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Hearing Of Faith!/Daily! By Pastor Bill Taylor A publication of My Father's House, inc. Volume 8/Issue 6 Prophecy: Thus says the Lord, what are you looking for? Are you looking for someone whom you can stop at the side of the road and ask for directions or are you looking for a guide? For there is a difference, and many around you have not known the difference. They have desired Me to be merely as a man on the street that when they get lost they can ask directions and go about their way. And even you many times thought of Me in this way; thought of Me as waking you up in the morning and telling you, “You are going to do this or that today. You will encounter this or that and today I want you to do this or that.” But I say, no, for that is not what I am. I am a Guide. And this is how a guide works; he wakes you up and says, “Let’s go,” and you follow. And when it is time to ask a question you ask him and he will tell you the way. When it is time to turn left he will tell you, “Go left.” When it is time to turn right he will tell you to “go right.” But this is what is required of you, to stay close to your guide and to listen to your guide. For that is Who I am and that is what I will be to you. I will glorify you and I will bring you through all things awesomely and victoriously if you let Me be your Guide. And all around you will look and they will see an awesome leading of the Spirit, an awesome hearing of faith. They will see an awesome moving of My presence, because I am your Guide and that is what I am to you. And they will be ashamed of the fact that all they have wanted is instructions that they might do it themselves. But I tell you, My people, they will see a people guided and led by Me, and those who are My children will come and they will say, “Let me be led as you are led. Let me be guided by the Lord who guides you,” thus saith the Lord. Prophecy: Thus saith the Lord, to My people at My Father’s House; My beloved children, My grace, peace, and mercy be upon you. I have looked into your hearts and I have seen that you want to glorify Me. I have brought you this way to renew your minds, to renew the way you think, so My thoughts can be your thoughts and My glory can truly be your glory. Now, I tell you there are many people who say that I have told them to start this, I have told them to do that. But yet I did not tell them and they failed. But I am telling you and I am encouraging you at My Father’s House first of all, I said to start this church and it is still standing, because one man fought the fight of faith. He stood before Me and I gave him the hearing of faith and he brought the Word and it changed your hearts and you followed through and here you are today, taking the steps of faith, coming every day or every night, and thus I am pleased. But I also say, some of you have started businesses; some of you have been led by My Spirit to go to certain places. I surely will not fail you. I tell you, you must fight the good fight of faith just as Joshua and Caleb. They were told to take the land, but because of the other people’s unbelief they did not enter in at first. But later they did enter in, and then they had to fight the giants, but yet they knew I was with them. And I say, they received the promise. I did not change My mind and neither did Joshua and Caleb, because they knew that I was with them and that was what I wanted for them. I tell you, this is what I want for you. I want you to finish what I have started in you and I will complete the work in you. I will show you the way, because My people, you will not bring shame upon Me. You will bring Me the utmost glory, because I am showing you how to have the hearing of faith, and that takes courage. It takes doing and it takes My grace, which I am giving you abundantly, saith the Lord. Prophecy: Thus saith the Lord, My people, I would have you to look and see the heart of My servant, Paul, and in his heart I knew and could see that he had a deep concern for My church. He had a heart to do My will, always looking for My will. I say that there were times when My Spirit would say to Paul, “No, I do not want you to go this way, Paul.” And I would lead and he would go in another direction. Paul was a man of faith who sought Me and did not give up, but sought My will. And he would go in another direction and My Spirit would not allow him to go in a worthless way. But I tell you, Paul was diligent to seek My face and I saw his heart. I saw his care for My church; I saw his care for My will and My glory to be seen in the earth today. I tell you that I blessed Paul and I did not let him go without. And that is when I gave Paul the vision of the man from Macedonia who was crying out for his help. I say to you, My people, that just as I did not let Paul go without a Word from My Spirit, I have a word for you. He had the hearing of faith and when Paul heard My Spirit say, “Go this way,” he got up and moved; he did something. His faith had works in it. I say to you, My people, I have a way for each and every one of you as you love Me and seek My will. I have a way for you, saith the Lord. I say to be as My servant and diligently seek My face, because I have a Word for you just as I had a Word for Paul. And when I speak you will know it, you will know in your heart that this is from Me. And as you look to Me, I will give you all the grace you need to get up and go in that direction and you will see My blessings. Paul kept going until there was a fulfillment of what I had showed him in that vision. And he had such a faith in Me and saw that I loved him and that I was his God and I did not forsake him. And I will not forsake you either. My people, I will lead you. But I say, by the hearing of faith you will know the direction in which I would have you to go and by faith you will get up and you will do the very thing that I show you. For in My will is My blessing and all of My provision for you, thus saith the Lord. (Prophecies delivered at “My Father’s House”) The Hearing of Faith! “So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through out the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy Name- when they (the nations) said of them, ‘They are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of the land.’” (Ezek 36:19-20) It is important to observe here that even though God deserves to be glorified and desires to be glorified, He is quite willing to bear the shame of dealing with the disobedience in His people in order to correct them. And since He has done that so often in the past He will do it today. So if we want to glorify Him we have to glorify Him in a way that is acceptable to Him, because He is not going to bend, lower or ignore His standards because of a bias towards His own glory. Along that line we know there are times when God will use sicknesses as chastening. “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (1Cor 11:30) because the people are not rightly discerning the Lord’s body. (vs 29) So God is willing to do that. And in 1st Corinthians 5 when somebody gets turned over to the devil for the destruction of their flesh, that generally means a serious sickness will attack them. So sickness is a tool God can use for chastening. We also know that there are chastenings and testings that do not come because we did something wrong, but because we are going to learn obedience by the things which we suffer. Job did nothing wrong, but he was attacked with sickness and learned some very important things from it. Jesus was in all ways perfect, but He still went through sufferings and learned from them. (Heb 5:8) And every Christian who expects to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29) must learn obedience the same way. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (Rom 8:16-17) One of the lessons that can be learned from sufferings, is how to be kind when you do not feel good. A Christian should learn that and we should expect that God would teach us that. Even as Jesus did not let the meanness and pain inflicted upon Him by others cause Him to react in a harsh way to those around Him. But with the exceptions aforementioned, generally speaking we must realize that sickness in a church is something that is a shame to God; particularly when a large percentage of the church is sick. In such a case sickness is an indication of unbelief or disobedience in the church. And in Mount Zion where there is deliverance the church should be an example of God’s blessings upon His people and the members of Christ should be in abundant life and robust health. The wonderful graces of God upon His church should be something that glorifies God. So to accept sickness as something normal in the church is not looking upon God’s glory correctly. Consider a visitor coming into a church that should be a Spirit-filled church, when the people claim to have God in their midst; the God Who heals; the God Who says, “whatever you ask in the Name of Jesus, I will do it.” And they should have the power of God in their midst. And you come into such a church and half the people in the church are coughing and sneezing; that is a shame to the church and it is a shame to God and we cannot accept it. It is not what ought to be. God’s house ought to be a place where people are healthy and people can come to get healed, and God forbid that people should come to church and catch the latest disease that is going around. Recently in our Bible study we got into a subject where the children were seeing the importance of not blaspheming God, not giving up on God, not blaming God when you are in sufferings. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10) But they really hadn’t caught the importance of God being a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6) So in a position where you are under an attack you do well by not blaming it on God, but you will do better to seek the Lord diligently. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16) So that what starts out as an attack that would be a reproach upon God’s church and God’s people can turn into a testimony of a victory, and a glory to God and that is what ought to be. Because if you know God and you have a real faith in God and you are diligently seeking God then God will reward you according to His Word. So what began as an attack turns into a testimony. And a real church should be filled with people who have faced some sort of an adversity and they have diligently sought the Lord and through the grace of God they have brought forth a testimony of conquering and brought forth a testimony to the glory of God. And all these have obtained a good testimony through faith. (Heb 11:39) One of the boys was talking about how in the past he would brag about toughing out a sickness or injury. And I say there is no glory to God in that. You are glorifying yourself by toughing it out. But toughing it out does not make you look like you know a supernatural God who rewards His people. And another mistake regarding “healing” is some people try to use yesterday’s faith for today. As an example the Lord taught us a few weeks ago That Jesus’ Name is an ointment. (Song 1:3) And when God brought that out in the service that day several people were healed by taking the name of the Lord as their ointment or medicine and applying it to their sickness as the Lord spoke that day. But a couple of weeks later some were trying to use the Name of the Lord as an ointment and it wasn’t working because they are not hearing God in the now. You have a memory of a method of healing that worked before and you are trying to make it work again. But it isn’t the method you must trust in; what you must trust in is the Lord and hearing the Lord today. (Heb 3:7) Hearing God is what works; hearing what God says for today. So to overcome sickness and to glorify God we must understand faith and the things that concern faith. Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Gal 3:5) The just shall live by faith (Rom 1:17) could be also said in this way; the just shall live by the hearing of faith. To be led by the Spirit could also be said in this way, to be led by the hearing of faith. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom 10:17) And this could also be said as “faith comes by hearing God speak” And “We having the same Spirit of faith according to as it is written, I have heard, therefore I speak.” (2Cor 4:13) Because what faith does, is faith always diligently seeks God. And what faith gets is an answer; God speaking back. And faith recognizes God is speaking when it hears Him. “My sheep hear My voice.” (John 10:27) For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1Thes 2:13) For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. (Heb 4:2) The Thessalonians recognized God’s voice in Paul’s preaching, whereas the Jews did not believe God was speaking in what they heard. And faith came by hearing to those who rightly believed God was speaking through Paul – but the unbelief of the Jews caused them to perish. Now, it is an interesting thing, but we know from the passage where Daniel sought the Lord and fasted; where he did not eat any “pleasant” foods for 21 days. And the angel Gabriel came to him and said, “From the first day of your prayer you were heard.” (Daniel 10:12) Now, this gives us an insight into the hearing of faith because you see, God hears immediately when a saint who is in right standing with Him prays. The problem is not God’s hearing, the problem is we have a situation in which God is tuned into us so well the devil can never stop God from hearing a saint. But on our side, we are not tuned into God so well that the devil cannot stop us from hearing God answer. So the battle is not to get God to hear, the battle is to get us to hear, because the demons, the world, the flesh will try to interfere with our hearing God’s answer. So you see in that passage that for twenty-one days the prince of Persia fought with Gabriel who had the message, interfering with Gabriel being able to bring the message to Daniel. Thus illustrating the demonic interference that tries to stop us from hearing. And this interference needs to be overcome and this relates to the fight of faith, to hold on to faith until you get your answer. So you see why it is we need to diligently seek the Lord to stay in a place where we are ready to hear when God’s angel breaks through with God’s message to us. And there will come a time, if you are waiting on the Lord in faith and diligently seeking Him, there will come a time where there is a breakthrough and the message gets through to you. Now, the importance of God’s answer getting through to you can be seen in the Scriptures, for example where Peter and the disciples are caught in a storm and they see Jesus walking on the water. And Peter says, “If it is you Lord, bid me come.” So, Jesus says, “Come.” And on the power in that one Word from Christ Peter can walk on water. (Matt 14:24-29) And we can see from this that when God speaks His Word is alive and it has the power in it to perform whatever He commands. As when Jesus says that, “I speak what He commands Me and I know that His command is life.” (John 12:49-50) There is life in every Word that comes from God. So when God does speak His answer to you and when you hear that answer it will strengthen you and put faith in you, and it will empower you to do the very thing that God commands. And this is going from faith to faith, when you have faith to listen for God to speak, and that when He does you have faith to do what He commands. So when the scripture says the just shall live by faith they are living by the hearing of faith, and that means they are living by believing God will speak to them and then when He does answer, obeying what He says. Romans says, we have died to the law so we might be married to another. (Rom 7:4) There is no life in the law. The law puts no power into you. But when God speaks to you, He empowers you. So in the New Covenant we’ve been raised to a new level of life far above the law. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. (Gal 3:21) But there was no law that could give you life. But what can give you life is hearing God speak. So the New Covenant opens up a new relationship with God in which the believers are taught by God; they hear God speak. (John 6:45) They are led by God; they know God. Being a true New Covenant believer means that you are one of God’s people who are led by the Spirit, meaning that you walk in a place of having faith to hear God and that you do hear God and God leads you by that hearing. Whatever is not of the hearing of faith is sin. (Rom 14:23) Now, you take just about any Scripture that talks about faith and instead of just saying faith you put in the “hearing of faith.” Because what does faith produce? It produces an answer that comes from God. It produces “come boldly to the throne of grace that you might receive mercy and grace to help in the time of need.” (Heb 4:16) What is the grace that you are receiving? Often we are receiving a Word from God that not only gives us an answer but empowers us to do something about our situation according to the counsel of God. So by grace you are saved through faith. (Eph 2:8) How much more does that mean now when you understand what that grace is? Grace is hearing God speak to you. Grace is hearing God tell you what to do and being able to walk on the water because He has told you to. Being able to do whatever it is He has commanded because hearing God empowers you to do that. Unfortunately most of what calls itself Christianity today is not about hearing God. People may study what God said yesterday and not have any concept of what He is saying today. This is what the “I AM” is about. (See our previous publication “I AM.”) Most religion today is looking at a God of yesterday and what God said yesterday. And what God said yesterday often is not empowering, because it is just a historical record. But the living God speaks in the present, in the immediate. And when that immediate voice of the living God speaks to you, He speaks power. So to be led by the Spirit means to be walking in the power that comes by hearing the living God now. What is the Spirit? The Spirit is the immediate presence of God. Where is New Covenant Christianity found? It is not found in the history books. Everything you know about God historically, everything you’ve learned about God theoretically even from the Scripture, is useful to you only if you turn it in to a cognizance, a recognition of the presence of the Lord right now. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40) So, you see, it becomes a hindrance to you if instead of depending upon hearing God today, you look back to two weeks ago and say, “The Name of the Lord is an ointment,” and you do not realize that what happened two weeks ago was pastor was seeking the Lord and that is what he heard God speak to the church for that day. But, now today you need fresh help from God and instead of seeking God until He speaks to you the living Word for today, you just go back to your memory and try to use an instruction that was for two weeks ago. Well, you have fallen into the place where you are not relating to the living God today. Your religion has become yesterday’s faith; it has become dead. In fact, the thing that God taught you to do two weeks ago can become a curse to you today, if it gets in the way of your relationship with God today. How often it is men turn the things that God gives us as a blessing, into a curse, because they do not use them rightly. Because God spoke yesterday is that your reason not to seek Him today because you cling to yesterday’s word. The whole point of what God is teaching us is, “Talk to Me today. Seek Me diligently today. Get the answer that you need from Me today.” Wait on the Lord. Keep diligently seeking until the answer comes. “Because you need to hear Me tell you today what to do. You need to be led by Me today, in the present.” All of the historical things that you have seen can encourage you to know that God will not fail you, if you will seek Him in the present. But they are not to become a substitute for seeking Him. Your knowledge can become a hindrance, when you start thinking that, “I know how to do it now.” Once you decide, “I learned that lesson a couple weeks ago.” So, what have you learned? You have learned to depend on what you know instead of upon Who you know. You have gone back to doing what God told you to do before instead of finding out what He wants you to do now. Everything that you see about Jesus in the Scriptures is Jesus listening to God His Father in the now.
Right now what is God saying to do? Not, what did He tell me to do two weeks ago, but right now. And you see the same thing in Paul and the apostles. To be a spiritual church, to be a Spiritual Christian, we have to be in touch with the right now God at all times. That means we have to get out of this place of thinking, “I can just tough it out.” Maybe we can take it like a man, endure the pain and not complain, but if that is all we do what does that do for the glory of God? Nothing. Then we ought not be content to just tough it out in the flesh. We ought to be saying, “God, this is not glorifying to You. Even if it is ok and we can handle it in our own strength, this is not the right way for a church to be glorifying to You.” We are not going to tough it out and sit here and let the devil mock us and mock God. We must get to the place where God is being glorified by all that we are doing.
We always ought to be thinking that way. Whatever we do should be done to the glory of God. (1Cor 10:31) We should always be thinking, “What are we here for? Who do we represent, and how well do we represent Him? And then seeking the best way to be able to represent Him. So, if we are to represent God rightly and be conformed to the image of Christ, then in everything around us we must become a people who are looking at and looking for the “I AM” God all the time. Always asking, “What would You have me to do, Lord, right now? What is the next step?” And not considering anything to be too small to talk to Him about in the sense, “Oh, we can handle this ourselves.” You might not be able to handle it, you know. You have the lesson of what happened with Joshua when they did not talk to God about the Gibeonites. You have the lesson from David, when he went to war with the Philistines and God first says, “Go ahead and attack them.” And then the next time he says, “Should I do that again?” And God says, “No, this time go around behind the Mulberry bushes.” And you find in David that he is not presumptuous in doing what God said to do yesterday, but he always seeks the leading of the Spirit for today. In the New Covenant Church that is the way we are to be, always seeking the leading of the Spirit. We have learned to be led by the Spirit of God and we want to be led by the Spirit of God continually and we must have faith to be led by the Spirit of God. And that faith does not just sit there and say, “Well, we are not complaining so, though we are suffering, we are doing good.” I have noticed in times of testing people will pat themselves on the back saying, “We did not get offended with God. We held on to our trust in the Lord”. Which is alright as far as it goes but, in fact, sometimes the problem is they were not complaining but neither were they diligently seeking God to find out how to overcome. What a tendency there is in people to compliment themselves, even when God is giving a rebuke. Concerning the wicked the psalmist says, “For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.” (Ps 36:2) So often people look for a way to compliment themselves. “Look how well I took that rebuke!” but often the truth is that even though you did some of it right you did not do all of it right. Remember Saul and the Amelikites. Part right is not enough! We need to get to where we are doing all of it right and not be content to just do some of it right. Because God is not glorified when only some of it is done right. He is quite willing to be shamed and to let you be shamed until you do it perfectly. So you should be looking for perfection, not complimenting yourself when your obedience is not complete yet. This is a tendency with carnal human nature. The carnal tend to always do that. They always emphasize the thing they are doing right. They want to brag about what’s right while they ignore the thing they are doing wrong. And sometimes they have missed the entire purpose of what God is trying to teach them by doing that. But the Spiritual are looking to correct what they are doing wrong. And the purpose of what God is teaching here is that there is often another step to be taken and that is the step of diligently seeking Him so that you can get a victory in a trying situation and in that victory be able to have a testimony to His glory. Because where does a testimony come from? A victory. And what is it that we have been learning about “heralding?” We are “heralding” the gospel of God. And what do you herald Him with? Testimonies. You must publicize what the living God does for you. Well, what does the living God do for you that means anything to anybody else unless the living God has intervened in a situation in your life and given you a deliverance in something that looked like a very serious problem and you have a victory now that you can praise the Lord about? Did you get that victory by just sitting there while the devil was beating on you? Or do you get the victory when satan is defeated? We are supposed to overcome him, you know. And how are we going to overcome him if we do not call upon the Lord as in, “Lord, show me what to do to deal with the enemy in this right now situation, so that I can come in with a testimony to Your glory instead of looking like I have been defeated or I have been beat up by the devil, and just had the grace to endure it.” Do you have it in your heart that it does not even matter much that I can stand the suffering? I can stand the suffering through the grace of God; yes, we can stand the suffering. But, what matters is, does God get glory? And does God get glory out of a people that just sit there and suffer with things that Jesus would have rebuked and they would have been gone? I do not think God is glorified there. Our faith has to get to a place where it is demonstrating that the Kingdom of God reigns. If sickness is reigning, the Kingdom of God is not. Jesus says, “If I by the finger of God cast out devils, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. So a strong man fully armed guards his house, but when someone stronger comes upon him he takes the spoils.” (Matt 12:28-29) Now if half the church is sick somebody stronger than us has come in here and taken spoils from us and it was not Jesus. How did the enemy get in? How does a spiritual people allow the devil to come in and do this to them? Well, obviously your spirituality is not really where it ought to be, if that is the case. Sometimes your spirituality is being expressed too much in what you do not do instead of what you do. And, that is the fallacy in most false religions. They think they are religious because of what they do not do. In Spiritual Christianity, you are religious because of what you do. And what you do is you hear God and you seek God and you get an answer from God, and you obey God. And when He answers your enemy is defeated and you get the victory and you have a testimony. And that testimony is a glory to God and that testimony becomes a glory to the church and the church is the glory of Christ. (2Cor 8:23) So, we have something yet to attain to in understanding faith, don’t we? This is what God is showing here. That our faith ought to be such that when something starts coming upon us we do not go to our memory or try to cure it ourselves. We do not try to just bear with it, but for the glory of God we seek the Lord to get an answer that brings forth a victory that is a testimony to Him. Which then also becomes a testimony to others so that they can see where to go when they need help. And this all comes back to calling upon the Lord; “Those who believe in Me shall not be ashamed.” (Rom 9:33) Because those who believe in Him will call upon Him. (Rom 10:14) Those that call upon the Lord in a right way, and they come to Him in a right way; He is rich to all who call upon Him. (Rom 10:12) Well, if He is rich to all who call upon Him then you are going to get from Him what you need when you call upon Him. And what you get is He is going to give you an instruction, a word. He will give you something where you can see, “That is what I need to do.” And when you do it, it will work for you at that time. Just like Jesus saying to Peter, “Come” worked that one time, but Peter was not able to walk on water the next day on that, “Come.” The next day he needed to get a fresh word if he was to do God’s will. Because the power was in the word that he heard from God, for that specific time. And that is what we are to live by, where the just shall live by faith. The word that we hear from God is what we live by everyday, the hearing of faith everyday. We are to be a people who are led by the Spirit because we are the just and the just live by the hearing of faith. To be led by the Spirit is to be hearing the Spirit speak to you. We are always to be hearing Him speak to us. And we will overcome our enemies because we are always hearing what God is telling us to do, and in that we are giving Him all the glory and in that He is giving us the victory. Blessed be His Name. Prophecy: It is the one who fellowships with Me in the secret place who has a true relationship with Me; just him and Me; that is the one that I reward. I reward him openly and I reward him by speaking to him and giving him the hearing of faith, which produces in him a testimony; a successful work that is not found in those who trust in the religious rules, the laws, their own righteousness. They trust in the externals, but do not have a seeking, dependant communication, and fellowship with Me. For the only kind of Christianity that I respect is that which comes to Me and communes with Me and fellowships with Me; that seeks My guidance and has the faith to hear and listen for Me to speak. And that is the one that is led by My Spirit; and that is the one that demonstrates that he is My child and I am his God; and that is the one I bless. And the others are all counterfeit, imitation, and it shows up in their lack of fruit; because the true fruit comes only to the one who abides in Me, with Me, and listens to Me, and then obeys what I tell him to do, saith the Lord. Prophecy: I am looking for a people who expect to hear Me; who want to hear Me speak; who have the faith to hear Me speak. I am looking for a people who if they have heard Me speak yesterday they are not content until they hear Me speak also today. I am looking for a people who do not trust in their own understanding, who do not become experts by experience, but who have learned they can do nothing apart from Me and they know that I am the expert and I am the One that has the answer they need everyday. I am looking for a people that would let Me live in them everyday, every moment; a temple for My Spirit; a people in whom I can express Myself because they do not desire to express themselves, but they desire to be the expression of Christ. I am looking for such a people. And even as I am the potter and you are the clay, I am forming you to be such a people. And I shall have such a people. I tell you, My people, rejoice that you have been chosen to be the people who will express My glory in this wicked world, and will express My wisdom in this foolish world. For you are blessed, you are blessed; you are blessed to know Me as very few have ever known Me. I tell you this, you will know Me even better as you take hold of these things which I am teaching and writing upon your hearts as you become the very expression of My life in this world to those around you, saith the Lord. (Prophecies delivered at “My Father’s House”) Daily! Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) Christianity was never meant to be practiced on a part time basis, Here, the very foundation of our call is seen to be daily – a daily picking up of the cross. A daily losing of our life to live the Christ life. I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. (1Cor 15:31) Here Paul shows himself to be obedient to the call of Christ. “I die daily” is the fulfillment of Christ’s call to pick up the cross and lose your life daily. Paul shows himself to be a true disciple of Christ by his daily putting off of his life to follow Christ. Now at “My Father’s House,” a few years ago the Lord called our congregation to have daily church. This was not a new thing to me – I’ve held church everyday since we arrived at this address – and previous to being called to pastor I attended every meeting available in the churches I was associated with – so I’ve had daily church for over 25 years. But the congregation at “My Father’s House” heard God call them into daily church a few years ago when I was out of town and the brethren were having church on their own. This is a remarkable thing – that I wasn’t there when God called them – so it couldn’t be blamed on me or my inclinations forcing them, the people, to church on a daily basis. It was a sovereign work of God and the hearing of faith in our people here. Yet we regularly encounter people who claim to be Christians who when they hear we have church 6-7 days a week, they make presumptuous remarks like, “God doesn’t expect that of us.” Which shows how little they know of God and the scriptures. God’s true church was born in daily meetings. First, the prayer meeting in the upper room and then; So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, (Acts 2:46) So it is the height of ignorance and even arrogance for people to say God wouldn’t expect daily meetings of the brethren in His true church. And it is surprising how many so-called believers are willing to impute their carnal prejudices to our holy God. They don’t want to meet daily – so they say God doesn’t… But they will give account of their wicked words to Him on that day He comes to judge the quick and the dead. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47) So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. (Acts 16:5) Notice that God is adding new believers to the church on a daily basis. And the question would be – how could He add to the church on a daily basis unless the church was meeting on a daily basis? So when it comes to the issue of church growth – meeting daily had much to do with the increase in the early church and it will have much to do with the increase in God’s true church today. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (Acts 5:42) Now the Lord says, “The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former.” And you can see from the scriptures the holiness of the early church, the miracles and the power of God in her midst. (Acts 4:31-33; 5:12 etc.) And the early church was meeting daily. Now if the glory of the latter house is to be even greater how could she not be meeting daily? It is inconceivable that God would begin the work of building His holy church with daily meetings and not end it with a glorious church that was daily ministering to the Lord. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.” “…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2,4) Continual prayer and ministry of the word means daily and even more so. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:24-25) Is the day of the Lord approaching? Can you see the signs of the end? (Matt 24:32-33) Then God’s command is to assemble even more often, that you might provoke one another all the more so. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; (2Pet 3:14) Now to be diligent indicates constant preparation, continually pursuing excellence in the things that make for our salvation. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (2Pet 3:11) The lukewarm will not make it. (Rev 3:16) The unprepared will not make it. (Matt 25:1-13) The lazy will not make it. (Matt 25:26,30) The hypocrites will not make it. (Matt 24:51) The backslider will not make it. (Heb 10:39; Luke 17:32) The iniquitous will not make it. (Matt 7:23) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;” (1Pet 1:13-17) So as you see the day approaching give yourselves more and more to the things that make your calling and election sure – Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; (2Pet 1:10) ministering and receiving ministry more and more and everyday increasing in the virtues of Christ. for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (vs 11) Can you ever have too much of God? These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11) If they searched the scriptures daily then they were hearing Paul preach daily. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. (Acts 19:9) So the disciples received daily instruction from Paul. But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: (Titus 2:1) If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. (1Tim 4:6) Notice the word “nourished” here. And For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Heb 5:12-14) as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1Pet 2:2-3) Now all these scriptures refer to God’s word and sound doctrine as food. As in: He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:17) How often must sheep be fed? Once or twice a week is not enough, is it? The Hebrew church is falling away from the faith because they haven’t been eating regularly of Christ. They’ve come to need milk again. “I am the bread of life.” “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:48,57,63) So what is the apostle’s advice to them? But exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Heb 3:13) You need daily ministry to keep yourselves fit for God’s Kingdom. And notice the word “exhort” – to exhort means to call to action. Not hearers of the word but doers are justified. (Rom 2:13) People have a tendency to become lazy or dull and to fall into the flesh thinking they are saved because of what they know when in truth they are no longer acting upon their faith and their faith has died and they are “do nothing Christians” unacceptable to man or God. There is such a tendency to this that God’s word says you need daily exhortation to keep your faith active and to prevent: Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; (Heb 3:12) For unless you are daily exhorted to holiness – you can easily be deceived by sin into hardening your heart against God. So: Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:24-25) Stirring up love and good works is the same as exhorting, isn’t it? Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2Tim 4:2) And when is Timothy to do this exhorting and teaching? In the church, of course. And the idea is that it must be continual – in season and out. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2Tim 4:3-4) Because if you don’t constantly exhort them and remind them – they will be hardened and fall away through the deceitfulness of sin. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. (2Pet 1:15) Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, (Titus 2:15-3:1) To true Christians the Sabbath is no longer our holy day – everyday is holy – we are to die daily and put on Christ daily to exhort one another daily. Many people who call themselves “Christians” have never really “exhorted” any one to keep them from the deceitfulness of sin. But true Christians are daily exhorting one another. And to do that they must be having church daily. Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. (1Cor 14:12,26,31) The real Christian loves the Lord and loves the church. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! (1Cor 16:22) Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. (1John 5:1-2) If you love someone you would want to be with them as much as possible. If you love “fervently” (1Pet 1:22) you would want to be with them all the time. Having church once or twice a week is not love. Eating once or twice a week is not healthy. The family of God fellowships with each other daily, breaks bread daily (Acts 2:46) They do this joyfully because they love each other and they are born from above. For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar-- for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children-- but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal 4:22-26) Those born from above delight to do God’s will. They love meeting with Christ and each other daily. Those born from the flesh feel like it is a burden and a bondage but we who are led by the Spirit are always led in such a way as to fulfill God’s will and the scriptures and to do it joyfully in love. So Christ’s true church meets as often as they can – daily – not because they have to but because they love to – and it keeps them safe from falling into the deceitfulness of sin – it edifies them and establishes them in every good word and work. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Gal 6:7-8) But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2Cor 9:6) Only a fool would say having church everyday is “too much” as though having more God in your life is a curse and not a blessing. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Ps 16:11) Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. He shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple. (Ps 65:4) More Hearing of Faith! The just shall live by faith. (Rom 1:17) We walk by faith, not by sight. (2Cor 5:7) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom 10:17) This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Gal 3:2,5) Now by the Spirit and the scriptures we have been given an understanding of faith as the hearing of God. And many churches today do not believe that, and they do not understand that. Faith is hearing God! And in the days of Jesus’ incarnation He did not have to say, “Faith is hearing God.” In that time it was well understood. But the Christian religion has been corrupted since then, and most people’s understanding of faith has been twisted into something very different from what the original saints knew it to be. If you were to look carefully at the Old Testament you would see every person of faith in the Old Testament was somebody who did something because God told him to do it, or held on to a promise that God spoke to them, or in some manner they heard God and did not argue with what they heard, but believed it and acted appropriately. So when Jesus talks about faith, for example, in moving a mountain He says, “First have faith in God.” (Mk 11:22) He could as well have said, “First hear and believe God!” And when the disciples said, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5) Jesus as much as answered, “No, I do not have to increase your faith, all I have to do is tell you that if you hear God and believe it is God it does not matter if it is just a mustard seed of hearing God; His stillest smallest voice; because the tiniest word from God that you believe and know it came from God will move a mountain. Because that is how powerful faith in God is; and that is how powerful God is. And all it takes is hearing Him and knowing it was Him no matter how small the voice, because faith is hearing God. Presumption is thinking something is of God when in fact you have not heard God. Presumption is an imagination; making something up as in “casting down imaginations.” (2Cor 10:5) Much of the church today including the “so-called” faith movement is presumptuous. They move on the basis of what they want to believe instead of hearing God. Whatever they want according to their own will, they think if they just “believe” hard enough they can make it come to pass – and so what they call “faith” is something totally different from what the Bible teaches is faith. But as a real Christian we are required to live by hearing God. Because the just shall live by faith can rightly be interpreted as saying, “The just shall live by hearing God and obeying God.” So, if I’m a real Christian I will live by hearing and obeying God. Then you can also say, “I’m going to walk by faith, not by sight” means, “I’m going to walk by hearing God and not by sight.” And you can see Peter began his walk on the water by hearing God, “the hearing of faith,” but then he turned to sight. And sight is of the sense realm. Human beings have at least six senses. The world says we only have five. There is sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and the sixth sense is your sense of balance. There are a lot of lies the world and the worldly church have accepted. They both thought the world was flat until it was proven different. So your sixth sense, your sense of balance is not supernatural. And the natural senses can fool you terribly. Have you ever been through a stationary car wash; where the car stands still and the brushes move? You can hardly believe your car isn’t moving when those brushes come by, can you? When you are walking by faith, not by sight you are doing what Proverbs says to do. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Pro 3:5,6) You see, when you walk by faith, not by sight you are acknowledging to God that you do not see well enough to direct your own paths; you do not see the future; you do not see behind you; you do not see what is around the corner; you do not see what is in people’s hearts; you do not see the traps satan may be laying for you. There are so many things you do not see that you cannot direct your paths safely by yourself. Therefore you must trust what God sees, because God sees everything. So I am better off closing my eyes and holding God’s hand than trying to hold His hand with my eyes open and arguing with Him every time He tells me to do something, which is what happens too often. Because you say, “Lord, direct me,” but then when the circumstances seem dangerous, you want to back off and take over yourself at the very time you need to be following Him the most. Now, as something of an understanding of this, you could never, ever be a commercial pilot if you did not know how to fly by trusting your instruments instead of sight. The commercial pilot does not fly that plane by himself. He is directed by a ground controller, and that ground controller tells that pilot what is going on when the pilot is in weather where he cannot see anything. And that ground controller tells that pilot what is going on when there are planes traveling 600 miles an hour that he can run into that would hit him before he would ever see them. At that speed two planes going at each other 600 miles an hour that is 1,200 miles per hour. That is the speed of a bullet. The only way those planes can be safe is by that pilot listening to somebody who sees what he does not see and obeying what that ground controller tells him to do. Which is sort of a picture of what we are supposed to be doing when we walk by faith not sight. We are saying, “Lord, you direct my paths. I need to be led by you if I am going to avoid the dangers and do the right things.” And then we need to trust what He is telling us and not argue with Him, because circumstances may seem contrary to what He is telling us. Because the fact is what we see is so little compared to what He sees, that we had better trust what He sees. And that means we walk according to what He tells us to do, not what we see. Now, so that we do not get into a ditch on the other side of the road, hearing of faith does not always mean that you actually hear God speak to you audibly. At times we will hear an audible voice from God, but more often than not what we have is enlightenment; something that is going on inside of you where God causes you to be convinced of For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1Thes 2:13) This shows us that having a “man of God” speak – can be the same as hearing God speak. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1John 4:6) In fact this is the most common way to “hear God” is through hearing a person sent by God speak and receiving it as from God. “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.” “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (John 8:43,47) However, there are times when because you have read His Word and you know things about His will from the Word of God that you do not have to hear anyone say anything for you to have faith, because in a very real sense you’ve heard God’s voice in your accurate understanding of His word. For example, when a sickness or something like that comes upon me it does not terrify me, even if it seems to be a very serious thing. And I can testify to an experience where I felt like I was dying. And it did not scare me, because although it was in fact very painful, I knew that God had promised to give me the grace to bear anything I have to. So I was not panicked by the pain, because I just called upon the Lord for the grace He promised. “Jesus, grace, grace. Give me the grace to bear it and make the way of escape.” No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1Cor 10:13) And of course He did. And I am not panicked by the idea that, “Oh, you are dying,” because I know that Jesus has promised that He works all things together for good for me, and those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. (Rom 8:28) And I surely do love Him and am called according to His purpose. So nothing can happen to me that does not work for good! Therefore if He was to let me die it would have to be the best thing, in which case I am not going to argue with Him. I just want to make sure that that is His will. So I am in the position where it is better to die and be with the Lord, For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (Phil 1:23) but after thinking about it Paul knows this is not the time. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (vs 24) So he comes to the conclusion it is better for him to stay for the church's progress and joy of faith. (Phil 1:25) He did not hear God audibly speak, did he? But Paul came to a conclusion of faith, because he could see what God’s will was. That is because God gave him light and God gave him wisdom. And so the decision Paul makes is based on his discernment of God’s will by the wisdom he received from God and that is equivalent to hearing God. Because to discern and correctly know His will is the same as hearing Him. And so Paul was not panicked by his circumstances because he knew that God was always going to work things out for good. So I too have been in a place where I am hearing faith very strongly without hearing God audibly speak, and by that hearing of faith the breakthrough came and I was able to breathe comfortably again within minutes. Now, what I am saying is that real faith will never believe that anything really bad is happening to you, because nothing truly bad can happen to you as long as you believe God will work it out for good. So the true saint will never panic about anything if he knows God and has that faith. And that kind of faith comes from my having heard and understood God’s word in the past and holding on to what I know is true; what He says about my relationship with Him maintaining that relationship. Now, there will be times when God will actually speak to you and times when you will have very strong guidings by the Spirit. And there will be other times when you just have faith because God’s Word in the scripture is giving you a clear understanding of what He requires of you in your particular situation. Hearing of faith can come in many different ways. But the justified believer will live by hearing faith. He will not live by sight; he will not live by symptoms. Symptoms are nothing to me, they mean nothing; the Word of God is what I live by. And the Word of God says I will live. The Word of God says even if He delays in healing me or whatever He puts me through there is a good purpose to it. Whatever God is doing He is doing for my good, and I can flow with that even when I am not sure what He is doing for I know it is certain to work out for good. So I do not fret against Him or fret against what He is doing. And that is some of what living by faith is about. Now my next question to the church is can you give me an example of your living by faith. Give me an example of your walking in the Spirit. Do not tell me the theory of it but give me a testimony of doing it. When the church is walking in the Spirit, when they are walking by faith and not by sight our testimony times will be glorifying to God, they will be glorious. Give me a testimony of somebody in the church recently who walked by faith, not by sight. Mr. Jeff: “When I had that pain and I could hardly even get up, the pain was there, but Laurie prayed over me and I stood up in faith.” The pain was still there but you believed you were healed. You did not pay attention to the symptoms, to what it felt like. You believed what God’s Word says, that God had healed you. And what happens, because you walk by faith and not by the symptoms, because you do not give in to the symptoms but you hold on to the truth of God’s Word the symptoms disappear. They are gone, because you have overcome them by faith. Every person in this church who has overcome symptoms believing they are healed and ignoring the pain was walking by faith when they did that. And what other things can you do walking by faith? Mr. James: “Well, the other night I was feeling terrible and I told Vivian I was going to stay home, and she encouraged me. She said, “No, come on.” So she said, “I will drive.” But the Spirit quickened to me, “No, you drive.” And she said, “I will drive.” And I said, “Relax, I am driving.” And I drove all the way here, and when I was here and I came in the door and sat here about 5 minutes, the symptoms disappeared.” You have a hearing of faith telling you to do something, and by obeying it the breakthrough came. God told you to take a step of faith and drive. And you heard God and obeyed. This is what walking by faith is about and this is what the just living by faith is about. How many of our people have given testimony of coming to the service when they were sick and then walking out healed? And there are many such things like that. I mean, walking by faith to get your house in order, to find a job, to get a meal on the table. Little things, big things, it is calling upon the Lord and then doing what you know is the peaceable, the sensible thing to do. Putting things in order in the house, because God is making peace by putting things in order. And every time you take the step that He tells you to take you are getting peace out of it; blessing out of it. It is all walking by faith, and the house becomes more and more peaceful. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Col 3:15) “Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.” (Eccl 9:18) But one sinner can do a lot of damage. If somebody in the house is walking by faith, doing a lot of good and then you have somebody in the house walking in sin, the sinner will be messing up everything the saint is doing. We had some trouble like this once in our house, people putting things where they do not belong. The Spiritual parents are fixing the meal; everything is going fine, smooth, everything is ready to be set on the table and suddenly we need the soup ladle, but someone put it in the wrong drawer; and now the whole house is running around looking for the soup ladle. A good meal gets cold and maybe something gets burnt. And dinner is late because somebody got in the flesh and did something careless. And usually this all comes down to someone being in a hurry and wanting to get the job done too quickly and wanting to get it over with so they can do their own selfish things. And when you have some one doing that it messes the house up, because why? Because, for example, the children are supposed to be doing dishes to save mom time. But when mom ends up spending half an hour looking for something that someone put away in the wrong place, then they’ve undone her blessing, and undone their fruit. Because if you did not do a good job of putting the dishes away you caused a problem. Walking in the flesh causes problems. Walking by faith solves problems. A person walks by faith, he will say, “Where does this go?” Takes longer, doesn’t it? There is love involved in it because you are willing to take longer to get the job done and to do it right. And God says, “Do it to My glory” and you are saying, “I will do it to Your glory, God.” And that is walking by faith. But when someone gets in too much of a hurry they just throw things in the nearest closet and that makes it look like the job is done so they can go out and play. But the time comes, when the thing they misplaced is needed and maybe it’s even an emergency situation and I have to spend an hour looking for a tool that is out of place, because somebody in the house was not walking by faith, but walking in the flesh. One sinner can do much damage. Now, one reason why sinners are going to hell is because the good that good people do can be undone by the evil that sinners do. So eventually God must eliminate all the sinners in order that good may prevail. And we must make sure we are not counted as the one He must eliminate. And to do that we must make sure we are walking by faith. We must be sure we are doing things the way God says, which means taking the time to do the job well. Doing all things as unto His glory. (1Cor 10:31) Whether it is a little job or a big job we should do it in the way God says to do it. Because walking by faith is walking by hearing God, believing God, obeying God, and pleasing God. And everything we do we are to do it by faith. (Rom 14:23) “I walk by hearing God, not by sight.” And who is going to hear God the most? The one who diligently seeks Him the most. If someone says, “Jesus said ‘take no care for tomorrow’ so I am just going to relax,” in such a way that he does not even seek God, that person will not hear God. Preparing for the future is not worry. It is faith that God is going to make the future work out if I listen to Him now and do what I am supposed to do. I am not in worry. A worrier is somebody who is not taking his cares to God. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Phil 4:6) A worrier has a spirit of fear, doubt and unbelief concerning the future. But a man of faith sees the possibilities that in the future we are going to encounter things, and we need to be prepared for them. So he asks God how to prepare. There is no worry there. But there is wisdom; the prudent man foresees and prepares himself. (Prov 27:12) A foolish person will take a verse like “take no thought for tomorrow” as an excuse to be unprepared. So walking by faith includes listening to what God tells you to do to prepare for the future. There is no worrying if you obey Him. He tells me to take no thought for the future, but to take my cares to Him. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1Pet 5:7) And often, the way He delivers me from future problems is He tells me what to do to prepare for the future. And when He tells me what to do it is like Joseph getting prepared and saving up the grain for the seven lean years. God is telling me what to do to prepare for the future, and it is faith that I do it. It is like Noah building the ark. God is telling him what to do to prepare for the future. God is not telling you to sit there and ignore the future. But instead of worrying, He is telling you to listen to Him. And that is faith to listen to Him and prepare. In fact, most of what takes place in our salvation is preparation for the judgment day. If you want God to lead you, you have to ask Him to. The person who just sits there and does not ask God for anything, does not get anything from God. “You have not because you ask not.” (James 4:2) It is the one that asks that receives, who seeks that finds, who knocks that the door is open to. (Matt 7:7) Don’t try to do it yourself and then ask God to bless it, or you’ll end up with wood, hay, and stubble. (1Cor 3:12-13) It is not of God. Ask God to lead you and when you hear and obey Him then He can bless. And the Spiritual church will have mighty manifestations of God relative to how diligently we seek Him. As Peter said, “Bid me come.” We are seeking Jesus to bid us come. We are asking Him to bid us to do miracles, bid us to heal, bid our children to be preachers, pastors, apostles. Jesus, show us how to glorify you, bid us to do awesome things, reveal Your will to us and show us how to do it. We are asking God to speak more and more and He will speak to us as often as we are asking Him to; and because He is speaking and we are hearing Him we are going to be a people of faith – with the hearing of faith to do great things for God. How much are you asking of God? Because the more we ask, the more He speaks. Ask nothing, get nothing; ask much, receive much. But don’t be a hypocrite as in asking, “Oh Lord, bid me to prophesy.” And then He begins to give you a prophecy and you say, “Oh, I cannot do that. I am afraid to do that.” Do not say no to Him when He says “come.” He is bidding you because you have asked Him, so hold on to your faith and He will help you do what He said. It is not enough that you have a righteous desire. You must actually complete the doing of it. (2Cor 8:11) So what that you desire it, that does not make you holy, that just makes you imagine you are holy when you are not. As they say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Here is what makes you holy; hearing God and obeying Him. And the more you hear Him and obey Him the more glory you give Him. And the more you talk to Him and ask Him to talk to you the more you hear Him. And faith is not found in desiring to do good as a daydreamer desires. But faith is found in hearing God and obeying God and doing the good that He shows you to do. That is what glorifies God and means you are a son of God. (Rom 8:14) Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” (John 5:19-20) “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12) Prophecy: Thus saith the Lord, I have put up for years with a people who claim to be My people and yet are satisfied to have very small victories, very small testimonies. These people do little things in My Name that are so small no one can realize that I have even done them. But I will not tolerate it any longer. I will have a people, My own special people who will show forth My praises, not being content to do little things and have little victories; but a people who expect Me to do great things, who will listen to Me when I tell them to take steps so that I can be greatly glorified when they take the big steps of faith and do the big things of faith that will cause My Name to be known again in the land; that will cause My glory to be seen again in the land; that will cause My Spirit to manifest, and My works to be done. I shall have such a people, and I am bringing them forth, birthing them in this very place, saith the Lord. I shall have a people who will bring forth and show forth My glory, because they have the faith and the courage to step out when I speak, saith the Lord. Prophecy: Thus saith the Lord; I come for a humble people. For they see that I am the God who has created them and I am the God who needs to show them the way to go for they do not know themselves. But those who are proud and those who are puffed up in their own conceits; they have a god that they have created but it is not I, and I am not with them and they will see that their ways are foolish and what they think is great wisdom is foolishness. For, I am bringing down their foolishness. I am bringing it down and I am bringing them down in favor of a people who humbly know that they can do nothing without Me. And I tell you I have raised up in this place a man and a people who will come to Me for every direction and every guidance for they see that they do not know the way but I do and I can show them the way. And I am sending a people right now who have the same heart and they are alike with you, who will say, “Lord, show us the way” and they will listen when I speak to them and they will follow My path. For I tell you, My arms are never stretched out to the proud but My arms are stretched out to the humble and to the lowly and to those who see that they need a Savior. And I am moving mightily in this time to bring about a great change. The tables have turned and My church will rise mightily and that which has built its own altar shall fall. And what man has sown will perish but what I have sown here will bring forth abundance of fruit, saith the Lord. Prophecy: Thus saith the Lord, I am a God who delights to bless. It’s in My heart to bless. I desire so much to bless My people. But I can only bless those who let Me lead them. I have to lead you in the way where the blessing is. I have to lead you in the way that’s fit to bless. It grieves Me so much when you don’t ask Me to lead, when you go your own way, in a way that I can’t bless and you deprive Me of the pleasure of blessing you. And you deprive yourself of the blessing; you deprive the church of the testimony that you could have given them that would have blessed them. But it delights Me so much when I have a people who will ask Me to lead them because when I lead you I bless you and when I bless you, you have a testimony that will bless others. And I, in this place, am bringing forth a people who I can bless because they look to Me to lead them. I can bless you, because you look to Me to lead you. I can bless you and make you a blessing and give you a testimony and it delights My heart to bless you, My people, saith the Lord. (Prophecies delivered at “My Father’s House”)
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