Proverbs 29:18 says that, “Where there is no revelation (or vision), the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law (or Word of God).” When a woman is pregnant, she expects to deliver a healthy baby, and this expectation will guide how she lives.  She may love to run, but you won’t see her competing in a 100-metre race.  Why?  Because she has a vision of motherhood, she is putting restraints on herself, and is doing everything she can to protect that vision.  Likewise, we must do the same when we receive a vision from the Word of God.

Another word the Bible uses for “vision” is “hope”.  Your vision will create expectancy in you, and it will restrain you from doing certain things.  Because you are expecting God to confirm His Word on your behalf, you will not be out in the world sinning and doing things that will get you out of fellowship with Him.  That Word-based vision, which you see so clearly in the womb of your spirit, is restraining you from wrong living.

BEGIN WITH A VISION

In Genesis 13, God told Abraham that He would give him all the land that he could see.  Abraham had to go ‘see’ the land, and had to walk over it, in order to possess it.  You have to have a vision of what you want.  Have it sculptured solid inside you, strong and clear.  See it like you could almost taste it, then begin to declare it with your mouth.

Genesis chapter 11 provides a good illustration.  The people had decided they were going to build a tower all the way to heaven.  Even with our modern day technology we haven’t aspired to such a feat!  These people however, had something going for them.  In Genesis 11:6 God said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”

“Propose” here, means “imagine”.  When you imagine something you “see” it.  Today when we build, we start with a blueprint.  We don’t know if those folks had one like we use today, but we do know that they had a blueprint of whatever they were going to build engraved inside of them.  Not only did they have one language, but also they were united in purpose.  God Himself testified that nothing would stop these people from doing whatever they imagined to do, and so He had to intervene.

From this we can learn how important it is to first start with a vision, and then a way will be made to realize that vision.  For example, during one of Michael Jordan’s basketball games he made over 15 three-pointer baskets!  When asked at the end of the game how he thought he had been able to accomplish this, his response was that he had imagined the basket to be so big and wide, that there was just no way that he could miss!

In Genesis 11, God intervened by giving those tower builders different languages.  Suddenly they couldn’t communicate with each other.  More importantly, that image of the tower they had inside them could no longer be enhanced, and they had to abandon their efforts to build.

That’s exactly how doubt works.  Contradictory words, feelings and circumstances, come to challenge the image of victory, healing, or blessing that you have inside your heart, and the image then begins to wane and die, ultimately leading to defeat.

DAVID SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY

A case in point is the story of David in 1 Samuel 17.  David was sent to take supplies to his older brothers at the warfront.  He arrived there to hear Goliath the giant, challenging Israel’s army.  1 Samuel 17:4, 8-11, “And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span (about 9 feet 9 inches)… Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, ‘Why have you come out to line up for battle?  Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul?  Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.  If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants.  But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’  And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.’  When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

David arrived with the supplies, heard the same words, but his response was totally different.  “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.  So the men of Israel said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up?  Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.’  Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying,… ‘For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’ “ (Verses 24-26).

Why did Goliath’s word inspire fear in everyone else, but faith in David?  What was the difference?  Notice the way David addressed Goliath as an “uncircumcised Philistine”.  What did he mean by that?  In Genesis chapter 17 Abraham cut covenant with God by circumcision.  By the same token, everyone in the natural lineage of Abraham, entered into that same covenant through circumcision.  God had promised Abraham that anyone who blessed him, He would bless, and anyone who cursed him, He would curse.  David realized that because he was a circumcised descendant of Abraham, he had all the benefits of Abraham’s covenant with God.  All of Israel did too, but they just didn’t believe it or walk in the light of it.  Goliath had not entered into any such covenant with God, and so he was defenseless against David and God!

It wasn’t a matter of having the wherewithal or the weaponry to face the opposing army.  God was the One who would fight for them.  David just measured the image and understanding he had of who God was against Goliath and the Philistine army.  David looked at Goliath but did not see him as a giant – beside God nobody is a giant and nothing is gigantic! Alleluia!  The rest of Israel compared Goliath to their limited selves.  They saw themselves as little and Goliath as huge. But David took Goliath and compared him to God.  He didn’t even put himself in the picture, he was putting Goliath against his God, and Goliath was no match for God.

THE GOLIATH IN YOUR LIFE

Goliath is a type for us today, representing anything that the devil is using to harass you.  You may see your $100,000 debt as huge, especially when all you have coming in is $800 a month.  When you are sitting at your table, looking at your bills, compare them to your Almighty God.  Take those bills and compare them to the riches of God in Christ Jesus.  All of a sudden, your bills will start shrinking!  That’s why it is so important what you focus your eyes and attention on.  Fear enters into our hearts when we begin to focus on physical evidence.

What if your doctor tells you that you have cancer?  You break the news to your family and friends and they sink into despair as they start telling you of all the people they know who have died from cancer.  Suddenly the cancer starts growing bigger in your mind, into a huge unstoppable monster.  All the doctors in the world can’t stop it!  What you need to do is put the cancer beside Jesus and His healing power.  When you start to look at the situation in the proper perspective, the cancer won’t look so big anymore.  Instead it will begin to shrink, and Jesus will ultimately dwarf it out of existence!

ACT IN FAITH: DON’T PRAY IN DOUBT

David had built a big, powerful, image of God in his heart.  He didn’t just build that image the day he met Goliath.  His image of God was developed over all those years he had spent taking care of sheep, singing psalms to the Lord and meditating on the Word of God.  When the enemy’s attack came against that image, David did not give in to fear like the others did.  He didn’t even stop to pray about what he should do.  Often times when Christians are going through a crisis, they stop to pray and seek God’s will on what to do, but in some situations doing that can actually be an act of unbelief.

For example, if someone told you they wanted to get saved, would you first stop and pray to ask Jesus if He wants to save that person?  No.  You already know that the Word of God says that salvation is for “whosoever” (John 3:16).  Likewise, if someone were to ask for prayer for healing, do we need to go pray and ask God if He wants to heal that person?  No.  We already know that the Bible says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil…” (Acts 10:38).

It was the same way with David.  He didn’t need to pray and ask God what he should do about Goliath.  He knew what the Word said about the benefits of his covenant with God through Abraham.  All David needed to do was act on that covenant in faith.  The saddest thing about the whole situation was that every person in Israel had as much right to that covenant as David did.  But he was the only person who benefited from it.  Thank God he was in Israel that day, otherwise the army of Israel would have been wiped out!  How sad that they had more faith in Goliath’s words than in God’s.

Similarly, many Christians have more confidence in what the doctor has told them than what Jesus has said in His Word. The doctor might tell you that you have only two months to live.  But Jesus will tell you to go ahead and live another 80 years if you want to!  That doesn’t mean that doctors are wrong.  You should acknowledge the physical facts, but use God’s word to overcome them.  Take God’s report as a higher authority that can, and will change the doctor’s report! David knew that any Israelite could easily kill Goliath, and he couldn’t believe that nobody was accepting King Saul’s reward offer!  And so he accepted Goliath’s challenge.

FAITH-FILLED WORDS

Immediately after declaring his bold words, David’s oldest brother, Eliab, opposed him (I Samuel 17:28).  The same thing may happen to you.  There are times when you may take a bold stand and speak faith-filled words from the Bible.  People will come against you, especially fellow Christians, and say that you are proud.  But actually it has nothing to do with you or pride; it’s all about your confidence in your covenant with God through Jesus.

“Then (David) turned from (Eliab) toward another and said the same thing;… Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.” (1 Samuel 17:30-31).  There’s no point in trying to explain what you believe and what you are doing to people who are not going to receive it.  Just leave them alone, turn from them like David did.  You can’t afford to cast your pearls before swine!

When you were little, did you ever get together with other kids and tell scary stories?  What effect did that have on your body – chills, goosebumps?  Some people can hear bad news and immediately get diarrhea.  If bad words can do that, think of what wholesome, faith-filled words can do!  If bad news can cause people to collapse, then healing words from the Bible will build strength, and put life and energy back into your body.  That’s why we need to constantly feed on God’s Word.

KEEP THE FIGHT ON GOD’S LEVEL

“Then David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of (Goliath); your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’  And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth’.” (1 Samuel 17:32,33).  Here Saul brings the situation down to the mere human level, into the natural realm. People will challenge your bold stand of faith again and again asking; “who do you think you are?”  But remember, it is not you, or your background or where you come from that matters, but what God says.

David however puts the situation back on God’s level, into the supernatural realm, when he says in verse 37, “Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’  And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’ “ As far as David was concerned, it didn’t depend on him or his ability.  He was basing his victory on the supernatural ability of God.

And so with King Saul’s permission, David went to meet Goliath, dressed as a shepherd boy, with no armour or weapon other than a slingshot.  The sight of David made Goliath so angry that he said to David, ” ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’  And (Goliath) the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” (Verse 43).  You can’t stop the circumstances, the symptoms, the bills, or whatever, from talking to you.  You can’t even stop Satan from talking to you.  But as soon as he’s through talking, you better have something to say in return.  Interrupt him if you like, but make sure you boldly declare what you know will happen, what God will do for you!

Talk back to your circumstances like David did in verse 45, “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin.  But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’ “ Saul had given him his armour to use, but David had to put it down because he hadn’t proved or tested it.  David came against Goliath in the name of the Lord, the name of the Lord was the weapon he had proved.

Psalm 20:1 says, “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you”. Thank God we have the name of Jesus to defend us today!  All that the Father’s name represents has been put in the name of Jesus for us.  Salvation, healing, protection, provision, all are in the name of Jesus.  The Bible tells us that whatever we do in word or deed, we are to do it in the name of Jesus.

Jewish legend tells us that Goliath was completely covered in metal armour.  When David ran towards him, Goliath laughed.  As he laughed his head jerked back and his helmet slid up.  Just then David released a stone from his sling and hit him right between the eyes.  That was supernatural!  God made a way for the victory David had conceived in his heart to take place (see 1 Samuel 17:46-49).  “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him…” (Verse 50).

THE ROAD TO GLORY

In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul refers to all the persecution he suffered as “light affliction” – the stonings, the beatings with rods, etc.  His perception of his sufferings was obviously different from what most people would have had in the same situation.  In the natural what was happening to him was very painful, but he said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…” Paul concluded that the light affliction, the persecution and turmoil, which Satan was trying to use to hinder his ministry and ultimately destroy him, was merely working the way gasoline works in your car to take you from one point to another.  The light affliction was working to take him to a weighty place of glory!  He refused to see his situation the way the enemy wanted him to.

Whatever you may be facing, remember that the enemy is trying to use it for your destruction, but God can use it as raw material to bring blessings and glory to you.  But how does the affliction work to produce glory?  The answer is in verse 18 of 2 Corinthians 4, “while we do not look at the things which are seen…” David refused to look at, or focus on Goliath’s intimidating physical attributes.  He focused on God.  In other words, when you start looking at your circumstances, the power of God cannot work for you.  “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (Verse 18).  The things that cannot be seen, are the visions of victory that you have inside your heart.  Focusing on them will bring you to the glorious outcome God desires for you.

CONCLUSION

Meditate on God’s word daily.  We all meditate on something everyday.  But if you don’t consciously choose to meditate on God’s word, the devil will be sure to supply you with plenty of food for thought!  Meditation will produce a clear vision of God’s Word inside you.  Let that vision fill your mind and your heart.  Cut off anything that attempts to change or modify it.  It may be friends, the news, the TV or whatever.  If it’s giving you a bad report – stay away from it!

Don’t allow your vision from God to be tampered with.  It doesn’t matter how you feel or don’t feel; what people say or don’t say.  The only things the enemy can use against you are your thoughts and your words.  If he can get you destabilized in your thinking, he can get you to change and abort your vision.  Remember that what you see, is what you get!

When things go from bad to worse, it is God’s will that they be turned around to His glory, and for our blessing.  Indeed the word of God has the answer to everything that we could possibly face.  Once we learn how to make contact with God, we can always get what He desires for us and put the devil where he belongs.  But how exactly do we receive from God?  People often say that God can do anything He wants to do, whenever He wants to do it – and there is some truth in that.  However, we do not necessarily receive from God on the basis of what He can do.

God’s Ability Or Your Faith

In Mark 9: 14-29, a desperate father brought his demon possessed boy to Jesus for help.  The father begged Jesus, “…But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.  Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ ” (verses 22-23 NKJV).  Notice how Jesus immediately put the responsibility back on the father; the question deciding the issue was not Jesus’ power, but the man’s faith.

Today people are still approaching God in the same way, “God, if You can, You do something for me.”  It’s not so much what God can do, but what YOU can believe.  Of the many miracles and healings that Jesus did during His earthly ministry, the Bible only records 19 individual cases of healing.  In at least 12 of those cases, the individuals’ faith is referred to as a key factor in their receiving their healing.  In some of the other cases it is implied.  What can YOU comfortably believe God for?  That’s the deciding factor in YOUR receiving from God.

With this in mind, let’s look at the story of Jairus and his sick daughter in Mark 5:21-43, where we can learn what to do when a bad situation gets even worse.  “And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.’  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. (or pressed in on Him)”, verses 22-24 (NKJV).

Jairus worshipped Jesus and got His attention.  Whenever you see someone in the Bible do something that enabled them to receive from God, if you do the same thing, you will get the same results, for God is no respecter of persons.  Your heartfelt worship will always get God’s attention.

Jairus didn’t ask Jesus to come and try and see what He could do.  He knew what Jesus could do, he had heard about His healing ministry.  So he said to Jesus, “Come and lay Your hands on her …and she shall live.” He didn’t say, “Come try it”, or “If it be Thy will.”  He knew for a certainty that she would live, and Jesus went with him.

Reading through the four gospel accounts, you will often find that the faith of an individual would cause Jesus to change from the direction in which He was headed, and follow them.  Jesus didn’t go with Jairus because He liked the way he looked or because he had a lot of money.  No, it was because of his faith.  Jesus was going somewhere else when Jairus came up to Him and asked Him to go with him.

Obstacles In The Way Of Faith

Mark 5:25-28 (NKJV), “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she HEARD about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched his garment.  For she said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.’”

What had she heard?  This Man had been anointed with the Holy Spirit and His power and was going about doing good, healing people.  Miracles were happening all around Jesus and He had brought untold joy to multitudes.  So when this woman heard about Jesus, she didn’t just dismiss Him and put Him in the same class with all those physicians who had taken her money.  It would have been easy to do that, considering the bad experience she had had with the others.  But if she had done that, we wouldn’t be reading about her now.

In Bible times, such a woman was classified as unclean, according to the book of Leviticus – not just hygienically, but also in a religious sense.  No matter how rich you were, the moment you were declared unclean, you would no longer be allowed to interact with normal people.  This was probably a woman of great means who had lost all her wealth in treating her condition.

So she had heard about Jesus, and was pushing her way through the crowd to reach Him.  This woman had every reason in the world not to attempt to get close to Him.  She was weak from hemorrhaging for twelve years; that crowd could crush her.  She would have had to get rid of the garment she was required to wear as an unclean person, and disguise herself, hoping nobody would recognize her as she tried to touch Jesus.

Even if she did make it to Jesus, Jairus was standing with Him – the very person who had the authority under the religious order to have her stoned.  In other words, this big obstacle was standing right next to her answer!  She could have prayed for God to send him away, but Jairus wasn’t about to leave till he got what he came for!

Some Christians are praying today for God to take away the obstacles in their lives, all such prayers are prayers of unbelief.  This woman had serious obstacles that she had to overcome to get to Jesus.  She was literally taking her life in her hands.  To the ordinary eye she was taking a big risk, but for the person in faith it is no risk at all, only a wonderful leap of faith into victory!  Notice she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I SHALL be made well.” JESUS NEEDS YOUR FAITH TO HELP YOU. You may have stumbling blocks, but they are supposed to be turned into stepping stones to your victory in Christ!

Mark 5:29-31 (NKJV), “Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched My clothes?’  But his disciples said to Him, ‘You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched me?’”

HEALING IS NOT A FEELING, BUT IT WILL PRODUCE A FEELING.  She made contact with Jesus and the anointing from Him flowed into her body effecting a healing and a cure; immediately Jesus knew power had left Him.  As far as the disciples were concerned, Jesus shouldn’t have been asking who touched Him, but rather who hadn’t touched Him!

But Jesus wasn’t talking about just any kind of touch.  Not the touch of the curious who wanted to feel His skin or His clothes.  The only touch the Master was aware of was the touch of faith.  That should reveal to us that the Master is aware of every touch of faith.  Smith Wigglesworth used to say that God will pass over a thousand people to get to one person with faith.  It’s that touch of faith that zapped the power out of Jesus without Him even knowing about her need.  This woman wasn’t wondering if it was God’s will to heal her, or if she should be breaking the religious law.  God is in a hurry to bless us, and He’s not legalistic about it either.

Delay Does Not Mean Denial

“And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, ‘Daughter your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.’ “ Verses 32-34 (NKJV).

All this delay was probably making Jairus anxious about his daughter.  But here was Jesus, giving this woman all the time she needed.  Why?  Because her story was a testimony of faith; He wanted the people to hear it, and to learn how to tap into the power of God!  There was nothing Satan could do to Jairus’ daughter (or that he can do to you), that God could not undo or reverse.  GOD IS NEVER LATE!

Notice too, that though it was the power in Jesus that effected the healing, Jesus did not put the emphasis on His power, but on the woman’s faith – “Daughter your faith has made you well.” He was there with all the power, but the whole crowd wasn’t getting healed.  One woman’s faith however, initiated the release of that healing power for her benefit.

Do Not Be Afraid, Only Believe

“While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, ’Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?’  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘DO NOT BE AFRAID, ONLY BELIEVE.’ ” Mark 5:35-36 (NKJV).  Jairus’ bad situation had just gotten worse, his daughter was dead.  The words that Jesus spoke to him are still the key to victory today; “Do not be afraid, only believe!”

Notice that Jesus didn’t stop to have a prayer meeting, make a few strong scripture confessions, or call a three day fast.  Prayer is necessary, making confessions and fasting are good, but regardless of how much you pray, confess and fast, you are still going to have to obey this – do not be afraid, only believe.  You can do every religious thing you know to do, but if you do not do this, you are NOT going to receive what God intends for you to get.

Jesus needed Jairus’ faith to help Him.  If it were only dependent upon Jesus, He would have told Jairus not to bother about it, and that He would take care of the situation Himself.  Remember Jairus had said in verse 23, “Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” – the only reason why Jesus had set out for Jairus’ house in the first place, was because of this faith that he had expressed in Jesus.

Verse 37 reveals a key point where many people lose their victory; “And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John…” (NKJV).  No one was allowed to follow them – Jesus got rid of all the curiosity seekers, unbelieving friends, comforters, religious bigots and whoever else.  You need people of like precious faith when things get hard for you.

When persecution arose against the early church and the apostles were released from detention in Acts 4, they went to their own company.  It is during difficult times that you need to come to church the most, not stay home and pray by yourself.  You NEED your own company.  Christians who don’t belong to a church are open game to the devil.  They are unbalanced, and are susceptible to false doctrines.  When you are facing the heat of the trial, cut off all the things of the flesh; turn off those goofy TV programs!

Jesus only took Peter, James and John along with Him and Jairus, because they believed like Jesus.  Don’t go distributing your prayer requests to people who don’t know how to pray.  You need believers who can hold up with you, firm and strong.  Not the kind who when asked to pray for a deathly sick person, will pray, “Oh God, remember the sick and heal them if it be Your will.  But if not, then we know You need another voice in the heavenly choir, so they’re better off up there with You.”

“Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, ‘Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping.’  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those that were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, ‘Talitha, cumi,’ which is translated, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.”, Mark 5:38-42 (NKJV).

Jesus put out all the unbelieving relatives and mourners, and that’s what you need to do too.  Put away from you all those who are not in faith, anyone and anything that’s full of fear and unbelief.  It may not be the nice thing to do, but you must because of what is at stake – life.  Do you want to act nice to someone at the expense of your child’s life?  Jesus wasn’t worried about being nice, and neither should you!

Jesus Needs Your Faith

What had Jairus asked?  He wanted Jesus to come and lay His hands on his daughter.  What did Jesus do?  He came and took the child by the hand and ministered to her.  JESUS NEEDS YOUR FAITH TO HELP YOU.  The devil would love to separate you from your faith.  He’ll tell you that your faith is not strong enough.  However, the very reason why he told you that is because your faith IS strong enough!  You wouldn’t expect the devil to come and tell you that you can believe God, and that all things are possible to you when you believe?  No, he won’t tell you that, for he lies all the time.

The greatest miracle that could ever take place is for a person to be born again.  If you are saved, then the greatest thing that could happen to anybody has already happened to you.  Every other thing in life is less than that.  So whenever you face difficulties, and the devil starts lying to you that your faith is not strong enough, you just need to tell him, “I am saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.  The Holy Ghost in me will put me over, you hide and watch devil, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”  Alleluia!  And so it will happen.

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” If you are afraid, you cannot believe – one excludes the other.  In John 14:1 Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” If your heart is troubled, you cannot believe in God.  If you are believing God, then your heart is not going to be troubled.  There are times when anxiety and fear will come against you.  Your knees may be knocking, but speak these words out of your mouth in faith, “In the name of Jesus, I will not be afraid, I believe God and He is putting me over.”

Words like that come from your heart, your spirit.  Your body is simply where your spirit lives, so it doesn’t matter if your knees are knocking.  You may feel the hot breath of the devil right on the back of your neck, but if you speak out words of faith you will always get the victory!  All the enemy’s lies and pressure are simply designed to get you to stop believing God.

Conclusion 

Sometimes Christians mistakenly set a time limit when they are believing God for something.  You may be believing God for a certain thing, and think that if it doesn’t happen by say 3 o’clock on April 30, then you have a right to stop believing God for it.  Why should a man-made device like a clock, be what tells you when to stop believing God?  We are believers by nature, God made us that way.  There is never a right time to stop believing God; THERE IS NEVER A RIGHT TIME TO DOUBT.  You won’t know how strong your faith is until you use it, or step out on it.

You know where you are, what you are believing God for, and God knows where you are.  No matter how bad things may seem to be getting, let faith arise in your heart today as you have heard the words of Jesus Himself, “DO NOT BE AFRAID, ONLY BELIEVE!

Salvation Prayer

If you would like to receive Jesus as your Saviour, pray the following prayer sincerely from your heart:

Dear heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus.  You said in Your word, “…if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED”  (Rom. 10:9).  I do believe with my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.  Your word says, “…it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”” (Rom. 10:10).  I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth Jesus as my Lord.  Therefore, I am saved!  Thank You Lord!

To grow in your new Christian life, it is important to study the Bible and to pray every day to your Heavenly Father.  You also need to belong to a good, Bible-based church where you can be taught the Word of God.

Where are you in your relationship with God?  Do you have a way of gauging your position spiritually?  Can you even tell how much progress you’ve made in the past year?  Do you have a spiritual map that tells you where you are now and where you want to go?  When you have identified these two reference points, then you can decide how you are going to get from where you are, to where you want to be.  In order to do this, you must be spiritually alert and awake.  You must be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit.

Hear how the Lord instructs us in Ephesians 5:14 (the Amplified Bible); “…Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.”  Verse 15 (NIV), “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  In these evil days, we cannot afford to waste precious time, fooling around.  In these verses, God is warning us against spiritual slumber.  But how, you may ask, does a person sleep spiritually?

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL SLUMBER?

 “Arise from the dead” implies that when you sleep spiritually, you are deadened to the things of God.  Rather than being sensitive to the Spirit of life, a Christian who is sleeping spiritually is more in tune with the things of the flesh, with carnal and natural activities.  Such a person is drifting along; they have lost their sense of direction.  For example, if you had never been to New York City, and wanted to fly an airplane there from Toronto, you would need a map to guide you.  However, if you neglected to use the map and just headed in whatever direction the wind was blowing, you would soon end up where you never intended to go!  Such is the case of a believer who is sleeping and drifting.  He could even find himself going back to doing things that he had left behind after he was saved.

Spiritual slumber can also be characterized by a lack of spiritual fervour.  Romans 12:11 (NIV) states that we should “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.”  It takes sustained effort for us as believers to stay on fire for God, and to keep from succumbing to lethargy and weariness.  No one is immune from this danger.  That’s why Ephesians 5:15 warns us so clearly to be very careful how we live, not as fools, but as wise. 

USE THE WORD TO LOCATE YOURSELF

 In Matthew 26 we find some good examples of victims of spiritual slumber in the eleven disciples who went with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane (Judas Iscariot, the twelfth disciple, had left to betray Him).  When do you think Jesus needed the disciples the most in His ministry?  If ever there was a time, it was just before He was arrested and crucified.  Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him.  After all, that was the reason why He came to earth.  He also knew, that His disciples needed to be prepared for what lay ahead.

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.’  Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.’  …Peter said to Him, ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’  And so said all the disciples.  Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ “  (Matthew 26: 31-33, 35-36)

It was a good thing that Jesus did not depend on these false assurances of loyalty from Peter and the other disciples.  If Jesus would have had to depend on those guys to carry out His mission on earth, all humanity would have been doomed!  Jesus the very Word of God Himself, told Peter that before the rooster crowed, he would deny Him three times and Peter still did not believe it!  Obviously, Peter did not have an accurate estimation of his spiritual condition.  Not knowing the true state he was in, made him over confident. 

An accurate estimation of yourself, can only result from seeing yourself through God’s eyes – through His Word.  Jesus told Peter what his report card was going to be.  But Peter had an element of pride in him, and could not accept Jesus’ words.  He assured Jesus that even if the others fell away, he would not!

STAY AWAKE AND PRAY

 “And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me.’  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’  Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation (‘temptation’ here means tests, trials and tribulations).  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ “ (Matthew 26:37-41) 

The term ‘watch’ implies spiritual alertness and vigilance through prayer.  Jesus wanted these three men to pray with Him.  Often the Holy Spirit will quicken you to do some things that your flesh may not want to do.  He may ask you to spend more time in prayer, or make some changes in your life.  He may tell you to stop doing this, or to do more of that, or even to start making preparation for some upcoming changes in your life.  If you fail to obey the Holy Spirit’s instructions, or if you allow your human reasoning to take over, disappointment or calamity may result. 

For example, do you pray every time the Holy Spirit prompts you to pray for someone?  Do you call or visit people when He tells you to?  Failure to yield to promptings like these is called spiritual density, insensitivity to the Spirit of God. 

From this passage we can learn that we need to pray and get the victory before the testing comes.  Jesus had asked him to pray, and here we find Peter sleeping, the very one who not too long before, had told Jesus that he was willing to die for Him.  If ever there was a time that He needed to pray, and to have His disciples join Him in prayer, this was it.  Jesus had brought them along to pray, not so much for His sake, but for theirs.  It is obvious what kind of spiritual state Peter and the other disciples were in.  There is a time to sleep and a time to pray.  But their flesh was too weak to enable them to yield to the things of God.  Unfortunately, such is the condition of many Christians today.  Circumstances always catch them by surprise.  They are always asking God, ‘Why?’, ‘When?’, ‘What?’, ‘Where?’; never knowing the will of God for sure. 

KNOW GOD’S WILL AND PURSUE IT

 After you got saved, God didn’t take you to heaven immediately.  He left you here on earth for a purpose.  He has called you to do some things, and you have a ministry to fulfill – every believer does.  Jesus is our perfect example in seeking, knowing, and fulfilling God’s will for our lives.  You must make the same kind of commitment that He made, to always do His Father’s will.  Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39, “not as I will, but as You will.”  He realized that this His death, burial and resurrection would be the fulfillment of God’s purpose for Him.

There in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was evident that Jesus was prepared for everything that was about to happen.  He hadn’t spent His time just hanging around, or shopping, or simply having a good time.  Jesus kept spiritually in tune every step of the way, He stayed in prayer and knew exactly what He had been called to do.

“And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.  Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.  Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, ‘Whom are you seeking?’ “  (John 18:2-4)  Jesus had a head start on the devil; he wasn’t going to spring any surprises on Jesus! 

“Well, that was Jesus” you may say, “How does all that apply to me.  After all, I’m not the Son of God.”  John 16:13 answers that very clearly; “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…and He will tell you things to come.”  That doesn’t mean that you will know everything that will happen in the future.  But we as believers, should know the things that God has called us to do, and we should fulfill our calling.

There is however, a preparatory process that will bring you from where you are to where you ultimately want to get – to fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.  The life of Apostle Paul is a good case in point.  He had already been in the ministry for several years before the Holy Spirit said, “separate (or set apart) to Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.”  Paul didn’t start out in ministry doing what God had called him to do.  He started by obeying Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”.  He continued with that until the Holy Spirit saw fit to put him into what He had been preparing him to do all along.

Even in the natural, when a five year old child says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up, he doesn’t immediately start taking anatomy and physiology classes, neither does he start examining cadavers.  He starts by attending elementary school, high school and then he enters the university to begin medical school.  It is the same spiritually.  If you don’t successfully complete all the preliminaries, you will never get to the place where you are doing the main thing.  God will not promote you ‘on trial’, and push you forward to the next level!

ALWAYS BE WILLING

 Let’s pick up the passage in Matthew 26 from verse 42.  “Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand.’  And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people…Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him…Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.”  (Matthew 26:42-47, 50, 56)

By praying the same thing repeatedly, Jesus was surrendering His will to the Lord.  This was a prayer of consecration or dedication.  If you are ever going to do God’s will, you are going to have to pray, ‘Not my will, but Your will be done Lord’.  And you will have to pray it many times during your life.  However, this was the only place in the four Gospel accounts where Jesus prayed this way.  So don’t get the impression that this prayer of consecration is to be prayed indiscriminately in every situation.

For example, we don’t pray ‘Lord, if it be Your will’ to get someone saved.  We know from the Bible that God’s will is that everyone should be saved.  Neither do we pray that way if someone needs healing, because we know from His Word that God’s will is that all should be healed.  But when it comes to what God has called you and I to do, it is not expressly written in the Bible, and so we have to be willing to do whatever it may be that He might ask us to do.  You can’t give God preconditions for following Him – “I’ll only follow you if…”  If you have such an attitude, then you haven’t laid everything on the altar yet, and you will never be fully satisfied in life until you do. 

One young man knew from the time he was saved that God had called him to preach.  Unfortunately, he had the unfounded fear that if he ever fully surrendered his life to Him, God might send him to China as a missionary.  Because he didn’t want to go there, he decided not to get too close to the Lord.

As the years passed, he managed to avoid the call of God, but life was becoming more and more miserable for him.  One day, he found himself in a service where the power of God was moving.  There he repented of running from God, and made a commitment to yield himself fully to His will – even to going to China!  No sooner than he finished praying that prayer of consecration, he heard the Lord telling him (in what seemed to be an audible voice) that He had never even wanted him to go to China!  God just wanted to know that he was willing to go there, or anywhere else!  Imagine all those years that man had wasted avoiding God, just because he was not willing.

It is important that we keep a willing heart, and that we never let natural things and activities dull our sensitivity to the voice and direction of God.  We must stay alert in the spirit.

DON’T LET YOUR FAITH FAIL

 “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”  (Luke 22:31-32) 

God had a plan for Peter and Jesus knew that the devil had his plans for him too.  Satan had planned to ‘sift’ Peter as wheat.  ‘Sift’ means ‘to pulverize or break down closely by testing’.  When Jesus had prayed ahead of time, He had prayed not only for Himself, but also for Peter and the other disciples.  They had fled and Satan thought he had them, but Jesus had prayed them through.  They were bound to come back like a boomerang!  Jesus took His responsibility for His disciples seriously, that’s why He said to the Father in John17:12, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”  

Peter failed as a person, but because of what Jesus did for him, his faith did not fail.  He repented of his denial of the Lord, and became a leader in the early church!  The good news is that though we may fail, our faith need not fail.  You might say that things turned out great for Peter and the others because it was Jesus who prayed for them.  But remember that Jesus is in you, and your prayers for yourself or for others, can be just as effective!

IN CONCLUSION…

 Before Jesus left the earth, He knew His report card.  You too should know your report card before you leave.  Determine where you are spiritually right now.  Then start drawing closer to God, by desiring the things of God more than you do the things of the world.  Increase your spiritual hunger; desire to know God more.  Don’t allow natural things to take the place of spiritual things in your life.  What you desire, and how much you desire it, is a thermometer to measure your spiritual temperature.   Are you hot or cold?

Consecrate yourself to God.  Tell Him that you are willing to yield all to Him; that you want His will to be done in your life, not yours.  Ask God to take away anything that would stand in His way.  He won’t just ask you for the sinful things in your life.  He will also ask you for things that are not sinful in themselves, but which might be hindering you in some way.  He asked Abraham for the most precious thing in his life – his son Isaac.  When Abraham gave Isaac to God, God gave Isaac back to him in the form of a whole nation!

If you are ready to wake up, and ready to move on to that place of greater glory and greater blessing, then pray this prayer with all sincerity: “Not my will Lord, but Your will be done.  Anywhere you want me to go, I will go.  I will do whatever You want me to do.  I will live the way You want me to live.  Father, I consecrate my life to You, I yield myself to You and depend fully on You.  I refuse to sleep.  I will stay alert and be sensitive to all that You are doing in this day and age.  I will follow and fulfill Your plan for my life.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”  Now wake up, and get going!

Salvation Prayer

If you would like to receive Jesus as your Saviour, pray the following prayer sincerely from your heart:

Dear heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus.  You said in Your word, “…if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED”  (Romans 10:9).  I do believe with my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.  Your word says, “…it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:10).  I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord.  Therefore, I am saved!  Thank You Lord!

To grow in your new Christian life, it is important to study the Bible and to pray every day to your Heavenly Father.  You also need to belong to a good, Bible-believing church where you can be taught the Word of God.

This is a portion of scripture which is quite familiar to a number of believers and is usually applied in the area of marriage.  We as believers should not get into a marriage covenant or relationship with unbelievers or ‘unbels’, as Christians would commonly refer to the unsaved.  For the simple reason that we are God’s children and marrying an unbel will make the devil your father-in-law.  This would violate our covenant relationship with our Lord Jesus and our Father God.  Believers have a different life, purpose or vision from unbelievers.   Believers are children of God and citizens of His kingdom and unbelievers are children of the devil and are his citizens.

In the above scripture the believer is referred to as believer, goodness, light, Christ, and God’s temple.  The unbeliever however is referred to as unbeliever, wickedness, darkness, Devil, and idols. Certainly these two distinct categories cannot have communion or fellowship (fellows in the same ship) with each other due to the afore mentioned obvious reasons.

How about in the area of business should a believer get himself / herself  into a relationship of partnership with an unbeliever? Does the scripture have anything to say in this regard?

Let us see the story in 1 Kings 22: 2 – 37

2 Then during the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel. 3 During the visit, Ahab said to his officials, “Do you realize that the Arameans are still occupying our city of Ramoth-gilead? And we haven’t done a thing about it!” 4 Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will you join me in fighting against Ramoth-gilead?”And Jehoshaphat replied to King Ahab, “Why, of course! You and I are brothers, and my troops are yours to command. Even my horses are at your service.” 5 Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the LORD says.” 6 So King Ahab summoned his prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?”They all replied, “Go right ahead! The Lord will give you a glorious victory!” 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD around, too? I would like to ask him the same question.” 8 King Ahab replied, “There is still one prophet of the LORD, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.”"You shouldn’t talk like that,” Jehoshaphat said. “Let’s hear what he has to say.” 9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Quick! Go and get Micaiah son of Imlah.” 10 King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab’s prophets were prophesying there in front of them. 11 One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!” 12 All the other prophets agreed. “Yes,” they said, “go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious, for the LORD will give you victory!” 13 Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.” 14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what the LORD tells me to say.” 15 When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?”And Micaiah replied, “Go right ahead! The LORD will give the king a glorious victory!” 16 But the king replied sharply, “How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth when you speak for the LORD?” 17 So Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’” 18 “Didn’t I tell you?” the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat. “He does it every time. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me.” 19 Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, ‘Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so that he can be killed there?’ There were many suggestions, 21 until finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I can do it!’ 22 “‘How will you do this?’ the LORD asked.”And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’”‘You will succeed,’ said the LORD. ‘Go ahead and do it.’ 23 “So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has determined disaster for you.” 24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. “When did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?” he demanded. 25 And Micaiah replied, “You will find out soon enough when you find yourself hiding in some secret room!” 26 King Ahab of Israel then ordered, “Arrest Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. 27 Give them this order from the king: ‘Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!’” 28 But Micaiah replied, “If you return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me!” Then he added to those standing around, “Take note of what I have said.” 29 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. 30 Now King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes.” So Ahab disguised himself, and they went into battle. 31 Now the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two charioteers: “Attack only the king of Israel!” 32 So when the Aramean charioteers saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. “There is the king of Israel!” they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, 33 the charioteers realized he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him. 34 An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops, and the arrow hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I have been badly wounded!” 35 The battle raged all that day, and Ahab was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as evening arrived he died. 36 Just as the sun was setting, the cry ran through his troops: “It’s all over — return home!” 37 So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there.

Ahab a backslidden idolatrous king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat a righteous king of Judah, much in good standing with the covenant to go with him to war, Jehoshaphat made a grave mistake when he replied as follows “Why, of course! You and I are brothers, and my troops are yours to command. Even my horses are at your service.”  At this point Jehoshaphat was getting himself unequally yoked together with Ahab without being aware of it.  Can two walk together, except they are agreed? (Amos 3: 3).  The answer is they cannot successfully work together.

Though Ahab was an Israelite entitled to the covenant he had abandoned the covenant thereby breaking it and was actively worshipping other gods.  He was long backslidden and now serving idols.  He was not walking in the ways of Jehovah so could not be in true fellowship with Jehoshaphat who was in good standing with Jehovah.   So Ahab was not in good fellowship with Jehovah God or Jehoshaphat. The term ”being equally yoked” stems from two farm animals like oxen usually of commensurate similar strength, height and age bound together to plow a field.  They had to be similar in many ways and be willing to submit to the same master, the farmer.   This was not the case with Ahab and Jehoshaphat.  At this point these two kings had different masters, and so could not be successfully yoked together so what they had was an unequal -yoke relationship.  This is exactly what the scriptures warn against.  A believer could never be equally yoked together with an unbeliever.  In fact this relationship almost cost Jehoshaphat his life, but for the mercy of God he could have been destroyed by it.  Can we learn from this?

Alright we have seen how this is forbidden in areas of marriage, friendship etc.  How do we apply this in the area of business relationships and partnerships? We will discuss this next time.

-Rev. Inyang Okutinyang