What Faith Is...

We know from Hebrews 11 that faith is the assurance—the substance, that which has actual existence—of things hoped for, the conviction, or proof, of things not seen.

In Mark 11, Jesus told us to 'believe we receive, when we pray.'

But what do these things mean, really?

Let's put it in context. Do you know how happy, how grateful and thankful you feel when something you've prayed about comes to pass...especially when it was really important?

The sense of relief, joy and gratitude is wonderful.

Then it hit me...believing you receive when you pray is all about experiencing the joy, the thankfulness, the assurance that your prayer is heard and answered at the moment you pray.

How is that possible? 1 John 5 gives us a clue:

'This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

'And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.' [1 John 5:14.15]

And there's always this passage...

'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

Or this...

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." [John 14:13,14]

So it would seem we have clear guidelines as to what kind of prayers God will answer. If they come from His Word, He will answer.

And if we know that we have the request we ask up front, we should feel just as happy when we pray as when we see it actually come to pass.

That's what faith is. Believing God's Word before we see it in the natural. Feeling as joyful about the answer when we pray as when we actually see it come to pass.

Think about this. Jesus said that answered prayer results in joy...

"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." [John 16:24]

Everyone has joy when answered prayer manifests in the physical realm. But faith sees the answer already done at the point of prayer...that's faith!

Know that your Father loves you and that He is watching over His word to perform it, for you. Believe you receive, when your pray...and rejoice!

The Gospel of the Kingdom

I did a search today for the word 'kingdom' in the New Testament...and came up with fourteen pages of verses!

Fourteen pages, in the New Testament alone!

I had no idea. I guess it's an important idea...

Then I found this:

'Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.' [Matthew 4:23]

I don't know how I missed that! The gospel, or good tidings, of the KINGDOM! Hallelujah!

'For He rescued [or delivered] us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the KINGDOM of His Beloved Son...' [Colossians 1:13]

Here we clearly see that there are two kingdoms—the domain, or kingdom, of darkness, and the Kingdom of His Beloved Son. It is the latter that Jesus, and later the Holy Spirit, reveals to us in the Word.

I've been know to say that, when we pray, we should pray from our position in Christ, seated in Him in heavenly places. [Read Don't Look Up, Don't Look Up 2, Don't Look Up 3]

Heirs

The Word says that we are heirs of God and fellow or joint heirs with Christ. [Romans 8:17]

What does that mean, exactly?

Hebrews 1:1,2 says...

'God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed HEIR OF ALL THINGS, through whom also He made the world.'

So if He is the heir of all things, and we are His joint heirs, that explains the following scriptures...

'For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.' [1 Corinthians 3:21-23]

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.' [Luke 12;32]

'...God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.' [1 Timothy 6:17]

Interestingly, God also promised Abraham that he would be the heir of the world:

'For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.' [Romans 4:13]

Hmm...

I think this is how it goes. The promise was made to Abraham and to his seed, singular, which is Christ.

'Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.' [Galatians 3:16]

The Greek word for begotten in the scriptures about Jesus is monogenes—only child. I was an only child, so I was the monogenes of my parents. Jesus is called the only child of God.

But wait...throughout the New Testament we are called the children of God—sons and daughters, fellow heirs with Christ! Jesus becomes an older brother! No longer an only child, but an older brother! What gives?

This is really going to bake your brain...remember that we are all One with Him! Technically, He's still monogenes, just spread out a lot, poured into a lot of temples. [1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19]

We are the Body [singular] of Christ! Hallelujah!

This is why Jesus, when confronting Saul on the road to Damascus, asked why he was persecuting Him? Jesus had already ascended to heaven...Saul was persecuting Christians, but Jesus saw them as One with Him!

All Things
So it is true. We are, with Jesus, heirs of the world.

But think about this...the Word tells us that all things were made by and for Him!

'All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.' [John 1:3]

Let's look at some other important, related truths...

'He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.' [Colossians 1:17]

'...in whom [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' [Colossians 2:3]

'For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete...' [Colossians 2:9,10]

So, He made it all—it is all for Him, in Him [including ALL THE FULLNESS OF DEITY] and He is the heir of it all.

And He has decided to share it with us.

Made

Everyone knows what a 'made man' is in Mafia lore. [Yes, I confess a certain weakness for gangster movies...I repent]

When a man is 'made' in Mafia circles, he enters into the full rights and privileges of the 'Family.' Interestingly, it is a ceremony of blood covenant, and only 'made' men can rule within the family.

Hmm...

Consider how God looks at the concept of 'made'...

'...(as it is written, "A Father of many nations have I MADE you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.' [Romans 4:17]

God changed Abram's name to Abraham—The Father of Many Nations—before Isaac was born! "A Father of many nations have I MADE you!"

God decrees things.

"...declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'" [Isaiah 46:10]

This is God's MO—how He does things. He created the heavens and the earth by decree, He created man by decree. [Genesis 1, 2]

Yad, Again...
The Hebrew word ‘yad’ is translated several ways: hand, power, strength...when you research how it is used in the Old Testament, it is obvious that it is the powerful, strong hand which accomplishes things in the earth. The power [yad, or hand] of life and death is in the tongue [Proverbs 18:21], which could alternately be translated ‘Death and life is in the hand of the tongue…’ [Read Yad, The Yad of God, The Yad of God 2 ]

God 'makes' things by His words and by blood covenants.

We're Made!
Guess what? We've been MADE things, too.

'But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, MADE us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved ), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...' [Ephesians 2:4-6]

'...so that being justified by His grace we would be MADE heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' [Titus 3:7]

'...to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous MADE perfect...' [Hebrews 12:23]

'For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be MADE righteous.' [Romans 5:19]

'But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is MADE unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption...' [1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV]

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God in him.' [2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV]

And we know it worked, because He calls us saints. The Greek word is hagios…most holy ones! Not sinners, but the righteousness of God in Christ. Hallelujah!

Made like Him, made to reign in life.

Made.

Tap the Power

You know the story of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5...

'A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse —after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.

'For she thought [Gr. lego—to say, speak or affirm], "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

'Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?"

'And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

'And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."' [Mark 5:25-34]

Jesus did nothing to heal her as we would think. He didn't even know she was there! He didn't give a word over her, or lay hands on her, or anoint her with oil!

She drew the power out of Him by her faith!

His Part, Our Part
Yes, He was there and full of God—He was exactly where He was supposed to be—but it was her faith that made the connection and drew the power out of Him. He was totally unaware of her until He realized that power had gone out of Him. When He perceived what had happened, He confirmed it: "Daughter, your faith has made you whole."

Yes, in many cases He did lay hands on the sick and they recovered—He called the dead back to life and even spit on people's eyes and ears for healing! But in every case, whether He was consciously party to it or not, it was the individual's faith that drew the power out.

When He went back to His hometown of Nazareth, the people took offense at Him because they thought they knew who He was.

'Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief...' [Mark 6:4-6]

He couldn't do much there because of their unbelief! No faith, no miracle.

The same was spoken of the Israelites and their inability to enter into the promises of God...

'For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?

'SO WE SEE THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO ENTER BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF.' [Hebrews 3:16-19]

It always takes faith to draw miracle-working power from God. Why? Because faith is the substance—the assurance, substantial quality, that which has actual existence, real being—of things hoped for, the conviction, or proof, of THINGS NOT SEEN. [Hebrews 11:1]

Hebrews 1:3 goes on to say 'By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that WHAT IS SEEN was NOT MADE out of THINGS WHICH ARE VISIBLE.' Yes, it always comes back to the visible and invisible, the temporal and eternal [2 Corinthians 4:18].

Jesus The Word
Jesus is the Word of God, and we know that the Word of God is settled forever. [Psalm 119:89] He is and was the fulfillment of all the Old Covenant, including Psalm 107:20...'He sent His WORD and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.'

He was the forever settled WORD of healing—God's work, already finished—she just tapped into it. Interestingly, He called her 'daughter' or thugater, which in the Greek means daughter of God, acceptable to God. In other words, she was in covenant with God, and her covenant provided for her healing!

I have previously written that I see God’s Word, forever settled in heaven, like a canopy above us, filled with all precious and pleasant riches [Proverbs 24:4]. We are told to look at the unseen and take hold of the hope set before us—so we look at His forever settled Word and speak “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, ON EARTH, AS IT IS [present tense] IN HEAVEN…”

She drew from that forever settled Word, the Word of her covenant—the Covenant just standing there in front of her! Sort of like the old-fashioned leather hand straps of a trolley—she just reached up and grabbed it, because IT WAS ALREADY THERE! Just like Hagar’s well! [Genesis 21:19]

Why was it already there? Because God had already spoken all of His Word…He has rested from His works! She was a daughter of the covenant!

For Us, Too
So it is for us as well. Jesus was not only the Old Covenant, He is the New Covenant, too! He is the Limitless One, and we are one Spirit with Him. [1 Corinthians 6:17]

'For as many as are the promises of God, IN HIM THEY ARE YES; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

We are sons and daughters of the New Covenant, created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. [Ephesians 4:24]

‘For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.’ [Galatians 3:26]

‘Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”’ [Galatians 4:6]

Therefore we, too, can tap into the power within to take hold of the promises of God for us.

Hallelujah!

Book of Power

I did a word search on the word ‘power’ and found 220 references in the New American Standard version!

The Greek word translated ‘power’ in these scriptures is dunamis…strength, power, ability…power for performing miracles, the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth, power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts.

Wow.

Then I did it in the KJV and got 260, mostly because they translated the Greek work exousia ‘power’ in the KJV and ‘authority’ in the NASB.

Once you add other words, like ‘might’ or ‘strength’ it becomes very evident that the Word is a book of and about POWER.

Of course, the source of all this power, or authority, or might, or strength, is God Himself.

But in the New Covenant, power has been transferred to the believer—not only power, but all or great power!

‘…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with POWER through His Spirit in the inner man…’ [Ephesians 3:16]

‘For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

‘so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

‘strengthened with ALL POWER, according to His glorious might…’ [Colossians 1:9-11]

‘But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the SURPASSING GREATNESS OF THE POWER will be of God and not from ourselves…’ [2 Corinthian 4:7]

‘For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of POWER and love and discipline.’ [2 Timothy 1:7]

You see, we are filled with power because we’re filled with God!

In John 14, Jesus said that He, the Father and the Holy Spirit would all come to reside within us. And the New Covenant clearly teaches in several places that when we receive the sacrifice of Jesus for our lives, we die. Some verses say we were crucified with Him…buried with Him in baptism, raised up and seated with Him in heavenly places! Hallelujah! [Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:6]

And we are one Spirit with the Lord! An earthen vessel, filled with the power of God.

Think about it.

Glory

The Hebrew word for ‘glory’ is kabowd—glory, honor, abundance, riches, splendor, reputation.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary describes both kabowd and the Greek doxa as abundance, wealth, treasure, honor, splendor, brightness, majesty.

‘Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" And He said, "I Myself will make all My GOODNESS pass before you...” [Exodus 33:18,19]

God Himself described His glory as His goodness!

Temple
Did you know that we are the temple of God?

‘Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?’ [1 Corinthians 3:16]
‘Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?’ [1 Corinthians 6:19]

Did you also know that, in the Old Covenant, the temple, which was a type of the New Covenant temple, was filled with the glory of God?

‘...and when they praised the LORD saying, " He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.’ [2 Chronicles 5:13,14]

When they PRAISED GOD the temple was filled with His glory...His goodness was so heavy that they couldn’t stand up!
And we are His temple now! Filled with His goodness!

‘“The glory which You have given Me I HAVE GIVEN TO THEM, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”’ [John 17:22,23]

He GAVE us—past tense—the GLORY that His Father had given Him!
One Spirit with the Lord, filled with His glory.

Meditate on that! Hallelujah!

God to Satan

God made Moses as god to Pharaoh, who was a type of Satan. [Exodus 7:1] The Hebrew word for ‘god’ in this passage is elohiym, the same word used for God Himself…

In John 10, Jesus quoted David:

‘"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.” 

"I and the Father are one.”

‘The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.

‘Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"

‘The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."

‘Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods?’ [ref Psalm 82, Heb. elohiym]

"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God?'

"If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."’ [John 10:29-38]

Now we know that we are one Spirit with the Lord and we are to reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus. [1 Corinthians 6:17; Romans 5:17]

God Is Faithful

I awoke a few weeks ago hearing "I am faithful." 

So, of course, I had to check it out in the Word. 

'No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.' [1 Corinthians 10:13] 

'If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.' [2 Timothy 2:13]
'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful...' [Hebrews 10:23] 

His faithfulness does NOT depend on us! It is not conditional upon our performance in any way! He is faithful because that's Who He is. 

Revelation 19:11 says that one of the names of Jesus is Faithful and True! 

His word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and He cannot lie. [Titus 1:2] 

Have you ever wondered why He can't lie? Because by the time the lie came out of His mouth, it would be true! If He started to say 'dog' where there was no dog, by the time He finished there would be a dog there! It's not so much that He won't lie out of some moral character, although I believe that, too...it's more that He can't lie, because everything He says COMES TO PASS! 

So His Word—His precious and magnificent promises by which we become partakers of THE DIVINE NATURE—is true. Why? Because HE SAID SO! 

Eternity
We already know some other things about God...He is eternal, the Alpha and Omega. His Word is settled forever and it will accomplish what He sent it for in the earth. 

I love Isaiah 46:9-11. 

"Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, DECLARING the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, SAYING, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure;' CALLNG a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. 

"Truly I have SPOKEN; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it." 

An important note...eternity is not just forward—it's backward, too! The Hebrew word for 'forever' in Psalm 119:89 is owlam—continuous existence, unending—without beginning or ending! His Word is without beginning or end! Now that is faithful! 

Hagar’s Well
Let's read about Hagar again. If you remember, she was Sarah's maid, who she gave to Abraham to have a child with. But when her child Isaac was born, she became jealous of Ishmael and asked Abraham to send them away. 

'"And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant. 

'So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. 

'When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, "Do not let me see the boy die." And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. 

'God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 

"Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him." 

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink.' [Genesis 21:13-19] 

Why is this story so important? 

Because it demonstrates His faithfulness. 

His promise to Abraham was really for the child of promise—Isaac, through Sarah—but because Ishmael was also a descendant of Abraham's, He honored His word. 

Plus, it's a great look at eternity. That well was already there...the angel just revealed it to her. Since His works were finished from the foundation of the world [Hebrews 4:3] technically it was there before He ever made a promise to Abraham! 

"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments..." [Deuteronomy 7:9] 

Remember...even if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. [2 Timothy 2:13]And as we've seen, faithfulness, like eternity, is both forward and back, without beginning or end. 

Just like God.

The Father Within

Wait a minute...I might have just seen something amazing here...

'"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works."' [John 14:10] 

'Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.' [John 14:23] 

'Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:20,21]

Yes, it's true. The Father is within, and He works through us, just like He did through Jesus.

Put that together with these verses, and you'll see something wonderful!

'The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes...' [Deuteronomy 1:30] 

'...for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' [Deuteronomy 20:4]

'Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, "I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will extol Him. THE LORD IS A WARRIOR; the Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; and the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.' [Exodus 15:1-4]

'The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.' [Isaiah 42:13]

'The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.' [Zephaniah 3:17]

The Lord is within us, and He is a warrior! He IS the power that works within—He IS mighty and He will fight for us!

The Lord told Moses to stretch forth his hand—his yad*—so that the the waters would come back over the Egyptians. Moses spoke the word…[Exodus 14:26]

And then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea! [Exodus 14:27]

Moses spoke it, and the Lord performed it!

Now we know that the Hebrew word for peace is shalom—completeness, soundness, welfare, peace…

‘Lord, You will establish peace for us, since You have also performed for us all our works.’ [Isaiah 26:12]

How about these?

‘I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.’ [Psalm 57:2

‘The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.’ [Psalm 138:8]

And don't be afraid.

'When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 

"When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. He shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted.

'Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' [Deuteronomy 20:1-4]

The Father within, He does the works! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

* Search this blog for articles on yad—the Hebrew word for hand. They will blow your mind!

The Father Within

Wait a minute...I might have just seen something amazing here...

'"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works."' [John 14:10] 

'Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.' [John 14:23] 

'Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:20,21]

Yes, it's true. The Father is within, and He works through us, just like He did through Jesus.

Put that together with these verses, and you'll see something wonderful!

'The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes...' [Deuteronomy 1:30] 

'...for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' [Deuteronomy 20:4]

'Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, "I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will extol Him. THE LORD IS A WARRIOR; the Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; and the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.' [Exodus 15:1-4]

'The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.' [Isaiah 42:13]

'The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.' [Zephaniah 3:17]

The Lord is within us, and He is a warrior! He IS the power that works within—He IS mighty and He will fight for us!

And don't be afraid.

'When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 

"When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. He shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted.

'Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' [Deuteronomy 20:1-4]

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

As You Think

Proverbs 23:7 says:

‘For as he thinks within himself, so he is.’ [Proverbs 23:7]

So if you think there’s no way out, guess what? There will be no way out for you. If you think the way will be hard, guess what? It’ll be hard. If you believe the Word is true for you, it will be true for you.

Jesus confirmed this spiritual law in several places:

“All things are POSSIBLE to him who believes.’ [Mark 9:23]

“…for truly I say to you, if you have FAITH the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO YOU.” [Matthew 17:20]

“Truly I say to you, if you have FAITH and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.” [Matthew 21:21]

“Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but BELIEVES that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, BELIEVE that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” [Mark 11:22-24]

“If you had FAITH like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea;' and it would obey you.” [Luke 17:6]

Of course, most of these verses also tie in the spoken word with believing, but right now we’re just looking at the believing part, because out of the treasure of the heart the mouth speaks.

The Greek word for ‘faith’ in these passages is pistis….the conviction of the truth of anything, BELIEF.

A side note…the mustard seed is tiny. So it seems that we don’t need a lot of faith to move mountains and trees!

And 1 Corinthians 13:13 says faith abides—lives within us! Why? Because all the fullness of Deity [Godhead] dwells in Him, and IN HIM we have been made complete. [Colossians 2:9,10]

According To Your Faith
Jesus told almost everyone He delivered that it was because of their faith, not His. And when in His hometown, He could not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. [Matthew 13:58]

Unbelief, or not believing, was the reason Israel didn’t go right into the Promised Land [Hebrews 3:19]

‘And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not UNITED BY FAITH in those who heard.’
[Hebrews 3:18,19; 4:2]

What’s interesting about this passage is that God considered their unbelief disobedience…[Hebrews 4:6]

Transformed
Finally, Romans 12:tells us to BE TRANSFORMED—Greek metamorphoo, to be changed into another form, to transform or transfigure—by the RENEWING of your MIND.

Change your mind, your beliefs, because as you think you will be.

3 John 2 says this:

‘Beloved, I PRAY that in ALL RESPECTS you may PROSPER and be in GOOD HEALTH, just as your SOUL PROSPERS!’

You will only prosper and be in good health to the degree that you first prosper in your soul!

Change your mind!

Read Renew Your Mind, Amen to the Glory of God, How Big is Your God,

According To Your Faith, Your Beliefs Your Reality, Think Like God.

God Wants You Free

Consider this...

God wants and needs for you to be delivered as much if not more than you do!

We're taught, wrongfully, that we need to beg for His help, and sometimes the answer is 'No.' Maybe He wants to teach us something, or maybe we just don't deserve His help.

These things are not true. I don't care where you heard them.

'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

'"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the FATHER MAY BE GLORIFIED in the Son. If you ask Me ANYTHING in My name, I will do it."' [John 14:13,14]

'"In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you WILL receive, so that your joy may be made full."' [John 16:23,24]

'...and through Him everyone who believes is freed from ALL THINGS, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.' [Acts 13:39]

Already
Technically, we are already delivered from everything we need to be delivered from, because His works were finished from the foundation of the world. [Hebrews 4:3]

We are one Spirit with Him, His Body in the earth...as He is, SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD! [1 Corinthians 6:17; Ephesians 1:23; 1 John 4:17]

'For in Him ALL THE FULLNESS of Deity—GODHEAD—dwells in bodily form, and in Him YOU HAVE BEEN MADE COMPLETE...' [Colossians 2:9,10]

Did you know that the Greek word for 'salvation' is soteria, meaning deliverance, preservation and safety? Deliverance from the molestation of enemies!! Hallelujah!

In fact, He tells us how to appropriate His will.

'And do not be conformed to this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind, so that you may PROVE what the will of God is, that which is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT.' [Romans 12:2]

In other words, we are transformed when we know we are!

Transformed into the manifestation of His Word! Healed, delivered, rich, protected...

Why? So that we can PROVE what His good and acceptable and perfect will is!