Faith/Hebrews Chapter 4

As we are entering this new season of concentrated effort to believe God for this new building project, I found myself reviewing certain principles that I thought would be beneficial for all of us to review. Please note that the emphasis of this conversation is petitional prayer. This is when you need something specifically from God. Relational prayer is different. We can talk to God all the time about our thoughts, emotions, etc. Most of the time in relational prayer, not much more is taking place than just spending time and getting to know God. I am more specifically referring to getting heaven to produce something on the earth. Receiving healing, finances, etc.

Let’s get to work.

“So we see then that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Therefore since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” Hebrews 3:19-4:2

Based on the above quoted scripture, let me make a bold statement. The only real fear a Christian should have, after the fear of the Lord of course, and based on the above verse, is that of being in unbelief.

Continually the bible warns us about fear and how detrimental it is to seeing the power of God flow. So what gives that there is something we are told to be in fear over? Unbelief must be so terrible that we are told to be afraid of it. We are to be in fear of not being in faith. I have wondered why it was so important for God to come up with the system He has. I mean, why do we think it was so important to God that we learn how to ‘believe’. Notice how unbelief and disobedience go hand in hand (3:18).

‘Exercising’ Faith

To illustrate, I believe it is because faith is a ‘muscle’ that is flexed to produce work. It is the ability of God’s creation to decisively fix its attention on the will and mind of God which causes the power and substance of God, the spirit of God, to flow into the situation and create it. It is the flexing of the mind and will of the individual into agreement with God and the power from God released into the situation. The more focused the mind and heart are, the greater the conduit for the power of God. Our greatest strengths should be used in focusing the intellect to align with the promise of God spoken to the heart so that the spirit of God flows.

We don’t think it strange that we flex a thing called a bicep to lift with our arms. Faith is simply a part of our makeup that accomplishes ‘lifting’ when the weight or stimulus is a promise of God.

A great ‘exercise’ I do regularly is to take times out of the day and simply meditate on the promises that God has made to me. There are quite a few things God has promised me, many of which have been fulfilled. When I look back on these things, inevitably I find that with each instance, there was a period of time where all I could think about was the promise God had spoken to me. The answer would become so real to me that even my emotions reacted with great excitement as I considered the object of my attention. I found that without having it actually in my hand, I could freely worship God as if I already had received.

The word does have profit…to those who mix it with faith. An obvious conclusion we can draw is that that not everyone is going to see results. It is an unfortunate realism that not everyone will receive from God. Notice that the promises are already given. It is a finished work. Much like the electrical potential is at every switch on your wall provided by your electric company. Yet there is no result without the switch being moved. How much power from heaven, though always available, is not released into the world today to demonstrate His kingdom on the earth because we have not understood the “switch flipping” process?

“They could not enter…”

How this phrase is striking me. I have found both with myself and with the majority of the Christian population, that we depend on God to come simply to ‘bail us out’ at some whim and timing of His choosing. Not because of the process that results from our believing God, but because we think He will pity us poor saps in our trial. So we resign in despair hoping that God might do something. The word says they “…could not enter…” God had promised them provision. And it was their unbelief that caused them to not be able to enter. The word does say that God has pity on us. But to receive, you have to believe that too! There are whole people groups and religions that know nothing of His mercy towards His people. The result is a life of fear knowing only a god that judges and destroys.

I wonder if we would need a lot less pity if we would simply choose to believe the promise of God and allow the powers of the age to come to flow through us as easily as the last breath you just took exhaled from your lungs.

How important it is that we see God has nothing more to answer to in the sense He already has declared in His word the answer or promise to our situation. It would be like living next to a nuclear power plant hoping that electricity may show up. The power is already provided yet it takes the switch being flipped to release the energy already present in the line. God has answered already our every need through the finished work of Christ which has given us ‘great and precious promises’ to believe. The promises of God are now our answers to our requests. Many of us our asking God for something when frankly we need to be thanking Him for a finished provision.

Imagine going to the dinner table at thanksgiving and wondering or hoping if there is going to be something to eat. The promises of God are the thanksgiving meal, the ‘great supper table’, to use Jesus’ words. Jesus reminded us that man lives by every word of God. His words release unimaginable amounts of power when believed. It’s kind of like ‘just add water’. The material is already in packet form (the promise). Our faith is the water that makes it come to life.

I see here a necessity to be very focused about what we believe, knowing that it is not enough to abstractly ‘believe God’. How much good would it do me to abstractly believe that there is power out there somewhere to light my house? What good does it do me to just flip any switch in the house? Can I expect to see in my bathroom when I flick the light on in the kitchen (maybe I don’t want to see what is in my bathroom)? Obviously I go to the specific area of the house and turn that particular switch.

 

Each promise in the word is a particular switch for a particular room. There is ‘light switch’ for finances, health, relationships, and so on. It is all in the word of God. As we discover each promise of provision, we specifically believe for that particular instance with the particular promise.

The Minds Ability to Grasp His Promises

The mind or soul has been created to be pliable, even moldable. A potential liability though is that it can believe one thing today and another thing tomorrow. If we can remain focused by discipline on what God has stated we are to believe, we can see great results. So let’s take advantage of the quality God gave it and use that characteristic to our benefit. Its pliability was given so that a continual stream of God’s consciousness could pass through it and then conform to the mind of God. That conformity would allow for a flow of the spirit of God.

I saw a special on TV once on Tibetan monks and the metaphysical things they were able to accomplish. They showed how they could sleep out on a mountain in the snow with only their underwear on. Scientists measured how the heat of their skin actually rose just at the command of their consciousness. Those may be cool things to discuss at your weekend social, but who cares if you like to sleep in your skivvies in the snow? I used to do that after a night of drinking. But this does show the capacity the human spirit has to overcome the material world.

Now, how about the children of God? Where are those who can demonstrate that kind of spiritual discipline for Christ? What if instead of catching your skin on fire after sleeping all night in the snow naked, you learn to believe God’s word so that maimed and lame people are made whole. The human spirit has been created with such a capacity; if we will only learn to cooperate with the process.

I am continually challenged to see the heart of God in the statements made in His promises. God says His word has ‘profit’. Once again, I believe we need to take encouragement knowing that God wants to profit us. It is in His interest that He profits us. I mean, if He expects to get anything done through us, we need the stuff to get it done.

We also see that all peoples get the same word, but not all the same results. We have spent much time teaching the promises of God, but I wonder if we should not spend more time learning to believe. The ‘bank account’ is full, and we declare it every week. Moths haven’t gotten to it and no such thing as rust in heaven. But do we know how to write a check against it? The Bible is the same for everyone. That tells me that contained within both the word and the heart of every man is the capacity to experience the fullness of God. It comes down to the ability of the individual to believe, or make withdrawals… pure and simple.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God Who gives liberally and without reproach. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:6-7

We see again, the consistent pattern that it is not God’s liberality at issue, but whether we can believe. When we ask we are told to ask in faith. That means that we are to be in faith before we ask. With no doubting.

 

We see then another evidence of whether we are in faith. Doubting certainly will produce unrest, described in James as “…a wave of the sea tossed about…” How secure does that bobber feel out in the middle of the ocean tossed around on ten foot waves and gale winds blowing on it? Doesn’t sound like a good time to me!

There is a process that you can take to get yourself to the state of ‘believing’. I do not believe that ‘belief’ is something you hope you get and then maintain a fatalistic, whatever will happen will happen, mentality.

In every situation, you can begin the steps to leave worry, torment, and fear and arrive at rest, which is the evidence of your belief. The result of belief of course will be to enter the Promised Land, or in practicality, the receiving of that particular promise for your life.

“For we who have believed do enter that rest…” The evidence of believing is rest. The degree that you are free from worry, fear, and torment is evidence of the degree that you believe. It is amazing the signposts that God gives us to know what condition we are in. When we find ourselves in a state of unrest, there is still no reason to be frustrated. Take advantage of the evidence as it places you, and use the unrest as an indication or symptom. Simply get to work on healing the symptoms with the word of God.

We have been lied to, to believe that stress, worry and busyness are the sign of a successful Christian. This is wrong. Rest is the sign of a true Christian.

When Jesus was in the boat and the storm was ready to drown them, the disciples found Him sleeping. The fact that He was in ‘deep sleep’ is an indication of the rest He lived in every moment. There simply was not anything that was going to short the power or will of God in and through Him. That peace of mind allowed Him to enter into the deepest of sleep.

“…although the works were finished from before the foundations of the world.”

Notice that the promises of God have been around from before the foundations of the world. What we are asked to believe are principles that not only were here before the foundation of the world, they framed our world. It is the principle by which God’s kingdom works through an individual. And that is to believe the promise or principle in the word. These promises are the genetic code so to speak He determined would govern His creation by.

The promises of God are just that; they are principles. Statements of laws through which God governs even His own soul. It is how He thinks and interprets information. The promise is the declaration to you and me of how His universe is to function. The promise is the potential and the faith or belief is the switch that looses the power of God. Our hearts have been created to actually become impregnated with the word of God. The design within the ‘seed’, or word of God, will grow within our hearts until one day it is ‘birthed’ in a sense. All of God’s living creation works this way. I have wondered why we, no how about me…can be so quick to miss all the obvious lessons of nature.

Our job is to believe in the finished work declared in His word. And there are some that will, and some that won’t. Our regular question to ourselves and to others that we are ministering to is the same that Jesus asked the two blind men…”Do you believe that I am able to do this?...Be it done unto you according to your faith…”.

So, take time with God, and ask Him to help you with a specific area you need work on. Find out what the Bible says about your situation, meditate the word my studying and thinking over and over the promise, then after asking God to fulfill what He said, thank Him over and over believing the answer is done. Then hold on ‘cause some very cool things are about to happen.

PJ