A FRIEND OF GOD

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