the journey of faith

8/22/2019 The Journey of Faith

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THE

JOURNEYOF FAITH

Then He touched their eyes, saying, According

to your faith let it be to you. Matthew 9:29

SCOTT MCCONAUGHEY


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THEJOURNEY

OF FAITH

Then He touched their eyes, saying, According

to your faith let it be to you. Matthew 9:29

THE JOURNEY OF FAITHby Scott McConaughey

Copyright 2007 by Scott McConaughey

20/20 PublicationsPrinted in the United States of America

All commercial rights reserved solely by the author. Any part or this entirebook may be reproduced and used to edify the body of Christ withoutpermission of the author but may not be used for commercial gain.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from the New KingJames Version of the Bible. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Contact Information:

Scott McConaughey MinistriesPastor Scott McConaughey

P.O. Box 3754Helendale, CA 92342Email: [email protected]: www.scottmc.org/


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THE JOURNEY OF FAITH

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH ....................... 2

CHAPTER 1 THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF FAITH .... 10

CHAPTER 2 THE FIERY TRIALS OF FAITH ....................... 20

CHAPTER 3 THE VIOLENCE OF FAITH .............................. 24

CHAPTER 4 THE CONFESSION OF FAITH ......................... 33

CHAPTER 5 ADD TO YOUR FAITH ..................................... 43

CHAPTER 6 MIRACULOUS FAITH ...................................... 47

CHAPTER 7 THE JOURNEY OF FAITH ............................... 58


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INTRODUCTIONFOUNDATIONSOFFAITHPerhaps our greatest need in these last days is to learn how to walk

in ever increasing levels of faith in God. My wife Glenda and I

have learned many incredible lessons of faith in our decades of

devotion to Christ. We learned a great deal when we served as

missionaries together for over twenty years. Then God started

taking us to higher levels of faith development! Most books on

faith include tons of illustrations and ounces of principles. While

we have loads of faith stories, this book weighs heavily upon the

principles and includes only a few illustrations.

As you apply the principles God has taught us, you can write your

own book of illustrations. These principles are tried, tested and

true. They always work when applied to your life over time. They

will help you grow in faith that pleases God and bears fruit for His

glory. Faith development is a journey that can be radically

enhanced by understanding its pathways. By Gods grace, we plan

to give you that revelation in these pages. It is vital to recognize a

few basic truths that are foundational to understanding the journeyof faith.

Walk by Faith in Gods Word & Voice

For we walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7

God calls His people to walk by faith in His word and not bynatural reason. The word of God must be understood by the

inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We must learn to be blind to natural

reason living so that we can have spiritual sight. The Pharisees of


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Jesus day operated by fallen reason and thought they could see.

Jesus told them that they were blind1. They studied the scriptures

diligently but did not see God in Jesus.

God also calls us to walk by faith in the revelation that comes to

our spirit man which we know as His voice. God speaks to our

spirits through many ways including a still small voice,

conscience, dreams, visions and impressions. God can also speak

to us through dark sayings, signs, wonders, circumstances, people,nature and countless other ways.

God speaks through the word and the Spirit. There have often

been two camps in the body of Christ made up of those who

emphasize the word of God and those who emphasize the Spirit of

God. We need both camps to merge.

The word of God may be likened to a concrete aqueduct that has

foundations, structures and gates. The Spirit of God may be

compared to the water in that aqueduct that flows in the boundaries

established by the concrete walls and iron gates. In order to get the

life giving water to the people in the desert where I live, we need

both the concrete and the water. Gods Spirit always moves

within the boundaries of His written word. Gods written word can

not be properly understood or applied without the Spirit.

We are called to walk by faith in Gods written word as

illuminated by the Holy Spirit. We are called to walk by faith in

Gods revelatory voice that comes in the various ways the Holy

Spirit communicates to us confirmed by the word. As we develop


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and learn to embrace both the word and the Spirits

communication, our faith will grow supernaturally.

Mans Responsibility on Earth

The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORDS; but the earth

He has given to the children of men. Psalm 115:16

God rules in His perfect sovereignty and infinite power in Hisheavenly realm sometimes called the third heaven. His will is

always accomplished in the third heaven. There is no sin or

rebellion in His third heaven domain.

God delegated the stewardship of the earth realm (1st heaven) to

mankind. His will is not always accomplished on earth becauseman is allowed to choose to obey God or rebel against Him. Gods

will can be accomplished on earth with the agreement of people on

earth who believe in Him and obey His voice.

God made covenants in His word that determine the boundaries

through which He always works in relationship to mankind. He is

faithful and will always keep His covenants if we meet the

conditions. Gods word also contains commands, promises and

principles that teach us how to do His will and please Him. Each

individuals responsibility is to seek to know God and follow His

commandments to fulfill his or her personal stewardship while

alive on earth.


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God has Magnified His Word Above All His Name

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

Psalm 138:2

God has exalted the revelation and boundaries of His written word

above all His name. His name includes all of His attributes. This

means that God cannot exercise attributes like His sovereignty orHis infinite power on earth if it were to break His own word. God

cannot violate or set aside His word and remain holy and true.

God will always honor His written word in relationship to mankind

on earth. Gods word is completely dependable all the time for

every person everywhere.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable

for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in

righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,

thoroughly equipped for every good work. II Timothy 3:16,17

Gods word, through holy prophets of old, has been carefully

recorded and kept in a book we know as the Holy Bible. The bible

is God breathed. The Spirit of the Lord gave anointed men

wisdom to record the words of God over a 1,500 year time period.

Those inspired words are profitable for mankind to study,

understand and obey. The living word of God equips us to walk

with God and accomplish all of His good pleasure. It is Gods

pleasure that we walk by faith in His word.


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Gods word declares that all mankind will have to stand before

God one day and give account for the life lived on earth. This

judgment is absolute according to Gods word2. God is just and

will judge perfectly on that day. We know that He will judge those

who are alive today based on their response to the work of His Son

Jesus Christ.

For those who believe in what the bible says about Jesus and put

their faith into action, they will experience everlasting joy in thepresence of the Lord. Those who reject Jesus and live according to

their own beliefs will experience everlasting torment in fiery

judgment.

Judgment will also bring about degrees of rewards to those who

are faithful and obey Gods voice. There are special rewards formartyrs and those who have so diligently followed the Lord

through many persecutions3. God will eternally reward those who

persevere and walk in higher levels of faith. This fact may

motivate us to pay a price and suffer some momentary light

afflictions in order to obtain a good standing in heaven.

God Partners with Man to Accomplish His Will

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His

secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7

Gods word declares that He does nothing in the earth unless He

reveals it first to prophets. The implication is that God needs the

agreement of someone alive on earth to enter the earth realm in the

way He wants. This is because God has given the responsibility


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and authority of what happens on earth to mankind. God honors

His order established in his word and asks the permission of man

to enter the earth realm.

Imagine that you rented a home from a landlord. You pay your

rent on time and keep the property up. If a respectful owner

wanted to come inside the house you are renting, he would knock

on the door and ask your permission to enter. You could invite

him in or tell him to take a walk. Your lease gives you certainrights and privileges. The owner can not simply barge into your

home because he is the owner. But the owner does have rights as

well.

If you are negligent in paying the rent and are a poor stewardship

of the property, the owner might eventually use legal means andget the sheriff to evict you. A tenant has legal rights and so does

the owner.

The earth is the Lords4. God owns the earth and everyone on it

will be held accountable by Him for their lives on earth. God has

given the earth into the responsibility of people living on the earth.

There are various levels of authority and responsibility given to

people. God will righteously judge each one according to what he

or she has done.

When God wants to come into the earth that He owns, He knocks

on the door of someones heart and asks permission. When a

person begins to hear God in some fashion, faith is required to

receive and act on the word. God does not intrude into the affairs

on earth without seeking agreement at this time. If we give


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agreement and let God in, we experience His partnership in some

fashion.

In addition, we can petition God to come into our realm in special

ways and do things for us. There are many things we can ask God

to do, but they all require faith for God to move on our behalf.

God loves to listen to His children and work with them to meet

their needs. He will always work in agreement with His written

word which encourages us to ask, seek and knock to obtainanswers to our prayers.

God cannot accomplish everything He wants to on earth in every

person or situation. Gods word gives each person the free will to

choose His will or not. Individuals must choose to believe and

obey Him so that He can do everything He wants to through theirfaith. We all must learn how to walk in agreement with God and

partner with Him so that He can accomplish what He wants in and

through us. This brings Him glory and enables us to find our

destiny as we walk by faith and not by sight.

Satan is constantly speaking lies to people and has to have

agreement with man to move in the ways he wants to on earth.

Every person ultimately makes choices as to whose voice they will

follow. If they believe Satans lies and follow him, they live in the

kingdom of darkness and are influenced by that realm in various

degrees. Satan often influences people to operate under

intimidating fear which is a counterfeit form of faith.

If we choose to believe the truth of Gods word found in the bible

and live by faith in Gods written word and His voice, we will be


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part of the kingdom of God. We will be influenced by the Holy

Spirit and used according to the level of our calling, faith and

obedience. It is vital that we learn to tune into God and tune out

and bind the signals from the enemy.

God has created some people who are more gifted to hear His

voice and be His mouthpiece to others. When a prophet or

prophetic person speaks an accurate message in the name of theLord, we are responsible to handle that word reverently because

God is speaking. God will confirm those prophetic words in His

written word and may give many other confirmations as well. He

is after all the author and finisher of our faith and loves to build us

up so that we can experience His glorious pleasures!


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CHAPTER 1 THE AUTHOR AND FINISHEROF OUR FAITH

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12:2a

Jesus Christ is the living word5. As the author of our faith He is

the initiator of all true faith. Jesus is the sower spoken of in His

parable6. The sower sows the seeds of the kingdom which are

words or messages from God. Jesus sows these words into the

field of humanity. His voice centers on the written word of God

found in the bible, but God also speaks through various prophetic

forms that are confirmed by the word of God.

Individual hearts are like soil. Jesus taught us that there are four

general soil conditions of the human hearts that hear His words:

1. HARD HEARTS: There are hardened hearts who do not

receive His words because they are hardened by sin and

rebellion. Those seeds never penetrate peoples darkenedhearts.

2. SHALLOW HEARTS: Shallow hearts receives the word

seed briefly but do not provide deep root for it. When hard

times come, the seedling withers and dies.

3. CLUTTERED HEARTS: Cluttered hearts do not keep

control of weed seeds of worry, the love of money, thecares of this world and so forth. The word seedling gets

choked by the thorns and does not bear fruit.


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4. GOOD HEARTS: The only heart condition that receives

the seed and brings it to fruit bearing maturity is the good

heart. A good heart is characterized by loving God and

desiring to please Him in all things. A good heart is tender

and willing to yield to the direction of the word. The good

heart will nourish the word seedling and allow time for it to

grow strong. God helps those with good hearts mature the

word since He is the finisher of our faith.

God wants each of us to continuously prepare our hearts to be good

soil to receive the planting of His word so that He can take us from

one level of faith to another level of faith7.

Faith Comes by Hearing, Hearing

Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Romans

10:17

Jesus is always sowing His seeds of faith through the written word

and through His prophetic voice. Preachers and teachers that

speak Gods word under His anointing are used by God to sow

seeds of His word. To grow in faith, it may be helpful to listen to

various media presentations of good preaching and teaching of

Gods word.

God also speaks to human hearts through dreams, visions,

conscience, intuition and many other forms. Paul taught us that

faith comes by hearing, hearing. He was not stuttering when

he repeated the word hearing. The first hearing refers to the


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various ways in which the Holy Spirit speaks. The second hearing

is the confirmation and understanding of the word of God.

It is possible to study the word of God diligently and not hear or

understand what God is saying through obvious scriptures. Years

ago I met a rabbi scholar on an overseas plane ride. I talked with

him openly about Jesus and questioned him about his

understanding of the bible. He was a brilliant man and said that he

greatly enjoyed reading the epistles of Paul. I cherished talkingwith this man and greatly respected His scholarship. Perhaps he

will be with the Lord forever, but he did not grasp the central

message of the New Testament that Jesus Christ is God come in

the flesh. This devoted man read the gospels, but he did not hear

the Spirit in that word so that it could implant genuine faith in his

heart.

Some zealous Christians take a passage of scripture and confess

the promises and believe that they will receive them. This has

been called the name it and claim it method. It is possible to

name and claim something God is not saying to you at that time

even though it is written in the bible. Sometimes God will give us

what we name and claim even though it is not His highest will or

His perfect timing8. Jesus is the author of genuine faith and we are

to be His living epistles filled with the life of His word.

The apostles devoted themselves to prayer first and then to the

ministry of the word9. The ministry of the word that they focused

on was based on the leading of the Holy Spirit that they received

during prayer.


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God has given me a great deal of revelation so that I could write

many books to help believers grow in knowing Christ and

following His ways. When I am asked to speak, I feel a solemn

responsibility to release the now word of the Lord to the people.

Consequently, I devote myself to prayer and wait on God to show

me what scriptures He wants me to minister. At times, Ive been

nervous because God doesnt speak anything until the last minute.

This keeps me humbly dependent on the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, I have diligently prepared the message I felt God

wanted me to give only to be interrupted by a heavenly vision

during the worship time before the message. God has enhanced or

totally changed the message several times over the years. The best

messages have come after God does this especially through open

vision experiences.

Faith comes by hearing the Holy Spirit and gaining understanding

and revelation of it through the word of God. This takes effort on

our part to steward and understand what God speaks to us through

fervent prayer and bible study.

The Work of Faith

Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God,

that you believe in Him whom He sent. John 6:29

Jesus said that a main work that we needed to do is to believe in

Him who was sent. We have to work at developing our faith. The

work consists in a few basic components.


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First, we must change our mindsets according to the Lords

command to repent and believe10. We must turn from our

selfish ways and turn wholly to God. As we change, we need to

develop the field of our heart with the fear of the Lord. We must

set the intent of our heart with a focused desire to hear God and

obey Him. Developing the heart includes repentance for things the

Holy Spirit reveals to us that are hindering our hearts from hearing.

Anything we do that violates His word and is part of our flesh

nature needs to be dealt with at the cross as we plow up the fallowground of our hearts11.

Second, we must be devoted to prayer. Prayer prepares our hearts

to receive the living word. Prayer includes worship, praise,

meditation, waiting on God and quiet reflection. We must pray in

the spirit and with understanding.

Finally, we must read, meditate and study Gods word found in the

bible. Some will be led to read books and listen to messages by

others, but everyone should study the bible on their own.

If we do these three basic things, we are doing the work of faith or

sowing to the Spirit. The bible promises us that if we sow in the

Spirit, from the Spirit we shall reap everlasting life.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man

sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of

the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of

the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary

while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not

lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good


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to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:7-10

A farmer prepares the soil, sows the seed, waters the seed and

keeps the weeds and wild animals out until the harvest. The

human heart is somewhat like the farmers field. We must prepare

our hearts by humbling ourselves, casting off all worry, doubt and

the cares of this world. We must yield to the Holy Spirit and

receive the seeds implanted as He speaks to us during times ofprayer and bible reading. We should study carefully the things He

highlights to us during our devotional time.

As we steward the things Gods speaks to us through meditation

and obedience, God will increase our faith step by step, line upon

line and row upon row

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. The harvest will be great. The enemyknows this and tries to bring us to such a point of discouragement

that we lose heart and let go of faith. We must not lose heart or we

can lose the promises of God. It takes diligent work to hold onto

God in faith for things He has spoken to you about. We have to

pray those key promises over and over again and increase in our

trust that God will bring them to pass.


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Increase Your Hearing and Faith

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you

were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of

Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and

admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual

songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:15,16

When the peace of God rules our hearts the spiritual faculty of

hearing increases. We must meditate on the word of God and

allow it to dwell deeply in our hearts. We must worship Him with

joyful singing and spiritual songs. Worship brings us into the

presence of God where we often encounter His voice as we keepour hearts open to receive.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy

faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of

God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto

eternal life. Jude 20,21

You can also increase hearing and build up your faith by praying in

the Holy Spirit. Praying in tongues sows into the spirit realm so

that you can reap a harvest of fresh revelation from God. Paul said

that he prayed in tongues more than all the rest13. As a result, God

gave Paul enough revelation to write nearly one half of the New

Testament.


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Praying in tongues can become a religious fanatical exercise also

so Jude and Paul exhort us to keep ourselves in the love of God14.

We should be led by the Spirit to pray in tongues. There was a

thirteen month season many years ago where God gave me the

leading, grace and time to pray in tongues four to six hours daily.

That season lifted and I dont pray in tongues that much now.

When I really need to press in and get a word from God, I will start

sowing by praying in tongues and eventually God will release a

revelation. Paul taught us that tongues was a doorway intorevelation.

But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues,

what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by

revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? I

Corinthians 14:6,7

Paul didnt speak in tongues publicly without interpretation. He

prayed in tongues before the meetings so that when he came he had

a fresh revelation, words of knowledge, a prophecy or a teaching.

This has been the model the Lord has had me follow in my public

speaking and writing ministry. Add to praying in the Spirit,

worship and consistent bible study with meditation and you will

soon receive revelation from God so that you can grow in your

faith and build it up.

If You See It You Can Possess It

And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from

him: Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you

are -- northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all


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the land which you see I give to you and your descendants

forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the

earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then

your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the

land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.

Genesis 13:14-17

When God says lift up your eyes in the bible, it often refers to

looking at something with the eyes of faith. When you experiencerevelation of the word of God the Holy Spirit is opening your eyes

to see a truth, principle, command or promise. The revelation

becomes alive to you because the Holy Spirit is sowing a seed of

faith into your heart.

Just as Abraham was told to walk through the land he waspromised by God, we must walk through the word God gives us.

This journey can be arduous and painful at times, but it is the walk

of faith.

As you pray and worship God, He will speak to you about some

matter or give you prophetic vision so that He can guide you by

His eye15. Whatever God reveals to you so that you see it you

can possess it if you believe and walk it out. If you fail to walk it

out because of unbelief or whatever, that seed will not bear lasting

fruit.

Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith

let it be to you. Matthew 9:29


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When we persevere in faith, the Lord will touch our eyes and we

will see things we never saw before. Whatever we are believing

for, in Gods perfect time, we can experience His touch and the

manifestation of our faith will be fulfilled just as Jesus said it

would.

The Lord has sown seeds of faith in many hearts to believe Him to

do the works that Jesus did and greater works by the power of the

indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself said that those who believedin Him would be enabled to do greater miraculous works than He

did16. We have contended for that for over ten years and yet have

not fully achieved what He said. Do we give up? Do we say the

bible is not true? How do we make it through the journey of faith

when the results are not what we had expected?

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Whatever you have

significant faith for will be tested by fire. In between the first and

last chapter of faith come incredible fiery trials.


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CHAPTER 2 THE FIERY TRIALS OF FAITH

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need

be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the

genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold

that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to

praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see

Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full

of glory, receiving the end of your faith -- the salvation of your

souls. I Peter 1:6-9

Faith is a gold-like substance in the inner man of the believer.

That valuable spiritual gold is tested by fire. The modern word for

testing gold is to assay. When the chemist assays a piece of gold

under hot fire he is seeking to find out the exact substance. What

is the quality of the gold? How much impurity is in the gold?

When God assays the faith He authors in our hearts, He is seeking

to find out the quality of it. Is it mature? Is it pure enough to meet

His standards? Is it mixed with our weed seeds of doubt, worryand the cares of this world?

Because He is the finisher of faith, He alone knows when faith has

fully matured. He will scoop the dross of impurity off the top of

our spiritual tanks when purifying faith through fiery trials. He

will cleanse us until He sees Himself in the pure reflection of ourgolden faith17.


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Through Faith and Patience We Inherit the Promises

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to

the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become

sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience

inherit the promises.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He couldswear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, Surely

blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the

promise. Hebrews 6:11-15 (underlining mine)

Abraham patiently endured twenty-five years of testing beforeIsaac, the promised son, was born. Abrahams life is a pattern as

the father of faith. Faith is incomplete without the Holy Spirit

working the fruit of patience into your life. Patience is enduring

faith, holding on to the promise of God through thick and lots of

thin. Enduring faith keeps believing and confessing that God is

faithful and that He will fulfill His promises.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But

let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and

complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-5

Knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

James 1:3 KJV


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Trials, tribulations and testing come in the journey of your growing

faith in order for the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of patience.

Patience performs a maturing and completing work in the believer.

It is the finishing school of the Lord so we may be perfect,

complete and lacking nothing.

Young believers often do not understand the long journey required

to perfect faith and patience. Apparent delays can become

extremely discouraging and many have lost heart and failed to holdonto Gods prophetic promises. If we understand this process we

can do what James and Paul admonish us to do: Rejoicing in

hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer

(Romans 12:12).

Press Through Tribulations to EnterHigher Levels of Gods Kingdom

And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made

many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to

continue in the faith, and saying, We must through many

tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:21-22

(underlining mine)

The third heaven realm, the kingdom of God, where God reigns

from is the place where we are blessed with every spiritual

blessing that Christ paid for in full18. We live in the first heaven

realm on earth which includes our natural atmosphere. The second

heaven realm is the spiritual atmosphere overlapping the natural

and is somewhat of a barrier between us and Gods third heaven


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realm. The second heaven has angelic and demonic activity

operating in it.

In order to access the third heaven realm to obtain our promises

and bring them into our natural realm experience, we must ascend

through prayer and obedience and break through spiritual enemies

of God who resist us. It is somewhat like climbing a mountain

pathway that provides gravitational resistance. All the benefits

Christ paid for at the cross are at the top of the mountain! Itrequires strenuous effort to ascend Gods holy hill. The angels of

God will help us as they are empowered by our fervent prayers and

prophetic acts. It is worth the effort to pay the price to obtain

Gods gold.

Glenda and I have experienced many trials, especially financialones, and have been empowered by God to break through and find

the way of escape and provision19

. God has always refined us and

our faith. He has been faithful to provide for all our needs and

give the revelation we needed to walk by faith in Him as we seek

His kingdom first.

The devil is allowed to resist us to a degree. Through those

tribulations that come as we are pressing in, we can enter the

kingdom of God and take hold of promises through effective

fervent faith and Spirit led obedience. We must pull promises

down into our realm of experience. Often this happens through

holy violent activity.


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CHAPTER 3 THE VIOLENCE OF FAITH

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom

of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Matthew 11:12,13

God sincerely wants us to obtain what Christ purchased on our

behalf. However, it requires acts of violent faith and spiritual

warfare on our part to take hold of our provisions and benefits20.

God gave Israel the Promised Land in the natural realm, but seven

demonized nations had established themselves there. God gave

Joshua the leadership over the army to take courage, follow His

voice and take the land through violent physical warfare. This

warfare was led by the Angel of the Lord, the Lord of Hosts. They

had to obey the Angel in order to be successful.

God has given us many spiritual covenant blessings, destinies and

privileges in Christ Jesus which is our spiritual Promised Land.

The enemy has established strongholds in our minds and in the

second heaven realm that we must war against to break throughand obtain our covenant promises21. The Lord of Hosts will guide

us and be with us as we believe and obey His voice. As our minds

are renewed by the living word and we follow the Holy Spirit, He

will enable us to overcome and obtain all that Christ obtained for

us.

There are many aspects to holy violence to obtain the objects of

faith. John the Baptist lived a life of holy violence. This included a

separate-from-the-world lifestyle, fasting, intense devotion to


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prayer and the study of Gods word. John was in community with

disciples that also sought God diligently. According to Jesus, John

was the greatest man ever born. John performed no miracles, but

His violent prayers prepared the way in the spiritual realm for

Jesus ministry to come forth.

Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth,

and the LORD said to me: Behold, I have put My words in

your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations andover the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and

to throw down, to build and to plant. Jeremiah 1:9,10

Jeremiahs call is a pattern for holy violent prophetic ministry.

Jeremiah was given tremendous authority through the release of

Gods words. He was able to do holy violence over nations andover kingdoms to root out wickedness, pull down demonic powers,

destroy the enemys works and throw down their exalted

strongholds. He was also able to build and to plant with prophetic

decrees.

We may not be office level prophets, but Jesus said that we have

authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all

the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt

you (Luke 10:19). We have authority over all the power of the

enemy! That is enormous authority. We have the authority to root

out sin in our own lives. We can pull down mental strongholds

and renew our mind by the word of God. With the full armor of

God22, we can stand strong and violently against Satans attacks on

our lives and our promises.


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God has given you a powerful destiny to bear fruit on earth for His

glory and take some territory for God and your family. The enemy

is definitely going to try and keep you from all that God has for

you, but Gods angels are available to help you breakthrough. We

also have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us pray

as we ought23. Your God given territory includes righteousness,

peace, joy, divine health and prosperity. You have the authority to

take possession of your inheritance and trample on the enemy as

you do. This will happen through prophetic intercession.

Prophetic intercession is simply allowing the Holy Spirit to show

you what to pray and partnering with Him to pray the prayers and

make the decrees He leads you to make. It does require that you

learn to hear His voice and see in the spiritual realm what He is

saying

24

. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues,meditating on Gods word, extended times of worship and waiting

on God in quiet prayer will help you develop these spiritual

senses25.

Fast and Pray through Delays

Then he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day

that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself

before your God, your words were heard; and I have come

because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of

Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael,

one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left

alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make

you understand what will happen to your people in the latter


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days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come. Daniel

10:12-14

Daniel humbled himself by fasting and prayed twenty-one days

over Jeremiahs prophetic word about the end of their 70 year

captivity. We know that Daniel consistently prayed at least three

times per day. God released the revelatory answer on the first day

but the messenger angel encountered spiritual warfare resistance in

the second heaven which delayed the breakthrough. This passageteaches us the importance of fasting and praying through until we

receive the breakthrough revelation. Often we need to humble

ourselves by fasting as the Spirit leads to increase the power of our

prayers. Fasting is an act of spiritual violence.

Our consistent faithful prayers empower angelic activity and makebreakthroughs possible. If we only pray once or occasionally, we

may not be doing our part in the partnership to enable angelic

activity to break through with Gods answer. Most Christians fail

to obtain aspects of Gods promises because they get discouraged

or do not understand basic spiritual dynamics including the need to

pray and fast through delays.

Revelation and Vision

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.

Proverbs 29:18a

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18a

KJV


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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6a

These verses teach us that without revelation and knowledge, we

cast off restraints and are destroyed. The governing influence of

the word of God and the Holy Spirit provide heavenly restraint and

empower us with zeal and discipline. Godly restraints are

boundaries and guidelines that keep us pure and focused on

accomplishing what God has called us to do.

When we cast off the yoke of heavenly restraints and wander into

sin, the enemy is given the opportunity to yoke us to sin and direct

us down a pathway of deception and corruption. When this

happens, we must violently break it off. We must repent, confess

our sins and die to self. We must yield to the Holy Spirits

leadership and allow Him to govern our daily lives. Sometimes weneed anointed members of the body of Christ to lead us in violent

deliverance prayer to get free.

Revelation and visions of God enable us to grow in relationship

with Him and walk yoked with Jesus. As we behold Him, we are

transformed to become like Him26. He opens our eyes to see the

destructive nature of sin. We run from sin and gladly take the yoke

of Jesus to walk in partnership with God when we have clear

vision from above. Revelation establishes purpose and clear

direction for our lives. Revelation encourages us that God is with

us and wants us to bear fruit and accomplish goals for His glory.

When we have no revelation or vision, we often waste time and

drift off course with God.


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Without revelation and clear direction from God, we may follow

some well meaning Christian leaders with great enthusiasm and

still end up off course. We may follow our own vision or selfish

goals with tremendous energy that simply wears us out and leaves

us spiritually empty.

In order to get true revelation and vision from God, we need to

humble ourselves and pray with violent intensity which may

include fasting. The Lord led me into a long extended fast andinstructed me to do the last seven days water only in order to break

through the enemies camp. It was extremely difficult and I could

hear demonic voices trying to talk me out of it near the end. Upon

completion, God gave me a powerful revelation of Christ on the

cross as I broke the fast with communion. I wept for a long time

and was exhausted. God immediately opened new doors ofministry and flooded finances to us that had been mysteriously

held back. It was amazing!

High Praise

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged

sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and

punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains,

and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the

written judgment -- this honor have all His saints. Psalm

149:6-9

There is a place of prophetic worship known as high praise that

does holy violence against the enemys kingdom. The worship

team at our church often moves into high praise which is an


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extremely powerful form of intercession. As we agree and sing

praises to our God, He releases His angels and empowers us

spontaneously to wreak havoc on His enemies. God will use

various aspects of high praise to defeat the enemy including

scriptures, prophetic acts, singing, shouting, percussion, dance and

banners in the midst of this violent warfare.

The Lord has enabled me to become a worship leader as well and

has graced me to love extended prophetic praise and worship. Insome services, He leads us to build a fire of intimate worship while

in others there is intense prophetic praise and songs of the Spirit.

Only by completely following the leading of Gods Spirit can we

rise up in the Lord to this level of kingly warfare. King David

stepped into this kind of praise 3,000 years ago and we are called

to discover this radical praise and worship as well in order toadvance Gods kingdom27. We must learn to move by faith in the

Spirits leading at deep levels to do what He shows us to do. He

has led me to do some radical dances, when I was younger and

more physically fit. They have tremendous power when done in

tune with Gods Spirit. Some strongholds can only be broken

through anointed dancing!

Weeping Intercession

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them

out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a

broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many

are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him

out of them all. Psalm 34:17-19


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There is a violence in weeping intercession and crying out to God

that has great power in the spiritual realm. If you follow the Holy

Spirit diligently, He will lead you to advance Gods kingdom into

places where the enemy will resist and try to afflict you with

various trials and troubles. As we cry out to God and weep before

Him, our prayers are given tremendous power to breakthrough.

Paul said that when he was at his weakest God was at His

strongest.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in

needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For

when I am weak, then I am strong. II Corinthians 12:10

When we are weak from the stresses of persecution, spiritual

warfare, disappointments and various tribulations, we cry out toGod and often simply cry our tears. Many times in the past year,

my wife Glenda and I have been broken before the Lord and

reduced to tears. In those times of utter desperation, our simple

short prayers often have more power than all the loud intercession

of days when we felt strong. Some intercessors weep often and

God is using their tears to perform violent warfare and water His

prophetic words.

If you carefully read Psalm 69, you will understand that zeal for

the Lord and His house will bring you into intense conflict with the

enemy and his resistance. Many people avoid this level of conflict

by simply living a moderate Christian life. But those who are

zealous like Jesus run into great trouble as all hell breaks loose to

stop them. In those times of great trial, our weakest prayers are

often full of heavenly violence.


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The Holy Spirit enables us to groan and our whole being cries out

a prayer to God in times of great distress. After we have prayed

every prayer we can think of we recognize we no longer know how

to pray and we need the Holy Spirit to help us intercede28. In our

weakness, He can be so strong.

Only God can truly produce holy desperation and brokenness and

contriteness in the human heart. If you fully abandon yourself tothe leadership of the Holy Spirit, He will eventually lead you to

seemingly impossible places where you will be broken and contrite

before Him. In those weak moments, your tears and heartfelt

whispered prayers will shake the kingdom of darkness and God

will move mightily on your behalf29.


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CHAPTER 4 THE CONFESSION OF FAITH

But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth

and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe

in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will

be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:8-10

Paul outlines the principle of believing and confessing in this vital

passage. What we believe in the inner man must be given verbal

expression to become complete. Just as faith without works is

dead, inner belief without outward expression is lifeless.

Believing and confessing are continual actions. We must keep

believing and keep confessing until we obtain the desire of faith.

If we keep meditating on Gods word and confessing the truth of it

out loud, our own heart will hear and our faith can be built.

There is tremendous power in our confessions. A confession of

faith is a verbal declaration of an inner belief. It is like signing a

contract. If you make an earnest strong confession it approaches

the level of a vow or verbal contract. The most powerful level of

confession is to make a decree30.

The tongue has tremendous power in steering the rudder of the

ship of your life. Verbal confessions have the power of life and


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death31. We must be careful what we confess since we will be

judged by our words.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the

tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things?

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A

good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth

good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringsforth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men

may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you

will be condemned.

Matthew 12:33-37

What is in the heart is going to come out of the mouth. If you

listen to someone long enough, you will know what is in their

heart. Words confessed can give legal rights to God or Satan to do

things that influence your life. Many of us have once prayed,

Lord, do whatever it takes to burn all the flesh out of me! That

prayer is recorded and gives God the legal right to release His fire

to burn all the flesh out of you. If you confess, I feel terribly sick,

I think Im going to have a heart attack, you may be giving legal

right to the enemy to give you a heart attack.

Having lived by faith for many years, Glenda and I have learned to

confess the promises of God related to His provisions. There have

been many times where those confessions were in the face of dire

circumstances and tremendous lack. We kept declaring that God is

our Father and that He will provide for all of our needs according


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to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus32. It is extremely powerful to

confess the word to overcome doubt and all the attacks of the

enemy who tries to fill your mind with lies.

God created us in His image and requires that we prayerfully

declare things so that they can happen. You will also declare a

thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on

your ways (Job 22:28). The ancient man Job understood that

making declarations was essential to seeing things established.Light represents Gods favor and revelation. God has shown favor

to Christians by giving us His Holy Spirit so that we can receive

His light, declare the things the Spirit gives us and the grace to

wait to see God establish them for us.

The Same Spirit of Faith

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what

is written, I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe

and therefore speak (II Corinthians 4:13,14). The principle of

faith is clearly confirmed in this passage. What we believe, we

speak. God has given us the same spirit of faith that Jesus walked

in so that we can do the works of Jesus and even greater works33.

An important aspect of these greater works is to speak what we

believe and expect it to come to pass. When we speak the word

God has sowed into our hearts, it activates angelic activity on our

behalf.

Once while ministering at a church, the Lord spoke to me that He

was going to heal left knees. When I spoke it out, five people

responded and came forward. Then God indicated that a person


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with hot hands should pray for them. A woman who had never

ministered healing came forward with hot hands and I told her to

lay hands on the left knees and say, Be healed in the name of

Jesus! When she did, all of them were instantly healed. Because

we followed Gods counsel, He supplied His might! Anointed

voice and Spirit led action activates the angelic realm since they

recognize and obey the voice of His word34.

When Jesus cursed the fig tree, he believed that it would instantlydry up35. His disciples were astounded at how quickly the fig

tree withered. Jesus must have heard the Father tell Him to curse

the fig tree since faith comes by hearing the word of God. Jesus

responded to His disciples amazement by exhorting them to

believe what God says to them and boldly speak it out expecting

His power to back them up. Jesus told us that if we had faith inour hearts, without doubting, we would have whatever we say36.

We are created in the image of God who spoke everything into

existence. When God leads, we will have the anointing and power

to speak and have whatever we say. This is a tremendous

anointing that we must seek. Loving God with all your heart, soul,

mind and strength is essential in development.

We all can develop like a long distance runner. I decided many

years ago to run a 26.2 mile marathon. At the time I was

completely out of shape and 30 pounds overweight. I started

jogging that day and trained vigorously for about nine months. At

the end of that time I successfully completed the Atlanta marathon

on Thanksgiving Day. After that I ran many marathons and trained


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to run in longer runs including a fifty mile trail ultramarathon in

the mountains.

Developing the capacity to run fifty miles for a person of

reasonable age and athletic ability is actually much more mental

than physical. Ive seen people in their sixties and seventies

complete fifty and one hundred mile trail races. There may be

reason to question their sanity, but it is possible for humans to

achieve much more than they think they can accomplish.

Because we are created in the image of God, we have creative

power in our confessions. The capacity to flow in higher levels of

power can be developed like learning to run longer races. We

dont have to be physically fit to flow in miraculous power but we

do have to be spiritually fit. We need the mental attitude that wecan do it and persevere through all the trials to get there. We all

have to learn to run the race with endurance to move in higher

levels of faith.

What a tremendous encouragement to know that we have the same

spirit of faith that empowered Jesus to walk and only do what He

saw the Father doing. It is not enough to simply believe, we must

confess and declare what we believe. We see Gods example of

the spirit of faith in the life of Abraham.

The Father of Faith

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so

that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those

who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of


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Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, I have

made you a father of many nations) in the presence of Him

whom he believed -- God, who gives life to the dead and calls

those things which do not exist as though they did; who,

contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the

father of many nations, according to what was spoken, So

shall your descendants be. And not being weak in faith, he

did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was

about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarahswomb. He did not waver at the promise of God through

unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was

also able to perform. And therefore it was accounted to him

for righteousness. Romans 4:16-22 (underlining mine)

We must believe the words of God in our heart and then speak

them forth. Abram was without child when God changed his name

and declared that he would be the father of many nations. Every

time the father of faith told people his new name, Abraham, he

was declaring the word of the Lord over him that it was his destiny

to be the father of many nations.

God calls those things in His heart which do not exist in the natural

realm as though they already did. That is because they are alive in

Gods heart and mind. God had a perfect vision in His mind of

Abraham becoming the Father of many nations through thousands

of years of human history. What God envisioned had the potential

to become real if Abraham would believe and confess His

prophetic word.


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At the time God spoke to Abraham about his prophetic destiny, the

patriarch did not have any children. It was humanly impossible for

Abraham to conceive children through Sarah. God said that he

would be the father of many nations as He showed Abraham the

stars and changed his name. Abraham looked at the stars and

caught the vision. He may have reasoned that if God could create

the universe of stars, certainly He could do a creative miracle in

their bodies and enable them to have children and father nations

over time. Abraham got into agreement with God and believed thename change and consistently declared his destiny by declaring his

new name.

Abraham did not look at the deadness of his own body or Sarahs.

He did not put faith in the facts of the natural realm. When He

looked at the stars, Abraham was often reminded to put his faith inthe word of God and spoke it out giving glory to God. God

reckoned it to him as righteousness. We are reckoned righteous

through faith in Jesus finished work and making confession of our

faith unto salvation. This is a pattern of life in the Spirit. God

speaks to your heart and you receive it. Then you begin to pray

and declare what God has said and He brings it to pass in His time.

Abraham saw the beginning of Gods word over him birthed

through Isaac twenty-five years later.

When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac on the altar a few

years later, Abraham so believed Gods promise that he had the

conviction that God would raise Isaac from the dead if needed.

This led Abraham to make faith declarations on the journey that

God honored.


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And Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the

donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will

come back to you. Genesis 22:5 (underlining mine)

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide for Himself the

lamb for a burnt offering. So the two of them went together.

Genesis 22:8

Abraham held onto Gods promise to bring nations through Isaacwho became a prophetic type of Christ. Abraham declared to his

servants that he and Isaac would return after worshipping God.

Abraham also told Isaac that God would provide for Himself the

lamb. Abrahams decrees were soon fulfilled and ultimately Jesus

Christ became the Lamb of God whom the Father offered up on the

cross.

Anointed prophetic words and bible promises that God quickens to

your heart are things that exist in the heart and mind of God for

you. They are living seed words with spiritual power to be made

manifest in the natural realm if they are received and nurtured by

faith and the appropriate works including confessions of faith.

It is the heart and mind of God for all mankind to come to

repentance and be saved. But only those who hear the gospel of

Jesus Christ and respond in faith receive the life giving seed of His

word in their hearts. Hardness, shallowness, cares and worries can

keep that seed from bearing fruit. So it is with biblical promises

and prophetic words. We need to receive those living seed words

into the good soil of our hearts and water them with prayer,


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thanksgiving, meditation and confession/proclamation until they

come to pass.

The Violent Prophetic Sword Comes out of the Kings Mouth

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He

who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in

righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a

flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had aname written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed

with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word

of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white

and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His

mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the

nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. HeHimself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of

Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a

name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:11-16

Jesus Christ, the Word of God and King of Kings is pictured in this

prophetic vision returning to earth on a white horse to judge and

make war in righteousness. A sharp sword is seen coming out of

His mouth to strike the nations. Many saints are riding with Him

on white horses.

The sword that comes from Jesus mouth represents prophetic

words and decrees. This is a key picture of the way God is going

to judge and make war by the release of prophetic words through

His people who agree and ride with Him. God puts the sword of


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His words in our mouths to judge and make war in righteousness

through prophetic decrees. He is the King over kings. We are

being made as priests and kings unto our God37.

God wants you to pray His word with holy violence as a

demonstration of your contending for the faith He has authored in

you. This requires that you read, study and meditate on the word

of God so that God can highlight promises to you.

The sword of the Spirit is the confessed word of the Lord out of

your own mouth. It does powerful spiritual warfare to tell Satan,

It is written. just as Jesus did38. When you are involved in

spiritual warfare, ask the Holy Spirit for a verse of scripture to

pray. That revealed verse will be the sharp sword of the Spirit that

will defeat the enemy every time.

Mature faith in Gods revealed word is the means by which God

releases supernatural supply from the heavenly realm into the

earthly realm. God has magnified His word above all His name

and will always back up His word with His infinite power. We

must believe the word in our hearts and keep confessing and

declaring it until the manifestation comes in Gods time.


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CHAPTER 5 ADD TO YOUR FAITH

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your

faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to

self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to

godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither

barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus

Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to

blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old

sins.

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call

and election sure, for if you do these things you will never

stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly

into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ. II Peter 1:5-11

Peter exhorted us to add to our faith Christ-like character qualities.

We must diligently pursue the development of virtue, knowledge,self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love. The

Holy Spirit enables us to bear the fruit of Christ-likeness as we

walk with Him governed by His leadership39.

Some believers who have moved in powerful faith did not add self-

control and have had some major moral failures. Developing faithis not a competition and should not become unbalanced over

character development. While both should be pursued, it would be


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wiser to develop character before miraculous faith so that you do

not fall once you start to flow in Gods power.

Faith without Works is Dead

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith

but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or

sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you saysto them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do

not give them the things which are needed for the body, what

does it profit. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have

works, is dead.

But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works.Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you

my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You

do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble! But do you

want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he

offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was

working together with his works, and by works faith was made

perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,

Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for

righteousness. And he was called the friend of God. You see

then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works

when she received the messengers and sent them out another


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way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith

without works is dead also. James 2:14-26

Someone once said that we are saved by faith alone but the faith

that saves is not alone. Faith includes walking in the good works

that are part of our God ordained destiny40. Good works flow out

of our faith. James clearly teaches us that works demonstrate our

faith.

When God speaks to you to give $500 to fund an orphanage and

you believe it is God, your faith is useless unless you write the

check and put it in the offering. Faith is not intellectual assent.

Faith is a tangible spiritual substance that grows in our personal

convictions as it matures. Faith seeks Gods will and then yields to

do His will once revealed.

Living seeds of faith are incubated in our spiritual wombs to be

birthed in season. God seeds revelation in my spirit to write

specific books. I often nurture and carry those seeds for a few

years before they are birthed into a book. When its time to birth, it

can be a painful push to bring it forth, but this is part of the good

works the Lord has for us. We dont gain Gods approval by works

of faith but rather we position ourselves to experience His

blessings and His partnership when we walk in faith and

obedience.

Faith Works Through Love

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision

avails anything, but faith working through love. Galatians 5:6


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And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,

but have not love, I am nothing. I Corinthians 13:2b

We must add love to our faith above all other virtues. We must

develop our passionate love for God and people by the help of the

Holy Spirit. Jesus was moved by compassion for hungry people

and got into faith to bless bread and fish to miraculously feed over

five thousand people41

.

One of the greatest modern examples of faith working through love

is in the ministry of Roland and Heidi Baker42. I had the

opportunity to travel to Mozambique and visit the main orphanage

run by Iris Ministries. The tangible love of God saturated the ten

acre compound. Over 400 children live there, go to school andworship God. Dozens of children gathered around us and gave and

received love. It was incredible.

Baby orphans are brought to the orphanage infected by the HIV

virus. Physicians check them on a regular basis and document

their progress on charts posted to the walls. Staff members and

visitors love the babies, hold them, pray over them and speak life

over them. We saw dozens of pictures of babies with physicians

reports attached that confirmed that they no longer had any signs

of the HIV virus. Faith worked through love and healed them. We

got to hold some of those precious children. They blessed us with

their love and touched our hearts forever. Faith works by love and

we must pursue love and add it to our faith!


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CHAPTER 6 MIRACULOUS FAITH

Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works

miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or

by the hearing of faith? Galatians 3:5

It is not by the works of the law, but by the hearing of faith that

God supplies the revelation of the Holy Spirit and works miracles

through faith. We must pray and earnestly seek the Lord for

revelation and then act on what we hear. The Holy Spirit flows

His might when we obey His counsel43.

The hearing of faith often comes by a word of knowledge.

Before I minister, I ask the Lord for words of knowledge and

direction as to what persons He wants to touch. The Lord will

often give me a specific piece of knowledge that will result in a

miraculous healing. The gift of healing moves slowly to provide

healing over a period of time, but miracles usually happen

instantly.

After moving in the word of knowledge and seeing people

instantly healed, some ask for prayer for specific other ailments

hoping for a miracle. At those times, we pray the prayer of faith

but seldom see instant healings.

One older man came to me and told me the Lord said if he receivedprayer from me that his blind eyes would be healed. At that

moment, the man had the hearing of faith. I felt no faith at all but I

agreed with him, laid my hands on him and simply declared, Be


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healed in the name of Jesus! Glory to God, the man was instantly

healed. He had the hearing of faith and I clearly did not.

God supplies the Spirit and works miracles by the hearing of faith.

Years ago I had a dream that gave me instructions from God on

how to solve a financial crisis we were experiencing. I believe it

was a word of wisdom. Because I have learned to act on

revelation, I immediately followed the instructions from the dream

and within thirty days our financial situation was miraculouslyturned about.

The Gift of Faith

To another faith by the same Spirit. I Corinthians 12:9

The Holy Spirit releases the gift of faith upon some in the body of

Christ. The gift of faith is a supernatural release of God faith to

a person to accomplish a specific purpose at a specific time and

place.

So Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God. 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 come to pass,

he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you,

whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you

receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:22-24

Jesus taught us that this supernatural gift of faith has the ability to

cast mountains into the sea. God doesnt want us going around


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casting mountains into oceans, but whatever miracle He wants to

accomplish through us, He can give us the supernatural gift of faith

at that moment to work through us to make it happen. The gift of

faith rests on us for a brief time to accomplish Gods purposes and

then lifts.

This gift operated in the Old Testament as Daniel shut the lions

mouths by faith and Samson did might exploits by a supernatural

faith that came upon him. Elijah and Elisha walked in supernaturalfaith as they performed miracles by the Spirit of God. Jesus and

His disciples walked in this gift of faith from time to time. That

gift is available to us at the Spirits leading. The apostles wanted

to grow in this kind of miracle faith and asked Jesus to increase it

in them.

Increasing Miracle Faith

And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith. So the

Lord said, If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to

this mulberry tree, Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in

the sea, and it would obey you. And which of you, having a

servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has

come in from the field, Come at once and sit down to eat? But

will he not rather say to him, Prepare something for my

supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and

drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink? Does he thank

that servant because he did the things that were commanded

him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those

things which you are commanded, say, We are unprofitable


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servants. We have done what was our duty to do. Luke 17:5-

10

Jesus taught in this parable about the beliefs, attitudes and actions

we must have in relationship to miracle working faith. First we

must believe in the power of supernatural faith. This kind of faith

enables us to do whatever God wants us to do so that we can say to

a mulberry tree or any object to be cast into the sea and it will obey

us. This kind of faith comes upon us and it is as if God Himself istalking through us.

Jesus tells us that our attitudes must be as humble servants who put

God first in every aspect of their lives. Those who increase in

miracle faith are servants of the people as well. Jesus teaches this

parable to show us that our actions must include ministering untothe Lord as we wait on Him. We worship, pray and praise Him to

give Him spiritual food and drink. We must minister unto Him

until He is full. We offer up our lives to him fully as living

sacrifices and we wait on His direction. According to the parable,

when the master is full, he will then feed the servant food and

drink.

Gods food and drink is living revelation that gives us keys to the

kingdom. Those keys properly turned enable His incredible power

to flow through miraculous faith. God may speak to us to spit in

the dirt, make mud cakes and rub them on a blind mans eyes. As

we do this in faith, the power of God will flow to restore his

sight44.


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When God gives us direction with supernatural faith to release

prayers or miracles of some kind, Jesus parable teaches us that we

must maintain the attitude that we are unworthy servants, only

doing what our Master commanded. Otherwise, pride can begin to

take hold of our lives as we think we are the source of power that

caused the miracle. God works through us, but the power and

anointing belongs to Him. God gives specific mantels

accompanied by one or more angels to accomplish His will. All the

gifts are to be used to glorify God and minister His life and love topeople in need.

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,

Peace, be still! And the wind ceased and there was a great

calm. But He said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it

that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and saidto one another, Who can this be, that even the wind and the

sea obey Him!

Mark 4:39-41

Jesus demonstrated the gift of faith as He rebuked the wind and it

obeyed Him. Jesus only operated by the unction of the Holy

Spirit, but He was a pure channel through whom God

accomplished all of His good pleasure. We must seek to become

pure vessels so that God can flow through us in supernatural faith

any time He wishes. As we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the

Holy Spirit will conform us to His image and we will have the

anointing come upon us to walk in these levels of faith as the Spirit

wills.


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The Prayer of Faith

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone

cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let

him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over

him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the

prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him

up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess

your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, thatyou may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous

man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours,

and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not

rain on the land for three years and six months. And he

prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth

produced its fruit. James 5:13-18

The prayer of faith can accomplish miraculous results, but it

usually takes longer and more than one time of prayer. James

taught us that the prayer of faith was similar to Elijahs persevering

prayer to pray in the rain that God promised to send. This kind of

fervent breakthrough intercession is supposed to be carried by the

elders in church. Elders should have developed enough spiritual

maturity to be able to understand the need for persistent prayer to

bring in many healings.

The sick person is instructed to go to the elders and receive the

prayer of faith. He is also instructed to deal with sin issues as

appropriate so as to prevent any barriers to the healing coming.

The wise elders will anoint with oil and pray as many times as

needed over the course of time to see someone healed.


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This is not to be a superficial ritual prayer. Some people anoint

with oil as if it is a magic potion. Oil is a symbol of the anointing

and can provide a point of contact for Gods ministering power to

flow. Elders should anoint with oil in obedience to the word of

God and lay hands on the individual releasing the power of the

anointing residing within their spirits. The prayer of faith will

eventually save the sick person if we pray like Elijah did. We

simply can not take no for an answer.

When we pray over people, sometimes we have to pray three, four

or more times to see the healing manifest. Some have not received

their healing and we have had to grow more in depth with God to

flow in His power at greater levels. Some times we have had to

fast and pray. When the healing does not manifest and the persondies, it is important to go to the Lord and ask to be taught what

happened. It is important to learn through apparent failure.

Glenda and I have inquired of the Lord after disappointment and

He has faithfully given us instructions in order to grow and move

more in His power.

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did

the fig tree wither away so soon? So Jesus answered and

said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do

not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree,

but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed and be cast

into the sea, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in

prayer, believing, you will receive. Matthew 21:20-22


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Jesus took all limits off believing prayer. In order to move into

that level of faith we need to persevere in our prayers and wait on

the Holy Spirit to anoint us with the gift of faith. This is a difficult

lesson for new believers because we tend to want to simply pray it

and believe God for it to happen instantly.

We would be much better off spending hours worshipping God and

waiting on Him for directions as to how exactly He wants us to

pray. When He supplies the power of the Spirit through thehearing of faith and we experience the tangible sense of His

anointing present, then we can pray and see miraculous faith

manifest. Jesus recognized when the power to heal was present

and when it was not. He could do no mighty works in some places

because of their unbelief and hardness of heart45. Miracle power

only works in complete agreement with the presence of the HolySpirit and His anointing which is often manifested due to the

presence of special healing angels.

When those angels arrive into a meeting room, we can often feel

the shift in the atmosphere and learn to recognize that the power to

heal is present. Without that power to heal present, we can pray

the prayers of faith but the result will probably not be instant or

miraculous. Learning to move in the timing of God and in

agreement with what He wants to do is one of the keys to seeing

miraculous power manifest.


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Climb Gods Mountain

And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-

Provide; as it is said to this day, In the Mount of the LORD it

shall be provided. Then the Angel of the LORD called to

Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: By Myself I

have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing,

and have not withheld your son, your only son -- blessing I will

bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants asthe stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the

seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their

enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be

blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. Genesis 22:14-19

(underlining mine)

The father of faith climbed a mountain in obedience to Gods word

to offer up his son Isaac. God was painting prophetic pictures of

the Father offering up His Son Jesus and declaring that the

provisions of the Lord would be found in the Mount of the Lord.

Abraham experienced revelation of Gods name, Jehovah Jireh,

The Lord Will Provide. He had to climb a mountain and lay

everything down to get that revelation.

The mountain in the spiritual realm is called Mount Zion. It is the

habitation of the Lord where His throne room exists. We are

called to ascend into that holy hill by faith that must be purified

along the journey so that we can enter into deeper aspects of His

provisions.


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Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand

in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness

from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of

those who seek Him, who seek Your face. Selah Lift up your

heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of

glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty inbattle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you

everlasting doors! And the King of

the journey of faith

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