January 15, 2006

• Friday Bible study Part 2

  
  

  What you believe God is about to do may have nothing to do with what will actually happen.

  
  

  The faith in your words will mobilize the Holy Spirit to action. All we need is a tiny bit of faith to move mountains. But the Holy Spirit will do it the way God ordains, not the way we think it should occur.

  
  

  Mark 11: 22-24 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

  
  

  (Heather’s note, in a previous Bible study, Pastor Don had us count the number of times it says believe, and the number of times it says say or ask.)

  
  

  We tend to, in pride, believe that it is our faith that causes the supernatural to happen. Our faith is important, but it is not the operating agent that causes the actions to be done, that is the Holy Spirit.

  
  

  When we speak in faith, we free the Holy Spirit and God to work in our lives.

  
  

  Unfortunately people have twisted the words to state that if you say a particular prayer, or say things in a particular way, or say with faith, that it will happen just as we say. That borders on witchcraft.

  
  

  Yes, we speak, and what we speak is what affects our circumstances, but it is not the speaking – it is the Holy Spirit which is moved by our speaking which is the operating agent.

  
  

  In the process of discipling a person we teach people how to use faith as an action word and to teach others how to use it, but we are powerless to accomplish this in the earth in our own faith power. We link our faith to the Holy Spirit, God and Jesus.

  
  

  We think certain people (some TV evangelists and faith healers, etc) have more of an anointing than others. This is not true, we all have access to the anointing, and people have different anointings on them.

  
  

  It is the person who is coming to the evangelist, the healer that is the one whose faith causes the miracle. Jesus and the woman with the flow of blood is an example, and often Jesus told people that it was their faith that brought about the healing. The evangelist and healer is the one who primes the pump of faith, but it is the faith of the person coming to God that produces the healing.

  
  

  God is the one that knows what we need before we ask and He has prepared the way for our needs. We do not always know when the miracle will happen, or how. For example at the wedding in Canna we really don’t know exactly when the water was turned to wine, was it when the water was put in the jars, when the wine was poured out, when the servants were carrying the jars. It is not important when it occurred, just to give glory to God for the great miracle that He did.

  
  

  1Thes 5:19-20 Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise the prophesies.

  
  

  Pastor Don pointed out that often what we say, and how we act when the anointing is present can quench the spirit. The spirit could be operating, and people’s attitudes, words, beliefs or behavior can cause it to depart.

  
  

  One example he gave was when people stagger into worship services an hour after it began, choosing to come in after worship music, critical of the worship leaders, or leaving early. These things can cause the Holy Spirit to not manifest (of course this is not set in stone because it is really the Sovereignty of God that determines what will occur). If people are caught up in idle chatter it can interrupt the flow of the Spirit.

  
  

  (Heather’s note, we need to be humble, worshipful, respectful and careful of what we do and say. Our words do have impact and our attitude can interfere with the good that God might want to do.)

  
  

  This study was challenging for me, because it is so convicting. I am often not careful with the words that I use, and God is very forgiving, but I also know that at times my words defeat what God wants to do in my life.

  
  

  I am hoping you have an awesome Sunday.

  
  

  Heather

  • 12:01 am
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