Lately I have been reading a book from a church I have been attending for 4 weeks now. The book is called “The New Covenant Unveiled”, by David Wilkerson, the Senior Pastor and founder of Times Square Church. It has definitely been an eye opener and has revealed to me the understanding of the New Covenant that God has made with the Body of Christ. One of the subjects that stood out to me was the difference between flesh faith and spiritual faith.
Now you might ask yourself “faith is faith right?” How is it possible to have faith of the flesh?” Well I felt the same way until I read this passage in the book. “Death to all my striving to please him. And most of all, death to my past flesh-faith (p.54).’ Leading up to this passage Pastor Wilkerson was talking about death in Christ. When we are born again, we have a spiritual death in the world and now we abide with Christ in the spiritual realm. Now you forsake the flesh and live a spiritual life.
In the next couple of sentences Pastor Wilkerson goes into an example of flesh faith. “How many times have I struggled to muster up faith and tried to pump it up with promises? I repeated over and over, ‘Lord, I believe, I do believe, I really believe, I really truly honestly believe.’ But it didn’t work.” Have you ever done this before? You try to convince yourself that you are putting it all in God’s hands. You walk around saying “everything is going to be alright” and than it is followed up by “I hope so.” That is what you call flesh-faith(p.54).
Another point that Pastor Wilkerson made was that “you can always tell a request that’s of the flesh, because it comes with a deadline (p.54).” He goes on to say, “we give God what we consider a long enough time to act – but when he doesn’t perform on schedule, our so-called faith turns into ugly unbelief (p.54).” This can become a very dangerous practice for Christians to do. It can cause a lot of confession and one loses the authority that has been given unto them.
I have been there and sometimes I still go through it. It’s like I can believe God can work a miracle for someone else but when it comes to me it is a different story. I believe in the signs and wonders God did in Egypt. I believe that He parted the Red Sea and had manna fall down from
heaven. I believe God heard Elijah’s cry and raised the widow’s son from the dead. I believe the Lord delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace. I believe in all the signs, wonders and miracles that Jesus did here on earth. I believe in the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit that allowed the disciples and apostles to work in the name of Jesus. These are all things that I have not seen but I still believe that they happened.
At times, we feel like, well if God doesn’t answer my prayer, it’s ok because he has more important things to deal with. Or sometimes you just feel like it’s something you can do on your own. Well let me tell you, they are all lies from the enemy. You must know who you are in Christ. I use to believe those things but now I know I can’t do anything without the Father. I have to give everything up to him. That is what spiritual faith is all about. Removing yourself out of the equation and allow God to do it for you. I always say “Lord here is the situation, I can’t do it myself, I give it all to you. It’s not for me to wonder how you are going to do it or when. You know the when and how it is going to happen. You are just waiting for me to lose control of the situation and give it to You to handle.”
What a heavy burden to be lifted of one’s shoulders. God knows all and He wants the best for us. Sometimes we think we know what’s best for us and it just leads you down a path that you could have avoided. So my brothers and sisters, faith is an important and powerful tool that we have. It is the foundation of our walk with Christ. Without it, it is impossible to have a relationship with Him. Why would Jesus want a relationship with anyone that does not trust in His Word or does not believe in the authority that He has given unto you? In short you are basically calling Him a lair. And we know God is not like man to break promises. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 "Because of your lack of faith. I tell you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
I pray that this will encourage you in your spiritual walk and that you will exercise in the power that has been given unto you in Jesus’ name. I recently read the book of Colossians and it addresses all areas of the Christian life. I suggest that you read it so that it motivates you to keep up the good fight and become a Strom Rider. God Bless
Now you might ask yourself “faith is faith right?” How is it possible to have faith of the flesh?” Well I felt the same way until I read this passage in the book. “Death to all my striving to please him. And most of all, death to my past flesh-faith (p.54).’ Leading up to this passage Pastor Wilkerson was talking about death in Christ. When we are born again, we have a spiritual death in the world and now we abide with Christ in the spiritual realm. Now you forsake the flesh and live a spiritual life.
In the next couple of sentences Pastor Wilkerson goes into an example of flesh faith. “How many times have I struggled to muster up faith and tried to pump it up with promises? I repeated over and over, ‘Lord, I believe, I do believe, I really believe, I really truly honestly believe.’ But it didn’t work.” Have you ever done this before? You try to convince yourself that you are putting it all in God’s hands. You walk around saying “everything is going to be alright” and than it is followed up by “I hope so.” That is what you call flesh-faith(p.54).
Another point that Pastor Wilkerson made was that “you can always tell a request that’s of the flesh, because it comes with a deadline (p.54).” He goes on to say, “we give God what we consider a long enough time to act – but when he doesn’t perform on schedule, our so-called faith turns into ugly unbelief (p.54).” This can become a very dangerous practice for Christians to do. It can cause a lot of confession and one loses the authority that has been given unto them.
I have been there and sometimes I still go through it. It’s like I can believe God can work a miracle for someone else but when it comes to me it is a different story. I believe in the signs and wonders God did in Egypt. I believe that He parted the Red Sea and had manna fall down from
heaven. I believe God heard Elijah’s cry and raised the widow’s son from the dead. I believe the Lord delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace. I believe in all the signs, wonders and miracles that Jesus did here on earth. I believe in the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit that allowed the disciples and apostles to work in the name of Jesus. These are all things that I have not seen but I still believe that they happened.At times, we feel like, well if God doesn’t answer my prayer, it’s ok because he has more important things to deal with. Or sometimes you just feel like it’s something you can do on your own. Well let me tell you, they are all lies from the enemy. You must know who you are in Christ. I use to believe those things but now I know I can’t do anything without the Father. I have to give everything up to him. That is what spiritual faith is all about. Removing yourself out of the equation and allow God to do it for you. I always say “Lord here is the situation, I can’t do it myself, I give it all to you. It’s not for me to wonder how you are going to do it or when. You know the when and how it is going to happen. You are just waiting for me to lose control of the situation and give it to You to handle.”
What a heavy burden to be lifted of one’s shoulders. God knows all and He wants the best for us. Sometimes we think we know what’s best for us and it just leads you down a path that you could have avoided. So my brothers and sisters, faith is an important and powerful tool that we have. It is the foundation of our walk with Christ. Without it, it is impossible to have a relationship with Him. Why would Jesus want a relationship with anyone that does not trust in His Word or does not believe in the authority that He has given unto you? In short you are basically calling Him a lair. And we know God is not like man to break promises. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 "Because of your lack of faith. I tell you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”I pray that this will encourage you in your spiritual walk and that you will exercise in the power that has been given unto you in Jesus’ name. I recently read the book of Colossians and it addresses all areas of the Christian life. I suggest that you read it so that it motivates you to keep up the good fight and become a Strom Rider. God Bless
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