One Faith

Having looked into all the scriptures pertaining to faith in the New Covenant, I perceived that only God could allow us to know His heart and mind in this matter. After all, faith is the operation of God in the earth. I was amazed at the revelation I received from the Lord regarding the faith of the sons. I only pray that I am able to make you see this great truth, as He caused me to see it. Jesus made some statements that we must not take lightly, but embrace them with all our being. One such statement was made during a dramatic encounter the disciples had with a lunatic young boy.

Matthew 17:15-20

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

When the disciples confronted Jesus wanting to know why they could not cast out the evil spirit, it was because they had been praying for the sick and casting out devils up to that point. The time has come for the church to face the facts. The Lord’s response to the question, “Why could we not cast out the demon?” cannot be ignored in our search for the power of God to be manifested today. Because of your unbelief is the bottom line. But this is a bottom line most Christians refuse to accept for what it really is.

Theologians have come up with all sorts of doctrines regarding mountain-moving faith that has yet to be effective in the Body of Christ. The mountain is still there. It has not moved and will never move until the sons come to believe in the true intent of this scripture. First of all, let us come to the realization that Jesus is talking about a literal mountain. He is not talking about obstacles, situations or circumstances one might find themselves in. It is easy to pass this verse off as figurative language because even after speaking to a circumstance or situation, it might take a little time or a working out of some things before they actually change. That is not the intent of this passage.

Secondarily, we are not told to speak to circumstances, situations or obstacles in our path. Such teaching is error. Again this will not make sense to you if you are not listening with the ear of the Spirit. If we walk in the Spirit, it is the Holy Ghost who leads and guides us. He is the one who establishes our goings and orders our footsteps. Therefore, for the obedient son, to find himself in a situation unfavorable to the flesh is the doing of the Holy Spirit.

Example 1… When Peter was placed in prison, he did not speak to the prison doors and command them to open. Instead, he sat down and waited on the will of God. It was God who, to Peter’s astonishment, opened the doors of the prison and the angel of the Lord led him out. Likewise, when Paul and Silas went to prison, they did not speak to the prison bars and command them to be opened. Instead, they settled down and began to sing and pray, glorifying God. When the earth began to quake and the prison doors swung open, it was by the unction of the Holy Ghost, not by either of them speaking to or commanding them to open.

Example 2… Throughout the journeys of Paul, he suffered much persecution and many obstacles were placed in his way.Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us (1 Thessalonians 2:18). If the sons of God were instructed to speak to all the things that hinder them, then most assuredly the disciples would have done so to the things that hindered them in preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. They certainly would not have allowed themselves to spend so much time in gazing stocks, jail cells or whipping posts. Get this in your spirit; this is a literal mountain Jesus speaks of here. Faith affords us the ability to perform miracles that will glorify the Father. However, in doing so, we must always remember that the excellency of the power is of God. It was God who instructed Moses to lead the children of Israel down to the Red Sea, where they would have no retreat from Pharaoh. Likewise, it was God who spoke to Moses to extend his rod over the sea; and it was God who parted the Red Sea, that they might go over on dry ground. Furthermore, it was the Holy Spirit in Paul who was vexed by the evil spirit in a young woman.

Acts 16:16-18

16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a cer-tain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Is this not the manifestation of what Jesus taught? The faith of Paul made the young girl free. Why was he able to do this? Why did the evil spirit obey him? There is more clarity given to this matter in another incident the disciples witnessed. “O FAITHLESS AND PERVERSE GENERATION…” This is the key as to why the disciples could not cast out the demon in Matthew 17. Jesus addresses them as faithless and perverse. Now this is important.

Perverse means to change or turn away from a proven and acceptable right way or direction. They had been successful in dealing with demons up to that point. But here they were dealing with one who is visibly violent and destructive. He is acting out for all to see. They looked upon the circumstances and moved from their original persuasion. They doubted the ability Jesus had given them.

Matthew 21:21

Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

In the first incident, Jesus explained that it was the disciples’ unbelief which prevented them from casting out the demon. We know that unbelief is to reject that which is proven to be true or real. But in the passage above Jesus goes a step further in this explanation. He says, “If you have faith and doubt not.” One might readily say that doubt is unbelief and that is true. But when I began to study and listen to the Holy Ghost, I can now see why this word is such an enemy of faith. I submit that doubt is the action in unbelief.

Strong’s Greek & Hebrew Dictionary defines doubt in the following manner:

DOUBT from (dia) and (krino); to withdraw from, or oppose; figurative to discriminate (by implication decide), to hesitate :- contend, make to differ discern, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver. DOUBT: To separate thoroughly.

Much time and energy has been wasted trying to teach the sons how to work miracles and cast out demons. But we are the sons, equal with Him in character and one with Him in Spirit. Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. Our mind is the mind of Christ. Our purpose is the will of God. Our desire is to please the Father. We realize that our bodies are the temple of God and we have no desire to defile or usurp authority over His temple. These are the cords that bind us to the Father. However, if any one of these cords is broken, then the fellowship is lost and the union is destroyed. Whether it is character, emotions or affections, purpose or desires that differ from that of God, the oneness is destroyed.

You cannot hope to perform the supernatural when you walk in doubt, because the supernatural is God working through you. God will not work through us after we have broken fellowship with Him. He would be showing Himself as Lord of a vessel that is sinful and does not believe or trust in Him. Doubt is a separation from the mind of Christ, thus it is a separation from God. Let us be very real here. We walk in doubt (knowing full well that we are separated from God in mind and character), yet we proceed to make attempts at doing the works of God. However, when we walk in fellowship with God, the oneness of our union with Him allows us to experience His great love and compassion. This is important.

John 14:21

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Many know the Word of God, but do not live by that Word. But obedience to the Word is the only evidence of our love for Christ. Jesus makes it clear that we must first prove to the Father our love for the Son by obeying His commandments. It is then that the Father will allow the Son to manifest Himself through us. There will be no working of miracles or casting out demons without this love for Christ being embedded in our hearts and manifested in our deeds.

To walk in doubt is to walk in sin; for it is a sin to reject the mind of Christ. It is by the faith of Christ that we are able to manifest the supernatural power of God in this world. That faith is only revealed when we are in total agreement with God. Our fellowship with God and His Son is the key to working ministry. Therefore, let us not deceive ourselves or waste any more time trying to conjure up some way of manifesting the greater works ministry, without falling deeply in love with the Lord. Our love must be so deep until lack of trust is not an issue.

DOUBT: to hesitate, stagger or waver.

A very good example of hesitation is the children of Israel coming up out of the land of Egypt. The Lord gave them instructions to go into the Promised Land, stating that He would drive the inhabitants out from before them. But they were afraid of the people in the land and decided not to go in until two years later. This hesitation angered the Lord and He caused them to wander in the desert another thirty-eight years. But they didn’t just wander in the wilderness, they DIED. All who refused to obey the Lord died in the wilderness. They never saw the Promised Land. They never experienced the milk and honey. After having sent spies in the land to prove what the Father said was true, they all died in unbelief. If God allows portions of that which He speaks to be seen and verified to be fact, then why is it so difficult to believe all that He says? The word and actions of God are to be cherished and reverenced.

Oftentimes, we might start out believing and trusting God, but when life’s situations seem to change for the worst, we begin to doubt if God can truly sustain us. A man told me it is predicted that an earthquake is going to strike Jamaica. I have been working in Jamaica for more than a year now. However, I know it is the Lord who sent me. Therefore, my safety is not in my control. It is the will of the Father that must be done in such situations. It is not my place to decide to leave or stay. It is meat for me to do the will of the Father. If He told me to go to Jamaica, then He must sustain me while I am there. I learned not to doubt the power of God to deliver in any situation. Consider this example:

Matthew 14:26-31

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

To hesitate, stagger, waver or reject that which is proven to be true or real is unbelief. It undermines the truthfulness and faithfulness of the Father. Doubt and unbelief is a sin. Doubt is a mental decision to withdraw from a spiritual persuasion that has been confirmed by scripture and/or the actions of God.

It is a very sad reality, when the sons of God do not receive the report concerning them.

Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit continues to beckon us to accept the knowledge of the truth. I asked the Lord, “Why is it so hard for the people of God to believe the truth that is right before them?” We have received the Spirit of God and know assuredly that Jesus is Lord. But to believe is to walk in the truth we have received. The question is, “Where will we land?” The darkness of this world has infiltrated the church, and many are being deceived. Walking in the Spirit is foreign to the sons and sounds like some churchy hype; being used to make people like me, seem spiritual.

But the truth is the truth; and it will prevail. God’s Word is being vindicated. Right now there are those who are walking in the Spirit and do not mind the things of the flesh. There are those who have indeed counted the cost and have chosen to walk with God in Spirit and in truth. God is not a failure. He has raised up a generation that will obey!