IN FAITH

And Not Being Weak In Faith

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all  (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed-God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;  who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."  And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.  He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,  and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."  Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,  but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,  who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:16-25

God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did, expects His children to do the same just like Abraham did! Abraham, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."  Abraham was  not  weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.   And h did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,  and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And Abraham received his promised son and became a father of many nations! God’s word is unchanging:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.  By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.  By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 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. Hebrews 11:1-6

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:14-16

     The American Heritage dictionary defines the word ‘whoever’ as:

who·ev·er  pron. 1. Whatever person or persons.

When the children of Israel came out of Egypt they lost faith in God and grumbled about all they had to endure in the wilderness and it displeased the LORD for they spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread" The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Then the people were sorry for their grumbling, and they asked Moses to pray to God for relief from the snakes. Moses prayed and was directed in a vision to make a snake of bronze and set it high on a pole. Anyone who was bitten had only to look upon the bronze snake, and the poison of the snakebite was made harmless. The bible records:

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21:8-9

Now, there were some who still grumbled and murmured, “If Moses would provide an antidote or some medicine against the poison, that we could believe, but what effect can a bronze snake have on real snakebites?” So in their unbelief, they refused to turn to the bronze snake, and they died. In the same way, God in Christ provides release from the deliverance from all kinds of things including sin, sickness, poverty and defeat for whoever turns to him in faith. Those who refuse to believe because they cannot understand the work of the Master with their minds will perish. They will perish from the poison of their own unbelief. The brazen serpent is type of Jesus Christ crucified. Just like the brazen serpent was to be lifted up so was Christ to be lifted up. What was to be done by the people who were bitten—they were to look at the serpent? And so sinners and sick and poor people must look up and believe in Christ to receive their salvation, healing, deliverance and whatever they need. God’s word is unchanging:

This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,  And delivers them. Psalm 34:6-7

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "  Moreover God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.' Exodus 3:14-15

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called. Of the increase of His government and peace  There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,  To order it and establish it with judgment and justice  From that time forward, even forever. Isaiah 9:6-7

The Holy Spirit inspired Apostle Paul to tell us about the great mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory (1Timothy 3:16). Yes, Jesus Christ was given to us to be Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He literally is our shield and great reward and everything that we need! To benefit from all that He is we must appreciate who He is and what He does ESPECIALLY FOR US!

Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer

The enemy, the devil caused Adam and Eve to sin and rebel against God and lose all the blessings of the Garden of Eden and suffer the curses of sin. Through Christ God has made forgiveness and redemption a reality for His people when Jesus took on the cross our sins upon Himself, dying in our stead and suffered in our places so that by His stripes we might be healed (1 Peter 2:24). He became poor so that we might be rich. The Lord who redeemed the children of Israel with an outstretched arm and with great judgments out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and rescued them from their bondage, continues to do the same for all who put their trust in Him ( Job 42:10-17, Psalm 34:4-10,  91:1-16, 121:1-8, 146:1-10, Acts 7:9-10, 2 Corinthians 1:3-10, 2 Timothy 4:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 1 Peter 5:5-10)

Jesus is our Healer And Deliverer
Everyone who knows anything about the ministry of Jesus knows that He healed and delivered many, many people. He even gave financial miracles. He healed out of His compassion and love. The Bible says that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Thus Jesus is still a God of compassion and love demonstrating the nature and character of God.  He still saves, heals, delivers and prospers today! "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil, in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:14-16).

Jesus is the Lord, the Judge of All the Earth, and returning King

Jesus Christ appeared to Abraham as the Lord and the Judge of All the earth who said He would bless Abraham and He would judge Sodom and Gomorrah. And so He made Abraham great and made Sodom and Gomorrah to be a nonexistent thing. He continues to do bless some and curse others even current time of life (Matthew 7:1-2, 23;29-38,Galatians 6:7-8, Jude 1:5, Revelation 2:20-23)

The first time Jesus came, He was born in relative obscurity. The next time He comes He will come with power. Actually, there are more prophecies in the Bible about the second coming of Jesus than about the first! "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Jesus is our Baptizer in the Holy Spirit

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to ask the Father to send the Comforter. "Comforter" is another name for the Holy Spirit. Shortly after the Ascension, while the disciples were still in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit came upon them. This fulfilled the words of Jesus, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).Throughout the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit came upon numerous followers of Jesus resulting in the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 12, 14). The power and anointing of the Holy Spirit is a gift, not a reward. It is for the purpose of promoting Jesus and bringing salvation, healing and deliverance to God’s people.

Jesus is in the Now

Through the Holy Spirit Jesus is in the now in the lives and hearts of His people moving and doing miracles on their behalf. The Holy Spirit is the Other Helper that Jesus promised to His sheep (John 14:23-26) He teaches, guides, instructs, helps, anoints, and heals them (Luke 5:17, John 16:7-15, 2 Corinthians 13:14)! Whatever Jesus Christ has done for others He can and will do again because He is the same yesterday, today and forever! God's will is prosperity for all of His people. God invented and used the word ‘prosperity’ when dealing with His servants and ‘poverty’ when dealing with His enemies (Genesis 26:12-14, 30:40-43, Deuteronomy 28:29, 29:9, 30:5,Joshua 1:7-8, 1 Kings 2:1, 1 Chronicles 29:23,2 Chronicles 13:12, 14:7, 26:5, 2 Chronicles 31:21, Job 26:10-12, Psalm 25:12-14, 35:27, 68:6, Proverbs 28:25, Jeremiah 33:9, Malachi 4:2-3) According to Psalms 107:20, 103:3 and Isaiah 53:5 we are  healed, whole and complete from the crown of our  head to the soles of our  feet in the name of Jesus!  We declare that we  have the mind of Christ and the only spirit we hear is the spirit of the living God who lives inside of us and speaks to us from within! Jesus' faith was living proof that God desires people's lives to overflow with every benefit of His great love, whether it be salvation, deliverance, healing, prosperity or restored relationships. This level of living is exactly what He intends for us.  The kingdom of God has come and the will of God is being done in the our lives in the name of Jesus!  According to Matthew 18:18, we  can bind depression, hopelessness, hardship and every other satanic and demonic force that would seek to come against us and cast it out of our  family and lives  and we can loose healing and wholeness in our body and our finances and the fruit of the Holy Spirit to rest, rule and reign in our family in the name of Jesus!

Jesus Christ Is Lord of The Church

All things were made through Jesus Christ and without Him nothing was made that was made including His church of which He is the chief cornerstone. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:28). God has also given in the church some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13). Since the church of Jesus Christ has not ceased to exist all this ministries and positions are still alive and well in the church which is called and chosen to do God’s will not their own (1 Peter 4:1-2). And in accordance with His promises God still pour out His Spirit upon His church ( Psalm 72:6, Jeremiah 3:3, Ezekiel 34:26 Zechariah 10:1Acts 4:29-33) which has been commissioned to go and possess and conquer the land (Mark 16:15-20).

God promises salvation, healing and prosperity in His Word, but it is only for those who believe.  It is only for those who have faith in His Word and those who believe that He did not lie and then act on that belief.  Jesus died for the sins of the world, but only those who believe in Him will reap the benefits of His death and resurrection.  God only responds to faith.  Doubt and unbelief does not move Him.  That’s why Satan continually tries to put doubt in the minds of men.  Where there is doubt, there is no faith.  And according to Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.”

WALTER KAMBULOW
EXTRACT FROM Called To Inherit A Blessing
http://walthope.tripod.com/called.htm