Although this isn"t the main point of Romans 3, it"s still a true statement. G.o.d"s faith in you operates according to "the law of faith."
Constant and Universal Faith works according to the laws G.o.d created to govern its use. The word law, law, in this sense, means "constant, without fluctuation or variation" and "universal." That means faith works for everyone, everywhere, in the same way, much like the law of gravity. in this sense, means "constant, without fluctuation or variation" and "universal." That means faith works for everyone, everywhere, in the same way, much like the law of gravity.
Gravity is constant-without fluctuation or variation-and universal (applying to everyone on earth). That"s why we call it a
"law." For instance, I"m here in Colorado using the law of gravity to sit in a chair. If, for some reason, you couldn"t do the same over in China, gravity would be a "phenomenon" and not a law. In order for something to be cla.s.sified as a "law," it has to apply the same way to everyone everywhere.
Most people don"t look at faith as being governed by law. They think G.o.d could do anything He wants to if they just ask Him and "believe." They don"t understand that there are certain restrictions the Lord has placed upon Himself. Therefore, G.o.d"s faith always abides by these laws.
Again, this truth is evident in the natural realm with the law of gravity. What happens if a person jumps off the Empire State Building? Does G.o.d want to see them die? Is the Lord punishing them? No. But He won"t suspend the law of gravity in order to save their life either. G.o.d doesn"t want people hurt and killed by gravity, but that"s exactly what will happen if they violate this law.
That"s the Way It Is!
Faith is governed by law. G.o.d did that for your benefit. He doesn"t want you to die of sickness, fail financially, or suffer mental and emotional problems. However, if you don"t learn how faith works and begin to cooperate, these same laws (which were (which were meant to bless you)-when violated-will kill you. That"s an awesome truth! meant to bless you)-when violated-will kill you. That"s an awesome truth!
G.o.d cannot-because He will not-violate His own laws. It"s against His righteous and holy nature. When G.o.d says something, that"s the way it is. He doesn"t change things He"s established just because of our whims, needs, or ignorance. People-whom G.o.d loves with all of His heart-die not because it"s His will, but because they violate His laws of faith.
CHAPTER 21.
Faith Speaks.
One of the laws of faith is: You will have what you say.
"A man"s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Prov. 18:20, 21).
Death and life are in the power of your tongue! This is a law of faith.
G.o.d created the worlds by faith through speaking them into existence. (Gen. 1.) Everything natural-physical, what we can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel-was created by words. G.o.d"s faith-filled words are what framed this universe and continue to hold it together. (Heb. 1:3; 11:3.) If He were to violate His own words- the laws He created-the whole universe would self-destruct. Why? Because creation is held together by the power of G.o.d"s living Word!
G.o.d"s creation is governed by laws. One of the laws of G.o.d is that we have what we say. There is power in words. We speak words.
The ability to speak reflects G.o.d"s image in us. This is one very important characteristic that sets the human creation apart from plants and animals-we speak words. In a sense, it"s G.o.d-like because words have the ability to create.
Learn To Speak Life Jesus confirmed this law. (Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-24.) He spoke to a fig tree and commanded it to die. The next morning, His disciples discovered that overnight, the tree had done exactly that. In response to their amazement, Jesus declared: Have faith in G.o.d. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe but shall believe those things those things which he saith which he saith shall come to pa.s.s; shall come to pa.s.s; he shall have whatsoever he saith. he shall have whatsoever he saith.Mark 11:22, 23, emphasis mine Faith is released by words. It"s one of the laws that govern faith. Death and and life-not just life only-are in the power of your tongue. life-not just life only-are in the power of your tongue.
If you"ve been born again, you have the faith of the Son of G.o.d. Since most Christians don"t know this, they don"t use it. The few who do believe, still may not see it work properly because they don"t understand and cooperate with these laws that govern faith.
If your doctor told you that you"re going to die soon, your words will affect what you receive. If you knew that G.o.d had already healed you and you"re trying to believe, your words will determine what you experience. You"ll get life or death according
to what you say. If someone asks you how you are, you release death death by answering, "I"m going to die. The doctor said I"ve only got a week left." If you start planning your funeral and giving in to by answering, "I"m going to die. The doctor said I"ve only got a week left." If you start planning your funeral and giving in to grief, you"re empowering death. grief, you"re empowering death. Even though you have the faith of the Son of G.o.d inside you, it won"t be released. Instead, what Satan wants to do will be released through those words of death. Your words are that powerful! Even though you have the faith of the Son of G.o.d inside you, it won"t be released. Instead, what Satan wants to do will be released through those words of death. Your words are that powerful!
Heart and Mouth Together You may have heard an extreme version of this truth through the "faith" or "confession" movements. Some people have even termed this "name it and claim it" or "blab it and grab it."
This truth-you"ll have what you say-has been abused in many ways. If someone said "That tickles me to death!" the self-appointed "Confession Police" would immediately jump up and condemn them. However, Romans 10:10 clarifies the issue.
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
It"s only when the heart and mouth work together in faith that the confession is brought to pa.s.s. The reason why people don"t drop over dead when they use a slang expression like "It tickles me to death!" is because they didn"t mean it in their hearts. I"m not saying it"s good to continue using such an expression, but it didn"t come to pa.s.s because the words weren"t what the heart truly believed.
Regardless of how this truth has been misrepresented and abused, it"s still a truth. Many Christians are missing out on what G.o.d has provided for them in the spirit because they aren"t using their words properly. You must learn to speak life instead of death!
Speak to the Mountain But just speaking your faith isn"t enough; you must also speak directly to the mountain.
"Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed. (Mark 11:23).
Most Christians are busy talking to G.o.d about their mountain instead of talking to their mountain about G.o.d. The mountain is your problem, or whatever you want to see changed. Speak to it!
Don"t say, "O G.o.d, I"m sick. Please take this disease from me!" or "Father, please remove this debt." That"s a violation of what this scripture is telling you to do. You"re talking to G.o.d about your mountain. Speak to the sickness. Talk to your bills. Address your depression, or whatever else the problem may be. Tell it that G.o.d has already set you free. Then, command it to leave you alone. That"s why you must understand the authority G.o.d has given you and how it works. (My teachings "The Law of Faith" and The Believer"s Authority The Believer"s Authority thoroughly address these issues.) thoroughly address these issues.) I stayed with a couple while ministering in Charlotte, North Carolina. They watched the video "Niki Ochenski: The Story of a Miracle." This testimony of how the revelation of grace and faith helped a teenage girl on the brink of death receive her healing deeply touched the wife. She had a friend who was suffering from the same thing (fibromyalgia and chemical sensitivities). So she immediately invited her over so I could pray with and minister to her.
Once the friend arrived, I shared G.o.d"s Word and countered this woman"s wrong thinking for about half an hour. When she was ready to pray, I commanded all pain to leave her body and- BOOM BOOM-it was instantly gone. She started praising G.o.d, but a few minutes later remarked, "I still have a burning across my waist in the back. Why didn"t it leave with all the other pain?"
I shared with her Mark 11:23 and answered, "The Bible says you have to speak to the mountain. You told me you had pain throughout your body, so I spoke to pain. Now watch this. I"m going to speak to burning." Then I commanded burning to go in Jesus" name. Immediately, it was gone, and she was praising G.o.d!
"Burning, in the Name of Jesus..."
I taught her how to stand on the Word and what to do if a symptom returned. Then, as she was getting ready to leave twenty minutes later, she said, "That burning is back."
I told her, "Well, I"ve just instructed you in what to do. Now I want you to pray and rebuke this."
So she prayed, "Father, I thank You that it"s Your will to heal me and that You"ve already healed me. By Your stripes, I was healed. I now claim my healing, I stand on it, and I thank You for it in Jesus" name." That"s a pretty good prayer coming from a woman who less than an hour before had thought G.o.d sent her this sickness to glorify Himself.
However, I I knew that burning hadn"t left. So I asked, "How do you feel?" knew that burning hadn"t left. So I asked, "How do you feel?"
She responded, "The burning is still there.""Do you know why?""No."
"You talked to G.o.d about your mountain instead of talking to your mountain about G.o.d. You didn"t speak to it."
"What do you mean?" she asked."You didn"t speak to burning.""You mean to actually call it by name and talk to it?"
"Yes, that"s exactly what you"re supposed to do! Talk to that burning." Many people think that"s weird, but Jesus spoke to a fig tree. In fact, the Word says that He "answered" it. (Mark 11:14.) You can"t answer something unless it"s been talking to you first. That"s why when your checkbook speaks to you and says, "G.o.d"s Word doesn"t work. You"re going to fail. I"m in the red again!" you need to answer it with, "G.o.d"s Word does work. He"s El Shaddai- More Than Enough! I command you, checkbook, in the name of Jesus to come into the black and stay there!" You must speak directly to your mountain.
This time she said, "Burning, in the name of Jesus..." She stopped right there and shouted, "It"s gone!" She didn"t even get so far as to command it. Just by addressing it directly and using her faith in Jesus-boom-it left. What an awesome example of this principle in action!
Electricity Words are important! You can"t speak death, discouragement, defeat, and depression and then expect to receive blessings. It"s not going to work! Why? One of the laws that govern faith states that you will have what you say. Not only must you believe G.o.d"s Word in your heart and speak in agreement with it from your mouth, you must also speak directly to your problem and command it to get in line. Thank G.o.d for what He"s already done, and then command your body to quit hurting, your finances to work, the devil to get off your case, etc. Take your authority and use it. These are some of the laws that govern faith.
You already have the faith of the Son of G.o.d. You just need to learn how to use it. Once you understand how it works and begin to cooperate, you"ll start seeing results.
G.o.d created the natural laws that govern electricity. Even though man didn"t discover them and how they operated until recently, they"ve been here on the earth since the very beginning. People 4,000 years ago could have used electricity, but they were ignorant of its laws. Now that we"ve learned the laws of electricity, we use it. In fact, we use it all the time, and it"s dependable.
G.o.d didn"t withhold electricity from people because they were bad. David was a very G.o.dly man, but he didn"t know about it. Neither did Moses, Gideon, or Solomon. It was simply their ignorance of electricity and the laws that govern its use that prevented them from receiving its benefits. If they had known, they could have received.
People hurt themselves and die today, not because they"re bad people, but because they violate the law of faith. G.o.d isn"t against them. It"s just that He"s established laws regarding how His power flows-and they"re not cooperating.
Learn what those laws are, and put them into practice for your benefit. Until you do, G.o.d"s not going to change all of creation for you. He won"t suspend the law of gravity to save your life and kill millions of others just because you jumped off the Empire State Building. That"s not how it works. Discover the laws that govern faith and cooperate!
Release Your Faith I"ve only discussed a few laws thus far (mostly related to speaking), but there are many, many more. As you study G.o.d"s Word, you"ll see them. You"ll learn that Jesus encouraged people to act on their faith. Since "faith without works is dead," actions are another very important way to release your faith (James 2:26). There"s also forgiving others (Mark 11:25, 26), and so forth.
G.o.d"s Word brings you the original faith when you"re born again. Then, after you"re saved, it teaches you how that faith works. If you can believe that you have the same faith that raised Jesus Christ from the dead already dwelling on the inside of you, then the rest is just learning how to cooperate with the laws governing how it works.
CHAPTER 22.
Aggressive Receiving.
Mark"s Gospel records an awesome example of the laws of faith in operation. A woman with an issue of blood came to Jesus seeking healing. She simply touched the hem of His garment and was instantly made whole. The Lord felt virtue flow out of Him and turned around, asking, "Who touched My clothes?" (Mark 5:30).
His disciples were amazed. There was a mult.i.tude of people surrounding Him, and they were all pushing up against Him. But there was something very different about this woman"s touch. She touched Him in faith-and instantly the power of G.o.d flowed!
Most people believe that, as G.o.d, Jesus knew all things. Therefore, when He inquired, "Who touched my clothes?" He was simply asking a rhetorical question. Even though Jesus was totally G.o.d in His spirit, He lived in a physical body. Although it was a sinless physical body, Luke 2:52 reveals, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with G.o.d and man."
She Said Said Jesus didn"t know all things in His human mind. I believe He meant just exactly what He said when He asked, "Who touched Me?"
This is a significant point. If Jesus didn"t know who touched Him, then how did this healing virtue of G.o.d flow out of Him to effect this woman"s cure? Think about that!
Most people think G.o.d sizes us up when we come to Him with a request. Depending on how much we"ve prayed, studied the Word, fasted, lived holy, or a mult.i.tude of other things, He either grants or rejects our request. But that"s not what happened here. How did this woman receive her healing?
She put the laws of faith into action, and the power of G.o.d automatically flowed.
"For she said, said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole" (Mark 5:28, emphasis mine). If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole" (Mark 5:28, emphasis mine).
It"s a law of G.o.d that we have what we say. (Mark 11:23.) She said and she received.
Earnest Action It"s also a law of G.o.d that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). This woman acted on her faith. She didn"t just speak about being healed. She acted on that faith even at great personal risk.
In that day, anyone with an issue of blood was unclean, and everyone they touched became unclean also. Therefore, people with this uncleanness had to avoid crowds, because they would
defile everyone they touched. She could have been stoned to death by this mult.i.tude if they knew her secret. This is probably the reason why she was hesitant to come forward with what she had done.
Notice also that she touched the hem of Jesus" garment. How do you touch the hem of a garment when there"s a mult.i.tude thronging the One wearing it? The only logical explanation is that this woman was probably on her hands and knees, crawling through this ma.s.s of people.
Why is that important? It ill.u.s.trates another law of faith- earnestness. You can"t receive the things of G.o.d by just pa.s.sively seeking them.
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13).
As long as you can live without your healing, you will. But when you get aggressive, like this woman, where you are willing to risk even your own life in order to receive, you will.
Who"s Crazy? Crazy?
This woman had been suffering from this condition for twelve long years. (Mark 5:25.) She spent all the money she had trying all the different cures of that day but just became worse. (Mark 5:26.) No one faulted her for going the natural route. I"m sure people gave her much sympathy and pity. But if her friends knew what she intended to do-to approach Jesus in the midst of a mult.i.tude-I"m sure someone would"ve told her that was crazy.
It"s not crazy when we let doctors experiment on us. We allow them to treat us in ways that"ll kill a well person and cost us everything we have. But when we openly trust G.o.d for our healing, then we"re "fanatics."
However, it takes this type of aggressive att.i.tude to effectively receive from G.o.d.
This woman put a number of the laws of faith into operation, and the healing virtue of G.o.d flowed to her automatically.