Give us your tired, poor, huddled masses. These are more than words on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty. For years this has been an ideology that has set a nation apart from every other nation in the world. These people have come in search of a better way of life. They flee from tyranny, socialism and communism; only to discover the united stated is steeped in the same corruption they have been fleeing from. These people then try to warn us of the impending danger that accompanies the signs that are being displayed by our government. I recently have had a congressman tell me that if we do not act as a church of the founders of this country we will not enjoy the freedoms we have much longer. They are systematically being taken away while sit quietly by concerned about our tax exempt status. Pastors have been effectively silenced in the pulpit with threats of the loss of 501c3 status, afraid to address the political issues that so clearly go against what had bee taught by the Bible and Jesus himself. It is time to be more concerned the Word of God than with revenue. God wants his people to speak up no matter the consequences. Today is the day to stand up.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. If faith is substance and there is evidence of the substance, what is the evidence? Could it be possible that the evidence resides in the miraculous nature of God who shows himself to those he loves?

When Jesus sent out The Twelve, in Luke 9:1, he gave them the power and authority to drive out demons. Luke 9:1 says, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases . . . (NIV).” Contrary to what some believe, this power is still available today if we have faith that God has not changed in 2000 years, or ever for that matter.

What would limit God’s power today any more than previous years? Is God getting old? Is he limited by time and space as we are? Of course not! He is all powerful today and cares for the life you are living today just as he cared for those 2000 years ago.

Obviously, some Christians do not believe in the power of God because they have not witnessed it. And they have not witnessed it because they deny it. Most believe God answers prayer today. So why can he not answer it in a miraculous way? The answer is, “He can!”

In my life I have seen the miraculousness of God. It cannot be denied to me. There are those, as we have discussed in chapter one, who do not believe in God’s power for the twenty-first century. Nevertheless, it is only power that they are denying through their own unbelief.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says:

 

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self–control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them (NIV).

 

I do not believe that 2 Timothy 3 is speaking about Christians. Paul is speaking about unbelievers. Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense that believers should believe in the power of God since he says that unbelievers are the ones who do not? Scripture speaks of the miraculous often. Why then do Christians deny it? It would appear that many Christians of today have “bought into” the German philosophy purported by theologians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These theologians alleged a Jesus who has no power; a Jesus who was simply an uncommon man, but not God. God forbid!

            The power of the Christian comes from Jesus. His Holy Spirit resides in us. John 14:15-21 says:

 

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. 
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

 

Jesus said in the above passage that he is in us just as the Father is in him. That means that the power we have, through faith, is in us today. If we have the Holy Spirit in us we have his power.

            No Christian today can call him or herself a Christian without professing that the Holy Spirit is within him or her. So, is Christ a liar? Or, do we still have his power today? The answer is, we still have the power of Jesus within us through the Holy Spirit. In fact, “The same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you (Romans 8:11).” This Scripture goes on to say that whoever does not have the Holy Spirit in him is not of Christ.

Luke 9:10 says, “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida. . . (NIV).”

When they got back to Jesus they reported everything they had done. They still had the same mindset when they tried to cast the demon out of the boy. They were giving themselves the glory instead of God.

Faith in God is not about you, it’s about God.  The power of God is not about you it’s about God. Too many proclaim faith in God as if it has to do with them. However, faith comes from God and points to him, not us. When one says that God cannot heal anymore, it is through his or her own lack of faith, which ultimately reflects on his or her lack of faith in God.

We must come to Jesus and believe in his power, not the power of our own faith. In Luke 9:37-40 a man comes to Jesus and asks him to exorcise a demon that possesses his boy. The man said that the disciples tried but they could not. Jesus calls the generation unbelieving and perverse. It was not necessarily the Disciples’ lack of faith that was blocking the healing as much as it was their own belief that they were the ones with the power.

Remember the verse we discussed earlier? Luke 9:10 speaks of the disciples telling Jesus what they had done. The glory they were giving was to themselves. As long as we believe it is our faith that decides the miraculousness of God, we will be limited in what we see God do.

In Luke 9:37-40 we see the same scenario. They still do not have faith in God; they have faith in their own ability to see the miraculousness of God.

We have to believe he will do as he said. Mark 16:15, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” We have the faith to preach the Word because he has told us to. Why do we not have the faith to believe that he still has the power over this mortal body that he has created?

The power of God is in his Gospel. That means, most of the power we are given is for the purpose of preaching the Gospel, not in the healing of the body. Nevertheless, many believe that God can change lives through eternal salvation but not through the miracles he said we will see in this physical life. Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

In Mark 9, a man brought his possessed boy to Jesus to be healed. Jesus asked the man if he believed. The boy’s father recognized the need to believe. He recognized that he wanted to believe. He recognized that he did believe; a little. More than that, he recognized that he needed help from Jesus to believe. He asked for the faith of Jesus to help him believe. Mark 9:24 says, “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

The same can be said of our faith today. We must have the faith to know that God has done the miraculous. We must also have faith to know that he will still do so and, in fact, does so even if we ourselves have not witnessed miracles. There are many who have witnessed miracles of God today. Why would a believing Christian deny the witness unless they truly do not want to believe in God’s power as was said in 2 Timothy; thus denying Christ.

Luke 10:17-20 says:

 

The seventy–two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

 

 There are many who deny God’s power in one breath and contradict themselves in another. The man I wrote about previously on Facebook said that God’s power still included spreading the Gospel, but not miraculous gifts.

            Mark 16:15-18 says:

 

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 
they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

 

The man said that only half of the previous Scripture applied to today, but which half? Of course he chose to dismiss the half that mentioned miraculous gifts. However, we have already discussed that the true power of God remains in the Gospel.

            The previously mentioned Luke 10 tells of the miraculous gifts, but then Jesus reminded them that the true gift was in eternal life, not the gifts themselves. Therefore, it seems if one is going to discount the gifts God gives, he must discount salvation as well.

            Who decides which part of the Scripture must be thrown out? If it is you or any other mortal, then I would just as soon listen to the author, God, instead and accept his power through faith in Jesus Christ.

The most important part of our walk is to tell others about the resurrection of Christ. It is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and his salvation.

 

Evidence

 

What is the evidence of the substance? The evidence is the way one knows that he or she is saved by grace. If one does not believe in the miraculous, how can one determine if his life has been changed?

I have witnessed many who did not know the Lord. They were obvious sinners who had hate in their heart. Nevertheless, when they accepted Jesus their lives changed instantly. It was not a transition learned, it was an instantaneous transformation into a new creation.

Every year I go to Preteen Camp as a counselor. On one occasion, there was a young boy there who was disobedient and rebellious. It was the first day of camp and he was defiant on all accounts. He did not want to be there and he made no pretension about it. The first night was over and we began the next day. Still, the young man was insolent. He told me in no uncertain terms, “You are not my daddy and I don’t have to listen to you.”

The second night there was another service planned. The young man was annoyed and appeared disinterested in what was being said. Nevertheless, the service continued and something miraculous happened. The boy began to listen. That night he answered God’s call and gave his life to Jesus.

That night in the cabin he came to me on his own accord. He told me he was sorry for treating me so badly. He asked my forgiveness and told me he loved me. He said, “You see, I came to Jesus tonight. I met my Lord and Savior for the first time. He has changed my life.” No one instructed him how to change. God in his miraculousness did it for him.

The story of the boy is the evidence of things not seen. There was an obvious change in the boy even though nothing appeared to be different about him.

It’s strange how we see the sun and the stars, the moon and the clouds and proclaim that God stopped doing the miraculous after the last apostle died. Who holds the universe together? Has God decided to take a break? I would say, “No!” He is still in charge of the universe and he still cares for you. 

The most important part about the power of Jesus is his saving power. His power is still active today. His power is shown every time someone says “Yes” to his salvation. The evidence of Christ resides in his grace and is shown through the lives that are changed every day. Nevertheless, he still operates in all of the gifts of the Spirit. If we ask him we will receive.

What is the Evidence?

What Is the Evidence?

 

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. If faith is substance and there is evidence of the substance, what is the evidence? Could it be possible that the evidence resides in the miraculous nature of God who shows himself to those he loves?

When Jesus sent out The Twelve, in Luke 9:1, he gave them the power and authority to drive out demons. Luke 9:1 says, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases . . . (NIV).” Contrary to what some believe, this power is still available today if we have faith that God has not changed in 2000 years, or ever for that matter.

What would limit God’s power today any more than previous years? Is God getting old? Is he limited by time and space as we are? Of course not! He is all powerful today and cares for the life you are living today just as he cared for those 2000 years ago.

Obviously, some Christians do not believe in the power of God because they have not witnessed it. And they have not witnessed it because they deny it. Most believe God answers prayer today. So why can he not answer it in a miraculous way? The answer is, “He can!”

In my life I have seen the miraculousness of God. It cannot be denied to me. There are those, as we have discussed in chapter one, who do not believe in God’s power for the twenty-first century. Nevertheless, it is only power that they are denying through their own unbelief.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says:

 

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self–control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them (NIV).

 

I do not believe that 2 Timothy 3 is speaking about Christians. Paul is speaking about unbelievers. Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense that believers should believe in the power of God since he says that unbelievers are the ones who do not? Scripture speaks of the miraculous often. Why then do Christians deny it? It would appear that many Christians of today have “bought into” the German philosophy purported by theologians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These theologians alleged a Jesus who has no power; a Jesus who was simply an uncommon man, but not God. God forbid!

            The power of the Christian comes from Jesus. His Holy Spirit resides in us. John 14:15-21 says:

 

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. 
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

 

Jesus said in the above passage that he is in us just as the Father is in him. That means that the power we have, through faith, is in us today. If we have the Holy Spirit in us we have his power.

            No Christian today can call him or herself a Christian without professing that the Holy Spirit is within him or her. So, is Christ a liar? Or, do we still have his power today? The answer is, we still have the power of Jesus within us through the Holy Spirit. In fact, “The same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you (Romans 8:11).” This Scripture goes on to say that whoever does not have the Holy Spirit in him is not of Christ.

Luke 9:10 says, “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida. . . (NIV).”

When they got back to Jesus they reported everything they had done. They still had the same mindset when they tried to cast the demon out of the boy. They were giving themselves the glory instead of God.

Faith in God is not about you, it’s about God.  The power of God is not about you it’s about God. Too many proclaim faith in God as if it has to do with them. However, faith comes from God and points to him, not us. When one says that God cannot heal anymore, it is through his or her own lack of faith, which ultimately reflects on his or her lack of faith in God.

We must come to Jesus and believe in his power, not the power of our own faith. In Luke 9:37-40 a man comes to Jesus and asks him to exorcise a demon that possesses his boy. The man said that the disciples tried but they could not. Jesus calls the generation unbelieving and perverse. It was not necessarily the Disciples’ lack of faith that was blocking the healing as much as it was their own belief that they were the ones with the power.

Remember the verse we discussed earlier? Luke 9:10 speaks of the disciples telling Jesus what they had done. The glory they were giving was to themselves. As long as we believe it is our faith that decides the miraculousness of God, we will be limited in what we see God do.

In Luke 9:37-40 we see the same scenario. They still do not have faith in God; they have faith in their own ability to see the miraculousness of God.

We have to believe he will do as he said. Mark 16:15, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” We have the faith to preach the Word because he has told us to. Why do we not have the faith to believe that he still has the power over this mortal body that he has created?

The power of God is in his Gospel. That means, most of the power we are given is for the purpose of preaching the Gospel, not in the healing of the body. Nevertheless, many believe that God can change lives through eternal salvation but not through the miracles he said we will see in this physical life. Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

In Mark 9, a man brought his possessed boy to Jesus to be healed. Jesus asked the man if he believed. The boy’s father recognized the need to believe. He recognized that he wanted to believe. He recognized that he did believe; a little. More than that, he recognized that he needed help from Jesus to believe. He asked for the faith of Jesus to help him believe. Mark 9:24 says, “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

The same can be said of our faith today. We must have the faith to know that God has done the miraculous. We must also have faith to know that he will still do so and, in fact, does so even if we ourselves have not witnessed miracles. There are many who have witnessed miracles of God today. Why would a believing Christian deny the witness unless they truly do not want to believe in God’s power as was said in 2 Timothy; thus denying Christ.

Luke 10:17-20 says:

 

The seventy–two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

 

 There are many who deny God’s power in one breath and contradict themselves in another. The man I wrote about previously on Facebook said that God’s power still included spreading the Gospel, but not miraculous gifts.

            Mark 16:15-18 says:

 

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 
they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

 

The man said that only half of the previous Scripture applied to today, but which half? Of course he chose to dismiss the half that mentioned miraculous gifts. However, we have already discussed that the true power of God remains in the Gospel.

            The previously mentioned Luke 10 tells of the miraculous gifts, but then Jesus reminded them that the true gift was in eternal life, not the gifts themselves. Therefore, it seems if one is going to discount the gifts God gives, he must discount salvation as well.

            Who decides which part of the Scripture must be thrown out? If it is you or any other mortal, then I would just as soon listen to the author, God, instead and accept his power through faith in Jesus Christ.

The most important part of our walk is to tell others about the resurrection of Christ. It is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and his salvation.

 

Evidence

 

What is the evidence of the substance? The evidence is the way one knows that he or she is saved by grace. If one does not believe in the miraculous, how can one determine if his life has been changed?

I have witnessed many who did not know the Lord. They were obvious sinners who had hate in their heart. Nevertheless, when they accepted Jesus their lives changed instantly. It was not a transition learned, it was an instantaneous transformation into a new creation.

Every year I go to Preteen Camp as a counselor. On one occasion, there was a young boy there who was disobedient and rebellious. It was the first day of camp and he was defiant on all accounts. He did not want to be there and he made no pretension about it. The first night was over and we began the next day. Still, the young man was insolent. He told me in no uncertain terms, “You are not my daddy and I don’t have to listen to you.”

The second night there was another service planned. The young man was annoyed and appeared disinterested in what was being said. Nevertheless, the service continued and something miraculous happened. The boy began to listen. That night he answered God’s call and gave his life to Jesus.

That night in the cabin he came to me on his own accord. He told me he was sorry for treating me so badly. He asked my forgiveness and told me he loved me. He said, “You see, I came to Jesus tonight. I met my Lord and Savior for the first time. He has changed my life.” No one instructed him how to change. God in his miraculousness did it for him.

The story of the boy is the evidence of things not seen. There was an obvious change in the boy even though nothing appeared to be different about him.

It’s strange how we see the sun and the stars, the moon and the clouds and proclaim that God stopped doing the miraculous after the last apostle died. Who holds the universe together? Has God decided to take a break? I would say, “No!” He is still in charge of the universe and he still cares for you. 

The most important part about the power of Jesus is his saving power. His power is still active today. His power is shown every time someone says “Yes” to his salvation. The evidence of Christ resides in his grace and is shown through the lives that are changed every day. Nevertheless, he still operates in all of the gifts of the Spirit. If we ask him we will receive.