18 October 2009
Faith - What We Do Not See
20/10/09 19:33
Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
The second part of our definition of faith is being certain of what we do not see. That is certainly a struggle for the western mindset where we have been trained “first I see, then I believe” or “seeing is believing”. Faith is quite the contrary to that. Faith requires that you believe with certainty in something that is not yet visible in the natural. Once it is visible it no longer requires faith. You then have what you had faith for.
We do need to “see” or perceive what we believe for with our eyes of faith or spiritual eyes. Once you see it that way you are certain it is going to happen. For example when the four men brought their friend on his bed to Jesus to be healed but couldn’t get into the house. (Mark 2) They went up onto the roof of the house and ripped a hole in it to lower their friend down in front of Jesus. This was faith at work. They were sure that if they could get him to Jesus that which they hoped for would happen. In fact they were certain that their friend could walk again. Mark 2:5 says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."” Their faith was visible to Him and that which they believed for was granted.
Today with all the wonderful things that modern medicine can do for us it is often harder to hold onto faith for miracles. We have been taught that when certain things happen, say a spinal cord injury, there is no possible way it can be regenerated. This knowledge actually stands contrary to the word of God that says nothing is impossible for Him. He created it and He can recreate it. In fact the insidiousness of evolution permeates the church as we think we know better than what the word says. Our education can create so much doubt. The thing we need to become very good at is as my friend, Bob Brasset, said, “we need to doubt our doubts”. Much of what we know about earth and the universe are consistent laws that maintain everything in equilibrium but He who created those laws and principles is free to supersede them. All we need to do is believe.
It is very important to realise that we must birth what we are asking for in our spirit first. Everything is created in the spirit first and then comes into being in the natural. God thought of and then spoke into being everything that we see. He saw it first in the spirit and then called it into being in the material. We need to by faith get what we are looking for into a place of not only hope but a certainty of its existence before we see it in the natural. Once you see it in the spirit it is only a matter of time before it manifests in the material realm.
Faith is evident when these two factors come together. Hope initiates but our faith is complete when we are certain of what is not yet seen. We can hope in God but with faith we can be certain that He is going to act on our behalf. Faith is, as my dear wife, Bonnie says, the currency of heaven. It purchases for us what we long for.
The second part of our definition of faith is being certain of what we do not see. That is certainly a struggle for the western mindset where we have been trained “first I see, then I believe” or “seeing is believing”. Faith is quite the contrary to that. Faith requires that you believe with certainty in something that is not yet visible in the natural. Once it is visible it no longer requires faith. You then have what you had faith for.
We do need to “see” or perceive what we believe for with our eyes of faith or spiritual eyes. Once you see it that way you are certain it is going to happen. For example when the four men brought their friend on his bed to Jesus to be healed but couldn’t get into the house. (Mark 2) They went up onto the roof of the house and ripped a hole in it to lower their friend down in front of Jesus. This was faith at work. They were sure that if they could get him to Jesus that which they hoped for would happen. In fact they were certain that their friend could walk again. Mark 2:5 says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."” Their faith was visible to Him and that which they believed for was granted.
Today with all the wonderful things that modern medicine can do for us it is often harder to hold onto faith for miracles. We have been taught that when certain things happen, say a spinal cord injury, there is no possible way it can be regenerated. This knowledge actually stands contrary to the word of God that says nothing is impossible for Him. He created it and He can recreate it. In fact the insidiousness of evolution permeates the church as we think we know better than what the word says. Our education can create so much doubt. The thing we need to become very good at is as my friend, Bob Brasset, said, “we need to doubt our doubts”. Much of what we know about earth and the universe are consistent laws that maintain everything in equilibrium but He who created those laws and principles is free to supersede them. All we need to do is believe.
It is very important to realise that we must birth what we are asking for in our spirit first. Everything is created in the spirit first and then comes into being in the natural. God thought of and then spoke into being everything that we see. He saw it first in the spirit and then called it into being in the material. We need to by faith get what we are looking for into a place of not only hope but a certainty of its existence before we see it in the natural. Once you see it in the spirit it is only a matter of time before it manifests in the material realm.
Faith is evident when these two factors come together. Hope initiates but our faith is complete when we are certain of what is not yet seen. We can hope in God but with faith we can be certain that He is going to act on our behalf. Faith is, as my dear wife, Bonnie says, the currency of heaven. It purchases for us what we long for.
