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Section 1 Big Bold Extraordinary FaithElmer Towns

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SECTION ONE

Developing Extraordinary Faith

Faith is the greatest quality you can ever possess. Love is a powerful relationship to

another person. Hope gives power to optimistically face the future. Courage gives you power to

encounter dangers and the unknown. Patience is the power to endure the present. All these

qualities are wonderful, but faith gives you power with God. And with God, you have all the

vast qualities needed for an extraordinary life and ministry.


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CHAPTER ONE

FAITH IS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Faith is believing the unreasonable, the impossible, and the

unexplainable, because someone else, in whom we have absolute

confidence, has said it was so, and upon His word we believe it, without

asking any further proof. M. R. DeHaan

PRINCIPLE:

Faith is most effective to those who have the deepest relationship with God.

DEFINITION:

Relationship \rela-shn-ship. 1. The state of being related or

connected, i.e., interrelated so the two rely on one another and are

intertwined with one another; 2. The act of kinship; 3. The state of

affairs of those having dealings. (Written by Elmer Towns afterresearch using definitions adapted from Websterand Oxforddictionaries).


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CHAPTER ONE

FAITH IS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Of all the people Ive met in my Christian pilgrimage, I think Jerry Falwell had more faith

than anyone else. Who else could build the worlds largest evangelical Christian university of

11,000 students on campus and over 40,000 students in distance programs around the world? By

faith Jerry announced a goal of 50,000 students in 1973, approximately 35 years before it

happened. More than Falwells ability to preach, administer, counselmore than any other

abilityFalwells faith was his greatest ability.

Ive seen him walk onto the chapel platform and cancel the planned program, and then

on-the-spot organize a one-day prayer and fasting event of over 5,000 students and faculty to ask

God for the healing of Vernon Brewer1

When bankruptcy faced Liberty University

who was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer;

Vernon had been given six weeks to six months to live. Now after 25 years, I phone Vernon

each April 25thto rejoice together with him in Gods healing. (See Chapter 19,Healing-Faith ).

Ive seen Jerry Falwell cancel chapel to organize over 5,000 students to walk-of-faith

around seven half-built dormitory buildings. He instructed us to kneel in small groups of seven

to ask God for $5 million dollars to complete the dorms in six months. Today when I walk past

those seven buildings, I praise God for a leader who stretched my faith. (See Chapter 2, Faith is

a Leap into the Unknown.)

2in 1996, Jerry Falwell fasted for 40 days

begging God for $52 million dollars. God kept telling him, Jerry, dont seek my pocketbook,

seek My heart. After a 40-day fast the money didnt come in. Falwell began making plans to

face an accreditation team that would probably pull Libertys accreditation. Of course he was

praying every day, as we all were; then twenty-five days later, God told Jerry he could fast for

the money. After a second 40 day fasthe lost almost 100 poundsthe check came from a


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benefactor for $27 million, and then the benefactor assumed the Universitys remaining $25

million dollar debt. (See Chapter 3,Brinkmanship-Faith.)

I asked Jerry Falwell where he learned his great faith in God. He corrected me, I dont

have great faith in God, I have faith in a great God. I thought the conversation was over, but

then he interrupted my thoughts. Let me tell you where I learned the greatness of God. So, I

listened carefully because I realized I was going to learn a valuable truth that many people dont

understand.

HOW FALWELL GREW HIS FAITHRELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Falwell told me that when he was a freshman at Baptist Bible College 3

Young Jerry Falwell met Dr. Bill Dowell, pastor of High Street Baptist Church, and told

him what his pastor back in Lynchburg had said about serving in the church. Dr. Dowell replied,

Go see Max Hawkins; hes the superintendent of the junior department which meets in the

auditorium below the sanctuary.

in Springfield,

MO, he attended High Street Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. Before he went off to

college, his home pastor told him to go ask to teach a Sunday school class in this great church.

Falwells home pastor knew that he would grow spiritually as he involved himself in the ministry

of the Word.

So Falwells first meeting with Max was strained because Falwell was precocious in the

way he asked for a class, Dr. Dowell told me to come see you and you would give me a Sunday

school class. Max had the high cheekbones of an Ozark farmer, and that same deliberate accent

that always told you he knew what he was talking about. Max raised a suspicious eyebrow and

said, Alright, Ill see if I can find something for you.

Max strung up two curtains in the corner of the assembly room and gave Jerry Falwell a

roll book. Daryl was the only name in the book and he was the only student for the new class.


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For three weeks Jerry taught Daryl, but began to get a little discouraged because the class was not

growing. Superintendent Max didnt send anyone to his class, and Falwells teaching didnt

motivate his student to bring his friends. Between Sunday school and church on the third Sunday,

Falwell caught Max in the hallway and said,

Heres the roll book, I dont think Im cut out for this class, things are not going so

well.

Then Falwell held out the roll book to Max.

Putting both hands behind his back in a firm gesture of rejection, Max glared at Falwell

and said, Yep . . . this is just what I expected. Youre just a puffy cheeked rich kid with your

own car and you think the world owes you a living.

Max explained that he didnt want to give Falwell a regular classroom because he thought

young Falwell would fail and thats why he strung two curtains up in the corner of the assembly

room. When Hawkins reached for the book, Falwell jerked it back in defiance, saying,

Ill keep the class, and Ill make it successful.

Max could only shrug his shoulders and walk away.

Stinging with defeat, Falwell went back to his dorm determined that he was going to do

something big with the Sunday school class. He knew he needed supernatural help from God.

He got a key to an empty dormitory room from the superintendent and every day after lunch at

1:00 p.m. he went into that room and stayed there until 5:00 p.m.

Falwell told me, It was there that I learned how big God really was. He read the great

classics of the Christian life, such as the biography of George Meller, and learned how Meller

prayed and God supplied every need for an orphanage of over 2,000 children. Then Falwell read

Absolute Surrenderby Andrew Murray, where he learned he must be absolutely committed to

God if he expected God to answer his prayer. Next he read Power Through Prayerby E. M.

Bounds, and realized spiritual results in ministry came through constant believing prayer.


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Falwell learned intimacy with God by reading The Normal Christian Lifeby Watchman Nee and

The Christians Secret to a Happy Lifeby Hannah Whitall Smith.

I didnt just read these books, I prayed through every chapter, through every sentence,

through every word. I wanted to know how these great men of God got great answers to prayer.

I found the secret to faith was knowing God intimately, by spending time with Him, he said.

Then Falwell went on to explain, In that empty room I stretched myself out on the

springs of an army cot and continually begged God for His power and blessing. There was a

holy glow in that room. I eagerly went to that room every day; because I knew God was waiting

for me. I gave up sports in the afternoon and hanging out in the coffee shop to spend time with

God.

The next Saturday morning Falwell picked up Daryl and said, Lets go find every 4 th

grade boy in Springfield, Missouri. They began knocking on doors, visiting playgrounds, and

searching the ditches in empty fields where boys played and hung out. When two oclock came,

they went to the local movie line and asked every boy waiting in line if he was in 4 thgrade.

I attempted to get every 4thgrader to promise to come to my Sunday school class the

following day.

But I knew that a promise was not enough. I had three roommates and two of them had

cars. Mine made three. We wound our caravan through the streets of suburban Springfield,

packing one car with boys and sending it back to the church, then packing a second car to do the

same thing, and finally packing my car.4

At every home I went to the front door, and told the parents we were going to church

and what I expected God to do in the life of their 4 thgrader.

Thirty years later Jerry Falwell and I went to a meeting at High Street Baptist Church in

Springfield, Missouri, where we met many of the parents and boys who had been saved in the

class. Max Hawkins was there to glow in the success of then a graying Falwell. Everybody told


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the same story of being savedboth parents and boysunder the influence of Jerry Falwell.

Some class members had gone on to full-time Christian work.

At the end of that year Jerrys 4thgrade boys class averaged 57 in attendance, and on

some big attendance contest, they had over 100 present. 5

Jerry told me, When I pray, I feel God stirring in my heart to ask for a big amount of

money, or a large piece of property, or a new building. Jerry said, I believe it was Gods faith

stirring in my heart to ask for these big things. Later in this book we will call this concept,

indwelling-faith. (See Chapter 12).

Jerry said, In that tiny dormitory room

I met God face to face and heart to heart; it was there that I learned what a great God I have, and

it was there I developed my faith and learned that in relationship with God, a person can get

things from Him.

Because Christ comes into our heart at salvation, and lives in our heart, we can have the

faith of Jesus Christ, not just our faith. Didnt Paul say, I live by the faith of Christ (Gal.

2:20)? That means we can let Christ faith flow through us. Doesnt that demand relationship?

Doesnt that say we must know God, we must know what Christ can do for us, and we must

surrender our desires to Gods desires? We must let Christ faith flow through us to get great

answers to prayer.

Faith is relationship. Getting things by faith is like walking into a potential job situation

to meet the interviewer, establishing a relationship with the interviewer and you get the job

because you know whats expected, and you know what you can do at the new place; but most of

all you establish a relationship with the potential employer. You and the potential boss hit it off

and he hires you. Why does he do that? Because you have established a relationship with him.

The same applies to getting things by faith from God. When you want something big

from God, rememberrelationship; God is a good God who delights to give you things when you


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come to Him in proper relationship. But to get big answers you must come in the right

relationshipto Him, then ask Him for big things.

Faith is apersonal relationshipbetween you and God, you approach God properly; and

He acknowledges you because He knows you. So when you honestly ask for an answer in faith,

you know God is hearing you, and that you are asking for the right thing, all because you are in a

right relationship with Him; the nature of faith demands two-way-communication between you

and God. Of course, you must not have any sin or disobedience in your life that breaks your

relationship with Him.

Yes, faith is relationship. When we treat faith impersonally, all we have is impersonal

faith. When we treat faith as a tool to get something from God, weve missed the whole point of

faith. Our faith is not about us, its about Him. When God actively lives in our hearts then we

sense His presence and can trust Him for great answers to prayer.

A relationship is always about the other person, it should not focus on you. Look at it

carefully. You focus on the other person as that person focuses on you. You establish a

relationship of thought . . . of emotions . . . of common dreams . . . and weeping together after

failure. Do you have this type of relationship with God?

There are all kinds of relationships. There is the intimacy of marriage, so remember you

make up the bride of Christ.

The next relationship is compassion by a parent, so remember God is your heavenly

father.

There is a relationship of camaraderie with team members, so we are members of

Christ.

We have a work-relationship with those on the job, and our work-task binds us together.

We sacrifice . . . work hard . . . match our skills . . . and pull together. Thats another picture of

our relationship to God, For we are laborers together with God (1 Cor. 3:9, KJV).


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Finally there is the relationship of a best friend. Because of respect for your buddy, you

know what you shouldnt ask of a best friend. Doesnt that explain why some of our prayers are

not answered? We presume upon God. We dont know God very well, nor are we close enough

to Him to know what He doesnt want to do. Dont ask God in your presumed-faith for things

He doesnt do, and yet, you must know God will, supply all your needs in Christ Jesus (Phil.

4:19).

There are some who deny the very nature of our faith-relationship with God. They live in

their bubble-world where they look out for number #1. Their faith is about themselves, and

their progress is for themselves. Why does their faith crumble? You ask and do not receive,

because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures (James 4:3,

NASB).

Who has the greatest faith and who gets the greatest answers to prayer? Those with the

strongest relationship with God; or, those who please Him.

We must learn faiths lesson from the writer of Hebrews, But without faith it is

impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6, KJV).

The word diligently has the idea of doing something with your whole heart, with all

your strength, or with every last ounce of energy. When you seek God wholeheartedly, you have

wholehearted faith, you have a relationship that ties you to God, but much more importantly, it

ties God to you.

FAITH IS SEEKING GOD

Have you ever talked into a cell phone thinking you were talking to someone, but you lost

the connection? You keep talking but no one is listening? To some, prayer or faith is like that,

its a one-way conversation on the phone.


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The problem is we cant see God, no one can see God, for He is Spirit (John 4:24). But

faith is being certain of things we cant see (Heb. 11:1,Amplified). Moses, the one who led a

million Jews out of Egypt, was a man who got answers when he talked to God, As though he

saw the invisible God (Heb. 11:27).

Faith is seeing God with your heart, when you cant see Him with your physical eyes.

Faith is talking to God in prayer even when you cant hear His audible voice; knowing He exists

and is hearing your prayers. Faith begins by knowing God exists. He who comes to God must

believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6,

Amplified).

Is there such thing as blind faith? Do you jump into a swimming pool and hope water is

there? Do you throw a prayer into Heaven and hope God hears? If thats the way you treat faith,

you dont understand biblical faith. Faith is knowing God is there when you pray, knowing God

hears you, and knowing He will answer you. Faith is responding to God the way Scripture

teaches you to do. Since God says He hears our prayers, you must believe Him. You cant

believe in someone whos not there. Consider the absurdity of the statement of Hughes Mearns:

As I was going up the stair,

I met a man who wasnt there.6

Yes, God is invisible, but the person of faith sees Him with the eyes of the heart, just as

we see something with our physical eyes. Yes, we know the thing we see is there because we

trust our eyes not to play tricks on us. Just that confidently, faith knows God exists and He hears

what we ask. Faith is a relationshipwith God, and our prayers are successful when we have a

healthy relationship to God.

Someone asked me if there are any rules to make their faith more successful. No! You

dont approach God on the basis of rulesor laws. Rules? Are there any rules in love?


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You never start a relationship with rules; you start with mutual respect or love. The more

you know about the person you love, the more you trust them. Like faith, love is relationship.

Rules are for the complicated Blackberry, an advanced cell phone far beyond anything

Ive ever seen. There is a cell phone to get a stock report, hear a tune, get the sport scores, take

pictures, read e-mails, keep a to-do list, write a memo, dictate an inner-office communiqu

almost everything you need to do. My cell phone can do so many things I cant do because I

dont know the rules. Click three times, hold a button three seconds, hold down Ctrl-Alt and

press Delete. Itll work if I know the rules.

But rules do not make my cell phone live, rules only turn it on. Life is what I do with it.

Yes, rules help me live better or easier. But faith in God is not based on rules; faith is a

relationship with God, but even in a human relationship, you must know the limits: i.e., what not

to do. Isnt that rules? Yes! So your faith starts with a relationship with God, but you must

know the limits, i.e., you must know the rules.

Is prayer rules? Never. Prayer is relationship. You live prayer! You relate to God and

He relates to you. Prayer is a love-relationship with God. Rules dont make you fall in love.

Rules dont keep you in love. When youre in love, you pour out your heart to the one you love.

Thats what you do to God.

Maybe you can pour out your heart over a cell phone. That instrument in your hand

communicates your love, and without it, its hard to say, I love you, when youre far away.

Its also hard to say, I love you, if you dont automatically know the rules, i.e., which

button to activate, or to increase volume. You never fall in love by following the rules, but you

cant love without rules.

The same with prayer. Knowing how to pray will never make your prayers more

effective. Prayer is relationship and when you know God, you listen to Him and He listens to


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you. When you love God and know He loves you, then and only then will you have a basis for

getting your prayers answered.


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CHAPTER TWO

FAITH IS A LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN

A leap of faith must be from a solid footing on the Word of God,

trusting the God for Whom we leap, while we dont know where we

are going and how we will get there, but we know the God who

sent us will lead us and provide for us. Jerry Falwell

PRINCIPLE:

Faith is most effective when the believer knows he/she is stepping out on

biblical principle into a situation that is unknown.

DEFINITION:

Faith\fth\ 1. to spring free from, or, as if from the ground;

jump as leap over a fence; a fish leaps out of the water; 2. to pass

abruptly from one state or topic to another; b:to act precipitately as

leaped at the chance. (Written by Elmer Towns after research usingdefinitions adapted from Webster and Oxford dictionaries).


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CHAPTER TWO

FAITH IS A LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN

For many years, Jerry Falwell and I argued over the definition of faith. He often said,

Faith is a leap into the dark. I objected, saying the opposite, Faith is a leap into the light. I

didnt realize Falwell was viewing the leap from the perspective of the landing. I was viewing

the leap from the perspective of the launchingpad. Now as I look back in perspective, we were

both right.

Look at the way Noah took a leap of faith in Scripture, Noah being divinely warned of

things not yet seen (Heb. 11:7). His leap of faith was to build an ark when no one had seen rain

or a boat. Then he had a second leap to enter the ark and wait for it to rain.

By faith Abraham . . . went out not knowing where he was going (Heb. 11:8). His leap

of faith was leaving the civilization of Ur to go live in tents in Canaan.

By faith Moses . . . refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather

to suffer affliction with the people of God (Heb. 11:24, 25). His leap of faith was identifying

with Israel against Egypt. When he took that leap of faith Moses was stepping into the unknown.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off

(Heb. 11:13). The heroes in Hebrews all took a leap of faith long before they received any

tangible reinforcements.

A leap of faith is intentional and planned. Its what you know you must do, so you just

do it for God.

But some refuse to leap; they wait for God to push them into action. But if God has to

push them, is it a faith-leap? Our faith pleases God when we choose to trust Him. We cant

stumble into an act of faith, nor can we accidentally fall into faith. No! God is pleased when we

choose to step out on His promises.


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Lets look more deeply at how Jerry Falwell started his ministry. He began using the

only method he knew door-to-door visitation. He posted a large map of Lynchburg and the

surrounding counties on the back wall of the church auditorium. He drew concentric circles

around Thomas Road Baptist Church7

Three or four months after beginning the church, Falwell went to see Mr. Epperson,

owner of WBRG, a new 1,000 watt country and western music station in nearby Madison

Heights, Virginia. Epperson told Falwell he was looking for somebody to begin his program day

with a devotional thought. Epperson convinced Jerry to purchase a 30-minute segment at the

beginning of each day for seven dollars a day. This $49 weekly bill would financially push the

small, needy church, but Falwell believed that God was leading him, so he took this leap in the

unknown. He didnt know where the money would come from, but he knew that God would

supply the money. What happened? Many who heard him on the radio began attending the

church, attendance grew and offerings swelled to pay for radio time.

every one mile, reaching out into the surrounding counties

10 miles away. Then, he began a daily 12-hour routine of going door-to-door, inviting people to

church, witnessing for Christ, and ministering to the people he found at home. God blessed this

method and the church began to grow. This step of faith is what most other Baptist churches did

to grow.

Then two or three months later, Jerry decided to preach the gospel on a new medium in

his hometown, i.e., local television. At this time, there was not a national preacher of the gospel

on television. Also, any rational person would have thought the church was too young to go on

TV. To Falwell, preaching over television was the great unknown. He talked to the local ABC

affiliate and purchased 30 minutes a week, from 5:30 to 6:00 pm Sunday evening for $90 dollars

a program. Again, Jerry committed himself to an expense when the church didnt have the

money to pay for it, and he didnt know if it would work.


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It was a very simple gospel program. Jerrys future wife, Macel, played the piano, a local

Methodist layman sang, and Jerry promoted Thomas Road Baptist Church for approximately 5-

10 minutes, telling of conversions, answers to prayer, and numerical growth in the little church.

Then he would preach for the remaining time. Just as the program was concluding, he would

say, Grab yourself a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich, youve got time to get to

Thomas Road Baptist Church for our evening service at 7 pm. I want to see you there and shake

your hand to welcome you to our service. That friendly approach attracted hundreds, and the

church continued growing. Again, Jerry took this leap in the unknown, but God used his faith to

produce added income to pay for the television station.

When Jerry Falwell and I began Liberty University in the fall of 1971, he said, Elmer,

you set the academic curriculum, hire the professors and supervise the program, Ill recruit the

students, raise the money, build the buildings, and pay for all the expenses. With that agreement

we began the college with not one penny in the bank.

At first, our vision was very small; we wanted to build a college of about 5,000 students,

a little larger than Tennessee Temple University8

Across the street from Thomas Road Baptist Church was Stewart Heights, a subdivision

of fifty-two small, two bedroom houses built right after World War II. One day Jerry and I drove

through the neighborhood saying we would buy every house in the neighborhood to build Liberty

University, a little larger than Bob Jones University

in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that used church

facilities for the college. They bought surrounding residential homes in the neighborhood for

expansion. Thats what we planned to do.

9

I remember pointing to one house saying that will be our math department, and the next

house would be the history department, and throughout the neighborhood, I kept naming what we

, Greenville, S.C. and Tennessee Temple

University.


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would put in the different houses. This was our way of dreaming of what we wanted to do for

God.

I began purchasing these houses, one at a time. The first cost $8000, and then I purchased

several more for the college. Word got around in the neighborhood, and the price of the houses

went up. Next we were paying $11,000, then $12,000, and when we got to $13,000 Jerry

decided we werent going to purchase any more houses.

About this time, Jerry saw the quality of the young people in the new liberal arts college.

This was NOT just a Bible college for preachers. There were extraordinary young people who

were greatly motivated to become educators, politicians, medical doctors and perhaps lawyers. I

was serious about the academic program, and Jerry became impressed with the PhDs we were

hiring to build an accredited university. I can still hear him saying, One day we will have a

seminary, a teachers college, a law school, an engineering school, etc. I thought Jerry was

kidding or bragging. Interestingly enough, that vision was fulfilled in 2008.

Then, Jerry no longer talked about 5,000 students; he upped his goal to 50,000. We no

longer planned to buy the houses across Thomas Road.

THE NATURE OF A LEAP OF FAITH

Some people want to take a big step of faith by making a gigantic decision, then sit back

to watch God work. But nothing happens, they fall into a black hole, then blame God for not

coming through in a pinch (see Chapter Eight,Faith-Balance). Before taking a leap into the

unknown, make sure you are fulfilling Gods plan, and its not just your pipe-dream.

Lets go back to see where the money for Liberty was raised and how an army of

supporters was recruited. In the summer of 1971, I gave Jerry a proposed budget for the first

year, i.e., $152,000 to $158,000.


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I dont have any money for the college, Jerry responded. Lets go start raising it

tonight.

Jerry and I got into his Buick and we drove out for an evening church meeting,

approximately 100 miles away. Then I realized how Jerry planned to raise the money. Each

evening that first summer we went to a meeting usually held in a small town Baptist church

where a crowd was waiting for us.

Doug Oldham, a gold record Christian artist of his day in gospel music, would sing for 30

minutes. Then I would cast a vision for a new Christian college that would train young men to

influence the world to carry out the Great Commission. Next, Jerry would preach a gospel

message. Then hed make an appeal for people to becomeDoor Keepers. Hed say,

Would you hold open the door of the gospel so we can build a great Christian college to

train young people to reach the world for Christ?

Jerry would hold up a packet of 52 business reply envelopes, that was stapled together,

i.e., one envelope for each week of the year. He would askDoor Keepers to take a packet, mail a

dollar a week to support this new Christian college, and become a part of reaching the world for

Christ. Every evening approximately 50 to 100 people would take a packet of envelopes

promising to send a dollar a week. Instead of getting an offering of a few hundred dollars, we

received pledges that would add up to thousands each year.

One evening at a rural country Baptist church, over 250 people took a packet of

envelopes; that was not just $250 dollars a week, that was 250 people each giving $52 a year;

that was $13,000 for the evening. I remember Jerry Falwell saying as we drove home through

the night, If we could go to a church like this every evening, we could build the college of our

dreams. That first summer we raised over $100,000 in pledges for the new college, one dollar at

a time.


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Postage went up on the business reply envelopes, and the IRS looked over our shoulder to

tell us we had to send a receipt each week to each $1.00 Door Keeper. It was no longer

profitable to distribute a Door Keeper packet of envelopes asking for a dollar a week. We

substituted 12 envelopes in each packet, asking people for a donation of $10 a month, calling

these people Faith Partners; they were partnering with us to carry the gospel to the ends of the

earth.

A year later the program went to $15 a month, and finally to $20 a month. In the glory

years, Liberty constructed three or four dormitories a year because over 120,000 people gave

$10-20 a month. That amounted to $1,200,000 monthly or $26 million a year. Every financial

step of faith was a leap into the unknown. But, it wasnt always a comfortable step, nor was it an

easy step, nor did Gods provision come without hard work; it took constant work, yet smart

work.

On January 21, 1976 Jerry Falwell took all of the students to Liberty Mountain on a cold,

snowy day. They came by faith to claim the mountain by faith. A Liberty graduate and best-

selling record gospel singer, Robbie Hiner, stood in the snow to sing, I Want That Mountain . . .

I Want That Mountain. The students cheered loudly and joyfully sang their prayer of faith, I

Want That Mountain.

God was good, it didnt snow that day as was forecasted, but God did shine His love and

financial blessing on that endeavor. After Jerry preached he looked in the camera and said, I

want you to send me $100 today so I can stake my claim on Liberty Mountain. He continued

telling the audience that as soon as he received $10,000 the earth movers would begin their

excavation and within seven months, school would be held on Liberty Mountain that fall. Again,

a leap into the unknown.


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That news excited people all across the Old Time Gospel Hour television network. One

hundred dollar donations began to pour in. That fall students entered Dormitory #1, plus held

classes in two classroom buildings constructed on the main campus.

In the early days, each one story dormitory would hold thirty-eight students, and cost

approximately $100,000. But along with the dormitories, Liberty had to build a complete

infrastructure on Liberty Mountain i.e., roads, sewage lines, lights/electricity, water lines,

phones, all the while meeting the environmental and local building codes.

Jerry stepped out in faith not knowing if he could complete the project in seven months,

but nevertheless, he stepped out into the unknown. Falwell told the contractors, The rabbit cant

climb a tree, but when it has to, it can. That was his challenge to do the impossible. People

contributed to the dream of building the worlds most exciting university on Liberty Mountain.

Construction workers were on the job around the clock; engineers and architects worked with the

city to get permissions and in the fall of 1977, classes opened on Liberty Mountain.

HOW TO LEAP

To help you understand that faith is a leap into the dark, or a leap into the unknown; note

the following descriptive phrases.

1. To leap from one place to another, usually over anobstacle or a barrier.

When you take a leap of faith, you are saying to a mountain/obstacle that you want it to

move out of your way. 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 (Mark 11:23). Technically that is mountain-moving

faith, but sometimes the mountain doesnt want to move. The obstacle to your ministry wont get

out of the way. What do you do? You have to jump over it. Is that called a leap of faith?


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To successfully leap over obstacles, start with your knowledge of God and the Scripture;

then ask some questions. Is your faith-project biblical? Will it glorify God? Will it advance the

cause of Christ?

Remember some obstacles dont block the work of God, they just block out the things

you want to do, or the selfish things you plan. So if God doesnt honor your leap of faith, maybe

its because you are not leaping in the will of God.

To make a leap of faith, make sure youre standing on the promises of Jesus Christ.

When you try to jump from shifting sand, you probably wont make it. You must leap from the

Rock of the Word of God.

Make sure youre right with God before you take your leap of faith. Know what you

want to do for God, then do it.

2. You must leap over your inner obstacles.

Remember, we are human and humans change. One day we love God deeply, while the

next day our fluctuating emotions can cast us into depression or cause our optimism to soar. This

does not mean that our relationship to God has changed. It means only that circumstances

change or sin has gained control of our lives, or has blinded our perception of God. When we

recognize that we change, we may realize our inner obstacle did not come from God, but its our

problem to overcome. Faith looks beyond our emotions and begins on the solid rock promises of

the Word of God.

Next, we must make sure our faith goes beyond our rational understanding of our project

and is grounded on God Himself. We must never let our faith be grounded in our limited ability.

Then there are those who have faith in their faith but that is not New Testament faith.

Remember, even our understanding can change. What we do not understand about God

today may clear up next week. When we go out in the morning we may perceive that it is going

to rain, so we take an umbrella. However, what we thought was rain was simply ground fog.


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The sun burns away the mist and the day is beautiful. We must not let the fog of unbelief cloud

our perception of the Bible. We must look for what God has placed in the Bible and accept it as

His will.

We must be careful of the influence of circumstances. For instance, a person thinks that

his mother is dying of cancer. Because of this he questions God. All the while, his mother has

only a small cyst, not an infected tumor. When we are blinded by our circumstances, our faith

questions God; but all the while we should have trusted Him.

Our faith needs daily nurturing. Like the flowers that wither without water and the body

that dies without food, our faith will grow weaker (Rom. 4:18-20) if it is not nurtured through

Bible study, prayer, and Christian obedience. As you apply the Word of God to your life, ask

yourself if your faith is growing and do the Scriptures guide your life.

We should accept the unbelief we find in our hearts. Its a fact; we are sinners (1 John

1:8, 10). Because we have a sin nature, we cannot have perfect faith. Even the disciples who

saw Jesus on Resurrection Sunday evening were victims of their doubt. Later, Jesus upbraided

them because of their unbelief (Mark 16:19; see Matt. 28:17). Sometimes a leap of faith means

we must jump over our doubts.

Also, our minds are finite. We do not know everything; hence we cannot have infinite

faith in God. When we realize how little we know about God, we will confess we only have

finite faith.

No one knows the evil in his heart until he tries to serve God with all his being. Satan is

always there to stop you, and your flesh will always try to trip you up. No one experiences

complete biblical faith until he attempts to trust in the Lord with all your heart (Prov. 3:5).

As we stand on the riverbank to view the tide, we never know the strength of the current

until we attempt to swim the stream. A man who never tries to live for God has never fully


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experienced his sinful nature, and those who attempt a leap of faith have never known inner

obstacles until he honestly prepares to leap into what seems darkness.

We must recognize the conditional nature of life. Rather than saying by faith, I know

God wants me to go serve Him in a certain city, we should say, If it is the will of God. James

wrote: Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a

year there, buy and sell, and make a profit: whereas you do not know what will happen

tomorrow (James 4:13, 14). No one knows how long he will live, nor what will befall him.

James tells us, You ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that (James

4:15). So when you get ready to leap, you may have to say, If the Lord wills, I will successfully

leap in faith.

3. Youll have to ask if you really want to make this leap.

Sometimes we take a step of faith trusting God for money, or to buy a piece of property,

or to purchase some other tangible good. The problem is Do we really need the thing for our

survival, or the survival of our spiritual group, i.e., our church?

So the danger of leaping in faith into the unknown is usually very threatening. If you

honestly could stay home and not make the leap, then maybe thats what you should do. But if

you absolutely have to do it, then you must leap.

What leap of faith are you planning on making in the near future? Is it something you

must do, or something you want to do? Is it nice, or is it necessary? Have you counted the cost

and surveyed your options?

4. The bigger the leap, the more energy it will take to successfully cross the obstacle.

Obviously it takes only a little energy to jump a small stream. But we all know that the

wider the stream, the longer running start youll need for a successful jump. Lets apply this

principle to a step of faith. Sometimes a leap of faith is not threatening, we need money, but we

have reserve funds, or emergency funds. If our leap of faith doesnt work, we have a cushion


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to fall back on. Then we have to ask ourselves if its not an absolute necessity, can it really be a

leap of faith? Maybe what we call a leap of faith is nothing more than business as usual.

5. You must make a commitment before youleap.

Think about the various types of commitments youll make to jump across a stream. You

have to determine how fast youre going to run, how high you will jump, and how far over the

bank on the other side will you land. This is the equivalent of asking how much money beyond

the goal you must raise. You may even want to make a decision whether the ground on the other

side is soggy, or is hard, or a steep bank. Will you hurt yourself when you land? The answers to

all these questions contribute to a successful leap across a stream.

Now lets apply that to a leap of faith in your personal life. When we decide how fast you

must run to make a successful leap, you may be describing the time of preparation before the

event approaches. You may be describing what you must do to get your followers ready to make

the leap with you.

Are you willing to fast to make your leap of faith a success? Will you fast seven days?

Forty days?

I tell the ministerial students at Liberty:

You dont honestly know yourselfor your God,

Until youve fasted 40 days.

Ask yourself, Have I given myself to prayer? How many hours a day will I pray?

Yonggi Cho10(pastor of the largest church in history, the 750,000 Full Gospel Church11

Maybe you face a life-threatening leap, so you must go on a 40-day fast.

of Seoul,

Korea, told me he spends two hours in prayer each day. So did John Wesley, the man who did

more to change the world in which he found himself.

12 Therefore,

make a list of all the things you must do physically, mentally and spiritually to get ready for your


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leap of faith. Remember, the wider the creek the bigger your goal the longer you must

prepare to receive the thing for which youre praying.

6. Consider the results after you take the leap of faith.

What will your church be like after you get the money? What will you be like when God

answers your prayer? Dont forget there are many unintended consequencesin the work of God.

How many churches have raised money to purchase a gym, only to squander their new resource

by using the gym only one or two hours a week? Also, some church members may begin

complaining that too much money was spent on the project. They might accuse you, or the

church of wasteful stewardship. If the followers begin to think the building never should have

been built, are your actions a leap of faith?

Ask who will leave the church after the leap is successful. Ask what people will disagree with the size, aesthetics, or cost. Ask if people will feel the new project was not of God. Ask if the people may vote you out, even though you succeeded.

You want to make sure that the bank on the other side of the creek will hold when you

leap across the stream. So, make sure the church can sustain the victory of your successful leap

of faith. Some people dont know how to live with victory. Much like the United States that

won World War II, yet lost the peace, because it was plunged into 40 years of Cold War conflict

with Soviet Russia. Do you know what youre going to do with the results once you take your

leap of faith?

7. Dont expend so much energy on the jump, so that you cant properly walk after you

land.

Suppose you have to jump a two-foot stream, but you get a head of steam and run with all

your might, jumping seven feet. You might make a spectacle of yourself, or if no one sees you,


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you might just laugh at yourself. Make sure that you dont expend too much energy to leap a

stream. Why? You may be too tired to walk on the other side when you get there.

How many times has the church spent all of its energy to build a new sanctuary, yet have

nothing left for ministry? They work and pray and raise money for three or four years,

sometimes six or seven years. Then the building project takes two or three years, including

construction, plus clearing the needed permits and local building regulations. Some

congregations have spent so much energy constructing the sanctuary, that when they get in,

theres an emotional letdown. Perhaps thats the reason many pastors leave a church shortly after

they build the biggest sanctuary ever.

There is also the trauma of building too big so that the people rattle in a sanctuary, like

worshipping in a barn. The new sanctuary doesnt sing like the old one, the acoustics only

echo like a gigantic valley. Or the new sanctuary loses the intimate fellowship the congregation

had when packed in the previously small one. We should never say that a church is in the

people business, but it is. When people dont like the restaurant where they get fed spiritually,

theyll go elsewhere.

Finally, some churches spend so much money on the new building they have nothing left

for ministry. The church is not financially able to advertise, or run its programs, or hire ministers

to carry out its purpose. Sometimes churches have not been financially able to pay custodial

service or utilities; other times churches have had to lay off staff or ministers to make monthly

payments for the new addition. What began as a majestic leap of faith ends up as pathetic waste

of resources.

8. You must make the leap in spite of your fears.

Even if you have great faith in God, you must make emotional preparation for a gigantic

leap of faith. Sometimes your leap of faith will not just frighten you, it will absolutely terrorize


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you. These are times you must find comfort and support in the Word of God. Even when you

get peace from God, you must face your terror and jump anyway.

Sometimes a Christian worker goes out on a limb by asking many people to pray for the

project. He takes an enormous leap of faith, but fails. He loses the support of his clientele; he

might even lose prayer support. Was the leap worth the consequences?

And then we ask the question: if the leap has no threat at all, is it really a leap of faith?

Sometimes we call it a leap of faith but its just business as usual, because we have enough

money to cover all the bases.

At other times, the leap is so threatening it paralyzes your emotional system. You cant

pray, you cant think; you dont even grow in the Word of God. Your whole life is threatened by

potential pain and threat of loss.

9. Sometimes a leap of faith is like a risk of life and limb.

Sometimes a leap of faith is like running into a burning building to save a loved one,

knowing you could die. Its like swimming out to rescue a drowning person, knowing he could

pull you under. Sometimes you must take a leap of faith to save others, even if you lose your

own life.

WRAP-UP

Many servants of God have risked everything in their own personal leap of faith.

Theyve left successful businesses to enter the ministry. Theyve gone to the foreign mission

field, and some to die unknown and unappreciated. Some to a martyrs death.

Many servants have done the supposedly undoable; theyve begun churches, built Bible

colleges, written books, and raised thousands of dollars. Others have reached the supposedly

unreachable, theyve discovered medical cures to bless thousands and theyve prayed without

recognition. Theyve moved unmovable mountains.


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After reading this chapter, you may face a challenge that is greater than your ability to

solve it. Remember the faith of an ordinary person in God can transform his life and enable him

to overcome insurmountable obstacles, with limited resources, in difficult circumstances to the

glory of God.


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CHAPTER THREE

BRINKMANSHIP-FAITH

There can be no faith without risk. J. Hudson Taylor

PRINCIPLE:

When faced with a life-threatening obstacle or attack, you must riskeverything with a leap of faith that answers the enemy and/or defeats him.

DEFINITION:

Brink-man-ship \ brink-muhn-ship \ going to an extreme edge, or

the verge of something, i.e., the practice of pushing a situation to

the limit for victory. Synonym: creating a turning point.

(Written by Elmer Towns after research using definitions adaptedfrom Webster and Oxford dictionaries).


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CHAPTER THREE

BRINKMANSHIP13

(Going To the Brink or Edge)

-FAITH

When there comes a crisis in ministry that threatens the existence of biblical

Christianityor a local churchthe man of faith must stand against it. He must go to extreme

limits to counteract extreme threats. Great bold threats demand great bold extraordinary faith.

The word brinkmanshipwas coined during the Cold War between the U. S. and Russia

from 1945 to 1989. Both nations went to the edge of a shooting war because of the ideological

differences, but hostilities never broke out.

When you exercise brinkman-faith, you use every possible strategy, even to the point of

total sacrifice to win a spiritual victory that threatens your existence.

STAND AGAINST YOUR NATION

The largest church in Europe is the Embassy of God located in Kyiv, Ukraine, with over

36,000 members. The Communist authorities tried every way to get rid of the church.

Because of its size, government and media began taking notice and they didnt like what

they saw. A Pentecostal church was a threat to national identity and they felt it would corrupt

the Ukrainian culture. A propaganda barrage was launched against the church and they were

accused of being agents of the CIA in America, practicing black magic, selling alcohol,

hypnotizing people, and being cult leaders. The police seized his passport and revoked his

permission to preach as a foreigner. Then he became an illegal resident, but he has stayed in the

country for the past twelve years and the church continues to grow. He says, Staying in Kyiv

without a visa is an answer to prayer.

The only way the authorities could get rid of this growing church was to tear down the

civic center where they rented the facilities. When the government announced its destruction,


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over 20,000 people marched and surrounded city hall praying, waving flags; the choir wore blue

robes and they held hands and sang hymns in the city center.

The authorities had turned the electricity off in their complex, the toilets were closed and

they demanded of the government, Were Ukrainians, citizens of this country, we have rights.

We say, Let us build the buildings ourselves; please give us the opportunity.

They waited for four hours. Many were sure that tanks would come and machine guns

would be lined up. In former days before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the people would have

been gunned down in the streets. They wondered if it would happen again. So, with prayer and

fasting they waited for the mayor to come out.

The mayor told them that he would give them the right to build a building, but Adelaja

would not believe him. Years earlier the mayor had promised to give the church the right to

build a building, but the government never did. Adelaja determined that 20,000 people would

stay in the streets until they got a written guarantee from the mayor. Finally, they got their

documentsignedand 20,000 people went home. He said, Earthly authorities respect only

visible and tangible force, they will not give in easily.

The pastor, Sunday Adelaja,14

Adelaja was named Sunday by his grandmother because he was born on Sunday and she

raised him in a Presbyterian environment where he was educated in St. Pauls Anglican Primary

School.

was a Nigerian black man who went to Moscow to be

trained in communications/propaganda, where he earned his BA and MA degree from

Byelarussian State University. It was the intent of the Russian government to send him home,

back to his country to lead a Communist revolution there.

When he finished his education, a door opened for him in the Ukraine when a television

station in Kyiv needed a journalist who spoke Russian, so he began producing and scripting the

programs for the new pioneering station. Then God nudged him to begin a church.


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He began trying to get good people to come to the church, but almost no one came to

the services to hear him preach. Only a few foreigners attended his church. For four years, not

one Russian attended, all he could get were Asians. There was an obvious ethnic barrier to the

church. He was a black pastor from Nigeria and many white Russians wouldnt come to attend

the church.

Then, Sunday Adelaja took off his white shirt, tie and suit, and began going into the

streets to the drug addicts, the alcoholics, and the dregs of society. He preached a message on

the power of the Gospel to transform lives. He focused on touching people with the love of

Christ and visited them in their homes. His church reached over 1,000 in attendance. Eventually

God began to give him Russians to attend his church when they saw the transformed lives of the

street people. He said that God told him, If I can trust you with the down and out; I will trust

you with the normal and powerful people of society.

Today, the church has over a dozen members of Parliament in the church, plus civil

servants at various levels of society. The mayor of Kyiv is a member of the church, as well as a

Supreme Court justice and about twenty percent of the Communist Party officials.

Early on, Adelaja announced a week-long fast, a practice he has continued to this day.

Every month he goes to a private apartment, without telephone, television, or radio, and spends

one week in prayer each month. When I asked him why he does that, he said, Because I face

the threat of imminent deportation and all the other threats in the church. I have to pray for

Gods protection. We go forward with prayer.

In addition, Adelaja has received a number of death threats on his life, even funeral

wreaths have been delivered to the front door of his home. Yet, he knows that God has assured

him from the very first that he would have a great ministry in the Ukraine.

His lay workers have testified that there have been occasions when assassins have come

into a service to murder him and that assassin was surrounded by intercessors who continued to


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pray for him throughout the service. On each occasion, the assassin left without doing any

damage.

The secret of the churchs growth is that twice a year over 2,000 leaders of the church

attend a 10-day retreat where they fast and pray for the work of God in Kyiv, spending

approximately 10-12 hours each day in prayer.

In 2004 the Orange Revolution lasted for seventeen days when over 1 million protestors

surrounded the Parliament building, demanding that the public election that they had just won be

recognized by the Communist Party bosses. The problem was, the party bosses had lost the

election and ViktorYushchenko had won the majority to be the new Prime Minister of the

Ukraine. Viktor Yushchenko represented democracy and a more open servant-hearted leadership

for the Ukraine. The people wore orange, symbolic of the coming spring and a new season.

The Orange Revolution began when over 50,000 members of Sunday Adelajas church

were led into the streets to the Parliament building. It had worked two years earlier, and they

were sure it would work again. Many people were fasting and praying for physical protection

for the protestors. They didnt threaten, they stood and sang hymns; many have described it as a

great revival meeting surrounding the Parliament building. The people danced, lifted hands in

praise to God, and the ladies took flowers and inserted them in the barrels of the rifles of the

soldiers who surrounded the Parliament building. The weather was terrible, it was below zero;

and the food was meager.

The church rallied with tents to feed the people, tents as hospitals for the sick and tents

for intense prayer. If it hadnt been for the courage and determination of Sunday Adelaja and the

members of the church, the protest might not have been successful.

Adelaja announced to the political leaders, If you will not accept responsibility for this

country, then I will. That slogan was chanted by the people.


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When the newspapers and television reported that the established Communist bosses had

won the election, the people spontaneous took to the streets and gathered in Independence

Square, the main city square in Kyiv. Hundreds of thousands of citizens left their jobs and

homes to stand up for what was right. While people were gathering around the parliament

building, 4,000 church members banded themselves to fast and pray that a potential violent

standoff might not happen.

People stayed in Independence Square day and night, giving speeches, playing music,

chanting slogans, waving giant orange flags and flags of the Ukraine, holding up big banners

with their slogans. At night the Square was alive with candles and thousands of people praying.

Members of the Russian Orthodox Church were praying with members of Adelajas church.

THE EMBASSY OF GOD

Finally, the Communist bosses gave into the will of the people, i.e., the protestors. In

January of 2005 President Yushchenko amazed the nation by starting his first day in office with

public prayer. He and his wife and children bowed their knees before an altar and gathered with

him as leaders from all the Christian denominations, including the Pentecostal churches they

once considered cults in the Ukraine, led in public prayer.

After victory Yushchenko thanked the Embassy of God with a plaque in appreciation

saying, Your conscientious work has become a considerable part in that victory. It was you

who protected democracy in the Ukraine, standing for its high ideals, not considering your own

interests. I am convinced that as long as there are people in the Ukraine who have the same civil

position, dignity and spirit as you have, everything will be all right in this country. That plaque

hangs in the church to this day.


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The Embassy of God has planted almost 400 churches throughout the Ukraine. There is a

pastors training school called a university, as well as a school to train leaders for government

positions, also called a university.15

THE BATTLE FOR OUR PROPERTY

Christ Fellowship16

The church had owned 40 acres across Northlake Boulevard, however the City Council

kept delaying their request for a zoning variation and building permit. There was such

opposition from the neighborhood that the issue became a political hot potato and the

opposition was making all types of false claims that a large mega church would cause traffic

gridlock and create dangerous turning lanes. Basically they just didn't want that large of a

population mass in their neighborhood. However, Northlake Boulevard was large enough to

handle the traffic generated by larger developments with much more substantial traffic impact at

peak times. The church traffic was much less. The root of the issue wasnt traffic; it was

something deeper.

of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, engaged in spiritual brinkmanship

with the city council over its future existence. The church was begun in the living room of Tom

Mullins, pastor and found a permanent home in a converted horse barn on the six-lane Northlake

Boulevard. Christ Fellowship was attracting over 4000 people in five weekend services

(Saturday night, 5 and 7 pm; Sunday 8, 9:30, and 11:30 a.m.).

The horse barn was packed and overflowing and opposition not only stymied its vitality,

it could crush its enthusiasm if it couldnt grow. Pastor Tom Mullins was convinced that the

church had to move across the road, and they had to build on their own property that they owned

across the road. He had to face the challenge head on with brinkmanship-faith, so he called the

church to fasting and prayer.


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This was a spiritual attack and Mullins and his church family knew nothing must stand in

the way of a work of God. Several all night prayer meetings were called, several vowed a 40-day

fast to resolve the issue, and many people prayed. But not just the people of the church, Tom

Mullins called on his pastoral friends nationwide for them to pray, and to get their churches to

pray with the congregation of Christ Fellowship for permission to build.

In November of 1997, the city council met and voted 4 to 1 to allow Christ Fellowship to

rezone the area in order to construct a worship center, a youth center and a children's ministry

building.

It was a major victory! The church didnt back down, but triumphed!

Tom Mullins and the church rejoiced in the vote, knowing it was God who worked in the

hearts of the individual council members and the neighbors to give them victory. Mullins said,

If hundreds had not fasted and prayed, we would not have won this spiritual victory.

THE CHALLENGE OF BRINKMANSHIP

When the work of God is mortally challenged, the man of God must believe God first and

foremost. He believes God exists, and that God has called him to strive against evil. The man of

God must respond in faith to stop evil, knowing when he prays for the mountain to be moved

(Mark 11:23); God will respond to his faith and remove the threat to his ministry.

Brinkmanship-faith involves going to extreme limits to counteract an extreme threat.

When evil pushes, brinkmanship-faith pushes back; but this is more than preaching against sin,

or holding a candle in the darkness. Brinkmanship-faith counterpunches with the strength of a

heavyweight fighter, knowing he must knock out evil before he is knocked out. He pushes the

challenge to the spiritual limits, risking his job . . . his possessions . . . his home . . . his very life.


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Brinkmanship-faith risks everything possible to turn the situation around so the work of

God can go on. Moses gave up the prestige and safety of Pharaohs palace to side with Israel in

slavery. Esther risked her crown as queen of Persia when she concluded, If I perish, I perish.

So the man of God says, Ill never give up, and Ill never quit. Brinkmanship-faith is

stopping the mouth of lions, quenching the violence of fire, facing the edge of the sword . . .

tortured . . . trials of mocking and scourging; yes, even chains and imprisonment (Heb. 11:33,

Amplified).

Sometimes the challenge to brinkman-faith is internal. Sometimes financial reversals in

society threaten to bankrupt a church. Sometimes a church board threatens to fire a pastor for

preaching against polite sins of their church. Perhaps a Diotrophes threatens to split the

church,17

At other times the threat is external. Sometimes government agencies try to harness the

work of evangelism or stop a church from building on its property. In the future, the government

may try to force a church to hire a homosexual in a political correctness campaign. Suppose the

government threatens jail time for hate speech because a pastor said there is no salvation in

Islam, or he says, Abortion is murder. Dont we Americans take free speech for granted?

at other times a few begin spreading a heretical teaching. The threat may be as

harmless as exploding attendance in a small auditorium and inadequate parking. Remember, you

cant pour a gallon of milk into a six-ounce glass.

When Jesus promised the gates of hell shall not stand against us,18

Gods method to overcome obstacles in ministry has been a Spirit-filled personalways,

always has been, always will bea unique leader fearlessly and driven to get the work of God

wasnt the Lord

suggesting brinkmanship-faith? Wasnt Jesus using warfare terminology to suggest we bombard

an enemys defense with the truth, and wasnt he expecting us to invade the enemys castle by

prayer, and knock down its doors? It will take deep conviction to do that; it will take

brinkmanship- faith.


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done. Because he believes God, so he does whatever it takes to get the job done. His faith

resides in God, not a method, a thing, a tool, or a technique. His faith doesnt rest on his courage

or his vision, but in God Himself.

When Gods man faces insurmountable obstacles, he usually has inadequate resources

when he finds himself in difficult circumstances. But he obeys God to launch out into a project

that is so traumatizing that the only way to succeed is by the intervention of God Himself.

When the night is blackest, and the way is fraught with problems, and the enemy seems

to have the upper hand; the manor womanof God will trust in God and God alone. He will

step out into the unknown, not knowing where he is going, or how he will solve the dilemma he

is in. He will continue charging up the hill of resistance. He will strike with his last ounce of

courage.

Then in one magnificent leap of faith into the darkness, he will confidently step out into

the unknown. He will not fear, but with confidence and courage know he is doing exactly what

God wants him to do. He knows its the right time, the right situation and the right place. So he

puts God and His reputation on the spot. He calls for all the world to see what God can do. He

practices brinkmanship, pushing a dangerous situation to the limit. Why? Because he believes

God has led him to do it. He has no other choice.

After he has done all he can do, the man of God waits for the inevitable to unfold. He

knows God will roll back the black clouds and God will push back the enemy and God will give

him the victory.

The command the man of God has heard in the dark of night, whispered to him by God,

is that command for which he risks his life and ministry. He knows what he has to do because he

has heard God speak to his soul. He cannot go back, he cannot quit, and he cannot fail; because

in the dark he recognized the voice of God talking to him. Now he must take the leap of faith

that will define his life and define his ministry.


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Some may take a leap of faith once in a lifetimeand only onceand forever be

remembered by that leap; and he will always remember that leap. His leap decided his character.

Isnt that true of Wilbur Wright the first man to fly? Isnt that true of Charles Lindberg the first

man to fly across the Atlantic? Isnt that true of Neil Armstrong, the first man to fly and land on

the moon?

Then other men leap twice. To once do something extraordinary is not enough. They

glorified God when they saw Him break through the rubbish to give victory. They become so

convinced that it could happen again that they mustered up all their courage and did it a second

time. It was not that they doubted God the second time, they had to see Him do His work again.

No, they took a leap a second time because God told them to do it. They wanted to glorify God a

second time.

Some menlike Jerry Falwellhave done it many times. They could be called habitual

faith-leapers. Because they walk with God, they have learned to be comfortable leaping for God,

because He always comes through. Jerry is described as an active tense leaper because he did it

many times. Brinkmanship could have been his nickname. Why not? He called himself a street

fighter.

A true brinkmanship-person obeys God and walks constantly into battle, unafraid to face

the enemy. Brinkmanship means they look the enemy in the eye, and dont blink, nor do they

back down. Thats how Jerry Falwell described himselfone who practices the art of spiritual

brinkmanship.19

When youre on a spiritual brinkmanship journey, you know Who your commander-in-

chief is, so you report for duty each morning. You know who your enemy is, so you go out

constantly to do battle.

He knew thats what he had to do, because thats what God wanted him to do.

He walked point for the rest of us.


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But you dont fight with normal weapons of war. Spiritual battles are not won easily.

You fight in spiritual warfare, winning battles on your knees before you win them in the public

sector. Did you see that Sunday Adaleja fasts one week out of every month?

When you come to spiritual brinkmanship your marching orders are the Word of God.

Remember the battle cry of Billy Graham 20

You must bring great hope to spiritual brinkmanship. Remember the passion of Bill

Bright, to fulfill the Great Commission in this generation.

, The Bible says . . . .

21

God has always used people, thats His only method; thats His best method.

When the world tumbled into demonic darkness after Adams fall, and God knew He had

to destroy the world with a flood because it seemed the satanic scourge was unstoppable, God

didnt look for a technique or new method. God looked for a man who would obey Him to do

His work. This man would do the improbably and impossible. God looked for a faith-leaper.

God wanted a man who would do what no man had ever donebuild a 450-foot boat in

the middle of dry land. God wanted a man who would announce to the world a coming flood

when it had never rained. God wanted a man who would beg everyone to repent and get on

board the ark. God wanted a man who would put his family at risk to board the ark and save the

world.

Gods brinkmanship-man was Noah, a faith-leaper.

Later the world was plunged into the grip of idolatry. God needed a man who would

separate himself from the evil influence of an idolatrous civilization, who would move his family

into the wilderness to live separate from sin and live above sin.

Gods brinkmanship-man was Abraham, one who steppedleapedout on faith, not

knowing where he was going, but he went where God led. He looked for a city whose builder

and maker is God (Heb. 11:10).


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Next God knew the world would face a life-ending famine. Gods method to reverse the

famine was a young man. God brought that young man to Egypt, elevated him to the second

highest office in the worlds most powerful empire. The young mans greatness was evidenced

by riding in the second chariot behind Pharaoh (Gen. 41:43).

Gods brinkmanship-man was Joseph whose organizing brilliance saved the world from

starvation.

The Jews who went to Egypt to save themselves ended up in slavery to the Egyptians.

God needed a deliverer to lead them into the land of Canaan that He had promised to them. God

found an adopted son of Pharaohs daughter, a boy who was really Jewish. The boy chased not

riches and power of Egypt, but stepped out into the unknown. His leap of faith involved leading

a nation of rebellious slaves who seemed unleadable. His leap of faith was to teach Gods

principles to those who seemed unteachable.

Gods brinkmanship-man was Moses, one who continually practiced brinkmanship.

When Gods people were beaten from pillar to post in the Promised Land by the

Philistines, God raised up a warrior-king from the sheepfold. As a lad he killed a bear, a lion and

Goliath. As a man he rid Gods people of the Philistines. He raised Gods kingdom to splendor

so that heathen nations praised the God of the Jews.

Gods brinkmanship-man was David.

Throughout history God had his faith-leapers. There was Rahab who risked all to choose

God one night and she entered the Messianic line. There was also Ruth who chose to follow

God and be buried in the land of Gods people. Her leap of faith earned her the right to be called

grandmother of King David. Then there was Deborah who challenged men to rid their nation of

the Canaanites. These women were risk-takers; who in a crisis took a leap of faith.

There are other faith-leapers just as great. There was Elijah who stood against wicked

King Ahab on Mount Carmel. There was King Hezekiah whose leap of faith was praying in the


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Temple, God answered by visiting a judgment plague on the Assyrians so that 160,000 died.

There was Esther whose leap of faith was opposing wicked Haman. Nehemiah in a leap of faith

began the impossible job of rebuilding the wall and he wouldnt quit until the walls of Jerusalem

were rebuilt.

Faith-leapers never stooped to self-gratification of name-it or claim-it faith. They

didnt take a leap into the unknown for a Cadillac, nor did they plant a $1,000 seed-faith-gift in a

television ministry to get rich or, get healed, or accomplish personal goals. To a faith-leaper, self

gratification cannot be compared to pleasing God (Heb. 11:6).

These illustrious faith-leapers had their eyes on the future of Gods kingdom and they

were jealous in protecting Gods reputation in a world that denies theres a God Who created

them and has a right to control them.

WRAP-UP

Brinkmanship is not a program to raise money, nor is it an evangelistic technique to

investigate the Scriptures to discover the mysteries of God. No, none of these. Faith-leaping is

brinkmanship, challenging the depth of your soul, to win the prize for God. Brinkmanship-faith

is a persons response to God. And doesnt the quality of our responses to God depend on the

depth of our relationship to God?


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CHAPTER FOUR

FAITH-PRIORITY

God will bless your steps into the unknown when the priority of your

actions fit into the priority of Gods program. Unknown

PRINCIPLE:

God will bless your step of faith when it meshes with Godspriority for ministry.

DEFINITION:

Priority \ pri-r-at-. 1. Qualities of being advanced or before; 2.

Privilege; 3. The exercise of preferences; 4. A quality treated first; 5.

Superior in attention. (Written by Elmer Towns after research usingdefinitions adapted from Webster and Oxford dictionaries).


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CHAPTER FOUR

FAITH-PRIORITY

There were two churches in different areas of a mid-sized town that needed to build a new

sanctuary. The people came from the same type of socio-economic neighborhood and each

congregation had a history of solid financial giving. All things seemed to be equal, but one

congregation raised all the money it needed, the others financial campaign failed.

Was it Gods fault? . . . No!

Did both pastors have faith? . . . Yes!

What was the difference in their faith? While everything seemed equal on the surface, the

faith-planningof the pastors differed widely. The failed pastor based his campaign on the

financial ability of the members, plus he emphasized the beauty of the new sanctuary, and he

emphasized better worship.

But the other pastor successfully challenged his congregation to reach more lost people

than ever, and get them saved. He kept emphasizing their overflow crowd and lost people

wouldnt attend where there were no seats. His appeal was soul-winning.

Does God have apriority of faithso that He recognizes some steps of faith quicker than

others? . . . Yes!

But Godspriority of faithisnt found in the depth of sincerity or intense prayer of one

pastor over the others. The priority lies with the purpose of what God does.

Will God hear quicker the prayer for evangelism of lost people than for a new building? .

. . Yes!

God is not primarily interested in the financial bottom line of a church, or the size of its

sanctuary or facilities, He takes note of its spiritual health. God looks at baptismal statistics.

How many people were born again? People impress God because God is impressed with

people.


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So, God answers some prayers quicker than others because some requests have more

importance to Him than others. God has a priority-scale in selecting what prayers He honors, and

what prayers to postpone or ignore.

Why is this strange to us? There is priority in healthcare; more attention is given to life-

threatening disease than to help those with discomfort.

There is a priority in agriculture; crops that are vital to mankind get more priority than

crops that only give enjoyment.

There are priorities in budget allocations; necessities get more attention than do items that

increase lifes pleasures.

An editor of a newspaper cant print every news item that comes across his desk.

Priorities guide him to print those items his reader must know, rather than filling his paper with

entertaining items.

GODS 10 PRIORITIES22

What faith does God honor?

1. When believers establish an intimate relationship with God.2. When believers worship God for Who He is (John 4:29).3. When believers love God and put Him first in their lives (Matt. 22:37-39).4. When believers attempt to evangelize the unsaved (2 Peter 3:9).5. When believers live holy lives that please the Lord (James 1:17).6. When believers become actively involved in their local body of Christ.7. When believers carry out the commands of spiritual ministry to others.8. When believers minister to the needy outside the body of Christ.9. When believers trust God to supply their necessities: food, clothing, and shelter

10. When believers trust God for buildings, property, equipment or stuff.

FIRST PRIORITY: When Believers Establish an Intimate Relationship with God.

Some have tried to use their faith to get a great answer to prayer, but nothing happened.

Why? Perhaps they have forgotten the most essential element of faith. Faith is not a power they


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possess to do things for God. Faith comes from the person of God, and you must be correctly

related to God for your faith to work successfully.

And the more intimately a person is connected to God, the more powerful their faith.

Therefore, dont seek faith, seek Jesus. Pauls passion at the end of his life is reflected in his

following prayer. That I may know him, to experience His power (Phil. 3:10, Amplified).

So whats the secret of faith to move mountains? Put Christ first, That in all things He

may have the preeminence (Col. 1:18). So what must you do to get stronger faith? You must

do what Paul did, For me, to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21). Then what can you do? I can do all

things through Christ (Phil 4:13). When your first priority in ministry is to know God, then

God will reward your step of faith.

SECOND PRIORITY: When Believers Worship God for Who He Is.

In the Old Testament the people of God lost their priority. They were worshipping

Asherah (the false Canaanite fertility god) and had shrines for idols in high hills (2 Kings 18:4),

and sacrificed to Balaam, and even made a god of the bronze serpent used by Moses (2 Kings

18:4).

King Hezekiah brought revival to the people, beginning with the removal of every

foreign god and idol. He had the Temple cleansed, then he brought back the blood sacrifices.

There were two indications that the people were really repenting from the depths of their heart.

First, blood sacrifices were reinstated to cleanse the people from sin. So they killed the

bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar (2 Chron. 29:22).

Remember, blood cleanses from sin and prepares us for service.

Second, When the sacrifices were finished, King Hezekiah and everyone with him

bowed down to the ground and worshipped God (2 Chronicles 29:29).

Because sin destroys the strength and spirituality of Israel in the Old Testament, their

enemy Assyria had previously defeated them and demanded annual taxation. When Hezekiah


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led the people all the way back to God in worship, then God fought for Israel and defended His

people. When Assyriathe most powerful nation on earth at that timeattacked against Israel,

God defeated them.

So you want more powerful faith? Has sin in your life drained your spiritual power?

Then you must come back to God, you must seek Him intimately. Your intimate relationship

with God is reflected in your worship. Remember, its not howyou worship its whoyou

worship. When you worship God, He becomes everything in your life and ministry.

Have you been exercising faith, but you dont receive what you seek? Maybe youve not

been close enough to God to hear His whispered no or maybe youve missed Gods still small

voice, that tells you how to ask by faith, or when to ask in faith. Remember, effective faith

grows in worship, and effective worship is based on intimacy.

Worship is giving God the worthship (old Scottish word for worship) that is due to Him.

When you are completely absorbed with God, you wont make foolish faith-statements.

Remember Jesus said, The Father is seeking . . . worship (John 4:23). That means Hes

looking for it, the Father goes to where He can be worsh

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