Putting Faith in Perspective

Please do not see this as just another “faith and prosperity” message that promises you the wealth of this world. There is no such promise of the wealth of the world for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible; none, at least in the sense that we have been taught. Here we will go directly to the mind of the Lord concerning this matter of faith. This message is urgent as the signs of the end times are upon us. The Church must be taught the truth and be prepared to deal with a world of hostility and hatred of God. This is the only way we will be molded into the image of our Saviour, prepared for the battle ahead and reign victoriously in the end. The victory that the Church is to experience will be manifested in its ability to glorify Jesus in the midst of persecution, sin and afflictions.

Many saints in the church have held fast to the “faith and prosperity” teachings of mainstream television and conference evangelists. These “name it, claim it,” “confess it and possess it, and money cometh” rituals we learned over the years have left us totally frustrated and weary in our well doing. We were babies, ready to eat and digest anything that sounded like the Word of God. We did not know that the very food we cherished so much was the greatest dose of spiritual poison we could have swallowed. We have been systematically poisoned with these doctrines of men over these years of learning and this is why the spiritual growth of the Body has been stunted.

Notice I said spiritual growth has been stunted, not the size of the Body of Christ. Yes, the Church has grown in numbers. However, there is a serious problem in the spiritual disposition of the Church at large. many have become greedy, self- seeking, self-serving and gainsaying. The wantonness of the flesh has controlled the movement of the Church for years and man’s doctrines have been installed to feed that lust and to prey upon God’s inheritance. We are divided on basic Bible doctrines, and as a result, we are fragmented and “denominationalized”. There are wars and disputes causing schisms in the Body.

Traditions and doctrines of men have become successful at making the Word of God of none effect. Ask yourself these questions. “How could the enemy be so successful in neutralizing the power of the Church? How was he able to cause the saints of God to begin to think, feel and act like the world? How could he have almost totally destroyed the manifestation of any distinction between the Body of Christ and the world? What was his weapon?” Satan’s use of the Word of God, through the “Faith and Prosperity” message infiltrated the Church with erroneous doctrines, teachings and mindsets that utterly contradict Christ’s teachings of self-denial, ordained suffering and patience.

It is true that devout men and women of God who really believed in what they preached taught these messages. You can be certain, however, that at some point in these individuals’ lives, the Holy Spirit tried or will try to reach them with the truth. I recall a ministerial colleague saying, “Oftentimes we are caught, even trapped, inside of our own pet belief systems.” This is so true. It can become very difficult to retract teachings that have sold thousands, even millions, of books and tapes. It can become even more difficult to go back to an audience of millions to say, “I’ve been wrong in my teachings all these years.”

This is not to say that everything we were taught by our forefathers was error, not in the least. What I am trying to say is this:

1. Much of the teachings we received had many truths contained in them, nevertheless the perspective from which they were taught had been wrong. The Faith and Prosperity message is one such teaching in which the saints of God must contend with the devil for earthly wealth and self-exaltation. Although we may find many truths in these teachings, they are indeed not “The Truth.”
2. Consider; 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. if the Body had been exposed to the whole truth, how that truth would remove the wars, the schisms and the disunity of the Body. Why? Simply because we would all be speaking the same thing.

In this and other chapters I will go straight to the heart of the matter in the hope of providing you with another perspective to studying God’s Word. If you are not earnestly moved to investigate in much more detail the nature of the Biblical teachings on the Dispensation of Faith, then indeed I will have failed in my attempt to bring more of the grace of God into your life. Allow me to do this and I trust you will never be the same. You will read the Bible differently, you will see into the mind and heart of the Father and you will see yourself differently as well. You will be moved to purify yourself, enabling you to be used in the Master’s plan. Remember, I used to believe in, teach and respond to the same message you may be receiving now. We all preached what we were taught.

When the Lord visited me with this revelation of Faith, the first thing I did was to go to my congregation and say to them, “I was wrong! The Lord has instructed me more perfectly on the operation of faith.” There is no shame in this. Believe me brothers and sisters, the Body of Christ will love and respect you even more. I was called to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and instructed to teach the Body of Christ the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Truly, I can say it was the revelation of Faith that initially changed my life and my ministry. As Paul explains, these mysteries were hidden from men in other ages or dispensations. We need to look more closely at the term “dispensation”. Some Bible dictionaries do not agree that a dispensation in the script is a period of time. But, not only is it a period of time, it is also the method of management, administration or stewardship extended by God within this certain time frame.

For example: The Dispensation of the Law (The Ten Commandments and its ordinances) began with Moses and ended with Jesus. The Dispensation of Grace and Truth (The mystery of God) began with Jesus Christ and will end with the Rapture of the Church (Revelation 10:7). It is also the dispensation of “Faith”. But now that which was hid in God is made known to the Church by the apostles of His Son, Jesus Christ. ConsiderColossians 1:27; To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: This tells us specifically what the mystery of God is… “Christ” the anointed one would live in man and man would live in Him. Note also that hope is a part of the mystery; “hope” is the joyful expectation to be glorified with Christ at His return.

Colossians 1:28

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

It is our responsibility to preach the revelation of the mystery, to warn those who might reject the gospel and to teach the wisdom of God that makes one perfect in Christ. In this I labor according to the working of the mystery in me, to fulfill the Word of God. This is the mandate of every apostle; the Word of God must first be fulfilled in us. We must be the living proof of what we preach and teach. It is only then that we will be able to establish others in the mystery of Christ. Some in the Body of Christ are not fully established in Him and the main reason for this has been that the basics of their belief or faith have been taught from an erroneous perspective.

“Perspective” is the place from which boundaries originate. Perspective proceeds from God’s eternal purpose. It is from His purpose that the worlds were formed. He created man, He installed the law; and He sent the Word to planet Earth in the form of flesh. God’s perspective comes from His heart and mind and has created the boundaries in which the Sons of God are to relate to Him and their fellow man. If the foundation of our theological perspective is off, it leaves even the Bible scholars open to error.

Very often pastors preach from perspectives that have been handed down and do not realize the error. They have not rightly divided the scriptures for themselves, or may not even know how to do so. When the Lord visited me in 1985, He sent me to the Church to deliver a pure and sure Word that would bring forth His purpose in the lives of His people. This is the Word and the work He gave me to do. Since then I have been at times discouraged having seen how Satan has successfully infiltrated the Church with the doctrines of devils. These doctrines have all but totally destroyed the way of the common salvation of old. Satan has taken a seat in the Church and has been made quite comfortable. Well, he can afford to be comfortable, as the saints of God are working diligently to accomplish the things outlined in his doctrines.

PERSPECTIVE

1. The realm in which a doctrine sits Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. It is His mind that sets the boundaries for what we are to believe, think, feel and do. It is the mind of Christ that sets the “boundaries of the faith.”

2. To see as God sees Jesus declared, “I do only those things I see the Father do. My words are not my own, they are the Father’s.” The Word of God was made flesh in Jesus Christ. It sets the boundaries for what Christ did, thought, felt and believed. He remained obedient to the will of the Father.

3. always produces the purpose of God Only the correct perspective of truth will produce the purity of the gospel and only the purity of the Word will produce a true Son of God.

Consider the following:

A >>The Son must not accept any word that is not the mind of Christ>>

B Babe Maturity The backdrop and staging for all doctrines of the Bible is the mind of Christ. All scripture was fulfilled in Him. His is the life that has been tried and tested before the Father; His is the life the Father has accepted. He is the prototype for all the Sons who will follow.