us. It requires a revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Paul said: "... that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him ato be head over all things in the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:17 - 23, emphasis added).

Once we see it we can then move in faith and prove it to be true in our own experience. God does not want us holding back with what He has chosen to give us. Along with the power we have love, which is the very nature of God, for power without love is dangerous. May we allow God always to motivate us with the love of the Father, and to let His perfect love remove any fear we coud otherwise have.


6. Walking with a sound mind or self-discipline


We have it now and need to allow God the order that comes from discipline. In other words, it should be clear that Holy Spirit has produced an ordered, stable and mature life out of whatever muddles there were when we were saved. This is then a credit to the work of the Holy Spirit and shows that we have come under new management. It is important not to fight it while it is happening! Part of that new self-discipline will be time to pray, time to study the Bible, time with the family and time with other believers all in a proper balance.


On fire for God


If we really want to be on fire for God we have to function as fire does. It is not an emotive issue based on standing up at a service or meeting on dedication. It is like the song about love - don't talk of love show me!


We can now consider seven marks of being on fire for God and see how well we measure up to them, because where the Holy Spirit is unquenched these marks should be in evidence.


1. Fire gives off warm


Fire give off warm. When we are on fire for God, the effect should be that we warm others around us, just like sitting round a warm fire. Sometimes we use the phrase that we are warm to someone. It is meant to be like that when the Holy Spirit controls our personalities, as he never was and will never become a cold person. In other words, there should be a warming effect by being with someone burning for God. This happened on the road to Emmaus when two disciples walked with Jesus.


"Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us" (Luke 24:32)?


Whatever personality we may naturally have the Holy Spirit can change us to be more like Jesus so that others warm to us and see that the Lord is a warm Person.


2. Fire gives off light


Fire give off light. The darker it is the more visible the light even from a great distance. God wants us to be salt and light for Him, so that others will clearly see. To do this we have to be burning our oil.


Jesus said: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot of men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor can do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:13 - 16).


God desires a witness for Himself on the earth for those not saved and the light we have is meant to point them to the Lord. This implies that it has to be something supernatural otherwise they would not praise God for it, but assume it was part of our natural character. The passage implies that in our role as ambassadors and witnesses for Jesus there will be supernatural signs following. Jesus wants us to make clearly visitbgle wha we have and not to hide it. If we areon fire for God there will be signs following our ministry, because God Himself does not want the Gopel to be hidden. Even if men prefer darkness to light (John 3:19) God wants that light for those who will look in it. John described Jesus as the light of the world (John 1:9) and that ministry has been extended to us, so that we fully represent Him.


3. Fire is used in cooing and to prepare food


Fire is used in cooking and to prepare food. The Bible describes itself as milk (1 Peter 2:2) and meat (1 Cor. 3:2) and the ministry of a teacher is to prepare and present that food so that the believers are nourished and fed. A man on fire for God will not serve up spiritual food reheated from cold, but garnish the meat in such a way that it makes the listener come back for more. It may mean turning tha meat into mince so that it can be digested more easily. He will spend hours in preparation. If you want to be on fire for God then you should ask God to teach you how to prepare spiritual food for the Body of Christ, and seek to develop the ministry of feeding the flock. Too much is left to the 'Bible teachers' when this should be a feature of Christians going on with God, that both know the Word and can teach it.


The writer of Hebrews said: "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only milk is unskilled in the word of righteiousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to thse who are of full age, that is, those hwo by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:12 - 14).


4. Fire is used for purifying


Fire is used for purifying. This is a ministry needed in the Body of Christ so that it is pure and it takes a man on fire for God to do it.


The Lord said: "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 a launderers' soap" (Malachi 3:2).


The principle is to heat up the substance so that the impurities come to the serface where they are then skimmed off. In terms of ministry a man on fire for God can do that because the warmth of his presence enables those with deep problems to allow themselves to be affected by the warmth which brings up the impurities which are then dealt with and removed. In other words, those on fire for God can have a counseling type of ministry from the Holy Spirit that purifies the Body of Christ and prepares the Bride of Christ for Jesus. This can also be done through the anointed word of prophecy or knowledge so that the word is received and results in the Body being purified.


5. Fire is used for melting and welding


Fire is used for melting and welding. If you are on fire for God your heat can affect believers who come near you so that some of the heat is transferred. You can melt those iced-up for some reason or other, and restore life to the frozen parts This is partly how the Body of Christ will be formed into one. god wants to weld us together as a single unit but with many parts, ad it will take the fire of the Holy Spirit and men who will be used by God to do this. Unity will not come because everone decides to gorget their differences, but will be a work of the Holy Spirit uniting us in a bond.


6. Fire us used for protection


Fire is use for protection. God is concerned to protect the weak and defenseless in the Body of Christ and it is the role of the man on fire for God to act in a protective capacity. This means being aware of those most vulnerable and making sure that they are safe and living in peace and stability. In one sense, it is a passive role and expresses a zeal and concern for the whole house of God.


7. Fire is used for destruction


Fire is used for destruction. It is the element that God has chosed for the final destruction of the Devil in the lake of fire, and God uses it in many other places in a similar way. The earth will be destroyed with fire at the end of the Millennium. As far as the man of God is concerned we need the fire of the Holy Spirit to destroy the works of the Devil and give him a foretaste of the lake of fire. If we are on fire for God, then we should be seeing th Devil's work destroyed in the Name of Jesus. Elijah did this both with the prophets of Baal and also the two groups of fifty men sent to capture him.


It is part of God's ministry for us to have dominion over demonic principalities and powers and to destroy the work they are doing, whether with literal fire or not. A man on fire for God will see God move in this way so that the authority we have in the heavens is established here on the earth.


When the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit tongues of fire rested on each one of them. they then all spoke in tongues. There is a link here because tongues are part of the anointing that comes on you when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. In other words, part of being on fire for God is a ministry of tongues as a spiritual weapon in paryer and ministry.


Conclusion


It is quite likely that not all the aspects of being on fire for God are functioning in their fullness in our lives, because there is a natural tendency in all of us to hold back and be cautious or conservative. The question then follows what should we do if we are quenching the Holy Spirit and not seeing those things that the Bible imply are normal but we consider exception?


We need to realize that God has lit a fire in each of us at salvation and however dimly it is burning it hasn't actually gone out!


Isaiah foretold about Jesus - "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; ..." (Matt. 12:20).


When Paul wrote to Timothy he reminded him that he had a flame and it wasn't burning as it should. Paul had prayed for him early (2 Tim. 1:6) and he had received a ministry, probably through a word of prophecy, which had not yet come to pass. It was there bu latent.


Similarly it can happen to you. You may have had a Word fromthe Lord about your ministry and that initial fire of enthusiasm had died down. Now is the time to start to fan that little flame and seek to be on fire with the ministry God has given you. Ask the Lord to refresh you with a new vision of that calling and press on into it.


The psalmist said: "Who makes His angels sprits, His ministers a flame of fire" (Ps. 104:4).

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Whatever is not faith is Sin

Paul said: "Do you have faith? Haveit to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith, for whatever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 14:22, 23, NKJV).

The walk of the Spirit is a walk of faith because that is the dimension in which God moves. If we are not walking in faith toward God and His Word, then as far as He is concerned we are walking in unbelief, and that is sin.

The Lord declared: "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him, but the just shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 3:4).

The writer of Hebrews said: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).

Faith is so fundamental to moving on with God that we need to understand it and learn to nurture it to the glory of God, who considers it to be more precious than gold.

Faith is not something you either have or have not based on whether God felt liking giving it to you. This would be both irrational and unfair. For that reason, Paul is careful to state that God has dealt to each person a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Clearly some people's measure has grown more than others but no-one actually misses out on getting their measure. It is like a seed that is planted at salvation. We all have it but it need to be fed and watered to allow it to grow.

The growth of our measure of faith

The growth of our measure comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) and being tested and proved in greater and greater areas. The more you know, understand, believe and apply the Word of God, the more your faith will grow and you will be able to reach out to God for more and more. For example, you start off moving in faith in small matters such as being in faith for our health and then as you faith grows you can pray for those who are not in good health. Even that is by degrees of faith. You start off with the coughs and colds, aches and pains, and as you see these clearing up, you move on to harder cases such as broken bones and any form of "incurable" disease. It is imprtant always to stay within your faith and let God increase it by degrees. Occasionally you may receive the gift of faith referred to earlier (in one of my messages) which enables you to move beyond your measure of faith. But the point is that God gives you extra faith and you should not move into unbelief, because that shuts off the flow and anointing from heaven. When God asked Solomon what he wanted most, he asked for wisdom. If I was asked the same question now the answer would definitely be faith, for it pleases God and allows the full manifestation of the Spirit of God. In my opinion, there is not enough faith in the Body of Christ.

Obstacle to faith

The biggest single obstacle to faith is unbelief about what the Bible says to be true. Whereas the world says - "Seeing is believing," God's way is the opposite - "Believing is seeing." In other words, you do not see because you do not believe.

One of the paradoxes in the Christian life is that even if we have unbelief we still have faith, for the Holy Spirit inside us is always in perfect faith toward God's Word, whereas it is the natural mind that is in unbelief. In other words, you can have both but unbelief blocks off the faith and because it is sin and needs to be confessed and forgiven. Once you dealt with the unbelief, the faith is there according to the measure you have. The opposite of faith is not just unbelief but sight - in other words, using the natural senses.

Living by faith

Paul said: "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7).

This is a hard concept because most of us like to see where we are heading! If you want to walk purely in the natural realm you will never experience the walk of faith, because it is not visible to the natural eyes. If you are a natural forward planner faith will be very hard for you as you have to unlearn the natural laws and learn the laws of the Spirit. Faith is of supreme value to God, who only moves in the faith area. He is permanantly in faith about all His promises in the Bible, all the future, and everything He has prepared for His children.

The writer of Hebrews said: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).

This verse summarises what faith is. This is God's total faithfulness regarding all that He has promised us. Because He is all-knowing, all powerful, and eternal and cannot lie or changes, we have total security in His Word for our lives, whatever happens on the earth. That does not mean that everything is predestined but that God will make sure that every promise toward us will hold true. We need faith in God and His revealed Word. If you are in unbelief about the Bible being the revealed Word of God you cannot walk in faith. For example, Abraham trusted in God's Word and was commended for his faith.

The writer of Hebrews said about Abraham's faith: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:8 - 10).

Abraham never received the geographical territory promised to him, and he is still in faith in heaven that Jesus will give it to his descendants precisely as promised when He returns to the earth to reign for one thounsand years in the Millennial Kingdom. The promise was given to Abraham (Gen. 15:18) and God is committed to it. This is equally true of all the unfulfilled promises of Jesus. Any prophecy not fulfilled during Jesus' time on the earth will be literally fulfilled when He returns. We need to be in faith about this and believe it even though it may seem impossible. It certainly looks impossible that Israel will own Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and part of Egypt in the foreseeable future, yet God has promised that it shall be so and we need to be in faith that it shall come to pass when Jesus returns. Much of Isaiah contains millennial prophecies based on Israel coming into the territorial promise and the Lord reigning personally in Jerusalem.

"And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will thresh, from the channel of the River in the Brook of Egypt and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. So it shall be in that day; the great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria. And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mountain of Jerusalem" (Isaiah 27:12, 13).

We also need to be in faith about the Second Coming of Jesus to establish His Kingdom and of course about the Rapture.

John said: "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2, 3).

This hope inside us is supposed to affect us. These are not just dry doctrines but part of the eternal purposes of God for us and we need to allow them to stir up our faith and encourage us to keep going.

Bible characters who lived by faith

Hebrews 11 is the key passage outlining those who lived by faith and it is too extensive to quote here. When you read it note the kinds of things they did by faith.

"And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented - of whom the world were not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountain, in dens and caves of the earth. and all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise" (Heb. 11:32 - 39).

They were commended because they were in faith toward God despite all the circumstances and believed that God was still able to keep His Word.


The testing of faith


Faith will definitely be tested to the limit and proved to see how real it is. Peter said: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6, 7).


In my opinion, testing is similar to attaching a rope to a branch to climb a tree. you test it by giving a really strong tug with all your weight and then know it will support you while you climb. You are testing both the rope and the branch. The branch is like the Word of God and will support any weight. The rope is like faith and you need to be sure that you have a strong enough piece to be in faith for it to support you. It is the proving of your faith rather than a test you pass or fail, and once you have given the rope a good pull and proved it strong enough you then move out in faith and start to climb. Your faith is then proved genuine. Doubts, fears and unbelief will neutralize the faith we have, bringing us into the realm of natural sight, and even if we are in faith there can be so much unbelief in others that God is unable to act, as He will not move out of the dimension of faith. Jesus who was full of faith was hampered in Nazareth where He could do nothing because of their unbelief. That is why a prophet is not without honor except at home where he is known. If you are too well-knownpeople see you in the natural, faith is suppressed and no-one believes you can do anything. Nothing therefore happens and that just confirms their suspicions! If it was true of Jesus it will be true of us. As a result the Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved.


Paradox of unbelief


It can be even be the case that there is more unbelief in Christians than those who do not know the Lord, however strange that might seem. I observed that, in a healing rally it can be easier for non-Christians to receive healing from God as a sign that He loves them and desires them to be saved, whereas believers can cut off the flow from God by being in unbelief and therefore miss the healing to which they Biblically entitled.


Unbelief comes from two main sources which we need to examine:


1. The natural senses - the natural mind


Paul said: "But the natural man does ot receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one" (1 Cor. 2:14, 15).


The natural mind rejects faith as foolishness or presumption. It is illogical, unintellectual, irrational and dangerous. Now if we were dealing with 'faith healing' that would be true, since it is faith in faith, but we are dealing with faith in God who has made His will known and actually given us faith to use. We therefore trust in His eternal promises and His Word, which has substance and purpose. God has chosen the foolish things of the world, including the poor and unintelligent, to baffle the wise because He does not want natural wisdom to be involved in the faith at all. We need to beware of the natural senses blocking faith.


2. The Devil


The Devil, who is the father of lies and the accuser of the brethren, knows how powerful faith is as he is the victim of faith in the areas of healing and deliverance and will therefore do his utmost to discredit Jesus, the Bible and Christians walking in faith. Our faith will be attacked and tested with one of the main targets being the whole question of healing. The Bible declares that Jesus died for sickness as well as sin, as sickness was part of the curse on Adam from which we have been redeemed.


Peter said: "... who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).


Isaiah said: "Surely He has borne out griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4, 5).


If Jesus bore our sicknesses and pains and by His stripes we are healed, then this is a clear statement that Jesus died for sickness as well as sin, and healing is included in the Atonement - if only we woul believe it. There is still much unbelife in this are which quenches faith. Jesus spent much of His time healing the sick, told the disciples to do the same, and said that if would be part of the signs following believers that they too would heal the sick to illustrate tha the Gospel is true. The Holy Spirit gave the gifts of healings to the Church to use actively and positively, and we should do so. There are Biblical conditions for healing, and we need to fulfill these and be aware of them, but always be aware that healing is available form God as part of the New Covenant. May it never be true of us that Jesus can do nothing because of our unbelief.


In concluding on faith we need to have a positve confession that everything the Bible says about us is true whether we see the evidence or not. Faith does not need to see the visible evidence because God says it. In Revelation the victory of the believers is described: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Rev. 12:11).


What we confess out of our mouths is important and forms our testimony. It must be the word of faith that is able to overcome all satanic opposition. We can have faith to move mountains and need to speak it out of our mouths in every situation.


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


Our high calling is the daily walk of faith!