You've Already Got It Part 11

It's Not Personal!

Remember the laws of electricity? When someone flips the light switch on the wall, the electrical power just flows. They don't have to call the electric company and ask for the power to be sent; it's already available. We just have to take the authority granted us and command the power to flow.

Likewise, when someone touches a live electrical wire, if they are grounded, the current just flows. The electric company doesn't size them up and say, "I'll teach them a lesson. I'll give them the shock of their lives!" No. There are just laws that govern how electricity flows. It's not personal.

That's the way it is with G.o.d. The Lord isn't healing one and refusing another. There are laws that govern how His power works. We can violate those laws and miss out on the blessings He's already given us, or we can learn what the laws are, cooperate with them, and experience the abundant life He's provided. It's up to us.

Ignorant of G.o.d's Laws People could have been using electricity thousands of years ago. It wasn't the Lord that just recently made electricity available. It was man's ignorance-lack of specific knowledge-that's kept us in the dark.

My use of the word ignorance ignorance isn't intended as a derogatory statement. Leonardo da Vinci was a brilliant man. He invented a helicopter and many other things that were centuries ahead of his time. But he was ignorant of electricity. isn't intended as a derogatory statement. Leonardo da Vinci was a brilliant man. He invented a helicopter and many other things that were centuries ahead of his time. But he was ignorant of electricity.

In the same way, there are many wonderful Christians who are sincere and very G.o.dly people in many ways. But they are ignorant of G.o.d's laws of faith. Therefore, they aren't receiving the results they desire. They aren't bad people; they just don't know the laws that govern how G.o.d's kingdom works.

Receiving from G.o.d isn't about how He feels toward you. If that were the only issue, then we'd all be perfect in every way. It's what He wants for each and every one of us! But there are laws that must be put into effect in order to receive the things He has for us. It's our misuse of these laws that is literally killing us.

CHAPTER 23.

Unbelief Counteracts Faith.

[image]of G.o.d doesn't mean it'll automatically produce victory in your life. Your unbelief will counterbalance and short-circuit that faith until you get rid of it. Your problem isn't a lack of faith but rather too much unbelief!

Jesus and three of His disciples went up on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was glorified, and they saw Moses and Elijah speak with Him. Immediately after this, they came down from the mountain to a mult.i.tude. A man came forward to Jesus, "kneeling down to him, and saying, 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. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 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" (Matt. 17:14-17).

This man brought his "lunatic" son to Jesus. Mark 9:17-22 reveals that this "dumb spirit" produced violent seizures much like what we'd call "epilepsy" today. The father had brought his boy to the disciples first, but they weren't able to cast the demon out.

Jesus was not pleased! Notice His reaction: "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall 1 suffer you? bring him hither to me" (Matt. 17:17).

This is important because there aren't very many people operating in the supernatural power of G.o.d in the Body of Christ today. We aren't seeing very many demons cast out or people healed. As a whole, the Church seems powerless to expel devils and cure sicknesses.

Excuses, Excuses Basically, much of the Body of Christ excuses this by saying, "Well, we're just people. We pray and ask G.o.d to do it, but if we don't see anything happen, that's just because G.o.d is sovereign and it must not be His will," or "Those things pa.s.sed away with the apostles." We've come up with all these different doctrines to justify our powerlessness and ineffectiveness.

Jesus didn't respond that way. If He were like a modern-day touchy, feely feel-good type of minister, He would've said, "Guys, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been up on the mountain being transfigured and talking to My Father for so long. I left you alone to handle problems that are beyond your ability. After all, you're only human. Forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm here now. Bring the boy to Me." Jesus didn't do that. Instead, He became angry and thundered, "O faithless and perverse generation! This isn't the way it's supposed to be. How long am I going to be with you? How long must I be here to do these things?"

Jesus had been training His disciples. He'd already given them authority to cast out devils and heal the sick. They should have been able to handle this. So Jesus, in effect, was saying, "Guys, this isn't acceptable. You are faithless and perverse. This is not the way it's supposed to be!"

Although I say this in love, I pray that it registers and makes the impact it should: Our Christianity today is faithless and perverse! Our Christianity today is faithless and perverse! The Church is supposed to have the answers for the world, but we aren't using what we've got. G.o.d has already given us everything, but we aren't releasing it. We're powerless and ineffective. Most believers have simply lowered the standard by saying, "Miracles and supernatural power pa.s.sed away with the first-century Church," and those who do look for miracles approach it as, "O G.o.d, we ask You to do it," instead of receiving what He's already done, taking their authority, commanding, and making it come to pa.s.s. It's twisted from what the Lord meant it to be! The Church is supposed to have the answers for the world, but we aren't using what we've got. G.o.d has already given us everything, but we aren't releasing it. We're powerless and ineffective. Most believers have simply lowered the standard by saying, "Miracles and supernatural power pa.s.sed away with the first-century Church," and those who do look for miracles approach it as, "O G.o.d, we ask You to do it," instead of receiving what He's already done, taking their authority, commanding, and making it come to pa.s.s. It's twisted from what the Lord meant it to be!

Jesus' response to the disciples is the same for us today: "This is wrong! It's not the way I intended it to be." People ought to be able to come to us for healing, deliverance, and blessing (emotional and financial). But when the sick come to a typical minister today, that minister will send them to a doctor. The poor are sent to the government or some other social agency. When the mentally or emotionally disturbed ask for help, they are sent to a "shrink." This should not be! G.o.d's answers are in the Word and the Church. We shouldn't have to send people anywhere else! The Body of Christ has really failed in this area.

This is a big reason why more people aren't coming to Christ. The Church has failed to portray the Lord as the One with the answers to all the problems of life. The typical church deals only with issues of eternity and leaves all the present issues to man's ability. People just don't see the relevance of the church to everyday life. This should not be! Jesus isn't any more pleased with this today than He was in this situation with the child suffering from seizures.

Despite Prior Success "And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out" (Matt. 17:18, 19).

That's a valid question because Jesus had already given them power over the devil.

"And when he [Jesus] had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" (Matt. 10:1, brackets and emphasis mine). (Matt. 10:1, brackets and emphasis mine).

Not only did they already have all the power they needed to see that demonized boy set free, they had prior success in using it!

"And they [the disciples previously] cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them" (Mark (Mark 6:13, brackets mine). 6:13, brackets mine).

These were not people who had never flowed in G.o.d's power and the miraculous. These were followers of Jesus who apparently had a 100 percent success rate before this, which makes their question even more significant.

These were believers who had seen G.o.d's power flow through them before to heal the sick and cast out devils. They knew it was G.o.d's will and that He'd already given them the power. Yet, they exercised their faith, acted on it, and spoke to the mountain, but still didn't see the desired results. Sound familiar?

You've probably had a situation in your life when you released your faith, acted on it, spoke to the mountain, but still didn't receive your desired results. You believed G.o.d for healing, prosperity, deliverance, or whatever, but it didn't come to pa.s.s. I'm not talking about those who pray, "G.o.d, if it be Your will," and aren't surprised when nothing happens. These disciples were shocked, hurt, and surprised. They asked this question because they did believe, and they'd seen it work in the past, but not this particular time.

Why do you think certain demons don't come out? Why are specific individuals not healed? Why don't financial breakthroughs come sometimes? Why do you think people pray, really believing, but what they ask for doesn't come to pa.s.s? Although there are multiple reasons for this, the dominant answer to this question is, "It must not have been G.o.d's will." Hogwas.h.!.+

"G.o.d's Will?"

G.o.d wants you to prosper in every area of your life! It's not G.o.d's will for you to be sick, to not have your needs met, to be oppressed. It's not G.o.d's will for you to be discouraged and defeated. He isn't punis.h.i.+ng you or trying to teach you something. That's simply not true!

A large segment of the Body of Christ lumps every "unanswered" prayer into "Well, G.o.d is sovereign." G.o.d is Almighty and He can do anything He wants to, but He's already done what He wants and has given us the authority and power to bring His will to pa.s.s.

Many things happen today, not because it's G.o.d's will, but because we're reaping what we've sown. Take, for instance, the terrorist attacks that happened on September 11, 2001. Many people viewed them as "G.o.d's judgment on America." Well, America is worthy of being judged, but the Lord isn't releasing His judgment. Neither did He "sovereignly" allow it. G.o.d has set up laws that we reap what we sow. (My message "The Sovereignty of G.o.d" deals with this.) America has been systematically trying to become a secular nation. We've kicked G.o.d out of our schools and public lives. We've been busy doing our own thing and ignoring Him. By denying G.o.d the right to move freely in our society, our defenses were down.

Satan attacks whether you're G.o.dly or not. You don't have to be doing something wrong in order to draw his attack. You could actually be doing something right and be attacked. David had people attack him when he was seeking and serving G.o.d. Although he won, he was still attacked and had to fight. It's just that there's often more damage when your defense is down.

"Because of Your Unbelief When we ask the question, "Why don't things work?" two main perspectives-both wrong-come forth. First, many people think, Que sera, sera. sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. G.o.d is sovereign and He controls everything. Whatever will be, will be. G.o.d is sovereign and He controls everything. Second, a popular charismatic "faith" answer would be, "They don't have enough faith." That's presented as being the Second, a popular charismatic "faith" answer would be, "They don't have enough faith." That's presented as being the only only reason people don't see their answer to prayer. It's too simplistic and condemns people because it puts all the responsibility on them without any grace. This drives them away from faith-oriented teaching. It is reason people don't see their answer to prayer. It's too simplistic and condemns people because it puts all the responsibility on them without any grace. This drives them away from faith-oriented teaching. It is a a reason, but not an all-encompa.s.sing one! reason, but not an all-encompa.s.sing one!

In ministering to another person, their faith does affect the process. You can't make them receive based on your faith alone. Jesus quickened people's faith when He ministered to them. He told them "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14), implying that they had a part to play in their healing. We know that Jesus operated in faith perfectly. Yet, He couldn't do many miracles in His own hometown. This wasn't because of any problem with His faith, but the people were full of unbelief. There needs to be some degree of faith present on the part of the person receiving. However, if the healing doesn't manifest, it could also be a problem with the minister's faith and ability to receive from G.o.d.

It's just not always as simple as, "Believe and receive or doubt and do without." Sometimes you can believe and still not receive. That's what happened to the disciples here. (Matt. 17.) They asked, "Jesus, why couldn't we cast the demon out? We believed and received, but didn't get our desired results."

"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief" (Matt. 17:20).

Many people mistakenly think they can't have both unbelief and faith at the same time. They believe that faith and unbelief are mutually exclusive. That's not true.

When Jesus told them, "It's because of your unbelief," He wasn't saying, "You didn't have faith." He didn't mention that. In fact, Christ's very next statement was: "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" (Matt. 17:20).

It doesn't require a "great" faith or a "big" faith to do great things. You just need to minimize the unbelief working against your faith.

"Only Believe!"

That's why Jesus answered the disciples' request, "Lord, increase our faith," with, "Guys, you don't need more faith. Just use what you've already got. If your faith is the size of a mustard seed, it's enough to cause this tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea. Nothing is impossible to you" (Luke 17:5-6, my paraphrase). Notice the same terminology in Mark 11:23: "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart" and shall not doubt in his heart" (emphasis mine). (emphasis mine).

It's possible to be in faith and doubt in your heart at the same time!

On His way to minister to Jairus' daughter, the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus' garment and received healing. During this delay, news came from Jairus' house: "Don't trouble the Master any longer, your daughter is dead."

"As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe" (Mark 5:36).

Only believe! Why would Jesus tell him to only believe? Because you can believe and disbelieve at the same time!

Jesus told the father of the lunatic boy who needed deliverance, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23).

Immediately, the man "cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:24).

Jesus didn't rebuke this man for saying he had both faith and unbelief. He just ministered to his son and saw him delivered. This lack of rebuke speaks volumes!

According to G.o.d's Word, you can have a true faith-that under normal circ.u.mstances would bring about the desired deliverance-but still not see it produce the right results. The problem isn't an absence of faith, but the presence of unbelief.

The Net Effect Faith and unbelief are opposing forces. Unbelief counteracts your faith. Instead of trying to get more and more faith, you need to deal with the unbelief that's counterbalancing it. That's how you get your faith to work!

If you hitched a horse up to a thousand-pound weight and had it exert enough force, the weight would move. However, if you hooked up another horse to it on the other side and had it pull with equal power in the opposite direction, the weight wouldn't move. Even though tremendous power is being released, the net effect on the weight would be zero. That's the way it is with faith and unbelief.

Your faith is sufficient. Jesus Himself said that even a mustard seed of faith can uproot a tree or move a mighty mountain. Therefore, your faith is more than enough to see a healing, cast out a demon, or anything else. The problem is unbelief countering your faith and causing a net effect of zero.

I've seen people who obviously didn't believe it was G.o.d's will for them to be well. They fought against it when I came to pray for them. Since they didn't believe, they died. That's relatively easy to deal with. But I've also seen other people who believed it was G.o.d's will for them to be well. They were praying and trying to trust G.o.d for their healing. Some had even seen others healed or been healed themselves before. However, they still died. Now that's harder to deal with.

Confused Many people wonder, Why weren't they healed? 1 know there was faith present! Why weren't they healed? 1 know there was faith present! I've seen people who loved G.o.d with all their heart and were facing death with joy, I've seen people who loved G.o.d with all their heart and were facing death with joy, yet yet had an had an expectancy expectancy and an antic.i.p.ation that they'd see physical healing manifest. But still they died. Even though faith is intangible, you can tell if it's present or not when you're seeking G.o.d. When you recognize that faith is present but you see different results than what the Word of G.o.d promises, it can cause a tremendous amount of confusion. and an antic.i.p.ation that they'd see physical healing manifest. But still they died. Even though faith is intangible, you can tell if it's present or not when you're seeking G.o.d. When you recognize that faith is present but you see different results than what the Word of G.o.d promises, it can cause a tremendous amount of confusion.

This is why the disciples were confused when they couldn't cast the demon out of the lunatic boy. (Matt. 17:19.) They had faith, power, and authority and had successfully used it, until then. They spoke to the mountain and commanded the demon to come out. They acted in agreement with their faith, but still the results remained contrary. Why?

"Because of your unbelief' (Matt. 17:20).

Unbelief is subtle. Many people don't recognize it. They just look at a person and if they perceive faith, they think that faith will automatically work. Not necessarily! Jesus told His disciples, "It's not that you didn't have faith. It's because you had unbelief." Then, to reinforce His point, Jesus added, "If your faith is only the size of a mustard seed, it's enough to cast a mountain into the sea" (Matt. 17:20, my paraphrase). As a born-again Christian, your G.o.d-given supernatural faith is more than enough to accomplish anything you need-as long as there isn't any unbelief counteracting it!

CHAPTER 24.

Wigglesworth Had Less.

I went to Omaha, Nebraska, to minister not long after seeing someone raised from the dead. I knew my faith was working and things were going good. A paralyzed man in a wheelchair had come to the service. In my excitement, I reasoned, Since my faith has developed to the point of seeing someone raised from the dead, surely it can handle a man in a wheelchair! Since my faith has developed to the point of seeing someone raised from the dead, surely it can handle a man in a wheelchair! So I walked over, grabbed this fellow by the hand, and lifted him up out of his wheelchair. He immediately fell right over on his face! So I walked over, grabbed this fellow by the hand, and lifted him up out of his wheelchair. He immediately fell right over on his face!

When that happened, my faith evaporated. Everyone in the audience gasped, moaned, and groaned. I then wrestled this guy back up into his wheelchair and said the scriptural equivalent of: "Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled" (James 2:16).

Although I tried to encourage this man to continue believing G.o.d, I couldn't help him.

I returned to my hotel room that night totally perplexed. "Lord, what happened? I know I had faith!" It takes faith to do something like that! Have you ever yanked someone up out of their wheelchair and immediately seen them nosedive into the carpet? Most people haven't! Why? They don't believe they'd be healed. The reason I pulled him up out of the wheelchair was because I truly believed he'd walk. Even though faith was present, I didn't see the desired result. This brought me much confusion.

I sought the Lord for an answer to this dilemma for two or three years. Then, finally, I recognized my problem while reading a book about Smith Wigglesworth.

Meet Smith Wigglesworth Wigglesworth lived in England in the early 1900s and had a powerful miracle ministry. He traveled to several countries and saw many great things happen. In this book, Wigglesworth's son-in-law recounted numerous testimonies.

At the beginning of a meeting, Wigglesworth liked to boldly announce, "The first person up here will be healed!" Someone would come forward, he'd pray for them, and they'd be healed. Wigglesworth used this as his attention-getter before delivering the message. Then, after the Word, he'd pray for the rest of the sick.

One time, an elderly woman with cancer in her stomach came to the meeting. The cancer was so large that she appeared to be nine months pregnant. She was so frail and weak, her two two lady friends had to each take an arm and hold her upright in her seat. They knew what Wigglesworth was going to say, so when he made his usual announcement at the beginning of the meeting, they popped right up and brought their friend to the front for prayer. lady friends had to each take an arm and hold her upright in her seat. They knew what Wigglesworth was going to say, so when he made his usual announcement at the beginning of the meeting, they popped right up and brought their friend to the front for prayer.

Wigglesworth looked at her, saw this huge tumor on her belly, and told the two women holding her, "Let her go!" They answered, "We can't let her go! She doesn't have strength!" He raised his voice and said it again, "Let her go!" So they did.