9/24/11
Greetings, Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is like a substance that is placed upon our words. This substance reformats the spirit realm to produce realities in line with the words that we speak in faith. The amount of faith that we have equals the amount of power that we will walk in. This substance that cannot be seen is evidence that the things we call forth will manifest from the unseen realm. In this way, faith becomes a sort of currency. We exchange our faith for the manifestation of God’s works. Faith is a powerful force.
There is much to be said about faith. However, what I want to discuss is the reason why some people can speak things and receive nothing while other people can speak things and receive immediately. What is the difference between strong faith and weak faith? Doesn’t the Bible say that God is no respecter of persons? Why does faith seem to work better for some than for others? These are relevant questions that have mind-blowing explanations.
Let us begin with an illustration. Consider Dung the caveman. Dung was a great hunter in his day. His weapon of choice was the rock. When he would hunt, he would pick up a rock and throw the rock at his unsuspecting prey. If he would miss, he’d starve. If he hit the animal in the wrong place, he’d get attacked. However, if he threw the rock just right, he would hit the animal in the head. When this happened, the animal would often fall unconscious. Once the animal was unconscious Dung would kill the animal and eat it.
What do Dung and his rock have to do with faith? Dung’s arm, being the driving force behind the rock, is like our heart. The heart can be understood as the subconscious, and it is the driving force behind faith. Dung’s rock, being the substance projected from the driving force, is like our faith. The rocks that Dung threw could be sharp or dull. As one would imagine, sharp rocks were more effective.
Dung had a son. Dung’s son was named Ung. Ung was trained to throw rocks just like his dad. What Ung found, however, was that his dad’s way of doing things had very limited effectiveness. One day Ung had a revelation. He realized that if he bowed a piece of wood and put a string on it he could use it to launch a sharpened rock attached to a stick. He called the invention the bow and arrow. After a few years, Ung surpassed Dung as the village hero. He also began to train other hunters to be more effective.
When we look at Dung’s son, we learn a lesson. Ung had a revelation that if the driving force could be made more powerful, the rock could be launched with greater force and accuracy. This is what happens when we get our hearts right, which is when our hearts are programmed according to the word of God. Remember that the heart is synonymous with the subconscious. In Ung’s example, the heart is like the bow and the wooden stick attached to the rock. It serves the purpose of launching faith with accuracy and power. Moreover, although a sharp stone makes the best arrow head, a dull arrow launched from a bow is more effective than throwing rocks. If our hearts are right, our faith is released more effectively regardless of whether we have great faith or small faith.
The heart (or subconscious) is where spiritual and carnal knowledge come together. It is here that the decisions about what we truly believe are made. Subconscious thoughts are beneath conscious thoughts. Therefore, they can override conscious thoughts and skew logic and truth. This is why if you tell an alcoholic that they have a problem they will get upset with you. It is because their heart is deceived and is skewing the power of truth. Heart level beliefs create the life that we experience. This is why the Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
The more ability we have to believe God for things on a subconscious level, the more substance (or faith) we will be able to attach to our words. Unfortunately, many people don’t make the necessary lifestyle choices to change their subconscious thinking. Therefore, they go their whole lives living like Dung. They do things in the most ineffective way possible and look at others in bewilderment and jealousy. What they don’t understand is that all of the perverse media, pornography, foul language, addictions, ungodly relationships, and sin in their lives trump the ability for the power of God to rule in their hearts.
The ability for the power of God to rule in our heart is directly related to the amount of input that we receive from God. Even after we are saved, Christ must dwell in our heart by faith. If he’s not dwelling in our heart, then he’s outside knocking at the door from our spirit (Revelation 3:20). Christ perpetually dwelling in our heart requires that our heart is being programmed according to the word of God. When Paul wrote the following, he was writing to Christians that had already received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He was explaining to them that Christ needed to dwell in their subconscious, the platform from which He could unleash His kingdom through their lives.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts…” (Ephesians 3:17)
In the beginning, the Word of God (Jesus Christ) had the power to create reality (John 1:3). Now, the word of God in our mouths has the power to recreate reality because it is the same power. Reality must be recreated by us because we live in a fallen reality. Our purpose is to bring reality back in line with the kingdom of Heaven. However, the faith that we use to do this is limited by what is going on in our hearts. Are you living like Dung?
There is a third character we haven’t addressed yet. His name is Bond, James Bond. James doesn’t use rocks, he uses guns. Moreover, he never misses. He goes into the camp of the enemy and leaves it a wasteland. Not only that, he walks away knowing that he makes it look good. After all, he pulls off all of his jobs in a three piece suit.
In this example, the guns represent a heart that has been finely tuned by the presence of Christ in an individual. God’s belief system has overhauled their subconscious. When this happens the heart becomes maximally effective in releasing faith. The bullets represent the lethal force of great faith tearing through the camp of the enemy as a result. This is what happens when a person has both a right heart before God and great faith. Can you imagine an entire army of James Bond’s?
When we consider that faith is the substance that is attached to our words, we begin to have a huge revelation that our words are indeed powerful. Moreover, the more like Christ we become, the more powerful our words get. When we produce words that carry the faith projected by a finely tuned heart, our words reconstruct reality. Jesus illustrated this when he spoke to the storm and it stopped (Mark 4:35-39). When we consider unity, it must be built spiritually before it will exist in the natural. We must speak the unity into existence. Now is the time.
Discussion
1. When you consider the effectiveness of your faith, with whom do you most closely identify: Dung, Ung, or Bond?
2. What determines the power of faith that is being projected from us?
3. The heart can otherwise be understood as what?
4. Do you feel that God is pleased when He looks upon the thoughts of your heart?
5. How much faith do you put behind your words, actions, and prayers?
