What Proof Do You Need

Trying to appropriate the blessings and promises of God in ones life has become a struggle for many believers today. The main reason is a lack of true Bible faith. I say, Bible faith, simply because, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) However, many have not been brought into a clear understanding of faith due to words that have created doubts wondering if it is God's will to continue giving gifts, promises and blessings for the church today. So, words that contradict God's Word create doubt not faith. With that said, it is impossible for anyone to receive the gifts, promises and or blessings from God if one is not certain God offers them. These things can only manifest where the will of God is known. When I say the will of God, it also means the Word of God. His will and His Word are one and the same. Let's look at an example of this...

It would be next to impossible to get a sinner to "believe unto righteousness" before he or she was fully convinced that it was God's will to save them. Therefore, faith begins where the will of God
is known. Faith must rest on the will of God alone, not on our desires or wishes. Appropriating faith is not believing that God is able, but that He is willing. In Matthew's gospel we see a leper ask Jesus,
"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” The first thing that Jesus does is correct the lepers thinking, his belief, his theology. "Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matthew 8:2-3) This very thing is what stops God from overflowing the church with blessings, that is, not only knowing God is able, but knowing that He is willing. 

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter tells us, "...the Lord is gracious." (1 Peter 2:3) That is, God is, favorable; kind; benevolent; merciful; disposed to forgive offenses and impart unmerited blessings. Therefore, to not know God's will, which is found in His Word will always hamper believers from walking in the promises of God. To take this one step further, to change or adjust God's Word, that is, saying that certain gifts, promises and or blessings that He has given to the church are not for the church today, is also to say that God is not as gracious to the church who "has a better covenant on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6) than He was to the children of Israel who were under a lesser covenant. Therefore, until a person knows God's will, he or she has no basis for faith. Faith is expecting God to do what we know it is His will to do. When we know it is God's will, it is not difficult for us to believe that He will do what we are sure He wants to do. 

Another example of this can be seen in a mother telling her six year old daughter on a Wednesday, "Honey mommy is going to take you to the store on Saturday and buy you a new dress." The little girl's faith for a new dress comes by hearing the words her mother spoke to her. Although the little girl has no physical proof that she will get a new dress, she is still excited and even tells her friends. Again, the only proof of the dress is her mothers words. The little girl could not, and would not be expected to have faith for the new dress until her mother  promised it. So, in the same way, believers cannot, nor are we expected, to have faith for the gifts, promises and or blessings of God, until faith comes by hearing the Word of God. However, the problem that tends to arise is when believers, unlike the little girl in the story, need proof that God's gifts, promises and blessings are for today. Unfortunately, for many, His Word is not enough proof as Thomas they need to see to believe. Of course this is not faith at all, because faith works independent of our senses. Also, one does not need faith if for something that they can see, taste, touch, hear or smell.   

Faith always blows the ram's horn, before, not after, the walls are down. (Joshua 6:1-20) Faith never judges according sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) It is the evidence of things not seen but promised. If you really think about it, faith rests on far more solid ground than the evidence of the senses, because it is the Word of God, "which abides forever" that our faith rests upon which also builds our faith. Our senses may deceive us, but God's Word will never fail us! (Isaiah 55:11) When the little girl in the above story is promised a new dress on Wednesday, faith is the actual expectation that she already has it before Saturday arrives. Real faith always has corresponding actions (James 2:18) as seen in the little girl telling her friends about a dress that she does not have in her possession. When Saturday comes and she sees the new dress, faith for the new dress stops. 

The little girl is not afraid to testify in advance that she is to have a new dress. When her friends say, "How do you know you are?" she confidently replies, "My mommy promised it!"  We believers should have even more faith and a better reason for expecting the gifts, promises and blessings of God to manifest in our lives than the little girl had for expecting a new dress. Why? What would have happened if something unexpected had come up and the mother could not get her daughter the dress? Simply put, whether the mother could have avoided the situation or not, the promise was broken and to the little girl, her mother lied. However, God never breaks a promise, because "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

So, let us put our confidence in this. Our proof is God's Word alone not in the things seen or felt. Now, because you have not received God's gifts, promises and or blessings instantly, does not mean that God is not faithful to perform His Word. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "Let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23) So, do not lose heart, but believe God's Word. It is His will for us, yesterday, today and forever...