Chapter 1
God Reveals Himself To Us
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things
not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is both substance and evidence ... Faith is a result of that which we have heard from God by HIS Spirit ... and that which we believe.
Faith is shown by that which we believe. We don't even have to speak what we believe. Our actions show what we believe.
Faith is always two parts:
First we must hear from God by HIS Spirit.
Then we believe what we have heard.
We begin with two examples: Noah and Abraham… and we see exactly the same thing as we consider these examples of faith.
Heb. 11:7 ... By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
The first thing that happened is God spoke to Noah.
Gen. 6 ... And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of:
God spoke directly to Noah.
God spoke directly to Abraham ... Heb. 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
First God spoke directly to Abraham ... After God spoke to him, he obeyed.
Gen. 12 ... Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him;
First God chooses to speak to us ... Then we believe and are changed and obey what God has said to us.
It is a very personal thing and it is directly from God to each of us. You may think God didn't speak to you directly. But if you belong to God HE did. HE put HIS truth directly into your heart so you can believe. When God does this you are HIS chosen, HIS elect.
This is the New Covenant.
Heb. 10 ... This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put MY laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
When we belong to God, God speaks directly to us by HIS Spirit in form of thoughts or God might speak to us through dreams ... or God could just put truth directly into our hearts so we KNOW ... we just KNOW ...
Mt. 16 ... When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He (JESUS) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
God spoke directly to Peter. We know God spoke this to Peter because Jesus stated "flesh and blood" has not revealed this to you but "MY Father" which is in heaven.
There are times God puts information directly into our heart.
The New Covenant: God says ... For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb. 8
It is not that someone else teaches us. God puts HIS truth directly into our hearts and minds. This is the New Covenant.
No man teaches us these things. God teaches us.
God chooses us as HIS people and reveals HIMSELF directly to us ...
We might hear another person speak things of God, but we recognize what he is saying is of God because God has already put these truths into our hearts and into our minds.
Several years ago, God gave me the following dream. There was a war going on. And the problem was everyone on both sides looked the same and we couldn't tell our "army" from the other "army." So God gave us a password. When we spoke that password we knew which people were in our army.
That "password" is the Word of God and understanding of the Word of God.
Church people usually do look the same and even say the same things. But I have found many church people do not understand me when I speak a scripture. They just stare at me in a blank way. They are not really of God though they think they are of God. But those who are of God understand me when I speak to them. By this we know one another, by the understanding of the Word of God which God has given to us.
We are blessed above all people because we have been chosen by God and HE has revealed HIMSELF to us. We can speak of HIM to others but we cannot reveal HIM, only God can reveal HIMSELF.
Thus Jesus said: No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Jn. 6:44
God draws the elect to HIMSELF. We might speak words of God but God opens the ears of those HE chooses. They come because of HIM. Salvation is of God and not of ourselves nor by the will of man.
Man wants to believe in himself. But each of us who really belong to God know that at some point God opened our ears and revealed HIMSELF to us and we knew HIM then. Others around us might not have heard but we have.
And at this point we are given HIS Spirit that we might know things of God. We cannot know things of God by our own reasoning. It is the Spirit of God who reveals things of God to us.
I Cor. 2 ... But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
We can relate this way: We meet an acquaintance in the grocery store. That person says something. That person does not know what we are thinking but we know. The spirit inside us knows what we are thinking. And it is the same with God. Only the Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God on any issue. And the Spirit of God reveals the thoughts of God to us by the will of God through bringing those thoughts to our minds or by putting them directly into our hearts when we belong to God.
Therefore Jesus explained that the Spirit of God does the following ...
- teaches us all things (spiritual and secular)
- reminds us of all that Jesus has said to us (scripture/dreams/ideas)
- guides us into all truth
- shows us things to come
Jn. 14:26 ... But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Jn. 16:13 ... Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
And we are sealed with the Holy Spirit when God reveals HIMSELF to us.
Eph. 1 ... In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
No man can do this for himself by his own will ... Romans 9 tells us this. Man can want to be of God. Man can try to be of God by following various rules. Man can be baptized in water by his own will and by the will of those in the church group and still not be of God.
We are only of God when God reveals HIMSELF to us by HIS own will. No man can reveal God to us. Only God can open our ears so we can really hear and know HIM. And when this happens to us, we are blessed by God as Jesus said Peter was blessed for flesh and blood had not revealed Jesus to Peter. God revealed Jesus to Peter. Neither can flesh and blood reveal Jesus to us.
And by this Jesus would build HIS church, by the word revealed directly to the individual by God. And the gates of hell would not be able to stand against that word revealed by God by HIS Spirit.
Faith starts by God opening our ears and by HIM revealing HIMSELF (truth) to us. After this we believe what God has said directly to us and we obey.
You must hear first from God.
It is not that you hunt a scripture of your own mind and flesh. That can be your own will wanting something and you try to justify what you want by scripture when you hunt that scripture by your own mind.
But when you commit the matter to God and from your heart really desire HIS will to be done and then are reminded of a scripture, you have both the will of God and the power of God in the matter at hand revealed by the Spirit of God as HE reminded you of that scripture.
You cannot give yourself the Spirit of God. Only God can do that. Then faith can come but it starts with that which God does when HE chooses to do it. The church is the elect of God. Therefore salvation is of God, by the will of God, and not of our ourselves.
This is what Paul explains in Romans 9 ...
For HE (God) saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath HE mercy on whom HE will have mercy, and whom HE will he hardeneth.
Acts 2:47 ... And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
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