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Consider This
Consider This by Maurice R. Irvin
Editorial from Alliance Life Magazine
***CHRISTIANITY, A RELIGION OF POWER***
Certain teachers and preachers today are insisting that Christian ministries ought always to be accompanied by manifestations of visible signs and physical miracles. Obviously in some instances the preaching of the gospel can be validated by accompanying evidences of God’s supernatural power. But as was the case with crowds in John 6, people inevitably begin to focus on and pursue the secondary benefits of the visible and physical instead of seeking the essential, spiritual ministry of Christ. However, we must never forget that God’s power IS present and does operate in all genuinely Christian activities and efforts. It may not always produce external signs and wonders, but is essential. The church today must cry out to God for His power to flow through our activities to impact people with heaven-given deliverance. Without the supernatural dimension our ministries lack the essential element of genuine Christianity. Whether or not signs and wonders accompany our ministries, they must be imbued with power from on high.
***HOLY SPIRIT***
I have heard some complaints concerning articles and sermons that fail to explain exactly how a person is filled with the Holy Spirit. We want a step-by-step procedure. We would like to the deeper life to made available to us like instant cake mix.
But the Spirit’s work does not involve exactly the same steps for every individual. It is a dynamic relationship between persons. And the Holy Spirit will deal individually with us in a way appropriate to our particular characteristics and situations.
Outlines that set forth steps and testimonies of others can be useful to point us in a proper directions, but ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives will be very individual and special. If we hunger and thirst after God, we are likely to be filled by His Spirit whether or not we understand His ministry.
We should be more concerned about seeing changed lives than about maintaining conformity in terms and correctness in procedures. The Holy Spirit is a divine Person. We can allow Him to deal with our lives in the way He chooses, our part is to seek Him with our whole hearts.
***THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF FAITH***
Faith is commonly thought to be believing hard that what we desire will come to pass. There are three grounds for recognizing that this is not what the Bible means by faith.
1. it does not fit with the passages about faith. For example, when Jesus awoke to find His disciples scared out of their wits on the Sea of Galilee, He said to them, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Was Jesus rebuking them for not making the storm go away by believing hard that it would. No. He was talking about their failure to trust in Him as Master of the situation.
2. we can recognize that faith is not just believing firmly that what we want will happen because this does not always work.
3. Third, this distorted view of faith gives the power and glory to man rather than to the Lord.
Biblical faith is trusting God, and the power of faith is putting the matter in God’s hands so that He is able to do what He wants to do in that situation. This definition fits all the verses in the New Testament that speak of faith, especially Hebrews 11, which refer to people who faced jeers and flogging, were put into prison, were stoned and put to death, were destitute and persecuted, but were nevertheless heroes of the faith.
Mark 11:23 states that the one who “does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” Butt his promise is preceded and conditioned by the words, “Have faith in God” (verse 22). It is only when our dependence is entirely upon God and after the matter is completely in His hands that we can confidently expect what we desire to happen. This kind of faith works. It gives God the opportunity to either remove mountain, give us strength to climb over them or learn how to live in their shadow, whichever according to His wisdom is best. And this kind of faith acknowledges that all the power is in God; therefore, all the glory belongs to Him. This is Biblical faith.
***THE HIGHEST KIND OF FAITH***
Sometimes when prayer is offered for a person who is suffering physical affliction, that individual is not immediately healed. At times, though we long to see God intervene in mighty power, nothing obvious happens. In some places Christian workers proclaim truth and seek decision without seeming results.
Someone may suggest that such an absence of immediate, visible results is an indication that there was an insufficient degree of faith. In fact, they are made to feel guilty for their failure to believe strongly enough.
Actually, those involved in situations where people are not being healed and visible results are not being recorded may be exercising the “highest kind of faith.”
It is easy to believe in God and to trust Him when once can see evidences of His power. Little faith is required when people around us are being miraculously delivered and when lives are being changed. We can be carried along by the excitement and inspiration produced by the things we can see. It is easy to be faithful to God when our commitment to Him is constantly being accompanied by signs and wonders.
But Jesus said “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29) Job’s faith was demonstrated by his willingness to trust God even when he had no visible, external encouragements to do so.
The faith of those described in Hebrews 11:33-35 is not at all difficult to understand. Those people saw God at work -- quenching the fury of flames, shutting the mouth of lions, routing their enemies and bringing their loved ones back from the dead.
But Hebrews 11:35b-398 describes persons who were tortured, who were stoned or put to death by the sword, who were destitute and forsaken, who wandered in deserts and mountains and lived in caves and holes. For them to remain firm in their commitment to God required a higher kind of faith.
Granted, unbelief--a failure to trust in the Lord--can prevent God from working. Christ was not able to do many miracles in His hometown because of the lack of faith in Him on the part of people in Nazareth (Matthew 13:58).
But there are other causes for the absence of visible manifestations of divine power. In the mystery of His sovereign purposes God must sometimes delay the physical deliverances we seek. On occasion, though we seek God in utter sincerity, the heavens seem shut up and divine blessing does not pour down. Our Lord calls some to work in hard places where He knows that through no fault of their own they will see little fruit for their labors. It is then that faith is tested and the highest kind of trust in God is required. It is then, that a person is demonstrating the kind of trust in God that the Scriptures most highly commend. He is exercising far more faith than the person who believes in God because of what he can see.