Lending to the LORD

He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD,
And He will pay back what he has given. (Proverbs 19:17)

Did you know that you can actually lend to the LORD, and He will pay you back? That’s what this verse is saying. The word for “pity” means to be gracious, to show favor. Literally, it is to bend or to stoop down in kindness. Here again, the word for “poor” means “dangling,” and refers to someone who is very much in need.

The word for “lend” literally means to twine, or to unite. That is what borrowing and lending does, it creates a bond, even an obligation. The man who shows favor to the poor actually lends to the LORD, and that places the LORD in his debt. Oh, how that idea offends the religious spirit, but that is clearly what the Scripture implies. God allows Himself to be in our debt.

Now, the lender/debtor relationship that is implied here is not one of animosity. The lending and repaying are not done in a begrudging way. Rather, it is a delightful partnership that is being depicted. For why is showing favor to the poor understood as lending unto the LORD? Because God identifies His heart with the poor. They are of special concern to Him. The desire of His heart is to lift them up out of the ashes and bring them into His abundance. So, when we show favor to the poor, we are actually identifying with God’s heart, partnering with Him in His good pleasure. We have touched the heart of God, and there is great reward in that.

Our God is a God who repays. In Jeremiah 51:56, He is called Yahweh El Gemulah, the LORD God of Recompenses. Often in the Old Testament, the recompense is negative, i.e., God repaying the wicked for their wickedness. But His recompense also works very positively.

It’s a matter of sowing and reaping, and Yahweh is the Lord of the Harvest. We discover this principle in the New Testament:

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:7-9)

So it is with our lending to the LORD. It is a seed we sow. And when we sow, we reap. If we sow well, we reap well. If we sow bountifully, we reap bountifully. If we sow sparingly, we reap sparingly.

What we give to God is a seed, what God gives to us is a harvest, and the harvest is always greater than the seed. What we sow is what we reap. Sow favor, and reap favor. Sow thorns, and you will not like your harvest.

God will “pay back.” The word used here means to reciprocate, to make complete. It is a restoration, a fulfillment. The circle is complete. But don’t stop there. Let the circle keep going by reaching out more and more to those who are in need of God’s kindness shown through you. When we show grace, He shows grace back to us. When we prosper the poor, God prospers us. God always repays, and He always repays BIG!

How to Be Blessed On the Earth

Blessed is he who considers the poor;
  The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive,
  And he will be blessed on the earth.

(Psalm 41:1-2)

To be blessed means to have heaven on your side, the favor of God to go before you, and the power and goodness of God at work on your behalf. The Hebrew word for “poor” literally refers to one who is dangling. They may be poor in finances, in health, in relationships, in wisdom — any or all of these—and “hanging by a thread.” They are thin, weak, or in lack in some way, and they need help.

To consider is to think about something in a purposeful way, with intent to act. It means to guide with wisdom and prudence, to prosper. To consider the poor is not just about sympathizing with their situation, but about extending a hand, and even acting on their behalf. When we act on their behalf, we will find that God is likewise acting on ours.

When we open our heart towards the poor, the blessing of God comes upon us. It is not that God’s heart was closed toward us before, and now He has opened it because we have considered the poor. No, His heart has always been open toward us, only our heart was not open toward Him. But when we open our heart toward the poor, we are also opening our heart toward God — because His heart is to help the poor — and now His blessing is free to flow into our lives.

Notice that David, who penned this psalm, refers to the covenant name of God — Yahweh. This is indicated by the name “LORD,” rendered all in capital letters. Yahweh is the name by which God revealed Himself in covenant with people. It is extended to us in the name of Jesus, which in the Hebrew is Yeshua, a contraction of the name Yahweh, and yasha, a word signifying “salvation.”

The blood of Jesus is our eternal covenant with God. The essence of the covenant, in the Old and New Testaments, is that we belong to God, and He belongs to us. We act on His behalf, and He acts on ours. Notice how this plays out for the one who considers the poor:

“The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” The word for “deliver” literally means to be smooth. The LORD makes him smooth, to slip away and escape in the time of trouble.

“The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive.” To preserve means to hedge about on all sides, to watch over and protect.

“And he will be blessed on the earth.” The blessing is not for heaven, but from heaven. It is for here and now upon the earth. The blessing is the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven, for heaven is all about blessing. Being blessed on the earth is the joining together of heaven and earth.

There’s even more to the blessing, for the psalm continues:

You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will sustain him on his sickbed. (Psalm 41:2-3)

God will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. Here, the word “deliver” means to hand over. God will not hand him over to his enemies. No, God causes him to escape the enemy in safety. The will of God prevails over the will of the enemy.

“The LORD will strengthen him on his sickbed.” When he is infirm and on a bed of sickness, God will replace weakness with strength. He will sustain him on his sickbed. The word for “sustain” means to turn, overturn, overthrow. The KJV says, “Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.” The word “all” means all. This is total restoration and healing. The whole situation will be completely turned around.

Get to know the heart of the Father by spending time with Him in the Word, in worship, and in prayer. Let Him open up your heart toward the poor, to reach your hand toward them in practical ways. You will experience the flow of God’s love working in and through you, and all the favor of heaven will be released into your life. You will be blessed on the earth.

How to Forgive By Faith

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)

Wait a minute — did I get the right verse for today’s topic? What do mustard seeds and mulberry trees have to do with learning how to forgive? Well, Jesus was talking about offenses and how to deal with them:

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him: and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,” you shall forgive him. (Luke17:3-4)

Now, people don’t generally mind rebuking a brother. In fact, it comes quite naturally (at least in our fallen human nature). But when Jesus said to rebuke, it wasn’t a license to act mean and nasty, or to be self-satisfied (which often seems to be what we take “rebuke” to mean). When someone offends us, we want to “tell them off.”

That’s not what Jesus was talking about. Yes, there are times when we must deal seriously with a matter, and we should never back down from that. But we must always be careful to do it in love, seeking the good of the other person involved.

We don’t mind repentance, as long as it is somebody else who is doing it. If someone offends us, and then comes back and apologizes — well, we can often just go ahead and let it go, and it makes us feel, you know, sort of magnanimous. (We have a nasty habit of making everything about us, don’t we? It’s the fallen nature again.)

But seven times in one day? That’s pushing it. I mean, how much of this treatment are we supposed to take? Plus, its one thing when they offend us, and then they repent. What about when they don’t repent? Are we still supposed to forgive?

Yes.

In another place, Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). No repentance mentioned here, not even a hint. Just forgive.

Okay, that really tests our limits now, doesn’t it? But we’re not in bad company, because it tested the disciples as well. When Jesus told them to forgive the brother seven times, the disciples suddenly became aware of a great inadequacy in themselves, particularly in their faith.

The apostles — that’s what Luke calls them at this point — said to Jesus, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Yeah, if they were going to have to offer this kind of forgiveness, they were really going to need to reckon with their faith.

You see, like everything else in the Christian life, forgiveness is a matter of faith. For when we forgive, we are giving up something. Will God “make up the difference” for us? It takes faith to trust Him to do that.

So Jesus began talking about mustard seeds and mulberry trees: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6).

Faith is like a mustard seed, and like a mustard seed, it must be planted to do any good. The size of the seed is not important. What you do with it is. But how do you plant the faith “seed?”

Jesus tells us: “Say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,” and it will obey you.”

Ah, yes. You plant your faith “seed” by what you say. It is the same way with forgiveness. Forgiveness requires faith, and faith is a seed that you plant by what you say.

So the way you forgive is to say, by faith, “I forgive.” You may not feel like you have forgiven. You may even feel anger rising up again because of the offense. But you must cease from being moved by your feelings and stand with your faith: “I forgive.” As often as the offense comes to mind, and as often as feelings of anger rise up, reassert your faith: “I forgive.”

As you take your stand in faith and forgive, you will eventually find that the offense has been uprooted from your life. It is no longer chained to you — you have released it by faith. It is no longer a stumbling block for you — you have removed it by faith. It has been cast into the sea, by faith. Now you are free to move forward in your life.

Faith Partners With Patience

Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12)

Faith and patience go together. That is part of the nature of faith. Faith is not about what you can see right now, it is about what you cannot yet see. Remember, “Faith is the substance of things hoped [expected], the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is expecting that which you do not yet see, and so it takes some time between the believing and the seeing.

Faith is a seed. Have you ever heard of a seed that you can plant and immediately see harvest? Of course not. You plant the seed, then go about your business, letting the seed do its work in the soil. It germinates, then it sprouts, then it comes up on stem, then it puts forth its leaf, then it flowers, then it comes into fruit, and then the fruit is ready for the harvest. The rate at which this all happens varies from seed to seed, but every seed goes through this process. That takes time, and so what really we need is patience.

Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Fame of Faith” because of its litany of Old Testament saints who walked by faith and saw it through to the end. But did you know that the context of this great chapter is about patience?

The author of Hebrews was writing to scattered Jewish believers who were suffering persecution because of their faith in Christ. They were severely tempted to give up and go back to their old ways. Hebrews was written to encourage them to continue in their faith. That’s why, in chapter 6, the author called for them to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Directly on either side of Hebrews 11, almost serving as bookends, we discover the theme of patience still at work. We find it under the term “endurance.” The Greek word is hupomone, which is elsewhere translated “perseverance” and “patience.”

Near the end of chapter 10, we find:

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance [hupomone], so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Then immediately after chapter 12, we read:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance [hupomone] the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Patience is very important to the faith process. When Jesus spoke to the fig tree, in Mark 11, He immediately received what He said. For Jesus said, in that same passage, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (v. 24). Notice that “receive” is in the present tense. The NASB says, “have received.” In any case, the receiving is not future tense.

So Jesus immediately received what He said. But He did not immediately see what He said. Seeing it would come later. So Jesus, knowing that faith requires patience, simply went on about His business, and continuing to believe what He said. It was not until the next day, when He and the disciples were passing by again, that they saw that the fig tree had indeed withered.

• When did Jesus receive what He spoke it out in faith? Immediately.
• When did Jesus see it come to pass? Not until the next day.
• In between there was patience.
  

If you believe the Word and walk by faith, exercising patience, you will eventually see the fulfillment of what you have believed. But if you walk by sight, letting circumstances and emotions dictate how you are going think and what you are going to expect, then you will probably never see what you believed for come to pass — all for lack of patience.

When you have exercised your faith in the promises of God, keep yourself focused on His Word. Don’t let anything else that you see or hear move you or trouble you in any way. Your circumstances must eventually line up with the Word of God and your faith in it, so be patient, knowing that you will see it happen.

Welcoming the LORD

You will show me that path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16:11)

This morning on Fox News Sunday, the “Power Player” of the week was Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat from Texas. The reason for this selection was because she always manages to get a center aisle seat for the president’s annual State of the Union address, where she gets to greet the president and enjoy some face time with him.

Of course, as a Democrat, she often disagrees with President Bush, but that matters little. For her, it is important to build the relationship. Chris Wallace, her interviewer, complimented her on her ability to make that important connection in her effort to get things done. She responded, “I know how to welcome the president.”

Jesus said, ‘He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:21, 23)

If only the people of God would learn that secret with the LORD, and learn how to welcome Him! We would not only experience more frequent visitation from the LORD, we would discover how easily visitation becomes habitation. Manifestations of His presence would proliferate and our joy would quickly increase.

Faith Requires Forgiveness

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that you Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. (Mark 11:25)

Notice the word “and” in this verse. It is related to what has gone on before. In this case, it connects to the powerful things Jesus said about mountain-moving faith. But what does forgiveness have to do with faith? Quite a lot, actually.

Remember when Jesus talked about faith as a mustard seed, in Luke 17? The disciples had just asked Him to increase their faith. But what had provoked this sudden desire for more faith? It was what Jesus had just spoken to them about forgiveness.

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,” you shall forgive him. (Luke 17:3-4).

The truth about forgiveness is that it is an act of faith. The disciples immediately recognized that this kind of forgiveness would require quite a bit of faith.

You see, when people are offended, they are significantly slowed down, or even stopped from moving forward. The Greek word for “offense” is skandalon, and refers to that which is a snare or a stumbling-block. When you are caught in a snare or trip over a stumbling-block, you have immediately ceased to move forward. You are no longer making progress. The question is, How long are you willing to remain in that hindered state? The choice is yours.

The answer is to forgive, and that takes faith, faith to believe that God is going to take care of the situation and restore whatever you have lost by the offense. This faith-filled forgiveness allows you to get up, get out and move forward once again. That snare is no longer a snare, the stumbling-block is no longer a stumbling-block. They have been removed, like mountains, from before you.

But there is also another aspect of forgiveness which is more to the point: Faith works through love, and it is the nature of love to forgive. When we are unwilling to forgive, we are actually unwilling to love, and unwilling to extend to others that which God has so freely extended to us.

Forgiveness is an opportunity to connect to the magnificent heart of the Father and clear away things that keep us from moving forward in faith. We can forgive, because He forgives, but failure to forgive becomes a major hindrance to our faith.

Faith requires forgiveness, and forgiveness requires faith. Do not let offenses, snares and stumbling-blocks keep you from moving forward in your faith. Instead, let your faith help you forgive. When you encounter the mountain of offenses, cast them into the sea with these words: “I forgive.” Do this as often as the need arises. Then begin again to move forward into the wonderful destiny God has prepared for you.

How to Move a Mountain

Jesus did not say, “Beg and plead for God to move the mountain for you.” And He did not say, “Sit down and come up with some logical, empirical reasons for why that mountain should move.”

Nor did He say, “Wait and see if that mountain will move.” Or, “Sit and wish for the mountain to move.” And He most certainly did not say, “Complain that the mountain is not moving.”

But He did say, most emphatically:

Whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:23)

Let’s look for a moment at the word “doubt.” The Greek is diakrino and refers to a divided judgment. A person who speaks to his mountain and believes in his heart that it will move, and also believes in his heart that it will not move, that person is of two minds. The result is that he will not see his mountain move, not one inch.

James said, “He who doubts [diakrino] is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything form the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-7). The man of faith will be full of expectation, but the double-minded man should not expect anything at all.

What to do? Fill your heart with faith until there is no more room for doubt. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so fill your hearing with the Word. Meditate on it and let it become powerful inside you, building you up in faith until you can no longer keep quiet about it. Then, when you are filled with faith, and you have no doubt that the Word of God will be fulfilled — and only then, open up your mouth and start speaking the Word of God to that mountain.

Fully believe the Word of God in your heart. Then speak to your mountain, and you will have whatever you say.

Faith Works Through Love

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6)

Paul was addressing the issue of satisfying the righteousness of God. It is not a matter of being circumcised or being uncircumcised. These accomplish nothing. Only faith, working through love, means anything.

The Greek word for “working” is energeo, which is, of course, where we get our word “energy.” The Amplified Bible has, “faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.” This love is the love of God working in us and through to reveal His righteousness. Only faith working through love is able to bring this about.

Faith without love is meaningless. Paul said, “Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Yes, faith can move mountains, but if we do not have love, then it doesn’t make any difference.

God is love. Love gives and serves, and that is what God is all about. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Since God is love, and faith comes by hearing the Word of God, then faith must be all about expressing the love of God.

Love casts out fear, which is the opposite of faith. The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves torment” (1 John 4:18). Again, it is the love of God that is in view here. When His love has done its work in us, there is no more room for fear in us—it is booted out because fear produces torment. The Greek word “torment” means punishment, or penalty. When we receive the love of God and let it do its perfect work in us, we are no longer tormented by ideas that God will punish or forsake us. We are free to live and act out of His love. It is His love that makes our faith meaningful and effective.

Faith works through love. If your faith is weak, check how your love is doing. Yield yourself to the love of God and let it heal you and set you free from all fear. Let it fill you and change you into a vessel through which God can pour out His love to others. Then your faith will be magnificent.

Faith Opposes Fear

Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? (Mark 4:40)

One day, after Jesus had finished teaching by the Sea of Galilee, He said to the disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side.” So they got into a boat and set out across the sea. Along the way, a great windstorm arose and the waves began crashing in. All the while, Jesus was asleep in the stern. The disciples came to Him and said, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Jesus arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” The wind ceased, and suddenly there was a great calm. Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith.” (Matthew 8:23 says, “O you of little faith.”)

Faith is the opposite of fear. The disciples were full of fear and had no faith. Jesus was full of faith and had no fear.

We see the faith of Jesus when He spoke it out and said, “Let us cross over to the other side.” He had every expectation that what He said would be fulfilled, and that they would all make it safely to the other side. So even when the boat began to be battered and swamped, Jesus was in the stern sleeping peacefully on a pillow. He was not moved by the storm one bit. He had no fear, only faith, and so He was at peace even in the middle of the tempest.

Not so with the disciples, and Jesus asked them why. “Why are you so full of fear? How is it that you have no faith?”

Fair questions. After all, the disciples had been with Jesus for some time now, listening to Him preach and teach, watching Him heal people and expel demons. In fact, they had just spent that whole day with Him as He taught parable after parable on the dynamics of the Kingdom of God. And when He was finally alone with them, the Bible says, He explained all things to them (Mark 4:34).

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), and the disciples had already had many opportunities to hear the Word as Jesus preached. So how was it that their faith was so small in this moment?

The answer is simple: Fear. The disciples had not dealt with their fear, and fear is the enemy of faith. Faith and fear simply do not mix. Here is why:

• Faith is believing the Word of God.
• Fear is listening to the lies of the devil.
  

The disciples had heard the words of Jesus, but they had not yet learned His heart. So when the danger of the storm arose all around them, they panicked and went to Jesus. “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”

Where did the idea of perishing come from? And how did the thought arise that Jesus, who showed such marvelous compassion in so many other instances, now had such little regard for the well-being of His own disciples? They did not come from God. They were the whispers of the enemy on the wind and the waves. And fear entered in.

A few days later, Jesus was again by the Sea of Galilee when Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and asked Him to come and heal his daughter. This man had faith, and Jesus started off to the house with him. Along the way, a woman came to touch Jesus for her healing, and this caused a commotion (Mark 5:21-34)

About that time, servants came from Jairus’ house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

Jesus heard their words, and immediately, He turned to Jairus and said, “Do not be afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Jairus had a choice: He could listen to the words of his servants, and enter into fear. Or he could continue listening to the words of Jesus, and remain steadfast in his faith. If he had listened to the words of fear, his daughter would have perished. It was not the heart of Jesus for that to happen, for Jesus had already agree to go with Jairus and heal his daughter. He had no intention of going back on His word and forsaking this young girl. In fact, He had every intention of making her well.

So Jairus chose faith. He would not let the words of others contradict the Word of God and get him into fear. He would not poison his heart and weaken his faith with fear.

Back to the wind and the waves. When the disciples came to Jesus, He rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea, “Peace, be still.” Just as He spoke to the fig tree, and it obeyed. Just as He taught the disciples to speak to the mountain, with only faith in their hearts, and see the mountain obey.

You cannot mix faith and fear. You always have a choice. Listen to the Word of God. Let it fill your heart and be your constant meditation. Rebuke the voices of fear, the whispers of the enemy, the lies of the devil. Do not let fear steal your faith and rob you of your miracle. Believe only.

Faith is Released by Words

Jesus answered and said, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23)

The disciples heard Jesus speak to the fig tree just the day before, and now on their return by that same tree, Peter saw that it was withered. He said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away” (Mark 11:21).

Imagine speaking to a fig tree. Now imagine that it obeys you. That is what happened here. But how can this be?

Jesus gives the answer: “Have faith in God.” The Greek text literally says “Have faith of God.” Whatever this faith is, it is of God. The Bible says that faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We receive this gift by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). That is what faith is — believing the Word of God, that is, having an expectation that whatever God says will be fulfilled.

Now, let me ask you a question. When God speaks, does He have an expectation that it will be fulfilled, that His Word will be fully obeyed?

Yes, of course He does, for He said, “So shall my Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). When God speaks, things get done!

Spend time meditating on this, because it is the framework of the whole universe. The Bible says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

We see this in the Creation, in Genesis 1. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was. The pattern is repeated throughout. God said, and it was so. That is how the worlds were made.

So it should come as no surprise that when Jesus, being fully divine as well as fully human, speaks to a fig tree or commands the wind and waves, they obey Him. But now, look how Jesus extends His authority to the disciples. He said, “Have faith of God.” That is, have the same kind of expectation as God does that His Word will be fulfilled. Then Jesus says something so mind-blowing that most Christians back away from its full force.

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Wow! Did He really mean that? Can we really have an expectation that when we believe the Word of God in our hearts and speak it with our mouths that mountains will obey us?

Yes, He did. And yes, we can.

Notice how this happens. First, we must be in agreement with the Word of God, because Biblical faith is expecting to see the Word of God fulfilled. Then, we must speak those things with our mouths. You see, our faith is released by what we say. Three times, Jesus refers to what we say — three times in one sentence! In that same sentence, He referred to what we believe only once.

With a ratio of three to one in the same sentence, doesn’t it look like Jesus is telling us something very important about the relationship between what we believe and what we speak. In fact, He is giving us a very powerful key to activating and releasing our faith. Here is the order of how it works:

• We believe in our heart
• then we speak it forth
• then we see it happen

God had an expectation that when He spoke, His Word will be fulfilled. Jesus also had an expectation that when He spoke, His Word would be fulfilled. Then He taught us to have the same expectation about the Word of God, that whenever we speak in agreement with it we should expect to see it fulfilled.

Faith is activated and released by what we say. Therefore, we ought to be very careful about everything we say. Does it line up with the truth of God’s Word? Are we speaking in agreement with His promises? Are our words merely idle (Jesus said we will have to give account for every idle word)? Or worse, are we saying things which are contradictory to what God has said?

Meditate on the Word of God until you have have full expectation that it will be fulfilled. Then open your mouth and speak, letting the promises of God direct everything you say. Then watch for the fulfillment.

Faith is a Seed

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)

Jesus talked about the responsibility of forgiving those who offend us, even when they repeatedly offend us (Luke 17:1-4). This blew out all the circuits in the minds of His disciples, and they pleaded, “Lord, increase our faith.” (v. 5).

But the answer Jesus gave was that it was not an increase of faith that was needed. No, what they really required was an application of the faith they already had. Even if they had faith only as the size of a mustard seed, it was more than enough.

The thing about a mustard seed is that, though it is very small, the tiniest seed in the garden, it grows up to be a tree. But the size of a seed is irrelevant. You can have the tiniest seed, or the largest, and it will not make one bit of difference. That is, not as long as you hold it in your hand.

You see, the really important thing about a seed is what you do with it. You can hold it, or you can plant it—and which one you choose makes all the difference. Seeds are meant to be planted.

In the same way, the really important thing about faith is not how big it is, but what you do with it. Many people have faith, and it does them absolutely no good. What they really need is to plant their faith, to sow it, release it, activate it. Then it can accomplish anything and everything they need.

So it is not the size of our faith that is important. What really matters is whether or not we have released our faith. When we plant our seed of faith, though it be small, amazing things happen. We can say to the mulberry tree “Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,” it will obey us.

Now, that is quite an impossible thing, by human standards. I mean, it is difficult enough to uproot a mulberry tree. But to have it be planted in the sea, where mulberry trees cannot possibly grow in the natural, and see it take root and grow — well, that is a miracle indeed. But that is exactly what Jesus said we can do with our “mustard seed” faith.

In another place Jesus said, “Assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). Here again is faith as a mustard seed, and here again is the planting of that seed. Can you see how it is done? Do you notice how that seed is “planted,” how that faith is activated?

I’m not going to tell you today, but I’m going to let you meditate on it a little bit. Here is another Scripture along the same line to help you understand:

Jesus answered and said, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-2)

[HINT: The key is repeated three times.]

Understand that faith is like a seed. It is not the size that matters, but what you do with it. There is a very important way to activate it, and when you learn how to sow that seed, nothing will be impossible for you.

Faith Pleases God

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Faith pleases God. In fact, without faith, it is impossible to please Him. But the Bible says that, by faith, “the elders obtained a good testimony” (Hebrews 11:2). That is, God was pleased because they believed Him.

This is what happened with Enoch. “By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death … for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (v. 5). This is the evidence that Enoch was full of faith: He pleased God.

The Greek word “please” is emphatic. It is not about being merely pleased, but being well-pleased, fully and entirely gratified. God takes the greatest pleasure when we believe Him. Biblical faith arouses God’s pleasure and fully satisfies Him.

Faith is the only basis by which we may approach God. We do not come on the strength of who we are and what we have done. We come because of who He is and what He has done.

He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy. (Psalm 147:10-11)

The Bible says that those who call on the name of the LORD shall be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21). We call on His name, with faith that He is there, and that He is who He says He is. We call on His name, trusting that He will do what He says He will do.

So, faith is not about us and our works, but about God and His Word. Faith is believing the Word of God, for that is how faith comes, by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). God is fully pleased with those who believe His Word and greatly displeased with those who don’t.

God rewards those who diligently seek Him, that is, those who seek Him by faith. This means that our focus is on God alone — His will, His way, His Word — and not on ourselves. The heart that diligently seeks God says:

• God’s ways are higher than my ways; I want God’s ways.
• God’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts; I want God’s thoughts.
• God’s works are greater than my works; I want God’s works.

At Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas, Pastor Joel Osteen begins every service by holding up his Bible and making this powerful declaration: “This is my Bible. I am what it says I am; I have what it says I have; I can do what it says I can do.”

This is the kind of faith that pleases God and lays hold of His reward.

Faith — taking God at His Word — pleases God. Trust completely in Him, and in yourself not at all. Believe that He is who He says He is and that He will do for you what He says He will do. That simple faith will please God, and His pleasure will result in your delight.

Faith is Evidence

Faith is … the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Greek word for “evidence” is elegchos, which means proof or conviction. A. T. Robertson translates this phrase as “the proving of things not seen.”

The English word “evidence” refers to that which is obvious or can be seen. This might seem to be a funny way for the author of Hebrews to talk about things which are not seen. But he is making a point about things which can be seen with the natural eye, and things which are seen apart from the natural eye. He is talking about seeing things in the Spirit.

Just as faith is the substance, or underlying reality, of the promises of God which we expect to see fulfilled, faith also makes evident, or obvious to our spirit, the things which we cannot yet see in the natural. Faith is able to make it obvious to us on the spiritual level because faith is itself a spiritual matter. It comes from the Spirit of God by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

The Greek word used here for “things” is pragma, which is where we get our English word “pragmatic.” It refers to things which are under consideration, things which have been, or are being accomplished.

These things are accomplished on the spiritual level even though they are not yet visible on the natural level. This is the true nature of things — first the spiritual, then the natural. The natural comes forth from the spiritual, because all the natural realm was created by God, who is Spirit.

Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” In other words, everything that is now seen comes from that which is invisible, namely, the Word of God.

Faith lays hold of the Word of God, and makes it obvious to us that what God has promised is being accomplished at the spiritual level, even though we do not yet see it at the natural level.

Paul understood this well, for he instructed the Corinthian believers, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” First comes faith, then comes sight.

Jesus taught the disciples this same principle, although in a bit different way. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).

Notice the tense of Jesus’ words. He did not say, “Believe that you will receive” (future tense) but rather, “Believe that you receive” (present tense). The NASB has this as “believe that you have received.”

This is significant. The receiving does not happen when we see it manifest in the natural. The receiving occurs when we pray believing. First comes believing, then comes receiving.

Believing leads to receiving; faith leads to sight; the spiritual leads to the natural. The pattern is consistent throughout. What we see by faith in the spiritual, we will eventually see by sight in the natural. Faith is the evidence.

Faith is Substance

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Greek word for substance is hupostasis and refers to the underlying (hupo) state (stasis) of a thing. Similarly break down the English word “substance” and we find: sub (under) and stance (stand). Substance is that which stands under a thing.

In Greek, the word hupostasis had a legal meaning which signified a foundational document, such as a title-deed. That is why Greek scholars Moulton and Milligan rendered this translation: “Faith is the title-deed of things hoped for.”

A title-deed is an important document. It shows ownership. For example, I have a car sitting in my driveway. I know that it is my car because I possess the title-deed, which demonstrates my ownership. If anybody wants to do anything with my car, they have to come and see me, because the car belongs to me. If I decide to sell the car or give it away to somebody, I will have to sign the title-deed over to them, because that will be their proof of ownership

If I have the title-deed to a piece of property, I do not even have to see the property to know that it belongs to me. I know it is mine by reason of the title-deed. As long as I possess that title-deed, there is no question that I am the owner.

Let’s talk a little bit about hope. Today we often use the word “hope” in a wavering, doubtful sort of way: “Gee, I certainly hope such and such will happen, but maybe it won’t.” Not so in the Bible. The Greek word for “hope” in the New Testament is elpis. It refers to an anticipation, a positive expectation. The same is true of the Hebrew word for “hope” in the Old Testament. In the Bible, “hope” is not a word of doubt, but of confidence, and that is how it is used in Hebrews 11:1.

Now, let’s put it all together: Faith is the substance, the underlying reality, the title-deed of things we are expecting.

Remember that we are talking about Biblical faith, that is, the kind of faith the Bible talks about. It is the faith that comes by hearing the Word of God, the faith that believes the promises of God.

When we believe what God has promised in His Word, we possess the title-deed to whatever it is that He has promised. That thing is ours, it belongs to us. Because we have believed God’s promise, we have every right and expectation to see it come to pass. It makes no difference whether or not we have seen it yet, it belongs to us anyway.

Do you have faith that what God says is true? What promises of God are you specifically believing Him for? Do you expect to see them happen, or are you still uncertain? Remember that faith (believing the Word of God) is your title-deed to what God has promised, then your hope will be sure.

Faith Comes By Hearing

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

In the Biblical concept of faith, faith is believing what God has said. That means that faith is integrally related to the Word of God. If it is not related to the Word, then it is not faith.

According to Paul’s statement above, which he addressed to the Christians at Rome, there is a particular way in which faith arise within, or comes to a person. There are also particular ways in which it may not be said that faith comes.

1. Faith does not come by seeing. Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Some people say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But the trouble is that our eyes can so easily deceive us. We do not see in order to believe, we believe in order to see.

2. Faith does not come by feeling. Biblical faith is not an emotion. It may often be accompanied by an emotional elation, but it is not itself an emotion. Real faith endures even when the emotional high fades away. Emotions do not lead us into faith, but faith leads us into healthy emotional balance.

3. Faith does not come by thinking. Biblical faith is not a matter of the mind, but of the spirit. It is not antithetical to thinking, or logic or reasoning, but it transcends them. Faith goes beyond where our limited thoughts can take us. We do not understand in order to believe, we believe in order to understand.

4. Faith does not come by will-power. Biblical faith is not a matter of volition. It is not a choice, though it may involve a choice. It is not a matter of “bucking up” and believing. A faith driven by will-power may be very sincere, and yet be sincerely wrong. Faith must have a proper basis. We do not make something true by choosing to believe it, we discover the correct choice by believing the Word of God.

Faith comes by hearing. Hearing is receiving what has been spoken, and what we receive by hearing settles into our spirits. However, Biblical faith does not come by general hearing, receiving anything and everything that we hear. For we might hear the wrong thing and end up believing the wrong thing.

“Faith comes by hearing” is a very important truth. But the second half of Paul’s statement is equally important: “Hearing by the Word of God.” It is only when we hear and receive the Word of God that true Biblical faith comes to us.

The Word of God comes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When we hear the Word, the Holy Spirit takes and plants it in our spirit, and faith begins to arise within us.

The Word of God is our starting point for faith. Get into your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you. Receive the Word and meditate on it. Let it settle into your heart and instruct your emotions. Let it transform you by renewing your mind. Let it direct your will and every choice you make.

The Glory Comes

Above it stood seraphim…And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:2-6).

Isaiah saw the LORD on His throne, high and lifted up. The seraphim exalted God in His holiness with wave after wave of praise and worship. With each new wave, the doorposts of the temple shook and the whole place was filled with smoke, and the glory of God manifested before Isaiah’s eyes.

Today, the temple of God is not a building of stone, but is found in the hearts of His people, in whom He dwells. This is certainly true of the Church as a corporate unity, for the Apostle Peter said, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

It is also true of each individual believer in Jesus Christ. Paul said, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

We are the temple of the LORD, and He is in residence. As we learn to see Him high and lifted up in our hearts and exalt His name in our lives, there will be a shaking and cloud of glory.

The shaking comes to remove everything in us that does not come from God, and therefore does not belong in our lives. God shakes out all the things that cannot be established in us, because they do no come from Him, in order to establish in us things that can never be shaken.

The cloud of glory is the presence of the LORD. “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:10-11).

The glory of the LORD is the manifestation of His greatness and goodness. When His glory is with us, we cease from our own efforts, our own strength, our own glory, to rest in His. He abides in us; we abide in Him.

Lift the name of the LORD up high over everything in your life. Let Him abide in your heart, and let your heart abide in Him. Let Him shake out the things in your life that do not belong, and establish wonderful new things in you which can never be shaken. Let Him be your strength and your glory, and your life will be marked with His power and goodness.

Prepared to Declare God's Glory

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
  The whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
(Isaiah 6:1-4)

The seraphim are the fiery beings who minister before the LORD. Their name comes from the Hebrew seraph, which signifies fire. God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). He makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire (Psalm 104:4). Jesus came to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Luke 3:16). Fire is a purgative, a cleansing agent. Fire purifies.

The seraphim are six-winged creatures. With two wings they cover their face, and with two wings they veil their bodies, because of God’s awesome presence. With two wings they hover round about God’s throne to serve at His pleasure.

They cry out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” This is no static demonstration. They cry out continually to one another with the holiness of Yahweh, each time with fresh wonder and revelation. Their song is always new.

“The whole earth is full of His glory.” The Hebrew word for “glory” is kabod. It speaks of the weight, the abundance, of God’s goodness.

The glory of the LORD fills the earth. This is not a reference to some future event, or when Christ returns. It is a now revelation: Right now, at this very moment, the earth is full of God’s glory. It always has been. There was never a moment when this was not so.

The reason we have not experienced the fullness of God’s glory and goodness in the earth is because of sin. Sin renders us incapable of receiving it. For our sakes, God shields us from the bright fire of His glory, lest we be destroyed by it because of our iniquity.

Each time a seraphim proclaimed the holiness of God, the door posts were shaken, and the temple was filled with smoke. Isaiah felt the weight of God’s glory and became keenly aware of his own unworthiness, his incapacity to bear it. He cried out.

Woe is me, for I am undone!
  Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
  For my eyes have seen the King,
  The LORD of hosts.

(Isaiah 6:5)

To be undone means to utterly perish, be cut off and destroyed. Isaiah had witnessed this in King Uzziah, who had been cut off and destroyed because of his arrogance before God. The uncleanness of pride in his heart showed forth as the uncleanness of leprosy in his flesh. But now Isaiah was seeing the true King, the LORD of all the hosts of heaven. And now he realized the uncleanness of his own heart, and recognized how that had filled his lips. For just as Jesus said, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

Isaiah was now in full repentance mode, not only for himself, but for his people, as well. He identified himself with their leprous hearts and corrupt lips, painfully acknowledging that he was just like them. He held back nothing before the LORD, but exposed himself completely. No justifications, no explanations, only repentance.

God, in His goodness, brought forth a solution.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;
  Your iniquity is taken away,
  And your sin is purged.”

(Isaiah 6:6-7)

The seraph, fiery servant of the LORD, took a live coal from the altar of God, the altar which was kindled by God and burns perpetually before Him (Leviticus 9:24; Leviticus 6:12-13). He touched the coal to Isaiah’s unclean lips and burned away all the iniquity. Now Isaiah was prepared to declare the glory of God.

God has a solution for you and me, as well, so that we might know His glory. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). It is the ultimate cleansing, preparing us not only to experience the goodness of God for ourselves, but also to reflect His glory to others.

Dreaming Unto Gladness

When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,
  We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
  And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
  “The LORD has done great things for them.”

The LORD has done great things for us,
  And we are glad.

(Psalm 126:1-3)

Dream — a communication from a deeper realm, a vignette from the spiritual dimension. Dreams bring to light things thought impossible, or improbable, and bid us to follow on to the place of hope and gladness.

Seeking God—and Finding Prosperity

He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. (2 Chronicles 26:4-5)

This was God’s assessment for much of King Uzziah’s 50 year reign:

• He did what was right in the sight of the LORD. This was something he learned from his father, an important spiritual inheritance that was communicated to him.
• He sought God. This speaks of intense desire and diligent pursuit. It was not an occasional musing in which he engaged himself, but a consistent lifestyle of following after the LORD and His ways. It was a deliberate action, a setting of his heart toward God.
• As long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. The word for “prosper” means to push forward, to break out, to come mightily, to go over and be profitable.
  

True prosperity is built on a foundation of diligently seeking God and following His ways.

Verse 15 goes on to say that Uzziah’s fame spread far and wide “for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.” The word “marvelously” is a word of distinction. This was exceptional and extraordinary, the favor of God surrounding him without limit, stabilizing his position and making his prosperity secure.

God was the source of Uzziah’s prosperity, and it lasted as long as Uzziah sought the LORD. Sadly, pride entered in and Uzziah began to seek himself instead, and on that day all his prosperity was lost.

God is all about prosperity. In fact, it is impossible for Him not to prosper. If you will seek after the LORD with all your heart, you will find yourself in the presence of you prosperity. As Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” God will show you His extraordinary favor, and so shall you prosper.

Who is High and Lifted Up?

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1)

This was Isaiah’s life-changing vision of the Lord. It not only transformed him forever but called forth things of God which have forever changed the world.

Now, Isaiah’s opening sentence is not a mere chronological reference. For it does not just tell us about the calendar, it tells us about the times in which Isaiah lived and the people to whom he was called to prophesy.

You can find out about King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26, where we see God’s assessment of his life and reign. “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5).

King Uzziah did well for fifty years (quite a long reign for those times). “His fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong” (2 Chronicles 26:15). Uzziah sought after the LORD and the LORD helped him marvelously. Divine favor was upon him and he prospered and became strong.

But something happened when Uzziah became strong. It did not have to happen. There was nothing about his strength and prosperity which made what happened next inevitable. But it happened anyway. Here is what we read about Uzziah in the very next verse:

But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. (2 Chronicles 26:16)

His heart was lifted up. It was lifted up, not because he was strong and prosperous, but because he did not keep his heart well. He let pride come in. He presumed upon God and unjustly assumed that he could go wherever he wanted to go and do whatever he wanted to do. He thought that the rules no longer applied to him, that the kingly anointing which was upon him also fitted him for priestly duty.

Azariah, the chief priest, went in with eighty priests of the LORD and called Uzziah down because of his arrogant behavior. “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God” (2 Chronicles 26:18).

Uzziah became furious, still standing with the censer in his hand, ready to burn incense. And as he foamed and fumed at the priests, right at that moment and in that very place in which he had no business being, leprosy broke out on his forehead. The uncleanness of his heart suddenly became manifest in his body. This sign of leprosy made it apparent to all, especially to Uzziah, that he had no right to minister in the Temple.

“King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land” (2 Chronicles 26:21). Uzziah not only lost his health, he also lost his reign.

Jotham reigned only sixteen years. He did what was right in the sight of the, the Scripture says, “but the people acted corruptly” (2 Chronicles 27:2). Pride, the uncleanness of Uzziah’s heart, had infected the nation.

So these were the conditions in which Isaiah had his vision: the tragic end of a prosperous and healthy reign, and the uncleanness of an entire people.

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up,” Isaiah says.

Uzziah saw Uzziah high and lifted up. Isaiah saw the LORD high and lifted up. Who is high and lifted up in your life?

Its not about us, its always about God. When we lift ourselves up, we will always meet with failure and loss. But let us learn to see the LORD high and lifted up, and we will be properly oriented for a life of prosperity, strength and joy. For God will marvelously help us.

Exalting the Name of Jesus

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Many Christians look forward to the day when Christ returns, and every knee bows to Him, and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord. The coming of Christ will certainly bring this to pass in all its fullness. This passage in Philippians, however, is not just talking about some future day. It is just as much for us today. In fact, it was just as true for the believers in the first century. It is an eschatological teaching — God’s truth about the “last days.”

Biblically speaking, we have been in the “last days” for almost two thousand years, ever since the Cross. For that is what precedes the “therefore” in Philippians 2:9. (Whenever you see a “therefore,” find out what its “there for.”)

The Cross is the reason God has exalted Christ and given Him the name which is above every name. First the Cross, then the exaltation. That is God’s way.

Friends, we are now living in the time of the exaltation of the name of Jesus, the time when every knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Notice that it is at the name of Jesus that every knee shall bow.

Many Christians are waiting for the return of Christ for every knee to bow. However, it is not just at the return of Jesus that every knee shall bow, but at the name of Jesus. In other words, we do not have to wait for the Second Coming for these things to happen.

We can see them come to pass now, if we will exalt the name of Jesus. You see, Jesus has given us the authority of His name:

He has given us authority to bind and loose in His Name. “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that it two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered togetherin My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:18-20).

When we come together in Jesus’ name, that is, for His purposes and pleasure, the very presence of Jesus begins to manifest, and He never shows up without His authority. So it is in His name, acting on His behalf, that we have the authority to bind and loose upon the earth.

He has give us authority to ask anything of the Father in His name. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16).

“Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24).

We are given the authority of Jesus’ name for the purpose of bringing forth fullness of joy and bearing fruit that remains.

He has given us the authority to perform signs and wonders in His name. “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)

This is part of the Great Commission which Jesus has given to His Church. It was for then; it is for now. We are called to exalt the name of Jesus, to act on His behalf in the world. As we exercise the authority of His name, demons must acknowledge that He is Lord and bow before Him. Sickness and disease must flee. New tongues come forth to praise and exalt His name and declare His Lordship.

Every believer has authority to bind and loose in the name of Jesus. We have authority to ask in His name. We have authority to cast out demons and lay hands on the sick in His name and expect to see them recover. For at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow before Him, and every tongue must confess that He is Lord. Our job is to believe this and exalt His name over every situation.

In Praise of Mercy AND Justice

I will sing of mercy and justice;
  To You, O LORD, I will sings praises.

(Psalm 101:1 NKJV)

The KJV has “I will sing of mercy and judgment.”

We don’t often like to think of mercy and judgment together. We tend to think of them as violently opposed to one another. We make it an either/or proposition: Either mercy, or justice, not both. But David sings of both mercy and justice, for they both belong to God, and they are both good, worthy of all our praise.

We can easily understand how the mercy of God is good, especially when we recognize how much we are in need of God’s mercy. But God’s justice is equally good—and equally necessary. We think that God’s justice is against us, but it is really intended for us.

You see, it is the judgment of God that comes and sets everything right, that restores what has been stolen, mends what has been broken, heals what has been stricken. God has a plan of blessing and abundance for the earth, and it is His judgment that works to bring everything into line with that plan. If His justice fails, then His good plan fails as well.

Mercy and justice must go together. Without justice, mercy is meaningless, for at the end of the day, everything remains a botch-up, a mess, a curse and not a blessing. On the other hand, without mercy, justice is a hollow victory, for God will have no one left to enjoy it with Him, and His blessing goes unfulfilled.

But, praise to God, He found a way to fulfill both mercy and justice. God had mercy on us in the Lord Jesus Christ, who came and took the severe judgment of God upon Himself. Jesus was judged instead of you and I, and when we receive Him, the mercy of God judges us as having been brought into line with His plan of blessing. And so His plan is fulfilled and His victory is sweet.

Praise God for both His mercy and His Justice. For His justice comes to set things right, and His mercy comes to set us on the right side of His judgment.

Greater Than the $42 Million Inaugural Ball

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns;
  The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
  He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
  Let the seas roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
  Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
  He shall judge the world with righteousness
  And the peoples with His truth.

(Psalm 96:10-13)

Yesterday we witnessed the inauguration of a president, but this psalm speaks of a much greater rule and reign — a divine enthronement. George W. Bush is President of the United States, but Yahweh is the Lord Almighty, King Over All.

Unlike many earthly kings and rulers, the LORD judges rightly. The judgment of God may at times seem to be a terrible, fearful thing, especially to those who are on the wrong side of that judgment. But it is really a good thing, because the judgment of God comes to set things right, to shake out what is evil and to establish what is good.

When God judges, He judges with righteousness. That is, He does what is right, and in the rightness of His judgment, there is a revelation of truth. When we know the truth of God, it sets us free. This is not merely a theoretical or philosophical understanding of the truth, but a personal, experiential relationship with the one who is Himself the Truth — the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a difference the truth and righteousness of God’s reign makes:

• "Let the heavens rejoice.” The Hebrew word here means to be joyful, blithe, gleeful, merry.
• “Let the earth be glad.” The word here refers to spinning, whirling, twirling with wild exuberance.
• “Let the seas roar and all its fullness.” The oceans and all that is in them joins in the celebration.
• “Let the field be joyful and all that is in it.” The Hebrew here literally means to “jump for joy.”
• “Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.” The word for “rejoice” here literally means to “shout for joy.”
  

The kingdom of God is a party! Not a quiet observance or somber commemoration, but a wild, enthusiastic, joy-filled party. The President’s $42 million dollar inauguration extravaganza is small potatoes next to this blow-out celebration of God’s rule and reign.

The lanterns for His great party have been strung and the light shines brightly in the darkness, for all who will turn toward this kingdom and draw near. Moses saw these party lights burning in a bush. The voice of God called out for him to take off his sandals (his man-made works), step onto the dance floor and let the holiness of God completely transform his life.

Jesus calls us all to the party. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). “I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The kingdom of God is His rule and reign, and this righteousness is about His way of doing and being right. Jesus IS that way, the way of faith that, when we entrust ourselves to Him, brings forth the abundance of God upon the earth

This celebration is growing exponentially. For not only are we called to follow in the way of God’s kingdom celebration, we are also commissioned to call it forth. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). One day God’s kingdom reign will be made known in all its fullness, and there will be no place on earth where it is not celebrated.

Come with Jesus and join the celebration of God’s rule and reign. Call for His kingdom to come forth in greater measure, the will of God being done, and the earth will become much more like heaven.

Psalm 911

I dwell in the secret place of the Most High
And abide under the shadow of the Almighty
I say of Yahweh, “My Refuge and my Fortress,
My God in Whom I Trust.”

Surely, He shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler.
From the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover me with His feathers,
And under His wings I shall take refuge.
His truth shall be my shield and armor.

I shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Of the arrow that flies by day,
Of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at my side,
Ten thousand at my right hand.
But it shall not come near me.
Only with my eyes shall I look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because I have made Yahweh my refuge,
The Most High my dwelling place,
No evil shall befall me,
Nor shall any plague come near my house
For He shall give His angels charge over me,
To keep me in all my ways.
In their hands they shall bear me up,
Lest I dash my foot against a stone.
I shall tread upon the lion and the cobra
The young lion and the serpent I shall trample underfoot.

I have set my love upon Yahweh,
Therefore, He will deliver me.
He will set me on high,
Because I have known His name.
I shall call upon Him, and He will answer me.
He will be with me in trouble
He will deliver me and honor me.
With long life He will satisfy me,
And show me His salvation — His Yeshua, JESUS!

(adapted from Psalm 91 by Jeff Doles)

Notice the abundance of God’s names in this Psalm: Most High, Almighty, Yahweh (LORD), My Refuge, My Fortress, My God in Whom I Trust, My Dwelling Place. We might even add, My Shield and Armor.

And then there is the name of Jesus, hidden in the English text, but clear in the Hebrew. It is the name Yeshua, the name which literally means “salvation.” In the New Testament, this name is rendered as Jesus.

In this Psalm, the LORD says, “I will set him on high, because he has known My name.” There is a relationship indicated here where the psalm writer knows the LORD and the LORD knows the psalm writer. This knowledge is personal and intimate.

The psalm writer knows the LORD because the LORD has revealed Himself to the psalm writer in experiential ways. The names used by the writer indicate the breadth of these experiences.

Along with the psalm writer, say of the LORD, “My Refuge and My Fortress, My God in Whom I Trust.” Then you will begin to dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Set your love on the LORD and call on His name, and He will show you His salvation — Jesus!

Fully Authorized Agents of Heaven

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6.10)

Notice that the mood of these phrases is in the imperative. That is, they are not requests, but commands:

Kingdom of God, come!
Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus has given us the authority to exercise these commands. To put it another way, we are fully authorized agents of heaven.

Our authority comes from heaven, and it is given to us to exercise upon the earth.

1. Wherever we see a situation on earth where the kingdom of God is not manifesting, we have authority to call God’s kingdom forth.
2. Wherever we see a situation where the will of God is not being done, a situation that is out of sync with heaven, we have authority to call for God’s will to be done.

We need a revelation of who we are in Christ, of what He has commissioned us to do, and of the authority and power we have been given in the name of Jesus to perform it.

What’s it Like in Heaven?

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6.10)

No doubt, you recognize this sentence from the Lord’s Prayer. It is what Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Here are few questions for you to chew over:

• Was it God’s will, in Jesus’ day, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
• Is it God’s will today for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?
• What is it like in heaven?
• Is it a place of blessing or of cursing?
• Of provision or of lack?
• Of prosperity or of poverty?
• Of health and wholeness or of sickness and disease?
• Is it a place of death or of life?
• What would the will of God being done on earth as in heaven look like?
• Can we pray for provision and expect to receive it?
• Can we pray for healing and expect to receive it?
• How about raising the dead? Can we pray for that and expect to receive it? (Jesus sent the disciples out to, among other things, raise the dead — and they did! And there are many instances in Church history of the dead being restored back to life — but that’s an article for another day.)

Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24).

The Overflow of Harvest This Year

This is a year of Great Overflow, a year of Great Harvest. Will it be a great year for you? That depends. What have you been sowing? You will have a harvest this year. Will it be a blessing or a bane?

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. (Galatians 6.7)

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6)

Sow blessing, reap blessing.
Sow evil, reap evil.
Sow stingily, reap stingily.
Sow bountifully, reap bountifully.

“Behold the days are coming,” says the LORD,
  “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
  And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
  And all the hills shall flow with it.”

(Amos 9:13)

If you’ve been sowing well, get ready to reap well. If you’ve been sowing poorly, repentance is a wonderful thing — a place of beginning again. Start sowing well.

No Rules, Just His Rightness

(with thanks to Outback, from whom I have adapted this title)

Beloved, I prayer that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2).

God wants us to prosper in all things and be in health. That is His will and desire for you and me. Even more than that, He wants us to have prosperity in our souls, for that is how all other prosperity comes forth.

Some people look at “just as your soul prospers” and think, “Aha. Rules !” But that is not at all what God is talking about here. Prosperity of soul is not about keeping rules and tallying points to see if you can somehow be good enough to merit.

Forget rules, forget merit, forget trying to earn something from God — you’ll never make it. You can never tick off enough accomplishments, never perform enough maneuvers, never change yourself enough to earn true prosperity.

As in all things in the Christian life, so it is with soul prosperity: Its not about you, its about Him. No rules, just right. But it is not about your rightness, it is about His. It is not about your life flowing through you, it is about His.

The Apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Soul prosperity is not about keeping rules, or even about trying to do right. It is about giving up. It is about quitting from all that and surrendering to Jesus Christ. We do not live by rules, requirements, systems or scorecards. We live by relationship with the Son of God, living this earthly life by faith in Him, believing all He has said, trusting all He has already done for us, and letting the life of His Spirit flow through us. That is true prosperity of soul — no rules, just His rightness.

Words That Literally Change the World

The spiritual realm is greater than the physical realm because the physical realm comes forth from the spiritual. For God is spirit (John 4:24), and He is the creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:10).

The natural, physical realm was created by words — that is, the Word of God. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

We are authorized to speak the Word of God on the earth. The psalm writer said, “With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth” (Psalm 119:13).

Consider the power of the words that come out of your mouth. Consider how greatly the world could change if we learned to put God’s Word in our mouths.

All Authority in Heaven and Earth — In Our Midst!

Where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

Whenever we come together in the name of Jesus, to act as He would act and ask as He would ask, we can be assured that Jesus is present with us. This is not the general omnipresence of God, but His special manifest presence. It is a revelation of Jesus.

As I was thinking about this the other day, the Holy Spirit reminded me of what Jesus promised the disciples in the Great Commission:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth… And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

So here are two promises of Jesus manifest presence with us.

1. As we come together in His name.
2. As we go out to fulfill the Great Commission.
   

Now, let me ask you: When Jesus comes and makes His presence known, does He show up with His authority, or does He leave it behind?

That’s a silly question, isn’t it? Of course Jesus comes with all His authority, and He comes ready to exercise it.

So when we come together or go out in His name, Jesus is with us, and all the authority He possesses — the authority of heaven and earth — is with us also.

Think of it. Whenever we gather to worship, to love, serve, give or fellowship in the name of Jesus, all the authority of heaven and earth is present in our midst, ready to be exercised. Whenever we go out to minister in the name of Jesus, all the authority of heaven and earth goes with us, ready to do the works of Jesus.

Hmmmmm. Since that is so, what ought our discipleship to look like?

Study the works of Jesus in the Gospels. See what He did with His authority and how He exercised it. Then when two or three of you gather in His name, or go out to minister in His name, begin learning how to exercise His authority to do the works of Jesus in the name of Jesus.

Let’s Have a Symposium

Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)

On the day of Pentecost, 120 disciples were all with one accord in one place, when suddenly “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). Jews from every nation were staying in Jerusalem for the festival, and were startled at what was happening:

“Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? …We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raises his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, … These men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and you daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see vision,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.

(Acts 2:7-18)

Here was a wonderful thing happening to the people of God, and extending to all flesh — and it looked just like drunkenness! But what a powerful kind of “drunkenness” it was. Not at all like being drunk with wine, which leads to everything falling apart.

[GreekSpeak Alert] Actually, the Greek word for “dissipation” in Ephesians 5:18 is asotia is a form of the Greek word for “save” but with the “alpha privative” (the “a” which deprives the word of its usual meaning in order to create an opposite). So the word asotia means the opposite of salvation. That is, there is no redeeming quality to it. It does not bring about deliverance or healing. It does not lead to wholeness, but only brings about disintegration.

The reason getting drunk with wine is so useless and destructive is because the senses are impaired and self-control quickly fades. The wine is now in charge, and it was never meant for that role.

But it is not drinking that is really the problem, nor even being drunk. The real problem is the substance to which one is yielding himself.

“But be filled with the Spirit.” Paul’s readers were using wine for a role which really calls for the Holy Spirit. So he told them to be filled with the Spirit. There are three things to note about this:

1. We are to be filled, not just a little, but all the way to overflowing. So full, in fact, that there is no room for anything else. In other words, yield to the control of the Holy Spirit and let Him have His way with you completely.
2. We are to be filled, not just on occasion, but all the time. The tense of this verb in the Greek signifies a continual action. That is, keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.
3. We cannot do anything at all to fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Paul did not say, “Fill yourselves with the Spirit.” It is the work of the Father. As in all good things, He initiates, we respond. And it is the role of the Spirit to do the filling, and not just be the substance with which we are filled. Our role is simply to yield to His work in us.
   

Well, what does all this have to do with a symposium? Quite a bit, as it turns out. You see, [GreekSpeak Alert] the word “symposium” ultimately derives from the Greek word sumpotes, which literally means “drinking companion.” That leads to the Greek sumposion, people coming together to partake of inebriating potables — that is, to drink.

So, let’s have a symposium. Come and be my drinking companion, and let us partake of the Holy Spirit, yielding ourselves completely to Him.

Get drunk on the Spirit, the promise of the Father to all those who receive the Son. Soak in His love and marinate in His goodness. Let Him inebriate you and fill you with His utterances, prophesies, dreams, visions, and all the outworkings of the great salvation you have received in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Your Heart is Overwhelmed

Hear my cry, O God;
  Attend to my prayer.
  From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

(Psalm 61:1-2)

This is a psalm of David. He is far away from where he longs to be, even desperately needs to be. Physically, he is far away from home and the sanctuary, the house of prayer. But he is undeterred. Even from the edges and fringes of his existence he cries out to God, confident that he will be heard.

“When my heart is overwhelmed.” Covered over, weighed down, even incapacitated and unable to function. Some people find themselves overwhelmed and then capitulate. They say, “Well, under the circumstances …,” little realizing that they do not need to remain “under” the circumstances. God offers a powerful alternative.

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” This is a place of restoration, a place of going up, a place of rising above. A place of breakthrough to a level that is much higher than that which overwhelms him. But also a place David cannot get to by himself. So he calls on God to do what only God can do. “God, get me there.”

For You have been a shelter for me,
And a strong tower from the enemy. (v. 3)

David has history with God. God has delivered him in the past and brought him to security. Though David’s heart fluctuates, God does not change, so David casts himself onto God’s steadfastness.

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. (v. 4)

When David finds that his heart is overwhelmed, he looks to his abiding place, the tabernacle of God. And though he is far away from the physical structure, he is not far away from God.

The Hebrew word for “shelter” in verse three means “refuge.” In verse 4, the word for “shelter” literally means “covering.” David is not speaking of a visitation, merely taking shelter from the storm. No, he has determined in his heart (“I will”) that he will look to God as his habitation — forever!

He does not want to be overwhelmed by the cares, anxieties and circumstances of the world. He wants to be always overshadowed by the covering of God’s wingspread. He wants to overwhelmed by the love and goodness of God.

When you find yourself overwhelmed, do not hesitate or delay. Immediately call out to the Lord and run to Him for refuge. Find in Him your permanent dwelling place. He will deliver you and cover you over with His protection, His provision and His grace.

Defeating Fear With Faith

Whenever I am afraid,
  I will trust in You.
  In God (I will praise His Word),
In God I have put my trust;
  I will not fear!

(Psalm 56:3-4)

Notice how David moves from fear to no fear. He is not denying that he has moments of fear and anxiety in his life. Rather, he is showing us how he deals with those moments.

First, there is the moment of recognition, “Whenever I am afraid.” He becomes aware that fear has gotten a hold on him, but he does not look at himself as a victim, helpless to do anything about it. Nor does he take a defensive posture. Instead, he goes on the offensive and launches an attack against that which has attacked him.

“I will trust in You.” Fear is a toxin, but faith is the antidote. When fear tries to get to David, he immediately reaches for faith. He does not even try to speak to fear or reason with fear — he focuses his attention in the completely opposite direction, for faith is the opposite of fear. He does not set his mind on the problem, he sets his mind on the solution.

“In God (I will praise His Word), in God I have put my trust.” Notice the tense here: In God I have put my trust. This is not something new to David, but something he has developed as a habit. He has learned the discipline of faith, and now it has become his conditioned response: When fear comes, he responds with faith.

How did David learn this disciplined response of faith? By turning to the Word of God. His faith in God has very much to do with the Word of God. God is not separate from His Word. In fact, another psalm declares that God has exalted His Word even about His Name. For the Word reveals, not only the will of God, but the heart of God for His people.

David has meditated on that Word, day and night (Psalm 1:2-3), and has seen that heart. He has come into an intimate relationship with God through the Word. The promises of God are sweet to him. What is more, they are strength. That is why David praises the Word of God, why he has put his trust in God, and why, whenever fear strikes against his heart, he will quickly trust God again.

There is a conscious choice being made here. David chooses to meditate on the Word, the promises of God, instead of fear (which is the lie of the devil). He is active and intentional in his praise of the Word. He does not speak words of fear, repeating the lies of the enemy. He puts the words of faith in his mouth and thereby sets faith even deeper into his heart. For the Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). So, as he meditates on the Word.

In the Hebrew mind, meditation is not a silent function, but a vocal expression of the heart. The Hebrew word for “meditate” literally means to mutter or murmur. In this mindset, you can tell when someone is meditating because you will see their lips moving. Meditation is “self-talk,” speaking the Word of God to your heart. As the Word fills the heart, faith increases.

Through this process of meditating on the Word, the promises of God, David is therefore able to shift his focus to faith and trust in God. And so he comes to the place where he can confidently say: “I will not fear!”

Keep the Word of God in your heart, in your thoughts, and in your mouth. Literally open your mouth and speak forth God’s promises, and see how that will release faith into your situation. Then, whenever fear tries to come after you, you will be in a position to quickly trust the Lord in that matter. When you are “tanked up” on the Word of God, you will find yourself boldly declaring, “I will not fear.”