Part 3 (1/2)

Once you understand the balance of grace and faith, it takes the struggle out of receiving from G.o.d. How can you doubt that G.o.d will do what He's already done? If it's done by G.o.d's grace, then it's already done. Grace is not something that is going to happen. It's something that has already been done. Jesus already died for the sins of the whole world. He's already died to provide forgiveness of our sins, the healing of our bodies, and the deliverance from all these things. It's already done. If Jesus has already died for you and it's already done- ”by whose stripes ye were [past tense] healed” (1 Peter 2:24)-how can you doubt that He will do what He's already done? This understanding takes all the struggle out of it.

Many people go to a meeting saying, ”Oh G.o.d, I'm just believing that You're going to heal me. I know You're going to heal somebody, and I'm believing that You'll hear me. I'm believing for You to heal me.” There's an element of doubt in those words. There is uncertainty and anxiety. If it hasn't already happened, then there's a possibility that it won't.

When you come to a meeting say, ”Father, I thank You that I've already been healed. It's already been done. I know it's mine, and hallelujah, I'm receiving.” There's a totally different att.i.tude in a person who is just trusting and relying upon what G.o.d has already done versus someone who is trying to get G.o.d to do something.

Really, the audacity of people to think that we can make G.o.d do things defies logic. Yet this is basically where religion is today. Religion is trying to force G.o.d in a myriad of ways. So we don't believe He'll do it for one, two, or ten people, then get a hundred million. ”If we could get so many people praying at the exact same moment, that would put pressure on G.o.d and make Him move.” Nonsense! That's not what these scriptures are teaching.

Quit Trying, Start Trusting We need to understand that G.o.d, by grace, has already done everything. And if He's done it, then it's just a matter of resting in what He's already done. It's just a matter of reaching out by faith to receive it. When you realize that by the stripes of Jesus you're already healed, then it's easy to say, ”If I'm already healed, then that means in the spirit realm I already have this power on the inside of me. Instead of struggling, Lord, I'm just going to rest in what You've already done. It's a done deal.”

You need to quit trying to get healed and start trusting that you've already been healed. There's a huge difference between the two.

When Jamie and I first started out in the ministry, we were so poor that we couldn't even pay attention. We really struggled financially, and it was my own fault. At times, Jamie and I would go weeks without eating much.

The Bible I was using to pastor my first church was one that I had taken with me through my days as a soldier in Vietnam. It was a mildewed mess! I had written all over in it and had taped nearly every page to keep it together. Entire books-not just chapters, but books- of the Bible were gone. They'd fallen out. Many times I would open my Bible and say, ”Let's turn over to...” and the book I was looking for wasn't there. I'd just have to quote the pa.s.sage from memory. That's one reason I can quote so many scriptures. I had to remember pa.s.sages because I didn't even have a whole Bible.

Finally, I decided that I just had to believe G.o.d and start seeing some of these truths work somewhere in my life. I drew a line in the sand and declared, ”This is it! I believe G.o.d for a new Bible.” You might have a hard time relating to this but honestly, it took me six months to believe for an extra twenty dollars so that I could buy a Bible. You may think, Well, that's just a matter of priorities. You were using your money for other things. When Jamie and I were first married, our entire income for the first twelve months of our marriage was $1,253. We paid $100 a month rent plus utilities. I don't know how that works! Our second year's income jumped up to $2,500 over twelve months. So we made a total of $3,753 in twenty-four months. We were struggling, to say the least. When I say it took me six months to believe for twenty extra dollars for a Bible, know that I was putting a very high priority on it.

You've Already Got It During that period of time, I struggled. Satan was telling me, ”You'll never get a new Bible. It will never work!” For me, I felt that our ministry was going to stand or fall based on whether or not I could believe G.o.d for this twenty extra dollars to go purchase a Bible. After six months, I finally had enough money so I went and bought a Bible. I had my name engraved on it. When I walked out of that bookstore with that Bible under my arm, instantly I quit doubting that I'd get it.

Prior to that time, there wasn't ten minutes during my waking hours that I didn't have some fear, anxiety, or thought of unbelief that my faith would not work. I continually thought, ”You can't get it.

Some man of G.o.d you are. You can't even believe for a Bible!” I had to deal with such thoughts constantly. But as soon as I had that Bible in my hand, I quit doubting that I'd get it. You're probably thinking, Well of course! Why would you doubt that you're going to get it if you've already got it? That's my point exactly.

Are you sitting there saying with your mouth, ”I'm healed,” but then your next thought is, I'm going to die. I don't know if I'll ever get better. What will my funeral be like? Then you catch yourself and say, ”No, in the name of Jesus.” The reason you waver so in your faith and deal with all these thoughts is because you are thinking that G.o.d will respond to your faith and heal you. If only you could understand that G.o.d healed you before you ever became sick, before you were ever born, before you ever had a problem-G.o.d has already healed you. According to Ephesians 1:19-23, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead already dwells in you. You have raising-from-the-dead power at your disposal. Jesus gave you the authority to use this power to speak to this mountain and command it to be removed. Once you understand that G.o.d has already done it, how can you doubt that He'll do what He's already done?

If you're struggling and saying, ”Well, I'm trying to believe, but I just don't know if I'll ever get healed,” it's because you don't understand that faith just appropriates what G.o.d has already provided. You are still thinking that G.o.d is going to respond to you-that when you do everything correctly, including holding your mouth just right and confessing so many times, then G.o.d will release His power. You still think that G.o.d is responding to your faith. No, your faith is a response to G.o.d's grace. When you get those things mixed up, you'll always be frustrated.

Chapter 8, Already Provided.

I came out of the ”faith movement,” so I'm not against it. There were many great truths revealed to me through that teaching, and I'm still a ”faith person” today. But many people didn't understand that faith just appropriates what G.o.d has already provided. They made faith into a work-something they did trying to force G.o.d to move- and so they became frustrated. There are thousands of faith people who aren't part of a local church today because they became frustrated. They did everything they knew and were taught to do. They pushed every b.u.t.ton, but G.o.d didn't come through. They feel like the Lord failed them because they did these things but G.o.d didn't respond the way they were told He would. This whole problem is eliminated when you understand that faith only appropriates what G.o.d has already provided.

You aren't trying to get G.o.d to do anything. It's not about G.o.d giving, it's all about you learning how to receive. Once you understand that, it makes the Christian life so simple. The reason you study the Word isn't so you can earn a star that you can then turn in, in exchange for an answer to prayer. It's not going to earn you any favor with G.o.d. You study the Word so you can learn what G.o.d has already done, what G.o.d has already provided. As you learn about your great salvation, faith just rises up on the inside and you start believing G.o.d. This is infinitely better in that it will give you peace in your relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d.

Even then, there will probably still be some things that you believe G.o.d has provided by grace that you aren't seeing come to pa.s.s in your life. When that happens, just keep renewing your mind to the Word. G.o.d's Word works, but renewing your mind is a process.

People come up to me and say, ”I'm just angry at G.o.d because He failed to do this.” I don't even relate to that. G.o.d has never failed to do anything. If anyone failed, it was me who failed to understand, appropriate, and receive. I had wrong att.i.tudes that hindered what G.o.d wanted to do. The Lord has never failed me. If anything, I've failed G.o.d, but He has never failed me.

Back in those poverty days I spoke of previously, it wasn't G.o.d who was failing to meet our needs. I failed to understand the Word concerning how to receive to have my needs met. I was under the impression that I would be sinning against G.o.d if I worked a secular job. I was called to the ministry and thought I had to get all my money from ministry, but eventually I learned better. I was hindering G.o.d's supply-which I wanted so desperately-by my failure to work.

Once you understand that G.o.d by grace has already done everything, you can get rid of this wrong att.i.tude. He's provided everything that you will ever need. If you understand these truths, they'll transform your life. G.o.d has already done His part. We aren't trying to get Him to do anything. You don't have to badger G.o.d and plead with Him.

Not a Comparison Many people have misunderstood what Jesus was communicating in Luke 11. After teaching on what's commonly called ”The Lord's Prayer,” He told a parable, saying: Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. Luke11:58 This parable is often taught as saying that G.o.d is like this friend. When you come asking for what you need, He may respond with the equivalent of, ”I'm in bed. My children are in bed. I'm already asleep. Don't bother Me!” So you just have to keep pet.i.tioning, badgering, and staying after Him. You have to give G.o.d no rest and make Him get up and give you what you want just to get rid of you. That's not what this pa.s.sage of scripture is teaching.

This parable is a contrast, not a comparison. I've used contrasts before many times. I remember one fellow I was ministering to who had just recently received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He was bedridden with a life-threatening illness and didn't know for sure that G.o.d wanted to heal him. After sharing G.o.d's Word with him for quite a while, he still wasn't persuaded. Struggling to convince this man of the truth, I glanced over at his wife kneeling down right beside the bed and asked, ”Do you think that your wife would want you to suffer through all of this pain you're going through, and then die?”

Friend?

He answered, ”Oh, no. My wife loves me too much. If there was anything she could do to heal me, she'd do it.”

”You've probably had arguments and fights with your wife at different times.”

”Yeah, but there's nothing I've done that would ever cause her to want me to go through this suffering and pain, and just die.”

Then I said, ”And you think your wife-an imperfect human being-loves you more than Almighty G.o.d!”

That stopped his argument dead in its tracks. G.o.d is love. 1 John 4:8 G.o.d-who is perfect-loves you infinitely more than any imperfect physical person does. That's the point Jesus was trying to get across. He asked, ”How many of you have a friend...?” He wasn't talking about just an acquaintance-somebody you know-but rather someone you would call a friend. If you had a need at midnight and you called a friend on the phone, saying, ”My car broke down. Could you help me?” do you have a friend who would say, ”I'm in bed. My kids are in bed. Who cares about you? Call somebody else!” Someone like that isn't a friend.

The Opposite Jesus was saying, ”Do you know anyone, whom you consider a friend, who would treat you that rudely? Of course not! No friend would treat you that way. Then how do you expect G.o.d to be like that? Why do you think that you just have to badger Him?”

This true teaching of this pa.s.sage is actually opposite of the way it's traditionally been interpreted. This pa.s.sage is saying that if you expect that much mercy and kindness from a physical human being, then how much more should you expect G.o.d to answer your prayer without having to badger Him? It's making a contrast, and the context proves it. Jesus continued: I say unto you, Ask, and it shall he given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall he opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall he opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Luke 11:9-13 In context, do you see what Jesus is trying to do? He asked the people, ”How many of you would treat your children so badly that if they asked for a piece of bread you would give them a stone? If they asked for an egg, you'd give them a scorpion? How many of you would treat your children that way?” Hopefully, n.o.body! If you would treat your children this way, there are agencies here in America that will prosecute you. It's wrong to treat kids that way. Well then, if we who are corrupted, sinful, who do things for our own pleasure and self-benefit are better than this, how could we ever think that Almighty G.o.d is less compa.s.sionate than we are, that we, His children, would have to badger Him? We think that G.o.d won't respond to one person who asks for the power of G.o.d to be manifest, that we have to get a hundred million people together to manipulate, badger, and force Him into sending revival. There are some seriously wrong att.i.tudes in the body of Christ today. We need to understand the balance of grace and faith.

Confident and Consistent G.o.d, by grace, has antic.i.p.ated the needs of the entire human race as well as every one of us individually. He's met every need that you will ever have. Before you ever had the problem, G.o.d had already created the answer. He made the supply before you ever had the need.

G.o.d has already provided everything. There's nothing that will ever come into your life that will catch G.o.d by surprise. You don't have to go to Him, begging for help and saying, ”Oh G.o.d, I don't know if You can pull this off.” The Lord has already dealt with everything.

Everything is already provided, but that doesn't mean you'll experience that provision unless you have an appropriate response of faith. Instead of panicking and becoming fearful, you must learn to trust in what He's done, resting and saying, ”Father, I don't care what the doctor says. I know what You've said, and I trust You. I believe that You've already provided everything I need.” Once you get this att.i.tude and start living it, it creates in you such a sense of peace. You know that nothing will ever happen to you that G.o.d hadn't already antic.i.p.ated. The supply was there before the need is. You will have such confidence that you don't have to be afraid of what the devil throws at you. It doesn't matter because G.o.d has already provided. That's faith.

Faith gives you consistency. Are you an up and down kind of Christian? Are you up as long as everything is wonderful and then when tragedy hits, you go into the valley? While in the valley, do you get desperate and start seeking G.o.d, begging and pleading until He comes through and you're back up again? If that's you, you're a very carnal person. You aren't resting in G.o.d. You are just living according to what you observe in the physical, natural realm. You don't understand that G.o.d, by grace, has already provided everything. Understanding this truth gives you consistency. It allows you to be the same at all times because G.o.d is the same at all times. Even though my finances, health, joy, and other circ.u.mstances may fluctuate, G.o.d's supply is the same. I'm able to just be consistent. I'm not afraid of any bad news because I know that G.o.d has already met the needs. I don't have to do something to force G.o.d to respond. That's good news!

Very few Christians have this att.i.tude because very few understand that we're saved by grace through faith. They either emphasize grace to the point that they are just pa.s.sive, refusing to take their authority and letting the devil beat them up because they have misunderstood the sovereignty of G.o.d, or they so emphasize faith that they are forever fasting, badgering G.o.d, trying to twist His arm to force Him to do something. In a sense, they have become ”G.o.d” themselves, and are taking responsibility for making everything happen. Either situation is very frustrating.

Directing Angels There are scriptures that talk about angels and how they work for us. (Matt.18:10; Heb. 1:14.) In light of these scriptures, some people teach that you have to tell your angels where to go and what to do. You must command them to protect you when you get on that plane, train, or bus. You must station an angel on every corner of your car to protect you. The Word states that the angels behold the face of G.o.d. They aren't listening to you.

But the devil is listening to what you're saying. If, in your attempt to station your angels, you confess, ”If anybody is going to have a wreck, it'll be me,” Satan will take advantage of those words and you'll have what you say. It's fine to declare, ”I'm blessed, I'm protected, and angels are watching over me.” That's fine, but keep in mind the angels are beholding the face of G.o.d. They aren't listening for your guidance.

You aren't sharp enough to tell your angels what to do. There are so many things that go on in our life that we don't even know are happening. Once we get to heaven, we'll find out that there were many times the devil tried to kill us and we didn't even know it because we were walking in joy and peace, believing and trusting G.o.d. G.o.d commanded the angels and the Lord protected us.