Phil, keep sending theese I am interested because well, this makes sense you
honestly sound like my pastor at my church.


Lelia Struve email [log in to unmask] msn [log in to unmask]
----- 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 Bible since they are no longer applicable to today's New Testament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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