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Fatherly Talk 4.08 Faith Series – The energizing of faith

Dearly Beloved,

This weekly talk is sent early as I have a weekend meeting in Auckland, New Zealand from Friday onwards (back to Sydney on Monday). Last week we spoke of the holding position of faith, in which we clearly pointed out that when faith is received and completed there is still a requirement to hold fast to the faith given until the manifestation comes through. Part of the key to understanding how to hold on in the position of faith is to know that faith is basically a relationship of trust with a person and not just a principle. The relationship is with an invisible person – God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is this position of absolute trust and love for God that enables us to stand steadfastly in the position of faith against all odds. This trust of an invisible person and His instructions to us is at the core of our walk of faith.

When Abraham followed God leaving behind his kinsfolk to the land of Canaan, all he had was this voice or impression that he had of someone talking to him and telling him to leave his country and kindred to go to a strange new land (Genesis 12:1-3). He might have had a vision but many people who do not have visions do not understand that one still needs to exercise faith in the vision or word that one has received. It is natural for the human mind to doubt every voice, vision, impression or encounter that one receives but it is the training of faith to be able to trust and give oneself fully to the supernatural directions given by God. It is so easy for many to question the reception of voices, visions or impressions as, I am sure, the people of her time question the visions of Joan of Arc when she received regarding France. Despite her victory for France, she was burnt as a witch but history has accorded her a place in the annals of the Catholic saints.

The natural fear of many people is that giving in to impressions, visions and dreams would be giving in to the devil. This is where the written Word of God comes in. Why do you think God gave us the written Word? Not that we will just be legalistic and adopt a religiosity and form of liturgy but that the written word would become the instrument to train us to hear the real dreams, visions and impressions of God! The indictment of Jesus against the Jewish leaders was that they have the Scriptures (and built monumental laws and religious rites around them) but that they did not come to Jesus (John 5:39-40). The Scriptures are only a means by which we would be trained to come to the living, invisible God and not an end in themselves.

1. The Scriptures show a pattern of God’s dealings with men and women throughout thousands of years and helps us identify the common pattern in which to judge and discern through encounters with God from false encounters.

2. The Scriptures specifically deal with the nature and quality of all communication with mankind such that any invisible communication that draws mankind away from His established moral laws are suspect and fraud (Deuteronomy 13:1-18). This is even when a prediction comes true (Deuteronomy 13:2-3). The test of a true prophet is thus not in the power of the revelation or the prediction, although it does include this level of accuracy, but rather of his fruit and morality. One should judge a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:18).

3. The end result of all revelation and communication should always be leading people towards God and not away from God (Deuteronomy 13:5).

4. As God is a God of love and light, all revelation from God would have to be consistent with His nature of love and His holiness (1 John 1:5-7; 4:7-9).

5. No communication from God should be contradictory to His previous revelation in His written Word. The word of God remains the basis for all doctrine and correction (2 Timothy 3:16). Every communication should also be subject to other s who have experience in hearing God (1 Corinthians 14:29).

Once a person overcome their natural fear of the supernatural through the assurance of the Word of God, they should be willing to learn and be open to the direct communication that God has with them (John 10:27). The history of the Bible is a record of men and women who have direct communication with God. It is what sets them apart from others. Since Jesus has paid the price for all mankind, direct communication is now available to all who come to Him (Hebrews 4:16). Jesus encourages us to seek God persistently knowing that God our Father will give good gifts to His children (Luke 10:9-13). No one who seeks God with a pure heart of love towards God need to be afraid that the enemy will come in between. Perfect love casts our fear (1 John 4:18). Love for the Lord and love for His Word are the two forces that prevent the enemy from coming in between us and God; moreover, this love will bring us into the manifestation of Christ and God to us (John 14:15-24).

Having laid the groundwork for the need to utterly trust in our invisible God, we must be willing to relate directly – spirit to Spirit – with our God and Father through Jesus. God is a Spirit and those who come to Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Spirit will always be invisible to the natural eyes and one must be willing to trust in the reception of impressions, words, thoughts and visions that God lays upon our spirits. Although it may seem as if God is speaking audible in the physical for those who are yielded in their spirits, the communication is actually Spirit to spirit. We are spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). When our spirits or inner man receives something from God’s Spirit, our soul will then seek to interpret it and convey it to our minds and understanding. Since spirit communicates in spiritual language and the soul uses human languages, there is a margin of error that can take place in this translation of spirit to soul. For this reason, the disciples in Tyre discerned in their spirit some communication of danger for Paul in his journey to Jerusalem but their souls interpret it as a message to tell Paul not to go – which is completely contradictory to what God had already told Paul (Acts 21:4; 20:22-23). Always when we receive communication from the Holy Spirit, the following will take place:

1. Manifestation or communication in the spirit (Holy Spirit to human spirit)

2. Interpretation of the manifestation or communication from God by our human souls

3. Application of the interpretation into our lives and circumstances.

It is obvious to all that if we get the interpretation incorrectly, we will get the application wrong and possibly even contradictory to what God had intended. And even if the interpretation is correct there are still elements of timing, methodology and discreteness in the application of the word or rhema from the Lord. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the voice (word) or rhema of God (Romans 10:17). The essence of the walk of faith is the hearing of God’s voice and obeying Him. It is as simply as that. Great faith is purely great trust that one has developed in obeying the invisible voice that one hears in one’s spirit. No matter how must Scriptural knowledge a person has, it is only when a person is willing to trust their sense of hearing God that true faith can develop. True faith is trusting in an invisible person – God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. This is the essence and the spirit of faith (2 Corinthians 4:13). Paul constantly looks not to the things that are visible but yields to the forces and power of the invisible God who continues to orchestrate his life (2 Corinthians 4:18). At first it sounds scary to many people new to rusting in the invisible directions of God. Such people must know that true Christianity is not just reliance on a creed based on written words like the Pharisees but rather reliance on a personal God who still works through the spiritual realm on the behalf of His people. True Christianity is a direct one to one relationship with the living God through our Lord Jesus Christ. A living God speaks, directs and instructs. If Christianity is purely a creed and a set of beliefs it would be no different from any other religion, although it contains the best knowledge and most accurate philosophy of this world and the next. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and they know Him (John 10:17). As true Christians we all need to hear the voice of Jesus and learn to recognise His voice.

The most important thing is to know and realize that true faith comes from the energizing of the love of God (Galatians 5:6). We are supposed to be deeply in love with out invisible God revealed through Christ. This love that we have for our invisible God brings us to the point of utter trust and faith in Him as a person. We can know Him although we can’t see Him (John 14:17). God through our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit is constantly speaking to us. Do we hear Him? Having heard, do we obey Him?

Like a toddler learning to walk physically, those who are newly born again must learn to walk in the Spirit. Learning to hear God and obey His voice and impressions in their heart. One does not have to attempt to run or jump before one learns to walk. Like a toddler who sometimes tumble and fall, those who learn to walk in the Spirit need to learn from others who do, perhaps sometimes making honest mistakes in their attempts to hear God and obey God. Learn to hear Him in the little things of life before jumping to hear Him in the bigger things of life. One never learns unless one tries. If we see a twenty year old person who still never learns to walk because he is afraid of falling, we would all be shocked. Imagine seeing Christians who have been in the Lord for many years and yet have not learned to walk in the Spirit. The early church learned to hear God’s voice and direction and not just know about His written Word. Philip heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling him which chariot to join (Acts 8:29). The early church discerned the voice of the Holy Spirit in regard to the Gentile question (Acts 15:28). Paul was sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit as to where to go or where not to go (Acts 16:6-7). Agabus prophesied through hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:28; 21:11). The Holy Spirit has been given to us to replace the physical presence of Jesus (John 14:15-18). Do we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit today? The Spirit still speaks to God’s church as He did in the book of Revelation (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).

Under the tutelage of the more experienced spiritually, the church is encouraged to prophesy that all may learn and be encouraged (1 Corinthians 14:26-31). Under the guidance of the more spiritually mature, Christians should be encouraged to explore their hearing from God, giving room for correction from the Scriptures and having room to learn through honest mistakes. In a loving and understanding spiritual environment, many should be able to learn to hear God’s voice and remain humble and teachable as one exercises their faith in hearing the rhema from an invisible God. In the end, true faith is the exercise of complete trust in a loving but invisible God. The more we grow to love the invisible God, the more our faith increases. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed (John 20:29).

We continue to encourage each of you to explore the varying spiritual impressions you receive in your spirit which your soul interprets into thoughts, pictures and words in human language. No doubt some soul areas might infiltrate through and cause some inaccuracy in hearing the spirit man but there is no gain if there is no venture. The advantage always is to those who are bold and don’t mind being corrected if they make mistakes. We have only one life to live on earth, we need to live it vigorously and boldly to do God’s Will. Faith comes when God speaks. Love God, hear God and trust God.

In Christ’s love

Ps Peter Tan