In the knowledge of God’s Spirit is conveyed His Power and Ability. God is in His knowledge; God is Spirit, Knowledge, Power, and Faith. With God’s knowledge comes wisdom, or the ability to use this knowledge as it can be productive and creative in your life and in the lives of others. When one speaks according to the knowledge that God gives, he is giving voice to the Gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto deliverance to anyone who believes. It will deliver anyone that receives it and believes it, for it is God’s power. This is speaking as an oracle of God. It is as thought God spoke. When God speaks, His Word is performed. The one who ministers the Gospel of Christ represents God, so therefore God must be his ability. Because the Gospel is Truth, you have the ability to back up the words that you speak. You cannot separate God’s Spirit, which fills the Gospel of Christ, from Faith, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Deliverance. He is all of these to us and for us. The Gospel of Christ is saturated with all of these things, for the Spirit says in 1 Cor 3:1 that the Gospel is the image, or expression of God. Wisdom, faith, healing, and deliverance are all given to you through the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel is God expressed to the heart of man. The world was framed by the Word of God. The same Word and ability that formed the world and brought it into existence is released from the lips of the one that proclaims the Gospel. (Notice I said Gospel, not theories, or someone’s opinions.) The Word of Faith, creating out of things that are not seen, the things that are now seen. When one speaks according to Spiritual Knowledge (God’s knowledge), the same power that was drawn upon when the world was created again goes into action. The very same Word with the same Eternal Power. The never changing Word with His unchanging power to perform. The ability of Love, fulfilling the needs of those who put a demand upon the Living Christ. 1958

Faith blanks the mind out. Faith is NOT a logical process. Faith cannot be understood by the mind (1Cor. 2:14). Faith is a heart matter (Acts 8:37). Faith does not require an explanation (Prov. 3:5). Faith works by love and love TRUSTS (Gal. 5:6). If we have to know “how,” we aren’t trusting, we are deducing. If we say, “It can’t be true unless I know how it works,” we are really saying, “God cannot work unless my mind first approves.” If I am going to say God cannot work unless my mind first approves, I am really saying, “God does not exist,” because my mind does not even believe in God (Rom. 8:6-7). “It is with the heart man believeth…”--Rom. 10:10

“If there is doubt in your mind about doing a certain thing, then don’t do it.” I used to say this--I heard it again just today. It is in regards to living a Christian life. I’ve come to the place where I simple can’t buy that as a flat statement of fact. I remember I heard this when I was just a young Christian. It sounded so good, so I just repeated it. The years have gone by and I have repeated this many times to many people, but not any more. I have reached the place in my understanding of the things of God where I am not about to repeat things just because they sound good. I want to KNOW! There is too much to Christian living just to coin a phrase and apply it to all circumstances. Faith enters into all of our living for God, and faith is something that the human mind cannot understand. There is area in which we struggle that is difficult, and many times impossible to know the way that we should go until we actually start. These are the times that we must move in faith, faith in God and not the knowledge of our minds. Our minds are the last stronghold that Satan has on us, and as long as we allow our minds to remain under the influence of Satan and claim the newness of God within us, then we will be the central point of the “Is this right, or is this wrong” battles. The reason for this is our minds are simply not capable of making Spiritual decisions. Our minds will not react to the Word of God and deliver God’s decision. This is because, “No man knows the things of God...” It is only God who knows God, and His ways are contrary to the ways of the flesh. We exercise faith to the extent that we refuse to look at natural circumstances. We must know the will of God’s Spirit within us, and follow that at all cost--yes, even to the extent of going contrary to natural reasoning. To take a stand and become active in that direction, even in the face of “logical opposition” is to take a step in faith. The mind may be full of doubts as to the wisdom of the action, but if the indication of the Spirit is plain, then the man faithful to God is obligated to what the carnal mind says is the wrong direction. In such a case, man moves with doubt in his mind, but faith in his heart. He has God’s confidence in his Spirit. As long as he stands at the crossroads and debates the decision as to which way to go, nothing will be done. Doubts will grow within him, and indecision will rob him of the peace and joy that are rightfully his in Christ. Faith is exercised in the face of doubt. In the flesh, doubt will gain the upper hand and destroy the confidence that God would give to every believer. In Christ, faith will win because it is of God.

Faith is the Spiritual reality of things desired; the very existence of things not seen. Faith realities are not perceived by the senses. Faith is the now of things hoped for, the presence of things unseen. Faith is an invisible conviction that says, “I am now in possession of what I need.” The eyes of the flesh can only long and hope for possession, while the voice of faith says it already is, even though it has not been brought into view of the senses. Faith endures as “seeing” Him who is invisible.”--Heb. 11:27. It calls the things that are not as though they were --Rom. 4:17 Faith is the completeness that already exists in the Spirit realm while the answer cannot be seen in the flesh realm. The senses reach out and long for completeness and possession never seeming to arrive, while faith brings right up to the present what seemed to be far off in the future. As long as one seeks his answer in the realm of the flesh (realm of doubt), he will make an endless journey. He never arrives. Faith is always in the now. Faith HAS arrived! Faith takes or receives what the heart has longed for and embraces it as its own to enjoy. Faith is God’s sure way of providing. It is your escape from sin, sickness, the hold of circumstances, and the past that has been ingrained in your thinking. Faith cuts a forty-year journey into now! Faith turns sorrow into rejoicing and brings the longing heart into realization and completeness. Faith says,” We have arrived.” David said, “I had fainted unless I had believed (not hoped) to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He saw it because of faith. The only way we can see it. We only hope for what we see not; but when we SEE by the eye of faith that we have (possess), we no longer struggle to believe; we enter into the rest of faith (Rom. 8:24-25, Heb.4:9-11). Paul said that we are to look only to the Author and Finisher of our faith and to consider (fix the mind or attention upon) Him, so we won’t become weary and faint in our minds. We are exhorted to occupy our minds with the unseen things of faith, rather than the things seen of the senses. We are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor.5:7). If we could but realize the realm of the unseen is more real, valid, and dependable than the things that are seen. Hebrews 11:27 says that Moses endured as “seeing” Him who is invisible. We have been trained by our senses for so long that our carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, always looks to the physical for confirmation and support. This is why Paul exhorted us to cast down or bring all imaginations and thoughts to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor.10:4-5). God says in Ephesians 3:20 that He possesses the ability to do above and beyond all that we could ever ask or think. We must forcefully look toward the unseen and bring every thought into subjection. Everything that is visible or invisible is the product of the Spirit. Even as your family is the product of love, which is an unseen spiritual force, so is this universe the product of God who is the unseen Spirit. Even as your love brings your children into view, so God brought this great universe into view by faith. We know that Spiritual realities are more real than physical evidence because Heb.11:3 says that the things that are seen have not been made of the things which do appear. Romans 1:20 says, “For the invisible things of God (Spiritual) since the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” Colossians1:16 says, “For by Him were all things created (brought into view) and by Him all things exist.” He upholds all things by the Word of His power (Heb.1:3). God, who is Spirit, by faith created all things that the senses of man behold-- the earth, the heavens, the seas, and the things therein. These things testify of His existence. Even the unbeliever is without excuse. We must realize that the things that we see are the results of the purpose, will, and planning of a Spirit-being that He reached, so to speak, within Himself by faith and brought forth what we now see. God already saw it by faith. He knew His own ability and power BEFORE it was manifested physically. All that we now see was resident within Him before the foundation of the world, but according to time had not yet been manifested. He had not yet activated or willed Himself for this specific purpose. God had inherent within Himself the power to watch over His Word to perform it, but He had not yet released faith in this direction. Just because the earth had not yet been brought into view did not change His supreme capability. When we realize that God is Spirit and that He lives in us and in us lay all the inherent reserves of supply we could ever need, we will begin to believe His Word. He says, “I will supply all of your needs according to my riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”--Phil.4:19. We already know we have Christ within us (Eph. 3:17; Col.1:27). Hebrews 1:10-12 says, “Thou Lord in the beginning (time enters) has laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the works of Thy hands; they shall perish, but Thou remains; and they shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture, Thou shall fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same and Thy years shall not fail.” This should encourage us to look towards Him who is Eternal, instead of trusting in the weak and beggarly elements of this world, which are simply the works of His hands. Who is more deserving of honor and trust--the house or He that builds it? Because we are God’s Sons, we are like Him. We have His faith. We, even as He, consider the things that are not, as though they were, calling and naming the things that are not to the senses because we know that they are by faith. It is only those who know what they have in Christ who can talk and live as though they already were possessors. “Seeing that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”--Heb.4:14. That is a confession of faith, not of sight.

Have you ever planned something in which you have taken great joy, and found the excitement and satisfaction derived from the planning to be almost as keen as the actual event? Then have you ever met someone, while in the midst of your planning, who would tell you a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t do what you were intending to do? Discouraging isn’t it? These people have earned the appropriate name of “Killjoy” because that’s exactly what they do. There’s a real potent truth contained here: YOU CAN’T POSSESS JOY AND ENTERTAIN DOUBTS AT THE SAME TIME! I’m rather glad that most everyone has had this experience because it serves to illustrate something I want to talk about. I think it gives a very clear picture of the way faith works. The first thing we should understand is that faith is not an intellectual belief; it is something given to us by God. The Bible teaches that we will receive our petitions from God when we ask in faith and do not doubt. Faith that is diluted with doubts can not receive anything from God. So here is the way to a strong healthy faith--DON’T ENTERTAIN DOUBTS! Doubts kill confidence, and without confidence there can be no joy. Notice our illustration. We experienced joy in our planning as long as we did not entertain doubts. But the minute we listened to the misgivings of our friends, joy departed, and we no longer planned with confidence. Even so, it is with the things of God. We read in the Scriptures that certain very definite things will happen if we believe God. Faith is anxious to demonstrate that this is so. Our mind says that this might be a rather illogical thing to believe anyway, and begins to point out various things that might be in error. We entertain these doubts, and as a result, faith becomes impotent and does not produce. So the joy of our heritage in the Lord becomes something we have to look for. This is not natural. Again let’s look at our illustration. Joy was the natural outcome of our planning. One did not have to seek joy. Faith, when not mixed with doubts gave joy. That is the natural result of a healthy faith. Faith, when allowed to operate as God intended, does not draw attention to itself. In fact, one is not even aware of faith, rather he is very much aware of what he has because of faith. It is only when doubts are harbored that one becomes aware of faith, and then it is because his faith is unhealthy and is not functioning as God intended it to. The remedy is to remove doubt, and the best way to remove doubt is to hear the truth. That’s why Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the truth and that truth is the message of Jesus Christ.

Ever notice how faith influences your actions? When it comes to the crucial test, one doesn’t have to tell the world he has faith, he shows it by what he does. A Frenchman by the name of Charles Blondin proved to the assembled thousands that he could walk across Niagara Falls on a tight wire. Then he offered to carry a man across the falls on his back. Only one man demonstrated his faith in Blondin by volunteering. Notice something: Volunteering did not produce faith; but faith caused the man to volunteer. Most of us remember about Noah being the man who built a boat. He was a man that was DIFFERENT in his generation. HE BELIEVED GOD. His actions had meaning because of his faith. His actions had no meaning whatsoever to those of his generation. They mocked him. They had no faith in God. There is a huge controversy about this thing called faith. There are many folks who think it is something that they can tuck away on the inside of them and only use it when needed. Not so! Faith is a dynamic power that molds our lives and drives us to positive action to attain our goal. . Faith is an active force-- Where are you going to place it in--in God or in man? Cain and Abel brought an offering to the Lord. The Lord had re¬spect to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his offering, the Lord had not respect. Why? Abel brought a life that God had given. His offering said, “I can do nothing, you have prepared the life for me.” His action was based upon faith in God. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground. God had told Adam that the ground was cursed and he must get his living by the “sweat of his brow.” Cain’s offering said, “I have overcome the curse. I can take care of myself. I don’t need the life that God gave.” His actions were not based on faith in God. They were based on faith in his own ability. God had respect to one, but not to the other. What is the proof of your faith in God? Is it words or actions? Listen to what the Bible says: “What doeth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and not works? Can that kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them ‘Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled,’ not withstanding he give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doeth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works (obedience) is dead, being alone.”-- James 2: 14-17 Then again, “Whatsoever you do, do ALL to the glory of God.”--1 Cor.10:31

I need faith, not the faith that God has dealt a measure to every man. I need a supercharged faith, one that can literally move mountains. I need a faith that is not dependent upon my physical well being. I need a faith that is not dependent upon those around me. I need a faith that is completely isolated from this world. I need a faith upon which I can rely, and one that will be as dependable as God. But, I am not the possessor of such faith. I will never be the custodian of this kind of faith, yet, I need it. God supplies my needs, so it must come from Him. What provisions has He made? How does it come to me? This faith is a reality. It comes from God, and He gives it only for His glory. It is a GIFT of the Spirit, and comes under the same laws of dispersion as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and so forth. Here are two faiths represented: The one that is the “gift” of God, and the “measure” of faith that is in man. Mountains are moved when the one is placed in the other. Let me illustrate: Suppose you are in a place where you hear the Word of God. You know this to be true, it’s the thing you need. There is no doubt in your mind but that these words have the authority of the Spirit of God back of them. You see, that this is a true example of the faith of God offered. You have a bit of faith--that which God has given to you. You have a need--you believe in the Supplier of this need. To make the greater faith which is God’s operative, one needs to take the lesser faith, which is ours, and place it in the greater. When these two meet, there is a witness of the Spirit. A conscious knowledge is born within the heart of the believer, and we have the experience of “knowing” that God has heard our prayer and has done something about it. This is true of anything we receive from God in direct answer to our prayer. It is not true of the air we breathe or the rain that falls, or the sun that shines. These are the benefits that we receive freely from God. It is true of salvation. We Live by the faith of the Son of God. As we Live in Him, His faithfulness is active in sustaining our Spiritual existence. However, our faith must be active to bring us to Him. Let’s look at another case, that of healing. Suppose I need help from God. I pray, and nothing happens. Is my faith dead? Not so, rather, my faith is not meant to do this type of work. My faith is meant to rest solely in God. I cannot rely on the faith that is measured to me for healing of the body, or for that matter salvation of the soul. The measure of faith that God has given me is good for only one thing--to believe in God. God can be working in a mighty way. I can know that God works and is working, but unless “my faith” is placed in “God’s Faith¬fulness,” I am availed of nothing. Remember, it is God that works in me. It is faith that allows Him to work. I cannot use my faith to do anything, but tie me to God. His is the miracle working faith--not mine.

I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO FAITH! I AM FULL OF FEARS AND DESIRES. WHEN I PRAY, I PRAY BECAUSE MY NEEDS ARE SO GREAT THAT I CAN THINK OF NOTHING ELSE. I PRAY IN DESPERATION. AND YET GOD IS NOT ABOVE ANSWERING MY PRAYERS! HE ANSWERS BECAUSE OF FAITH--BUT IT CERTAINLY ISN'T MY FAITH. PAUL MADE IT CLEAR WHEN HE SAID, "I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD. I'M SURELY GLAD THAT IT'S THAT WAY. YOU SEE, FAITH IS A VERY CONFIDENT THING, AND I CAN'T SAY MY PRAYERS ARE VERY CONFIDENT. WHAT MY PRAYERS DO THOUGH, IS TO POINT OUT TO THE DEVIL THAT I KNOW WHERE TO GO. GOD KNOWS MY HEART BECAUSE HE IS MY LIFE, BUT THIS MIND OF MINE--WHAT A PROBLEM! ANYWAY, THERE IS SOMETHING WITHIN ME THAT SUSTAINS ME, AND THAT SOMETHING IS JESUS. HE SURELY HAS GOT FAITH! HE SAID, "I KNOW THAT MY FATHER HEARETH ME BECAUSE I ALWAYS DO THE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM." I'M GLAD FOR THAT. I WANT TO PLEASE MY FATHER TOO, BUT THERE CERTAINLY ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT I DO THAT DON'T PLEASE HIM. THAT SORT OF CUTS ME OFF AND MY PRAYERS ARE BEGGING PRAYERS. WITH THAT THINKING, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER HE IS GOING TO HEAR ME OR NOT. BUT I DON'T COME TO GOD ON MY OWN MERITS---I COME TO JESUS BECAUSE I KNOW I CAN'T MAKE IT. HE SAYS, "YOU BELIEVE ME AND I'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE." THEN HE SAYS, "FATHER, WILL YOU MAKE THIS FELLOW ONE WITH YOU JUST LIKE I AM? I DESIRE IT FATHER BECAUSE I WANT HIM TO BE WITH ME. I WANT YOU AND HIM AND ME ALL TO BE ONE." AND SO THAT IS HOW I COME TO GOD---BY WAY OF JESUS LOVE. THIS IS SO GREAT A THING THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT, SO JESUS TELLS ME. HE SAYS, “FIRST, YOU BELIEVE IN ME AND YOU WILL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, SO DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT ANYMORE." THEN I HAVE TO REPENT AND CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING. YOU SEE, I USED TO THINK THAT THIS PHYSICAL EXISTENCE WAS LIFE--IMAGINE THAT--THIS LIFE WITH ALL ITS SICKNESS AND PAIN AND VIOLENCE AND CORRUPTION--THAT'S LIFE! NOW I KNOW THAT GOD IS LIFE, AND I WOULD BE EXISTING IN DEATH IF IT WEREN'T FOR JESUS MAKING ME ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. ANOTHER THING THAT JESUS SAID IS THAT NOW I CAN STOP TRYING TO MAKE MYSELF PERFECT AND THEN FEELING GUILTY BECAUSE I COULDN'T. YOU SEE, HE GAVE ME HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. THAT'S WAY OVER MY HEAD, I CAN'T IMAGINE IT, BUT THAT'S WHAT HE SAID, AND HE WANTS ME TO BELIEVE HIM. BEFORE ALL THIS CAME ABOUT I WAS HANDICAPPED WHEN IT CAME TO ASKING GOD FOR ANYTHING. BUT NOW JESUS SAYS I CAN ASK IN HIS NAME. THAT’S MY PRIVELEGE BECAUSE JESUS MADE ME ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. SO NOW ABOUT FAITH, I DON'T HAVE ANY, BUT I HAVE JESUS WITHIN; AND HE SAID I COULD USE HIS FAITH. IT'S SORT OF LIKE A CREDIT CARD ARRANGEMENT. IF I NEED SOMETHING, ALL I HAVE TO DO IS USE HIS FAITH. HE TOLD ME THAT FROM NOW ON I COULD USE HIS FAITH, SO THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME ASKING HIM TO DO THINGS--HE TOLD ME TO ASK. I SURELY DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. ONCE IN AWHILE I FEEL THAT I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO ASK HIM FOR THINGS. I GET TO FEELING AWFULLY GUILTY ABOUT MY INABILITY TO DO WHAT I THINK I SHOULD, BUT JESUS SAYS ALL I HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE HIM AND HE WILL DO THE REST. THAT'S PRETTY SWEET. SO NOW I CAN PRAY AND, EVEN THOUGH SOMETIMES MY MIND IS IN A TURMOIL, MY SOUL IS QUIET. MY DESIRES AND EMOTIONS SOMETIMES FLARE UP AND MAKE QUITE A DISTURBANCE, BUT IN MY SOUL I KNOW THAT GOD HEARS, CARES, UNDERSTANDS, AND ANSWERS. NOT ALWAYS ARE THE ANSWERS JUST WHAT I THOUGHT THEY SHOULD BE, BUT THEY ARE WHAT GOD SAYS IS RIGHT. WHEN I THINK OF ALL THE MISTAKES I HAVE MADE IN TIMES PAST, I'M MIGHTY GLAD GOD DOESN'T ALWAYS ANSWER MY PRAYERS IN JUST THE WAY I THINK HE SHOULD. I GUESS THE HARDEST THING FOR ME TO DO IS TO REALIZE THAT GOD’S LOVE IS SURE AND HIS WISDOM IS PERFECT. I KEEP THINKING WITH MY MIND AND IT TRIES TO USURP GOD’S POSITION. MY MIND TRIES TO REASON AND I LISTEN WHEN I SHOULDN'T. I SHOULD LISTEN TO MY HEAVENLY FATHER WHO SAYS, “COME, LET US REASON TOGETHER." HE TELLS ME WHAT SEEMS TO BE A MOST UNREASONABLE THING, "THOUGH MY SINS BE AS SCARLET, THEY SHALL BE WHITE AS SNOW.” IT MIGHT SEEM UNREASONABLE, BUT IT'S TRUE, MY FATHER SAYS SO. FAITH IS UNREASONABLE TO ME, BUT IT IS VERY NATURAL TO JESUS--HE KNOWS; AND HE IS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF MY FAITH. HE IS MY COMPLETE FAITH, HE IS ALL OF IT. I HAVE A LITTLE TROUBLE GETTING HOLD OF THAT FACT. BUT IT'S TRUE. SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THINGS AND THEY SAY IT IS NOT FOR TODAY. BOY, IF WE ONLY HAD "FOR TODAY" THE THINGS WE UNDERSTAND, WE WOULD HAVE A PRETTY LITTLE "TODAY!" I DON'T UNDERSTAND SALVATION, BUT I HAVE IT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND SPEAKING IN TONGUES EITHER, BUT I HAVE IT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THESE THINGS HAPPEN, BUT THEY DO BECAUSE IT IS GOD IN YOU THAT IS DOING THE WORK. JESUS SAID THE WORDS HE SPOKE WERE NOT HIS OWN, NEITHER WERE THE WORKS THAT HE DID, IT WAS THE FATHER IN HIM. PAUL SAYS ALL THESE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT--TONGUES, PROPHECY, INTERPRETATION, AND GET THIS--FAITH ARE THE WORKS OF GOD IN YOU. MY MIND NEVER COULD UNDERSTAND GOD, SO QUITE NATURALLY IT IS PUZZLED BY THE THINGS THAT GOD DOES, BUT I HAVE LEARNED, LITTLE BY LITTLE, TO LET HIM WORK THROUGH ME. MIND YOU, I DON'T DO SO GOOD MOST OF THE TIME; BUT THE LORD LOVES ME WITH A GREAT LOVE, AND HIS PATIENCE IS MORE THAN I CAN FATHOM. I AM LEARNING THAT I CAN OPEN THE DOOR TO GOD’S ACTIVITY THROUGH ME BY BELIEVING JESUS. I HAVE LEARNED TO OPEN MY MOUTH, SPEAK IN TONGUES, OR PROPHECY, OR INTERPRET SOMETHING THAT GOD DESIRES. IT DOESN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE TO MY MIND, BUT I’VE LEARNED. WELL, FAITH IS THE SAME WAY. I CAN'T PUT IT INTO WORDS BECAUSE IT IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN, IT IS CHRIST IN YOU.MY MIND SAYS, I DON’T SEE HOW IT CAN BE, BUT MY FATHER SAYS THAT IT IS SO. SO THAT MEANS I HAVE FAITH WITHIN ME BECAUSE JESUS IS THERE.

There is a scripture in the New Testament that on the surface of things looks most peculiar. It’s Romans 10:9. Actually there is a wee bit in the eighth verse that tells you what the whole thing is about. It goes this way: “This is the Word of Faith that we preach that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” That’s just plain talk! It’s somewhat reverse order from the way most people do things today. Today we figure that we better have something in our hand before we start talking about it. That’s true too. But this other is “talking faith.” The person who is not born again doesn’t do much faith talking. That’s one of the big differences between people today. Some talk faith, and some don’t, even among those who are born again. The person who believes God tries to do what God tells him to do. One of these things is to talk and act faith. The Bible says that FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”--Heb.11:1 Putting this together with Romans 10:9, I come up with this way of receiving from the Lord. If the Lord has provided something for me that I want and need, I confess that I have it, believe in my heart that this is so, and it becomes mine. This is like the Lord told us about prayer. He said, “Whatsoever things ye ask when you pray, believe that you have received them, and ye shall have them..”--Mark 11:24 Super psychology, you say. Well, maybe, but it’s God that’s backing it up. When you believe God, and put this thing to work because you believe God, you’ll see things happen! When the children of Israel finally came to the point of believing God, they began to act. They acted strangely perhaps, but they acted. God said, “There’s Jericho, it’s yours. Here’s what you do...” Then He laid out one of the strangest battle plans I’ve ever seen. Just go out and march around the wall of the city. Do it once everyday for six days, then on the seventh day march around seven times, but don’t say a word, just be quiet. Then on the seventh day when you finish your marching, just give a big shout. It looked somewhat strange to do all this marching and shouting before the victory, but Jericho wasn’t delivered into their hands until they did open their mouths and shout. O.K., look at Romans 10:9 again. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart…” then you’ll possess. That’s God’s way of doing things. Why don’t you do it?

Certain things in the Bible never fail to amaze me. The manner in which God heals the sick is one of them. It seems like He always gave the person something to do. Makes no difference whether it’s in the Old or the New Testament, it works the same way. There was a time when the Children of Israel came across an area infested with poisonous reptiles. A lot of people were in trouble. Their cure was to look upon an image of the very thing that was causing their trouble. When they obeyed, they were healed. I suppose looking at the brazen serpent was the last thing they wanted to do, but an obedient look was their salvation. Naaman, a Syrian that had leprosy, traveled several hundred miles because he heard there was a man of God who would cure him of his disease. When he arrived at his destination, he was told to dip in the river Jordan seven times and his trouble would clear up. It seemed a silly thing to do, and according to what we read, Naaman didn’t want to do it. Finally he did, and he was healed. Jesus would take one look at a man who couldn’t walk, and then tell him to get up and walk. And the man would get up and walk. A lot of people today say they don’t believe in Divine Healing, yet they say that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. I wonder sometimes if perhaps we don’t just say things without believing them. The Israelite wasn’t healed if he didn’t look at the brazen serpent, not because there wasn’t healing provided, but simply because he didn’t take it. Naaman, even though he made a great journey, if he hadn’t obeyed, would not have been healed. The lame man would have never been healed if he hadn’t acted upon the Word of God. You see, he had to take this healing if it was to be his. Everyone who has been born again by the power of God knows this to be true because they have experienced it-- they have Salvation. The only reason they have salvation is because they took it. Salvation is provided for everyone, but only those who take it have it. The ONLY way to possess something that God has provided IS to take it. This is an exercise of faith. You can’t actually see this thing because it is Spiritual. So is faith. Therefore, you go ahead and act as though you have this thing you need. It is then that God, through Jesus Christ, gives you the evidence after you act! That’s what happened to the Israelites, that’s what happened to Naaman, that’s what happened to the lame man, and that’s what will happen to you. I know this is true because God’s Word says that He is no respecter of persons, and that He is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” - Heb.13:8 Won’t you believe it?

FAITH—IT’S A WONDERFUL THING. THERE IS A COMFORT IN FAITH THAT IS INEXPLICABLE TO MATERIALISTIC REASONING. THE MIND CAN UNDERSTAND A “GOOD FEELING” WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES ARE HARMONIOUS; BUT TO FEEL GOOD, WHEN ALL ABOUT YOU IS CONTRARY TO GOOD, IS UNREASONABLE. FAITH CAN MAKE THE UNREASONABLE REAL. THERE IS A BONUS TO FAITH IN THAT THE GOOD FEELING IS MADE MORE REAL THE MORE UNREASONABLE THE SITUATION SEEMS. THERE IS SOMETHING WITHIN US THAT SEEKS “REALITY,” AND THERE IS ALSO SOMETHING WITHIN US THAT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE REALITY. THE SOUL SAYS THAT GOD IS REALITY AND IS AT REST WHEN THIS IS RECOGNIZED AS FACT. THE MIND SAYS THAT CIRCUMSTANCES ARE REALITY AND IS REBELLIOUS BECAUSE OF THEM. FAITH IS THAT FORCE THAT MAKES THE MIND AGREE WITH THE SOUL.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 that faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. (Substance means reality.) As I have talked with many of my Christian friends, I find that they all share one basic hope. They hope for the return of Jesus. They call it the “Second Coming of Christ.” The only problem is the Bible doesn’t teach that there is any substance to hope. The Bible says that “faith” is the substance. Hope isn’t faith! The Bible says in Romans 8:25 that we only hope for that which we do not see or realize (real eyes) to be fact. If people believed that Christ was already living within them, their hopes would be reality and they wouldn’t need to hope any longer. Paul said in Colossians, “Christ in you is your hope of glory.” He also said, “Do you not know that Christ is in you, unless you are reprobate?” You see, the knowledge of the second coming of Christ does not come from the outside, it comes from the inside. That is why Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation, but ‘behold’ the kingdom of God is within you.” The revelation or unveiling of Christ happens within the heart because that is where Christ lives, unless you haven’t asked Him to come in! In the Third Chapter of Colossians Paul says, “When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall you also appear with Him in glory.” What He is trying to say is that as we hunger and thirst after righteousness and follow on to know the Lord, it will appear to us (be revealed) that Christ is our complete Life right now, today! He also said, “For me to live is Christ.” Are you living? You once were dead in trespasses and sins, but if you are a believer you are alive in Christ. He is your resurrection Life today, not just someday. The reason people do not realize (real eyes) this truth is because they still insist on looking at physical things. The Bible plainly states that faith is the evidence, or proof, of things NOT SEEN. It also says we are to walk by faith and not by sight. Faith things and faith facts have nothing to do with things that are seen. The Spirit God is not proved by material things. The Bible tells us to compare Spiritual things with Spiritual things, not physical things with the physical realm-- (1Cor. 2: 13). Faith always deals with the invisible. God himself is invisible because He is Spirit and you can’t see Spirit with your physical eyes. Paul said that Christ (the Spirit of God, the anointing) lives in our hearts by faith. He said we live our new Christian Life by the faith of the Son of God. We do not live by our own faith! The reason faith is the reality is because Christ is the reality. Christ said, “I am the way, truth, (the reality) and the Life.” We cannot separate (rate separately) Christ from faith. My hopes have been realized because Christ lives in me now! The knowledge that comes to us and substantiates this truth is a Spiritual awareness not a physical awareness. It is not a knowledge based upon material things. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can become aware of Spiritual realities. That is why we have been born of the Spirit. Paul says in 1 Cor.2:12 that we have received the Spirit of God that we might know the things of God. Through the new birth of God’s Life within us, we have received what I call the “sixth sense of faith.” This takes us beyond the limitations of the five senses. Eye has not seen nor ear understood the things that God can and will reveal to our Spirit. This faculty called faith can perceive Spiritual realties--- things only that pertain to the Kingdom of God. Jesus told Nicodemus in the Third Chapter of John’s Gospel that unless a man is born of the Spirit he cannot see, perceive, or realize the Kingdom of God. That’s the reason we must be born again, so we can receive the Life of the Spirit. We then enter God’s Kingdom, perceive it’s reality within us, and then begin to enjoy it. This is not a physical Kingdom. It is not of this world. It is of a different realm. It is Spirit! The majority of Christendom has absolutely no awareness of Spirit; therefore they cannot recognize the Kingdom of God or its present King. They do not realize that the Kingdom of God has already come. Their awareness is still made of physical things, the things of this world. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” in other words it is not a physical kingdom. It is a Spiritual Kingdom. Paul said that the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). That is the Kingdom that is within you if you are born again. If the Kingdom of God is within you, then the King is also there. What good is a Kingdom without a King? Paul also said that Christ would come to be admired and glorified in all of those who believe. Do you believe? Christ is the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promised us in John 14. He came on the day of Pentecost, but he came to you when He entered your heart. Hebrews 9:28 says, “Unto those who look for Him shall He appear (be revealed) the second time without sin to your salvation.” The first time He appeared was to take away your sin, the second time without sin unto your salvation. Are you saved? If you are, then he has already appeared to you the second time. All you need to do is recognize Him! We will never recognize Him as long as we seek to know Him after the FLESH. We must know Him after the SPIRIT because He is Spirit. “Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world (mind of the flesh) cannot receive, because it cannot see Him, neither know Him...” John 14:17 It takes a Spiritual mind to know Spiritual things. That’s why the Bible says, “We have the mind of Christ.” Aren’t you just a little curious as to what is inside of this mind? Prayer: May God give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. May He open the eyes of your understanding that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints the length and width and depth and height of the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge. Amen!

Faith can only be faith when there is no visible or tangible proof. If this were not true, it would be sight--not faith. Faith has nothing to do with tangible facts. Faith always deals with the unseen. The Bible says that the Word of God is the “evidence of things not seen.” The promises of God contain what is promised but can only be enjoyed by faith—that’s believing and receiving. Believing alone is not sufficient--one must receive by faith as well as believe by faith. Receiving is something we do, not something God does. In order to prove the reality of faith-substance, one need only look to the Word of God. Sense-knowledge evidence has no bearing on the matter because things of faith are not proved by sense-knowledge facts. To prove the reality of Spiritual things, one must look to the Spirit. In order to prove the reality of material things, one need only look to material things. They are of two different realms, and one cannot be found in the other. Again, the Word is proof of things not seen. One need not look to the senses to substantiate faith things because the senses cannot know the things of faith. The only way to be assured of things not seen is by looking to the Word of God. The Word is a promise of things not seen. Faith is spending supernatural resources without the limitations of sense-knowledge facts. Faith is your entitlement to things you cannot see--your trust deed. The Word is your guarantee of possession. You give the Father your faith in exchange for His promise just like you would in any business transaction. His written Word is your receipt. Faith is the Spiritual substance we carry in our heart until we can carry the material substance in our hands. Everything the believer needs has already been provided in invisible form in the Word of God. “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”--Phil. 4:19 Believing and then receiving is what transfers our possessions into our experience. Faith is simply living as though God’s Word were true! It is to exercise the heart muscle of belief. Faith is expecting God to keep His promise and then receiving the answer.

The Bible declares that the just shall live by faith. Whose faith is this? Galatians 2:20 says that the Christian lives by “the faith of the Son of God,” not his own faith. It is good that it is that way because God always knows what to do and most of the time I don’t. Of course, if I could depend upon my own faith, I wouldn’t even need the Lord. Thankfully God has set things up so I don’t have to worry about anything and so I can trust Him in everything. You see, if I rest in His faith, I have absolutely nothing to worry about because He is ALWAYS faithful. Sometimes the moment I am in seems awfully dark, but that is when I can depend on God’s faith, not my own. God knew I needed a faith other than my own because my faith waivers, but never His faith. His faith is as faithful as the rising of the sun. The problem with my own faith is that it is all bound up in my emotions and desires, but not God’s faith. His faith isn’t tied to such things. You see, God is never taken by surprise. He always knows what to do, even when we don’t. Isn’t that amazing? It’s really nice to be able to trust someone to handle everything, especially when you don’t know how to handle it yourself. Actually the Lord doesn’t want me to try to handle everything. He wants to do that for me. All He wants me to do is to give myself to Him and He will do the rest. I don’t have to worry or fret about things because all things are under His control. He wouldn’t be Lord if it were otherwise. If I could handle everything myself, I wouldn’t even need the Lord and that would be an awful sad way to live. So, I just think I’ll leave the details to Him and rest in His faith.

Faith is acting upon what I believe. Believing is acting upon my faith. Believing is doing the Word in my heart. Believing is doing what I say I believe. Believing is exercising faith in the now. Faith is now giving substance to my belief. Faith is now the substance of what I hoped for. Belief is now creating substance out of my faith. Faith realities are more real than material realities. Faith existed before substance could be seen. Faith was in God before the world began. Faith created all spiritual and material things. Faith believed the world into view. The Word of faith dwells in me now. The faith that created the universe is mine. I have God’s faith in me now waiting to be released. I have the faith of God--it came in the new birth. There is only one faith--the Father’s faith. ¬ I am born of faith’s Word. I am faith’s new creation. I am made of faith. I have faith’s nature. I am the child of faith. Faith is my Father--you can not separate faith from God. Faith is my life--I live by His faith. I am faith’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus. I have the mind of faith. Faith lives in me now. I am one with faith. The fullness of faith dwells in me bodily. I am complete in faith now. I dwell in faith--faith dwells in me. I can do all things through God’s faith that dwells in me. Faith can do all things through me now. Faith is my strength today. Faith is God’s ability in me now. I am saved by faith. I am made alive by faith. By faith Christ is now dwelling in me. I am forgiven by faith. I am comforted by faith. I am healed by faith. I am sustained by faith. I am dominated by faith realities. I live faith--I confess faith--I breathe faith. I drink from the well of faith. I am satisfied by faith. I am raised from spiritual death by faith. Greater is the faith that is in me than the unbelief that is in the world. I am faithful because I am full of faith. Faith dwells in me richly in all wisdom. Faith is my confession. I speak only faith. Faith is my victory. Faith has overcome the world. Now faith is. Because faith is now, I am now acting upon my faith. Now faith is--the time of faith is now. Faith has come--faith is here--I have faith. Nothing is impossible to me--I am a believer. I am like my Father--the first believer. He makes His confession--I make mine. It is a confession of faith. Faith has made me righteous. Faith is the reality of the new creation. The new creation is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is born of the Spirit. I live my life by the faith of God’s Son. Faith is the presence of Christ in me. I have traded hope for faith--I have arrived. Christ is the author and finisher of my faith. I can confidently say, “I now have faith because it is not I--but Christ!

The written Word of God is a faithful representation of a heavenly reality. It is not the reality itself, but nevertheless, a true representation. To benefit from the Word of God, we must take it at face value just like we would a promissory note. A promissory note is a promise to pay. It is only as good as the one behind it. For instance, paper currency is only a representation of value--there is no actual value in the paper itself. It is what is behind the note that counts--the full faith and credit of the United States Government. If society had no faith in the Federal Reserve Note, our whole economy would collapse. That is because our monetary system is built upon faith. It actually takes faith to make it work. Is it any wonder that on the back of every dollar bill are the words, “In God We Trust?” Knowing that God stands behind His written Word, exercising faith should not be a problem, but as uncomplicated as an over-the-counter transaction at the local grocery store. In exchange for faith in His Word, God gives us what His Word has promised. His written Word is proof of our receipt. There is no consciousness of faith or the lack of it--we just rest and receive.

There are many people today who profess to believe in God. They say He does exist--that He is the Almighty, yet they do not allow His Word to direct their lives. They assent to all the basic creeds and doctrines of the church, yet there is little transformation of their mind. Some will even go to great lengths to defend their doctrinal position; yet when trials and temptations come, they throw the Word of God to the wind and demonstrate how little it really means to them. The roots of their faith do not go deep. How can we say we believe in God if we do not also believe His Word? God cannot be separated from His word because the Bible says that He is the Word. We deceive ourselves when we say with our mouths that we believe in God, yet in our hearts harbor doubts and fears. How can we say that the one we pro¬fess to believe is true, if we do not live like His Word is true? Jesus said, “You believe in God, then believe also in Me.” (He is the Word.) In other words, “You say you believe in God, then believe also what I am telling you because I came from God. Let my Word have its rightful place in your life.” If Jesus was the Word made flesh, then we are to believe Him. That is, we are to do what He says. If we do not allow God’s Word to take hold of our most secret thoughts and transform our conscious minds, then we cannot truly say that we believe Him. We would be lying. We have said that God is true, yet we have not truly believed what He has said through His Son. The Word has no effect upon us. There is something else about this believing too. We need to know what God says in His Word in order to know what to believe. So, I need two things. I need to know what to believe as well as whom to believe. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” and “Where your treasure is, so will be your heart.” He also said, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” We should make God’s Word our treasure and delight, then our heart will be full of it, and we will know what to believe. Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord and do not (believe not) the things I say?” To believe Him is to do what He says! Sure you say you believe in God--but do you really believe God. You don’t if you do not believe His Word. There is a difference!

Faith is trusting in God’s fidelity to His own promises. Faith is simply resting in the loyalty of His Word. Faith is more than our belief in the traditional doctrines of religion. It is a God-given assurance about something for which there is no visible proof. Faith is not merely a system of religious beliefs and creeds, but realizing God’s own love, allegiance, and affection is focused upon the believer. It is to know and then rest in His promise. Faith takes us beyond mere adherence to our vows of sacred duty and places us in a steady and unwavering climate of love. Like healthy plants, we grow up into Him in all things. Faith is the knowledge that even if we should believe not, yet He abides faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim.2:13). Faith is knowing that it is not just our Faith, but HIS integrity. Our faith is simply a restful response to His Word--we know He cannot lie. We rest in the knowledge that His Word will not fail. It is the end of struggle for us because we believe.

I am not going to struggle anymore. I am through! I am not going to try to have faith. I don’t need faith. I have Christ! Faith doesn’t come about by struggle. The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Notice, it says, “...by the Word of God,” not the word of the teacher or the evangelist, the pastor, or even my own word--but the Word from God (Rom. 10:17). Man listens to many things. He goes to meetings, listens to the radio, plays tapes and records, reads books, and so forth; but still faith only comes when he hears the Word from God. “Well,” you may ask, “Isn’t that the Word of God if it’s scriptural?” No, it isn’t! The devil knows how to use scripture too. God doesn’t need anyone to do His speaking for Him--He can do His own. In fact, He has already done it. Who was around anyway when He spoke the universe into existence? He didn’t make man until it was all over. But you say, “Doesn’t the Bible say that the pastor, the teacher, the evangelist have some kind of purpose?” Sure they do, but they can’t take God’s place. Someone must remind us, “The anointing (faith) which we have received of God abideth IN us and we need not that ANY MAN teach us, but as that same anointing teaches us of ALL things (everything we are to know) and is truth and is no lie, and even as it is taught you, you shall abide in him.”--1 John 2:27. Who else has God placed on earth to tell us these things? But I’ll guarantee you one thing--your faith will not increase one small mustard seed until you learn to hear God from within your own soul. You may go to meetings seven days a week and listen to the best of speakers, tapes, and broadcasters, but you won’t increase in faith one small mustard seed until you learn to recognize and hear the Word of God within yourself! Just because another man knows and understands God’s will in a certain thing doesn’t mean that because he is talking, you are hearing God, and God is talking to you. You might as well understand that that is a man talking and God is not a man. You see, one must hear the Spirit of God within himself before he can truly say that he has heard the Word of God. One really hasn’t heard the Word of God until he has received understanding. The church is filled with people who have never come to the place where they have learned to hear from the Spirit of God for themselves. They are trying to ride on someone else’s experience because theirs has a flat tire. They are so busy listening to what others say and believe that they have no ears to hear what God believes and has to say to them. The Bible says, “...ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth.” If we can’t hear from God at home, what makes us think that we can hear from Him abroad? Let me ask you a question: Is church, the mission field, the radio, or a tape recorder the only place and means that God can speak to us? Is he confined to a printed page, a radio station, or a group meeting? What about in the desert, or the wilderness, or the hospital, or the human heart? Can’t God speak there too? Don’t misunderstand me--God can and does use all of these vehicles; but suppose these things are not available. Suppose we are not able to get to anyone of these means. What will God do? What will we do? The Jews thought the only place on earth God dwelled was in the Temple in Jerusalem. Didn’t Jesus teach us that business came to an end--that God is Spirit, and He prefers to live within the human heart instead of a place of cold concrete, mortar and steel? Aren’t we limiting God by thinking this way? Does God want us to limit our expectations in this fashion? Didn’t Jesus die to set us free from such materialistic thinking? If God so longed to inhabit the human heart, then isn’t He able to speak to us from within it? Doesn’t He dwell and make his home within us for this very same purpose? Was it His plan that we should always learn from external forces? What about the force from within? Are we so bound up by traditional and materialistic thinking and doing that we can’t find God unless we go here or go there to listen to this person or that person? Poor God, He needs help! Poor us, we are deceived! Sure, go anywhere you want to--but don’t think that you can’t hear from God if you don’t. Sure, go listen to this fellow or that fellow, but don’t ever get the idea that God is so dependent upon a man that He can’t talk to you whether at home, on the road, or in the black of night. Remember, when you listen to a man, you must hear what he wants to tell you, but when you listen to God, well--you can guess the rest for yourself. You see, only the Word that proceeds from the mouth of God can really build faith within our hearts. Sometimes we might find ourselves envying someone else’s gift--we might even become discouraged because God doesn’t seem to use us the way we think He should. We may not manifest this particular gift in the same fashion in which they do and we become downcast. Why that’s just exactly what the devil likes. Man alive, how do you think this other person came to understand the things he knows? I’ll tell you how--He learned to listen for God in his soul, while you and I were busy running around listening to what others had to say in those endless conventions. Let me tell you something: If you are desirous for Spiritual things and you are hungry for God, then I suggest that you learn to listen for the voice of God within your own heart and quit trying to have what someone else has. What God has for you would be more satisfying anyway than what the other person has. After all God is not just someone else’s Father; He is yours too. Jesus didn’t die just for that other fellow, He died for you too. Jesus doesn’t just live for someone else. He lives for you! Jesus doesn’t love that other person more than He loves you; He doesn’t do things that way. Is it any wonder the scriptures say, “Be still and KNOW that I am God.” Quiet your soul, still your mind, tranquil your heart, listen for His voice while all the world rushes by busy as bees around you. Is our Father willing to speak only to that other fellow? Do you see how the devil tricks us? He knows where faith comes from. He gets us to look at other people, and then he says, “How come you’re not like that? You should be doing things like he does.” That’s a big lie! God doesn’t want us to do things just like someone else does. One of them is enough. One of you is enough. One of me is enough. Listen to what Jesus says about it. “Of my own self I can do nothing. I only do the things I hear the Father tell me to do and AS I hear I decide and my decisions are right BECAUSE I don’t seek the fulfillment of my own desires but the Father’s that sent me.”--John 5:30. Jesus knew where faith (the ability to do God’s will) came from and that’s where He looked for it. Faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not a product of the mind. How do you suppose Jesus knew what the Father wanted him to do? Well, I know one thing for certain--He did not find out by running here and running there for counseling, or by patterning Himself after some other man. If He conformed to anything, it was to the knowledge and image of His Father God. There was no earthly image worthwhile for Him to seek after. He conformed to nothing in this world. Sometimes we forget why we are here on earth. We are not here to fulfill our dreams and ambitions for God. Having already died in Christ, we are to have come to the end of our own will. We must rather in the place of our old religious selves listen for that tender and gentle voice of the Father within as He speaks and builds His faith into our lives. We live our lives by “the faith of the Son of God,” not our own faith. We must NOW enter into His rest--the rest of faith. We have ceased from our OWN works as God did from His on the seventh day--God’s perfect rest--the rest that ceases from all our own struggles, for “Christ is the END of the law (the law of struggle) to all that believe.” We don’t have to be like anyone because we no longer exist. Christ is our new Life. Christ is our faith. He believes in us and for us and through us. We have His faith. His faith has us. I am not going to allow some sneaking devil to drive me to restless ambition. The message of the cross is “no longer I but Christ!” I would much rather be content in the will of God than restlessly thinking I am successful in my own. I am not going to worry about “my ministry.” I have Christ as my life; and if that isn’t enough to include and encompass everything I think, do, and say, then it’s hopeless for all of us. Never forget too that this “doing” of God’s will has little or nothing to do with physical activity. I can do God’s will flat on my back. God’s will is not doing, as we human’s think of it--it is BELIEVING as God thinks of it! “This is THE WORK OF GOD that you BELIEVE on Him whom the Father has sent.”--John 6:29 I can believe without going anywhere and from all appearances without doing anything at all. If the doing of God’s will is dependent upon physical activity; then when activity ceases, I will have to say I am no longer doing or living in God’s will. How foolish--that’s a big lie and Satan would like nothing better than for us to believe that. If this is the case, what will we do when we are too old to do? The will of God is that I believe--just believe in Jesus. That’s God’s work in me. He’s already done it. It’s His faith. Faith doesn’t come from me; it comes from God. Faith isn’t human; it’s Divine. Faith is “God who is at work in you both willing and working His own good pleasure.”--Phil. 2:13. You see, believing is actually the wonderful work of God. It’s no longer I but Christ. The Bible says, “If we believe not, yet He abides faithful (full of faithfulness) for He cannot deny Himself.”--2 Tim. 2:13. We are one with God in Christ now. He could not deny Christ. In Christ we (the believer) already possess and have all things. We are complete in Him. By grace are you saved (given a new Life) through faith and that (faith) is not of yourself. Faith is the GIFT of God; it doesn’t come from work. It comes from hearing the Gospel in your soul. Just think God did all this in Christ before we even believed in Him. So, with a deal like that I refuse to be dragged into the conflict. I have ceased from my own works, as God did from His. I’ve entered into rest. At last I have seen the truth of it! “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace (rest) whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusteth in Thee.”--Isaiah 26:3 After all, the Bible says the works were finished before the foundation of the world. Why shouldn’t we rest?