I just haven’t been able to get away from this phrase . . .
To thrive (and not just survive) in these times, we MUST take the principles of faith from a philosophical concept of religion into the practical realities of life!
Let’s look at Mark 11:22-24 . . .
WAIT! STOP! HOLD IT!!
Right there some of you shifted over into your typical ‘word of faith” philosophical mindset! Although the “word of faith” is real and MUST be how we live our lives, too many people have made a “philosophy’ out of it in their minds and actions – or lack thereof.
Take a moment to kick out of your mind the idea that faith is merely something to study and let’s look at it as something to DO!
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 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, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:22-24 KJV
I am impressed to “zero in” on verse 22 this month and, even more specifically, a particular aspect of verse 22. We are going to begin in the same place as last month’s blog but go in a slightly different direction this month. As Brother Kenneth E. Hagin used to say, “We’re going bug huntin’!”
We know from John 1:1 KJV that “the Word” and “God” are interchangeable. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Therefore, we are perfectly and Scripturally accurate to read Mark 11:22 this way, “Have faith in the Word!” Well, that’s great and everything but how do we actually get faith in the Word?
Romans 10:17 KJV says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” and we are familiar with that but let’s let the Word expound on that a little bit by looking at the description of the same process found in Joshua 1:7-8 in the King James Version of the Bible, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law [the Word], which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law [the Word] shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” ***Emphasis mine***
Now we can see that this process requires continual involvement! We have to study the Word, pay attention to the Word, think about the Word, talk about the Word and DO the Word day and night!
David, a man after God’s own heart, grabbed ahold of this principle as you can tell from Psalms 1:1-3 KJV, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
You can REALLY get a sense of the depth of David’s love for the Word and the amount of time he spent meditating the Word from Psalms 119! We obviously cannot take time to study the longest chapter in the Bible in this letter but suffice it to say that, in the 176 verses of that chapter, David makes reference to the Word of God 175 times!!
Now, let’s examine what effect this total immersion, love and trust in the Word had in David’s life and character. It is actually summarized quite nicely (particularly when you examine the Hebrew meaning of the words) in 1 Samuel 16:18 KJV, “Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth–lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.”
Pay particular attention to that phrase “prudent in matters.” That word “prudent” in the King James is the Hebrew word “biyn” and some of the definitions contained within that word are: understand, consider, be cunning, diligent, discern, eloquent, have intelligence, know, look well to, be skillful and teach.
Here is the big surprise though! The word “matters” in the KJV is the Hebrew word “dabar” and it is a spoken word or decree! The Covenant! The Word! As a matter of fact, this same word “dabar” is used throughout Psalms 119 when referring to the Word of God!
David understood the Word. He considered the Word. He was cunning in the Word. He was diligent in the Word. He had intelligence in the Word. He was skillful in the Word!
So what? What good does all of this knowledge, skill and faith in the Word have to do with real life?! ASK DAVID!
This is exactly what he took into real life, life and death, blood, hair and eyeballs battle against IMPOSSIBLE odds!
Look at 1 Samuel 17:29-30 KJV, “And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.” Both the word “cause” and the word “manner” are that same Hebrew word “dabar!” David was doing his very best to encourage people to have faith in their Covenant Word! “Is there not a Covenant Word that deals with this situation?!”
David even tried to get Saul stirred back up in his faith by reminding him of their Covenant Promises. In verse 32 of 1 Samuel 17, David actually reminds Saul of Deuteronomy 20:1,3 KJV, “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;”
And let me tell you something, this faith in the Word was up to the task of this real life, nitty gritty fight! This faith in the Word took Goliath’s head right off!
I’ll tell you something else too! Faith in the Word will take the head off any sickness or disease, it will take the head off of poverty and debt and it will take the head off of depression, anxiety and fear!
For more information about David Weeter Ministries, go to DavidWeeter.org