“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of realities not seen.” (Heb. 11:1 TLV, emphasis mine)

Faith is a special kind of belief. We can believe something and be completely wrong or misguided. But faith is a belief based on tangible spiritual evidence that is directly rooted within a relationship with God. Through an intimate knowledge of God, faith provides vision into God’s supernatural Kingdom; and this is why it can be so powerful when used rightly.

Faith perceives through spiritual senses what cannot be accounted for in the physical. Faith recognizes what the Spirit of the Lord is doing even before it manifests into reality. Faith is an inside connection to the Kingdom of God, developed through learning God’s voice.

Faith says, Even though my reality is otherwise, I have a peaceful assurance beyond all doubt, and a proof in my spirit that this is the truth.

When the “things hoped for” are physically out of reach or inconceivable, faith is the steady foundation of clarity and courage that brings stability and perspective to the whole situation. It is a substantial force, regardless of how invisible or unfathomed by those outside of it. And faith is not necessarily illogical. We all connect to the world differently, and have a different array of dominant spiritual senses; so while one person may gain faith through an emotional experience, another may receive faith through a more physical, or even intellectual, experience.

The common element in how the substance of faith is received is dependent on one’s relationship with God: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)

Do you want more faith? Do you want to see what the Lord is doing in the invisible realm, and to have peace or wisdom regarding your situation? The best place to start is by reading the Bible, and dialoging with the Lord (the Living Word) through prayer. The marriage of the Spirit and the Word together in our lives builds a framework of faith that will usher us into the Kingdom—and the Kingdom into our physical realities.

 

It has been a couple weeks since I have shared from my seminary studies, because it has been so busy! But I want to share a brief insight that I think is so profound:

It came up as my classmates and I were discussing the hemorrhaging woman in Luke 8:43-48—whether there would have been an issue of defilement due to her uncleanliness. My professor shared there is halakhah that the Torah is so holy that it is beyond defilement. Thus, if something unclean touches it, the Word of God cannot become unclean, but retains its purity.

Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, so this also applies to Him. When He touches the unclean, they become clean: healed, delivered, forgiven, whole. When the unclean touch Him, they likewise cannot defile Him. The atmosphere changes for Him, not the other way around.

There is so much more to say about this story; but I’ll end here: No matter how “far gone” we are, how embarrassing our issues, how hurt, how sinful, how broken, we can come to Jesus with the faith that—because He is the unchanging, undefilable, Word of God—we can approach Him to receive healing.

This didn’t happen recently, but is something I’ve been wanting to get out in writing: I had neglected to test the spirit of a particular sign I was seeing in the spiritual realm, and it turned out to be really harmful. I had assumed God was speaking to me through this sign, but instead, it was a former familiar spirit trying to win me back.

Reading the passage in Exodus 32 about the golden calf, I realized the seriousness of my error. In this passage of scripture, the Israelites are in the desert after having been delivered from Egypt. (Did you catch that? They were delivered! The blood of the lamb on their door frames had saved them from the angel of death.) But then, they were in the desert, and they became confused. It seems they did desire to connect with God, but on their terms; and Moses (their mediator with God) had gone up to the mountain and was delayed in his return. They gather together and say to Aaron, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

It’s hard to imagine that a delivered people could project their worship on a physical object that they had just created. But they do. They declare: “‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.’ Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

What is Aaron seeing? The biblical text doesn’t tell us. The first it is italicized because it doesn’t exist in the original Hebrew: it reads more like, “when Aaron saw, he built an altar before it .” Aaron had just created the calf with his own hands, so it doesn’t seem likely that he would immediately forget what he had done and declare the calf is god—especially not the same god who delivered them from Egypt. It’s more likely he was seeing something spiritual. It’s much harder to describe seeing or perceiving the spiritual realm, so if Aaron saw something there, he may not have understood what he was seeing. Probably, he saw something spiritual, assumed it was a spirit of God, and assumed God was blessing the calf with His presence. Because Aaron connected the spirit of God to the golden calf, it became an object worthy of devotion. If he had considered his actions, he may have realized his error; but it seems he was acting without much thought.

This is, at least, what I recognized I had done. I didn’t intend to do it. I was seeing something I couldn’t describe. I’d mentioned it to several Christians who—without seeing it for themselves or having any experience with it—had encouraged me that God was showing me this seemingly positive sign as evidence of His favor and blessing in my life. And meanwhile, I was becoming increasingly physically ill and emotionally tired—and seeing the supernatural sign an average of four times a day, each time thanking God that He was blessing me. And I didn’t once consider that I should ask God regarding it. At one point, I was researching something completely different and came across an article that the thing I was seeing meant spiritual distortion and chaos, but I was so convinced by my initial assumption that I disregarded the evidence without a second thought. It is amazing, looking back, how quick I was to be confused—all because I had neglected to test the spirits, or ask the Lord what I was seeing and what it meant. It is a blessing I was eventually able to discover the truth and reconsider (and repent for) my mistake.

1 John 4:1 says: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” And to the church in Corinth, Paul warns that the devil disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). The stakes are too high not to test every spirit, every sign, and every supernatural experience. Every good thing comes from God, but not every attractive thing is good.

What happens when the Holy Spirit comes upon someone? I shared earlier about my own experience with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, including the initial evidences in my own life. Now, I’d like to simply list some of the accounts in the book of Acts where believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit, along with the physical evidence that the Spirit-filled believers manifested at this time:

Acts 2: Devout Jews and proselytes from every nation had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot, when the Holy Spirit came upon them and filled them. They each heard the gospel in their own languages and many received salvation through Jesus. Then, Peter explained to the crowd what was happening, because this was the first time the Holy Spirit was poured out corporately in this way.

What happened when the Spirit came upon them:

• The Holy Spirit was heard/felt as a violent rushing wind (Acts 2:2)
• There appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and the fire rested on each one of them (Acts 2:3)
• They began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance--most likely other human languages (Acts 2:4-11)
• They acted as if they were drunk (Acts 2:13-16)
• Peter connected the event as a partial fulfillment to Joel 2, which prophesies that both men and women, both young and old, both slaves and free-men, will have dreams, visions, and prophesies from God when they receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17-21)
• The effects of the Holy Spirit were both seen and heard (Acts 3:33)
• Everyone felt a sense of awe (Acts 3:43)
• Signs and wonders were taking place (Acts 3:43)
• The people had one mind and became a unified community, even sharing their possessions with each other, eating together, and praising God together (Acts 3:37-47)

Acts 4: A group of believers, including Peter and John, is arrested for teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

How did the Holy Spirit evidence Himself:

• Peter and John--uneducated and untrained men--spoke with clarity and boldness (Acts 4:8-13)
• They had earlier healed a man, and it was recognized as a noteworthy miracle (Acts 3:1-10; Acts 4:14-16)
• They had unprecedented boldness and were unable to stop speaking about what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20, 31, 33)
• They were unified as one body, sharing everything (Acts 4:32-37)

Acts 7:54-60: Stephen is stoned to death while full of the Holy Spirit.

How did the Holy Spirit evidence Himself:

• Stephen was able to gaze into heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God
• He was given the power to forgive them as they were violently killing him

Acts 9: Saul's conversion: Jesus appeared to Saul and spoke audibly to him (so that even the men with him could hear). The experience left Saul blind. Then, Ananias was led by God to visit Saul (a big deal, since Saul persecuted Jewish believers like Ananias). When Ananias laid hands on Saul and prophesied over him, he was filled with the Spirit.

What happened when the Spirit came upon him:

• Saul received spiritual wisdom (the scales fell off his eyes)
• His physical blindness was healed
• He became a completely different person: not only did he stop persecuting the Jewish believers, he began to proclaim Jesus openly in the synagogues

Acts 10:34-48: As Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell upon those who were listening.

What happened when the Holy Spirit came upon them:

• Both Jews and gentiles received the Spirit (Acts 10:45)
• They spoke in tongues and exalted God (Acts 10:46)
• In this case, the baptism in the Holy Spirit came before the baptism in water (Acts 10:47-48)

Of course, this isn't a complete list; the book of Acts is long, and (being that it focuses on the "Acts of the Apostles") includes multiple records of signs, wonders, and miracles that I neglected to mention. It is also interesting to note that although the Holy Spirit was available in the Old Testament, this was the first time that the Holy Spirit was available in fullness (not that we receive in fullness, but that He was fully given by God). Earlier I had mentioned Shavuot--rather than the Greek, Pentecost--because it is worthwhile to understand the parallel between the giving of the Holy Spirit and the giving of the Torah to Moses. Just as the Torah was fully given to Moses, but gradually and continually understood, so is the Holy Spirit fully available but gradually and continually absorbed. This is why the baptism of the Holy Spirit is so important--not just as a one time event, but continually as we walk with God.

I also want to note that, although the followers of Jesus were completely devoted to Him while He was on earth (and baptized in water by John), it was not until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit that they were able to connect with Jesus intimately from His place in heaven, and to effectively begin their ministries. In fact, I don’t think they even understood their ministries until they were filled with the Holy Spirit—after all, right before Jesus ascended, they asked if it was the time for the restoration of Israel. They were focused on themselves, and their nation, but the “great commission” was and is for the whole world. Without the fullness of the Holy Spirit it is impossible to fulfill the great plans of the Lord.

I was reading this morning an account from a friend’s friend who has left the church after 20 years of serving in ministry and is near leaving his Christian faith. He spoke sincerely and vulnerably regarding the process of his deconversion from Chaplain to agnostic. His reasons for change are: 1) inside knowledge of the awful condition of local church, 2) no clear examples in his life of pure, supernatural moves of God that couldn’t in some way be explained in humanist terms—that is, nothing separating what a Christian can do from what the non-Christian can do, 3) too many clear examples of wickedness being done in the name of Christ, and 4) the hypocrisy and fear-based/brain-washed commitment of the Christians around him. I really enjoyed his perspective so I hope I am relaying this accurately.

It’s my opinion that the large majority of Christians (in the States) are not practicing Christianity. I have seen first hand the sort of situation this man describes: the structure of religion and the academic declarations of theology (as good as this can be) without the supernatural power of a living and loving God (not to mention the rest of it..). But didn’t Paul the Apostle say, “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit in power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor 2:4-5)? And isn’t the New Testament full of supernatural accounts done by the Spirit through Jesus’ followers?! God has not changed (Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8). The purpose of the believer on the earth hasn’t changed—we are still strengthening the ‘bride’ and collecting the harvest until the day of our Lord’s return. Jesus is alive, and so is His Spirit!

When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the sacrifice of our sins once and for all. Every hurt, every pain, every struggle; everything that’s been done to you, and everything you’ve done that has brought destruction to yourself or someone else—it died with Jesus on the cross. He was resurrected, and the sin wasn’t; the bondage of sin has been taken care of. To become a Christian means to surrender to God and accept the free gift of perfect freedom, love, joy, peace, and so forth. He already bought the gift of freedom—for the whole world. It’s an acceptance of that gift to the point of full re-birth. People don’t go to Hell because they don’t believe in God, but because they’ve rejected Him. Everyone at some point has the choice to accept or reject Him; it’s a serious decision. When we choose Him we get to walk out of the bondage and straight into the Kingdom. Don’t you know, the Kingdom is at hand!?! And in the Kingdom are miracles galore! We are new creations, equipped with supernatural gifts. We do heal the sick and cast out demons and prophesy and do miracles, just as His first disciples did. We love God to such an extent that we can’t help show His love in demonstrations to everyone we meet. Heaven is a party and it starts now! And that’s GOOD NEWS! When Jesus returns to be King the party is only going to get bigger! YAY!!

There was a moment in my life (quite a ways after my decision to be saved, repentance, and water baptism) where God in His supernatural power and grace, immersed me with His Spirit and, in a moment, re-birthed me into perfect freedom. None of my old self was there. I became completely new. My thoughts changed, my moods changed, I stopped taking medication for my various psychological disorders because they were gone, I didn’t have to pretend to be happy because I really truly was (to an even greater extent today!), even many of my interests changed! I cannot describe the peace that’s in my spirit. Fear is gone!

If you haven’t experienced this level of joy, and peace—whether you’ve been a Christian for years or if you identify with a different religion all together—I want to say a short prayer for you:

May you encounter the very presence and being of God Himself through Jesus Christ the Lord, the people who live in His Kingdom, and the mighty restoration of the grace of His salvation!

I haven’t seen much of the spiritual realm.  Not comparatively.  I have occasionally seen demons and paranormal activity; I dabbled in the occult and experienced a great deal of power, then I was “delivered” (we could say exorcised), and experienced the even greater power of the Lord, multiple miracles, et cetera, et cetera.  But I do not see most things most of the time—not in that realm.

But this is the point:

Most people do not see the spiritual realm, but it nonetheless exists.  And if Christians DID see it… well, I think they would live quite differently (in fact, I think everyone would).

We wouldn’t, after all, allow poisonous snakes and deadly spiders to infiltrate our homes.  Not if we could see them.  Not if we were sober.  We would get shovels and bug spray and hire an exterminator—anything to get rid of the problem.  And yet, many of us DO have such in our homes, and sometimes in our bodies.  We live in a way that is detestable to the Lord.  We do things and watch things and listen to things and think about things that we don’t even realize are destroying us; we don’t realize our actions are attracting the enemy and beginning a cycle of temptation, lust, sin and death (James 1).  Worse is feeling oppression and conviction and making excuses to deal with it later.

If only we could see what we were up against.  If only we understood what weapons we as Christians have against the powers of darkness.

For the follower of Jesus there really are no excuses.  It’s a question of who and what we Love.