Faith, To Be Transformed

We state faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, but I believe this is more directly related to knowledge and understanding of things as revealed in the word by the Holy Spirit. As God by faith perceived us serving Him, ourselves, and others as He purposed. Yet mediocrity does not accept this as spiritual truth. Rom 10:17 ^(MSG)The point is, Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.

Now apply spiritual sense here regarding faith and include your spiritual heritage. I believe herein lies a key for the child of God, in that God already loves you and desires to bless you continually in your life. Therefore, faith is not required to get from God blessings He by His love has already positioned to give you. Ps 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. I know that cuts across all the traditional teaching regarding faith, but let us allow the Holy Spirit to teach us something here. I believe God is not expecting us to constantly use faith to get what He already said He lovingly desires to give us, but He gave us faith to use to get what is present in a supernatural realm into the earth. Phil 4:19 ^(MSG) You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.

Let me emphasize, what He is requiring of us is to live by faith in Jesus Christ, so that through the knowledge and understanding of truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit we willingly exercise authority for His purpose. He expects us to serve Him in revealing the unseen kingdom into this earth, bringing manifestation to all supernatural blessings which are not naturally possible. Math 14:28-31 And Peter answered Him, Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. 29 He said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. Peter walked on water, manifesting in the natural a supernatural event, and no one outside of Christ has ever, or even today, walked on water. At that moment, his faith made a supernatural thing occur in the presence of the disciples not natural to the working of things on the earth, and otherwise naturally impossible event.

Math 15:22-28 ^(NKJV) And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” ²³ But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” ²⁷ And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” This woman is a Canaanite who is also a gentile from Palestine, and is not a disciple of Christ, yet we see in this event her faith was serving her and brought about something that in the natural was impossible. While we typically do not view healing as significant as one walking on water, it still required faith to happen. ²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

While faith may be about quantity it is also about quality, in that one’s faith versus another’s faith is not solely about how much one has, but about how much one uses faith to serve God. In Peter’s case, Jesus said, oh you of little faith, but in the case of the Canaanite woman, He said woman great is your faith. What made a difference? Faith as seen by Jesus was not about who the individual is, but about how they used it, as both believed in Jesus’s ability, and each used faith to bring something into the natural that did not yet exist. Peter had faith for a moment, but it was not to the degree of the Canaanite woman’s evident in the fact it served him until fear and doubt appeared. But her faith was considered great because she did not allow fear and doubt to intervene concerning who she was.

Mark 11:23-24 ²³ For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. ²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. A certain principle is at work here, personal faith brings into manifestation something from an unseen realm that has no bearing on whether it is for throwing mulberry trees into the sea, moving mountains, or bringing forth healing, or even one walking on water. What is relevant to knowing and understanding is the main process to be applied to breach any realm of doubt, is un-mediocre-d Faith. Especially since it associates to pleasing God through knowledge and understanding of the word, and revealing His will in this earth.

Math 9:27-30 And when Jesus went on from there, two blind men came after him, crying out, Have mercy on us, you Son of David. ²⁸ And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, Have you faith that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. ²⁹ Then he put his hand on their eyes, saying, As your faith is, let it be done to you. ³⁰ And their eyes were made open. And Jesus said to them sharply, Let no man have knowledge of it. Jesus asked these two blind men if their faith can receive His ability, and they said yes, and it was done. Jesus had great faith, and we see how He used His faith to serve His Father and creation while here in the flesh. He constantly brought supernatural power through signs, wonders, and miracles into this natural realm.

As we continue to view the word to spiritually transform, we are receiving by the Holy Spirit truths concerning all the things God has declared for us and enlarging our habitation on earth. Faith equips believers with a spiritual ability to do what cannot be done naturally. Jesus’s faith working in His life brought into the earth those things that were supernatural, exposing His Father’s will. Our faith works according to what we believe, and will never serve us in greater things unless we dare to trust God who is always able to do what is impossible. Faith is given to us to bring into manifestation all things God has decreed to His creation. And not for us to do as we will, but do His will in bringing the kingdom to light in this world through Jesus Christ His Son. So, every believer must get hold of transformation truths revealed in God’s word, for faithfully operating as His spiritual offspring, by a nature that uses faith to do just as He would do.

Rom 11:17-24 ^(MSG) Some of the tree’s branches were pruned and you wild olive shoots were grafted in. Yet the fact that you are now fed by that rich and holy root ¹⁸ gives you no cause to crow over the pruned branches. Remember, you aren’t feeding the root; the root is feeding you. There is another aspect of faith that we need to understand, and the Apostle Paul is bringing it to the forefront by revealing God is working in His creation to bring spiritual transformation. As we will see in these scriptures Gentiles were not part of the Church, in the beginning, Jesus began with Jewish Israel, who prophetically were to receive foundations of spiritual principles for Christ Church.

Paul says those branches from a wild olive tree were Gentiles, willing to be of the nature and purpose of the Church, they have been grafted into a recently pruned olive tree, who was Israel. The results of the Lord removing unbelieving Israel from its spiritual purpose as the Church, and grafting into it those who were not of the heritage of Israel. Was done because they by faith were willing to receive the truths to transform into God’s spiritual offspring fulfilling His will as the Church on earth. ¹⁹ It’s certainly possible to say, “Other branches were pruned so that I could be grafted in!” ²⁰ Well and good. But they were pruned because they were deadwood, no longer connected by belief and commitment to the root. The only reason you’re on the tree is because your graft “took” when you believed, and because you’re connected to that belief-nurturing root. So don’t get cocky and strut your branch. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.

This reverse aspect of faith is unbelief, which as we see here was contrary in nature to the root that supplied the branches. This root he talks about here is Christ the anointed Messiah. Israel was cut off from this root because of unbelief and new branches, the Gentiles were grafted into it. Something you need to understand the new branches will not change the tree’s spiritual purpose what it is to be by the nature of the SAP (spiritual nourishment) being supplied by Christ, it is still the same as before Israel was cut off. ²¹ If God didn’t think twice about taking pruning shears to the natural branches, why would he hesitate over you? He wouldn’t give it a second thought.

All branches are to be of the same nature as the root so that the purpose of the olive tree, in this case working through the body of Christ His Church, is fulfilled. Unbelief cuts off the nurturing source of the Holy Spirit, and any dead branches unable to produce spiritual fruit are going to be cut off. This is a serious matter to God, anyone who is without such a nature is in doubt and just as they were before spiritually dead un-transformed creations. ²³ And don’t get to feeling superior to those pruned branches down on the ground. If they don’t persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in. God can do that. He can perform miracle grafts.

Things written here are to provoke you into seeing God has an eternal purpose for all associated to the truth revealed through Christ’s interaction with us. Those of Israel who come to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, are afforded the same work of spiritual transformation every believer receives because they are established by faith in the same truths to bring knowledge and understanding. ²⁴ Why, if he could graft you—branches cut from a tree out in the wild—into an orchard tree, he certainly isn’t going to have any trouble grafting branches back into the tree they grew from in the first place. Just be glad you’re in the tree, and hope for the best for the others.

There is one thing I know above all, and that is that God does not change, what He by faith has purposed before the foundations of this earth are still purposed for the same results by our faith today. I am convinced He will bring all of it together in the ending days of the Church but for now, we are to be about becoming exactly what he says we are, spiritually transformed offspring of the Highest God fully capable of operating His will by faith on earth.