"Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. "And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, "driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. "Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:36-39
"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:6-8
The Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. And He not the devil or any one else owns and rules over all things. Riches and honor come from Him, and He reigns over all. In His hand is power and might; In His hand it is to make great and to give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:12). He endues His trusting ones with power for an salvation, abundant life, an effective life, for increase, for success, for prosperity, for fecundity and for longevity. Hence Jesus told us not to be of little faith concerning all the things that the Gentiles seek for our heavenly Father knows that we need all these things. He told us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to us (Matthew 6:33).
God because of His mighty power is able to give His trusting ones such and such things and much, much more if they will put Him first in all things! He who has made and owns billions and billions of stars and galaxies is faithful and true and keeps His word. Hence we must have faith just like Jesus told His disciples “where is you faith?” God’s word is unchanging:
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!" Luke 8:22-25
Yes, our faith gives God pleasure: 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 seek Him (Heb. 11:6). Faith is defined: An assurance placed in your spirit by God’s indwelling Spirit as God speaks to you (Heb. 11:1; Rom. 10:17). Faith is a manifestation and a fruit of the indwelling Spirit of God (I Cor. 12:9; Gal. 5:22). The priority of faith: It is impossible to please God if one does not have faith (Heb. 11:6). Anything not done in faith is sin (Rom. 14:14, 22, and 23). Faith furthers the administration of God (I Tim. 1:4). Faith is one of the six foundation doctrines (Heb. 6:1). Faith is one of four things required to enter the presence of God (Heb. 10:22). The work of God is to believe (Jn. 6:29). All things are possible to those who believe (Mk. 9:23-25). Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world (I Jn. 5:4). Jesus called faith a weightier matter (Matt. 23:23). Paul called faith one of three abiding realities (I Cor. 13:13). Faith can purify the heart (Acts 15:9). The just must walk and live by faith (II Cor. 5:7; Rom. 1:16,17; Gal. 2:20; 3:11,12; Heb. 10:38). Faith gives us peace with God and access to His grace (Rom. 5:1,2). Faith makes us children of Abraham (Gal. 3:7-9).
Belief in the heart and confession with the mouth result in salvation (Rom. 10:8-11). Unbelief cuts one off from God (Rom. 11:20). Each person is to minister according to the measure of faith they have (Rom. 12:3,6). We are to accept people at the level of faith they have (Rom. 14:1-8). The Law is a schoolmaster which leads us to faith (Gal. 3:22-26). Faith (and love) is a breastplate which shields us from the darts of Satan (Eph. 6:16; I Thess. 5:8). Holding faith and a good conscience keeps one from suffering shipwreck (I Tim. 1:19). We are to fight the good fight of faith (I Tim. 6:12). The gospel must be mixed with faith in order to profit (Heb. 4:2).
What great faith (i.e. not mingled with doubt) provides: The Spirit (Jn. 7:39; Gal. 3:2,14); all things you ask in prayer believing; ability to cast mountains into the sea (Matt. 21:19-22); miracles (Gal. 3:5); wisdom from God (Jas. 1:2-8); healing of the sick (Jas. 5:14-16); and authority to cast out demons and speak in new tongues (Mk. 16:17).
Faith is the currency of life, because faith is the currency of the spirit world, and the spirit world provides the foundation and structure of life. According to your faith, be it unto you (Matt. 9:29). Faith and trust release God’s power, protection, guidance, and anointing into one’s life. Hence ll our teaching and all our learning must be focused on building faith and trust in our God. All of our life, hope, joy, love, and provision come from His responses to the faith we release toward Him. Mark Virkler in his book “Wading Deeper Into the River of God” bring out three principles concerning faith and trust that are very important to be real in our lives.
1. The Principle of Faith
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6).
2. The Principle of Flow
“He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive...(Jn. 7:38-39).
3. The “Faith in Flow” Principle
The gifts of the Holy Spirit operate through the one who, in faith, yields his outer faculties to the control of the river of God within him:
· The mind yielded to flow = anointed reasoning, word of wisdom, word of knowledge
· The mouth yielded to flow = tongues, interpretation, prophecy, persuasiveness of speech
· The heart yielded to flow = God’s voice, distinguishing of spirits, faith, peace, unrest
· The hands yielded to flow = miracles, healing
· The eyes yielded to flow = dream and vision, divine perspective
God gave His people not only Jesus Christ His only begotten Son but His mighty River of the Holy Spirit. There is a river which flows from the throne room of God, through the streets of heaven, and out through our hearts. And where ever this river flows it brings healing and changes and life. We by our faith release this river and turn on the power of God in our life and open the door for the flow of God’s anointing, gifts, and grace into our life and around us. In flow, we connect to the river of God and the indwelling Spirit takes over the activity, and it is God doing the work through us rather than us doing it on our own. It is now a living work (i.e. inaugurated and sustained by the Holy Spirit) rather than a dead work (i.e. inaugurated and sustained by self-effort - Heb. 6:1,2). We live out of the river of God, out of the anointing of God, out of the gifts of the Holy Spirit Who is within us. We live in supernatural Christianity, rather than rational Christianity. We will live, not out of reason, analysis, and cognition, but, instead, out of flow, spontaneity, and eternal life that originates in the throne room of God. God’s word is unchanging:
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelations 22:1-2
The river begins in God, in the heavens, and it flows through our hearts, transforming our lives. We alone allow it to flow effectively and continuously out through the capacities of our souls, transforming us into living expressions of the Body of Christ, and empowering, anointing, and equipping us with God’s magnificent grace. We were grafted into Jesus, the Holy Spirit was joined to our spirits, and we have become one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). Now this river which comes from the throne of God flows, even as sap flows from the vine to the branch, through the Holy Spirit who is joined to our spirits. And as we allow the river to flow out through the capacities of our souls, transforming our beings, we become like trees planted by this river of life, and the fruit that is born in our lives does not wither, and whatever we do, prospers, for they are no longer our fruit, but instead are borne by the river of God within us. We become deepened individuals, not confined to rationalism, cognition, or outer sense knowledge, but living out of the flow of our spirits which can now guide any outer faculty which we yield to it.
What each of us needs is to receive God’s knowledge, God’s wisdom, God’s understanding, and God’s strength. This is done through drawing from the river of God deep within us. That surely is the message of Christianity. God has come to live with man. He has placed His Spirit within man, and now God flows out through man. Man is to quiet himself in the presence of God and receive from His Spirit within him. We sense the Holy Spirit as a river which flows within. We fix our eyes on Jesus, quiet ourselves, tune to spontaneity, and live.
We were created to continuously live and move in the river of God walking and living in the Spirit and not waling in the wilderness of our own choosing. The river of God carries all of God’s graces, His gifts, His anointings, and His blessings for us. Just like Jesus did we depend upon God for everything and allow the flow of the river to bring us everything. Jesus was led by the Spirit: Jesus did not act on His own. He even said He could do nothing on His own! Hence true life is not about what we can do. It is about what we can let God do through us. It is about God in action, not about us in action. We are just a vessel of God, a temple which contains a god. We contain the God Who created the universe. We have not only become a partaker of God’s divine nature as He has joined Himself to us, and we are one spirit with Him but we are an extension of Himself. God in Christ Jesus lives His life through us. His word is true:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
http://billyburke.org/PrayerMinistryRoom/JourneyofYourPrayerRequest/tabid/142/Default.aspx
http://walthope.tripod.com/called.htm
http://walthope.wordpress.com
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100302133262254344211/posts
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