Faith is Trust

"Faith is trust. If your dad says he will put you in the oven because you didn't trust him, I might be stating the obvious here, but I wouldn't trust him.”

- Sam Gollan

Related posts:

The Cosmic Turtle

Hell is a Mistranslation 

Spine

On Gays: 

"Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" 

On Finding God in Everyone: 
"God is in everyone's life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else, God is in this person's life." 

On Faith and Doubt: 
"If one has the answers to all the questions that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble." 

- Pope Francis

::

Now this is an example of someone, who has a spine.

Love Cannot Be Analyzed

"What I love about spirituality and mysticism (pursuit of God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight), is that it can only be experienced (and tested) subjectively. It requires an engagement of the heart, not just the intellect. We are given a brain, AND we are given a heart for a *reason*. To use only one is to live in a constant state of duality, confusion, and limited understanding. To dismiss the subjective heart experiences of others just because one thinks the other naive or weak, OR just because one doesn't know how to connect one's head to one's heart is not a discussion worth entering. Some things can only be deeply experienced, in a place without words or scientifically measurable evidence and analysis."

- Julie Ferwerda

I agree with this quote. 

While there is a place for hard questions, trying to analytically dissect faith, or spiritual experiences, is like trying to analyze and define love. We know it when we experience it. This is not head-knowledge, but an inner knowing. 

No explanations can satisfy the analyst, and none has to be given either.

"Faith is not a decision; faith is a discovery! The love of God realized awakens belief! Faith is not blind, neither is it unconscious; faith knows."

- Francois Du Toit

Are we sure that we have we examined our Faith?

"If you've accepted every tenet of your faith without questioning and without examination, then it is not your faith to begin with. What you have are the beliefs and teachings of others that you've swallowed whole and learnt to repeat and recite.

God has no grandchildren.

When you take away the books, the traditions, the denominations, the teachers and preachers, the group mentality... and after you've examined your heart... what are you left with? That is yours."

Be free!"

- The Free Believers Network

The Choice

The modern man who prides himself on being "self made" comes to the point where the trust in all his five senses fail, where he has no other options to bank on.

To him, Jesus says, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

This, obviously is not a new revelation. We all know that.

Jesus also says, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

 

It is easy for us to believe the first scripture. We can leave all the responsibility to God and sing "Que Sera, Sera, Whatever Will Be, Will Be". It is also easy to blame God, when bad things happen to us.

However, with the second scripture, we are given a responsible choice. The choice to trust Him and believe His promises over the circumstances that does not line up with our new-creation reality in Him.

Trust

A story that my friend forwarded to me:

++

They say the story of the mountain climber who was desperate to conquer a particular mountain. After years of preparation, he started his climb on a fine weekend.

But by the time he got around to climb, it was already getting very late. Instead of camping, he continued with the climb. It got real dark very soon. Visibility was zero. Clouds enveloped the moon and the stars and the temperature was getting colder by the minute.  

As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, the unthinkable happened! He slipped and fell. Falling rapidly, he could see nothing but darkness. Terror invaded his mind, as the gravity sucked him down at a terrifying speed. This really was the end, or so he thought.

Suddenly he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Yes, like any good mountain climber, he had staked himself to a long rope tied to his waist. He was now hanging in midair with nothing but pitch blackness and the frigid weather around him. 

He had no choice but to shout, "Help me God, HELP!" 

He suddenly heard a deep voice from the heavens, "What do you want me to do?"

"Save Me!"

"Do you really think I can help you?"

"Of course, my God!"

"Then cut the rope that is holding you up."

There was a moment of silence. And the man proceeded to clutch the rope that was holding him even tighter.

Next day, the rescue team reported that they found a frozen mountain climber with his hands clutched real tight to the rope... 

and he was merely five feet off the ground.

- Author Unknown
++

Trust is a major ingredient in our walk with God. And it does not necessarily stem from our five senses. But at the same time, it is not a blind walk either. Our action will be in response to His words. Peter walked on water by trusting Jesus' words and when his eyes was focused on Jesus. But he began to sink when he trusted his senses. 

We have a clear choice.

The sacred cow that Job unintentionally created

"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away" - one of the most sacred cows that has ever emerged from the institutional Christianity. When bad things happens to one's life, we are quick to point our fingers to God, based on these words by Job.

Where we miss the boat is the fact that Job was making this comment without realizing who really was the taker here. The book of Job Chapter 1 clearly shows us who the thief was. Job obviously could not read his book. He was living it.

"Ah, but God allowed it", says the follow-up response. 

I beg to differ. 

I do not have the slightest clue of why bad things happen to folks when it does not make any sense and my job here is not to speculate on that. But in Job's case, it was Job who allowed it. 

"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he". 

What happened to him was the fruit of what he dominantly meditated on. Listen to his words in Job 3:25, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."

We do the same thing today. We are constantly surrounded by the negative news, and expect the sky to fall on our heads. And it does, when we give into that fear. 

Faith and fear comes through one channel - by hearing. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. And let's not forget that, the word of God is not just the written text. It is the person of Jesus!

Fear comes by hearing the news media incessantly or anything that does not line up the knowledge and the reality of who we are in Christ Jesus. I'm not suggesting that we should turn the TV off and go live in a cave. I may not be able to stop the birds from flying over my head, but I certainly have the freedom to not let it build a nest on my head; unless of course, I want to believe that God allowed the bird to build the nest on my head!

The issue here is not about a doctrinal debate. This is not another theological discussion. This affects real lives. I personally have heard about the story of a man, who was dying of cancer, proudly saying that the cancer was from God and that he would not mind if God afflicted him with more severe diseases. He did not have to believe that lie when the stripes that Jesus bore on his back took care of his disease.

Obama, Michelle, Jesus and Us

"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."

This is Jesus' response to Peter when he said that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God."

It is tempting to try to intellectually figure it all out and box what I want to believe about Him. But this business of believing and trusting the Person of Jesus is not based on what I necessarily perceive with my senses. It goes beyond the sense realm. 

The truth is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and not by dissecting a stack of Scriptures with my head. Unless we walk by faith and not by sight, we may know plenty about Jesus, but fail to know Him, the resurrected Jesus who said, "I am with you always". This faith is not the product of our making. It is the gift of God. All we need to have is the desire to know the One who will never leave us nor forsake us.

Most of us know plenty about President Obama from Wikipedia or from the news media. But only Michelle Obama knows him intimately. Her knowledge is not based on the facts about Obama. She has a personal bond with him.

Baklava and Faith

When we go through the valley of the shadow of death, we do not often feel Him. As a result, we may have the urge to conclude that he has abandoned us.

How can he abandon us when he said, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" ?

But still, we like the confirmation of our senses. And I don't think it is too much to ask for. Joy cannot be theorized. 

So how do we go about experiencing Him in the middle of the worst storms?

This is where believing His words with a child-like faith come into play. We have to make the decision to take "I am with you always" at face value. 

Believing has nothing to do with feelings. It is a choice that we make. We might not feel a thing initially, but as we take the baby steps with him each day, we get to taste and see that He is good.

Tasting is not a theoretical concept.  

I do not taste baklava by faith. I love that pastry and I long for more. My taste buds can never get enough of it. But if I were new to that pastry, I would have to choose to taste it. But now that I know (not just know about) how baklava tastes, there is no going back. It's too good.

From Skepticism to Faith

Filming God: A Journey from Skepticism to Faith, by Darren Wilson is one of the recent books that has impacted me.

The book is the story about a very traditional Christian professor who grew up in church knowing about God. He says that he was a devout skeptic regarding the things of the supernatural, but through a supernatural encounter he was led to making movies (Finger of God and Furious Love) documenting God's supernatural power in action today. The book narrates his thoughts throughout this journey. But this is not just a book about God's supernatural occurrences happening today.


I was not a skeptic in the first place, so it is not just the supernatural incidents that I liked about the book. Beyond the amazing testimonies and experiences listed, I really like the fact that the author trains the reader's attention to the Source of miracles, instead of idolizing the vessels that God flows through. In the entertainment centric modern Christianity, often times, it is not uncommon to get our attention lost in what's happening on the stage/screen and forget to connect with the Source. I also loved the fact that the author emphasizes that our motive in reaching out to other people should be love and nothing else. I agree; Jesus did not come to birth a bunch of churchians. God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. It was unfathomable love that motivated His actions.






Disclaimer: The book and the DVD's are linked to my Amazon affiliated store. 100% of my cut from Amazon from the sales of Christian materials are sowed to organizations that ministers the unconditional love and the grace of God in Christ Jesus. 

'Faith Muscles'

Note: This article will primarily speak to the believers who are familiar with the Word of Faith teachings.


Much is written and taught on the subject of faith to the point that faith is made into a nearly impossible goal to achieve. But is that the case? Is it really reserved only for the tenacious few?

FAITH MUSCLES
The Roman centurion had great faith for his servant's healing (Matt 8:5-13). The Syro-Phoenician woman was another person that Jesus referred to as having great faith (Matt 15:21-28).

Observing their great faith, we run around to build our 'faith muscles'. We learn about the 'authority' the centurion wielded. But we scratch our heads when we realize that the Syro-Phoenician woman was not part of an army. She did not possibly know about authority. Nevertheless, we move on to the next formula.

Quick question: What formula did we work to put our trust in Jesus? If salvation is an unearned gift, which it is (Ephe 2:8-9), why then would we assume that we have to earn the blessings that we already have in Christ Jesus (Ephe 1:3)? If one's 'tenacity' is the secret to deliverance, what is the answer to the person on the deathbed who cannot even think properly? How many scriptures should he confess to be healed? And no, I am not at all against confessing (agreeing with) the scriptures, which exercises its superhuman power when we believe. But I cringe when it is perceived as a technique to "move God".

ZERO FAITH
The epileptic boy, his father and Jesus' disciples whom Jesus gave the authority to heal, had no faith (Matt 17:14-18). And yet, Jesus cured the boy.

Peter walked on water effortlessly when His eyes were fastened on Jesus. But when he was distracted by the storm, he began to sink. But notice that Jesus did not let him drown because of his lack of faith. When Peter called upon the name of Jesus, he was instantly rescued by Jesus (Matt 14:25-31). Today's religion would have condemned him to death for his lack of faith!

Therefore, isn't it common sense to conclude that, our supposed faith level is not the answer? It does not matter if we have great faith, mid-level faith, low faith or no faith - Jesus is the answer. All things are possible to him who believes. it is easy to quote, preach or write that scripture when we are comfortably dependent on our five senses. When the storm hits, it is not really easy to believe (I did not say pretend) for the impossible. Jesus is the only person who can believe in all things. He is not fazed by the storms. The elements are subject to Him. All negative circumstances have no other choice, but to bow at His Name - when we believe in Him. Right now, He is in us. So instead of looking at our faith level, let us look unto Jesus, who is the author and perfector of faith (Heb 12:2 NASB).

HIS FAITH
Faith is not a mysterious thing that is often made out to be. We do not need to be ultra "spiritual" to understand faith. We do not need to learn Greek and Hebrew to have great faith. The Roman centurion and the Syro-Phoenician woman did not know that they had 'great faith'. Note that both of them were gentiles. In other words, they did not have a list of do's and don't's. They did not come to Jesus based on what they did. What they knew for sure was that their answer was in the person of Jesus. That, is faith.

24/7 FAITH
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17). The 'word of God' is not merely a bunch of scriptures that we use to 'stand on'. Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). So then, faith comes through Him. The lame man at the Temple Beautiful, was healed by this faith. "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16, NKJV). The disciples did not run after faith-building techniques. Their secret was that they were with Jesus (see Acts 4:13). Are we connected with Jesus who is with us 24/7 (Matt 28:20) or are we practicing the popular faith principle?

ALL AUTHORITY
The believer's authority is the presence of Jesus and His authority in us. I did not say we are powerless and unworthy worms. Our authority and power is the person of Jesus, and not something we muster up with our performance.

Jesus said: "...All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Matt 28:18, NKJV). "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18, NKJV).

After His ascension, Jesus confirmed the word with accompanying signs - "And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen." (Mark 16:20, NKJV)

The disciples were aware that they were yielded conduits of the real person who did the miracles. Listen to their prayer in Acts 4, "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

CHILD-LIKE TRUST
The only thing that is required of us is a child-like trust. Jesus said, "...Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3, NKJV). A baby is helpless to do anything on his own. He has to depend on his parents for every little thing. Jesus said, "...without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5, NKJV). There are great many things we can do apart from depending on the life of Jesus, but in order to manifest His life, His deliverance and His fruit, we have to move out of the way (Phil 2:13). When we cast our cares to the Lord (1 Pet 5:7), He does the work exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to His power that works in us (Ephe 3:20). And that is not a life of idleness. We will do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13).

It really is all about Jesus.

Preach the Vine

A Plea:

With all due respect, I am happy that you are a "grace" preacher, "faith" preacher, "feel-good" preacher, or that you can levitate while preaching. But unless and until the people are connected to the person of Jesus, what they hear are mere "doctrines" that will feed their head and not The Gospel, which will set them FREE - free from condemnation, free from the futile self-effort, free from every imaginable physical or emotional bondage, free to be themselves in Christ Jesus, free to fulfill their destinies in Christ.

The supernatural changes happen as we behold the Son, not the preacher or his/her "10 principles" or the labels. Gospel is a person and His name is Jesus. Eternal life begins right here, right now. Listen to Jesus' definition of eternal life - "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3 NKJV). It is about an intimate walk with God. It is about plugging into The Life, for we can do nothing apart from depending on Him (John 15:5). There is no life for the branch apart from the Vine. Preach the Vine and not how the branch can survive on its own. It can't. Self-effort may appease one's ego, but the branch will soon wither and die. We were created to live from the Tree of Life (Jesus) alone.

Please, bring the Son and His finished work back to the center, for He is the embodiment of grace, faith, love, joy, wisdom, righteousness, healing, prosperity, miracles, deliverance, sanctification, redemption, peace and whatever it is that we are looking for in Him.

The Do-Do Christianity - Part I

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. – James 1:22

We have interpreted this scripture as “be ye doers of the law”. And in an effort to “please God” and/or be justified by God, we zealously jump on the treadmill of law keeping; either Mosaic, traditional, cultural or a mixture of everything and hope that God would be pleased with our tenacity and sincerity.

Just a minor problem though – we cannot pick and choose from the Mosaic Law (the 10 commandments and the 613 laws). We have to keep all the laws; if not, we break all the laws; there is no middle ground. And the laws by the traditions vary from culture to culture. So then, which law must we adhere to?

The bigger question is, will we be justified by our attempts at keeping the law? The Scripture is crystal clear on this topic. We are not justified by the works of the law (Gal 3:11; 2:16). When people asked what they should “do” to do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29 ESV). Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and through the crucifixion, He redeemed us from the curses of not keeping the law. Therefore, the assumption that we can be justified with our futile attempts in keeping the Law, stems from ignorance. The Galatians thought they could mix the law with the grace of God. Listen to how Paul responded, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you,…  Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal 3:1-3 ESV). It is foolishness because we voluntarily invite the curse to our lives when we trust in the law, because it is impossible for us to keep all the laws. We fall from grace [the very gift that saves us from the curse of not keeping the law], when we have the audacity to think that we can be justified by our own works.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give the revelation knowledge of who we already are in Christ Jesus. Let us believe that we have been made righteous (right standing with God) apart from our works.

Just like we were made sinners without our effort, we have been made righteous by Jesus, without our effort (see Rom 5:19).

Read the previous paragraph, again and again and allow the truth to sink in to your soul. Let us believe that we are financially prosperous, not because we sow or tithe, but because Jesus became poor for us. Let us believe that we are healthy, not because we pray, fast, work out and eat organic food, but by His stripes only. Our new-creation reality is based on Jesus' finished work on the cross; not the current circumstances, which we perceive by carnal senses. We access this grace through faith. By faith we receive what is freely available to us through Christ Jesus. Faith is not something we manufacture. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. It's about simply believing what the Cross accomplished. Let us rightly divide the scriptures and meditate on the scriptures which reveals what Jesus Christ has already done for us and who we already are in Him; and get ready to be exploded with the revelation that we do not have to (we can't, even if we tried to) earn our blessings. The Blessing (JESUS) in all His glory is in the believer and the believer in Him, right now.

Does this mean we are to stay idle? Paul says he labored more abundantly than everyone else, but the credit was given to the grace of God that was with him. We cannot bear his fruit without His life flowing in and through us. God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to His power that is in us – if we let Him. All that we need to be is an yielded vessel who is sensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us be free from the Do-Do mindset and allow God to do his perfect will in and through us.

Read Part II of this series.

Blessed In Jesus

“... whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” - 2 Corinthians 6:9 ESV

MOTIVATION

Let us for instance assume that the scripture above was not in the Bible. If that truly were the case, would we still give? If ‘getting back’ is the sole driving force behind our giving, we are then using God as a vending machine. “God, here is my money, now give me my stuff”. Christ did not go through the religious criticism (which I believe is far worse than the physical torture He endured) torture and crucifixion to be our delivery boy. We are not giving due credit for His love (which we cannot even comprehend with our natural minds) towards us when the motive is just about “meeting my needs” - be it spiritual, health-related or financial.

UNEARNED GIFT

In Romans 8:32 ESV, Paul says, “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?”

Financial abundance is not the product of our giving, just like salvation and healing are not products of our good works. Salvation is a gift from Christ Jesus. We are healed because Jesus bore our sicknesses. Our financial prosperity does not start with our giving. 2 Corinthians 8:9 is the foundation of our financial abundance. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Some might think that this verse is just about "spiritual" riches. But if we study 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, we can see that the subject is about money.

Financial abundance starts when we believe that ‘Christ became poor so that we might be rich’. Believing what Christ did for us in each area of our life (health, wealth, peace etc) is the key that will let us see the blessings in manifestation. 

But the belief is always accompanied by a corresponding action. James confirms it in James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Giving will be the fruit that naturally follows. But often times, we focus on the action part. We think our action is what initiates everything. Once we get a real revelation of his unconditional love for us, no one will have to force, encourage or entice us, to give. We will no longer debate if we should give 10% gross or net, or 90%. The debate goes out of the window and then the heart starts making the decisions. God loves a cheerful giver who gives from the heart.

We are not forcing God to bless us when we give, for we already are blessed in Christ Jesus. It is only by grace that we have access to the blessing of God, which includes salvation, healing and financial abundance. And gifts are not earned; we simply receive it. 

So I would have to be ignorant of the Gospel if I say, “I am giving to be blessed”. That will put the onus on my action, which stems from the Old Covenant mindset.

BIRDS

In Matthew 6:25-26 ESV, Jesus says, “... do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

If the birds do not have to sow or reap, why then we - the beloved children of the most High God, carriers of Jesus Christ, carriers of his power that is embedded within us, carriers of The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead - must sow to meet our personal needs? Our Heavenly Father knows our needs even before we open our mouths to pray. The only requirement to meet our personal needs is in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

This is where the intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit becomes vital. Until it finally hits us that the King of the universes calls us friend, it would be hard with our natural minds to accept the truth that we do not have to even think about meeting our daily needs.

HAWAII? 

This does not, however, mean we should quit our jobs, or close our businesses and move to a beach resort in Hawaii and expect angels to feed us every day. We should be diligently working in whatever occupation we are involved with. God is our source of income, not the job or business. Our occupation is just a channel through which the fund flows to us. When, or if we lose our employment, we have nothing to worry about. That job wasn’t our source of income in the first place. First of all, we have to renew our mind to the truth that the One who created this universe lives within us. Secondly, losing a job simply means that the channel is changing, perhaps to a better one. When drought hit the land, God directed Elijah to move to a new place where he was supernaturally supplied. The Source was the same; it was only the channel that was different. God supplies our needs, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus; not according to a fluctuating economy.

BREAKFAST 

To the parents who are reading this, would you demand a portion of your child’s breakfast to feed them lunch, or dinner, or to enjoy all the provisions of your household? I would assume that you would not even give a consideration to that thought. Children are the heirs to everything that the parents own. So if we do not withhold good things from our children, why would we think that our Heavenly Father, who is Love, would do that? Are we presuming that we have more love than Love himself?

Malachi 3:10-11 happened under the old covenant. And yes, there is the account of Abraham tithing, once, before the Law. If we are using Abraham's tithing as the foundation for the modern day tithe teaching, let's not forget that Abraham went through circumcision before the Law as well. Why isn't the tithe teaching churches emphasizing circumcision?

My point is, why must we limit our giving with a fixed and a small percentage? Is not that too impersonal and formulaic. When we buy a gift for a close friend or family, don't we buy from our heart?

SOWING AND REAPING

So what about 'Sowing and Reaping'? With the solid foundation of 2 Corinthians 8:9; when we believe 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 and cheerfully (not reluctantly or under compulsion or manipulation) give as decide in our heart, God is able to make all grace abound towards us, so that we always will have all sufficiency in all things, we will have an abundance for every good work and we will be enriched in all things so that we can be generous, which in turn results in an heart-felt thanksgiving to God.

The Holy Spirit, Who inspired Paul to write that passage does not lie. But this giving must purely be directed by the guidance of the Holy Spirit who lives in our heart and not by the flesh or on the basis of a subtle or an overt legalistic requirement of a church organization. This act of faith is for Jesus' sake and for the sake of the gospel, that sets people free from every bondage.

Please do not give because I said so or a televangelist thinks it is a working principle. Instead of being led by preconceived notions or what some book/preacher says about this topic, allow the Holy Spirit, The Teacher, to make this truth alive in your heart. Giving is one of the most purest things that a person does from the heart. Love gives. It is tragic that teachings have made this into impersonal formulas and principles. But also on the other side of the spectrum, it is equally tragic to throw the baby along with the bathwater, because some have manipulated this freeing message. 

BUT WHY?
The end goal is not to hoard, but to BE a blessing. Money is merely a tool that will help many people from their bondage. Contrary to popular knowledge, money does not corrupt anyone. Robert Kiyosaki says it the best on this matter, "Money does not corrupt you. Money only reveals to you who you really are. If you are greedy at the core, more money will make you greedier. If you are cheap, more money will only make you cheaper. If you are a crook, more money will only make you more of a crook. If you are generous, more money will only make you more generous."

When we renew our mind with the truth that we are grafted in Jesus, we bear fruit as a result of His life flowing through us. The branch does not strive to bear fruit. When we are grafted in Him, we will no longer need a scripture to "encourage" us to give. Giving comes out as a fruit, because it is no longer we who live, but Him. And giving is God’s nature, for God gave us His best, His Son Jesus.

IN CONCLUSION

As you may have noticed, this is not an article on “15 Steps to become a billionaire”. At the same time, this is not an "anti-wealth" message either. Jesus came so that we may have his life more abundantly. Poverty is one of the curses that Christ has redeemed us from. The scripture is not against prosperity in every area of one's life. In Jesus' words, this is the will of God - "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is no poverty in Heaven.

Authentic prosperity is the Life of Christ Jesus in us. And lack (in every area of one's life) must not be accepted where the King of kings resides. But the fruits of his abundant life in us will manifest only to the point we believe Jesus' finished work on the cross. This is about a complete surrender to Jesus - literally making Him the Lord over each and every area of our lives. It is about resting in Him, instead of trusting in our works, regardless of our sincerity.

Unlimited FAITH

Faith is a GIFT from God, not something we can manufacture with our effort. It is no longer about "MY" high and mighty faith, but His.

Listen to this heart opening and liberating message.

Unlimited FAITH by Peter Youngren
Disc 1 - Faith or Mental Believing
Disc 2 - The Only Faith that Works
Disc 3 - Your Faith is Closer Than You Think
Disc 4 - Two with Great Faith

When faith is frightening

When faith is frightening

Article by Peter Youngren

Focus On Him

And this is the commandment, That we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. - 1 John 3:23

The New Testament commandment is to believe (put our complete trust in, adhere to, solely depend on) in Jesus Christ.

‘Believe’ is not limited to a one-time exercise that we did when we first received Him to our heart. It is a present continuous action. We believe in Jesus, when the newspaper screams “recession” – because our (the believer’s – not necessarily the person who knows a lot of scripture) need is supplied according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We believe in Jesus, when the media talks about “flu” season – because by the stripes that Jesus bore on His back, we (again, the believers – not the churchian) have the provision to walk in divine health.

If Jesus could solve the lack of food issue for five thousand (not including children and women) within a matter of seconds, His miracle working power has not faded away one bit, for Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

His Power is constant. The only variable is our trust in Him. Let us not get distracted anymore and put our focus on Him and Him alone.

Strength

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." - Philippians 4:13

Our strength is not our will-power or our disciplined lifestyle; our strength is Jesus Christ. And this Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, lives in us. It is when we trust in His Life that is in us, nothing becomes impossible for the believer.

Our task then, is to believe that truth just like a little child would. The proportion of Jesus’ life flowing through the believer is equivalent to the proportion in which the person believes in Jesus, who is in him.

If he thinks Jesus can heal only common colds, then that is the extent to which he receives the healing. It is not because Jesus is limited, but we, with our limited thinking, limit the manifestation of the already freely available provision. We sometimes look at the natural circumstances and we choose to accept whatever comes our way. That need not be the case.

Jesus says in Matthew 28:18, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

‘All’ in Greek or Hebrew means all. The Person with ‘All authority’ resides in us. There is not one sickness or negative circumstance that will not bow at the Name of Jesus. 

His Faith

Faith is defined as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1). It is something that we've often used to "bombard the Heaven" with or "move" God to meet our needs. In the scriptures, we come across a lot of people using their faith to accomplish healing or deliverance. But after the resurrection of Christ (when the work was completed), we hardly see statements along the lines of "your faith has made you whole". Now, all that we have to do is depend on the faith of (Galatians 2:20) the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus. This is good news. Now the onus is not on how big or small faith I have. I simply have to depend on the faith of the Greater One who is inside of me (1 John 4:4).

Listen to these powerful and eye-opening messages on Faith by Peter Youngren:

. The Only Faith That Works - Part 1
. The Only Faith That Works - Part 2
. The Only Faith that works - Part 3

. A Big Faith Is A Big Jesus
. The Faith Who Works

Click here for the complete list of messages.
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