#1383 0519 10W

           Scripture explains how divine power is at our disposal to give the desires of our heart.  Mark 11:23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”  Divine power is at our disposal if we will admit no doubt in our heart that God will do what He has promised Hebrews 10:23.

            When Jesus said to the fig tree Mark 11:14, “No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever,” it did not wait, but withered at once; likewise we do not have to wait, but Mark 11:24 “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.“  Jesus added Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God,” and admit no doubt in our heart.  If we are half-hearted, we will meet with defeat.

“Whoever; does not doubt” takes in every person of every nation.  Hebrews 10:19-22  ”Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

            We are not to experiment, but be committed to go through in faith “with a true heart,” and at any cost, because of 22, “having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  It is not a mystery, and it is not God’s fault, but only a lack of faith or a wavering of heart on our part, that is hindering our answers to prayer.

We are to believe and trust God in faith when we are feeling well and not so well; when we are enlightened and not yet enlightened; whether things are going our way or not our way; and regardless of what we can see or how we may feel at the moment.  When we cease putting a limit on our trust and faith in God, all of His promises become accessible.

Abraham had the promise of a son, but he was having some difficulty in believing how that could be.  Nevertheless, Abraham Romans 4:18 “against hope believed in hope,” or ”Under utterly hopeless circumstances he hopefully believed.”  And by admitting no doubt in his heart, Abraham proved that God told him the truth, because the promised was fulfilled.

On divine healing—many think they cannot have that much faith in God, for victory over Satan’s oppressions.  It is not possible to trust God in faith, and at the same time trust on pills, prescriptions, and procedures of the medical profession in unbelief.  We either trust on the power of the living God, or put our faith in the promises of modern medicine—it is one or the other.

Satan often puts doubt in our heart, so we are warned Hebrews 3:12 ”Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”  We are either departing from the living God, or trusting in the living God.  We have no excuse not to trust God because 1 John 1:7 “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”  If we are willing to admit no doubt in our heart, the Holy Spirit will inspire us to come back to God in faith.

Drawing near to God in assurance of faith concerns finances, as well as every other aspect of the Christian life.  Money seems to be the issue that touches the heart most.  It is, from a natural standpoint, a very difficult matter on which to burn our bridge of doubt—but we will never come to know God; never understand His salvation; and never really know what faith we have, until we face an empty cupboard, an empty wallet, and an empty stomach with no one to fill them but God.

We criticize Israel for complaining when there was no bread in a land of nothing, but we are far worse for complaining when there is no bread in a land of plenty.  We often have plenty of faith, when there is plenty of food all around and in every store, but when we are really put to the test, the faith we thought we had, goes right out the window.

The woman in Zarephath received no victory, blessing, or supply until she allowed no doubt in her heart, and decided to trust God to the end.  She had a meager amount of flour and oil in hand, when the prophet asked her for something to drink.  She willingly went to fetch some water, when he added 1 Kings 17:11 “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.”  It seemed a little hard and inconsiderate for a stranger to request her last meal.

            1 Kings 17:12 ”So she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’"  That could have been discouraging to Elijah, because God had said 1 Kings 17:9 “I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

            Elijah’s first response 1 Kings 17:13-14 “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel.”  It makes all the difference in the world, on whose word we are acting—whether it be human or divine—“The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.”

            The prophet is speaking for the Lord and telling her to take a stand of faith; do not go by what is seen; look away from every human source, and be willing to trust only on the living God—who promises to supply all your needs.  It says she 15 ”did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”

            God took Israel through the Red Sea and closed it up after them.  They were then face to face with either trusting in faith on God, or dying in unbelief like the world—they chose to complain, and asked Moses Exodus 15:24, “What shall we drink?”  God had mercy, however, and supplied their needs for forty years—even their shoes and clothing did not wear out.

            We know of Abraham, who did not doubt in his heart, and Romans 4:20-21 “did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded [absolutely certain] that God had power to do what he had promised.”  He would have sacrificed Isaac, because God allowed no idol in his life.  There was no doubt in his heart that God would do what He promised Genesis 15:4 “You will have a son of your own.”

God quenched the violence of fire, when the Hebrews trusted Him in faith; the mouths of lions stayed closed, when Daniel believed the living God of the Bible.  All these things were accomplished by burning the bridge of doubt behind them.  Even if it cost them their lives, or it cost them everything they possessed, they would not swerve an inch, from what they knew to be God’s will.  That is the faith and confidence God wants to put in our heart, if we will surrender our life fully to Him.

As a child of the Father, with no doubt in our heart, we have a right to ask Him for anything—enough finances by trusting Him in faith Philippians 4:19; inner peace because of His stripes Isaiah 53:5; divine protection because of His promise Psalm 91; spiritual guidance by His Spirit James 1:5; divine healing through faith in Jesus’ Name Acts 3:16; and anything else that God has promised through faith.

            Many today, professed-Christian and non-Christian, are deceived to accept false places of trust, and to depend on some medication for healing—instead of trusting on the shed Blood of Christ Acts 3:16.  Millions own real estate or houses as financial assets on which to depend—in opposition to what Jesus instructed Matthew 6:19 ”Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.”

Millions of proclaimed believers depend on insurance coverage for financial protection, instead of trusting on God in faith.  Philippians 4:6 ”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Millions depend on legal action to avenge wrongs, but God says Romans 12:19 “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”

There are so many false places of trust in the world today—pills, medical plans, prescriptions, policies, and procedures on which we can be tempted to put our trust; but Jesus was definite about the consequences for not keeping our faith in Him.  Matthew 18:3 “Verily I say to you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”  Any false place of trust for the healing of our body is against the will of God, because He has promised to heal us, if we will trust Him in faith.

There is the record of an unbelieving king who called for a doctor and died in his sins 2 Chronicles 16; and the woman who “suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse” Mark 5:26, but when she touched, in faith, the hem of the Lord’s garment, she was immediately healed and made a child of God.  She allowed no doubt in her heart, because she was Romans 4:21 “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

The medical help question must be settled in our heart once and for all, because God was the Healer of every saved person in the Bible—from Genesis to Revelation.  They did not have a doctor nor take a dose of medicine through all those chapters—and God never failed them when their faith and trust was on Him, because they allowed no doubt in their heart.