Bible Faith

Here's a little formula for the faith that pleases God. You can make this Bible faith work for you. It is the same faith that Abraham used and it worked for him because it is faith that is based on what God has said.

1. Have God's Word for what you desire to receive from God.
2. Believe God's Word.
3. Consider not the contradictory circumstances.
4. Give praise to God for the answer.

Follow these four steps and you'll always get the desired result because these are four certain or sure steps to deliverance, healing, answered prayers, or whatever it is that you are seeking from God. Then notice Thomas' faith. Thomas' faith was not based upon what God said: Thomas' faith was based upon what his own physical senses told him. For example, Thomas said he would not believe unless he could see.

So many people say, "When I see it or when I feel it then I'll know I have my petition." But that's not Bible faith. That's natural human faith and any sinner already has that kind of faith. You see, real faith in God is based upon the Word of God. Real faith in the Word says, "If God says it's true, it is." Believing God is believing His Word! I like something Smith Wigglesworth said. He said, "I can't understand God by feelings. I can't understand the Lord Jesus Christ by feelings. I can understand God the Father and Jesus Christ only by what the Word says about them. God is everything the Word says He is." Wigglesworth went on to say, "We need to get acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ through the Word."

Too many people try to get acquainted with God through feelings, and when they feel good, they think God has heard them. But if they don't feel good, they think He is not hearing them. Their faith is based on their feelings, but my faith is based upon God's Word. If God's Word says He hears me, then I know He hears me because He said so, and His Word cannot lie. In other words, if my faith is based upon my feelings, then I am just using a natural human faith. I'm trying to get spiritual results with natural human faith, and I cannot do that. I have to use scriptural faith, Bible faith, and believe God's Word. And if my faith is based upon the Word of God, then I believe the Word regardless of evidences which would satisfy my physical senses.

Too many people are trying to get Abraham's blessing with Thomas' faith, and that just won't work. We who are believers have the Abraham kind of faith because Galatians 3:29 says, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." And Galatians 3:7 says, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." We have the Abraham kind of faith. We're not trying to get it; we have it.

Authority on the Earth

Jesus added, "Here are your four witnesses. I am the first, James is the second, Peter is the third, and Paul is the fourth. This establishes the fact that the believer has authority on earth, for I have delegated my authority over the devil to you on the earth. If you don't do anything about it, nothing will be done. And that is why many times nothing is done."

Now you can understand why things have happened as they have. We've permitted them to happen! Not knowing our authority—not knowing what we could do—we have done nothing, and we actually have permitted the devil to keep on doing whatever he wanted to do.

We need to realize this. Let's wake up. We may have to change our way of praying and get after the devil. I did. It won't hurt you to change; it's good for you. We have authority to do this. We're sitting at the right hand of the Father, far above principalities and powers. If we're far above them, then we have authority over them.

Ephesians 1:22,23 goes on to say, "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church [The feet are members of the body. Feet aren't members of the head.], Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." As John A. MacMillan pointed out, how wonderful to know that the least members of the Body of Christ—those who are the very soles of the feet, the little toenail, or the little toe—are far above the mighty forces we have been considering.

Remember, Jesus said in Luke 10:19 to the other seventy disciples that He sent out, "Behold, I give unto you power [authority] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." How much authority over the devil does the Church have? Any less than this? No, thank God, no.

Yet if you'd listen to the average Christian talk or hear some preachers preach, you'd get the impression that the devil is bigger than everybody and that he's running everything. Yes, he is the god of this world, so he's running the world system. But we're in this world, not of this world, the Bible says, so he's not running us. The devil has been walking on us too long.

These things are not joking matters. We're foolish to make light jokes about these things. A preacher once said to me at a convention, "Well, Brother Hagin, I've got the devil on the run. The trouble is, I'm running and he's after me!"

Making a statement like that just shows ignorance. In the first place, you haven't any business running from the devil. The Bible says he'll run from you. You need to put him on the run. Unfortunately, I think that is the picture of preachers and churches too much of the time; in fact, most of the time. We see it everywhere.

God's Mightiest Work

Matthew 28:18 is another verse where the word "authority" should have been used instead of "power." In the King James Version it reads, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ALL POWER is given unto me in heaven and in earth." It should read, "ALL AUTHORITY is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

When Christ ascended, He transferred His authority to the Church. He is the Head of the Church, and believers make up the Body. Christ's authority has to be perpetuated through His Body, which is on the earth. (Throughout Ephesians and elsewhere in the epistles, Paul uses the human body as an illustration of the Body of Christ.)

Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father—the place of authority—and we're seated with Him. If you know anything about history, you know that to sit at the right hand of the king or pope means authority. We died with Christ, and we were raised with Him. This is not something God is going to do in the future; He already has done it!

God's Mightiest Work

EPHESIANS 1:18-23
18 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,

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

21 Far above all principality, 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:

22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Notice especially the nineteenth verse: "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. " In other words, there was such an overwhelming display of God's power in raising Jesus from the dead that this actually was the mightiest work of God ever recorded!

The Resurrection was opposed by Satan and all his cohorts. However, his forces were confused and defeated by our Lord Jesus Christ, who arose, ascended, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, far above them.

Remember the text in Colossians 2:15? "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he [Christ] made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it [His death, burial, and resurrection]."

These are the same demonic powers we have to deal with, but, thank God, Jesus defeated them. Other translations say He "put them to nought" or "paralyzed them."

In ancient times, victorious kings bringing back captives would have a parade, making a show of them openly. Jesus did this with the devil, putting him on display before three worlds—heaven, hell, and earth—after He defeated him. God gave us this account in the Scriptures so we in this world would know what had happened.

God wants us to know what happened in the death, burial, resurrection, and seating of Jesus Christ. He wants us to know that He has set Christ "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named...." (Eph. 1:21).

'In Jesus' Name' - Not 'For Jesus' Sake'

Many people conclude their prayers by saying, "For Jesus' sake." But we are not to pray that way. There is a difference between praying in the Name of Jesus and praying for the sake of Jesus. We are to pray in the Name of Jesus. What's the difference between praying for Jesus' sake and in His Name? There is quite a difference. When you go to God, and you ask Him to do something for Jesus' sake, you're asking that it be done to help Jesus - on your credit. Can't you see how foolish that sounds? In the first place, Jesus doesn't need the help. And in the second place, you don't have any credit to guarantee the answer to your prayer if He did! No, it's the other way around. We need the help and Jesus has the credit.

I don't mean to imply that people do this consciously when they add, "For Jesus' sake" to their prayers. But that is the way it sounds in heaven. Even if Jesus did need our help, you and I don't have any standing in heaven that would guarantee help for Him. We are the ones who need the help. It's for our sake that we are praying. And Jesus has the standing or the credit in heaven that enables us to come to God in His Name and receive those things we need. For example, if you go to the bank with a friend's check and ask the cashier to cash that check, the cashier will ask if you have the money on deposit in your own account to guarantee the amount of the check. If you don't, he'll refuse to cash it. When you pray, "For Jesus' sake," it's like trying to cash a check when there is no money in your account because you don't have the credit in heaven - Jesus does.

But if you go to the bank with a check endorsed by a wealthy man who has an account at that bank, then there will be no questions asked. The cashier will hand over the money.

Jesus is our "credit" in heaven, so to speak: He has all the credit we could ever need to get "our check cashed" - our prayers answered. And when God hears His children pray in faith in the Name of Jesus, He responds to their prayers based on Jesus' credit or Jesus' standing in heaven. In that mighty Name, God gives us the answer to our prayers. If I have a stomachache, for example, and I am praying for healing, I wouldn't ask God to heal me for Jesus' sake - to help Jesus. I don't want to be healed for Him. It's my stomach that needs help, not His! I'm the one who is hurting. It's for my sake, on Jesus' credit.

Similarly, if I need $100, and I ask the Father to help me get this money for Jesus' sake, I would be praying foolishly because Jesus does not need the $100. The money is for my sake, not His. Jesus doesn't need $100; I do. I need the $100 to help me, so it's for my sake, on Jesus' credit. Many an honest prayer fails because of folks ending their prayers, "For Jesus' sake." If you have been doing that, stop it. It makes a lot of difference whether or not our prayers are scripturally based. That's the reason we fail many times in our praying. Our approach is all wrong. Peter and John said when they were at the Gate Beautiful, "... why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" (Acts 3:12). In other words, it isn't by the believer's own power or holiness that he gets an answer to prayer.

You don't get your prayers answered because you're good either. You get an answer to prayer because of Jesus - and because of your standing in Jesus. Thank God. Jesus has a standing in Heaven. He is the only way to approach the Father. You can't get there any other way. Thank God, in Jesus' Name we can come boldly to the throne of God (Heb. 4:16). Let's use a little sense and go as wise children, using the mighty Name of Jesus which He has given us. Jesus gave us the right and the authority to use His Name.

Raised From the Bed of Sickness

Kenneth E. Hagin stories - I was born again on April 22, 1933, at twenty minutes to eight o'clock in the south bedroom of 405 North College Street in McKinney, Texas. I was raised up from the bed of sickness on the second Tuesday of August 1934, after spending sixteen long months flat on my back with two terminal organic heart conditions and an incurable blood disease. And my body was almost totally paralyzed.

When I first started reading the Word of God on the bed of sickness, Grandma would prop the Bible up in front of me as I lay there on my bed. I could only read for about ten minutes at a time — after that I could hardly see. Then that was all I could read for the day.

The next day I would read for another ten or fifteen minutes. After a few weeks of reading like that, I got so I could read for an hour at a time; eventually I could read for as long as I liked. As a child, I had been brought up going to Sunday school; I can't remember the first time I went to church. Nor can I remember the first time I ever read the Bible. It seemed I had prayed all of my life, yet I had never been born again until April 22, 1933.

You see, you can be religious and yet not really be a born-again child of God. But when you are born again, the very same Bible that you have been reading looks different. The Bible becomes clear and easy to understand when you are born again. And as I read Grandma's Bible, I found that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).

The doctors had said I could die at any time, so when I began reading the Bible, I began reading in the New Testament. I reasoned, I might not be alive ten minutes from now, so I will utilize this ten minutes, or whatever time I have, and I will start reading in the New Testament.

I began reading in Matthew 1:1. When I got to Mark 11:24,I read, ". . . What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." From the first time I read that verse, I never forgot it. I didn't take time to memorize it; it just branded itself on my mind, so to speak, because Mark 11:24 was my answer for healing.

MARK 11:23,24
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, B e 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.

However, immediately after I read Mark 11:23 and 24, the devil hopped on my shoulder and said, "Yes, but divine healing has been done away with, you know."

I said, "Well, thank God, faith hasn't been done away with! This scripture says, '. . . What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe . . .' (Mark 11:24). I have never heard anyone say that believing and faith have been done away with."

"Yes, but healing has. You know all that healing business has been done away with."

I said to the devil, "What about Mark chapter 5? In Mark chapter 5, Jesus said to the woman with the issue of blood, '. . . Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole . . .' [Mark 5:34]. Mr. Devil, if her faith made her whole, my faith will make me whole." And, thank God, it did!

At that time, I didn't know of anyone else in the whole world who believed in divine healing besides me. There was no Full Gospel church in my town at the time, and I had never heard healing preached. There weren't any Christian radio programs such as we have today; at least, if there were, I didn't know about them.

After my healing, I began my ministry just as a young Baptist boy preacher. When I heard that Full Gospel people preached on healing too, I began to fellowship with them because fellowshipping with those of like-precious faith was just like getting a spiritual shot in the arm. It built up my faith.

The Full Gospel folks preached some things I didn't quite understand or altogether agree with at that time, such as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but I put up with that to have a little fellowship around the doctrine of healing!

Spiritual Gifts Will Exalt Jesus

Paul also said to the Church at Corinth, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led" (1 Cor. 12:2). These folks had previously worshipped idols and in this idol worship, motivated by the wrong spirit, they would say a lot of things that were in error.

For instance, Church history tells us that some of these folks would come into the Christian assembly and when the Spirit of God began to manifest Himself, these people would yield to a wrong spirit and say things under the influence of the wrong spirit.

In fact, some of them would even rise up in the services when the gifts of utterance were in operation and they would say that Jesus was accursed. And the Bible says that no one speaking by the Spirit of God would call Jesus accursed.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:3
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that NO MAN SPEAKING BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD CALLETH JESUS ACCURSED: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

No, Paul said that when the Holy Spirit is in manifestation, He will make Jesus Lord. If an utterance gift, that is, a vocal gift — prophecy, divers kinds of tongues, or the interpretation of tongues — is in manifestation, then, of course, it will be clear by what is said that Jesus is Lord.

If the other gifts are in manifestation, they will always uplift the Lordship of Jesus, not the lordship of some man. They will not attract attention to some man, but rather to Christ. You can be sure that if someone is operating in what appears to be one of the vocal gifts, and calls Jesus accursed or speaks against Him in any way, then he's not speaking by the Holy Spirit.

Then Paul said in First Corinthians 12:3 that no man can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. In other words, Paul was saying that if someone is speaking by the right spirit — by the Holy Spirit — then what he says will exalt the Name of Jesus.

Once in a meeting while I was praying for folks for healing, I sensed that someone in the prayer line had a wrong spirit. I knew within my own spirit who this person was before she ever stood in front of me to be prayed for.

When she stepped up in front of me for prayer, I asked her, "Are you a Christian?" She replied that she belonged to a particular church.

I said, "Well, you can belong to any church and still not be a Christian. You have to be born again."

"Oh, I am saved and filled with the Holy Ghost," she said. "Do you want to hear me speak in tongues?" Then she started saying something that sounded like tongues.

I said, "Sister, say this prayer after me from your heart." I prayed a prayer to God the Father and she repeated the words after me. Then I said, "I acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as Your Son, and I acknowledge that He is come in the flesh."

But when I said that, she said, "Jesus Christ is not Your Son and He is not come in the flesh." It was immediately apparent that wasn't the right spirit speaking.

Those tongues she was rattling off — some kind of "gibberish" — weren't given by the Spirit of God. I tried two or three times to get her to repeat that prayer after me. Finally, she said, "Something on the inside of me won't let me say what you said."

"I know it," I said. "Do you want to be free from it?"

"I sure do!" she answered. I cast that spirit out of her in the Name of Jesus. Then I had her pray the sinner's prayer and she was born again. She was then filled with the Holy Spirit and went home speaking in tongues.

This woman was saying, "I am saved, I am born again, and I am filled with the Holy Ghost," but she wasn't at all. People can make a lot of statements, but that doesn't necessarily make them true. When the Spirit of God is in manifestation, He will make Jesus Lord. The wrong spirit won't acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and won't say that Jesus is Lord.

Jesus and the Feeding of the Five Thousand

We see the working of miracles in the New Testament when Jesus took the little boy's lunch and fed five thousand with it (John 6:5-14). I am sometimes amazed at the way some folks — even educated folks — try to explain away the Bible.

For example, I was reading after a fellow once who had all kinds of initials on the end of his name — X, Y, Z, Ph.D., and so on! Please understand that I am not against education. But sometimes people can educate their heads at the expense of educating their hearts.

This particular intellectual I was reading after was trying to explain away the miracles in the Bible. He explained the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand with the little boy's loaves of bread by saying, "The loaves of bread in those days were bigger than they are now"!

If he had really read this account in the Bible, he would have noticed that it was a little boy's lunch (John 6:9). In the first place, it is difficult to imagine that a little boy could have carried enough bread out there to have fed five thousand. In the second place, it is difficult to imagine that he had planned to eat alt of that for lunch himself!

No, it was the working of a miracle that fed five thousand with just a little boy's lunch. The disciples even gathered up twelve remaining basketfuls when they were finished eating (John 6:13)!