Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith Part 4
Chapter 10, Turn On and Tune In.
Blessed be the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath [past tense] blessed us... Ephesians 1:3 The word "hath" in this verse means it's already been done. We're already blessed. It doesn't say, "Who is going to [future tense]...." Most prophecies in the body of Christ today focus on the future. They say, "G.o.d is going to do this, and G.o.d is going to do that. He's going to move and do something new!" The Lord is presented as the great "I'm going to be," not the great I Am. The average prophecy today says, "There's something coming, but right now there's nothing." Yet, this isn't the message of the Bible. Here in Ephesians 1:3, the Word reveals that we're already blessed. The whole book of Ephesians was written from this perspective that it's already done. G.o.d has already...
...blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 This is just an old English way of saying that He's given us all earthly and spiritual blessings-and they're already in us in Christ. G.o.d has already deposited everything we'll ever need into our born-again spirit. It's already done. G.o.d has already pa.s.sed His blessings out.
Therefore, it's an act of unbelief to pray, "Oh G.o.d, bless me." You're already blessed. You just haven't heard G.o.d's Word, believed the truth, and seen it manifested yet. G.o.d has already commanded the blessing upon you, but you just haven't received it yet.
You Were Healed It's an insult to G.o.d to pray, "Oh G.o.d, heal me." First Peter 2:24 says: By whose stripes ye were [past tense] healed.
If G.o.d says, "You were healed," and then you say, "Oh G.o.d, heal me," one of you is wrong. Let me just suggest to you that it isn't G.o.d who's wrong. He says, by His stripes you were healed. If you were healed, then you are healed. Why are you asking G.o.d to do something that He's already done?
"But I have a doctor's report and pain in my body that proves I'm not healed." No, that just proves that your physical body hasn't yet received the healing that G.o.d has already given. According to the scriptures, G.o.d has already healed you. The resurrection power He's placed within you is certainly enough to heal your hangnail, cold, headache, cancer, or AIDS. None of these things are a problem for G.o.d. He has already placed supernatural healing power on the inside of you, yet you're still asking Him for it. That's unbelief.
How do you think I would respond if I gave you my Bible, but then you walked up to me and asked, "Andrew, would you please give me your Bible so I could look up a scripture?" How do you respond when a person asks you to give them something that you know you've already given to them? Personally, I don't even know how I would respond. I'd probably just look at them like, "What's wrong?"
If G.o.d could be confused, I believe that He would be by our unbelief. All these millions of people are praying, "Oh G.o.d, please heal me. Stretch forth Your hand and heal. I'm believing You to come and heal me."
Already Anointed They also pray, "Oh G.o.d, rend the heavens and come down." You may be thinking, That's in the Bible. What's wrong with that? G.o.d already rent the heavens and came down through Jesus. It was appropriate for Isaiah to pray, "Rend the heavens and come down" because G.o.d hadn't done it yet. (Isa. 64:1.) However, it's inappropriate to pray this way on this side of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. People who pray this way aren't valuing Jesus properly. They're basically saying, "I know Jesus came down, but what He did isn't enough. I need G.o.d to do something else!"
Before Jesus came, it was appropriate for David to pray:
Create in me a clean heart, O G.o.d; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51:10-12 But it's unbelief for a Christian to pray this way today. David was an Old Testament man who wasn't born again. He didn't have the promises we do which say, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5) and "I am with you alway even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). It's unbelief for us to come into a church service and pray, "Oh G.o.d, we ask You to meet with us today." In addition to the promise we have in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us, nor forsake us, Jesus said: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 We don't have to pray and ask for the anointing to fall. G.o.d has already anointed us. When Jesus came into His hometown of Nazareth, He stood up and quoted from Isaiah 61 saying: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. Luke 4:18 He didn't go into a back room with the preacher and say, "Let's pray and ask G.o.d to anoint you." People do this with me all the time when I go to their church. They ask, "Would you like to come back here with us? We want to pray for G.o.d to anoint you." I am so polite, kind, and non-confrontational that I usually don't say anything, but what is the point of asking G.o.d to anoint me? If I don't have the anointing of G.o.d by the time I get to your church to minister, I'm not going to get it in the next five minutes. If you don't believe that I'm anointed and that G.o.d speaks through me, why would you invite me to your church in the first place? Why go in the back room and spend thirty minutes praying and asking for G.o.d's anointing? It's unbelief. Desiring to see the power of G.o.d in manifestation is good, but you don't have to beg G.o.d for the anointing.
Agree with G.o.d's Word If G.o.d tells us to do something, He would be unjust not to give us what we need to do it. Naturally speaking, I'm an introvert. As a teenager, I couldn't even look someone else in the face. Yet G.o.d has called me to speak to millions of people worldwide every day through television, radio, and Internet. He's called me to hold conferences and citywide meetings, and to minister in churches and Bible schools. G.o.d would be unjust to tell me to do something that I can't do and not supply me with everything I need to do it. He doesn't just command us and then turn us loose on our own until we beg Him for help. No, anything G.o.d tells us to do, there is an anointing present to get it accomplished.
You don't have to beg G.o.d for the anointing. Actually, by approaching Him and saying, "Oh G.o.d, please anoint me," you're praying from a position of unbelief. You're saying that you aren't anointed when the scripture says that G.o.d...
...hath anointed us... 2 Corinthians 1:21 I'm already anointed. You're anointed. (1 John 2:20.) G.o.d has anointed every one of his children. So instead of praying in unbelief, saying, "Oh G.o.d, I'm not anointed, but would You anoint me?" you need to start believing that He has already anointed you (2 Cor. 1:21) and has blessed you with all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3). Agree with G.o.d's Word, declaring, "I've already been blessed. I already have love, joy, and peace. I don't need G.o.d to give it to me. If I don't feel joy, it's not because G.o.d hasn't given it to me. Somehow or another I have switched off the joy of the Lord. What I need to do is work on my receiver, not G.o.d's transmitter."
Right now, there are television signals wherever you are. You may not believe this to be true, but your unbelief doesn't mean the signals aren't there. It just means that you aren't very smart. You say, "But I can't see or hear them." That doesn't mean they aren't there. They're there. They're just in a form that you can't perceive with your natural senses.
If you plug in, turn on, and tune in a television set, you'd start seeing and hearing the program, but that's not when the signal started. The signal was already there. It's being broadcast twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, there are multiple signals-both television and radio-all around you. There are all kinds of things happening in the unseen realm all around you. You may not be perceiving them, but they're there. The station doesn't start broadcasting when you turn on and tune in your television set; that's just when you start receiving.
What About Daniel?
G.o.d is always releasing-broadcasting-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness. And it's not coming from "out there" somewhere.
We don't have to clear a hole through the demonic powers over our city so that our prayers can get through to G.o.d, as some people might think. No, that's just a religious doctrine. "Then what about Daniel?" someone might ask. Daniel was an Old Testament man. Jesus hadn't yet died and broken the dominion of the devil.
In the New Covenant, you don't need your prayers to get above the ceiling. You don't even need them to get above your nose. G.o.d lives on the inside of you. The reason you bow your head to pray is so you can look at G.o.d. Believing this erroneous concept that demons are blocking your prayers from getting up to G.o.d shows that you don't understand what the Lord has already done through grace. That's the reason Satan is eating your lunch and popping the bag-you're lacking important knowledge. (Hos. 4:6.) You feel too desperate to have a move from G.o.d. G.o.d has already moved through Jesus, and He's placed on the inside of you the same power that raised Christ from the dead. You can go out and do the same works that Jesus did. Start representing Him truthfully as somebody who has done everything. Quit representing the Lord as someone who could move if we pray hard enough. Go out and proclaim, "Good news! G.o.d has already done it. He's already provided everything you need. He's already forgiven your sins. He's already healed you. Will you believe and receive?"
That's a much different approach than saying, "Let's pray and ask G.o.d to move." If we would represent G.o.d correctly, we'd see much better results. Let's stop begging the Lord to do something and start acting like He's already done it. When we start believing His Word and releasing His power, we'll have more revival than we can handle.
Check Your Receiver Unfortunately for most Christians, their tuner isn't working. And instead of checking to see if they're plugged in, turning the power on, or seeing if they have the channel adjusted, the first thing they do is call the broadcasting station. "Why aren't you transmitting? Please turn on the power and start sending a signal. I want to watch Andrew's program!"
The first thing we do if we have sickness in our body is say, "G.o.d, why haven't You healed me?" G.o.d is broadcasting healing 24/7. If you aren't receiving healing, it's not G.o.d who hasn't released it. It's you who don't know how to receive it. I'm not saying this to condemn you. It takes time to get educated and learn. But you must start by recognizing that G.o.d is not the One who hasn't healed anybody. He has already healed all of our sicknesses and diseases and that power is already on the inside of us. If we aren't feeling it-if it isn't manifest-it's not G.o.d who hasn't given. It's us who haven't learned to receive. We need to start working on our receiver, not questioning G.o.d's transmitter.
Don't call the station and say, "G.o.d, what's wrong with You? Broadcast! Oh G.o.d, pour out Your power. Oh Lord, send revival!" G.o.d is not our problem. He's been releasing His power for over two thousand years now. The reason why the church suffers isn't that G.o.d hasn't been moving. It's that we haven't been receiving. We've been ignorant, and Satan has been stealing from us.
Chapter 11, Open Your Eyes.
If you were writing a prayer that would be read by and prayed for the saints two thousand years in the future, how would you pray? Think about that for a moment.
The exact wording might vary, but the typical Christian today would pray something like, "Oh G.o.d, we ask You to pour out Your power on this generation. Just move and send revival. Oh G.o.d, we ask for a new...." It would all be some form of pleading with G.o.d to do a new thing, to move, to do something.
Let's take a look at the way Paul approached this task in Ephesians 1:15-23. The only thing he asked G.o.d to do is give us a revelation of what the Lord had already done. Paul didn't ask G.o.d to do anything new. He just said, "Open up their eyes to what You've already done." He was praying for every believer to receive revelation of what they already have.
Spirit and Life I won't pray for someone who comes up to me and asks, "Will you please pray that G.o.d will pour out His love in my life?" because G.o.d has already poured out His love through Jesus. He sent the Holy Spirit who shed abroad the love of G.o.d in our hearts. (Rom. 5:5.) There is no problem with G.o.d's love. He loves every one of us infinitely more than any of us have ever understood. We don't need G.o.d to pour out His love.
However, if you ask, "Would you please pray with me to receive a revelation of what I know is true. I know G.o.d loves me, but I don't have a revelation of it. I don't understand it, and I'm not walking in it." I'll pray with you in a heartbeat for that. I'm happy to help you fix your receiver, but I refuse to impute to G.o.d that He doesn't love you. G.o.d loves you.
You may complain that you don't feel the love of G.o.d. Well then, your feelings are wrong. They're broken. But it's not G.o.d who isn't transmitting His love. You may say that you don't feel the joy of the Lord or His peace. Your feelings are wrong because the truth is you have love, joy, and peace on the inside of you all of the time.
Every time you've been depressed and discouraged, your spirit is just rejoicing and praising G.o.d. Your spirit is always happy and blessed. You may be thinking, No, it's not. I would know if it was. That's not true. That which is spirit is spirit, and that which is flesh is flesh. (John 3:6.) You can't tell what's going on in the spirit realm unless you get into the Word of G.o.d.
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63 "Thank You, Father"
Let's read Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15-16.
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.
In our prayers, not many of us give thanks. Our prayers consist of, "Oh G.o.d, I need this. Please give me that. Oh G.o.d, help me...forgive me." That's what most people's prayers are about. If you are a spiritual giant today, then your prayer is all about "Oh G.o.d, give them this, and give them that. Oh G.o.d, forgive them." Notice that 99.9 percent of all prayer is about your needs. There's not a lot of thanksgiving and praise because again, we don't see G.o.d as having done much. We see Him as able to do anything, but He hasn't done very much. We feel we must constantly pet.i.tion Him. However, once you start understanding that by grace it's already been done, then your prayers turn more toward thanksgiving.
I don't sit down and consciously evaluate my prayers, but I guarantee you that 95 to 99 percent of my prayers are prayers of thanksgiving and expressing my love to G.o.d. I spend virtually no time asking G.o.d for anything because He's already provided it.
You may be thinking that I'm weird. Well, if you are one of those people who are always praying about your needs, then I think you're weird, and until you start getting better results than I am, maybe you ought to consider doing it the way I am.
Enlightened Paul was praying in Ephesians 1:16-17,1...
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the G.o.d of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
For the sake of accuracy, verses 8 and 9 say that G.o.d has already...
... abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will...
The truth is G.o.d has already given us wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of His will. In verses 16 and 17, Paul was just praying that this wisdom and prudence will start functioning in our lives. He's not asking G.o.d to do something that He hasn't done. He's praying that we'd understand what the Lord has already given us.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18 He's praying that your eyes would be opened-not your physical eyes, but your spiritual eyes. He's talking about the eyes of your heart.
Sixth Sense Personally, I believe that G.o.d originally created us with six senses, not five. We walked by faith. Adam and Eve communicated with G.o.d through the spirit. When Genesis 3:7 says that their eyes were opened, it isn't talking about the eyes of their heart. It was talking about their physical eyesight which began to dominate them. They were created with a sixth sense of faith, which they originally walked by. But once they fell, their spiritual eyes became closed and their physical eyes opened up to the existence that most of us live in now. We're carnal, and we just go by what we see. We don't have any spiritual perception at all. Originally, G.o.d made man to be able to perceive things in the spirit realm.
In 2 Kings 6, there's an instance where Elisha was surrounded with a Syrian host. His servant exclaimed: Alas, my master! how shall we do? 2 Kings 6:15 Elisha prayed and said, "Lord, open up the young man's eyes" (v. 17). He wasn't talking about his physical eyes. His physical eyes were already as big as saucers looking at all of the enemy troops round about them. Elisha was praying that his servant's spiritual eyes would be opened. All of a sudden, this young man saw with his heart and perceived all the defending angels.
Adam and Eve could see into the spirit realm because they were walking by faith through the eyes of their heart until the fall. This instance in 2 Kings 6 is the exact opposite of what happened with Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve degenerated from seeing and walking by faith to seeing and walking by sight. Elisha's servant went from seeing by sight to seeing by faith and perceiving the spirit realm.
Now, through the new birth... We walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 The norm for the New Testament believer should be walking by faith. We should have this sixth sense of faith restored to where we can see things with our hearts that we can't see with our physical eyes. That's normal.
Supernatural In Ephesians 1:17-18, Paul was praying that our spiritual eyesight-our spiritual understanding-would begin to perceive things that we can't perceive with our natural senses. He prays that through the eyes of our heart, we would start to perceive...
...the hope of his calling... Ephesians 1:18 This isn't just the hope of your calling. It's the hope of His calling!
Now that you're born again, you have a calling that is beyond human ability. Most people are trying to find out what G.o.d wants them to do; however, they are looking for something that they are capable of doing on their own. They pray, "G.o.d, show me what You want me to do." If what you feel G.o.d called you to do is something that you can accomplish yourself, then you haven't truly found G.o.d's will for your life yet. G.o.d has a plan for you that is supernatural. It's going to take His supernatural ability working through you to do it.
I was an introvert and couldn't look a person in the face. Now G.o.d has me speaking to thousands and thousands of people. I'm doing something that is impossible for me to do on my own.
If you can do something on your own, I doubt if it's G.o.d's call. He will call you to something that is supernatural. This is the hope of His calling. G.o.d is a supernatural G.o.d, and most of us are shooting way too low. We're aiming at nothing, and hitting it every time. We need to increase our perspective. We need to get our eyes opened and our understanding enlightened so we can see the hope of His calling- what G.o.d's plan is for you, something far bigger than what you think you can accomplish on your own.
In the Saints The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is...the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18 Notice how the Word says that we would see what is (present tense) the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. His inheritance is in the saints.
We sing these songs about when we all get to heaven what a day that will be. In the sweet by and by it will be wonderful, but in the rough here and now it's a drag. But the Word says that we have been called...
...to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:14 We have already obtained the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. You may be saying, "I don't understand that." You go look in the mirror and think, This is glory? No, the Word isn't talking about your physical body or your soul (mental and emotional realm). But in the spirit, you are full of the glory of G.o.d. If what's on the inside of your born-again spirit had to be replaced, it would bankrupt heaven to put back inside you what you already have. The glory of G.o.d dwells inside you. The riches of the glory of His inheritance is in the saints. It's not out there somewhere. It's already on the inside of you.
Most Christians don't know that G.o.d has already placed this inside of us. We think that when we all get to heaven, what a day that will be. But really, all that will happen in heaven is you'll get a full revelation of what you already have. That's the reason G.o.d will have to wipe tears away from our eyes. It's not because we came through such terrible things, barely got into heaven, and so we're weeping and wailing until He wipes our tears away. No, we will weep when we stand before G.o.d and finally recognize what we had all along.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall he revealed in us. Romans 8:18 Not to us, but in us! One day we will stand before G.o.d and suddenly know all things even as also we are known. (1 Cor. 13:12.) We'll say, "G.o.d, You mean that whole time I had the same power on the inside of me that raised Jesus from the dead? I could have been raising the dead, solving problems, and walking in joy, peace, and victory all along?" We'll be crying and saying, "Oh G.o.d. I missed it!" He'll have to wipe the tears away from our eyes and supernaturally enable us to enjoy heaven once we find out how we let the devil beat us down and destroy us in this life. The riches of the glory of His inheritance is in the saints.
Chapter 12, The Same Power.
In Ephesians 1:19-21, Paul prayed that we would get a revelation of...
What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to [to the proportion of or to the degree of] the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all princ.i.p.ality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
He was praying that G.o.d would show us the exceeding greatness of His power that is already on the inside of us. It's the same power that He used when He raised Jesus from the dead.
Again, Ephesians 1:3 reveals that G.o.d "hath" already blessed us with these things. Paul wasn't praying that the Lord will give us this power, that He'll release more power, or that we'll get a double portion of the Holy Spirit. He was praying that we would receive a revelation of what G.o.d has already put on the inside of us.
The power that is on the inside of every born-again believer is the exact same power G.o.d used when He raised Jesus from the dead. Satan mustered every ounce of strength he had to oppose the resurrection. He put all of his power, every one of his demonic forces, right in front of that tomb trying to block Jesus from coming out. Yet the power that raised Christ from the dead was much greater than all the force of the enemy. And now, as a born-again believer, you have that same power on the inside of you. That's awesome!
"Real Dumb"
I like the way the mega-church my wife and I attend dramatizes this truth at the annual Easter presentation. As they trace the story of Jesus, one actor dresses in black and plays the part of Satan. Among other places, he shows up in the desert to tempt the Lord and in the crowd before Pilate yelling, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" When it comes to the resurrection scene, the devil stands there pushing on the tombstone, trying to keep Jesus from resurrecting, then there's a huge explosion. Once the smoke finally clears, Jesus is standing on top of the tombstone, which is lying on top of Satan.
The devil gave it everything he had, but Jesus rose from the dead and overcame all the power of the enemy. Yet many Christians are saying, "Oh G.o.d, could You please heal me? Could You please spare just enough power to make me well?"
A guy walked up to me once and said, "I have a sore neck, my back hurts, and I have sciatica all the way down my leg so that my feet are numb. I have neuropathy...," and he started naming all sorts of other ailments. I just listened to him. Then he looked at me and said, "But do you know what? I could live with the rest if G.o.d would just heal the pain that's in my back and neck."
I answered, "Oh, I understand what you're saying. If we were to ask G.o.d to heal your neck, back, nerves, feet-everything-the lights in heaven might dim. I'm not sure G.o.d could pull all that off at once. Let's not ask Him for very much."
This guy looked at me and said, "What I said was kind of dumb, wasn't it?"
I said, "Yes, it was. Real dumb."
That's the way many people approach G.o.d. They say, "Oh G.o.d, I'm just asking this little bit of You. Could You please spare enough power to do this?" As a born-again believer, you have the same power on the inside of you that raised Jesus from the dead. That is greater than the power it took to create the universe. Raising Jesus from the dead is the greatest display of G.o.d's power in the history of the universe. Yet here we are saying, "Oh G.o.d, could You heal a cold?" I've had people come up to me asking, "Can G.o.d heal AIDS?" That just expresses how full of unbelief we are.
Flip the Switch You have the same power on the inside of you that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. All things are possible with G.o.d. It's not the Lord who is out there turning the power switch on and off. He's placed His generator-His power-on the inside of you. If you aren't seeing the power of G.o.d, it's not because G.o.d hasn't given you His power. It's because you haven't flipped the switch. You haven't turned on and released His power. G.o.d has already done it. By grace it's already been provided.
Now are you going to reach out in faith and partake of what G.o.d has provided, or will you keep asking G.o.d as if He hasn't done anything? Are you going to continue in unbelief saying, "Oh G.o.d, would You please move in my life?" when the Bible reveals that He's already moved? Are you going to ask G.o.d to rend the heavens, not believing that He has already rent the heavens and come down through Jesus? Are you going to ask Him to heal you when He says that by His stripes you were healed? Are you going to ask Him to give you joy and peace and pour out His love in your life when the Word says that you already have the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, and peace? It's already on the inside of you-and that's good news!
When I minister these truths, people usually wonder, Well then, what do we pray? I'm glad you asked! The vast majority of the body of Christ prays nothing but unbelief, which is the reason their prayers are not yielding results. I know this issue is a sacred cow. I'm aware this teaching is offensive to some people, but the vast majority of Christians aren't pleased with the results they're getting from their prayers. Yet, they become offended if someone suggests to them that they aren't praying correctly. They want to keep doing the same thing, but expect different results. That's insane. If what you're doing isn't working, you ought to consider that maybe you're doing something wrong. Your prayers would be much more effective if you just began thanking G.o.d for what He's already done instead of asking Him to do something that He hasn't. It takes faith to thank G.o.d.
If you're believing for healing, but you haven't seen or felt the manifestation yet, start thanking and praising G.o.d. Colossians 2:7 reveals that faith abounds with thanksgiving. If you would start thanking G.o.d, your faith would rise up and all of a sudden things would start happening. It's much easier to say, "Oh Father, thank You, thank You, thank You that You've already done it." If you spend enough time meditating and thanking G.o.d for what He's done, you'll start believing that He's done it. And the moment you believe it, grace and faith together will release the supernatural power of G.o.d and you'll experience in your body what G.o.d has already provided.