Dominion: Words Can Move Mountains - Part 2

Dominion is the ability to overcome and defeat the devil, and his plans for you!  This week’s post is basically part 2 of last week’s post. So, today, I want to post about one place that dominion can be found in our lives:  The words that we speak!  What we say and how we say it can affect what happens in our lives.  Let’s start with our text:

Mark 11:22-23 (NKJV)
^11:22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. ²³ 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.

Agree with God

Even a cursory look at Genesis, chapter 1 will show you the power that words contain.  The entire universe was spoken into existence!  Eight times in Genesis, the Bible says, “And God said…”  You might say, “Well, that’s God, of course His words have power!”  Today, I want to show you that your words, spoken in faith, have power, as well.

There are two ways to look at everything you face – every circumstance – every problem – every sickness!  Many times, we tend to take ownership of the problem.  “I have Muscular Dystrophy,” as if I own it – I possess it – “It’s my MD.”  There’s a different way to think of it and speak it! If you speak the issues, the symptoms, the disease as belonging to you, you become, what I call “problem conscious.”  You’re thinking about those things; you’re reinforcing them.  Your thought processes are focused on the suffering.  Speak always what you want the end result to be.  In that way you become “God conscious.”

There is the story of the leper that came to Jesus for healing, in Matthew chapter 8: “If you having a desire you can cleanse me.”  Jesus replied, “I am desiring it from all my heart.” (Matt 8:2-3 Weust) God’s desire to bring healing, comes from all His heart.  So, we need to speak as if He’s going to do just that!  We need to come into agreement with God.

God told Abraham that he would be the father of nations; that his descendants would number as the sands on the seashore.  Abraham at that time was almost one hundred years old, and his wife Sarah was barren.

Romans 4:19-21 (NKJV)
^4:19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. ²⁰ He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

He believed God; He came into agreement with God.  All that God needs to move in your life is your agreement.  God will not override your will.  So often we say things like, “I believe God for His promises,” but what do the other words we speak say?  “I’m so deep in debt!”  “I can’t solve this problem!”  “Maybe this is God’s will!”  It’s not His will!  Jesus came to give abundant life.  It’s the devil that comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Think about this – Every miracle in the Bible involved words.  Jesus healed with words – He rebuked storms with words.  If we want to come into agreement with God, we need to speak faith-filled words – OUT LOUD - and we need to believe the words we speak!

Abraham was fully convinced that God would perform (notice that I said would, not could), would perform what He said.  Speak of it as if you know that it’ll happen!

Jeremiah 1:12 (AMP)
^1:12 Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.

God will perform His word – He’s watching over it so that He can perform it.  God is fully capable and willing to move in our lives.  Usually, we are the roadblock to miracles in our lives.  It’s us that speak words of doubt and unbelief.  It’s us that think our circumstances are unsolvable.  When we can’t see a way for them to be solved, then we’re not in agreement with God.

We forget that God isn’t bound by the limitations that we’re bound by.  The Bible says, “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible!”  Do you really believe that?  We have an intellectual belief in that, but are you like Abraham?  Are you fully convinced that God can perform His word?  Do you live and speak as if you’re fully convinced?  Because that’s where the miracles are.  That’s how the mountains move – Living and speaking as if it will be so!  

The Power of Your Words

“Years ago, a famous basketball player had a heart attack and died at thirty-nine years old.  His collapse on a basketball court during a pickup game was a shock to most people!  What most of them didn’t know was that, for years, he’d repeatedly said, “I’ll never live to be forty years old.”  That young man was the prophet of his own life.”

Source:  10 Hours to Live, Brian Wills, Whitaker House, page 99

You are the prophet of your life!  Here’s a young man, he made a claim that he would never live to be forty years old.  He said that over and over, and as if it was a prophecy, it came true in his life.  I want to contrast that story with this one:

“As I lay there on what my doctors called my death bed, I began to say with my mouth, ‘I call my body healed.  I call my body whole.  I declare that my body functions according to the way God created it to function, and I forbid any malfunction in Jesus’ name!’  I spoke that way to the tumor that measured nine inches across my abdomen.  I woke up one morning and the tumor was gone!”

Source: 10 Hours to Live, Brian Wills, Whitaker House, page 101

Here’s a young man who spoke the exact opposite of the words of the other man.  He spoke words of healing.  He spoke words of promise.  He spoke faith-filled words – He was in agreement with God!

What both of these stories have in common is that these men’s lives were affected by words that they spoke.  You can’t convince me that words don’t have power.  When the words that we speak line up with God’s words, then God “watches over His words to perform them.”

I’m not talking about the words of your thoughts, I’m talking about the words you speak – out loud!  I pray out loud, so I can hear my words spoken.  Why you ask?  Because faith comes by hearing.  If you want to have faith that God will move in your circumstances, the hear the words of faith spoken out loud. 

When I pray for people, I don’t just put my hand on their heads and pray silently.  Do you know why?  I want them to hear the words that I’m praying, so that they can believe them.  Then they can apply them to their lives..

Receiving a miracle is an active thing.  It’s more than just thinking that God will heal us.  I had a friend that always told me, “I know God is going to deliver me from smoking,” but he just kept on smoking.  He never stopped.  He’d been saved for twenty-five years, and thinking that for twenty-five years.  It never happened.  He didn’t speak like it was something that God was doing.  He didn’t live and act like it was something God was doing.  It was always something God was going to do; never what God was doing!  So, he sat there and smoked and waited – He died of Lung Cancer.

Why didn’t God deliver him?  I think its because he never really thought it was possible.  I wonder what would have happened if he put down the cigarettes and said, “God deliver-ED me from smoking!”  Faith filled words of agreement with God.  My thought is that he would have been delivered.

What problems are you facing in life?  What words are you speaking?  Are you agreeing with God or wallowing in unbelief?  Are you like the basketball player, prophesying your death or like the cancer patient, fully convinced that God will heal?  Are you waiting around for a miracle?  Waiting for God to move in your circumstances, or living like God already did it, and declaring what God has done?

These are important questions that speak to actions of faith.  We can all say, “Yeah, yeah, I know God can do miracles,”  but do you live and speak like God can do a miracle in YOUR life?

The world tries to convince us that these things are fake, or weird.  The world has its own system, but the world’s system is “death oriented”.  It doesn’t take into account a personal, concerned and loving God that can and will change circumstances.  The world’s system is focused on “science” and medicine, or mankind’s intellect.  There’s no room for a supernatural move of God, but that’s where miracles are found…in the supernatural.

Words Move Mountains

I want to close with this:

Matthew 18:18 (NKJV)
^18:18 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.

What that means is:

Matthew 18:18 (NLT)
^18:18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.

This goes back to speaking.  Think about what the cancer patient spoke.

“I call my body healed.  I call my body whole.  I declare that my body functions according to the way God created it to function, and I forbid any malfunction in Jesus’ name!”  

I forbid any malfunction in Jesus’ name.  What you permit on earth will be permitted in Heaven. What you forbid on earth will be forbidden in Heaven.  If you don’t speak and forbid those things then you’re permitting them.  The young basketball player permitted an early death.  My friend permitted an early death.

Think about that cancer patient. even though the doctors were all convinced that he was going to die – even though the psychologists were warning him to make funeral arrangements while he still, “had time.”  They told him he couldn’t be healed.  They told him it was hopeless.  They told him death was inevitable, but he didn’t believe their report.  He believed the word of God and told them:

Psalms 118:17 (NLT)
^118:17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.

Whose report will you believe?

Editor’s note:  If you are sick, please go to the doctor and take advantage of their education and training.  I’m not anti-doctor, but also know that you can influence a supernatural move of God in your life by speaking words of faith, and living like God has already moved.  In my life, I listen to my doctors and also proclaim God’s word over myself.

God is Sovereign

Recently, I posted about faith, [Pray in Faith January 20, 2016; Faith is Action February 2, 2016], it seems that some people have come to the conclusion that, “If I have faith then God will, without fail do whatever I ask.” I want you to know, ttough, that it isn’t always like that. God is God – He’s sovereign.  God may not always respond to what we ask in the way that we want.  Today, I want to post on God’s sovereignty:

Daniel 3:15-18 (NKJV)
^3:15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

The Faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

This is a pretty familiar portion of scripture, but let me fill in what’s happening here.  This takes place after Israel has fallen to Babylon.  The best of the young people have been taken there to serve King Nebuchadnezzar and to work in his government.  Among those taken were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 

Nebuchadnezzar gets the idea that he’s a god, so he builds a huge golden statue of himself, and he commands that when the music is played that everyone will bow down and worship his statue.  So, the music is played and everyone bows down.  As you look over the people everyone is bowing; everyone...but these three men.

They are brought before the king and he gives them a second chance.  “I’m going to play the music again, and this time you better bow down.”  The music plays again and everyone except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bow again.

The king confronts them:  “Let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image you have set up.”

They’re standing firm in their faith in God.  They’ve been taken to Babylon – But they haven’t lost faith in God.  This isn’t the first time they’ve defied the king. 

When they first arrived in Babylon they were separated apart from others and given delicacies from the king’s table to eat, but Daniel and the three didn’t want to violate God’s commands, regarding food and what could not be eaten.  They stood firm and refused the delicacies.

So, they were faithful men.  In times of trouble they would pray to God and remained in God’s will rather than adjusting to Babylon’s culture, and because of their faith, God helped them and blessed them.  He helped them to stay within His food requirements.  

Another time He gave Daniel the answer to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  He answered their prayers in that matter; saving their lives.  They have been faithful, prayed in faith, and God has given them the answer to their prayers.  All of that goes with what I said in those other posts.  I preached that if we had faith God would move on our behalf, and we can see from His response to these men that that’s true.  God will respond to our faith.  Our faith is a catalyst to God’s response:

Matthew 21:21-22 (NKJV)
^21:21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

If you have faith and do not doubt… whatever you ask in prayer, believing you will receive.  This is a promise…BUT, dies that mean that God will give us anything we ask?  There’s a clue to the answer of that question in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response to the king.  Look at this in our text:

Daniel 3:17-18 (NKJV)
^3:17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

They said, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, but if not… But if not?  What happened to that promise?  If you pray without doubting you will receive.  This says that God may or may not grant your petition:  It’s up to God.  God is the one who decides whether or not He’ll bless.

God Will Bless Whom He Will Bless

This is because God is a sovereign God.  That word sovereign means one who holds supreme power.   So, God has the power to make a decision about your prayer.  We’ve seen that Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego had faith.  Their prayers were prayed in faith, but they left open the possibility that God may not deliver them.

Exodus 33:19 (NKJV)
^33:19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

This is God’s statement on His sovereignty.  I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.  God’s saying, "I’m going to do what I’m going to do."  It’s totally up to God – God gets to decide.

When we come to God, we bring our needs and our wants, but we should never lose sight of which one of us is God.  We can complain, “I went to God in faith.” – “I showed God my need.” – God should have given me what I wanted!” – Except God is God not you.  You’re not God.  This may come as a shock to some, but it’s JESUS Christ not Santa Christ.

So why wouldn’t God give you what you’re asking?  There’s a number of reasons why God would withhold your desire.  The first is That what you’re asking isn’t God’s will.

Job 23:13-14 (AMP)
^23:13 But He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him? And what He wants to do, that He does. ¹⁴ For He performs [that which He has] planned for me, and of many such matters He is mindful.

God has a plan for your life.  There is a specific plan.  God has a method and a destiny for your life.  We can ask God for something and not get it because it goes against God’s plan for your life.

I’ve known people who have asked God for a husband or a wife and still remain unmarried.  Sometimes, they’re asking for a specific person, that may not be the person that God has in mind, for what He has planned for THEM, so it goes against God’s will for their lives.  We don’t always know what God is trying to do.

The second reason is that what you’re asking may destroy your destiny.  That thing you’ve asked for may be the thing that pulls you out of God’s will.  I’ve known people that have gone out and taken jobs that took them away from church and right our of God’s will.  The problem is that not everything we think we want is the best thing for us.

God knows His plan for you.  God also knows what’s best for you and for seeing His plan through.  We don’t always even know what God is trying to do in us.  God may be trying to work something out of us, cause us to see something differently, or to behave in a different way, and what you’re praying for may derail that.  God doesn’t think like us.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)
^55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. ⁹ "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

We’re limited by our senses.  We don’t know what’s in the future.  We don’t understand how things are interconnected.  We don’t always see the cause and effect of what we’re asking.  But God does; He does know all of these answers and God wants only good things for us.  God isn’t going to give us something that’s going to damage us.  It all comes down to trusting God.

Can you Trust God to Know What's Best?

Can you trust God to know what’s best for you?  Do you believe that God is always a good God?  I’ve heard people say, “I’m losing faith in God because He’s not giving me what I’m praying for.”  Prayer isn’t a way of getting what we want, but the way to become what God wants us to be.

Do you really want the best that God has for you?  I sometimes think we say that we want all that God has for us, but then we short-circuit God’s plans for us, by demanding that God give us what we want.

We have to be able to trust that God really has our best interest at heart; that He has plans for us and that those plans are the best thing for us.

One thing that I see happening is that people are getting angry at God when they don’t get what they want, but God isn’t a genie in a bottle that’s bound to give us our wishes.  God gives according to HIS wishes.  It’s a misconception to think that God exists to serve us.  God created us to worship Him.  We exist to serve God.  God is gracious.  God is loving.  God gives us the things that are best for us.  We don’t always know what’s best for us, but God does, because God CAN see the future.  He does know how things interconnect.  He can see cause and effect.

So, let’s go back to our text for another moment.  Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego tell Nebuchadnezzar something that’s a really important lesson for us in verse 18 of our text:

Daniel 3:18 (AMP)
^3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up!

Basically, what they’re saying is, “We believe that God will give us what we ask, but if He doesn’t we’re going to serve God anyway.”  Even if God chooses not to deliver them they’re going to serve God anyway.

It’s so discouraging to see people fall out of the will of God and out of the blessing of serving God, because God was doing something different than they wanted God to do.  I’ve seen it happen so often recently.  People are allowing Satan to lie to them, and He’s ripping them off.  The devil’s a liar.

So, we pray in faith believing that we’ll receive.  We pray with the expectation that God will move.  We take the action of our faith, to see it happen, but when it doesn’t, does it mean that God doesn’t care?  It may mean that God cares enough not to give you everything you ask.  I don’t give my kids everything they ask for because I know that some of those things aren’t good for them.  God is the same way, so another part of faith is having the faith to trust that God is doing what’s best for you in His answer to your prayer.

When we’re praying it’s best to remember which one of us is God.

Believe it or not – You are NOT God.

Stealers Gonna Steal

None of us are crying out for hardship, are we?  I know what Paul said about rejoicing in tribulation.  I understand what he’s saying… but no one really looks forward to that. 

Don’t get me wrong, we need tribulation.  That’s how God works in us.  That’s how God changes us.  That’s how God completes us, but life on its own has a lot of stresses and struggles, too.  If we’re honest we have to admit that we need blessing, as well.  So this post today will look at how to get blessed.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
^10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Stealers Gonna Steal

Jesus has come that we may have life more abundantly.  God blesses – Isn’t that what you’ve heard?  I say that all the time, God wants to bless you.  I know that some of you think that this is just “preacher talk.”   It’s just what preachers say to keep people coming.  You’re thinking, “Yeah, he says that all the time but I’m just not seeing it.” 

This scripture tells you why.  Jesus came that we may have life more abundantly, but what else does it say?  It says that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.  He’s a thief.  What does a thief do?  He steals.  So, there is someone who comes to steal the blessing of God from your life.  He’s a glutton; a devourer – He swallows your blessing.

That word devourer means an excessively greedy eater.  Devourer – One who swallows and eats ravenously.  That’s what God calls the devil in the book of Malachi.

Malachi 3:11 (NKJV)
^3:11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts;

Malachi is telling us that God will rebuke the devourer for our sakes.  The devil is the devourer.

Let me ask a question, here.  Have you ever felt like there isn’t enough money to make it to the end of the month?  Maybe that’s even a reality in your life.  Maybe you're constantly struggling to make ends meet.  Your credit cards are maxed out.  The bills are more than you get paid every month.  Creditors are calling and demanding payment.  If that’s you, you don’t have to be embarrassed.  The thief is doing what thieves do – stealing.  You know hater’s gonna hate?  Well stealers gonna steal.

The devil hates God and he hates you!  The thing that really makes him mad is you believing God.  The devil hates your faith.  He hates it when you believe God for His promises.  He will do whatever he needs to do to make you doubt.  He’s also looking for those that will be easy to trick into unbelief. 

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)
^5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil is an adversary:  That means he opposes and resists you, and he’s looking to devour you.  Why would you let the devil win?  Look at what we need to do to beat him back:

1 Peter 5:9 (NKJV)
^5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Resist him – You don’t have to let him win.  Stay faithful – faithful means full of faith.

I know it’s hard, sometimes.  This happens in my family, too.  We’re getting near the end of the month and the end of the money, and we’re wondering what’s going to happen.  We start to waver in our faith.  We struggle in our faith, too and I’ve been a Christian for a long time.  I should be past that struggling with that, but there’s still that struggle of faith because the devil, that lying, cheating devourer wants me to doubt God.  He knows that if I can’t believe God for His provision; if I doubt that His promises are real, then he can cause me to doubt whether or not God’s really saved me.

That’s dangerous because if I lose faith that I’m really saved, the devil can turn me away from God, because I’ll begin to doubt that God is even real.  If you start to doubt God’s promises you’ll eventually doubt that God is real, and that’s all that he needs to do to win.  The devil doesn’t need to get you to commit serious sin, he just needs to make you doubt.  It’s the sin of unbelief that will cause a lot of Christians to miss heaven.  This is why resisting is so important, because he comes to steal your blessing, he comes to kill your faith, and he comes to destroy your soul. 

The devil wants to remove blessing, but Jesus is just the opposite of the devil.  Jesus doesn’t come to steal he comes to give.

Jesus Has Come to Give

“I have come that you may have life and that more abundantly.”  What does abundant mean?  Abundant means marked by great plenty – That means a lot of supply or support.  God is not stingy.  He doesn’t just keep it all for Himself.  God gives abundantly.  He will supply you. 

Matthew 6:30-32 (NKJV)
^6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Again, it’s a matter of faith.  He says, “Don’t worry.”  God knows what you need  and God doesn’t withhold.

Malachi 3:10 (NKJV)
^3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Test me.  Check out what I say.  Here’s my promise, “I will open the windows of Heaven.”  Then remember Malachi 3:11, “I will rebuke the devourer.”  That’s God’s promise.  That’s life more abundantly.  Jesus has come to give that.  The Bible even says, “Test me now in this.”  There’s a way to test the promise of God.  God tells you how He can prove to you that He blesses.  Do you want to know what it is?  The following scripture is the key to getting blessed.

Malachi 3:10a (NKJV)
^3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house,

This is the test we can use to see if God will keep His promise.  When we do that God will show us this:

Malachi 3:10b (NKJV)
^3:10 "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

The tithe – Tithe means tenth – a tenth of your resources.  If you make NTD $60,000 (US $2,000) then your tithe is NTD $6,000 (US $200).  Test it out.  God is challenging you to try it.  God says He will make you a believer.  

I know that some of you think that you can’t afford it.  You think that you don’t have enough, so you won’t test God in that.  But guess what – That’s exactly how the devil rips you off.  It’s how the stealer steals.  It’s a spirit:  It’s spiritual:  We call it a “Poverty Spirit.”  I call it the “Spirit of Not Enough.”  Uh-oh, some of you may be thinking, “He just wants our money.”  I’m not posting this so that I can get blessed; I’m posting it so that you can get blessed. 

As a pastor, I have seen people who have tested this and God has blessed them.  They’ve stood up and testified about God’s miracle provision.  There are others who tested this for a few weeks and then they backed off.  Maybe it wasn’t what they expected.  I don’t know.  Maybe they expected a pile of money to fall out of the sky.

How it Really Works

The following is a testimony by James Dobson:

“As an evangelist, my dad could never depend on the compensation he would be given.  The local church would collect a freewill offering for my father, but many times the gifts barely paid his traveling expenses.
 He would usually stay with the pastor during a ten-day revival.  While there, he often observed that the children needed shoes or books or medication.  So, on the final night of the revival, my dad would take enough money to get home, and then donate the rest to meet the needs of the pastor’s family.  Then my dad would return to be greeted by my mother and me.  I can still hear the conversations between them.        “Did you have a successful revival?” my mother would ask.        “The Lord was with us," my dad would reply.        “How much did they pay you?”
        “Well, I need to talk to you about that,” my father would say, grinning.        “I know,” Mom would say, “You gave it all away, didn’t you?” A few days later when the bills began to accumulate, our little family would gather on our knees before the Lord.  Dad would pray first, “Lord, you know we’ve been faithful with the resources you’ve given us.  We’ve tried to be responsive to the needs of others, when you laid them on our hearts.  Now Lord, my family is in need.  You’ve said, ‘Give and it shall be given unto you’ (Luke 6:38).  So we bring to you our empty meal barrel and ask you to fill it.” As a child, I listened intently to these prayers and watched carefully to see how God responded.  I tell you, without exaggeration, that money invariably arrived in the next few days.  God didn’t make us rich, but He never let us go hungry.

This is a perfect example of how it really works.  God doesn’t make you rich, He just keeps supplying you.  I’ve told you before about the widow of Zarephath.

She’s collecting sticks to make a fire and cook the last meal for her and her son.  They have nothing; just enough for one last meal and then they starve.  She has nothing.  No husband to provide for her.  Nothing to sell for money.  No prospect of any more – There’s a drought.  All the crops are dead.  This is the end of her resources.

Then the prophet comes by and has the nerve to ask her to feed him before they eat their last meal.  He literally says to her, “Give to me, first.”  The prophet’s not looking to get blessed.  What’s a small cake for him; it’s a little thing, but he knows if she responds, she’s going to be sustained.  She’s going to receive a blessing, and so, she does – She gives him a cake. 

She probably thinks, “This is my last meal, what’s a small cake more or less?”  She has nothing to lose and everything to gain.  So what does God do?

She doesn’t receive a huge amount all at once, but for the next three and a half years God meets her daily needs.  Think about it she gives one day’s food and receives back 1,277 days’ worth of food.  She wouldn’t be able to store all of that.  That’s abundance – That’s how God blesses.

But it takes faith – trust in God’s promises.  Let me tell you on more story – about another widow.  This one is at the temple; Jesus is watching her.  She’s near the donation box; where people give their tithes and their offerings.  Jesus is standing near there also, watching.  All of these rich people come and put in their offerings.  Then the widow comes up to give.  She, like the other widow has nothing; no husband, no son, no money; nothing.  All she has is two cents…well, she has one other thing:  She has faith; she believes.  She gave it all.  How many of you trust God like that? 

So, here’s the question for today:  If you can’t trust God with your finances.  If you really can’t trust God with ten percent of your resources, are you really trusting Him with your salvation.  Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity.  It’s what sets the foundation for our lives.  If we don’t have faith then prayer is a waste of time.  It’s a useless endeavor – Faith activates miracles.  If we don’t trust God, we have no salvation.  We’re not saved because salvation is based on believing and trusting Jesus.  If we don’t have faith there will be no miracles.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
^11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Be a person of God and let God prove Himself to you.  That’s how you find blessing.

Riding in the Wheelbarrow

There is a story of a famous tightrope walker who came to Niagara Falls and stretched his rope across the thunderous currents from Canada to the United States. Before the breathless multitudes, he walked, then ran, across the falls. He did the same blindfolded, with drums rolling. Then, still blindfolded, he pushed a wheelbarrow across the falls. The crowds went wild, and the aerialist shouted to them, “Who believes I can push a man in this wheelbarrow across these falls?”

A gentleman in the front waved his hands, shouting, “I do! I believe!”
"Then,” said the walker, “come and get in the wheelbarrow.”

To no one's surprise, the man’s intellectual assent failed to translate into personal belief. In other words he had seen the proof that it could be done but didn’t have the faith to get in to the wheelbarrow himself.

If you’re Christian that’s spent any time at all witnessing to people, you have probably come upon people who just do not believe. I’ve had people tell me, “I just can’t believe that.” That’s why the Bible tells us that the Gospel is foolishness to them that perish. But to those of us that are saved it’s the power of God.

Paul preached to the Greeks about the Unkown God, but when he began to speak of the resurrection, there were those who refused to believe.

Acts 17:32
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”

Those that mocked were the ones who were unable to believe what was preached. There is no doubt that we have all encountered people like that. They don’t necessarily ridicule you, and they don’t have any argument as to why it’s wrong or unbelievable. They just can’t believe it. You tell them what the Bible says and they say, “Oh…well I just don’t believe it.”

But guess what…unbelief isn’t confined to sinners. There are Christians who don’t believe. Maybe it’s a little subtler, but it’s there nonetheless. Obviously, we believe in Jesus. We wouldn’t be Christians if we denied the Christ, but there are aspects of our salvation with which we struggle. Do you believe that Jesus can heal the sick? Do you have faith that Jesus can heal you? If so then why do you still suffer with sickness?

It’s a pretty common thing that we have faith that God can heal others but we don’t have faith for ourselves. That’s a symptom of unbelief. In this post I want to examine that.

Luke 24:13-33
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,20 “and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.22 “Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.23 “When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.24 “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!26 “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

Unbelief isn't Just for Sinners

In our text we see two men walking to Emmaus. They are obviously disciples. They have spent time with Jesus. They would have recognized Him if their eyes had not been restrained. They had heard His preaching and, no doubt, knew Him and believed Him to be the Messiah.

And yet just as obviously they didn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. If they believed that He had risen from the dead, why were they sad. Another translation said they had faces “full of gloom.” A third one says “faces drawn with misery.” These are not men who expected that Jesus would rise from the dead. They’re not saying, “See this proves it. Who else but the Son of God could rise from the dead.” Instead threy’re saying, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”

The resurrection of Jesus is fundamental to Christian Theology, even to the Gospel itself.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

According to Paul, this declaration that Christ died, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day is the Gospel by which we are saved. Think about this for a moment. If Jesus had died and remained in the grave, His death would have been no different from any other Martyr from any other belief system in the world. He would have left us nothing better than a philosophy to live by. But it is His resurrection that puts weight behind his death. We can be redeemed from sin because God, Himself, paid the price for it. His resurrection is proof of who He was.

Thomas Jefferson went through his Bible and he removed every reference to miracles. He removed the changing of water to wine, the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, the calming of the storm, the Gadarene demoniac, all of them. And in doing this he also had to remove the resurrection of Christ. So his Bible ended with the crucifixion, Jesus forever on the cross. He has denied the supernaturality of Jesus, that God is able to transcend our abilities. Jesus is no longer God in his Bible he is only a man. He has reduced the scriptures to a philosophy. By doing this he removes God’s ability to redeem us, and we are forever stuck in our sin, because that redemption in itself is miraculous.

Thomas Jefferson considered himself a believer in God. Otherwise he never could have written about rights given to us by the Creator in the Declaration of Independence, and yet, because of his unbelief, he has reduced Jesus to a mere mortal, by discarding the miracle of resurrection.

These two men were followers of Jesus. They were there when Mary Magdalene came and told them what Jesus had said outside the tomb that morning. And no doubt they thought like Peter and the others when they called them “idle words.”

Do you believe that God will provide for all your needs? So you never worry how the bills will get paid? Do you believe that God can heal the sick? How about Cancer? We can all have faith for backaches, but Cancer's different, right? The point that I’m making here is that there is an element of unbelief that is apparent in the lives of most believers. Many times it is that unbelief that keeps us from seeing the faithfulness of God. Our unbelief doesn’t inhibit God from being faithful, but it restricts our ability to accept God’s provision. If we don’t have faith that God will be able to deliver us from whatever tribulation that we are enduring, then we will seek for ourselves some other method of deliverance. We’ll go looking for our own answers. If we do that without God’s counsel the chances are we will make it even worse. Look at this:

Joshua 9:14-16
14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD.15 So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. 16 And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them.

The Israelites were in the battle for the Promised Land. God had sent them to destroy those who lived in that land so that they could live there and serve God in peace. But there was an element of unbelief here.

No doubt they were tired of fighting. It was natural that they’d be looking for allies as they faced the inhabitants of the land. But they did it without God’s counsel. They looked for deliverance on their own and they short-circuited what God was trying to do. Think of all the things Israel endured at the hands of its enemies in the Promised Land. These were the Ammonites the enemies of God throughout Israel’s history and all of this trouble could have been avoided if they believed that God would deliver the Promised Land into their hands: If they hadn’t looked for deliverance on their own.

The men on the road to Emmaus are Christians, the people of God. Joshua and his men were the people of God. All of these suffered unbelief, and we are also susceptible to that. All Christians occasionally suffer from doubt and unbelief.

We Have a Responsibility to Overcome Unbelief

Do you realize that unbelief is contagious? We can catch it from each other. Jesus warns his disciples about this in Mark 8:15

Mark 8:15
15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

What is Jesus talking about here? He’s talking about unbelief.

Mark 8:16-21
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?19 “When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.”21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

Jesus is reminding them of the miracles that he did in their presence: That he fed the five thousand and the four thousand and had leftovers. These were powerful miracles and yet the Pharisees kept asking for a sign that He was the Messiah. The Pharisees didn’t believe and here in this moment He's warning the disciples that they also are suffering from unbelief.

But it interesting, the word he uses here. Leaven. Leaven is basically yeast. It’s used to make bread rise, but it can also cause infection. Unbelief is an infection that can grow in us and spread to others. Unbelief doesn’t come from God and unbelief can spread to the whole group.

If you have ever kept an aquarium you are no doubt familiar with the disease Ick. Ick is a disease where the fish gets a number of small white lumps on their body and eventually they die. The thing about Ick is that it is extremely contagious. By the time you notice the disease on one fish it has often spread to all the others in the tank. And if you are not careful to eradicate it, it will kill all the fish.

It’s the same with unbelief. It’s extremely contagious. If one has it, it will spread to others. Look at our text in verse 23 and 24:

"When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.24 “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.

Mary Magdalene and the other women go to prepare the body of Jesus. He meets them in the Garden and tells them to go tell Peter and the disciples what she has seen.

Luke 24:8-12
8 And they remembered His words.9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Peter doesn’t believe them when they tell him, so he goes to look for himself. And when he finds the tomb empty, he marvels, “Gee I wonder what happened to the body.” But Jesus had told him what was going to happen in Luke Chapter Nine.

Luke 9:20-22
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” 21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

But Peter doesn’t believe and his unbelief will no doubt be transferred to the others. He’s the leader; it is human nature for them to trust his judgment. If I have an interpretation of some event, and I talk to someone I trust, someone in authority over me, and they have a different interpretation of that event, I’m going to question my own interpretation. It’s human nature.

So if there are a gropup of people, and Mary comes with this news they are going to look to see what is the leader’s reaction. If he doesn’t believe then what will be the result? Most likely the others won’t believe either. These men were there when Mary came and gave her account. Remember they said, “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb." They heard the report and saw Peter’s reaction. They still didn’t believe later in the day when they were on the road to Emmaus.

Peter heard Jesus say, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day,” and he didn’t believe and here’s these two men on the road to Emmaus that were with him and they didn’t believe either. Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe there’s an influence at work here. Maybe Peter’s unbelief is rubbing off on them. They even make this amazing comment, “Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.” “This is the third day after his death and there’s no proof that he’s risen from the dead, we can’t even find his body.” That’s what they’re thinking. No wonder Jesus calls them slow witted, they ARE slow witted. Unbelief restricts our ability to see the truth for what it is. Sometimes it even causes us to aggressively seek to keep that truth from other people.

For example, if you honestly examine the arguments of Evolution you must be struck by the lack of evidence of its truth. There are a number of holes in the proofs of evolution. For one thing there is not one documented proof that men evolved from apes. All of the so called missing links have been proven to be hoaxes or errors. And yet this belief is so powerful that it is taught in the school not as a theory but as fact. How many times have you been called ignorant because you don’t believe it? There is an aggressive campaign to keep the creation spoken of in the Bible away from our children. Believers of Evolution are so convinced that the creation story of the Bible is false that they fight to keep it out of the schools…A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

The Antidote to Unbelief

Luke 24:30-32
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

What was it that brought these men back to faith? What was it that convinced them of who he was? Jesus in the meal takes the role of the father. It was the Jewish custom of the time for the father to ask the blessing over the meal. The father is the spiritual leader of the household. Here is Jesus assuming that role. He is the spiritual leader of the group. The scripture says in that moment their eyes were opened. They recognize His authority in that. When I go to lunch with my pastor I always defer to him to ask the blessing over the food. It’s natural because it's a recognition of his authority in my life. Jesus is taking that authority in this situation. If we extend this to give Jesus real authority over our lives then we will overcome unbelief, as well.

As children we all believed our teachers when they taught us something in school, didn’t we? Why? We believed them because of their authority in that subject. If Jesus has authority in your life then His actions will carry weight with you. As children we learn from our parents for the same reason, they have authority in our lives.

When my children were very small they asked me endless questions, many of them that I couldn’t possibly answer. “Daddy, why does that man want to drive a red car?” I couldn’t possibly know that. But if I'd just made up an answer they would have believed it. They would have taken me at my word, on faith. God has given us His word in the Bible. If you give the word of God authority in your life then the answers to unbelief will be found there, because you will take God at His word, by faith.

Secondly, look at what these men said, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” Their faith was re-ignited by the spoken words of Christ. There is an impartation that takes place when words are spoken.

I once had a roommate who wrote little notes to himself on his bathroom mirror. Things like, “You are going to make wise decisions today”, “You are a creative and intelligent engineer.” And the idea behind these notes was that he would read them aloud to himself. The words would be spoken. It was called affirmation.

It’s the same when we hear the words of the Gospel spoken. Faith comes by hearing. Unbelief is dispelled by the spoken word of God. It is an affirmation of our faith. Prayer, for the same reason, strengthens faith. We pray aloud. It is an affirmation of our belief in God.

The problem with unbelief is that it destroys our ability to receive from God because it is a rejection of what God tells us is the truth. We make God a liar and what’s that? It’s sin. We need to do what’s necessary to increase our faith, like the father who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus to be healed. Jesus told him, “If you believe he can be healed.” The father prayed a prayer right there on the spot. He prayed, “I believe, Lord help my unbelief.” That should be our prayer as well.