If a bridge did not have piles
it would not stand up. If an elevated highway had no viaducts, it certainly would not be able to lift vessels up. If a friend lacked encouraging words, they would not be someone you would look up. And if a Christian lacked faith they would have no substance to hold up. Jesus is more than just an idea. He’s God in the flesh - Holy Spirit made real. And if the scripture is true, and Holy Spirit lives in you, then why can’t you believe that His people can do what Holy Spirit gifts them to do? If you say that you believe in Him, then there must be substance, an evidence of things in the unseen realm. There is an integrity foundational to faith, it’s the belief that Holy Spirit not only lives in us, but actually has the power to transform us. And in Him, people have the ability to do great things, like healing the sick by the laying on hands; or claiming the name of Jesus to cast out demons. But people have all kinds of reasons to not believe Him; and it's mostly because they don't trust people. The Word of Faith is a movement by man, that claims that faith in God can cure everything. They accentuate spiritual gifts by adding their own humanistic twist. And when people focus on the integrity of them, they inevitably get let down. Then there are those who point at them, they justify their case and call them false prophets. But what if, the accusers are the same? What if they, too, fall short as humans? They stand back, subject to suffering, and in their minds, look at men and say, “I don’t believe.” “How can that be?” “Look at that man, he surely is fake!” They see all kinds of weird things which justifies their lack of faith! “If God wanted to heal me, he would do it anytime." I don't have to be in the presence of another human.” They stand back and say “God can do anything,” but their actions illustrate a clear lack of faith! What if a woman pressed into God, and she followed Him wherever Holy Spirit led? What if it looked like she was following a man, when really she was just listening to God? What if he led her to a charismatic church, where the worship felt weird and there was evidence of search? What if she pressed in, like the woman with blood who desperately wanted to experience Jesus's healing touch? What if she was willing to do anything to rip off the roof to be healed by Him? Do you think that God would know the heart of his daughter despite what others thought? What if it was not about a man, but the belief that God could possibly be working through Him? What if her faith was so incredibly strong, that she would walk to the Jordan, just to step in? Does any man have the right to justify what God is doing in another human? Since faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, then how can another person justify what God is doing through human beings. “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called THE FRIEND OF GOD. “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Timothy 2:14-26
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