| Health and Healing FAITH AND HEALING IT IS ALL IN HOW MUCH FAITH YOU HAVE. How much do you claim the promises? It's just like you'd take a treatment or pills and have faith in the doctor. If you've got faith in God you're going to take the Scriptural pills and follow the treatment He prescribes. You can't say, "I'm trusting the doctor, but I won't take his pills. I'm under physicians' care, but I don't like to follow his prescriptions." You have to follow through and obey in what - ever you're putting your faith in. If it is the Lord, you quote and claim Scriptures just like Jesus did. You stand on the Word FAITH IS JUST SOMETHING YOU HAVE OR YOU DON'T HAVE. It's like being a little bit pregnant. There is no such thing. You either are or you aren't. You have faith or you haven't. That's why Jesus said, "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can move a whole mountain." (Matthew 17:20) Faith is something that is built by faithful study of God's Word. Faith comes--it grows by hearing the Word of God. It's not a sudden boom. You can get sudden faith for certain things with sudden Scriptures from the Lord. But you have that kind of faith because of a substantial background of faith and trusting God's Word. THE ONLY PEOPLE I'VE SEEN GET MIRACLES FROM GOD who didn't have a Strong background of faith were those who were almost totally ignorant of God's Word and somebody else had to have faith for them--someone who did have a strong background of faith--such as faith healers. They have better success, not with people who are reared in the Lord, such as Pentecostals, etc., because God expects those people to have faith for themselves. But with people like Catholics or total heathen straight out of the world who know little or Nothing about God's healing and only have faith in the minister himself. This was the case with Peter and John in the temple--they said "Look on us." But they still have to have faith in someone. They wouldn't be there in the healing line if they didn't have faith that the preacher could pull them through. THEIR FAITH IS IN YOUR FAITH. But God will not put up with that kind Of faith--faith in people--with someone supposed to know the Lord directly, personally. He will not tolerate it. People who know the Lord's healing have to get faith and healing for themselves directly from the Lord. Personally, I have very little faith in other people's prayers for myself except as a Fulfillment of the Scriptural orders, calling for elders' laying on of hands, which is a symbol of your faith and exercising of your faith and a witness to others. You can have faith for healing because you are obeying the calling for elders, etc., not that your faith is resting in the elders' laying on of hands. You have to make the decision of faith yourself--take the step of faith yourself--"Though He slay me yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15), and you personally have to take the responsibility, not try to shove it on your husband or wife or leaders. If you have to shove responsibility on somebody else, then you're just a little baby spiritually, and if you are just a baby and don't want to admit it, and you claim to have faith when you haven't, that's just plain damn pride. If you're proud, God will surely humble you.ONE OF THE WORST KIND OF PRIDE IN THE WORLD IS PRETENDING TO HAVE FAITH when you haven't got it. Spiritual pride--like the church today--hypocritical pharisaical, religious pride GOD WANTS YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE BY FAITH ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN FAITH --not mine, not ours, not somebody else's, but yours! God is dealing with you, and He wants you to learn to trust Him personally, not lean on others! FAITH IS A DANGEROUS GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH, NOT TO BE PLAYED WITH LIGHTLY You either have it or you haven't. Don't try to fool anybody, or it may kill you--or you may at the last minute change your mind and turn to the physician, showing that's where your faith was all the time--that you were only lying!--Or trying to have faith you didn't have. "For without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to Him must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6. "For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen!" In other words, you've really already got it, by faith, and you don't doubt it, and you don't change, and you don't run out on God at the last minute! FOR GOD IS NOT A MAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE--AND YOU KNOW GOD'S GOING TO DO IT, SO YOU DON'T EVEN CONSIDER ANYTHING ELSE! Some people like to have group faithThey want everybody to trust God with them! What they really mean is they want everyone to trust God for them, so they won't have to have faith themselves; so they go around asking everyone to pray for them! I know some people who write every faith healer they can think of, and every prayer warrior they can contact. They think the more people they have praying for them, the more God is apt to hear--when God is trying to make them have faith for themselves, and make their own decision! You can Not have Faith without the Word !!! FAIR WEATHER FAITH IS NO FAITH AT ALL! Real faith endures the storm, even when it looks like you're sinking! Real faith stands his ground when all else fails, and all others desert! Even if he has to go it alone! Real faith never quits, never gives up, never stops, and therefore, can't be stopped--for God is with such faith! Real faith will pay any price, suffer any sacrifice, die any death! . YOU CANNOT STOP THE MAN OF FAITH. You cannot dissuade him! You cannot divert him! You cannot stop him! He'll go on with or without you, or right over you, if necessary. For this is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith. If it comes to that, all he needs is God! With that kind of faith in God, you can go anywhere, and do anything, for all things are possible to himthat believeth, but without faith it is impossible to please Him! WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE? HOW FAR ARE YOU GOING TO GO WITH GOD? Are you going to get off at the last minute? Having run well, are you going to suffer so may things in vain and lose your reward; or are you going to endure to the end? "He that endureth to the end--to him will I give a Crown of Life!" WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE? (Excerpts from David Berg's writings) Back to Health and Healing |
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