"And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.’
Then Jesus answered and said, “O -faithless- and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.”
And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, “Why could not we cast him out?”
And Jesus said unto them, “Because of your -unbelief-: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
-Matthew 17:14–21 (KJV 1900)
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from -faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. ...
...... So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
- Romans 1:16–17 (AV), Romans 10:17 (AV)
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BIBLICAL LIVING 101 - The Holy Spirit - Part 6
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If you haven’t already guessed - Faith - is the Gift of the Spirit we will be looking at this week. If you are just joining us, we highly recommend reading our prior posts on tongues and prophesying, and even The Who, Why, What, How of The Holy Spirit and His mission to get the full benefit of this week’s discussion!
Last week we saw that Prophecy is best, and most simply understood, as speaking Truth - human language ( or tongues ) being just one vehicle to do so. It encompasses predictions of Future events, images, visions, messages and warnings from God, parables and proverbs of wisdom and knowledge, the Gospel , Gods love for us, Jesus the Word Himself revealed to us as Grace & Truth incarnate - Revelation 19:10 (AV): “for the testimony of Jesus IS the spirit of prophecy!”
This testimony - the knowledge and revelation of Christ - we saw, is also a Gift from God... Who, sovereign in His Electing Grace, has chosen to redeem for Himself a people by His own blood. No man can come to Christ unless it is given to Him by the Father...
we saw that last week, and that links us seamlessly to this week’s study..... via a familiar text from Ephesians 2:8–10 (AV): “ For by -grace- are ye –saved- -through- -faith-; and that not of yourselves: it is the -gift- of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are –his- workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath —-before ordained—- that we should walk in them. “
This week’s takeaway:
Understanding the Spiritual gift of Prophecy brought us to the truth of Christ & Election, but a comprehension of the Spiritual gift of Faith brings us to the very mechanism of Salvation itself (Justification by Faith), the source of Faith itself (hearing the Word), and the reason for/& benefit of, Faith - growing up to be all Man can be!
Now before we dive off the deep end, you might say that all this is either really esoteric ( weird, spirit-y, abstract... ), or all too basic Christian-doctrine-familiar.... and you really can’t see ANY linkage -at all- to the day to day grind most of us are stuck in.... wasn’t this series supposed to be about practical, hard headed living? Have no fear, we have you covered with real sound consumer-grade advice!
A. Our starting assumption - The Bible is true.
-IF- this assumption is false ... (as so many atheists keep telling us) we can immediately KNOW it, if any ONE thing the Word says is -proven- to be wrong... or UNTRUE! Logical?
So far, historically, archaeologically, morally, the Bible has exceeded the burden of proof by handsome margins. We will come to the 6 day creation in a moment.... just picture the following –imaginary- scenario in your mind...
…Extraterrestrials have shown up, and the world is really excited! These are cosmic spiritual beings that travel inter-dimensionally and live in higher dimensions! They are about to give Man a manual on how to evolve to that “next “level! Wow... cool...!! We finally receive the transmission, but the message is in an alien language and being able to decode it is part of the puzzle.... do you think every scientist and government agency in the world would be 24/7 all over that message, trying to decode it? You know they would!
Well, the Bible was not just written by –any- “extra-terrestrial”, it claims to be (and we believe it is) written by the creator of this universe, and it’s a manual for Man on exactly how to do life, evolve to the next level, know what next level means... :-), and the process of how it’s going to happen, and it’s been around since ancient times, and been updated... do you see an incentive to read it now?!!
B. Now, this manual, The Word, says ( and implies ) some pretty far out things - A 6 day creation is really tame , compared to what -it says- Man really is.
A human is a being made of Spirit, individually unique in possessing a soul (a thinking, feeling, and willful/intentional - unique identity -) that grows in character, personality and knowledge, by virtue of possessing a body/senses/brain by which this soul can experience Creation and interact with other souls. Man is different from the animals because He reflects the tripartite nature of God Himself, and can enter into a relationship with God Himself! This soul is also affected with a spiritual disease, which causes Man to be at war with himself, and God. Deep down, every person knows that they are “sick”, but only the Bible, gives you the REAL story behind it!
It is the only book that explains mankind’s schizophrenia ... each individual human being ( regardless of creed, color, culture ) may WANT to live in peace and quiet, love each other - but humanity, in the aggregate, makes hate, and war in huge quantities ! .... Huh? It’s like we filled a basket with individual pieces of chalk, but when we look, the basket seems to be filled with... cheese?? Why and How are such smart human beings so dumb? Well, only the Bible tells us, what’s really going on behind the scenes!
Look at our first text this week and just process what it implies!!!! Possession/ infestation by other spiritual beings.... and Jesus says the pesticide is prayer and fasting for that particular species (..... there are more than one?!....)
We have often said, the Bible is a package deal.... you deal with all or none, of the Truth in it, because every word is there for a reason, and it all fits together....
we will happily debate atheists who have studied the Bible, but will not entertain persons who merely hold to an opinion, without the benefit of facts/logic/history/ethics/reality(!) to back up their arguments.....we are not dumb.. we believe SOMEONE created something from nothing... it takes less Faith for us to believe that, than trying to figure out how the universe, physical order, physical laws, sentient intelligence, emerged by “accident” from “nothing”.... we read the manual, you should too!
Net net, if you believe the Bible is True, you need to seriously investigate what it says, because what it says is pretty amazing! Scientists and very hard-headed intelligence agencies, are just beginning to study parapsychology, remote viewing, and other psychological phenomena very seriously indeed --- but prophets and mediums have been around for centuries - and the Bible makes no great hoo-ha about it - just very plainly tells you - yeah - this is true (even our text this week).
C. The BEST part about Faith is that it connects you to The Person from whom all good things... including pain and suffering (that test, refine, and grow your faith) come!
The prime concern of the Bible is the growth and maturity of the -mind and soul- of every spiritual Human Being.
It’s why the Prime Directive is LOVE (God/Man), and OBEDIENCE to TRUTH and GOOD. Not going to another galaxy, or another dimension. Pain and suffering are part of the growing up process, just as falling off a bike is key to learning to ride it! Growing up means realizing who, and what you are (a child and heir of God Himself), and what you are called to DO...
GLORIFY HIM WITH YOUR THOUGHTS,WORDS,and yes, finally deeds that flow OUT of Him, that are foreordained by Him - hallelujah! Grace, through Faith, and not works. Do you see how it’s all mental transformation FIRST?
There is an old Sunday school song, “ Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line, all the blessings of His Love divine..., every promise in the book is mine!”
“ ..... whosoever believeth on Him, should not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE! “
“....I will never leave you or forsake you”, “ nothing...can separate us from the Love of God through Christ Jesus”
“Greater is He that is in you ( Christ ), than he that is in the world ( Satan )”
“My God shall supply all your needs, The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want”
God as revealed in His Word, is True promise keeper. These are things we can take to the bank!
And this week....is the BIGGEST ONE OF ALL.... “nothing shall be impossible unto you. !”..... What? Are you serious?
And here’s where the “consumer” advice / practical living part comes....Every modern convenience we enjoy today, air /auto/ space travel, electrical appliances, every modern invention- is based on faith!
Faith, via experience, that there are Laws (/ Truths!) that will always hold good in this universe we live in. Air flowing over a wing will lift it, a rocket can work even if there is no air to push against in space, electricity and magnets can be used to make motors and engines running factories or dishwashers, these specific plants can be used for medicine for these illnesses... etc.
As we “use”/ “experience” / “consume” the world around us, we do so every moment by faith. You have faith that the airline will get you from A to B, the chairs you sit on in a restaurant will hold your weight, the car will start when you turn the ignition on, the product will do what it says on the packaging, that the drug/surgeon you are trusting to help you will be effective.
This Faith is borne out and strengthened by EXPERIENCE - even when there are exceptions to the usual rules (planes crash, chairs break, the patient dies). We do not throw the baby out with the bath water in these cases, but look to understand why there was a deviation from the norm!
Finding these truths, “promises” is HUGE (commercially/scientifically/for humanity in general) in the physical world, how much more so in the spiritual!!
We have been EXPERIENCING the Bible for at least 3500 years in written form. How has it done so far, historically? You know the answer to that....prophecies fulfilled, lives changed, miracles done..... In spite of all the misunderstanding, lies and confusion (mankind’s schizophrenia) that the enemy has sown in this wonderful field of truth and experience!
D. We THINK the difficulty is having Faith in something you don’t understand or can’t see. But even that, is something we do all the time!
While we may not all know how an aircraft works, we don’t have a problem with flying in one. That’s because we see it being done safely, in large numbers, by others, who don’t need to know either.
The Pilot certainly does, but even he has faith that the engines, instruments and controls will work as normal, even though he can’t see the insides of the engine. You, back in economy, are happily watching a movie and enjoying your free soda and chips, confident that the pilot is going to get you safely home. If s/he never stood to wave bye as you left, you wouldn’t even know who it was that got you there!
Read Hebrews Chapter 11 for examples of people trusting God - even though they never saw ALL His promises fulfilled in their lifetimes they saw ENOUGH to keep them going! And that is what Faith is - Not a BLIND BELIEF IN ANY MADE UP STUFF... as Christians are accused of, but FAITH developed by UNDERSTANDING TRUTH, and then TRUSTING it, based on real life confirmation through our sense/life experiences!
We'll give you the abstract right up front... "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. --Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."-- - Heb 11: 1-3(KJV)
Through Faith we - understand - the way things really are, and not just what we see on the surface - Hallelujah!!! You've never seen an individual atom but you know they are part of everything, including you -- that "physical" understanding has morphed over the ages, and continues to morph into quantum physics and other things, but God's word is still holding true!
Faith, or our EXPERIENTIALLY BUILT UP MENTAL FRAMEWORK OF TRUST is a key means for us to interact with, and manipulate, the WORLD WE LIVE IN!
Your brain makes sense of all the energy being directed at your senses, and helps you put things into boxes. Dog, cat, table, toilet - so you can live in this world. If one or more senses are gone, your map may be different, but the brain works to compensate. It’s like the Windows or Mac Desktop. Those aren’t actually little cute little "file"-y things. They are a picture to help you understand that there is some data that is sitting on a disk in a particular place! Seeing it as a file, helps you to work with it in terms of the paper stuff you already know!
E. Conclusion therefore: How you think, LITERALLY defines the World you live in (within the overarching rules of the Universe).
You want to be loved? Go out and love others! You want to have new experiences? You won't get them sitting in bed... you have to get OUT THERE! Nothing is impossible!!!!
You are the only person that limits you.... you WILL have to WORK to realize your dream, but it always pays off - go read the biography of any successful person. All had one characteristic - they BELIEVED in what they were doing, and themselves!
You want to move a mountain? Sure ... enough dynamite, dump trucks and a crew (depends on the size), but, yeah, we BELIEVE we can move it. (See - that experience thing again).
You want the mountain to move itself? Well. It won't do it for you, but God, who can do all things, can happily do that FOR you, if it’s in line with HIs will! That one is a little more difficult to BELIEVE, but it is AS TRUE as the first statement! ... Per the Bible :-)
Of course, He won't do it to show off - that’s not in His Nature (nor will it be in your prayers)... but when it comes to His Mission, and His Plan for Humanity - yes - if it’s in line with HIs will He promises HE WILL DO IT!
In between the longest and shortest chapters of the Bible (wink wink, nudge nudge, hint,hint), in Psalm 118, verse 8 reads - "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Not that man cannot be trusted, but that God can ALWAYS be trusted, that is BETTER!!!
All the Promises can be trusted. God can be trusted to not change His Word, or break His oath, because that is what He has written down, and faithfully committed to keeping throughout human history. All the treasures for His children are in there. All the wisdom, knowledge, experience, future events, practical living, how much to pay for an ox that is stolen, even your food and diet... He cares so MUCH about every little detail! For your BENEFIT!
Hebrews 12:1-6: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the -author and finisher- of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mindstyle have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."
For this is the victory that overcomes the world, our Faith!
This Gift of the Spirit, given to us, mighty for us to use in our daily lives, tapping into the power and counsel of God, helping us walk this world as the cosmic beings the Bible tells us we are!
Hallelujah!!!