“Have faith,” many believers encourage one another, whilst crying and hugging, or whilst patting each other’s back and smiling. It’s fun or moving to tell each other, “Have faith” — with tears or with laughter. Yet when most most of us tell each other, “Have faith”, whilst quoting verses about faith, we are walking by sight.
Faith is not tightening your guts, gritting your teeth, and walking on fire, like a magician. This is bravado — to prove a point to an audience. Faith is the unseen commanding structures inside any organism or organization — something the centurion revealed — something scientists know but don’t know — as they don’t discern Jesus in their every conclusion.
Peter could walk on water simply because he connected to a small extent with the head of all physical and spiritual principles. Jesus contains the principle of both floating and sinking — just as he has keys to hell and the grave whilst being the ressurection and the life. As Paul in the book of Hebrews points out, Abraham understood that God has power over the processes of dying and ressurecting. If Isaac died, Abraham understood, he would still wake up. That is faith — which gives you confidence to do anything God tells you to do. If you don’t own this truth, don’t try anything.
In the boat, Peter didn’t internalize this truth — which only the Father in heaven could teach him. Peter just believed Jesus had power to walk on water at that moment. Jesus is the word (balancing) of God (omnipotence); he is both sinking and floating forces. This is why he will damn Satan to the botommless pit just by his command; that is why he will ressurect everyone just by his command. Jesus is (not has) frightening power.
Later on, when he owned this truth, Peter healed people with his shadow, whilst, as the incident with Ananias and Saphira show, he exercised power over life and death. All apostles, manifesting the power of stopping and starting life, walked around like owners of the earth. This is why Roman administrators were wary of them. But it was not the disciples that frightened pagan minds. It was the Holy Spirit in them.
In fact even when being matyrs, the apostles could still kill their persecutors with their anointed words. Paul and Peter were not wimps who couldn’t defend themselves. Simply, the Holy Spirit has seasons to roar and seasons to stay still. And when dying as matyrs, the disciples were told by the Holy Spirit not to invoke their right to continue living. In Jesus, you can live as long as you want to.
But why live as long as you want? Life is not about you, and an aging body must rest. There must be continuity of generations. We should live to be even eigty years old. Take care of your bodies and build good relationships. But we must live as if today is our last day on earth. This is the gist of the rapture — longing for God in heaven. And this is why Jesus exited the earth as soon as he could. He wants us to daily long for more and more and more of him in heaven — not earth. Thus faith is to understand that life is to be in the rythms of eternity that is the son of God who is sitted at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus could live to be fifty years. But he didn’t. Why? There was an eternal music to his existence on earth — which was composed, harmonized and played by the Holy Spirit. This rythm is what is truth. Jesus is the music of life as he slept and woke up — yet God — who is life — never sleeps. Music is a notation of pauses (night) and beats (day). Rythm is sleeping and waking up. Yet God never sleeps. God is the mystery revealed only in Jesus. Thus faith is to internalize and act out how ‘the lamb of God who is also the lion of Judah’ is the pause and beat of all processes.
Satan tries to mess up the music that is ‘the lamb of God who is the lion of Judah’. He does so by inciting both pointless faith (traps) and pointless fear (intimidation and worry). However, it is the Holy Spirit who allows Satan to test us — to see if we can distinguish his voice from that of Satan. As James said, God does not tempt us; God allows Satan to activate any darkness (self will) we harbour. This happened to Jesus, time after time after time. Eventually, he was approved to have zero self will in him. That is why he took all authority Satan had stolen.
What happened to your master will happen to you. A servant is not greater than his master. Once you understand this, that’s when you become the friend of God. If anyone other than the Holy Spirit tells us to go, (even if we know it is God’s plan to go) we will go and we will look like going; but we will not go very far before we get lost in our going.
Why? Jesus is very jealous about his commanding position. He will not let anyone usurp it. When he constantly tells us to do something and we constantly obey him, that’s when our intimacy with him is won. In fact, Jesus brings to you stunning conditions and people he promised you long ago or recently — to prove to you that him (and only him) promises and keeps a promise. And when he fulfills his promise, he leaves you breathless, saying ‘wow, Jesus, your love for me is too ridiculous, I’ve never been loved like this before by anyone else’. If our romance with Jesus is exceptional, it will manifest (very easily) into any other physical relationship.
That’s why you must make sure that somebody who advises you to do something is someone who says, “It’s not me who is speaking, it’s Jesus, and if you don’t discern Jesus in my words and how I live, don’t listen to me.” Genuine apostles, prophets and teachers tell you, “Come meet Jesus in my meeting and walk with him the rest of your days as the love of your life.” And they live out this truth.
True prophets don’t make decisions by themselves. And they don’t promote anything other than Jesus — for even faith by itself can be an idol. In fact ‘having faith’ has become an idol. This can be seen in how prophets flex their ability to predict accurately — good things to their audience. That’ why the endtime — Laodicean — church is a den of fortunetellers. God is not just good but best. He gives us his best for he himself is wow. That’s why life and love is all about being ordered by Jesus, who opens big doors he is (not has) to anyone who clings to him.
joyninn 