Hey Phil,
The biggest problem with those who are dispensationalists, who bwelieve that
God has limited himself and stopped doing anything since the death of the
last apostle, was that those people just put Jesus and the father on the
level with Buddah, Muhammed, and lots of others.  God then, is limited to a
book, and does not speak to His people and is really not living, if there
theory is correct.  I can't understand what is the purpose of saying you
have a relationship with a dead powerless God, if he stopped doing anything
2,000 years ago.
Vinny
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 3:48 PM
Subject: Faith - Installment 5


> The Force Of Faith
> Part Two.  The Origin Of Faith.
> Installment Five.
> By Phil Scovell.
>
> Introduction.
>
> How Faith Works.
> Text.
> Mark 11:22-24
> 22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
> 23  For 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.
> 24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when
> ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
>
>
> General Comments.
>
>      If you are a dispensationalist, this passage just quoted will
> have absolutely no meeting to you whatsoever.  In fact, you might
> as well get out your scissors and clip those verses out of your
> Bible since they are no longer applicable to today's New Testament
> church and Christian.  You see, many today have chosen to believe
> that miracles were only used by Jesus to authenticate His Deity as
> the Messiah.  May I respectfully submit that Jesus has never
> needed to do anything to authenticate his Messiahship but, of
> course, I digress?  My point is, on the other hand, many believe
> that when the last apostle died, whoever that was, the gifts of
> the Holy Spirit, along with miracles, passed away.  Some call this
> former period of time the apostolic age.  No gift of tongues, gift
> of knowledge, discerning of spirits, or any such thing, they say,
> is available to us today.  In short, if they were truthful, they
> would have to say that God has chosen to limit His authoritative
> power to other periods of times, which they call dispensations,
> and therefore, we, as the body of Believers, have a somewhat less
> powerful God to worship.  Furthermore, it must please our Lord,
> according to this dispensational Biblical interpretation, to leave
> His people helpless in so many areas.  Well, so much for the
> sarcasm and cynicism for which I am so often criticized.  I tried,
> though.  To be succinct.  Hog wash!
>
>      Since we are discussing how faith works in the life of the
> Christian for today, I won't take the time to prove that the
> passage just quoted is, in fact, a promise for the church and
> Christians today.  You either believe or you don't believe and I
> am not obligated to try and convince you one way or the other.
>
> Background.
>
>      It is important, I believe, to note, before going further
> with this discussion, to identify the context of this passage of
> Scripture.
>
>      Jesus and his disciples were walking along and Jesus was
> hungry.  Approaching the fig tree, they found it fruitless.  Jesus
> commanded the tree to bear no more fruit and they continued their
> journey with any explanation by Jesus concerning what He just had
> done.
>
>      The next day, they passed the same tree, that is, they were
> going the opposite direction, or simply stated, they were
> retracing their steps, but, as Peter so graphically pointed out,
> the tree was withered and dried up from the roots.  That means the
> tree was dead.  At this very point, Jesus stopped and spoke the
> words I have just quoted in Mark 11 verses 22 through 24
> concerning how faith works.  Why?  He knew the disciples were
> wondering how He had killed the tree by just speaking to it.  Make
> no mistake about it; Jesus spoke and killed the tree because Peter
> said so.
>
>      In this second of a five part study, we are now going to
> consider the topic of The Operation Of Faith, or, how faith
> works.  If your faith is currently working at top notch for you,
> don't bother reading the rest of this study.  If, however, you
> aren't satisfied with how your faith is working, that is to say,
> how it isn't working, then continue reading and listening and
> thinking.
>
>      Try your best to keep focused on the fact that Jesus just
> spoke to a fruitless fig tree and it died.  No, not right away,
> but within 24 hours as they passed by the following day.
>
>      Additionally, try and keep in mind, as we consider this
> study, that the tree looked absolutely no different to the
> disciples when Jesus spoke to it, commanding it to die, than it
> did before He spoke to it.   Peter noticed it the following day
> and made comment.  See Matthew 11:21 and previous verses if you
> doubt this.
>
>      Statement.  Faith works only within the framework of a
> spiritual environment.
>
> Illustration.  A ball is made to toss threw air.  Without the air,
> throwing the ball won't work.  For example, try tossing a ball to
> a friend under water and see how it works.  It is the wrong
> element for the ball to function.  Tossing the ball threw the air,
> however, works but to do so, it must defy the law of gravity.
>
> Note.  the same is true with Faith.  Confessing certain things
> over and over will produce confidence but confident isn't faith.
> confidence is a human character trait.  Faith is supernatural and
> works only in a supernatural environment.
>
> Question.  If faith works only in a spiritual environment, how do
> we, as Christians, create such an environment?
>
> Answer.  The answer to this question is clearly evident in Mark
> 11:22-23 which we are about to study.
>
> end Of Installment Five.
>
>
> I Flew Kites With Jesus
> www.safeplacefellowship.com
>
>
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