ABCs of Faith - Knowing The Truth Makes You Free

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11: 1

WHAT FAITH IS

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5: 7

THE ABCs of FAITH 16


FAITH IS: ACCEPTING THE WORD AT FACE VALUE


Make this positive confession before we get into today's lesson:
"I deserve to succeed; it is God's gift to me! I have the ability to succeed!"


Get ready for a heavy dose of the Word today!
We said yesterday that Faith is accepting the integrity of the Word. There are those who try to read certain things into the Word because they want it to say what they believe. They are trying to fit the Word to their beliefs rather than fitting their beliefs to the Word (be careful here, most of us have done this). Some people try to overlook certain passages or explain them away. But we must accept it for what it says and walk in the light of it. We must believe what the Word says, not what we think it says, that's faith. Sense knowledge will try to reason and argue with the simple truth of the Word. Faith accepts the Word at face value. As you begin to study the Word in this light, accepting it as it is, you will be amazed to learn that some of the things you have always believed are not in the Word at all. You will wonder why you believed some things the way you did. Remember that the Word is God speaking to us, as the late Kenneth E. Hagin was fond of saying.


KENNETH HAGIN'S TESTIMONY
I love the late Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin's teachings. He is my spiritual father in faith. It was his little book, "The New Birth" that led to my salvation. I had the honor of meeting him personally in Seattle, Washington and talking with him about Alaska. I was impressed with his spirit of humility. Here is a part of his testimony that I hope will help you to grasp what faith is.


"As I lay for many months on the bed of affliction, I studied the Bible and saw in it the truths of faith and healing. This was new to me as my church didn't teach about healing. But the more I studied God's Word the more I saw it was true. And regardless of my church's teaching, I determined I was going to walk in the light of God's Word because I believed that this Word is God speaking to us today. When I made this commitment the biggest part of the battle was won. To actually believe God's Word I had to go against not only the teachings of my church but of my family as well. It is amazing how we can become more church-minded than Bible-minded. And sometimes our loved ones, thinking they have our best interests at heart, will oppose us from walking in the fullest light of God's Word. Nevertheless, I determined to follow the Word of God, knowing that this is God speaking to me today."

THE REALITY REDEMPTION
The next thing we need to know to live by faith is the reality of our redemption in Christ, not as a doctrine, philosophy or creed of some kind, but an actual redemption from the authority of Satan. For by the new birth we have been translated into the kingdom of His Son, the Kingdom of God. In other words, we have been born into the very family of God.

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (able) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Colossians 1:12-14

How wonderful that we can enter into our inheritance in Christ. God has made us able to have part of this inheritance, as we have just read in verse 12of the above passage.


HE HAS ALREADY DELIVERED US!
Verse 13 goes on to say, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness." The Greek word which was translated "power" here means "authority.""Who hath delivered us from the authority of darkness ...." referring to Satan's kingdom. Notice too that the scripture doesn't say that He is going to deliver us. It says; "Who hath delivered us ..." In the future I am going to do some teaching on the authority of the believer which will give us a better understanding of our deliverance from Satan's power - so please stay tuned in.We are delivered because He has delivered us! You must accept your deliverance by faith. I am always amazed by Christians that run to every deliverance meeting in town. You really don't need a deliverance meeting if you understand the Word. Most of those meeting are just a bunch of laying empty hands on empty heads. Accept the integrity of the Word that says you have been delivered. Jesus said it is knowing the truth that makes you free or delivers you (John 8: 32). Don't try to get something as some so called deliverance meeting that you can only get from the Word. I tried having every kind of meeting you can imagine (and some you shouldn't imagine) as a minister. I learned in my early years of being a Pastor in Alaska that it is the Word (Truth) that makes people free. It is "knowing something" that makes us free, that's why good teaching is so important.


THE BLOOD COVENANT
Verse 14tells us the price of redemption. "In whom we have redemption through his blood ..."In connection with this scripture let us look atRevelation 12:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony ..." TheAmerican Revised Version of this verse reads, "because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony." The blood of Jesus is the basis of our victory because we have a blood covenant with God. (You need to get E.W. Kenyon's book "The Blood Covenant", it is the best I have even read on the subject. Visit www.abinadabs.com and go to the Kenyon books tab)
The blood covenant is the basis for the integrity of the Word, but we have to add our testimony, our confession to it to overcome Satan. We have to stand our ground with the enemy. Because he is the god of this world he will try to have authority over you. But he can't win for you have been delivered through the blood of Jesus Christ from the power of darkness, from the authority of Satan. By virtue of the new birth you have been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. In every contest with Satan you can overcome no matter what the test may be, because you have redemption through the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of your testimony. The shield of faith quenches every fiery dart of Satan.


SATAN'S DOMINION HAS ENDED!
Satan's dominion over us as new creatures in Christ is ended. Jesus is the Lord and Head of this new Body. He is referred to in the scriptures as the Head of the Church. The Church, which is all born-again believers, is called the Body of Christ. Satan has no right to rule over the Body of Christ. Christ is the Head of the Body. He is the one that is to rule and dominate the Body. Some people accept defeat in life because they don't fully understand the Word. Others accept defeat because they refuse to accept the integrity of the Word and walk by faith. They have told me that they didn't succeed because it wasn't God's will. They have said, "Our spirits belong to the Lord, but our bodies haven't been redeemed as yet. Therefore, we must suffer sickness and disease in the physical realm now. But the time is coming when we won't have to." In answer to this I turn to I Corinthians 6:19, 20. Your body has been redeemed because it is the temple of God! God does not want sickness in His temple. By the way, your body is a temple; don't treat it like a shed!
You have been made victorious!
You have been healed!
You have been made prosperous and rich!
Why? You have been redeemed!!!
No matter what your circumstances, say this everyday when you awake; "I can't go under for going over, I am redeemed!!!"

http://believersblog.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/kenneth-hagin-faith-lesson-no-16/


Live Well, Live Blessed!
Bernard

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Author's note:
These lessons are written "daily" like as the fresh manna fell daily in Israel. No left-overs for God's people! Often I am up late or early seeking the mind of God for the fresh Word which I seek to share. What an honor to be able to share with God's people. PLEASE, excuse me if there is an occasional typo. The fresh nature of the newsletter does not allow time for me to have them proof-read. The time is short!
Bernard