“Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible."
—Corrie ten Boom
Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
Be merciful to me, O LORD,
For I cry to You all day long.
Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O LORD, I life up my soul.
For You, LORD, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplication.
(Psalm 86:1-6)
I will cry out to God Most High,
To God who performs all things for me.
(Psalm 57:2)
The LORD will perfect [gamar] that which concerns me.The Septuagint (early Greek translation of the Old Testament, signified by LXX), translates the Hebrew gamar with a form of the Greek verb euergeteo, which means to do good, to bestow benefits, to be a benefactor. It is the verb used in Acts 10:38, describing the ministry of Jesus, “who went about doing good.”
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)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16-17)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:1, 13)
If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:31-32; 36)Knowing the truth is not about the mind, but about the heart. The Greek word for “know” does not refer merely to head knowledge, but to an experiential knowledge, an intimate relationship with truth. Truth is personal — that is, it is found in a person. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” It is in knowing Jesus, entering into a personal relationship with Him, that we become truly free.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
We get the word mystic from a Greek root that means “mystery.” A mystic is a person who is “introduced into the mysteries.” Broadly speaking, all Christians are mystics. We believe that by faith we are initiated into the mysteries of Christ’s death and resurrection. But most Christians are not mystics in the technical sense because we have yet to penetrate the Christian mysteries in depth. That’s what sets a true mystic apart from the crowd….What Bert Ghezzi is describing is, to my way of thinking, normal Christianity. No, it is not average Christianity (the way things usually are), but the way Christians are supposed to live — fully in love with God and with people (Matthew 22:36-40), intimate friends with Jesus (John 15:9-17), always allowing the supernatural realm to penetrate our earthly lives (Matthew 6:10; 18:18-20). In the Great Commission, Jesus gave us great authority, saying,
Why are the mystic’s lives marked by so many miracles? Why do they experience so many visions, healings, and other supernatural events? I have some thoughts on that question.
First, mystics are lovers. They love God with their heart and soul, and they love people with every ounce of their being. When they put their love into action, signs and wonders flow….
Second, if you look at it from another angle, you could say that mystics do not work miracles at all. You could argue that not even those who produce the greatest miracles are actually wonder-workers. They just draw near and stay close to Christ, who is the real miracle worker. The mystics are intimate friends of Jesus, and their personal relationship with him is so secure that they can ask him for favors and expect to receive them….
Third, God grants the mystics a foretaste of heaven and allows the supernatural realm to penetrate their earthly lives.
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)If we know the Lord Jesus Christ, believing on His name, then these things ought to be following us. If they are not, there is no condemnation on us. We just need to enter deeper into the mysteries* of who Jesus is, what He came to do, what His cross and resurrection are all about, and who we are in Him.
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
The word faith itself simply means the ability to see something presently still invisible as clearly as if it were already here. (Buried Treasure: Secrets for Living from the Lord’s Language, p. 107)This makes perfect sense when you consider what the world is made up of. For as the author of Hebrews 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)The Word of God is invisible — it cannot be perceived with our physical senses. Yet, it is the substance, the underlying reality of the entire universe. The invisible Word of God is what faith is all about--faith is believing that Word. Therefore, when we walk in faith in God’s Word, we are relating to the world in the most effective way. That is why Paul said that we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). That is why Oral Roberts said that when we learn to see the invisible, we will be able to do the impossible.
You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:4)
Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My father in heaven. Many will say to Me, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23)