The Force Of Faith
Part Two.  The Operation Of Faith.
Installment Seven.
By Phil Scovell.



COMMENTS.

     We are still considering part two of The Force Of Faith.  in
this installment, we are expanding on the theme of how faith
works.  The outline of part two, The Operation Of Faith, reads
like this.

Say It.
Pray It.
Believe It.
Receive It.

GENERAL COMMENTS.

     It is not uncommon that what we are about to examine from
God's Word is sometimes, by some people, called "Faith and
Confession."  Yes, you can call it that if you prefer.  Some
denounce this as "Name and Claim it."  Yes, you can call it that,
too.  Some like to generalize and lump it all together and call it
"Positive Thinking."  Well, I would sure hate to be accused of
teaching negative thinking.  So, if you choose to refer to it as
Positive Thinking, that would be fine with me.

     Now, here is the one I really like the best which some prefer
by way of criticism.  "It is nothing more than Brain Washing."
Thank God!  Somebody finally got it right.  I want my brain, my
mind, to be totally washed by the Word of God so much, that my
whole entire life is centered on God's Holy Word.  Furthermore,
I've even heard people refer to what we are about to learn as
"Mind Control."  Bingo!  You couldn't be more right.  I, for one,
desire more than anything, for my mind to be controlled by God's
Word.

     This one is classic, though, so listen up.  Somebody
eventually, gets around to making the following statement.  "You
are just doing this to try and get God to do something He doesn't
want to do."  Excuse me.  At the risk of sounding rude, do you
know how stupid that statement sounds?  Name one person who ever
made God do something He didn't want to do and then we'll talk
about it.

     Finally, after all is said and done, the critics of what
Jesus said will say the following.  "This whole thing makes me
nervous."  God bless you for finally hitting the nail right on the
head.  It makes me nervous, too.  Why?  Because, our flesh just
doesn't like this sort of Biblical teaching and it rebels against
it.  So now you are in the perfect place where the Holy Spirit can
speak to your heart and minister to your spirit.

     OUTLINE.

A.  Say It.

     This could be labeled as confession or vocalization.  We can
call it that because, when reviewing the fig tree incident, Jesus
spoke to the tree.  this means confession, that is, he commanded
it, or told it, what to do.  I like the word vocalization.  It
means To produce with the voice or to give voice to.  That clearly
identifies what Jesus did to the fig tree and what He later gave,
by way of explicit instruction, for His disciples to apply in
their daily life.

Mark 11:22
Have faith in God.

     Again, we are faced with the meaning of this little phrase.
It was not a suggestion but a command.  Let me put it this way.
Jesus did not say, Have faith in a man or a preacher, or a story
or a testimony or a church or a denomination, or a seminar or a
Bible college, or a radio or television ministry, or a formula,
or in an idea, or a book, or a 40 day or 60 day or 90 day plan.
We are commanded to have faith in God period.

STATEMENT.

     You cannot live on the faith of others.

ILLUSTRATION.

     Many years ago, Sandy and I were traveling and preaching in
churches in the Midwest.  In one church, where we were to stay for
a week, we had the privilege of staying with a wonderful retired
couple.  they were both in their mid to late sixties.  They had
never meant a blind person before but they were excited for the
opportunity and we had one of the best experiences that we ever
had while staying with someone we didn't know.

     The husband had only been born again for about four years.
He had already read the Bible that many times and we spent the
entire week talking about the Bible.  Just my kind of person, too.
He had a lot of questions, things he didn't understand, so I was
fortunate enough to be able to explain things I had learned,
theologically, at my young age.  I was only about 26 years of age
at the time and the truth was, this man was way closer to the Lord
than I was.  Most importantly, I would call him a man of faith and
prayer.

     When this man prayed, things happened.  I could tell you many
stories he told me of how the Lord answered His prayers but
instead, since our topic is how faith works, I want to tell you
the mistake I made when applying what I thought was faith.

     day after day, this man told me stories of how God answered
his prayers.  I could feel my confidence building as I listened to
each testimony.  Unfortunately for me, what was building in me was
confidence and not faith.  I thought it was faith.  After all,
faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  So it made
sense to me that it was my faith building.

     From about age fifteen, I have had headaches.  Some would be
classified as migraine.  During our stay with the elderly couple,
although now they don't seem so old to me, I prayed and made a
decision and a commitment.  I was going to exercise faith and
believe God that I was cured of my headaches based upon all I had
heard from this man.

     After spending some time praying and thinking about it, I
took all my pills into the bathroom and dumped them down the
commode.  With in a day or two, I felt a headache coming on but
figured, now that I had made my decision, it wouldn't last.

     It was now evening and time for church.  My head was hurting
severely.  I figured that God would surely honor my faith so I
preached that night as my headache grew worse.

     By the time church was over and we had climbed into the
elderly couple's car, to go home, I couldn't even think straight.
I broke down and asked them to stop at a drug store in order to
purchase something for my headache.

     Arriving home, I changed clothes, took some medication, and
then sat for a couple of hours at the kitchen table with my new
friend, drinking hot black coffee, eating homemade pie, discussing
the Bible, as my headache began to subside.

     Many years later, as I began to study faith, attempting to
learn how it worked, I vividly recalled this experience and asked
the Lord about it.  I was confused.  Why did God not honor my
faith.  I tried.  I did my best to believe.  I even dumped all my
pills down the drain.  Did that not show the Lord that I was
sincere, living by faith, and trusting in God and believing in His
Word?  The Holy Spirit clearly told me where I had missed it.

     First, I was not using faith; I was using the confidence that
was generated by hearing the man's testimonies of healing.
Secondly, I did not vocalize, or say, anything to the headaches.
Why?  I didn't know you were supposed to.  I thought you just had
to believe.  third, my faith was in a man and what he had
experienced and not in God.  Finally, I knew absolutely nothing
about my authority in Christ at the time and even less about
faith.

     Mark 11:23
For verily I SAY unto you, that whosoever SHALL SAY unto this
mountain...

The word "say" is used twice, back to back, early in this verse
but they are two different Greek words.  The first "say" is an
instructive, or teaching, word.  Thus, Jesus spoke as a teacher
explaining the workings of faith to His disciples.

     The second word for "shall say" is a Greek word which is,
according to the Strong's concordance, used in the definite past
tense.  It is, in other words, something spoken that you regard as
being something which will be done.  It is exercising authority;
knowing what you said will be carried out to the letter as if it
were a military command.  Let me offer a couple of parallel
passages which will best illustrate the application of this word.

Luke 4:3
And the devil said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, COMMAND
this stone that it be made bread.

     The highlighted word, "command," is the same Greek word
translated in Mark 11:23, "That whosoever, SHALL SAY, unto this
mountain.  It is a word spoken as a command and not as
instruction.

Luke 9:54
And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord,
wilt thou that we COMMAND fire to come down from Heaven, and
consume them, even as Elias did?
]
     Again, the word highlighted in this passage as "command," is
the same Greek word used by Jesus in Mark 11:23 which is
translated "SHALL SAY unto this mountain.

     Those familiar with this reference know it is the story of
Elijah.  The king had sent a band of 50 well trained, but stupid,
soldiers to come and, forcibly, if necessary, bring Elijah before
him because he was ill and near death.  I suppose he, the king,
suspected Elijah would lay hands on him and heal him by the name
of the LORD.

     when the first band of disrespectful 50 highly trained and
skilled, although a little on the stupid side, soldiers came to
where they found the man of God, Elijah spoke, commanded, and fire
fell from the sky and killed them all.  Ouch!  Before the ground
had even stopped smoldering, the dying king dispatched an
additional band of 50 soldiers to bring the Man of God, forcibly,
if need be, in to the dying King before he kicked the bucket.  The
second team of 50 soldiers were about as bright as the first group
and were burned to a crisp by the authority of the words spoken
by the man of God.  Serves them right, too.  The third captain of
the 50 soldiers finally learned some manners and showed a lot of
respect.  The Lord thus told Elijah it was ok to go with them.
This was, therefore, to what James and John were referring when
they asked Jesus if they could call down fire from Heaven, as
Elijah did, to destroy those who were against the Lord.

     The word they used, "command," when referring to calling down
fire from Heaven, is the exact same words Jesus said, "shall say,"
unto this mountain in Mark's gospel.  Thus, the word is a term of
definite command when speaking.

End Of Installment Seven