Good Afternoon Brothers,
I pray you and yours are being richly blessed each and every day. You should be EXPECTING to increase more and more every single day:
Psalms 115:14
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
I’ve learned that every single Believer is given a substance at salvation. And, every single Believer receives the same amount of this substance. What do you think it might be? If you guessed “faith,” then you are right. Let’s examine.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence [conviction] of things not seen.
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly [seriously], according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
So, according to God’s Word, every Believer receives “the” measure of faith. “The” is a definite article. This means “measure,” the word it precedes, is specific in proportion. Every Believer receives a specific proportion of faith. There is not more for one and less for another. In other words, you received the same amount of faith as Billy Graham, for example.
And, according to God’s Word, this set amount of faith every Believer receives is a substance. So, according to Hebrews 11:1, “faith” = “things hoped for.” If we look in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, the dictionary based on the Bible, to see what “hoped” means, we see the following:
“hoped’ = “desired with expectation.” “hope” = “certainty.”
Let’s look at this in some context of scripture and knowledge.
Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
God the Father was not moving upon the face of the waters. The Spirit [Holy Spirit] of God was moving. What was the Holy Spirit doing? He was awaiting the Word of God. Consider this equation:
God = Originator or Creator
Jesus = The Word
Holy Spirit = Manifestor
The Holy Spirit was waiting for The Word to be spoken by God. The Holy Spirit is responsible for manifesting the things of God in this earth. When God spoke the Word, “Light be” in Hebrew, the Holy Spirit carried out the creation. Faith was the “substance” or the power of the Word used by the Holy Spirit to create light. When God spoke the Word, “Light be,” He spoke it with complete expectation or “faith” of it being accomplished. There was never any doubt in Him when He spoke the Word that it wouldn’t come to be.
How did Jesus, the Son of man, operate in this earth? By using the substance [faith] in “God’s Word” to manifest things in the physical realm. God’s Word is Spirit.
John 6:63
It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the Words that I speak unto you,they are Spirit, and they are life.
Jesus, during His earthly ministry, operated just as God did in Genesis 1. But, there was a difference. Jesus, although He was God in the flesh, set aside His deity, and only operated from His flesh – JUST LIKE YOU AND ME TODAY. I won’t go into it here, but Jesus had to set aside His deity and operate from His flesh because God could not legally operate in the earth as a Spirit. He had given the title deed, the dominion of the earth to man. This is why God came into the earth as a man. A man had to take back the title deed from Satan, who had stolen it from man.
When Jesus healed, cast out demons, raised the dead, fed the 5,000 and 4,000, calmed the storm and waves, cursed the fig tree, caused the catch of a draught of fish, etc., how did He do it? By speaking the Word with substance [faith]. He, although a man JUST LIKE US, operated just as God did. Jesus used His ministry to teach us, as Believers, how to operate in this earth – just as God did. Everything Jesus did, we can do. I have many tell me we can’t do this and that and God didn’t mean this or that. Ok, then I suppose it is Satan who is raising the dead, healing the infirmed, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, casting out demons, prospering those Believers that believe with great financial prosperity so they can complete their portion of the Covenant, “ye shall be a blessing to others,” etc? Doesn’t this sound familiar? Didn’t the Jews say this of Jesus? Yes, they did. Didn’t they accuse Jesus’ works of being of the devil? Yes, they did.
We must understand this is a “word” creation we are living in today. Even an evil man’s words have power. God had to disperse man at the Tower of Babel because the Godhead knew man could do great and horrific things if left unchecked.
Genesis 11:6
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
The people were evil, and united in one accord, with one language. Now, you can see from this scripture even the Godhead acknowledges the power of an evil man, his imagination, and his words. Man is a powerful creation, good or evil. Let us consider this: if an evil people can unite in one accord, with a single vision [imagination], and with one language of understanding and decree and accomplish what they were accomplishing at Babel, what could a body of Believers, united in one accord, with one vision, and decreeing a unified and inerrant Word of Truth accomplish? I submit to you we would be able to do exactly what Jesus did. Even Jesus said so.
John 14:12
Verily [truly], verily I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Yes, we as Believers are to be doing exactly what Jesus did and greater. The denomination I grew up in all my previous years of being blinded to the truth doesn’t believe John 14:12 extends to Believers beyond Jesus’ immediate disciples and apostles. It was preached from the pulpit [you’ll either be “pulled from the pit” or “pulled into the pit” by the pulpit] John 14:12 ended in that day. However, through the Holy Spirit removing the blinders from my eyes, ears, and heart, I was taught the truth – this scripture is written in the Greek Present Perfect Tense. What does this mean? It means a present state that has resulted from a past action and is a continuing action. Once the Holy Spirit began to open my eyes to all the wrong interpretations of God’s Word I had been taught by denominations, the following verse became very significant in my spiritual life.
II Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
Gentlemen, I submit to you according to God’s Word, there is no substitute for studying. We are to study – to apply diligence to know the length, breadth, depth, and height of God’s Word. Without doing this, the “substance” of faith in you will never reach the level it will need to reach, in order for you to complete the assignments God has called you to perform or wants to call you to perform. “Rightly dividing” also implies God’s Word can be wrongly divided. We have to guard against this in our lives.
Listen, I can promise you this. If you take a stand on God’s Truth, you can expect to be persecuted – not just by the unsaved, but by Believers as well. And, I know it is not the Believer that is persecuting, but the enemy working through them. We saw this with Peter when one moment he acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God and the next minute Peter was rebuking Christ for speaking of having to go to the cross. One minute Peter was in the Spirit, then literally minutes later, Satan was speaking through him. When you realize this, it gives you peace, faith, confidence, and the Word to battle the enemy and love the Believer, who may be speaking against you – just as Jesus did with Peter.
Just as Jesus never backed down from His mission on this earth, we are not to back down from God’s Truth. We can see how much more evil the world, and this country is becoming each day. In just the last ten years, evil has accelerated at an incredible pace. However, understanding my Father’s Word so much better, always learning the continued depth, height, length, and breadth, I become more emboldened and more empowered. God’s Word says “that no weapon [person, demon, act, sickness, injury, disease, word, law suit, etc] formed against me or my family shall prosper. [Isaiah 54:17]” Like Abraham and Jesus, I just don’t walk in fear anymore of anything – NO WEAPON! And, I’m so emboldened by God’s Truth, that I laugh at Satan and his demonic forces, those people he influences, the things he tries against my family or me, my businesses, etc. Friend, I’m coming from a victory – not going to one. I don’t believe in sickness, in financial struggle or lack of any kind, in trial and error, in being a borrower, in any of my family (sons, daughters, children-in-law, grandchildren, my grandchildren’s spouses in the future, great grandchildren) not being saved, in depression, oppression, terror, anyone evil having any success against me or my family, in lack or want of any kind. I just don’t believe it.
I do believe in great physical and emotional health, in being at the top of whatever I do, of great wealth and riches to bless others with, of leading edge business strategies, innovations, and ideas, of wondrous understanding and favor with all men, whether they like me or not, of supernatural discernment, peace, love, joy, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self control, of an incredible marriage to my wife. that my seed [children, grandchildren, great grandchildren] shall be mighty upon the earth, that I and my family will increase every single day of our lives, that no matter how something looks on the surface in the physical realm, it will end up being an incredible blessing to my family and me, that God has called my family and me into a wonderful, supernatural ministry that will impact tens of thousands or more and will attract the world to see “how is this possible?” Our God is a great God and nothing is impossible for Him. He can only do for us that which we will believe. If you can’t see it, then you can’t receive it.
I love all of you very much. It is my deepest prayer the Spirit of wisdom and revelation through the knowledge of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, will make His Word the very fabric of your being. I’m telling you in love, you don’t have to suffer the things you’re suffering. Christ destroyed everything of the curse at the cross – EVERYTHING. If you’re continually suffering with something – whether physical, financial, or emotional, this should not be. God has given us the victory over all these things through the understanding and declaration of His Word with the substance of faith.
In Christ,
Larry