07) grow up! are you a child of god or a man of god? chapter six

8/7/2019 07) Grow Up! Are You a Child of God or a Man of God? Chapter Six

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Chapter Six: Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 1:1 (KJV)

This chapter I write, as all the others, from personal experience as well as the Bible. Faith,

however, is a special subject for me, as I struggled to maintain mine through my teenage years. I had

just made the deal with God when I was sixteen, and I promised a lot of things. I promised mainly to

follow Gods will whenever He told me to do something, no matter what. That seems pretty simple, I

know. However, without a strong faith to back that promise up, I was hard pressed to keep it.

I questioned many things during my teenage years. I realize now that God was preparing me

for His eventual revelations of Scripture. These are not new revelations I have put down in this book,

but I know a few are quite unpopular. After all, I call many people to task, as I have called myself to

task throughout my life. Everything I have shared with you in the course of this book have been things

I have struggled with myself throughout my Christian walk. I have had crises of faith during which I

wanted to turn back on my promise. The result of these crises, however, provided a great result: I

started praying for stronger faith. Even more, God chose to answer this prayer for me.

I prayed for years for an unshakeable faith that could withstand the many slings and arrows the

enemy sent my way. There is so much knowledge in the world today that people think they know

enough not to believe in God, and so they spread this knowledge to everyone else, whether they

want it or not. At least once a week on the Discovery Channel or History Channel you can find a

program that proves that the Bible is wrong and things didnt happen the way people think they did.

These programs will even get supposedly Christian scientists, preachers, and teachers to agree with

them. They all say that, with our new technologies and science that its so much more logical to

believe that the Bible is nothing more than a rule book written up by men who wanted to keep people

under their thumb. Unfortunately, more and more Christians are buying into this at an alarming rate.


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There are even some seminaries that are teaching that the Bible is not the inerrant Word of God, but

a corrupted version that needs to be looked at as being inspired by God, but written by all too human

men who corrupted it with their own opinions. The thing is, the Bible was written over several

thousands of years, by several different authors, and yet every word of it works with the rest. Despite

popular, and wrong, opinion, there are no inconsistencies with the Bible. Verses can be taken out of

context to make it seem that way, but the Holy Spirit allows us to see the actual meaning. Those who

think the Bible contradicts itself are just people trying to justify their own sin by proving the book

wrong that says its a sin in the first place.

Faith is the root from which all other spiritual gifts and blessings come from. Without faith, you

could never discern spirits, or know when God has given you some of His knowledge or wisdom.

Without faith, you could never teach others the truth, and you could never comfort others when they

need it the most. Without faith, you can never be sure that your prayers are reaching God. Without

faith to back them up, all other spiritual gifts are as weak as a strong branch broken off a tree; as

strong as it may be, it will eventually crumble and die.

Faith is the power of God given shape in our hearts. Without the faith that our Father is there

for us, how can we convince others to come to Him? Still, faith is not something we can cultivate.

Faith in God is something provided by the Holy Spirit.

13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,Whom do men

say that I the Son of man am?

14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias,

or one of

the prophets.

15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh andblood hath not


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revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 16:13-17 (KJV)

Jesus told Peter that it was only through God that His divinity was revealed. Jesus says that it

is only by the Fathers will that His Son be known. Thus, it is only by the will and spirit of God that

heavenly things are revealed.

You can have an earthly faith in our Father. You can look back on your life and see what God

has done for you over the years, and have faith that He will continue to bless you. This can provide

comfort to you in times of trouble, and a guide for times of blessing. Your earthly faith can help in your

witness, as you can tell someone what God has done for you, and can do for them. An earthly faith is

a great thing; yet a heavenly faith is so much more.

A heavenly faith is an unshakeable faith that the Father above gives you. He gives this faith to

anyone who asks sincerely. He may not answer this prayer immediately, or He may strengthen you

as soon as you say Amen. His timing is not ours, and His will is beyond my understanding, but I

have FAITH that He has the best things in mind for me and His kingdom. I know that I personally

prayed for over three years for a stronger faith before He finally decided to give it to me. Through His

perfect timing, He gave His gift when I was finally ready to receive it, and my life has never been the

same.

A heavenly faith can withstand anything thrown against it. A heavenly faith is an all-

encompassing shield that Satan can never pierce, and an intensely close connection to the Creator of

the Universe. This gift is available to anyone who asks, and yet most people would not even admit

they need it. Pride would creep into their lives, and whisper the lies that they are strong enough. What

they dont realize is that we will neverbe strong enough outside of the will of God, and how will we

discover that will without a complete faith? How are we to know when God is revealing Himself to us,

or if it is just another emotional reaction to circumstances?


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20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have

faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder

place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 17:20 (KJV)

22And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Matthew 21:22 (KJV)

These are doctrinal statements by Jesus Christ Himself! Faith, given by Heaven to those who

ask for it, is enough to move a mountain! All things we ask for in prayer, believing, we shall receive!

Powerful words from scripture, and yet so many people dont try to follow up on them. They say, Oh,

well. I dont have thatstrong a faith, I guess. After all, they dont see any mountains moving for them.

Well, I ask the question Why would God move a mountain for you if you wont even thank Him for the

miracles you live through every day?

People take miracles for granted nowadays, as we live in an age of advanced technology, and

a world where practically everything is at our fingertips. In an age where most people are living longer

and healthier lives, people stop noticing that they are indeed living! Why should God give you a

miracle that someone would try to explain away as a bizarre accident or twist of fate? Yet, there are

people who say that they need a sign or wonder to have faith. These people dont seem to know the

definition of the word. Pray for faith. You just might be surprised at how close you can still get to our

Father in Heaven. I know He wants to get closer to you.

07) grow up! are you a child of god or a man of god? chapter six

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