Direct From G.o.d to You!
What I"m preaching works! It keeps me stable when everything around me seems to be falling apart. If you receive this revelation, it"ll work for you too!
Therefore, I encourage you to take this prayer in Ephesians 1:17-23 and combine it with the prayer in Ephesians 3:16-21 and make them your own. Pray them and pray them and pray them- not to make G.o.d do something but to open up the eyes of your understanding so that you might see the fullness of what He"s already done. Believe me, G.o.d wants you to have this revelation even more than you do. Simply open up your heart, start seeking, and become hungry in a positive way, saying, "G.o.d, I can"t live any longer without a revelation of what You"ve already done. I refuse to keep asking, begging, and pleading with You to do what You"ve already done. I must have this understanding!" As you seek Him with all your heart, these truths will totally change your life.
This isn"t a revelation you receive once and then never have to revisit. It"s the kind of understanding that must become part of your everyday Christian life. The rest of this book will begin to expand and expound on this even further. I believe it"ll really help you. But ultimately, you need the Holy Spirit to make this real to you personally. This needs to go beyond mere intellectual knowledge and become revelation knowledge-direct from G.o.d to you!
I agree with you now in prayer that the Lord will use these things I"ve shared to help you receive this revelation that you"ve already got it!
CHAPTER 5.
By Grace Through Faith.
The book of Ephesians was written to show you what G.o.d has already done. Its prayers don"t pet.i.tion Him for something new, but rather that the eyes of your understanding might be enlightened to see what you already have. (Eph. 1:17, 18.) Notice how everything is in the past tense: "And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespa.s.ses and sins" (Eph. 2:1, brackets mine).
It"s not, "You can be quickened if you believe, if you will seek, if you will pet.i.tion G.o.d." No! It"s all written from this same "done deal" perspective. You"ve already got it! G.o.d has already quickened you.
Alive!
If you"ve received Christ, you"ve been made alive. Although the quickening power of the Lord has been purchased for everyone-Christian and non-Christian alike-the non-Christian hasn"t yet received it or been made alive. But as a born-again believer, you have been quickened.
You may not have manifested the life of G.o.d in you, but your spirit is as alive as it will ever be. Even though your physical body may be hurting and your soul is still wrestling with depression, your born-again spirit is alive the way Jesus is alive. You have G.o.d"s resurrection power inside you. You aren"t trying to be made alive. You were already made alive in the spirit realm. Through faith, you can draw that life out of your spirit and into your soul and body.
Pray according to G.o.d"s Word, understanding who you are and what you have in Christ. Don"t start pet.i.tioning Him from a place of unbelief, opposite the Word, saying, "Lord, I"m dead. There"s nothing good in my life. I"m lifeless." Instead say, "Father, I thank You that I do have resurrection life inside of me. The doctor says I"m dying. There"s death working in my body, so I"m drawing out Your life which is in me. I thank You that it"s done. Now, I take my authority and speak. I command sickness to leave and healing to manifest, in Jesus" name." That"s the proper att.i.tude. You"ve already been quickened!
"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).
Notice how following and being dominated by Satan was something in the past. You might think, I"m a I"m a Christian, Christian, but I"m still dominated by the devil. but I"m still dominated by the devil. If that"s so, it"s because verse 1 isn"t reality for you. You don"t understand how you"ve already been quickened and delivered from the death that was in trespa.s.ses and sin. When you truly understand that you"ve been made alive, it breaks the power of sin, and you live in victory. If that"s so, it"s because verse 1 isn"t reality for you. You don"t understand how you"ve already been quickened and delivered from the death that was in trespa.s.ses and sin. When you truly understand that you"ve been made alive, it breaks the power of sin, and you live in victory.
Your life will be characterized by victory instead of defeat. It"s not that you reach sinless perfection and never make a mistake. It"s just that when you understand and acknowledge that Christ has already done it-that you already have resurrection life and you are as Jesus is in the spirit-victory is an inevitable byproduct.
"That the communication of thy faith may become effectual [begin to work] by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus" (Philem. 1:6, brackets mine).
Your faith works and you"ll see victory manifest-physically, financially, emotionally, etc.-as you acknowledge every good thing in you in Christ!
New Nature / Nature / New New Seat Seat "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the l.u.s.ts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Eph. 2:3).
Again, everything is in the past tense. Some say, "But this is still working in me!" If so, it"s because you haven"t understood that, in the spirit, you already have everything. You are as complete as you"ll ever be. Since you haven"t understood and acknowledged the good things that are in you in Christ, you"re still being dominated by the flesh.
The truth is, your nature has been changed! You don"t have an old nature anymore that compels you to live in sin. It died and was buried the moment you accepted Christ. Your new nature-your born-again spirit-was created in righteousness and true holiness.
(Eph. 4:24.) The only reason you still struggle with those old-desires toward sin is your unrenewed mind. As G.o.d"s Word transforms your mind, you"ll experience less of those old desires and more of your new nature. (Again, I cover this in much greater detail in my teaching ent.i.tled Spirit, Soul & Body.) & Body.) "But G.o.d, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)" (Eph. 2:4, 5).
Notice again, it"s in the past tense. You"ve already been quickened. G.o.d loved you. He"s already done this.
"And hath [past tense] raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6, brackets mine).
This isn"t something to seek after or to try to attain unto; it"s something to be received as a gift. It"s already done. You are already in relationship with G.o.d. You are already raised from the dead spiritually and are now seated with Christ in heavenly places.
Sodium & Chloride "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:7-9).
That"s a powerful pa.s.sage of Scripture. It"s also very familiar. Therefore, many people think they already know what it says.
They just skip over it and don"t really give it much time or effort, which is why they don"t receive its full benefit.
You were saved by grace through faith. You weren"t saved by grace alone. Neither were you saved by faith alone. You were saved by grace through faith. In order to make a point to someone, sometimes I"ll emphasize one over the other. For instance, if someone argues, "I believe you have to be holy, pay your t.i.thes, be baptized, etc.," then I"ll respond, "No, you"re saved by faith. It"s your faith in what Jesus did that saves you, not what you do for the Lord." So it"s not absolutely wrong to emphasize "you were saved by grace" or "you were saved by faith" in order to make a point. But technically speaking, you weren"t saved by grace alone or by faith alone. It was a combination of the two. You were saved by grace through faith!
Grace and faith are like sodium and chloride. If you ingest either one of them alone, it"s poisonous. Alone, either one would kill you if taken in a sufficient quant.i.ty. However, if you mix them together, you get sodium chloride (table salt). Together, they become something you cannot live without-salt. That"s how grace and faith are!
Grace alone (apart from faith) won"t save you! In His grace, G.o.d has provided salvation for everyone through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. G.o.d"s grace is the same to everyone. However, not every person is saved. Why? Although the provision for their salvation has already been made (grace), each individual must appropriate G.o.d"s grace for themselves by faith!
Faith alone (apart from grace) won"t save you either! You must put your faith in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished in the atonement (grace). If your faith is in anything else (living holy, paying t.i.thes, reading the Bible, attending church, etc.), it won"t produce salvation. Your faith is either in Jesus and what He did (grace) or in yourself and what you do (works). It truly comes down to that! Biblical faith always believes on Jesus and appropriates what G.o.d"s grace has already provided.
Grace vs. vs. Faith Faith I"m a grace teacher. I emphasize what G.o.d has done for us. Due to this, I"ve been rejected by many "faith" people. They think I overemphasize G.o.d"s grace and under emphasize what we must do for G.o.d.
I"m also a faith teacher. I emphasize our responsibility to respond positively to what G.o.d has already done. That"s why I"m rejected by the strong "grace" crowd. They think I put too much emphasis on what we must do.
Overall, the Body of Christ is divided primarily into two different camps-grace or faith. Grace people misunderstand and criticize faith people, and vice versa. Both tend to take their positions to the extreme.
Grace people don"t like to hear preaching on faith. Why? They look at it as something we must do. Therefore-to them-it compromises G.o.d"s grace. They teach that the Christian life is based totally on G.o.d"s grace. Your faith-what you believe-has nothing to do with it. That"s why grace, by itself, will kill you!
On the other hand, faith people don"t like to hear preaching on grace. Why? Their focus is all wrapped up in what they must do. They discuss how to build yourself up in faith, what faith will accomplish, etc. Faith preachers don"t like to mention G.o.d"s grace because they feel it weakens people"s motivation to be aggressive and make things happen. However, faith, by itself, will also kill you!
All error stems from a truth in G.o.d"s Word being overemphasized at the expense of other complementary truths. Just take one truth and exalt it to the exclusion of other necessary truths (either through neglect or on purpose), and it"ll become an error.
There must be a balance! All truths from G.o.d"s Word fit together and harmonize. When understood properly, grace and faith complement each other. You were saved by grace through faith. (Eph. 2:8.) It took both, not just one or the other!
Unearned, Undeserved, Unmerited Grace is multi-faceted. First Peter 4:10 speaks of "the manifold [many-fold, multi-faceted] grace of G.o.d" (brackets mine). Therefore, grace can be defined in several different ways.
Most people define grace grace as "unmerited favor." While that"s certainly true, it"s incomplete. This definition focuses on the truth that grace is unearned and undeserved. It"s a gift. If you worked for it, paid for it, or met some minimum requirement in order to receive it-then it wasn"t grace. Grace is unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor. as "unmerited favor." While that"s certainly true, it"s incomplete. This definition focuses on the truth that grace is unearned and undeserved. It"s a gift. If you worked for it, paid for it, or met some minimum requirement in order to receive it-then it wasn"t grace. Grace is unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor.
Another important facet of grace is that it"s something G.o.d did for you, independent of you. By grace, Jesus died for the sins of the entire world. He didn"t wait until you"d already lived and sinned before responding to you. No, G.o.d accomplished salvation prior to and independent of you. He had predetermined that He would send His Son to the cross for us even before He created the world, before He made people, and before they sinned. Redemption beat in the heart of G.o.d long before you came along!
G.o.d"s grace made the provision for your salvation before you ever needed it. Jesus died for your sins 2,000 years ago-before you were born, before you ever sinned. Prior to and independent of you or anything you could do to earn or deserve it, G.o.d provided for your salvation. That"s unmerited favor!
Consistent Grace is also consistent. Since it"s not based on our performance, and it"s done prior to and independent of any worth, value, or merit on our part, G.o.d-by grace-is the same toward everyone. Christian and non-Christian, G.o.d-hater and G.o.d-lover, His grace is exactly the same.
"For the grace of G.o.d that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (t.i.tus 2:11).
Grace includes everything Jesus did for us in the atonement. The Word says His grace has appeared to "all men," not just those who have or or will receive it. will receive it. Therefore, Therefore, G.o.d"s G.o.d"s grace grace is the same to everyone. is the same to everyone.
If grace alone saved you, then everyone would be saved. G.o.d"s grace is consistent toward all people and has come to all men, but not everyone is saved. Jesus made it very clear that more people will choose the wide gate and broad way leading to destruction than will find the narrow gate leading to life. (Matt. 7:13.) Why? You aren"t saved by grace alone. You"re saved by grace through faith. You must respond to G.o.d"s grace with faith in order to receive it.
G.o.d extended as much grace toward Adolph Hitler as He has to you or me. But as far as we know, Hitler didn"t receive G.o.d"s grace. Unless Adolph changed his heart at the very last minute, which only G.o.d knows, he ended his life resisting the Lord. Even though he was an apparent G.o.d-hater, G.o.d"s grace always remained consistent toward him. But according to our knowledge, Hitler refused to receive it.
G.o.d"s grace alone doesn"t save you. G.o.d"s grace doesn"t heal you by itself. Neither does it bless you. G.o.d"s grace doesn"t do anything for us alone. However, when you receive that grace and mix it with faith, G.o.d"s power is released to make salvation a reality in your life.
Your Positive Response Faith is not something you do that makes G.o.d move. Studying the Bible, confessing the Word, acting on the Word, etc., are all involved in the faith process, but in themselves they aren"t "faith." Faith doesn"t make G.o.d do anything.
One of the major reasons people aren"t receiving more from the Lord is because they think "faith" is G.o.d responding to something they do. This puts the burden on you to perform and produce. You may be motivated for a period of time, thinking, Oh, I"m going to be perfect and do all these things. Then G.o.d will heal me. I"m going to be perfect and do all these things. Then G.o.d will heal me.
Ultimately, n.o.body can measure up to that. No one"s good enough to move G.o.d. Faith doesn"t move G.o.d; He"s not stuck. He"s not the one who needs to move. Faith is not something you do to make G.o.d do something.
The Bible calls such "faith" works and legalism. You"re doing something to try to make G.o.d do something for you. That"s flesh! You can take the Word, confess it, pray, get up, act healed, and throw your medicine away, but your actions will never make G.o.d heal you. In fact, works and legalism stop what G.o.d has already provided from coming into physical manifestation. Why? G.o.d will not be coerced into anything. Everything from G.o.d must come by grace through faith!
Faith is simply your positive response to what Cod has already provided by grace. If what you"re calling "faith" is not a response to what G.o.d has already done, then it"s not true faith. Faith doesn"t try to get G.o.d to positively respond to you. True faith is your positive response to what G.o.d has already done by grace. If what you"re calling "faith" is not a response to what G.o.d has already done, then it"s not true faith. Faith doesn"t try to get G.o.d to positively respond to you. True faith is your positive response to what G.o.d has already done by grace.
Faith only appropriates what G.o.d has already provided by grace. If you"re trying to make G.o.d do something new, then it"s not faith. True faith only receives-reaches out and takes-what G.o.d has already done. If you"re trying to make G.o.d do something new, then it"s not faith. True faith only receives-reaches out and takes-what G.o.d has already done.
CHAPTER 6.
"Such as I Have"
The early days of the charismatic movement were wild! People met in Bible studies, home groups, and prayer breakfasts because there weren"t very many Spirit-filled churches established yet. Mature spiritual oversight was lacking because most of the people involved had just been touched within the last year or two, including the ministers. Therefore, immaturity abounded. Many glorious things happened in the early 1970s, but there was plenty of wildfire too!
Several outstanding scriptures became very popular in those days: Have faith in G.o.d. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pa.s.s; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.Mark 11:22-24 And "all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23).
According to these verses, whosoever can ask G.o.d for whatsoever they desire-and anything"s possible! Can you see how easy it would be to slip into error if you didn"t know that faith only appropriates what G.o.d has already provided by grace?
What Things Soever You Desire? Things Soever You Desire?
In my hometown of Arlington, Texas, a woman started a Bible school with twenty or thirty students. She took Mark 11:22-24 and applied it to her desire to be married to Kenneth Copeland. Then she released her faith and began confessing, "I believe I receive, and I shall have it!"
However, Kenneth was already married to Gloria. So this lady viewed Gloria as her "mountain" and began praying for her to "be removed" and "cast into the sea." She actually commanded Gloria to die and get out of the way so she could then marry Kenneth. As an act of her faith, this lady had a wedding ceremony with these Bible college students in attendance where she "married" Kenneth Copeland "in the spirit." Then she just continued waiting for Gloria Copeland to die, so G.o.d could put Kenneth and her together.
Thirty-five years have pa.s.sed, and it hasn"t happened yet-and it"s not going to either. Why is that, when G.o.d"s Word plainly says "what things "what things soever soever ye desire"? Can"t you just curse somebody, command them to die, and then marry their spouse? Can"t you plan a bank robbery, pray for the money, and then say, "I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that I"m going to steal a million dollars and not get caught. I believe and receive; it"s mine!" Why can"t you do those things? It"s very simple once you see it. ye desire"? Can"t you just curse somebody, command them to die, and then marry their spouse? Can"t you plan a bank robbery, pray for the money, and then say, "I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that I"m going to steal a million dollars and not get caught. I believe and receive; it"s mine!" Why can"t you do those things? It"s very simple once you see it.
G.o.d-by grace-didn"t provide murder, adultery, or thievery in Christ"s atonement. Therefore, since Jesus didn"t provide it, your "faith" can"t make it happen!
Receive What"s Already Been Already Been Given Given Faith doesn"t move G.o.d. He doesn"t respond to what we do "in faith" and then move. By grace, G.o.d has already provided everything. The Lord doesn"t look at your praying, confessing, begging, fasting, and agreeing with others, and the other things you do as adding up to "enough" to make Him move. Those things aren"t like a pry bar that once enough pressure is applied-boom-you can make G.o.d"s power work. The Lord doesn"t respond to your faith!
Your faith, if it"s a true faith, is simply a response to what He"s already done. G.o.d-by grace-has already healed everybody. He took upon Himself all of the sins and sicknesses of the entire world at the Cross. He"s already dealt with it. It"s a done deal. It"s over. That"s why 1 Peter 2:24 says, "By whose stripes ye were were [past tense] [past tense] healed" healed" (emphasis and brackets mine). It"s already done. The Lord isn"t healing people today. He provided healing 2,000 years ago in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. People are drawing on that healing by faith and receiving the manifestation of it today. But G.o.d already did the necessary work to provide it a long time ago. (emphasis and brackets mine). It"s already done. The Lord isn"t healing people today. He provided healing 2,000 years ago in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. People are drawing on that healing by faith and receiving the manifestation of it today. But G.o.d already did the necessary work to provide it a long time ago.
Healing was released, transmitted, and broadcast 2,000 years ago in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once you"re born again, He places within you the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead. It"s no longer a matter of getting G.o.d to give you healing; He already has. The issue is whether or not you will-by faith-reach out and take it!
When you need healing, G.o.d doesn"t even have to lift His little finger. People pray, "O G.o.d, put forth Your mighty hand." Wrong! The Lord has already accomplished healing and placed it inside your born-again spirit. In order for healing to manifest, you must receive it. You don"t have to make G.o.d give it; you just have to receive in the physical realm what He"s already given you in the spirit. Appropriate-by faith-what G.o.d has already provided by grace.
Active Waiting When you understand what I"m sharing, it"ll totally revolutionize the way you receive from G.o.d! Most people I minister to are trying to get G.o.d to heal them. So they pray, do all these other things, and then pa.s.sively sit back and wait on Him to move. To justify themselves, they quote scriptures like Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Lord.
They just twiddle their thumbs and sigh, "Well, it"s G.o.d"s turn!" This kind of "waiting" is not how to effectively receive receive from G.o.d. from G.o.d.
"Waiting on the Lord" means being like a waiter or a waitress in a restaurant. They aren"t just sitting down somewhere, waiting for you to do something. No! When they"re waiting on you, they are attentive to you. A good waiter sees when your beverage gla.s.s starts getting low and comes right over to fill it.
They are sensitive to and in tune with who they"re waiting on, constantly asking, "Is there anything else I can do for you? Are you all right? Do you need anything?" That"s the kind of "waiting" the Bible is talking about.