eBook ISBN: 978-1-63001-145-1

QUOTE

“The man stepped forward again and again, each time less fearful than the last; for every time he placed a foot the cloud rose to meet him and held. And as they found the rhythm of their partnership – slowly at first, and then quickly – man and cloud sailed skyward.”

Author Anonymous

DEDICATION

I must acknowledge with thankfulness the love and support of my wife Connie. Her patience and encouragement cannot be overstated. She has stood with me through the many months of writing and my preoccupation with the demands of such a task. She has truly been a helpmate.

Preface

Dare we be bold in our approach to God? It may surprise you that some people have been extremely bold and expressed themselves honestly and forcefully to the Almighty and received wonderful responses from God. This book will look into some of the lives of these unique biblical characters, and hopefully help us to set aside our timidity and be more honest in our feelings as we draw near to the power that sustains us all. As in my previous book, “To The Spiritually Inclined,” the scripture references are from the KJV, and are in italics for easier recognition and the texts can be found in the notes section of the book.

Thurman L Faison

Contents

Chapter One

Where is God?

Chapter Two

Where are all his miracles?

Chapter Three

He wrestled with an angel

Chapter Four

Give me this mountain

Chapter Five

The Sun Stood Still

Chapter Six

Deborah

Chapter Seven

Half-Hearted

Chapter Eight

Limit Not The Holy One

Chapter Nine

His Will

Chapter Ten

We Have Boldness

Notes

About The Author

Chapter One

Where is God?

This chapter is about succession in a spiritual sense. The word succession refers to what follows after something or someone has already set a precedent. The prophet Elisha succeeded the prophet Elijah. He took his place after Elijah completed his mission on earth. To follow in the steps of Elijah was a pretty tall order. It was Elijah who brought down fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice to prove the reality of the God of Israel. He also multiplied oil and meal, raised the dead, and even caused it to rain to end a serious drought. But he did something else: he smote the waters of the Jordan river that was in his path and they parted before him. Then a chariot of fire appeared and carried him alive into heaven. Elijah’s supernatural experiences are recorded in the books of the Kings of Israel. He was indeed a prophet who could make things happen.

It should be of great interest to those who believe in God and who want to make things happen in their lives, to consider the series of events that brought the same power of Elijah into expression in the life of Elisha. When Elijah was coming to the end of his ministry and had fulfilled the divine purposes for which he had been called; God told him to anoint Elisha to be the prophet to succeed him. He found Elisha and anointed him, and Elisha followed him and attended to his needs on a daily basis. When the time came for Elijah’s departure: I say departure, rather than death or retirement because the conclusion of his prophetic ministry was indeed a departure from this life into the life beyond.

The events unfolded like this: Elijah told Elisha: “The Lord hath sent me to Bethel,” Elisha followed and refused to leave him. This exchange of words continued from Bethel, to Jericho, to Jordan. At each point in the journey, Elijah said the Lord had sent him to the next place; and Elisha responding with these words, “I will not leave thee.” There seems to have been a strong sense in the mind of Elisha that the time of Elijah’s departure was near; and being aware of this impending event, Elisha wanted to be with him to the end. It became clear later that there was also a desire by Elisha to obtain some favorable blessing before the great prophet was gone forever.

When they reached the waters of the Jordan river, Elijah took his mantle from his shoulders and: “smote the waters and they were divided” before him, and he and Elisha walked across on dry ground. When they reached the other side; Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him before he was taken away. The young, yet unproven and inexperienced prophet asked for a double portion of the, “Spirit” that was upon Elijah to be upon him. Elijah responded by saying it was a hard thing that he was asking, but he would have it if he saw him when he was taken away.

They continued walking together and suddenly; a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two men and a whirlwind lifted Elijah into the Heavens and his mantle fell from him down to the ground. What happened next still thrills the souls of the believing ones : Elisha cried out: “my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof,” then he tore apart his garment and took the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from him and went back to the Jordan river. As he stood there with his future before him and his mentor forever gone from him, “he smote the waters,” and cried out with these words, “ Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” and the waters parted before him.

This was the beginning of the miraculous ministry of Elisha. Many other miracles would follow. He would multiply oil, pronounce fertility upon a barren woman, raise the dead, heal leprosy, and manifest power over natural elements on numerous occasions. We might use the expression I mentioned earlier - he could make things happen; but let us remember that it all started with him demanding that God show his power and prove his presence when, “he smote the waters.” What happened for Elijah, Elisha expected to happen for him also. Here are the key elements for bringing the supernatural into the natural. First, a reach for the ultimate power of the universe, God himself, then an act of faith, expecting a response. Some men relish living in the past, speaking of things that use to happen, or that some great men made happen; Elisha is an example of one who lived in the present expecting that what had been accomplished in the past by another, could also be accomplished by him. He expected no less, and God honored his expectations.

What are we to make of these things? I believe they were written for us to ponder and come to conclusions that will help us in our spiritual journeys. As Jesus once said: “he that hath ears to hear let him hear.” And there is much to hear if we pay attention to what the young prophet said and did that brought forth the most astounding response from the Most High. Elisha in no uncertain terms asked the question of the ages; “Where is God?” and he further strongly intimated, ‘Show Me.’ I believe most people would concede that there must be a God somewhere; otherwise, where did everything we see around us come from? When we consider even our own existence, we know we came from some power greater than our parents. But we are usually content to let the Holy One stay in his realm and we in ours. Even the most religious among us are quite passive when it comes to making demands on the creator of all things. We almost think it blasphemous to expect the Almighty to enter our circumstances and manifest himself and his power according to our expectations.

It is sad but true, we are prone to draw back from God rather than approach him with any semblance of boldness. But if we were to use one word to characterize Elisha, that word would be, “ boldness.” Now here is where you see a mixture of - believing to see - and the need to see to believe. It was indeed a challenge to the God of the whole earth to show himself in no uncertain terms. Now there’s the rub; when we dare think of being bold in our approach to God a flood of emotions enters our mind; fear, uncertainty, and that startling voice from our deeper human consciousness which asks the question, “who do you think you are?” There’s the problem: Who do we think we are? I believe the answer to that question begins to unfold when we remember where we came from. We came from God himself. There is a definite connection between God and man. As mentioned in the preface, and supported by the scriptures, we are made in “the image of God.” We are like him. We are also identified in the scriptures as, “the offspring of God,” that is why when we pray, we often say, “Our Father.” We came from him, and we are ‘like him’. Although our lives have been marred by many personal failures and much wrong doing, the fact remains that our being and God’s being are eternally related. Therefore we have the right to approach God, to speak to him and even expect him to respond to our cry.

It was Frederick Douglass who said “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” That is still true - It is written: “he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.” Stop for a moment: who does “he” refer to? obviously, man. It is man or mankind that has the right to come to God with great expectations. God is the greatest power and it has become evident that those who place the greatest demands, (or expectations) upon him, receive the greatest response from him. Elisha expressed the thought many of us have had at some time in our lives, “Where is God?” The difference between Elisha and most of us is, he actually said it, loud and clear. The wonder of it all is that it didn’t seem to make God angry, nor did it cause him to be unresponsive. He responded powerfully to Elisha’s question and allowed his smiting of the waters to trigger the invisible forces that opened the way before him. It is reassuring to know that we alone determine how we will approach God, and with what words we shall express our expectations. No one had ever approached God in exactly the same way with exactly the same words as Elisha. But God honored his request and his faith.

We need to keep in mind that this whole thing was about ‘succession.’ The young prophet was to succeed one of the greatest prophets of the ages, and he had to know that his own power and authority would be verified by God. In a sense, we are also a part of a succession of people who have been encouraged to believe God for great things; and we also have the right to boldly ask God to show himself in the midst of our lives, especially in defining moments of our human experiences. But alas, the collective consciousness of the religious today is timidity, hesitancy, and an unwillingness to make demands on God. Of course, there are entreaties, petitions, and supplications, but few bold requests for clear demonstrations of God’s immediate presence and undeniable power in our lives. It is interesting to note that when Jesus came on the scene, his words and his actions were accompanied by immediate expressions of power. Now I know that some will say; but, that was Jesus – he was the son of God. Yes that is true: but we are also sons of God. It was John the apostle who declared emphatically, “Now are we the sons of God.” Sons have privileges conveyed by heritage. If God is Father and we are sons, we have the right to ask what we will. This is why Jesus said, “ask and it shall be given you.” There is something else that Paul said that is extremely important for us to know. He said, “all things are yours.” Why say it if it is not true? How shall we find out? The same way Elisha found out his status and the fact that God would respond directly to him. He made an explicit demand and received an explicit answer from God. He did something that a previous prophet had done and expected the same thing to happen for him. From that point forward the young prophet used the authority and power he now knew was with him and performed many miracles. I believe there is an underlying principle in Elisha’s remarkable experience of God’s power—his personal uniqueness. We might say it another way—his spiritual individualism.

Ask yourself the question: Was what he said and did anticipated? Not really: in fact the unfolding of the account catches us by surprise. How dare he speak to God in that tone of voice and make such a clear demand that God show himself. We might say that Elisha was a bit unorthodox, a bit out of the expected norm of how to speak to God. There is such a danger of laying down hard and fast rules in what our relationship with God should conform to. If something needs to be said loud and clear, it is this: our relationship with God is personal. It is a matter between ourselves and God and no one else. Too much in the church of today is dictated, indoctrinated, and extrapolated into our lives as absolute and unchallengeable. Jesus said it so well, “One is your master.” What others may say should not dictate how you relate to God in your personal life. Am I saying that we should just ignore what is of a righteous nature and do anything we want to do or say anything we want to say? No, what I am saying is, your faith and expectations of God is personal, and no one should be able to control it or tell you how to use it or what you can or cannot say to God. Let us linger on this thought of ‘spiritual individualism’ for a few moments. When the prophet Elijah ‘smote the waters’, no one had ever done that before. But someone will say, aha, you are wrong! Moses parted the red sea, and Joshua parted the Jordan. Yes, you are right, they did. But the difference is; in both instances it was for the people to reach the next stage of their journey. In the first case, it was Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. In the second case, it was Joshua leading the people into the promise land. Now in Elijah’s case, it was for his own personal journey and the expression of his own personal spiritual power and authority. The young prophet Elisha followed suit and wanted to duplicate what Elijah had done and have his own personal spiritual power and authority confirmed. Those two words, “he also” are of great importance for our instruction. It was when, “he also had smitten the waters,” and expected a response to his cry, “where is the Lord God of Elijah,” that the waters parted and he walked across on dry ground. It appears that if we want to see the works of God, “we also” must express our faith in a bold and expectant way if we want to see great results. There are so many instances in the scriptures where faith was expressed in unusual and definite ways and God answered in unusual and definite ways. It is of utmost importance to us that we consider the faith of others who brought forth great things if we ourselves through our faith seek to bring forth great things also. Elijah and Elisha have laid a foundation of insight and encouragement for us, and our spiritual individualism can chart a course for our own experiences with God. Jesus said, “if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Did he really mean that? What was his intent in saying those words? Obviously, to raise our expectations and encourage us to prove the truth of his words. Dare we lay a claim and cry out, “Where is the Lord God of Jesus?” Jesus gave many exhortations on ‘faith’, and some of those we will consider in the continuing chapters of this book. Now I know that when we enter into a discussion of faith; not faith as a doctrinal position but faith as an active and powerful expression from within us, we leave the plain of the natural and with some trepidation tip toe into the realm of the supernatural. We hesitate to jump right into the waters, we tend to stay on the shoreline and maybe touch the edge of the waters very gently and with some hesitation. We know that we are dealing with things invisible and our uncertainties seem to dominate our minds. But as much as I would like to say, just tinker around a little bit, it doesn’t work that way. Some commitment of boldness and expectation is required. One line of thought that might help us is taken from the words of the writer to the Hebrews whom I have already quoted. He said: “the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” He was speaking about this thing called faith. He was trying to turn our attention away from the natural back to “origins.” We are accustomed to seeing things as they appear to our physical senses. We like to be able to touch things and feel their substance. This is how man creates in the natural. He works with substance that he can see, feel and touch and from them he creates; homes, cars, computers, airplanes etc. The writer reminds us that this is not how everything began: everything began in a spiritual way, or invisible way and then appeared in its completed state. God said….. and what he said took shape and form and became a reality. Did God believe that what he said would appear? Of course he did. We might reverently say that what was in his imagination he declared it to be and the, “Spirit of God moved,” “and it was so.” This same writer tells us of this immaterial substance that is apparently a part of God’s nature, ( he calls it faith,) is also a part of mans nature and this is why God expects man to use it. He said,: “faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.”

This is the substance that the writer wants us to learn to work with, to create with, to bring into the natural from the supernatural. He then gives us a long list of people from the old testament archives who used this substance to bring forth their wishes and desires into their earthly experiences. I might add a bit of a footnote here, we actually already use this power to some degree because it is the beginning of everything we do and create. We imagine, we feel an inspiration, we express a talent or unique ability. We feel it and somehow lay hold of it from within. An artist, an architect, a sculptor, a scientist, they visualize and lay hold from within themselves and then express what they have felt in what they produce. The difference between the two forms of faith is, one uses natural means to produce, the other uses supernatural means. One is working with the substance he can see, the other is working with the substance he cannot see. When we are focused on what our circumstances dictate, and not on what can create entirely new circumstances, we miss the reality of divine possibilities.

I would like to go a little further with this ‘substance’ called faith. Although it is not visible, it can bring invisible things into our world of reality. It is clear that it has an “essence.” Perhaps we can liken it to some extent to electricity. We know how to generate it because we have discovered the laws behind it. But we have not actually seen it. We have harnessed its effects but we are still unable to substantiate it with the natural eye. Also, we know that “magnetism” is a definite force, we cannot see it but we can observe its workings. Just take a magnet and watch the invisible power draw to itself some metal object. Some magnets attract and others repel, but the power that is expressed cannot be seen, only observed by its effects.

If we could learn to live more by this substance called faith we would see more of its results made visible. It appears that faith is a part of the spiritual nature of man. It can be a dormant power unexpressed, or a dominate power expressed in many ways. From the teachings of scripture and the discoveries of some who have pursued the use of faith, it is perceived as a multidimensional substance. There is the everyday faith we use in our daily life. There is also the faith that we use when we ask God for something specific that we desire or have need of. Then there is the faith expressed by the prophets, Elijah and Elisha; the faith to “make things happen.”

Jesus spotlighted this dimension of faith when he said: “verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Notice the words, whosoever and whatsoever. There are no restrictions on who may accomplish these things, nor what things can be made to happen. Now I know we are in deep water now, but since Jesus said it, we should not be afraid to repeat it. Not only should we repeat it, we should seek to prove for ourselves the truth of what he has said. That is really what Elisha was doing when, “he smote the waters.” He was seeking to prove for himself the divine possibilities of the use of faith and spiritual authority. Now I know someone reading these words will say; I am not Elisha! No, you are not Elisha, but you are as Jesus said – whosoever. Just to hopefully make this a little clearer, remember, we started this chapter with an emphasis on ‘spiritual succession.’ We talked about someone following another and expecting to have the same authority and power that his predecessor had while he occupied that position.

The successor would expect to use his authority and expect no less recognition of that authority when he stepped into the same role. He would look for things to happen for him as had happened for the other. Before completing this chapter, I would like for us to remember that Jesus also said of his followers: “the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do.” Now he said that; and I am only repeating it to bring back to our minds that there is so much more for us to reach for in this thing called spiritual succession.

Now at this point in our discussion let us remember that these things are for the spiritually minded among us, those whose hearts and minds long for that which is from the realm of the supernatural. We only learn things in the natural realm of life by searching and exploring and observing and applying the principles we have discovered. Obviously, to learn things of a spiritual nature there must be a similar pursuit. Someone once said, “faith is a journey, not a destination.” We need to ask ourselves from time to time, where are we in our spiritual journey? What discoveries have we recently made in the realm of the spirit? When was the last time we exercised the dominant aspect of faith and experienced a miracle? When was the last time we took command of circumstances and used the power of faith to change them? What stands in front of us that keeps us from going forward that needs to be parted before we can move on in our God given purposes? Perhaps we too need to smite the waters.

Now just in case there is a lingering question as to whether God really pays attention to what we do or say; here is a text that presents a most inspiring case that God really is watching and listening, and has a strong interest in us as individuals. It is framed in the way of a question: “what is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.” Not only does it appear that God pays attention to us, but it has been his good pleasure to give us a unique status in his presence. We are in our present state, “a little lower than the angels.” Whoa, what did that scripture say? We are just a little lower than the angels? What a revelation! When we think of angels we think of extraordinary beings with extraordinary qualities. We think of words like; dominion, power, god-like, and awesome. In fact we have this innate sense that an angel is an awesome being. Well, God wants us to know we are pretty awesome ourselves. We are just a tad lower in our current state than the angels. That should be a boost to our confidence, perhaps the reason we as human beings are so dissatisfied with ourselves and our lives is that we are living far below our potentials, and the feeling that much more is possible from us and through us is lingering somewhere deep within our consciousness.

We might liken ourselves to children. Do children know their potential? No, a child grows in understanding and inward perception based on experiences and feedback from the world around them. What is told them and what they experience day to day shapes their perception of who they are. This is why a good environment is so important for the growth and development of a child. Some children become geniuses even though their parents were not. Some children never reach their potential. How they perceive themselves is the deciding factor as to how much of their potential they are able to express. Here is an important point - we are certainly far more in our essence than we understand or express in our lives here on earth. We are just a little lower than the angels, and God is indeed mindful of us and definitely will visit us if we give him a definite invitation. Elijah and Elisha have provided us with much food for thought, and it is up to us to take some definite steps toward discovering the possibilities that are within us through the use of this substance called faith.

Chapter Two

Where are all his miracles?

There are some interesting stories in the old testament about divine visitations by angels, who came to deliver a special message to a particular individual for a special mission assigned to them by God. This was true in the case of those called to be prophets, or those called to be judges, or sometimes to those who needed comfort or encouragement in unusual circumstances. Those persons called to be “judges,” I say persons rather than men because not all judges of Israel were men.

The biblical judges of Israel were not judges in the usual sense of our understanding of the position. They did not hold court necessarily, though they sometimes had to make decisions regarding special situations facing the nation. They were in most cases, military leaders, warriors, and deliverers of Israel from the hand of their enemies. They were able to secure astounding victories in supernatural ways that made the people know that truly God was with these unique individuals. Most of us remember Samson, he was a judge of Israel whose selection for that position was signaled by a visit from an angel.

The background for this chapter is about a visitation of an angel to a man named Gideon who became a judge and a great deliverer of Israel and triumphed by supernatural means. Now Gideon was not a born warrior with a previous reputation as being a valiant soldier on the battlefield. In fact when the angel appeared to him in human form, he was hiding and threshing wheat secretly to keep their overlords, the Midianites from seeing him. The Midianites were the latest enemy to conquer and dominate the Israelites. The people had suffered much under their hand and had cried out to the Lord to deliver them. The words of the angel to Gideon are a bit surprising considering he was hiding from his enemies. The angel addressed him with these words: “the Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valour.” Two things seem to stand out in this greeting; and the first is, Gideon did not look like or feel like a mighty man of valor, neither did it look like the Lord was really with him. He responded respectfully to the angel: “Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us and where be all his miracles which our fathers have told us of.” We are introduced again to a man who had questions and dared to express them before God. It appears that these questions had been on Gideon’s mind for some time. Without questions there will be no answers. We might wonder if a part of why Gideon was selected by God was because of these questions that were troubling him. If God is with us, why these problems, and where are his miracles? If we will be honest with ourselves, some of us have had these same questions in our hearts, but have not expressed them in the same way and with the same boldness as Gideon. Like Elisha, Gideon wanted to “know” and to “see.” Elisha asked, where is God? Gideon asked, where are his miracles?

The angel’s words to Gideon are important for our understanding again of this thing called ‘potential.’ The angel saw in him what Gideon could not yet see in himself. He was seen as a champion before he ever became one. It was already in him as a part of his divine calling from God. The angel did not answer all his questions about where the miracles were. He appeared to want Gideon to keep the focus on his own life and what God was about to do through him. It was good for Gideon to question and to want to see the miraculous. It was good for him to want to know why he and his people were suffering so much. It almost seems like the angel bypassed complete answers to his questions, and instead focused on the here and now.

Of course there had been miracles in the past, and of course God had shown himself before as being with the people of Israel. But now there was a present demand for that power to be expressed again, and Gideon was the one chosen to be the initiator of the return of the miraculous. God was about to perform some miraculous feats through the heroic actions of Gideon who would soon engage the armies of the Midianites. This heavenly visitor who came to personally give Gideon his mission from God, instead of giving him a full explanation to his questions, we are told he simply: “looked upon him and said , Go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” What was implied by the phrase, ‘he looked upon him’ is for our imaginations to dwell upon. We can at least assume that the look was probably one of knowing - knowing all that was in Gideon’s heart and all of his thoughts, and what his life was all about. It probably also was a look of support and assurance, because he told him that the ‘might’ or ‘power’ he was to begin his mission with, would be the fact that he was a sent man. The answer to his questions would unfold as he went forward to fulfill the responsibility that had been laid upon his shoulders.

We all would like to see miracles, but most of us don’t want to do anything. We don’t want to get into the mix, face the obstacles, or confront the enemies that stand in our way. We would like God to do it without our participation. Well, from so much that is written in scripture and so much that has been learned in the process of living, if we want something to appear in our lives on the natural plain, we have to be willing to be involved in order to get the benefits. As the story of Gideon further unfolded he needed more assurance and asked for more definite signs to be given before he made his move. What is so significant about this part of the story is the fact that the angel obliged him and granted some obviously miraculous signs to give him assurance. Remember, this is the man who wanted to see the miraculous.

The patience of God with Gideon in these matters is of great encouragement to us, that he will give us sufficient confirmations by doing things that could not happen without the expression of divine power. You may read the whole story of the life of Gideon in the book of Judges. He did fulfill his divine mission, he did see the miraculous, he did see that God was with him and with Israel in undeniable ways. His questions were answered and he was a participant in the bringing forth of those answers. It does definitely appear that no miracles will be seen among us unless somebody cares enough to really want to see them, and to be willing to enter into the realm of the supernatural to bring them forth. This story of the life of Gideon teaches us many things: someone has to want to see divine power in manifestation, someone has to ask the question, “where are all his miracles,” and someone has to be a part of the equation to bring them forth, because they are personal things. They are related to circumstances that are a part of someone’s life. The phrase, “we really need a miracle,” to solve this problem or to find an answer to this situation, or to get through this disaster, is an all too familiar expression. Some situations are almost impossible to get through without a miracle. We face many things in our personal lives that require some definite form of divine intervention. This is why it is difficult to always identify when and where a miracle has taken place. You may never know of my miracle and I may never know of your miracle. Some miracles become public knowledge because they have been reported on the news or the internet.

Other miracles are so private and so special that we simply acknowledge to God alone our recognition of the divine visitation and give our thanks. There is an interesting passage in the gospels about a leper who came to Jesus and was healed. Jesus said to him: “See thou tell no man, but go thy way.” His experience was personal, his miracle was for him alone. He was not to broadcast it, but to go his way, live his life and be thankful for what he had received. I would venture to say that there are many miracles that some have received which have never reached the evening news. They were sought for by individuals who reached for the supernatural and received a response from the Most High, and they knew it, and he knew it. They may have shared it with a very few people or with none at all. They may have felt that in the divine order for them and their life, they were to, “tell no man.”

I believe this was the case with Gideon. First he wanted to see a sign that the angel was really a representative from God. So, he asked the messenger to wait, while he slaughtered a young goat and prepared a broth and unleavened bread cakes and then brought the offerings back to the divine visitor. The broth he put in a pot and the flesh and bread he put in a basket. The angel told him to pour out the broth and lay the flesh and bread upon a rock. The angel then took the tip of his staff and touched the flesh and the bread and they went up in flames. Gideon was awestruck and thought he might die, for he had seen an angel of the Lord, “face to face,” the angel calmed his fears and assured him that he would not die and pronounced peace upon him. Gideon then built an altar to the Lord. You would think by this time that Gideon would be more than reassured that God was with him and that he was to be the deliverer.

Well, not quite yet. As God was beginning to prepare him for action against the Midianites, Gideon suddenly needed another sign. Sound a little familiar? Yes, he sounds a lot like many of us. But remember, he is the one who had asked the question “ where are all of his miracles?” He is the one who really needed to see before he would make his move. By now the reader may be asking, what kind of a sign did he want to see. Well this time it was one he stipulated that had to be done a certain way to satisfy his mind that it was authentic.

Here is how he framed his request: “Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said.” The next morning when Gideon rose up, he found the fleece soaking wet and the ground all around it completely dry. He was able to wring out a full bowl of water from the fleece. Now that was miraculous, no dew anywhere around the fleece of wool but the wool itself was dripping wet. You would think, now that should be enough to get Gideon going toward the battlefield. No, not yet. He still had reservations and needed even more assurance. So he asked the Lord not to be angry with him, but please do this miracle again, but this time, reverse the order of things. He wanted the fleece to be dry and all the ground around it to be wet.

You would think God would be pretty exasperated with Gideon by now, and say, look, forget it, I’ll find someone else to take this mission. But, no, that’s not the way God responded . The next morning the ground was wet with dew and the fleece of wool was perfectly dry. That was enough for Gideon, and that fully prepared him to take the next steps. There has to be a bit of admiration for him in his quest for the miraculous. He wondered where the miracles were and wanted to see more evidence of the power of God made visible, and the fact that God was ready to respond to his requests. It is encouraging to see the patience of God toward Gideon and his willingness to satisfy his mind with the assurances he needed.

You will remember that I mentioned earlier, that obtaining miracles is a personal thing between an individual and his God. It is most sacred and most private. Since it is between one person and the Almighty it is important not to go to someone else to discuss what your thoughts are, or ask others what is the best way to go about it. We must be careful not to let others dictate how we are to approach God, or what we are to say or what we are to expect. If Gideon had discussed his plan of asking for signs in the way in which he did, he would have been discouraged from the start and would never have seen the wonder of God’s response.

We might say, well, that was Gideon. I would say thank God! for if Gideon had not been Gideon; approaching God in his own way, asking God to do things according to his expectations, we would not be reading about him today. Again we see that thing I like to call ‘spiritual individualism.’ There are no two people exactly alike, even twins have their differences. Our personalities are different, our finger prints are different, our thoughts and imaginations are different. We need to embrace our uniqueness in our spiritual individualism as much as possible when we approach God. We often hear the admonition “be yourself.” We are at our very best when we naturally follow the instincts we have in the way we are most comfortable, rather than always trying to please others. One of the serious problems among believers in God today is, they are too dependent on what others think. They are governed by opinions rather than their own personal faith. This is a good place to bring these facts into our consideration again.

There is a collective mindset within the churches that is filled more fear of God than faith in God. We can always find a reason to doubt that God will do a thing for us than reasons to believe that he will. We must always remind ourselves that his intentions toward us are of the highest order, and we must prove this in our own lives. I believe that miracles are not too much to ask of the God who is totally committed to us and is willing to prove his presence in our lives. We are especially encouraged since the coming of Christ that God’s intentions are, “good will toward men.”

Now let me clarify a bit here on this matter of miracles. I am not suggesting that we play with God, by asking for miracles everyday. To be perfectly honest, miracles are not required everyday. But if we are in dire circumstances and only a miracle can guarantee our survival, then it is perfectly in order for us to ask for one. If we are trying to determine for sure if our steps into a path of spiritual service is really - ‘God ordained’, then perhaps some form of a miracle may be necessary for our reassurance. With Gideon, this was the case. He was facing an enormous task, and he felt that he needed an undeniable sign from God and not something just in his imagination. Sometimes a serious crises of faith may occur in someones personal life and they need a definite sign from God. The need for a sign or a miracle is not something that can be determined by a commission or a select religious body, but only by the person who needs one. They alone are in the position to ask what they please, because it is their faith that God will respond to.

The story of Gideon and his seeking a special sign in a way that would mean the most to him, tends to quiet the murmurs about what you can or cannot ask for. And the story of Elisha tends to push back against the general feeling of total timidity in our approach to God. Some might say, well, I don’t think we can just command God to do what we want him to do. Well, there is some truth to that opinion, yet there appears to be exceptions and it is faith that is the deciding factor. It may be a surprise to some to know that there is a passage in the scriptures where God says: “Command ye me concerning the works of my hands.” This is certainly an encouragement to embolden a person of faith to actually accept that invitation. Of course, this approach is not to be entered into lightly, and only those who feel it in their hearts because of the nature of their personal circumstances will actually command the Lord to show forth his power.

The above mentioned scripture is interesting to contemplate. We are prone to think of God in our usual considerations as being so distant from us and so far above us in his realm of supreme dominion, and completely beyond our reach. Often we may feel that he simply does what he wants to do and we are to have no part in influencing his activities. It has never entered our minds to even think we could tell him what to do with his awesome power. And yet here we have this scripture staring us in the face with God telling us to, “command ye me.” It’s like saying ‘order me’ to use my power. It almost seems that God is rather disturbed about our passivity. It’s as if the Lord is saying to us, to really get serious about him showing us his power. It seems that Elisha’s approach matches perfectly with the spirit of God’s invitation. His loud demand for God to show himself seemed to have pleased the Lord, because the manifestation of the power he was looking for did appear. When Gideon asked about God’s miracles he was laying the groundwork to see some of them for himself.

Remember, this book is about seeing the supernatural. It is a contemplation of how to experience God’s power in ways that are definite in nature. We are focusing on those truths within the scriptures that can help to guide our understanding and hopefully our efforts in faith to experience for ourselves more of the power of God. Because of our divine nature, it is not surprising that some of us long for the supernatural. As someone has said, “we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Our spiritual natures incline us toward reaching for more than what we see around us. It is written: “there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” It is God who inspires us to seek the higher things. When God asked Solomon, the son of David what he wanted from the Lord, Solomon asked for wisdom. He asked for a spiritual gift, not a material gift. Solomon’s wisdom still inspires us today. He built a great kingdom and was also given all the wealth he could ever need.

I am convinced that our spiritual natures need more than the normal state of affairs to be fully satisfied. Perhaps this is why Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you,” to cause us to look within us to our spiritual natures and seek to become conscious of that which is beyond our natural vision. When we think of a kingdom, words like, power, glory, dominion, riches, and expansiveness, fill our minds. When we add God to those thoughts it becomes even more wonderful. If the total kingdom of God is within us, it behooves us to begin to explore it. I don’t think you can find it in church. Whoa, some may say. Are you saying don’t go to church? No that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is that your life is lived from within, and although there is much value in church attendance, that is not where your life actually is. What is going on inside of you is not necessarily what is going on in the church. That is why so often people leave church without the deepest needs of their lives being met. They come in burdened, they sometimes leave even more burdened, especially if their church tends to be judgmental or legalistic. It is from the kingdom within that the greatest resources are found.

This truth was spoken of by Jesus in a unique way when he met the woman at the well in the region of Samaria. His disciples had gone into the village to get meat and he was alone at the well when the woman came to draw water. He asked her for a drink of water, and she was surprised that Jesus being a Jew had asked her being a Samaritan for a drink, since the Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with each other. Jesus told her that if she knew who she was talking to she would be asking him for a drink of, “living water.” This statement raised her curiosity even more. She asked Jesus, where would he get this living water from. Then she spoke of her background, going back to the time of Jacob, and the fact that her people through the ages had worshiped at the mountain which was nearby and referenced the fact that the Jews said that all should worship in Jerusalem. Jesus told her that the time had come, when men would neither worship at her mountain or at the temple in Jerusalem, but would: “worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus in speaking to the woman about the living water that would be within her that would cause her to never thirst again, would spring up into eternal life. He said it would be a “well of water.” that could be drawn from continually to satisfy the thirst for life, in its real meaning. Jesus was making it clear that it is not the place you go to worship that makes the difference, it is the space within you where spiritual life and God’s presence is found. We might also say, it was what was happening inside of the mind and spirit of Gideon that generated his quest for the miraculous. This was what I was referring to before when I said that what is going on inside of us is not necessarily what is going on in the church. What we may crave or desire in the realm of spiritual power may not be the same things that others within the church or around us may be seeking. We are a part of various communities; family, work, church, fraternal, yet we are still individuals and what is going on inside of us is our sacred island and the place from which we reach God. It is there where faith comes alive. It is there where dreams and visions take shape. It is there where the initial stirrings of all that is noble and great have their beginnings.

From the old testament to the new testament this theme is touched upon from many different perspectives. Jesus said on one occasion, “ye are gods.” He was making the point that they were not aware of who they really were and of the potential within them. One of the areas of thought that has gained a great deal of attention is what we refer to as the need for “self-discovery.” The more we understand our human nature, our own personalities and the whys and wherefores of our tendencies and responses to various circumstances and situations, the better we can learn to control our behavior and reach a higher level of accomplishment. The key thought behind this approach is to understand that even though we are similar to one another we are also different.

This should also be remembered when we are reaching for things that are in the realm of the miraculous. We must follow the instincts we feel and express our own spiritual individualism. I believe that it is quite possible that the reason we have so many biographies in the scriptures is because it allows us to see the variety of personalities and the various approaches to God that they used. I have a large family; children and grandchildren. They each come to me differently, and I relate to them as individuals. My relationship with them is personal. I want them to be themselves when they approach me. I would never want to stifle or restrict their unique individuality. I believe God feels the same way toward us.

Chapter Three

He wrestled with an angel

Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham who was called, “The friend of God.” It was the relationship that Abraham had with God that started the cycle of what we call “blessings,” or more specifically,” the blessing of God.” The blessing of God was pronounced with an expectation of the most unusual and definite manifestations of divine favor and protection. Actually, the first time we hear of the blessing of God is in the Garden of Eden when God blessed Adam and Eve and told them to be fruitful and multiply. But the apex of the blessing of God found its expression toward Abraham and his seed. God blessed him and the generations that would follow through his line. As a side note: the blessing that was given to Abraham was intended to reach the whole world through the coming of Christ, who was also from the line of Abraham.

Because of Abraham’s deep commitment and faith in God, God said, “In blessing, I will bless thee.” The blessing of God was passed from father to son, and from generation to generation. After Abraham’s death, the scriptures state that, “God blessed his son Isaac.” The pattern continued with Isaac blessing his sons Jacob and Esau. It appears that Jacob placed more value on the blessing conferred than Esau, and there was even some finagling by Jacob to have his father pronounce the blessing of the ‘first born’ on him rather than on the rightful heir, his older brother Esau. The story of this conniving by Jacob against Esau is found in the book of Genesis. It appears that Jacob was much more passionate about the blessing than Esau; at least up until the time of the passing of Isaac. Then it became extremely important to Esau. But by that time it was too late. Jacob had pretended to be Esau at his fathers death bed (Isaac was losing his eyesight) and could not determine that the person next to him was really Jacob and not Esau. So Jacob obtained the pronouncement of the blessing upon himself and soon had to leave the land of Canaan to escape the anger of Esau. He went to live with his uncle Laban in the land of Padanaram (Syria) in an area called Haran. Not only did Jacob leave Canaan to escape the death threat of Esau, but also to fulfill his father and mother’s desire, that he marry within his own family line and not marry any of the women of the land of Canaan

As he traveled toward Haran, he stopped to rest for the night, and while he slept, he dreamed, and in his dream he saw a ladder that reached to heaven and there were angels moving up and down the ladder. At the top of the ladder was the Lord himself who spoke to Jacob and pronounced his blessings upon him and upon his seed. This experience had a profound effect upon him and he vowed that if God would be with him on his journey and truly protect and prosper him and bring him back to his father’s land safely, then the Lord would be his God. When Jacob reached Haran and met his uncle Laban, things started well but became extremely difficult. His uncle Laban, was prone to be deceptive and put Jacob through a number of twists and turns that surely must have reminded him of his shady ways toward his brother Esau and his father Isaac. Nevertheless, God was still with him in the midst of the shenanigans he faced from his mother’s brother.

The time finally came when Jacob had had enough. He ended up with not one wife, but two wives and two concubines and the beginnings of his continuing family line. He was definitely ready to leave his uncle Laban and return to the land of Canaan. Some twenty years had passed and a lot of stress had entered the relationship between he and his uncle. He knew that a return back to his homeland would still be a challenging move because he would have to face Esau again, and then reestablish his life in the land of his father. It would be a journey never to be forgotten, for it would establish forever his spiritual heritage and its continuation down through the ages.

Here is how it unfolded. After leaving his uncle’s land and traveling toward Canaan, Jacob was both afraid and troubled about his journey. He sent messengers to his brother Esau with gifts of livestock to announce his coming and to seek to appease him. With great humility he sought his favor and acceptance. The livestock he sent in groups, separated by time and space to seek to soften Esau’s heart toward him. In the meantime he prayed desperately to God to spare his life from being taken by his brother who was now a fierce warrior. Jacob sent all he had accumulated while in Haran ahead of him, including his wives and children, and he was left alone to seek the divine assurance he so greatly needed. It’s important to recall that Jacob had already received various assurances of having the blessing of God upon him. First, by his father’s pronouncements, then, several times on his journey to his uncle’s land and while he was there in that country. But these assurances were not enough for him at this time. He needed something more and of greater personal significance to him than anything that had been given to him before.

Here we are once again seeing that thing I like to call, ‘spiritual individualism.’ These previous contacts with the divine might have satisfied someone else, but they failed to fully satisfy Jacob at this time. After his family and possessions had gone ahead of him, “there wrestled a man with him.” This person was really an angel, and Jacob recognized this fact and held onto him with great desperation and refused to let him go. We are told that Jacob wrestled with the angel throughout the night to the breaking of the day. The angel told Jacob to release his hold and let him go. Jacob answered by saying, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” He wanted a blessing that would give him assurance as never before, and a dominance he had not been aware of before. The angel touched the hollow of his thigh which caused the sinew there to seize up and allow him to break free from Jacob’s grip. Then the angel asked him what his name was; he answered, ‘Jacob.’ Now bible names have meanings and you could spend a whole lot of time deciphering the meaning of names in the context of the lives of various individuals and discover how their names so often reflect their personalities and their actions. The name Jacob meant, “supplanter,” or “cheater,” which reflected his activities and way of life up to this point. The angel said his name would no longer be called Jacob: “but Israel, for as a Prince, hast thou power with God and with men.” The angel then left him and when Jacob, who now had become Israel rose up from the ground, he had a limp which would remain with him as a reminder of the experience he had with the angel.

There is a wealth of spiritual truth in this story of Jacob. He is another one who wanted more. He needed more. His spiritual pursuits are now legendary. Now let us think for a moment. How many of us would dare wrestle with an angel? In most cases the first instinct would be to draw back, or to bow down in submission, or for some, they might be inclined to run away. But Jacob had such an intense desire to know that he had favor with God and that the power of God was with him, that he did the unexpected. He still bears the unique place in history as the man who wrestled with an angel. The angel made clear to him that who he used to be, he no longer was. And who he now was is far from who he was in the past. He was now ‘a prince with God’ having power with God and with men. The name Israel literally means a prince with God. We no longer call the children of Jacob after his original given name: they are called the children of Israel, the children of, ‘the prince with God.’ Now what a heritage that is!

The twelve tribes of Israel came from the twelve sons of Jacob, and those tribes became the great nation of Israel that we know of today. All the prophets, the miracle workers the phenoms of Jewish history came from the line of him who was renamed, “Israel.” Let’s not forget that this marvelous unfolding of wonders after wonder throughout his continued lineage, though its initial beginnings started with Abraham, its most significant expansions came through him who had been called Jacob. The intensity of his desire for spiritual blessings is something we should really pay attention to.

Remember we spoke earlier about ‘spiritual succession’ and ‘heritage.’ We talked about it as it related to Elisha, reaching for it in his own unique way. And about Gideon reaching for it in his unique way. They each had the previous record of the conferment of spiritual power for them to fall back on. So Elisha asked, “where is the Lord God of Elijah.” Or more simply said, ‘do it for me, as you did it for him.’ Gideon’s approach was, ‘where be all his miracles,’ which our fathers told us of. Or again, more simply said, ‘show me some of them.’ And here we have in the life of Jacob, that same bold intense demand for the miraculous, and divine reassurances. Even though the blessings had been pronounced upon his grandfather Abraham which included his seed; and those blessings had been conferred upon his father Isaac, and Isaac conferred them upon him, and they had been reconfirmed during his journey to his uncle’s home. Jacob still wanted to personally lay claim to his own experience with God and obtain his own confirmations of that which would be a part of his life. It was a giant reach for power and blessing by wrestling with an angel, and demanding that the blessing be given him in a most distinctive way. He wanted a significant blessing that would specifically manifest with him and through him to his children. He already had the connection to a blessed lineage. He was already attached to the family tree and because of that lineage and his connection to it, he sought his own experiences with God. This is the central point that needs to be emphasized, because the understanding of this truth also has great significance for us.

Whatever we have by spiritual inheritance requires our active quest for it in a personal way. To highlight this truth, God has chosen to reemphasize this in many ways throughout the scriptures and in the lives of various individuals. Jacob is simply another one of those individuals from whom we can learn this important lesson. He already had the divine connection through the family line; from this vantage point he made his claim. He refused to let the angel go until he had obtained in a definite way the greater confirmation of that which was his by heritage. Let me say at this point: things may be ours through our connection with the spiritual family tree, but each of us must “also,” lay claim to our share of those things as individuals.

If we believe in God and in Christ we have been connected to the same spiritual family tree as Jacob. We are told in the new testament that, “They which are of faith are the children of Abraham.” When the apostle Paul was seeking to tone down the pride of the gentile believers against the Jews, he told them that the spiritual family tree was indeed, ‘Jewish’ and to, “boast not against the branches.” The point being made that we are sharing in all the riches of the blessings pronounced upon Abraham and his lineage, both physical and spiritual. We have a part in this lineage and have the right to draw near to God and reach for the gifts and powers that he can confer upon us. But, there must be a spiritual pursuit. As Jesus said, “seek and ye shall find.” it is all out there in the realm of the spirit. There are still angels that are active among us. There are gifts and powers that can be given to us, but are we willing to draw near to the Most High, are we so desperate to reach a certain spiritual plateau, that we would wrestle with an angel? What is our spiritual intensity level? There are things we have not yet seen that can be revealed if the desire for them is great enough. Jacob gives us one of the clearest examples of spiritual tenacity. He was desperate, intense and unrelenting. His words to the angel that he would not let him go until he had what he sought, is a strong testimony to how much he wanted what he sought, and that he believed he could have it.

I have often wondered if the ladder Jacob saw in his dream which reached into heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it might have helped spur his bold engagement with the angel he wrestled with. A ladder is an instrument that allows us to go higher. It implies the possibility of a climb above the level we are standing on. The fact that Jacobs ladder reached to heaven and to God seems to suggest that Jacob could reach as high as heaven and mingle with angels on his way upward. Maybe this implied that he was being given an invitation to go far beyond his current level of life and reach God himself in a most dramatic way.

Well, we know in a spiritual sense, he did just that. He refused to settle for less than a most powerful blessing that he would know in no uncertain terms. It was his quest, it was his reach, it was his intense desire. Although he wrestled all night long, he was not disappointed. He received his unique and powerful blessing, and was able to resume his journey and continue his life experiences. He now had personal knowledge of his spiritual birthright and power in a most dramatic way.

As Jacob continued on to face Esau, following behind the long line of his own livestock, wives, children, goods and servants; Esau was coming toward him and had encountered this long train of his brothers possessions and finally came face to face with him: but then, something happened. Esau’s heart was suddenly changed. Although he had come with a small army of men, with every intent to take revenge on Jacob for the stealing of his birthright, when he saw Jacob, his heart softened. Instead of hatred, there was love, instead of anger there was tenderness. instead of revenge, there was respect. Esau embraced him and wept, with deep feelings of kindness toward his brother. Obviously, this was a miraculous demonstration of God’s power with Jacob and a further confirmation of Jacobs status in God’s sight. He indeed was now a prince with God, having power with God and with men. After this unusual reconciliation, the brothers went their separate ways. In no uncertain terms it was proven that Jacob now had power with men. There was no other explanation for the change that happened to Esau when he came into Jacob’s presence. To have power with God, gives one access and influence in the higher realm. To have power with men gives one influence in the earthly realm.

When we consider the broader picture of Jacob becoming Israel, and his seed also being called Israel, we see the continuation of the spiritual heritage showing itself within the nation. As I indicated before, the unfolding of the supernatural among the children of Israel is undeniable. Indeed, the nation became the inheritors of that which was declared to Jacob when his name was changed. I think we can all agree that the nation of Israel, or said another way - the Jewish people have distinguished themselves among all the nations of the world. The Jewish people have become reknown in practically every area of accomplishment throughout the centuries. It has definitely been proven that they do have power with men, and equally so, they have had power with God. It is their scriptures that the world reads the most, it is their God that has become for the majority of people, the one true God. It is their prophets who are relied upon and considered to be trustworthy. And it is their achievements in practically every field of endeavor that has been exceptional.

Now I know that the Jewish people have had their detractors and have suffered much prejudice and hatred against them. I also recognize that even many in the christian church have failed to fully appreciate them and respect them for who they are in God’s sight. That is why I mentioned earlier the fact that we are connected to the same tree and branches of faith and spiritual lineage, that they have come from. They are still the children of Abraham and still the children of Israel, and they still have power with God and with men. Now I will not burden you with the various theological assumptions of many in the church who would attempt to divest the Jewish nation of their spiritual heritage. I know that Christ has come and a new dimension of the favor of God has reached the world at large. But let us remember the words of the apostle Paul who said: “God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew.” We as recent believers in God through Christ are not ‘replacements’ for Israel, we have been permitted to join in their heritage. We share what the tree has, and are among its branches, but God has not forgotten his ancient people. As Paul, also said, “they are beloved for the fathers sake.” Why is this? Here is the reason: “for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.” In other words, God will not cancel the spiritual heritage of the Jewish people, nor will he take back his gifts, or his election of Israel. I say all this to further emphasize that Israel is still a prince with God, and still has power with God and with men. We who are of the Christian faith have simply been brought into the equation.

Now that we have a more comprehensive view of this thing called ‘spiritual heritage’ and can see that we have a part in that which has been conferred on Israel, and also upon us through the coming of Christ: we also have the right to personally seek our share of the many wonders that God is willing to confer on mankind. Just as sort of a footnote: the many promises in the bible that inspire our faith are found primarily in the old testament scriptures. They were spoken to the Jewish people and we lay hold upon them as our own. It is through these promises that God also reaches our hearts and minds. We and the children of Israel are in this together.

Now back to Jacob, before he became Israel. He had such an overwhelming desire for the blessing of God that he wrestled all night long to get it. Some would call this a remarkable display of spiritual hunger and an unmatched example of what some call, ‘laying hold of God’. His unwillingness to let go of the divine representative, seems to say to us that we should not give up so easily in our quest for the supernatural. Jacob illustrates for us what it means to be serious about reaching for the highest, and not settling for less than our hearts desire. Many see his intense hold upon the angel throughout the night as one of the greatest examples we can find of prolonged prayer. We all know that quiet meditation and measured periods of prayer can bring wonderful results in our spiritual lives. We also know the value of affirmations of faith, and the quoting of various scriptures and the undeniable advantages that we gain through these proven practices. But there are times when the circumstances we face or the unquenchable thirst we have for more dominant spiritual power, drives us to a greater intensity in our reach for the Almighty. Sometimes we want more, sometimes we need more to satisfy the deeper regions of our souls. When this happens, we enter the spiritual dimension with a ‘must have’ attitude. This is the attitude that Jacob displayed and he obtained the desires of his heart.

I don’t feel it is out of order for us who believe in God today to have that same kind of ‘must have’ attitude when we approach God. If what we seek has great significance to us and we greatly desire it, then we must come to God in our own secret place and engage the Lord with great passion and intensity. It’s not a matter of being selfish, its a matter of being serious. How badly do we want what we ask for when we approach God? Do we really want to have the highest blessings? Will we be intense and passionate about it?

One of the things that is obvious to most of us is, that the most successful people in the world have had the greatest drive and determination to reach their goals. It is a part of our human nature to set goals and give it everything we have in order to achieve those goals. Most real successes in life are not accidental, nor are they coincidental. They are dreamed of, longed for, planned for, and worked for. This same basic sense of passion for spiritual achievements must also be demonstrated in some form of expression if we are to get God’s attention and his gracious response. When I refer to spiritual achievements, I am speaking of gaining God’s attention because of our sincerity and determination to obtain that which we seek by faith.

I am sure most of us can recall when we were young and desired something so deeply that we threw our arms around our mother or father and held them tightly and said, “please dad’” or “please mom.” And we held on and waited for a positive response. There may have been times when we approached our parents in tears because we wanted something so desperately and it meant so much to us to have that particular thing. Those of us who are parents can remember when our children came to us in that same intense mood and how difficult it was to turn them down if it was within our power to do the thing they requested of us. The more deeply they desired a thing, the more deeply we were moved to do it. Well, God is of the same mind toward his children. Jesus said: “if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them who ask him? It is God’s nature to respond to us and satisfy our deepest desires. He has all power and a thousand ways in which to respond to each of us according to our various needs and personalities.

Sometimes we are so full of our sense of personal unworthiness that we lack the intensity to boldly place any demand on God. We feel we have failed in so many different ways and at times have rebelled against God and not acted in the ways we know we should have. But we are still sons and daughters of the Most High and can still approach him in faith. Jacob was certainly not the greatest example of doing things right before his encounter with the angel. But everything changed after he grabbed hold of the angel and held on without letting go, until he had obtained that which he sought.

There is a wonderful passage in the scriptures that is of great encouragement for all of us, it speaks of what Christ has done for mankind when he ascended to heaven. It says: “thou hast received gifts for men; yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” It is through the spiritual gifts and powers that God gives to us that the evidence of his presence among us can be seen. Jacob has shown us that strong desire and great persistence in seeking God’s blessing will not be ignored by the Lord, but sometimes we may have to wrestle a bit to obtain them.

Chapter Four

Give me this mountain!

The history of the children of Israel is generally known by most people in the world today. To some degree, we all remember the time they spent in Egypt under the rule of the Pharaohs. We know that Moses became the deliverer who brought them out of bondage. What brought them into Egypt, happened in this way. After the twelve sons of Jacob reached maturity, one of them; Joseph, was sold into slavery by his brothers because he had a dream of his future dominion over them. When he told them his dream, they reacted with anger and hatred and sold him to travelers who took him to Egypt. When he reached Egypt through a series of events, he finally ended up in the palace as one of the princes of the land. Because of a famine in the land of Canaan, his family came into Egypt and learned that Joseph was now a ruler in the land and through him they became a favored people. Not only did they multiply and grow into an extremely large community, but they also grew in prosperity and had great success in the land.

However, fortunes changed for them after the death of Joseph and they became slaves in the land, due to the new rulers who viewed them as a threat. It was in the land of Egypt that the children of Israel began to develop as a people. It was also in this land that their hardships reached such a level of intensity that they began to cry out to their God for deliverance. Now it is important for us to remember that Egypt was not their land. God had promised Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan, so this is the land that Moses was to take them back to. The miraculous signs and wonders that attended their journey out of Egypt is still awe inspiring today. After coming out of Egypt and entering the Sinai desert, the preparation to enter the “Land of Promise” began. The story and the drama that transpired before they entered Canaan is recorded in the book of Exodus. The focus of our attention in this chapter is not the deliverance from Egypt nor the years in the wilderness, but rather the entering into the land of promise itself. Moses died and Joshua became the Savior of the people leading them into the land that was to be theirs. Because the name Joshua literally does mean Savior, many scholars see Joshua or Jeshua as a clear precursor of the one to come, whose name would be called Jesus. The etymology of the name Jesus in essence is the same as the name Joshua in it’s new testament form. Now the bible is full of allegories and analogies and depictions of truth that has other applications other than their immediate context. Jesus quite often told a story or gave an illustration of a deeper meaning of something familiar to our minds, in order to suggest something further for our understanding.

The entering into the land of promise, has long been associated in a spiritual sense with the entering into those things that have been promised to us by God. It is not a physical land that we enter, it is a spiritual land that we enter. As Joshua led the children of Israel into their land of promise, it is Jesus who leads those who believe in him into the land of the promises of God. Actually, when you stop to ponder the underlying meaning of the word ‘promise,’ the meaning is clear. It is something that has been guaranteed and will be backed up by the one who has made the promise. In the case of the land of Canaan, it was promised by God, other promises would also be declared by the prophets who would rise up in the history of the nation of Israel once they settled in the land. These continuing promises would be spiritual in nature and would culminate in the coming of Christ and the invitation to the whole world to share in them. These astounding promises would be reiterated in the new testament and would be reinterpreted in new ways in their applications.

Now it is clear from the accounts in the scriptures that when Joshua led the people into their promised land, that the miraculous occurred. First, the Jordan river parted before them, then the walls of Jericho crashed to the ground, and they took the city. As they moved forward into the land other victories were achieved by the children of Israel as God had promised. Faith was at an extremely high level and the different tribes of Israel were able to claim their inheritance in the various parts of the land of Canaan. It was all theirs, given to them by declaration of the Lord himself: but they had to fight for it. At this point, I would like to introduce to you a man whose name was Caleb. He was one of the spies that Moses sent into the land of Canaan in preparation for their campaign to enter the land and possess it for themselves. Although ten of the twelve spies did not believe they could take the land, two of them did believe: they were Joshua and Caleb. Because of the unbelief of the majority of the spies, the hearts of the people of Israel were fearful and they were afraid to enter the land at that time. God waited forty years before the new venture which would be led by Joshua to begin. God allowed that much time to elapse so that the unbelieving people of the previous generation might pass on and not be a part of the actual invasion of the land.

By this time Caleb was eighty-five years old, yet his faith and his strength had not abated. In the course of their conquering the land, as their armies moved forward, Caleb came into an area he had seen in the previous years when he had helped spy out the land. There was a large mountain and hills surrounding the area. He said to Joshua, “give me this mountain.” What a request! Here is an eighty-five year old man asking not for something small and easy, but something big and challenging. He declared that he was just as strong as he was when he was younger and was ready to fight for that territory, and wanted Joshua to assign it to him. Now a mountain is a big thing and not a little thing. Here is a man asking for something big, even though he would have to fight for it.

Caleb was not a young man but an old man. Yet he did not feel old and weak; he felt young and strong. We place so many restrictions on ourselves, and have so many reasons not to believe we can accomplish something that might be difficult or demanding. We quit before we even begin. Here we see a man who was different. Obviously because of his faith, he possessed an unusual sense of power. He is another example of one who staked his claim on something he really wanted and believed that he could have it. It appears we are never too old to stake a claim on the promises of God. If God is truly with us, then how can we prove it? Perhaps if we ask for something big enough, and lay claim to it, and go after it with our whole heart, we will find out that God enters the campaign with us and brings down all the resistance that stands before us. I just said the word, ‘resistance.’

I believe the taking of the land of Canaan is about meeting and overcoming resistance. It would be unthinkable that the Canaanites would just leave the land and their cities and fortresses and welcome the Israelites to come on in and let them have the land. No, they would never do that. They had become quite comfortable in that environment and were not going to give it up without a fight. Remember, the children of Israel had been out of that land for over four hundred years. And when their ancestors were there, they were only a handful of people. Yet God had called Abraham out of the place called Ur of the Chaldees into the land of Canaan and promised him that the land would be his and his seed. Through the centuries that passed while the Israelites were in Egypt, the Canaanites had multiplied and grown into a nation themselves. To take the land back from them would be a huge challenge.

When the spies sent by Moses returned with their report, the majority of them described the situation as quite dismal. They said:”the people are strong, the cities are walled.” They also noted that there were giants in the land. The gates of these cities were made of brass and iron and their armies possessed chariots of iron with which to wage war. So the task of taking the land was quite formidable. It would require faith in the promises of God regarding their right to the land and his commitment to them to help them conquer it.

Now this is where analogies and parallels enter the picture. Most bible scholars, and even casual readers of the scriptures can see the similarities of the children of Israel and their need to fight for that which was given to them, and the believers in God today who must fight for the spiritual realities that have been given to them. The seed of Abraham and Jacob had to fight in a physical way against flesh and blood to overcome the resistance to their right to the land. It was the promises of God stated in various ways that was to be their motivation to press forward against superior forces and believe for supernatural assistance to achieve their goal. We also have been given numerous promises which have been confirmed to us through Christ. We are told that, “all the promises of God in him, are yea and amen.” These promises pertain to health, power, gifts abundantly, and life in its fullest sense. It was Jesus who said: “all things are possible to him that believeth.” There are no limits. Any and every thing imaginable is possible to the believing ones. But this is where the fight looms before us.

This is where we enter into the spiritual dimension. As there was physical resistance to the children of Israel, to resist their claim to the land: there is spiritual resistance to us and our claim to the promises of God. Some may say; oh no, here we go again, we are about to hear about that personality whom we would like to forget. Sorry, but this is the aspect of the battle for our spiritual inheritance that we cannot overlook or evade. He has been around before we ever entered into this life. He appeared in the garden of Eden and his purpose was to interfere with mans relationship with God. That is still his purpose today. In the beginning of our existence on earth he is depicted as a cunning and deceptive liar. Throughout the scriptures he is seen as the source of so much of mans sorrow and heartache.

Let us for a moment focus on two realities: good and evil. They both exist. We see them in various forms expressed in the lives of men and women every day. The question logically arises, where do they come from? Well, I believe we can safely say that they are expressed through the hearts and minds of men. Mankind does what it does because of thoughts, imaginations, and ideas. The principle of ‘suggestion’ now enters into the discussion. We know that the personality that Jesus called, “the evil one,” has the power of suggestion. It is then logical to assume that since he is not in favor of good, but rather prefers evil, that his suggestions to the minds of men would be of a negative nature. His interest would not be to help men, but to damage them in some way. He would not want them to come into the full realization that they are the offspring of God and are entitled to any and everything their hearts could desire. He would prefer that they have fear instead of faith, that they be weak instead of strong, that they be without the inward possession of spiritual gifts and powers. He would want men to think God is against them instead of for them.

Jesus was called the. “son of man.” He shared our nature and is a part of the human family line. He is the son of David, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel. He is also the son of God and his purpose was to restore to mankind their divine son-ship and bring them into the riches of the kingdom of God. It is significant to note that Christ was directly confronted by the devil and was engaged with him in spiritual conflict for forty days in the wilderness. Christ prevailed and then entered his earthly ministry and signs and wonders followed. One of the things he said often to those who sought the miraculous and wanted the intervention of God’s power in their circumstances was, “Be not afraid, only believe.” The tendency to be afraid and not to believe, had to be overcome again and again. Here is where the real fight is, it is for the things of the kingdom in the land of spiritual possessions. This is where that shady personality known as the “prince of darkness.” likes to resist us. He knows that the more we believe, the more we will receive and the more we receive the more we will see that God truly is with us and for us. To offset our fears about facing the unseen forces, Jesus said: “I give you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all of the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” With these words in mind we enter the territory of the unseen by faith. We know there are powers granted to us that will enable us to prevail.

I don’t want to linger much longer on the activities of the one who is against us, but rather center our attention more on the one who is for us. But before we leave this aspect of our considerations, I want to reemphasize the analogy between the children of Israel fighting for what was promised them and our fighting for things that have been promised us. The apostle Paul made the point that our conflict is not with: “flesh and blood, but with the rulers of the darkness of this world.” I think it would be fair to conclude that our spiritual enemies would like to keep us from coming into the light of our inheritance, and the fact that we can possess it. But to come into our promise land and possess what is ours, we must also fight, in mind and spirit. This fight is called, “the good fight of faith,” as Paul told young Timothy. Regardless of what the resistance looks like, we must face it with faith and conquer it with the help of God.

Here is why being spiritually minded is so important. If we are spiritually minded, we see things from a different perspective. We are not looking at things that are seen, but rather at things that are not seen. We are not concerned with what others think or feel, we are focused on what we think and feel. This was Caleb. He saw triumph and not defeat, he saw his inheritance and dared to claim it. He stands out as another one of those persons with ‘spiritual individualism’. No one else had expressed their expectations in such a bold and dramatic way, and said, ‘give me this mountain.’ He believed he could possess that territory and defeat any resistance that he might encounter. I like to think that maybe word got around among the children of Israel that Caleb had made such a bold request and was more than ready to go to war to secure his inheritance. Maybe some secretly wondered if he had aspired a little beyond his capacity to achieve. It could be that some might have thought; ‘what a silly old man,’ does he really think he is ready to go into battle at his age? Does he think he can defeat the Canaanites in that area? Why can’t he just settle for a little parcel of land and be content?

Obviously, we can speculate about what some of the people may have thought about Caleb when the news got around. But knowing human nature, what I have referred to as possible reactions is not farfetched. When we go beyond the expected norm, people will react not always in a positive or encouraging way. That is why we must follow our hearts and our faith. After all, it is a personal thing between us and God. Whether we are young or old, there are always great possibilities if we dare to claim them.

There is another element of Caleb’s character that we should acknowledge, and that is his patience. Remember, he waited forty years from the time he first entered the land as a spy, and reported back to Moses what they saw. He believed they could take the land at that time. Even though the campaign did not happen for many years, his faith and his focus remained the same. We might say, “he kept hope alive.” While he was aging, he held the vision of conquering the land and having the mountain he remembered as the territory he wanted for himself and his family. In a sense we might say, Caleb was waiting for another chance. He was hoping for another shot at the prize. He had no way of knowing how long it would take before the previous generation of people would pass on, clearing the way for a new wave of people to emerge and the command would come again to prepare to enter the land. Neither old age nor delay in time could dampen his expectations nor weaken his resolve. It is a good reminder for us to hold on if something we really want badly has not happened yet. If there is a time delay or a postponement in the obtaining of that which we seek, whatever needs to fall into place, will fall into place and we shall have that opportunity to possess that thing which we seek. And as Caleb has exemplified for us, old age does not have to be a limiting factor.

I am reminded of people who in their later years achieved great success. The woman who was called “Grandma Moses,” was still painting eye catching works late into her nineties. We are told that her painting career began in her late 70’s, and that she turned to painting because she could no longer do quilting work because of arthritis. Her paintings became extremely popular. It was said of her; that her sense of accomplishment in her paintings was rooted in her ability to make ‘something from nothing.’ Her creative ability in painting captured a huge American audience. Her highest selling painting was sold at $1.2 million dollars and she was still painting when she reached 100 years of age. There are many other renowned individuals who excelled in many fields of endeavor as artists, writers, musicians, architects, and world leaders, in their later years. So it has been proven that age is not always a limiting factor. The limiting factor is often in our minds and in our expectations as to what we can actually do. If we don’t think we can, then we probably won’t even try. However, if we do think we can, we have a platform from which to launch our efforts.

There is no doubt that Caleb thought he could take the land that he wanted so intently. There is no doubt that he did not consider his age a liability. He wanted a mountain, not a mole hill, something big, not something small. With great boldness he said, “Give me this mountain!” and went to war to take it from the hands of the enemy. This account regarding Caleb is both physical and spiritual. His faith in God’s promises regarding his right to the land was spiritual, his fight to drive out his enemies was physical, yet powered by a strong faith that he would succeed. It was, we might say; mind and muscle, or , thought and effort. The muscles cannot move without the mind, the activities that we seek to perform must engage both mind and muscles, or spirit and body. Many times, in dealing with the supernatural it will be more spirit than body, more mind than muscle. That is why, when we are speaking of spiritual endeavors and seeking to obtain things of a supernatural nature, there must be a sense of that higher power that can make ‘something from nothing.’ There is a scripture that asks the question: “Is there anything too hard for the Lord to do?” We must ponder that question when we approach a situation that is too much for us to handle on our own. We must ponder that question when we are preparing to ask for something that is big rather than small. We must gain the proper perspective regarding the magnitude of the problem, compared to the magnitude of God and his power. Seriously though, is there really anything that we would consider too hard for God to do? Can we imagine God facing a stalemate? Do we think he could ever be stumped, and not know what to do or how to do it? In the very nature of his title, ‘God’, in the revelation of who he said he was. He said he was “I am” to Moses - that says it all. We dare not challenge that declaration, and we can interpret it as being all inclusive of the complete supremacy of his rule. We have concluded that he has all knowledge, all power, and that he is in all places at all times. He is the Almighty. This is him with whom we have to do. He created the world and everything in it, he created the heavens both visible and invisible. And he has the power to do anything and grant to us our hearts desire. So we too can say to him, “Give me this mountain,” whatever that mountain may be.

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose , you’re lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will,

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You’ve got to think high to rise,

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go,

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

C.W Longenecker

Chapter Five

The Sun Stood Still

Perhaps the event referred to in this chapter is one of the most controversial and yet thrilling of the biblical accounts. Joshua in leading the children of Israel into the promise land and having victory after victory with miraculous assistance from God; faced a great challenge in a battle against the Amorites. There were five kings with large armies that had formed an alliance to withstand the Israelite assault. In the course of the battle, the ranks of the Amorites began to weaken and draw back. Daylight was starting to wane and Joshua, in the intensity of the battle, wanting to complete the campaign while the sun was still shedding its light, said to the sun and moon:”Sun, stand thou still, upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon.” What a bold demand. No one had ever reached for control of the heavenly bodies, nor expected them to obey his command.

Here we are again looking at a person who without precedent, made a demand boldly and with faith, and his word was honored by God. We are told that after Joshua’s command: “the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,” and Israel was able to defeat the retreating armies, because sunlight continued for another full day. Now there are those who try to refute these accounts because first of all, they don’t believe them, and second, they get hung up on ‘semantics’. They point out that the perceived rotations of the sun by Joshua was wrong as well as his perceptions of the moon and its movements. They back up their criticism with the discoveries of science. I would like to remind these scholars that Joshua was not a scientist, he was a prophet and dealt with things based on how we see them in their appearance to our natural eyes. To him the sun rose in the morning, and it went down in the evening. To him, when the sun went down, the moon came up. If we would be honest with ourselves, practically the whole world still looks at the activities of the sun and the moon, the same way, not withstanding the discoveries of science.

We still say the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. We still speak of sunrise and sunset; not even science can change the perceptions that we have of the sun and the moon. In Joshua’s mind the sun moved, the moon moved, and he wanted them to stop moving so he could finish his battle with the Amorites. One thing we know: God understood what he meant, and the sun did not move and the moon stood still, even if it meant the earth had to hold steady for a while, until the battle was over.

We often get off into unnecessary arguments to take us away from the central points of a scriptural account. They are given to us to teach us something about man and God. They show us how some men have acted and how God has responded to them. They show us that more things are possible than we can ever imagine, and in Joshua’s case, “the sky was the limit.” Man apparently has more power and authority than he thinks he has, and when he thinks he has – he has!

It is mentioned in this account that nothing like that had ever happened before, and never happened again. Now, not only does this tell us it was totally remarkable, but it was also unique to the experience of Joshua. God heard his command to the sun and the moon and granted it to be so. The circumstances that Joshua faced created the environment in which his faith and spiritual intensity was so great, that he believed anything was possible; and he exercised an authority that he felt he had. As you will recall in a previous section, we were reminded that man is a little lower than the angels. There is potential in him that flashes forth in the midst of certain circumstances that is nothing short of amazing.

What are we to make of these things? Should we try to make the sun stand still? Should we tell the planets what to do? I don’t think so. There are one time experiences for one time circumstances. For Joshua, it was given, that his faith and spiritual authority was vindicated in a most astounding way. It was his life and his experiences that set the stage for the expression of the divine power. It is our lives and our circumstances that set the stage for our experiences with God. Sometimes we also may request that our spiritual authority and faith be vindicated in most unusual ways.

It may be necessary in the midst of dire or threatening circumstances that we need to take command of whatever is happening in our lives in a bold and dominant way. It may even seem appropriate to forcefully express our faith in great expectation of incredible demonstrations of divine power. You may recall how Jesus, in the midst of a fierce storm took control of the elements when he rebuked the wind and the waves and they immediately settled down. Again, it is the nature of the situation we may be facing that determines how we handle it. It is an individual matter, not for a committee to decide, but for our own faith to decide. If the life of Joshua teaches us anything, it teaches us that there are no limitations on what one may ask for, and no limitations on the reach of man’s spiritual authority. There is something in us that comes alive at certain times in our lives that inclines us to reach for more, to reach higher, and to expect greater things.

One thing that continues to come to our attention is this need for ‘boldness.’ There is no place for timidity when we are dealing with faith and spiritual authority. We are using powers that are not physical in nature, so we connect with them in spiritual ways. Our words, our actions, our expectations set the stage for their expression. The beautiful thing about this area of man’s experience is, that it is personal. What we feel and how we feel it and what we think is needed in a given set of circumstances is what determines how we use our faith.

As we reflect on Joshua’s experience it will be good for us to remember that he was not used to doing these things. Yes, he had Moses as an example, but that was Moses, in most cases we would not compare ourselves to Moses and think we can duplicate what he had previously done. The fact is, Joshua did not try to be Moses. He simply tried to be himself, and found that God would respond to him in supernatural ways, and that he also had power to make things happen. We are usually at our best when we are simply following our own individuality. This way we become validated in that which we have been given by the Most High. We can sometimes imitate another, but it does not have the same unique impact than that which we originate from within our own hearts and minds. If Joshua had not done something in a different way, we would not be so awestruck with his story today. Sometimes what keeps us from great expectations is the fact that some powerful personalities from the past have already done remarkable things and to us, that’s the end of it. We dare not attempt anything of a great magnitude because those people were just so special and we are only to marvel at their accomplishments. If Joshua had held to that premise, we probably would not be talking about him today. He certainly can be labeled an adventurist. He ventured beyond what anyone else had ever done; including Moses, and he was not disappointed.

Let us consider this marvelous reach of Joshua to take control of part of the solar system. In that grand moment in battle, a surge of faith and a sense of undeniable power must have filled his consciousness. There has been a lot of discussion about the “subconscious mind” in recent years; referring to that deeper sense of consciousness that we sometimes are guided by. It is not governed by that which normally comes through our natural reasoning faculties. It has a certainty about it, that when followed often astounds those who dare to accept the impressions they receive from it. Perhaps this is really that area of awareness that connects us to the higher powers and a sense of our divine heritage. It might simply be that part of the mind that senses greater realities. However we choose to interpret it, it is obvious that Joshua was inspired to believe he could command the sun and the moon, and he had no doubt that they would obey him. This sense of certainty came from somewhere in his deeper consciousness.

This confident reach of Joshua to control a part of the heavens, should not be passed over lightly. There is meaning and significance in his actions for us to ponder. As with the other bold spiritual persons we have discussed in the previous chapters, who did things that their predecessors had not done, Joshua also did something others before him had perhaps never even thought of. They had used their faith and perceived spiritual authority to make things happen on earth. It was Joshua’s unique privilege to reach a new height in spiritual authority and power, to make things happen in the heavens. The church of today is great on history and doctrine, but feeble in the use of faith and spiritual power. Perhaps this account is to let the church know that the powers that have been given to those who believe is much higher and greater than what we have previously been aware of. And that if we dare to explore them we may find out things that will make us marvel.

There has been a disconnect from the examples of those who went before us and a settling for rejoicing over that which they did: but no reach for greater things in our own experiences. There are a few spiritually emboldened people today who seek to cultivate a spiritual consciousness and in their own circumstances reach for the higher powers. Their line of thought and their consciousness of God and spiritual authority goes beyond the level of focus that others usually have. These are the people who see amazing things in their lives and they live in another dimension of spiritual thought. We might say that some people who have read the scriptures “explore,” and other people “ignore.” Some see new possibilities, others see old stories and accounts to read about and then ignore the implications of what they have read. They may not do that intentionally, but for all practical purposes this is what usually happens. We tend to fear the supernatural, and are suspicious of those who venture into it. We find fault with their teachings or their ways of faith. They don’t tow the usual doctrinal line, their spiritual imaginations put them beyond the average religious community. But the undeniable fact is; they get results and live a much richer life than most of us.

Let me say this: if some of us don’t break with the norm and go beyond rehashing old doctrines and settling for the status quo, the experiences of greater realizations in the realm of the spirit will continue to be unknown. Why not reach for more? Why not venture into higher or deeper levels of spiritual awareness? If we do not seek, we are certain to never find. We know that in the history of the Christian church there have always been those who were called, “mystics.” They were those who were not so trapped in dogma that they could not follow their own spiritual senses and seek out the things that were most important in their view as what a spiritual life should be. Am I suggesting that we all should become mystics? No, not at all, because they have become classified and codified in the thinking of the church historians to the extent that we really don’t get the full picture of who they were in their hearts and minds. Besides, if we were to attempt to follow them rather than follow our own spiritual instincts, we would be imitating rather than originating anything of a personal nature. I only mention the mystics because they had the courage to withdraw from general opinions and seek out their own spiritual path. I believe this is what we all must do if we are to find our true place in the family of God.

Speaking of family. A family may have numerous members, but they are all different. Although we lay down certain principles by which we want each of the members to follow, we have come to see that each member is different. We are learning to respect the differences in personality, interests, talents, and capabilities. We have come to realize the importance of letting each one choose their path in life. We desire above all that they all reach their potential and find great happiness in their lives. This I believe is a healthy approach if family members are to achieve their highest levels of success. I also believe that in matters of a spiritual nature, that a person’s relationship with God and how he or she interacts with God in faith is something that is personal, and sacred. There will not be any new experiences with God, nor any new manifestations of the supernatural. We must learn to honor spirituality in whatever form it expresses itself, if its end result is good and not evil. But it must be said that not all people will view you favorably when you walk in a different dimension of faith and power than they are accustomed to seeing. In this regard, it is important to note, that because of the miracles that Jesus was doing and the way in which he was doing them, the religious leaders of the day said he had a demon. They attributed his state of mind as he worked his miracles as coming from the devil. There will always be those who will fear the supernatural and anyone who is bringing into manifestation supernatural powers. I think this is why it is so difficult to find people of this kind in your average church congregation. They are either in some breakaway spiritual group or are simply loners in their spiritual walk with God.

Now some reading these things will say “whew,” I didn’t expect all that. Why did he go there? Well it seemed to me a good place to point out some definite realities in our religious communities. There is such a strong restraint within the churches against anyone coming into new light or new understanding that it stifles the reach for new things not usually seen within the ranks. It is of interest to note, that the prophets for the most part just came out of nowhere: suddenly they appeared on the scene, and acted quite differently from the average person. Their perceptions were on a higher level, their sense of themselves, and of God was on a higher level: and their power to make things happen was outside the normal range of expectations. To be different, may mean that we have to be apart from the regular activities around us and from the general consensus of the people. Am I suggesting that we become recluses, or hermits to be spiritual? No, then you would almost have to live in the desert. What I am suggesting is that we may not come to our best conclusions about things in general and spiritual things in particular in the midst of a crowd. If we are to think for ourselves and to understand God and spiritual realities in ways that make sense for our personal lives, we must spend time alone. We must meditate, we must pray, we must learn to be silent; and we must be willing to think differently from the crowd if we are to experience our own supernatural events.

Let’s continue in our thoughts regarding Joshua and his sense that he could command the heavens and they would obey him. Now I know it was not the whole heaven that he issued his command to, it was the sun and the moon. But the implications in his sense of authority over any part of the heavens does imply that he did not feel they were beyond his reach. There is something about this feeling that he had that has some parallels with our space program today. For some time there had been a sense among the astronomers and scientists, that it would be possible to reach the moon. And even before that conclusion was reached there had been a longing among some men to reach the heavens themselves and not just study them from earth’s plateau. It took quite awhile before there were airborne vehicles with the capability to reach outer space. Once the spaceships were built that could endure the flight, astronauts were selected to make the journey; and lo and behold, it became a reality. Joshua reached the heavens with his words and faith. We have reached the heavens with our instruments of flight, but our imaginations and our faith were the precursors of our trip to the heavens. So like Joshua, we had a sense of the possibility of reaching the moon; he commanded its cooperation, and we landed on its soil.

The human race has come a long way in its gaining of knowledge, it’s development of technology, it’s reach for things that in previous generations would have been considered impossible. The essence of everything we have today was already potentially in the hearts and minds of the people, but it took time to emerge and develop over the centuries. The imagination of mankind is unlimited. And whatever men can conceive of and believe for, they have proven they can create it and give life to it. I need not talk about spaceships, iPod’s, computers. x-ray machines, televisions, and a thousand other things that if the people of previous centuries could see these things, it would probably send them into shock. It is good to know that the scriptures did foretell that in the latter days knowledge would increase. The sense of knowing would become greater, the discoveries, would become greater, and all that man has the capacity to understand would be greatly multiplied.

There can be no doubt about these things, it is right before our eyes, and the proof of these things is increasing every day. The students in our schools and colleges of today are looking for more knowledge, more discoveries and more understanding. We certainly will not regress, there is nothing ahead but progress. But where is the religious progress? Are we steeped in periods of the past and missing the importance of spiritual knowledge for today? Should we not want to discover more spiritual power and how to apply it? Could we use some miracles today in our lives and in the lives of others? Have we exhausted all that God is capable of doing for us? Is he the God of the past or is he the God of the present? Should we expect less of him than those whom we read of in the scriptures?

These are important questions and must be faced squarely. I feel that these essential questions are a part of our collective consciousness as believers in God. We have been told that the kingdom of God is within us. If this is so, and I believe it is, then there must be untold possibilities within each of us, that can take us from the natural into the supernatural. There must be riches of wisdom, riches of understanding, riches of spiritual authority, and untold riches of power. There must be rivers of life and creative powers of intelligence and potential wonders unheard of. But, for each of us there is the need for a “reach” for all that is possible for us as individuals. Gideon was Gideon, Jacob was Jacob, and Joshua was Joshua. Each obtained what they wanted. Each saw the manifestation of the supernatural in ways that suited their expectations and their particular circumstances. We each must do the same in our own individual way. We must engage God in a personal way for our personal concerns and with boldness: and expect a definite response.

One of the greatest revelations in the scriptures is the fact that there is a divine spirit that interacts with us, and that can fill us with power and gifts that bring us into another dimension of life and faith. This spirit will never lead us into any evil or force us into anything that is of an evil or harmful nature. This spirit is gentle and loving and since he is from God will only seek our best interest in all of his movements within our spiritual consciousness. It is this same spirit that was with the prophets of old and came upon Jesus at the river Jordan like a dove. This spirit is where the sense of the heavenly influences come from. But his activity is not automatic. His presence must be engaged by our sincere reach for the divine power. He is called the gift of God. The apostle Paul said: “stir up the gift of God that is within you.” If there is no intensity of desire within us, there is no recognizable response from the Spirit. Since life is serious, God expects us to be serious when we seek for the supernatural.

As we look around us at all of the phenomenal inventions and man made marvels we are made to realize that man is indeed a wonder. His potential is awesome and his achievements are without question, mind boggling. Yet there are still things to be discovered, there are still wonders to behold, but we determine what we shall discover simply by where we direct our attention. It seems a wise move to turn toward the Creator and seek to find new things through him; although everything originated with him, even our very beings, He does not impose himself upon us. We must initiate the reach for him if we are to find more mysteries uncovered and more wonders revealed. He will not force his works upon us, we must reach for them.

How high is our reach? Do we feel we can command the heavens or make the sun and moon stand still? We now know that it is possible, because a man named Joshua did it, and it became a reality. I don’t think we need to be trying to control the universe. But it would be a blessed relief to control a lot of other things in our earthly existence. I believe this is the basic truth of this account regarding Joshua. He went far beyond what anyone on earth had ever demanded. He turned his attention from the earthly sphere to make something happen in the heavenly sphere. So we know that faith and boldness will bring unusual responses from the hand of God. But for us, we must turn our attention to matters here on earth, and seek the supernatural help of the almighty in the things we desire to accomplish. One of the things that seems to hinder most of us is the consciousness of our own personal deficiencies, and short comings. None of the biblical personalities that we have covered so far seemed to have been held back by the reality of their imperfections. When faith is in full force the focus is on God, and his power, not ourselves and our weaknesses. These men felt they had the right to approach God and expected him to answer in most definite ways. If we are thinking we can bargain with God based on our perfect lives, we will have no footing whatsoever to stand upon in his presence. It is because God is merciful and has man’s triumphs in life as his chief concern, we can act with faith and boldness.

Sun, Moon And Stars

The heavens above

We have grown to love

Their appearance to sight

Unfailing day and night

How our moods they stir,

Everything becomes a blur

Mystical sentiments they create

Causing things natural to sometimes abate

Our hearts in rapture they lift

Oh thank God for their gift

Hanging without seen foundations

Steadily present for all generations

As long as they remain

Our hope for life is not in vain

Though our world has many scars

Behold, Sun Moon and stars

Thurman L Faison

Chapter Six

Deborah

In a previous chapter we looked at the life of Gideon, one of the judges of Israel, and his mission in leading an army against the Midianites. At that time I mentioned the fact, that not all judges of Israel were men; there was one woman, whose name was Deborah. She was both a prophetess and a judge during the time of the continuing battles of Israel to subdue the land of Canaan. It is very significant that the account of her life and her obvious spiritual authority is included in the history of the children of Israel. Israel was a male dominated society, and at that time women in most cases were subordinate to men in every area of life. But Deborah stands out as an example of a God selected woman with spiritual power and authority like any other judge in the land of Israel. It is extremely important for us to consider this divine exception to male dominated spirituality. Previous to her appearance, God worked with men, spoke through men, and honored men with divine authentication. It was men who declared; “thus saith the Lord,” however, during Deborah’s time, it was a woman who said; ‘thus saith the Lord,’ and her words were honored and confirmed by God.

It is still pretty difficult for women to gain acceptance in any religious forum or church body today. Even the apostle Paul found it hard to acknowledge female leadership within the church of his time. Women are expected to be submissive and follow the spiritual guidance of their husbands and from the male appointed leadership within their groups. But in every age there are exceptions, when some women appear with obvious spiritual gifts and powers. When that happens, men are sometimes reluctantly forced to acknowledge them. I feel it is important to touch upon these facts to help us realize more fully that it is God who gives spiritual authority and in no uncertain terms, causes a man or a women to sense what has been given to them and urges them to step forward and exercise their gifts from God.

Now Deborah was a judge for many years and the people came to her for spiritual counsel and direction. She spoke with authority and prophesied and brought the divine power into manifestation. I might add at this time that Deborah was not a single woman, she was married, yet it did not diminish her spiritual power, or her recognition as a representative of God. In many ways Deborah blew apart previous notions about who could be a prophet and a judge in Israel. I have taken time to discuss these things to encourage the spiritually minded women who may read this book and who feel a strong desire to be an instrument of God; that there is a precedent for them in the person of Deborah. In a sense, she is the great forerunner of female spiritual leadership and power within the ranks of those who believe in God.

It is good to add at this point, that we know little if anything about her background prior to her prophetic ministry. We do know that her husband’s name was ‘Lapidoth,’ beyond that we know very little. A persons spiritual life is private and personal. When God first spoke to her, we have no record. How God spoke to her, we are not told. What God said to her that convinced her she was to be a prophetess and a judge of Israel, we have no account. When we begin reading about her she had already been established and recognized by the people as having spiritual authority. And this is as it should be. All the details of our lives are not for everyone to know. God caused Deborah to know that she was special to him and had a divine mission; the rest is history.

In the midst of her ministry as a judge, the word of the Lord would come to her from time to time. It came to her during a time when there was oppression against Israel from the king of Canaan and the commander of his armies, a man named Sisera. This army was quite strong, having nine hundred chariots of iron and a multitude of troops. God spoke to Deborah to tell Barak of the tribe of Naphtali to gather an army of ten thousand men and confront the armies of Sisera. Although he would be outnumbered, Deborah told him that the Lord was with him and would give him victory. Barak was quite reluctant to face the Canaanite armies and their fierce general, Sisera. So he told Deborah that he would go into battle if she would go with him. Now this was quite unusual for a military leader to ask a woman to accompany him into battle. Apparently he wanted reassurance by having her with him as a prophetess of the Lord. He might have thought, that surely God would not let anything happen to her, and he would be even more protected than if he went alone. Whatever the thoughts behind his request, it brought an unanticipated response from Deborah. She told him that she would go with him, but that the honor of killing Sisera, commander of the Canaanite armies would be given to a woman. Then she spurred him to action with these words: “Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? That little word, “’Up” tells us something of the mindset and attitude of Deborah. She was bold, and ready to get the battle going. There was to be no holding back, no hesitation, no thinking the matter over again, no strategy meeting; just get up and let’s go into battle. In an expression from today’s form of speech, she was saying to Barak, “move it!” She already believed that God had gone out ahead of him and would be with him in battle, but he had to enter the fray, face the enemy, and fight.

Deborah is the female example of “boldness” and “faith.” As the word of the Lord came to her she embraced it and responded to it in no uncertain terms. She would be just as much in the battle as Barak. There would be arrows flying, swords clashing, chariots rumbling, and the noise of war all around her; yet she would be right there in the midst of it all. She was a most unusual and valiant woman. When the armies of Sisera were engaged, they were routed, and as they retreated, Sisera tried to escape and jumped from his horse and hid in the tent of a woman by the name of Jael. She gave him milk to drink and covered him with a mantle and in his exhaustion, he fell asleep. As he slept, Jael took a tent stake and nailed it through his temples, and the prophecy of Deborah was fulfilled; the honor of destroying Sisera was given to a woman, to the disgrace of Barak. Sad to say that although Barak led the army, he had to have a woman next to him before he would fight. Instead of him going out himself with the assurance of God’s presence and power, he needed the visible presence of the woman who gave him God’s message. Not only did Deborah’s presence diminish his own image as commander of Israel’s army, but the fact that another woman would be credited with the slaying of the commander of the Canaanite army, further tarnished his image as a conqueror. So in this whole account, what really stands out is the courage of two woman; Barak is an afterthought in this significant triumph.

Some may interpret this account as a suggestion to men, that if they don’t take responsibility in the realm of spiritual initiative, that God will give the mantle to women. There may be some truth to that interpretation, but I tend to feel that the primary emphasis is that men do not always have to be the instruments through which God works. What stands out, is the fact that Deborah was already a chosen vessel before she ever met with Barak, and before the battle scene became a reality. She knew God in no uncertain terms, she felt the power, she had the authority and had been using it for some time. I think the main message in the account is that God uses women to accomplish his purposes as well as men.

What makes a person a suitable instrument of God, anyway? Is it their physical nature, or is it their spiritual nature? I believe it is their spiritual nature. Spirituality is not a male thing or a female thing; it is a disposition thing. Some people are more disposed to spiritual realities than others. Some tend to look inward more than others. Some tend to look God-ward more than others. There are those things that appeal to some people more than to others. This is where the likelihood of being selected for divine purposes begin. If a women is more occupied in her inner life with things of a spiritual nature, it puts her in a position of being more likely to receive divine enlightenment than a woman who does not share the same mentality. When a woman has cultivated a spiritual consciousness and is sensitive to spiritual things, she is more likely to be a candidate for divine visitations.

When we stop to remember the appearance of the angel to Mary; he said to her: “hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee.” Notice, the angel did not say the Lord will be with thee, but that the Lord is with thee. By these words we may be assured of the fact, that Mary already was in a deeply conscious sense of the reality of the Lord and was a very spiritual woman. She was chosen to be the vessel through which the Savior would come. She believed God, and what was promised, became an established fact. As further assurances were given, she broke out in praise and said, “my soul doth magnify the Lord.” As I mentioned before, being spiritual is an inward thing. Mary spoke of what was happening at a deeper level within her. She spoke of “her soul,” magnifying the Lord. When we say ‘soul ’ instead of ‘mind,’ we have gone a step deeper, into the spiritual sensitivities of our being. Mary was indeed a spiritual woman. This is what it is all about: being spiritual. It is not whether you are a man or a woman, it is about being spiritual. This is what makes you a candidate for becoming an instrument of God.

It is noteworthy that no one challenged Deborah’s spiritual authority, because the end results of what she said established her as a messenger of God. All it takes is some divine vindications and any objections will be silenced. I believe the same thing holds true for today. If some woman rises from anonymity to a place of prominence because of her validated gifts and powers, the questioning voices begin to fade and that woman receives her due recognition and respect. I am reminded of Marie Curie who won two Nobel Prizes; one in science and another in physics. Her interests and her intelligence took her into realms of discovery that were far from the range of thought of most women; or for that matter, most men. Women have matched the achievements of men in many areas of life and their accomplishments are well documented. They have been leaders of nations, spiritual leaders, and even astronauts going into the heavens with their male counterparts. Since it is a proven fact that women have more capabilities than just being wives and mothers, we need to acknowledge the fact that the realm of the spirit is as much their right to explore as any other field of pursuit in life.

The credentials of a prophet or prophetess is essentially the same; they are in a different field of consciousness. They both have impressions, a sense of divine power, a certainty of having authority to speak of things unseen. They have the courage to make announcements, and sometimes pronouncements, of things that will happen in a present moment, or in days to come. In essence, they are channels for the activities of God. Without the prophets, and prophetesses, there would be no bible as we now know it. There would be no promises of things to come, no revelations, no demonstrations of divine power, for all these things had their initial formulations through them. Their existence make it abundantly clear that God uses men and women as the focal point of his activities in this world. Now I am not saying that God does nothing without the cooperation of a messenger or human instrument, because he certainly does. He is active among the children of men and has been active among them since the beginning of time; but it seems to please him, to make known his activities, plans, and purposes to some men and women in order to establish the credibility of these individuals, and the fact that what they were saying, and the power that they were using was from God.

When we speak of ‘faith,’ these individuals are the greatest examples of faith we can find anywhere. Through their words and through their deeds we see the highest expressions of faith ever recorded. They show us how to use it. They prove that God will respond to it. Sometimes it was faith in something God said to them; other times it was faith in something they said to God or to a situation they were facing. They were unfazed by circumstances and appearances; they were governed by what they felt within, and by their personal consciousness of the presence and power of God. Their lives are like blue prints for us to follow, and examples of what is possible to those who believe. Since they were all different, we should not expect to parrot in every detail what they did and how they did it, but observe certain facets of their lives and in our own ways dare to venture into the same kind of trust in God and in the encouragements in faith that he gives us. Remember, we must “ feel it,” to some degree like they felt it, if we are to express in some ways, the power they had.

We use an expression today formed in the nature of a question: are you feeling it? Or sometimes when someone is really performing well, we may say: he or she must be really feeling it. We are referring to their state of mind, to their sense of that source of their ability to express themselves on a very high level. They are able to reach a certain plateau where the best within them comes forth. Being an instrument of God may be similar in nature, in that it illustrates to some extent how we engage the higher powers. We have to be “feeling it.” Remember: “there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding” What the prophets and prophetesses of old possessed was the consciousness of the inspiration of the Almighty; they were really “feeling it!”

What is spirituality anyway, if you can’t feel it? What does it mean if there is no power in it? This is where the difference between, just religion and doctrine, and experience and power, enters the picture. Many are longing for more than just the ordinary in their faith, they want more, and they want it in a personal way; not dictated, or prescribed by religious authorities, but perceived within their own inner consciousness and known to them in ways that perhaps no one else will understand. I believe this is what God has intended all along. I believe that the whole meaning of religion today should be about the awareness of God in a personal way, and the knowledge that he is very much a part of our lives. One of the reasons for the success of spiritual leaders in many mega-churches today is because this is the focus of their teaching and preaching. They are not rebuking and condemning their audiences, or weakening their faith by telling them how God is criticizing their every move, or that they must be more perfect in order for God to bless them. No, these ministers are reassuring their congregations of God’s love, his compassion, his forgiveness and his desire to do the very best for them, as any earthly father desires to do the best for his children. They preach faith and prosperity, they preach health and well-being, they preach grace and the privilege of enjoying life now, and not just struggling and hoping for heaven later.

I want to share an important scripture verse here that has great meaning for the spiritually minded, both men and women. The Lord said: “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophesy.” This is a most intriguing and encouraging promise. No longer was the experience of the Spirit’s presence and power to be restricted to a few men and women here and there, it would be available to all flesh, sons and daughters, and there would be dreams and visions and the power to speak of great and marvelous things regarding God’s activities on earth. Instead of an exclusive few here and there, it would reach the entire line of the spiritually-minded in the latter days, and of course, we know Jesus has something to do with this. He was the way maker and connection to the greater experiences men and women would have with God.

The promise of Christ was that men and women would have life more abundantly. There is to be a richer and more meaningful experience of life. We must catch that vision if we are to enjoy life in its abundance. Some ministers of today are helping people to catch that vision and have helped to lift the burden of fear and heaviness from their hearts. As a result, more people are feeling it; feeling the reality of God’s love, his closeness to them, and his willingness to bless, and not beat his children. There is a great need today for the cycle of “heaviness and happiness,” to be broken in many of our churches. Rather than making the people feel bad with one sermon and then trying to make them feel good with another: consistently uplifting the people will not only affect their lives in positive ways, but will also draw them closer to God and the consciousness of his love. Since the coming of Christ, it is supposed to be a “new day” for mankind and especially for those who believe. The announcement of “peace on earth and goodwill toward men,” is still in effect and still has significance today. When men and women feel this, and come to know this, then truly the joy of the Lord becomes a reality to them.

Now I know that some will ask the question; don’t the people need to know not to do wrong and that God doesn’t want them to do evil? Respectfully, I would say, if people don’t know by now the difference between doing right and doing wrong, then centuries of brow beating them has been to no avail; and if continued, will only drag them down deeper and deeper in the pit of despair and condemnation. If men and women have not learned by now to ask God for forgiveness when they have erred or sinned in some way, then we are beating a dead horse. Before most people come to church, whatever has caused them personal wounds in conscience has already been addressed privately between themselves and God. They don’t need to be reminded again and again of their errors and mistakes. They usually come to church for comfort and encouragement and for ways of faith and hope for the many problems and concerns of their personal lives and the lives of their loved ones. Some people have beaten themselves up so badly and of course our prime enemy, (you know who that is) has joined in with his accusations as well; that they are so wounded in conscience that they can hardly hold their heads up. Then they go to church and hear negative sermon after negative sermon which only discourages them more. They have been to the whipping post again and again. This is why so many christian people are miserable and are just trying to keep a stiff upper lip to the world around them.

The better way seems to be the positive way. For example, lets use a current comparison: Which parents do the best job of raising their children; those who raise them in a negative environment or those who raise them in a positive environment? Which children are the happiest; those who are always being rebuked and criticized, or those who are being encouraged and guided with kindness? The facts indicate that the most insecure, unhappy and depressed children come from home environments where love is lowest in its expression, and anger and chastisement are at its highest. This is also analogous to the two basic kinds of church environments. One environment is always emphasizing the negative passages in the bible and another one is emphasizing the positive passages in the bible. Am I saying that we should never emphasize any negative passages in the bible? Of course not, but if this is the steady diet being given to congregations of believers, it is certain that they will be downcast and discouraged most of the time. They will barely be able to remember that they are not under the law, but under grace. The wounds of the last sermon they heard will have barely begun to heal before the wounds are opened again by a new series of sermons that are just as condemnatory as the last sermon they heard.

It is a fact that the spirit of the new testament message is more kindly toward human failure than that of the Old Testament. When the Pharisees brought the women caught in adultery before Jesus, they immediately referred him to an old testament command. It was commanded by Moses that such women should be stoned. Jesus knew that was true, but he refused to apply it to the woman before him, he rather turned the issue back to those who caught the women in her personal transgression, and told them that whoever of them was without sin, let him throw the first stone. Silence fell upon the gathering and forgiveness was given to the woman. If we linger on verses that are full of condemnation and rebuke, we will miss the wonder of the new covenant, and forget the fact that we are not under the law, but under grace. Here is a poem that I wrote which highlights these thoughts. I wrote the poem because I feel there is too much doctrine, and not enough love.

Too Much Doctrine

We look for the worst,

Too quick to call one accursed,

The scripture says, we begin,

And immediately harp about one’s sin.

A verse here, a verse there,

And inevitably we create another scare,

We are so ready to pick up stones,

Feeling justified, blind to our wrongs,

We rebuke, we condemn, and flat out condescend,

We are righteous and not of their kin,

How strong we are in our creeds,

How weak we are in meeting another’s needs,

We forget how far from Him we once were,

So now compassion for others is not even a stir,

We show the hard side of God,

Ever unleashing the fierce lightening rod,

We quote it and say, He wrote it,

And we must be faithful and tell it,

Yet buried behind this wall of defense

Is what God has also said since,

If God is love and condemnation is past

Because of a sacrifice that will forever last,

Why can’t we lighten up on other men’s sin

If we would ever their trust to win

And show once again the God of all grace,

Who put everything on the line to save the human race

Thurman L Faison

Chapter Seven

Half-Hearted

When Joash, the king of Israel came to the prophet Elisha, he was in desperate straits. They were being dominated by the Syrians and king Joash wanted the prophet’s help to break the power of the Syrians and let the people of Israel be free from their dominion. The prophet told him to take his bow and arrows and open the window toward the east, which was in the direction of Syria, then he said, “Shoot!” Joash followed Elisha’s command and shot an arrow toward Syria. This action was symbolic. It was to symbolize the beginning of a war campaign that would bring victory to the Israelites over the Syrians. Prophets often used dramatic physical actions to engage the divine power by graphically depicting that which would soon come into reality.

After Joash had shot the first arrow, or as we might say , “fired the first shot,” the prophet told him to take his arrows and shoot them into the ground. Joash shot three arrows into the ground, and stopped. This caused an angry reaction from Elisha. He told him that he should have shot five or six arrows into the ground. Elisha said that his victory over the Syrians would only end up being three successful campaigns, then the tide would turn again and the Syrians would prevail.

Everything was contingent upon the intensity that Joash expressed in the simulation of the battle with Syria. He was being ordered to dramatically act out his desire to win, by following the command of the prophet and “shoot” his arrows with energy and force in a repetitious manner. His people had suffered a lot under the superior military power of the Syrians, and he was being given a chance to dramatize his fighting spirit. He should have shot his arrows; again and again, and again, into the ground: which would have indicated his absolute determination to defeat the Syrians. It is sad to note that his victories were only of a temporary nature, because he did not demonstrate strongly enough his passion to win. Now there is a lot of information wrapped up in this account for our consideration. We shouldn’t be “halfhearted” in whatever we seek to accomplish, especially when we are working with the supernatural.

This account is really about: halfheartedness. Joash was given a chance to show his will to win. He was to act it out in such a way that the image of a fierce and determined warrior would be depicted. He instead seemed to personify just the opposite. The results of his holding back and not giving it his best shots, limited the victories he could have had. How true in life this is; and it is proven in our lives on a daily basis. We get the best, when we act like we really want the best. We achieve the best when we give our best. Why is this so? The answer seems to be; that it takes something to get something, even if that something we give is a symbolic act.

The prophet Elisha wanted king Joash to “act like a winner.” It is interesting to note that so much today in our motivational courses and lectures has to do with acting like we are the persons we want to become. That’s really what the prophet wanted Joash to do: to act like the winner he wanted to become. The more we act like who we want to become, we will eventually become that person. And the more we act like we can do the thing we want to do, the more likely we are to do it. I believe many of the “New Thought” followers have picked up on this aspect of truth and have applied it quite well. They use a lot of “affirmations.” They act like they are who they want to become, and declare that what they seek they already have. The large numbers of people who have experienced great things by applying these principles is undeniable. Why is that? I believe it is because it is a form of faith that is being expressed and God has honored it. Elisha wanted Joash to express a form of faith in a symbolic expression of war in which he was being exemplified as the conqueror. Because he only entered into it half way, his triumphs only took him half way.

The prophet was trying to help him “visualize” his victory by utilizing his imagination as he shot his arrows. This principle is also practiced a lot by many people today; who have found it to be very effective, in bringing into reality the things that they have sought in life. Often in the natural circumstances of life surrounding them, what they sought was not logically possible; but it became possible because they visualized it as if it was already a fact. If anything has ever helped the human race to achieve remarkable things, it is imagination; however they choose to use it and for whatever purpose they may desire, it has always proved to be a most marvelous resource. That old scripture verse comes to the forefront again: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” We are seeing more clearly that the mind of man is a powerful thing. It is a reservoir of creative power, whether it is used for natural accomplishments or spiritual accomplishments. It appears to be, that how we think determines what we will be able to do. When we remember that man is the offspring of God, and made in his image, it begins to dawn on us that the reason we can do such marvelous things is because of our divine nature.

Whether we want to face the facts or not we are definitely “like God.” I know that some people would start to put the brakes on about now; they will say,“wait a minute,” we are the dust of the earth, so defiled and so imperfect. Yes, that is true, defiled and imperfect because of our “actions,” but our nature is still the same, as far as our potential and power to do and to be. We already know that Jesus said, “Ye are gods,” referring back to an old testament passage. He was reinforcing the concept of man’s divine nature. He did not say, “ye will be gods,” but ye are gods now. You may not know it, you may not fully understand it, nevertheless it is true. The scripture that Jesus was reiterating, followed up this statement (Ye are gods,) by saying, “but ye shall die like men.” In effect, he was saying, you will not realize your full potential, unless you come to understand your nature better. You have been acting one way, but watch me, “I am the way.” This is how you do it, this is how you think it: “If ye have faith ye shall say to this mountain, be thou removed and be cast into the sea.” Now he did not say when you become perfect and when you no longer have personal shortcoming and failures; he said, if you have faith you can do these things now. I believe he was saying, if you have a different state of mind, the inner resources are already there; you can do far more than you realize you can do.

The discussion of man’s innate potential will obviously continue through generations to come and more will be discovered as time moves on. But each generation cannot just let these matters rest, but rather they must search them out and apply the principles in their own lives. We cannot afford to think less of ourselves than who we really are, as having divinity within us. There are tons of scripture that point out these facts. If we have no sense of who we are in our essence, then we will have little faith in what we can do. But, we can be encouraged by those who have gone before us and and by many who are with us now, proving continually that more things are possible than we have previously thought to be possible.

Reaching our potential is a challenge that we all face. Our circumstances dictate how much of our potential we will discover. Sometimes we are surprised that we can do some things that we never thought we would be able to do. But faced with the situation at hand, we entered the mix of difficulties and demands, and somehow found that what was required of us was actually already there. A different state of consciousness brings a new sense of one’s capabilities. It is a fact that some people have experienced an enhanced sense of abilities within themselves that they were not aware of before. They began to feel that they could do certain things that they could not do before. They start to express this sense of confidence in whatever setting is compatible with the use of these abilities, and they see that they can do this or that thing and it becomes more established everyday. We call these people, “gifted.” Sometimes, when you ask them how they do such remarkable things, you usually get the response, “ I don’t know, I just can.” But, the only way they knew that they could, was to try to express what they felt within themselves; even if it appeared beyond their reach. When we gave it our best shot, the resources unfold from within us and we are able to accomplish the task. Energies come from somewhere, ideas come from somewhere, the will to achieve the goal, come from somewhere; when we gave it our best shot.

Scientists tell us that we only use a small part of our brain power and that some people use their brains more than others. I think we can all accept these discoveries without objection. We may not understand the science of it all, and how they have come to their conclusions in their laboratories; but we do know that some people definitely use their minds more than others. There are some people who are more inquisitive, more thoughtful, more focused, and more driven to accomplish their goals than others. It appears to be a personal choice. In most cases nothing is imposed, it is simply a personal motivation. If we were to compare strength of mind to strength of body, we know that it comes down to how much activity is being engaged in. If we never exercise the body the muscles will weaken and in time atrophy. If we don’t exercise the mind, by concentration, the use of the imagination, and the sincere desire for accomplishment, it will grow weak and lazy and listless.

Our personal potential seems to be wrapped up in our personal desires, determinations, and effort. It has to do not only with what we want, but also with how badly we want it. As someone once said: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” If we use more of it we will get more from it. Elisha’s disappointment with Joash was certainly warranted. He being a representative of God with a superior consciousness of God and of man, knew that Joash could have put more into it; even though he was only acting out his depiction of personal triumph. He should have expressed more boldness, more intensity, and more faith in complete victory over his enemies. His actions, though only symbolic, were pivotal for the overcoming of his enemies and the freeing of his people from the ongoing domination they were subjected to. When the prophet told him what “he should have done,” it indicates what he “could have done.” It was within his reach to be more emphatic and less passive. There is still a lot of instruction here for us today.

One of the most interesting things that we see in our world of human experience is that sometimes others can see our potential even when we cannot. How often have we heard the words “you can do it,” from someone who had faith in us and in our abilities. They somehow felt it, or sensed it, and had the assurance that we were capable of pulling off such a feat. Some people talk about “aura’s.” They speak of a field surrounding a person, or that emanates from a person, that projects itself to those around him or her. Now I have never studied this field of speculation or its conclusions regarding human personalities and how we supposedly put forth something from within us to those around us. But, I do know that sometimes when we come into the presence of some people, we are immediately impressed with them in a most positive way. We can almost describe what type of person we feel this stranger is. Sometimes, some people seem to repel us when other people, on the other hand attract us. I am saying all of this simply to point out that we often have more within us that makes up our innate capabilities than we realize; and that at times these realizations dawn upon us in a perception that we had not previously had; and at other times some other person may pick up on, what they may sense as abilities we didn’t think we had.

Before someone thinks that this may seem a bit strange, think about it: have you ever known someone who became far more successful than you thought they ever would become? At what point in time did they feel these new capabilities? When and how did it dawn upon them? Did someone inspire them, encourage them, or see in them what they had not seen in themselves before? Has anyone ever told you that they were certain you could do a particular thing that you didn’t think you had the slightest possibility of ever doing, and then you did it? What I am saying is that there are times when we come into a state of awareness that make us feel like we have certain capabilities that we must begin to try to express. At other times, someone else perceives our potential and encourages us to use it. That’s what the prophet wanted to impress upon Joash, that he had more within him than what he was expressing; and that to accomplish the enormous task ahead of him he had to let it be expressed, although symbolically, in a strong and graphic way.

We have been following the accounts of different biblical characters who have expressed “boldness,” and showed by their faith that they expected a positive response from God. It has been inspiring to read their stories and to gain insight from their experiences. Yet, we have seen some exceptions. We saw that Barak lacked the boldness to face his enemies without the presence of Deborah, and now we see Joash halfheartedly dramatizing his military strength against his enemies. One was a bit fearful and needed the presence of the Prophetess along side him while he fought, even though she had declared his triumphs as a foregone conclusion. The other one held back and limited his expression of boldness to half of what was expected. In both cases, their legacies are tainted and their accomplishments are clouded. In a sense, we could say, what they sought for and needed was right within their reach. An adjustment in attitude and action was all that was needed to change the outcome of their situations and mark them both as great conquerors and leaders of their people. These exceptions are examples of both what not to do as well as what should have been done in each of their personal situations.

Attitudes; how important they are in all aspects of our lives. They can be described as the combination of our feelings and sensitivities as we face the different challenges of life. Our moods can shift and change based on how we feel about a situation, a person, or a demand that is placed upon us. Sometimes our attitude can be atrocious and we know that it was way out of order. Sometimes it may be cowardly and after-wards we feel so ashamed. We can be surly, temperamental, fearful, brazen, and insensitive to the needs and concerns of others. We can become marked as one having a good attitude or one that has a bad attitude. Some people are classified as being “well rounded,” or on an “even keel.” These are the people who are most likely to express the right attitude regardless of the situation. Now here is where the individual will, comes into play. What kind of person do we really want to be? What attitudes do we really want to showcase to the world around us? Would we have wanted to act like Barak if we were in his situation? Would we have wanted to act like king Joash if we were in his situation? As we see the results of their behavior which shows us what their attitudes were; we see that things could have been done differently. And I believe that in hindsight, both men would have adjusted their attitudes to match their situations in a different way.

Perhaps this is why there are so many accounts of the lives of individual people in the scriptures. We have the opportunity to actually look into their lives, and see what worked well for them and what didn’t work so well. We are able to see how some men succeeded and other men failed. We also see many instances of how some men changed and their experiences and circumstances also changed. There is a famous television personality who, in analyzing the behavior of some very disoriented people, asks the question; “what were they thinking?” We might speculate on what a person might have been thinking by the actions that they took. We then make the decision that we don’t want to think like that if we found ourselves in their situations.

We might assume that Barak was thinking, that since Deborah was the judge and prophetess, surely he would not be in jeopardy if she were by his side when he entered into battle. In a sense he would be correct, but on the other side of the picture would be how he would be perceived by the people of that time and later generations. And also how God might perceive his obvious cowardice. He had already been selected by God to command the army. He was assured that the Lord was with him and that he would win. In a sense it was an insult to God and his favored position from God as a chosen warrior. In making his demand that Deborah go with him, he would be the first military commander in history who needed to have a woman go into battle with him. With her by his side, he felt he would be safe and could not fail. Well, in the eyes of the people and in the eyes of Deborah, he had already failed as a commander of the Israelite army. All the people would hear about it and all the surrounding nations would hear about it and his reputation would be forever damaged as a warrior.

Now regarding Joash, perhaps he was thinking, the prophet is here with me and he will just pronounce the outcome of the battle and all I need to do is simply act like I am engaged in battle and shoot a few arrows into the ground and everything will be taken care of. His approach seems to indicate what his thoughts could possibly have been. He didn’t seem to see himself as a large part of the equation, he went at it half way, and yet was expecting God to enter the situation in full power and manifestation. He didn’t seem to be putting himself into the battle in a complete and determined way. In a sense, it appears that the prophet might have been saying to some extent, that if he couldn’t completely get his mind and heart into the battle, neither would the Lord. If he was going to hold back, then the Lord would hold back also, and let the victories be limited to match his limited engagement, although only symbolic in nature.

We might say, we must play a part in the wonders God does in our lives. We are to act with boldness, we are to put ourselves on the line, we are to act like we want to succeed. Our hearts and our minds must be engaged with faith in the desired outcome, if we are to see the best results. There are things we do or say that brings the divine power into manifestation. We in some ways trigger the activity of God. Obviously, there are some things that we cannot do by ourselves alone, that is why we need God’s intervention. But how we get his response is determined by our state of mind and the actions we take. These actions may be simulated, symbolic, or dramatized. They may be spoken words with great intensity, or some other form of spiritual expression. Someone recently wrote a book titled “You are the Answer.” He was dealing with spirituality and achieving the things you desire. At first, when I saw the book, I thought now wait a minute, “God is the Answer,” then it dawned on me what he meant and how true that statement really is. What we want, and need, and passionately yearn for is only obtained by some action from us. Even God’s engagement in our lives and in our concerns largely depends upon us. We are not the ultimate answer in bringing forth that which seems impossible or extremely difficult; but we are the answer to whether or not that which we desire becomes a reality. Whether it is our efforts to obtain earthly things, or to accomplish earthly goals, or whether it is our efforts to obtain divine intervention and supernatural results, as the writer of the book said, “You are the Answer.” It starts with you, not with God. It is what you want, need, or desire, that sets the stage for God’s engagement in your situation and concerns. Then it is your spiritual attitude and your spiritual actions that determine the involvement of God in your circumstances. You and I are the central figures in what we as individuals seek in life. It starts with me and it starts with you. God moves when we move in his direction. When we reach for his help when we imply in some definite way that we are expecting a response from him.

By now it is obvious in considering the exceptions to boldness and faith in their full expression, we see in these accounts some valuable food for thought. Is it better to be bold and expectant, or fearful and halfhearted? It seems that the latter is certainly to be avoided in every situation. God seems less tolerant with us when we are halfhearted and fearful, than when we are bold and determined to gain his attention and achieve our goals. We are to think higher of ourselves and of God if we are to have the greatest triumphs. We must be wholehearted in our spiritual pursuits and be willing to give them our best shot.

The Presence and The Promise

What can I say that has not been said

The hope of both the living and the dead

When everything seems to hang by a thread

Out of the mist, something is sensed, something is said

It reaches the soul and then takes hold

We find again the courage of old

To stand once more and become very bold

It always happens when all’s on the line

Something reaches us from beyond the bounds of time

When a multitude of things are all amiss

Problems galore too many to list

An assurance from the Presence and Power assist

To return us to peace and a new sense of bliss

It comes in the chaos on life’s frantic stage

Lo, I am with you until the end of the age

Thurman L Faison

Chapter Eight

Limit Not The Holy One

Mankind’s accomplishments are certainly impressive. A little review of world history makes that fact very clear. From generation to generation the discoveries and the creative genius of men shines more brightly as time goes by. Yet there are limits to what we have been able to do. Whether it is a lack of a perfect plan, or the inability to reach a certain level of performance, or the realization that we don’t have the answers to solve some complex problem, there are times we reach our limits. We have journeyed to outer space, but we have only been able to go so far. We have found cures for various diseases, but to cure them all remains a continuing challenge. We have learned to work with what we have, but sometimes what we have is not enough. We have found that our wisdom and knowledge has reached staggering proportions, but so often it is still not enough to handle some perplexing challenge. So the sense of limits in the midst of our quest to solve the worlds problems still plague us at every turn.

Now this is not to say that some hurdles and dead ends are not often overcome, and that new paths of knowledge will not unfold: but I am saying that we are confronted with the sense of limitation quite often in our pursuits in life. Perhaps because we have discovered our sense of limits, we tend to impose them upon the Almighty. That seems to be an unsustainable position for us to hold, even for a moment. Yet that is just what the Israelites did and here is how it was stated in the scriptures: “They turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One.” Instead of moving forward in their quest for the promise land and all that was to be their portion in the land; they were pulling back in their minds and in their attitude and ultimately in their actions. They tested God’s patience with them by insulting his commitment and faithfulness to them. Their minds were clouded with doubt as to his power to do what he would have to do if they were to enjoy the land and its riches. In essence, they did not trust him. This put a limit on what God would be inclined to do for them. This is why some saw great things and others saw small things, or sometimes no things at all. .

Our sense of God in our minds and imaginations is of utmost importance in our pursuit of spiritual realities. The concept we have of God determines what we will experience from him. Now granted, God will often do some things for us without our even being aware of it, but for most things, we engage his participation through our active belief. When we look at the statement; “they limited the Holy One,“ the natural reaction is “how can you limit God?” Actually, we can never limit his activity or the expression of his power in the universe or in our world. He does what he wants to do and nothing can stop him. He has all power and absolute dominion over all things and over everyone.

Our ability to limit him is in our individual circumstances and in our expectations of what he will do for us. I might add at this point this is why some were “bold” and others were “cold.” The bold ones were alive with faith and expectations that God would respond favorably toward them; the cold ones had little or no expectations from God and would not lay claim to his presence or power.

One of the things that we learn from the scriptures is that God is sensitive to how we feel about him. He wants to be perceived as kind, merciful, compassionate, and willing to respond to our cry. However, it is written, “without faith it is impossible to please him,” why is that? I think the answer is, that he wants us to trust in his integrity to himself, and to us when we approach him. This is probably one of the most important things for us to understand about God. He really cares about our perception of him, and wants our trust. The above mentioned scripture continues with the words: “he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” There are rewards for those who seek God and who sincerely believe that he will respond to them. This seems to really matter to God. He reaches for us in genuine concern and love and presents himself as being able to do all things without limits, and he expects that we should pursue his response to our requests. The apostle Paul said: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, unto him be glory…” Paul was confident of this fact, and sought to encourage our faith in this truth. He was saying in effect, there are no limits, so don’t impose them in your imaginations of God.

It has been established within the scriptures that God wants to be close to man. We are told that: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being,” we are also told to: “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” God does not intend to discourage our approach to him, but rather to encourage our closeness to him. It does not please him if we doubt him. It does not please him if we limit our expectations of his power in our lives. The biblical writer of this reference appears to focus on the difference between the two parties. He refers to “they” and “the Holy One.” When we look closer we can see it is a comparison of differences. We certainly know how they have acted, and we also know how He has acted. There is a stark contrast between the two beings. He is the Holy One, and well; they are the opposites. God is in one category all by himself and on the other hand; (our imaginations can run free) to remind us of what they were like.

It appears that God took offense at how they viewed him, and this passage seems to highlight his unassailable character. We of ourselves are not holy, in the strictest sense of the word. Someone who is absolutely holy can be trusted to do right, to not fail in his commitment to another, to keep his promise, and do the right thing toward those who have trusted in his integrity. This is the core of the point being made. They limited God, in the sense that he was not inclined to work in their behalf, with various exceptions, because they did not fully trust in him. There is a passage in the New Testament that speaks of Jesus` visit to the village of Nazareth and that: “he could there, do no mighty work….,.and he marveled because of their unbelief.” Notice how his power was restricted in its expression, because the people were in a mindset of not believing in him. Instead of an atmosphere of faith, there was an atmosphere of skepticism, which in effect hindered Jesus from using his power. The passage also stated that he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them, but there were no mighty miracles wrought there. These passages seem to indicate that our attitude toward God or Jesus can either attract and engage the divine power or resist and repel it. There is something about an unbelieving environment that turns God off, and limits his expression among us.

The Old Testament begins with God and Adam, then God and other men of note, then specific individuals to whom he committed himself, and finally a “covenant,” I won’t get too heavily into these areas of thought, but the point is; God has a history of reaching out to men and committing himself to them. He has made promises of his faithfulness, and responded to those who believed in him. Because he is the “Holy One,” he stands alone as the perfect embodiment of the best we can expect in our world of existence. Can we also limit the Holy One? Yes apparently we can. This is the implication of the passage. Others have done it, we are also capable of doing the same thing. As the title the “Holy One” sets God apart from man who is prone to lie, to deceive, to break his promises and to consider his own interests above the interests of others; there is a clear distinction being made between man and God. Since in his character God is far above us, we should expect far more from him than we are accustomed to demonstrating among ourselves.

Life is full of experiences, some good, some bad. Many experiences take us beyond our capacity to handle them. As long as our personal ship at sea is sailing on calm waters, we are just fine; but many times in life, the weather changes and we find ourselves in storms far greater than we ever anticipated. When this happens, the usual resources fail us and we are at the mercy of the elements around us. This inevitably brings a cry from our lips, “O God, please help me.” Because of these recurring experiences we need an ongoing relationship with God, and we need an ongoing trust in his faithfulness to us. We must not repel him from us, but attract him to us. There are resources available to us that would stagger our minds if we could see the full range of them in our spiritual understanding. The message of the old testament prophets was about the coming of the kingdom of God. The message of Jesus was that, “the kingdom of God is within you.” Here is where the experiences with God take place. They have their origin from within us. Our faith, our spiritual perceptions, our willingness to receive that which God imparts, opens the way for the most wonderful things to happen. Sometimes we feel it, we know it, we have assurance of it, and then it reveals itself in our experiences in life. It appears that God favors an inner connection with us, which reveals itself in outward circumstances.

But our attitudes are important. We must not limit God in our expectations. We are never to think, he can’t, or that he won’t, or that he doesn’t care about us. As to God’s ability, a question is directed to us to ponder: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me?” That question still provokes our imagination. It still speaks to us today, that we may ponder it in all seriousness. He states who he is - the Lord. He is the “’I Am,” that says it all. It speaks to his existence, but also to his limitlessness. He is anything and everything we could possibly imagine, and he is the God of all flesh. He is related to all of us because he created us. He has power over all things and power to do whatever is needed among mankind; there are no limits. When we think of our personal situations and circumstances we are to remind ourselves of this question; is anything too hard for God?

In the light of what we know about ourselves, about our lives, about the world and our surrounding universe, there is obviously a source from which all things have come. Look at the plants, the animals the continents, the oceans. Look at the heavens, the planets, look at man and his various gifts and powers to do and to accomplish a broad range of things; and think of the original source of all these varied wonders. Since all these realities tend to challenge us to the very core of our mental abilities; the One behind them must be of unlimited imagination and power. So back to the question, “Is anything too hard for God?” In the light of all these considerations, the answer would have to be an unequivocal, “no!”

Now back to the thought of whether God will do this, or that, for us, in our quest for his help. I mentioned before that God has made many promises to encourage our expectations. The promises lay the groundwork for us to individually conceive of our personal desires and express them in boldness and faith to him. It is written concerning him and his promises to man; that: “God is not a man that he should lie.” We know that men lie all the time. They lie about what they are able to do, they lie about what they will do, they lie about their intentions toward others; in essence they lie about everything and cannot always be trusted. Well, God is not a man, although man was made in the image of God, that image has been corrupted and distorted in many different ways. Man may find many reasons to lie, but God has no reason to lie. He is who he says he is, and will do what he said he will do. There are specific promises covering many areas of our concerns, there are general promises that allow for the inclusion of many kinds of requests, in the varied dimensions of our personal lives. These promises are to be trusted in and acted upon. The trustworthiness of God is set forth in these words, in the form of another question: “hath he said, and shall he not do it.” We are to think it through, if he said it, is it not logical that he will do it? Now with man it is a different thing. We hope a man will do what he said he will do, we know how many things can go wrong. A change in a man’s circumstances, a change in his attitude, or a change in his capacity, can send everything into a tailspin and leave us with disappointment after disappointment. But God does not have any of these potential problems, there is no reason why he cannot back up what he has promised to do. If he said it, there is every reason to expect that he will do it. That is what this passage wants us to think about and fairly consider who we are talking about, not a man, but God himself. In a very real sense these passages are a defense of God’s integrity.

Lest we fail to get the full significance of what has been quoted above, there is an addendum to what has being quoted, and it is this: “hath he spoken? shall he not make it good?” We are still being called to reason. Is God good for it? We often use that phrase, ‘I am good for it’ or ‘he or she is good for it’. It means that such and such a person is to be taken at their word. It’s as we say, “ a done deal.” Now I know that this is really a light way to make a serious point, but we all know the meaning behind it, and that meaning is; that the person will do what they promised to do. What came out of their mouths will be backed up by their trustworthiness. So as trustworthiness relates to God, in matters that he has put himself on record to do for us, we are to expect that he will “make it good.” Since that is the case, why should we limit him? It seems that we ourselves are the only ones who can limit God. We can tie his hands, stop his movements, and interfere with his activities in our personal affairs. What God does for one person, he may not do for another, because one person may believe, and another person may doubt. We know that there are laws in this universe, and based on various laws, certain things happen. The bible talks about the, “law of faith.” When it is added to the mix, all things become possible. If we leave this element out of our approach to God, nothing happens. It is clear from the scriptures, that faith is a personal matter, and how we use it determines what we will experience in life. This is particularly true when we are relating to God. Jesus said, “be it unto you according to your faith.”

Sometimes, another person’s faith on our behalf can bring some marvelous things into our lives; but it is far more important that we learn to use our own faith, because it will help it to grow stronger. The fact remains, that what I believe for is according to my faith, what you believe for is according to your faith, and what others believe for, is according to their faith. When Jesus made that extremely encouraging statement, he was placing no limits on what one can obtain, but at the same time, he was inferring that it’s our decision as to what we decide to believe for. When faith is expressed, it is reaching for unseen things, which comes from an unseen God. It is the expression of that law that brings God’s power into manifestation on our behalf. The more we use it, the more we see the results of the presence of the Holy One. It may be a good thing to know a little theology, and perhaps some aspects of church doctrine, but it is far more important that we learn more about the use of our own faith. The reason for this is because the use of our own faith allows us to see the things that God will do for us as individuals. This brings comfort and encouragement to us like nothing else. It lets us see personally that God cares, hears, and responds. We learn that if we use the law of faith things happen to our advantage, sometimes in mysterious ways. If we fail to use this law, we learn that nothing changes for the better in our circumstances. On the one hand, faith unleashes the power of God into our lives and situations; on the other hand, the lack of faith stifles the activities of God toward us and we can see that we are limiting the Holy One.

Because of the complexities of life we are not given a set of tools that can fully address every unfolding situation we may face. We are all fond of the stories that highlight some magical instrument that solves all problems. There is the magic ring, the magic lamp, the magic wand. These visible and solid objects could be touched, rubbed, or waved to produce amazing results. They were exciting stories to read or to see in their film productions; but, the problem is, that none of us have that ring, or lamp, or wand. The good news is that we all do have faith, and there is a God who is far more powerful than anything we read of in a fairytale or see in the movies. The quality of this unseen but very real power that takes shape and form within us can produce the most astounding results. The prophets proved it, and many others, including Jesus and the disciples. It changes to meet the complex situations we face in our lives. It is not static, it is flexible, to address every experience we may be facing in life. Remember, “it is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Any and everything can be brought into reality by the proper use of it. When I say ‘proper use,’ I am not referring to our having to learn some formulas like in mastering a science project. What I mean is, it has it’s place in the midst of our life experiences, and we need to learn how to invoke it when it is needed.

How do we know when it is needed? Well, when nothing else works! When we don’t have the answers to things we are facing, when we don’t have the strength to go on, when our desire for something is impossible to obtain, apart from some manifestation of the divine power: this is when faith is needed. This is when we need to call to mind that admonition to “limit not the Holy One.” We can feel limited and even be limited, but we must never ascribe limitations to God. There are many names used to describe God. He is called; “The I Am,” “The Most High,” “The Highest,” “The Almighty.” “The Everlasting Father,” and as we have seen in this chapter, “The Holy One.” Someone has also called him, “The Source;” I like that title as well. I think it is appropriate also from what has been revealed to us about him. We go to the source of everything when we have run out of every resource we have. We must also not forget that God is called: “The Creator,” This title still belongs to him. He created all things. Since all things came from him, he is the logical one to turn to. We must not insult his integrity, we must not question his faithfulness. He has indicated to us that he will keep his word; for God is not a man that he should lie. Whatever you are struggling with today, there are answers, there are solutions. It is your privilege to use your faith and see what God will do on your behalf. It’s your life, he is your God, it is your right, to expect great things from God. Whatever you imagine to be possible, is possible.

Imagination

It’s the work shop of the mind

Inventions everywhere and of every kind

A spark, a flame, a lift in thought

Something comes forth we were never taught

Excitement, transition to a loftier position

To capture the flash of a grander fruition

Everything fades to a background seat

As we engage our stirrings to meet

That strange but clear vision of something new

Not yet established but within view

We work it, we feel it, in the realm of our senses

And suddenly it emerges in strong present tenses

The unfolding, the shape, the particular design

That entered our minds from somewhere divine

How often it has changed our humble station

As we bring forth a new creation

Oh, the power of our imagination

Thurman L Faison

Chapter Nine

His Will

One of the stumbling blocks in the minds of men when they seek to obtain something from God is: the haunting question of “His will.” This question can sometimes take us into a downward spiral in our expectations of God. It can make us passive and noncommittal in our faith. If everything depends on his will then why even exert the effort of faith? This conclusion lingers deep in the minds of the religious all over the world. It is this conclusion that stifles the boldness and reach of faith that is necessary to see the wonders of God. We have already noted the fact, that, “without faith it is impossible to please him.” Since this has been fully established, then there must be a solution for the dilemma in our minds about “His will.” I believe there is an answer to the problem when we examine the primary source of it’s origin.

When Jesus was facing the crucifixion, he was deeply troubled and was in intense prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. He knew what was coming and the horrors of it. We have no idea what it meant to be a perfect man and therefore having no reason to die; and facing the coming experience of being loaded with the sins of the whole world. It was an overwhelming sense of dread that Jesus felt. The suffering would be horrendous, the death would be shameful, and the scriptures tell us Jesus was in agony as the time of his dreaded experience was drawing near. In his prayer to God, he said: “Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” This thought has taken root in the minds of multitudes of people and it is a formidable hurdle for them to overcome. They think, “if Jesus said not my will, then I too must say, not my will.” When this concept takes a deeper place in the mind, then the approach to God becomes tentative and a surrendering to everything that we may be facing as the will of God. Why try to change our circumstances? Why attempt to overcome our difficulties? Why ask for miracles? Just accept everything and anything as the will of God.

I believe the context of the experience of Jesus when thoughtfully considered, will not support that conclusion. We must keep in mind that Jesus had come to fulfill the scriptures. It was predetermined and had been prophesied that he would become the Savior of the world. The prophet Isaiah had foretold that he would be, “wounded for our transgressions.” This would have to take place if the scriptures were to be fulfilled. This is why Jesus said, “not as I will, but as thou wilt.” He was willing to cooperate with the divine plan and will of God. This incident has nothing to do with an individual using his faith to conqueror some difficult problem, or calling into manifestation the power of God to accomplish a a particular task. When we approach God for the things we seek in life, it is a matter of our expectations from God, which appears to delight the Lord and cause him to respond in most unusual ways.

Now let me say at this point, I know that some may be pondering the aforementioned thoughts that I have shared and may be wondering if the matter of the will of God ever comes into the picture. Yes it does, and I believe that it is addressed in many parts of the scriptures to help encourage us in our expectations of God. I don’t believe it is the Lord’s intent that every time we come to him for something, we are to conclude our prayer with the words, “if it be thy will.” This interposes doubt into the equation and puts faith in limbo. We are to ask and to believe that we will receive. This was the admonition of Jesus. I think it is good for us to recall that God’s will is for our joy, our peace, our happiness, our health, our success, and our experience of his power in every imaginable way.

There is an interesting and touching account in the New Testament of a leper coming to Jesus and making a very moving appeal, he knelt before the Lord and made this statement that has brought hope and comfort to multitudes: He said, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Now leprosy was and still is a most dreaded disease. It rots the flesh and disfigures the person who has it, he was considered to be “unclean,” because of the nature of the disease. He was to have no contact with the general population. He and those with the same condition were to hide themselves from the rest of the people. But the news of the miracles and healing power of Jesus had spread so far across the land that it had reached the lepers outside the towns and villages. Faith was being stirred in the hearts of people with diseases everywhere, and many were coming to Jesus to be healed. Now this leper who knelt before Jesus was certainly breaking the rules when he entered the crowds. It was clearly stated in the law that lepers were not to come among the people; but somehow the faith of this leper had been encouraged, when he heard the stories of the works of Jesus and his apparent compassion for the people. He breached the customs and laws of the land and came into the presence of Jesus.

Now his words are very important to contemplate, since they relate to the questions we have been discussing. He addressed his query to the “will of Jesus.” This is extremely important to focus on. He was not totally sure of what the will of Jesus would be in his case. He did not doubt the “power,” of Jesus; he had heard enough about that power to be convinced that Jesus could do what he wanted him to do: but he was not yet fully convinced that it would be “his will.” This is where so many of us are today in our approach to God. We kind of accept the fact that God can do anything, at least, it is somewhere in the back of our minds; but we are not so sure if it is his will. In other words, we don’t know if he really wants to! Here is our problem and it takes us back to the former consideration, “not my will, but thine be done.” This leper: was in effect saying, to put it more bluntly, “I believe you can, but are you willing?” Or said another way; “do you want to?”

Jesus` response should thrill our souls even today; he put forth his hand and touched him, and said, “I will.” Then the leprosy departed from the man and he was healed. The most important thing about this account is the fact that Jesus established the mindset and nature of God toward man; when he said “I will.” In regards to the lepers condition, Jesus certainly could heal him, but the question was, would he heal him? He answered both questions, He stated clearly that he would, because he was willing, and he proved he could, by fulfilling the request. We must not confuse the account of Jesus in the garden submitting to the will of God that was foreordained, with our seeking the Lord for the things we desire in our lives. They are two different lines of thought and are not to be used to weaken or limit our personal expectations of God.

We are unique creations. Each of us have many things in common with the rest of mankind. But we also differ in many ways. Our imaginations differ, our interests differ, our needs differ, and our desires differ. We came from the hand and breath of God and our uniqueness is what sets us apart from one another. In this regard, we are given “a will.” Our personal will is what separates us individually from each other. God himself has deemed this to be good. We are permitted to use our will to obtain that which we seek. Now let me add this comment. God’s will is supreme over all the world, but mans will is expected to be exercised in his personal journey in life. God will not discourage men from using their own will to obtain the desires of their heart. The reason I am trying to make this point is to bring to our attention, that God does not seek to deflate us or to keep us from actively using “our will” and “our faith,” because we fear that we may be interfering with “His Will.”

I want to say respectfully, that God wants us to have freedom in our faith in him and the expectation that he will respond to “our will” in the things we are seeking from him. If this were not the case, we could all just go and sit down and let life take its course and sing that old song “whatever will be, will be.” We can never override God’s dominion, but we must always be assured of his best intentions toward us. Jesus said, “ask what ye will.” Notice, he said it is what “you will,” that God will honor. He rules the world and the universe, but you have your world of life and experience, and in that world you are given the privilege of exercising your will and using the marvelous power of God to shape it as you please. There is a passage of scripture that says: “he hath set the world in their hearts.” There is so much going on in our individual lives, and so many experiences that we each are having. We are not robots, and we are permitted the use our free will which God does honor. We may use it for good or for ill. In the matters of our personal interests and needs, we can express our will and our faith and find that God does respond to that which our hearts have settled upon.

Now this brings us back to that most important thing which we might call; God’s unique pleasure in granting our requests. We are told that: “My delights were with the sons of men.” He really enjoys being among us and doing the things that we cannot do of ourselves, and granting us to discover the vast range of things that we can do, if we will to do them. It is only when we have some conception of this truth that we become bold enough to approach God with the expectancy that he will answer us, and grant that which is our desire to receive. I can’t emphasize this fact too much because everything hinges on whether we have this sense of God’s nature in our understanding or not. Here is a verse that can help us to see this truth more clearly: “delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” If we will be favorable to the Lord in our hearts, esteeming him as pleasant, and loving, and caring about us, then he will give us the desires of our hearts. Look again at that emphasis, “the desires of thy heart.” What we will to be, or what we will to have, or what we will to happen, he will grant. The point being, what originates in our hearts and minds, and what is our will to obtain will be granted. Since he has set the world in our hearts, there is so much within us that needs to be enjoyed, expressed, and unfolded. We have a world of opportunities within each of our lives, and we need to explore more, seek for more, and express more.

Let’s take a further look at this thought, “His Will.” First, we must assume that God’s will is done in heaven. Can we for a moment think that there is evil in heaven? Of course not! So God’s will is certainly to have no evil happening in heaven or among us. In fact, we are told that this is why the devil was thrown out of heaven, he was not welcome there, so he centered his activities here upon earth among mankind. We know the story of the garden of Eden; and of the serpent (a personification of the evil one,) entering the garden and into man’s domain and influencing his mind and contributing to Adam’s expulsion from his earthly paradise. Now whether we consider this allegorical or not, the truth of the matter is that from that time forward as we follow the unfolding of the scriptural accounts; a lot of evil began to show itself among men. That was not the will of God. If we back up a moment, I think we can get some indication of what the will of God was, and still is.

We are told that God created man in his own image. If that is the case, then man is like God, and reflects his nature. Forget for a moment that man has allowed this image to be tarnished, because evil has entered into his imaginations and activities. But, we are talking about origins and the apparent purposes of God for man. He wanted man to be like him, so he made him that way. Now why would God want man to be like him? Well, first of all, I believe it has something to do with companionship. If you are like someone then you can relate to someone. It appears that God wanted someone upon this earth that he could relate to. He wanted someone here that was so like him that active communication could take place with them. This is why we are told that Adam and Eve: “heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” He was accustomed to doing that on a regular basis. They knew him, and they knew when his presence was near. It appears that from the beginning mankind has been the central focus of God’s attention. We are not different from God, we are like God, we just have a human body for our life upon the earth. Lest I be misunderstood: I am not saying we are as great as God, or that we possess in the same degree all of his attributes. I am saying that we in the nature of our beings are like unto him. As we considered earlier, we are a little lower than the angels in our status as earthlings, but we are the image of God within our human nature. Have we been perfected yet? It is obvious that we have not reached the highest level of our divine potential, but that too is in our future according to the promises that have been given to us.

Now this is the key: God made us like himself so he could enjoy closeness with us, and we could have closeness with him. This truth is reiterated throughout the scriptures. We are not aliens from God, we are called “children of God.” We certainly are not perfect, although we once were: but nevertheless, we are still of infinite value to God and his desire for us is nothing but the best of everything life has to offer. I believe that “His Will,” for us is that we have life in its fullness, that we come to know him and his presence, that we experience the wonder of his power, and the authority that we actually have; being made in his image. “His will” is that we discover our capacities, that we learn to express more fully who we are; that we explore, that we learn, that we know the joys of life, and that our dreams are realized during our sojourn here upon earth. His will, is not to restrict our will but to encourage the best in us toward him and toward one another, remember: we bear his imprint.

As we consider these lofty thoughts, we also cannot deny the fact that there is evil among us; yes and also at times expressed by us. This is what, is not “His Will.” He wants to change our hearts and our minds as to our attitudes and behavior toward one another. I believe he would be pleased if men fully enjoyed themselves in this life and did no evil while they are upon this earth. Most intelligent minded people realize that this is a much better approach to life than simply, to do what you want to do, regardless of who you hurt or the consequences of your actions upon the lives of others.

If we keep these thoughts in mind, it will help us to see what is meant by “His Will.” It is not to deny us what we seek or what we desire upon earth, or even the use of his power through our expressions of faith; but that we do no evil to one another. A peaceful and harmonious world, is much more desirable than a chaotic and tumultuous world. A world where love reigns and hatred is subdued, is certainly one to be desired. If we have peace and justice and mutual consideration for each other, how wonderful a world this would be. I believe this is what the will of God is all about.

One of the attributes of God is ‘love’ and he loves to express that toward men. We know the old verse we learned in Sunday School, “God so loved the world.” We quote it often and in particular during the Christmas season. The emphasis of the words “so loved,” carries an intensity with it which is very touching. It stirs our imaginations to wonder, how much? This is the central feature of God’s nature, it is this thing called ‘love’. In fact one of the scriptural writers emphatically states, “God is love.” This is his essence, especially as it relates to mankind. When we keep this in mind, it helps us to have loftier concepts of God as to his intentions toward us. When our children are born, the love we feel for them is almost hard to describe. Well, this is the kind of love God has toward us, but in a much deeper sense. This is really the reason we may ask what we will and he will do it for us. His will to do for us, is motivated by the love he feels for us. We are not approaching a being who could not care less about what we want or how we feel; we are approaching a being who cares for us so deeply, because we bear his image. It is only natural for us to come to him with great expectations, anything less is an indication that we don’t really understand how much he cares for us, or we are confused about what his will is toward us.

It should not be too difficult to imagine that if we are loved so much by God, that he is more inclined to give to us, than to withhold from us. Those who see things this way are those who appear to have the greatest experiences of God’s power and are most secure in the sense of his love. They approach God, not with the slightest question as to whether it will be “His Will,” to respond favorably to them, neither are they surprised as the answers keep coming. Their expectations are that he will answer them and that he will grant their petitions and honor their words of faith. We can never escape the importance of the element of faith; whatever weakens, or blocks the expression of faith, must be viewed with suspicion. When we come before the “Highest,” we must come with the highest impression of him; as to his love, his power, and his faithfulness to us. Sometimes this may be difficult because of the nature of the problem or the complexity of the circumstances we are in. I like to recall the words of David when he said: “I had fainted lest I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” He was not questioning whether what he was expecting from God was “His Will,” or not. He maintained his faith in God’s goodness toward him. This is where the focus of our attention should always be centered: in the goodness of the Lord. Because David believed unequivocally that God was good, he refused to give up his faith, although what he sought for did not manifest immediately. Apparently, the response he sought did come. but, it was contingent on him maintaining his faith in God’s goodness.

Again we are reminded that this is a personal matter. David knew his circumstances, he knew his faith in God, he knew the broad range of his experiences with God, and would not give up his expectations. He seems to have known that if he had not continued to steadfastly believe, he would have collapsed within and gone into despair. He knew that the only answer to overcoming the pending exhaustion he was feeling, was to believe in the goodness and faithfulness of God to him personally. Faith offsets fear, it offsets fatigue, it keeps one from falling apart and giving up. We learn faith like we learn to walk. The urge to get up and stand on our feet is natural to us. We feel it from within and we try to do it. When we do, we know how it feels, although we may stumble at first, and gaining our balance is difficult, soon we have it mastered. We can then run and jump and maneuver in many different ways. It becomes instinctive to us to walk and move freely. Now even though the comparison of walking to faith, is not entirely the same, there are similarities. Walking is not an unnatural impulse, and neither is faith. The will to believe is within each of us, but we will not become comfortable with it until we find our balance and become familiar with how to use it. We become familiar with how to use our feet and our legs by using them. We find our balance by entering into the act of walking. The same metaphor might be used to describe the use of this thing called faith. The apostle Paul said: “We walk by faith and not by sight.” We gain our balance and steadiness in our spiritual consciousness by using our faith. Our faith will take us more places and into more adventures than our physical feet and legs can ever do. Without the use of faith we will never discover the faithfulness of God. Without the use of faith we will never come into our full potential. Without the use of faith we will never become aware of our spiritual birthright.

Jesus was forever trying to get the disciples to understand the importance of faith, and to encourage them to use it. On one occasion we are told that he came to a fig tree and saw that it had no fruit upon it and he cursed the tree and he and the disciples continued their journey. The next day as they were returning to where they had been before, they passed the fig tree and were amazed that it was dead and had dried up from the roots. They brought that fact to the attention of Jesus. He was not the least bit surprised, and said to them, “have faith in God.” It was a lesson to them to believe that what they said in faith would be honored by God. Notice, Jesus did not ask whether it would be God’s will for the tree to wither and die. He simply declared it to happen and it was so. The point that we are considering is the freedom to use our faith and expect an answer to manifest when we express it.

According to much of the teaching of Jesus, we are given great freedom in the use of our faith. Not only in asking God to do for us; but also to declare certain things to be, and they will be according to our word of faith. It’s up to us to initiate, it’s up to God to facilitate; and we are given much encouragement to believe that he will. We may not move mountains immediately, but we can start with moving a few rocks out of our path. We may not instantly raise the dead, but we can raise ourselves up to higher levels of triumph and success in our individual lives. I believe the challenge for us today is to learn to use our spiritual imagination, and our faith to obtain more of the gifts of God.

Jesus Is Who?

Fathom this if you can

The scriptures call him son of man

History leaves us no maybe

Jesus came as a baby

Absorbed our debt and bore our sin

He came indeed from the ranks of men

When he rose in the form of man

He appeared to disciples to show his hand

Ascending he went to heaven above

Having sealed and confirmed the Father’s love

Now exalted at God’s right hand

Sits the one called the son of man

The connection with him cannot be doubted

All our enemies have now been routed

Transgression, regression, and pulling away

From fear of God’s wrath on judgment day

These concerns can no longer stay

Because all along God had a plan

To let man sit at his right hand

Thurman L Faison

Chapter Ten

We Have Boldness

The focus of our attention throughout this book has been upon the expression of boldness in our approach to God. We have not been talking about arrogance or disrespect, but that somewhat evasive sense of the right to draw near to God and boldly elicit a response from him. The right to do this has been exemplified by the biblical characters we have read about; they dared to approach God with a boldness that most of us would have never even thought possible.

What inspired their boldness? Perhaps it was a combination of desperation, exasperation, and determination to get a response from the Lord. Remember, they were facing difficult challenges or were being placed in difficult situations. They had to have answers and they had to have them in no uncertain terms; how God responded to them would determine their next moves. Now I must add, that the element of faith was central in these expressions of boldness. They never would have made such forceful demands if they had not believed in God’s inclination to give them an answer.

I mentioned “the evasive sense of the right to draw near to God with boldness.” It is ‘evasive’ because we don’t feel it often, and it is a ‘right’ because we see that it has been used by some and God has respected it. He did not refuse them when they came with boldness, neither did he rebuke them or punish them: He honored them, and granted their request. So we can conclude from what we have learned so far from these unique bible characters, that being spiritually bold is not a transgression, or a detriment to our relationship with God. Although this sense of boldness is evasive to us, it is available if we will accept it as a part of our divine nature to expect great things from God.

I believe that a part of the reason why we are reluctant to be bold in our approach to God, is the sense we have of our personal unworthiness. If we could recall a spotless past in our days upon the earth, we might feel a little less uncertain about being bold with God. There are things we have thought, and things that we have done, that still don’t sit well in our conscience. If we just felt more perfect, we feel we could be more bold. Before exploring this fact, keep in mind, that the biblical characters we have discussed were certainly also very imperfect, but that sense of boldness still rose up within them and urged them to express it. What this tells us is that our personal imperfections need not weaken our boldness toward God. After all it is His perfection we are counting on, not our own.

But let us explore these thoughts a bit further. The sense of unworthiness is instilled in us from the time we were children. Many of us can remember hearing our parents, or someone else in authority say to us, when we have done something wrong: “you should be ashamed of yourself.” Well, this suggestion has lingered with us through the years and has made a deep imprint upon our conscience. Some of us have this sense of the need to be ashamed in a much greater proportion than others. Now because there is some truth to this exhortation to be ashamed because we have done this, or that, or said this, or that; it is not to be the only context in which we view ourselves.

The Jewish people lived under the demands of the law of Moses. The implications of the law guided their thoughts regarding right and wrong. There was the annual emphasis on the atoning for ones sins. The way of atonement was through the practice of using animals upon whom the sins of the people were symbolically placed; then the animals were sacrificed for the sins of the people, and forgiveness was granted. The people would then resume their lives and of course, try to do better. The imperfections of the people would require the same ritual to be done again and again. But the reality of this continuous cycle did not keep some spiritually minded people from approaching God with boldness.

They had a strong sense of God’s tendency to be merciful and to forgive them for their transgressions. So they didn’t live in the perpetual sense of having to be ashamed. The Jewish people are like a looking glass to the rest of the world. We can see so much of their behavior in our own lives. The sense of not feeling righteous is the same with us as with them. In fact the whole world is in the same boat. But something has happened since the writing of the Old Testament archives. The one who is called, “Savior” has come and has given us an entirely different perception of God’s dealings with mankind. We spoke of the sacrifices of old which were many, and were perpetual. In contrast to that cycle; we are told that when Jesus came and fulfilled the prophecies of old, that he was the, “one sacrifice for sin forever.” Nothing else needs to be done. The old account against mankind has finally been settled. This is why when Jesus died upon the cross, he said, “It is finished.” What was a problem for man, will never be a problem again. The New Testament writer to the Hebrews said it this way; We have, “boldness by the blood of Jesus.” Nothing can ever stand in the way of our being bold in our approach to God. We are told that: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” The above passages are given to address the concern of our ‘unworthiness,’ and to encourage our boldness.

These facts allow us to survey the land of spiritual promise with great expectation. We are not approaching God without the invitation to do so. He is as accepting of us as we are of our children, and he is anxious to do for us as we are anxious to do for our children. The difference is, he can do far more for us than we can ever do for our children. Jesus has shown us the way, by his faith and his actions. He has on countless occasions encouraged us to believe God for great things. Jesus is the ‘way shower’ and the indisputable example of the highest exponents of faith and boldness that we will ever see. He was not only unique in history, he is still unique today.

We have never seen anyone exactly like him in any generation since his appearance upon the earth. Not only are we to look closely at who he was, and what he said, but also at what he did and how he related to God. There was never the slightest doubt as to God’s response to him. Whether he was healing the sick, or casting out demons, or raising the dead. He could walk on water, multiply loaves and fishes or turn water into wine; with absolutely no doubt that his words and his faith would be honored. From a careful reading of the scriptures, we can see that what he did was not only to meet our needs, but to show us how to see the same thing happen for us. He did say: “The works that I do, shall ye do also, and greater works than these shall ye do.” I know that we are a long way from matching his works, or doing greater things than he did. But he did say those things, and the expectancy of doing them is up to us. I guess we just have to start somewhere. This is why we need ‘boldness’ to get some practice in bringing forth the supernatural.

Now dealing with the supernatural is indeed a great challenge for us because it means we have to learn how to work with things we cannot see. We have to learn how to follow divine promptings and expect unusual things to happen. We move from the common to the uncommon, from the visible to the invisible; and this requires faith. Learning anything new is usually a challenge. We have to first, learn the basics, then become familiar with the many things that come into play in order to master any field of knowledge. We have to listen to what others are saying who know the field quite well, and we have to watch them to see how they do it. Then we finally have to try to do it ourselves. At first, our efforts may be less than encouraging. Sometimes what we do does not even resemble what our instructors have been teaching us to do. It may take quite awhile for us to become familiar enough with the process, and our part in the project before we have even a semblance of that which we are expected to be able to do. I believe this is why there are so many examples of people doing the miraculous in the scriptures. Either they were doing it by actions of faith engaged in by themselves, or they were doing it by expecting actions by God to manifest in their situations. Because we see that they did these things, and that there were quite a number of them who accomplished these things, we are given encouragement by their actions. They also in effect have laid down the blue prints for our guidance. As none of these persons were exactly the same, nor were their acts and expectations the same; this is to let us know that no one particular type of person is granted the divine responses. There is also not only one way of producing the miraculous. However, the two absolutely necessary elements in all of these examples are ‘boldness’ and ‘faith’.

Jesus was with the disciples for three years. They became accustomed to his presence, they listened to his words, and they watched him do his miraculous works. Things were going quite well for them and they followed him and simply observed what was happening. But this was not what Jesus had in mind for them. They were not to just ‘watch,’ they were to learn ‘to do,’ what he was doing. He had made the mind boggling declaration that the works he was doing, they would also do. The time came when he sent them out to do what he had been doing. He told them to: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils.” I like to imagine what their inner reactions were. The words that come to mind is, Uh Oh! I think what Jesus said, caught them off guard. They were fine, as long as Jesus carried the load of the miraculous on his shoulders, but to be suddenly told that they had to go and do these works themselves, was a real bombshell. But seriously that is the heart of what this is all about. We are expected to be able to do things we have never done, and to expect things to happen when we are the ones initiating them. Jesus was saying, you have been in class long enough. Now go do what I have been illustrating for you to do. Can you not imagine how overwhelmed they must have felt? It was time for the final exam and they had to take it. If they would have failed to take the exam, they would have never known the power and authority they actually possessed.

To further complicate matters, Jesus did not physically go with them. He stayed where he was and sent them out to the towns and villages to do the works on their own. He told them, “freely you have received, freely give.” Here is where the element of faith came into the picture. They had to accept his word that they had what they needed to give to the people by their acts of faith. Now he did give them something to work with, ‘his name.’ He was authorizing then to use his authority. When the prophets did their mighty works, it was in the name of the Lord God of Israel. They believed in him and in the authority that they had been given. When the disciples went on their journey of faith, they were amazed at the miracles that manifested. They returned to where Jesus was with great excitement and stories of their accomplishments. In other words, they were delighted that it worked! The truth is, that they would have never known that it worked unless they had tried it. The same thing holds true today. There are many wonderful things that will come forth if we would dare to expect them, and come out of the classroom and enter into the field of experience. We will only know it, when we do it. The disciples came to know the power of their own faith and the authority that they had, when they tried to use it. This was the beginning of their consciousness of the power that they possessed and that it would work when they sought to exercise it. Jesus was not even with them when these things were taking place. This was extremely important in their field training, because the time was soon to come when he would no longer be with them anyway. They had to get used to the fact that Jesus in his bodily presence would no longer be something that they could count on. But since they had used the power that he assured them they had, their minds were relieved of the fear of being personally inadequate.

Both in the old and new testaments there are encouragements to reach beyond the natural into the supernatural, and bring the power of God into our personal situations. To do this requires some familiarity with the presence of God. Just as the disciples were granted some familiarity with Jesus so they would be encouraged in their use of faith, it is important for us to seek to know the Lord in a more spiritually conscious way. This is why prayer and meditation is still important for the spiritually minded. This is also why some bible knowledge is important. I am not talking about having a masters degree in theology. I am talking about some basic understanding of the nature of God and some realization of what he has done for many who have believed in him. If we have no knowledge that God honors our faith and no references to assure us of this fact, then it makes it more difficult for us to freely express our faith and boldness toward the Lord.

Our humanity and its perceived limitations takes it toll on our expectations. For centuries man has felt that God could never fully understand him, because his experiences are not our experiences. He could never know how we experience the world from within our beings as men and women of earth. What we feel in our bodies, and what we experience in our minds and emotions are foreign to him. This is not to say that being God and having all knowledge and all understanding, that there is no way he can know these things. Obviously, since he created us, and made us in his image, he would have to know how it really is with us. This is true, but he still lives in his world of experience and we live in ours. This is why Jesus came. He came to share our humanity and to feel what we feel. He called himself, “the son of man.” He has perfectly identified himself with us, physically, mentally, and emotionally. He knows what it is like to be hungry, to be tired, to be in pain and in sorrow. He even knows what it is like to die. God knows nothing of this from the standpoint of personal experience. It is good to know these things, because it helps us to more fully appreciate who Jesus was. He was both “son of God,” and “son of man.” Remember although God was his father, Mary was his mother. She conceived him and bore him and brought him forth into this world. He shared her flesh and the heredity of her forefathers. It is said of him: “The child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.” He will always be known, not only as the son of Mary, but also the son of David through her lineage. Now why am I emphasizing these facts at this time? Simply to remind us of how human Jesus was. It is because of his humanity that he can truly understand us. So when he tells us to have faith in God and to show boldness in our expectations, he is saying these things from the consciousness of being a part of the human race. He knows absolutely how we feel and what our life experiences are. He was fully aware of God’s side and of our side, and wanted us to be assured that God would hear us and that he would respond to our expectations.

One important thing for us to fully understand is, that Jesus was not a full blown deity upon this earth. He entered as a ‘son of man,’ a human child, with years before him to grow and to learn and to experience life as any other man might do. It is said that ‘the child grew.’ Oh how we need to pay attention to those words, ‘the child grew.’ He was first conceived, then came into this world as ‘a child,’ and the child grew. He went through the same process that we go through. He did not express absolute perfection in every way all at once. He grew! As he grew, he waxed strong in spirit. He was not immediately and completely strong in spirit as a child. He had to grow up, just like we have to grow up. His inner strength also went through the process of becoming strong. He was not strong all at once. In this process he became filled with wisdom, not born with it in its full-orbed expression. Also, we are told that the “grace of God was upon him.” God’s favor, and kindness was resting upon him. There later came a time when he met John the Baptist at the river Jordan and was baptized by him and he was confirmed to be God’s beloved son, and the Spirit of God descended upon him. Then and only then, did he begin to express the marvelous wonders of God.

I take time to point these things out in order to show the humanity of Jesus and the process through which he went before he began to reveal the wonderful works of God. He was as much like us as he could possibly be. The difference being that he did no evil and did not follow any path of iniquity. His focus from childhood was to exemplify the character of God and his efforts to achieve his righteous perfection was guided by God’s favor and God’s grace. He grew up among the people like any other person would do. He was not a hermit, and apparently not judgmental or critical of those around him. In fact the people were surprised when he came forth with his spiritual authority and power. They said of him: “Is not this the carpenters son, the son of Mary?” He was so much like one of them as a human being, that it astounded them that he should express such dominance and power among them. It was certainly unexpected, yet it was in the making from the earliest years of the life of the chosen one.

When his public ministry began, the focus was upon the needs of the people. It was to: “heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, to set at liberty them that are bound.” Most of the miracles that Jesus did was for the benefit of the people, although he did many miracles that established his personal power and authority. These additional miracles were to show that God was near and would respond to the word of faith. This is where our primary focus must be; to help the people, to bring solutions to their problems. This was what so many of the miracles of the prophets of old were all about; to help the people in some form or another. But Jesus lived among the people and shared all of the consciousness that they had, and experienced the life modes that they were familiar with. He had an earthly mother and an appointed earthly father to care for him in his birth into the world and his upbringing as a child. He was truly “the son of man.” Now it is this truly son of man and fully son of God who is instructing us in our faith and expectations of God. We might legitimately say, he knows whereof he speaks, he has been on both sides of the equation. He knows what he is talking about when he speaks of God, and he knows what he is talking about when he speaks of man. If he tell us that with God nothing shall be impossible, then we need to listen to him. When he tells us that we are to have faith in God, then he knows that we can. He knows what is possible with God, and he knows what is possible with man. He knows what God is like and he knows what we are like.

We covered a number of accounts within the old testament which set forth wonderful expressions of faith and “boldness.” We have seen how men and women have related to God on a much higher level than we are usually accustomed to. We have moved into the New Testament and seen the same wonderful kinds of expression of faith and “boldness.” However, this time, from the unique individual who is called both the “Son of God.,” and the “Son of Man.” In him we have heaven and earth linked together. Because he not only shows us the power of faith, he also shows us the faithfulness of God toward mankind, we should indeed pay close attention to what he has manifested in his life, his actions, and in his words. There has never been anyone like him, and there never will be. The only way we will see him in this life is through his characteristics revealed in the life of those who believe in him. He gave us what he could in his life, and in his words, and in his works. He gave us the utmost of himself in his death, and the power of his resurrection.

Because he has come, we no longer need to hesitate in our approach to God. We no longer need to be filled with a sense of our personal unworthiness. We are told that we now, “Have boldness by the blood of Jesus.” The door to God’s presence is wide open to us now, and we may approach him without the least sense of fear or foreboding. And have the divine nature within us we can ask what we will and the promise is that he will grant it. But we must leave the spiritual class room and enter into the life experience of what we desire from God. We must act it out. As Jesus told his disciples to go do it. We must also go do it, using his example as our blue print. Keeping in mind that remarkable scripture that says: “As he is, so are we in this world.” We can replicate his actions. We can show forth the kind of faith he expressed. We can prove the faithfulness of God to man. We can show the kind of boldness that he exemplified. But to do so we must venture out beyond our comfort zone. We must prove for ourselves the reality of these things. We start from within, then we venture to those things that are without. It starts with us first, then we go beyond our personal boundaries to those who need to know and experience what we have come to know and have experienced for ourselves. To do this we must believe what Jesus said. Here is a poem as a reminder of his declaration.

Power To Tread

That’s what he said

When he showed the disciples the way ahead

World shaking events were to unfold

Miracles would continue if they were bold

He unveiled the forces behind the wall

It was written,” I saw Satan fall.”

To share these words may sound surreal

But to those of faith they give cause to kneel

Before Him whose promises are true

He has started the collapse of the evil in view

He harnessed our fears and encouraged our trust

Unseen powers yield, because he said they must

Like Moses with rod, that serpent became

God said “pick it up!” and it suddenly was tame

Jesus said in essence, I came because of you

Now the things I have done, shall you also do

In the midst of sometimes fierce opposition

Our minds are brought back to this simple proposition

With His authority we move on ahead

For He has given us power to tread

These are flashes of truth from the hallowed book

Why not take time and give yourself a look

Greater works than these shall you do said he

It might be you, it could be me.

Thurman L Faison

NOTES

Chapter One

1. Second Kings 2:2

2. Second Kings 2:8

3. Second Kings 2:9

4. Second Kings 2:12

5. Second Kings 2:14

6. Mark 4:9

7. Genesis 1:27

8. Acts 17:29

9. Hebrews 11:6

10. I John 3:2

11. Matthew 7:7

12. I Corinthian 3:21

13. Matthew 23:8

14. Mark 9:23

15. Hebrews 11:3

16. Genesis 1:2

17. Genesis 1:7

18. Hebrews 11:1

19. Mark 11:23

20. John 14:2

21. Psalm 8:4

Chapter Two

1. Judges 6:12

2. Judges 6:13

3. Judges 6:14

4. Matthew 8:4

5. Judges 6:22

6. Judges 6:27

7. Isaiah 45.11

8. Job 32:8

9. Luke 17:21

10. John 4:10

11. John 4:22

12. John 10:34

Chapter Three

1. Isaiah 41:8

2. Genesis 22:17

3. Genesis 25:11

4. Genesis 32:26

5. Genesis 32:28

6. Galatiana 3:7

7. Romans 11:18

8. Matthew 7:7

9. Romans 11:2

10. Romans 11:28

11. Romans 11:29

12. Matthew 7:11

13. Psalm 68:18

Chapter Four

1. Joshua 14:12

2. Numbers 13:28

3. II Corinthian 1:20

4. Mark 9:23

5. I John 5:19

6. Luke 19:10

7. Mark 5:36

8. Luke 10:19

9. Ephesian 6:12

10. I Timothy 6:12

11. Jeremiah 32:27

Chapter Five

1. Joshua 10:12

2. Joshua 10:13

3. I Timothy 1:6

Chapter Six

1. Judges 4:14

2. Luke 1:28

3. Luke 1:46

4. Joel 2:28

5. Job 32:8

Chapter Seven

1. II Kings 13:17

2. Proverbs 23:7

3. Psalm 82:7

4. John 10:34

5. John 14:6

6. Matthew 17:20

Chapter Eight

1. Psalm 78:41

2. Hebrews 11:6

3. Ephesian 3:20,21

4. Acts 17:28

5. James 4:8

6. Mark 6:5

7. Luke 17:21

8. Jeremiah 32:27

9. Numbers 23:19

10. Romans 3:27

11. Matthew 8:5

Chapter 9

1. Hebrews 11:6

2. Matthew 26:39

3. Isaiah 53:5

4. Luke 5:12

5. Ecclesiastes 3:11

6. Proverbs 8:31

7. Psalm 37:4

8. Genesis 3:8

9. John 3:16

10. I John 4:8

11. Psalm 27:13

12. II Corinthian 5:7

13. Mark 11:22

Chapter Ten

1. Hebrews 10:12

2. Hebrews 10:19

3. Psalm 103:12

4. John 14:12

5. Matthew 10:8

6. Luke 19:10

7. Luke 1:80

8. Matthew 13:55

9. Luke 4:18

10. I John 4:17

About The Author

Thurman Faison is a former pastor and television minister. He received his Bachelors degree from North Central Bible College in Minneapolis Minnesota. He received his Masters degree from National Louis University in Evanston Illinois. He is currently retired and lives with his wife Connie in South Florida. They spend their time traveling between Florida, Chicago, and Jamaica. Between them they have nine children and thirteen grandchildren. It has been Thurman’s desire to share some of his thoughts on spirituality with those who seek the kingdom of God within themselves and its expression in the world around them.

Table of Contents

Chapter One Where is God?

Chapter Two Where are all his miracles?

Chapter Three He wrestled with an angel

Chapter Four Give me this mountain

Chapter Five The Sun Stood Still

Chapter Six Deborah

Chapter Seven Half-Hearted

Chapter Eight Limit Not The Holy One

Chapter Nine His Will

Chapter Ten We Have Boldness

Notes

About The Author