The Road to Perfection Part I: Unwavering Faith

After writing about the requirement of purity, I felt it being impressed upon me to give God’s people practical application as to how to be perfected in Jesus Christ.  Our walk with Jesus Christ is not just about where we go when we die, but it is about living a full and abundant life being rooted in His love.  And don’t take that statement with levity.  Being rooted in the love of Jesus Christ is much more than thinking and saying, “I should be nicer to the people around me.”  It takes great faith, sacrifice, obedience and persistence to walk on this road of righteousness and perfection.  I want you all to understand that there is more to being a Christian than confessing Jesus as your savior, doing daily devotions, going to church every Sunday and throwing around an “Amen!” once in a while.  The word of God is not just filled with ideas and stories to help keep you on the “straight and narrow”.  Here, we acknowledge it as a living Word, the truth, the final authority and a call to action. 

We are coming into an incredible time in history and I sincerely believe this.  There are a lot of people who are saying that this is the end of days, but I don’t see how this can be when His bride is not ready.  God is coming for a glorious church, one that is holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).  Right now, God is moving and He is moving fast.  If you are only listening to the report of the mainstream news media, you may be missing Him right now.  He is doing incredible things in this hour.  I am witnessing people being saved and completely healed by the power of God in droves.  I mean, He even healed me just the other day.  I was suffering from really terrible back pain for about a week and no matter how much I treated the area, there was no sign of it going away.  It was hard to stand up and sit down.  One morning, I said I had enough and I declared, in faith, my healing that is in Jesus Christ.  Just a couple hours into the day, the pain was gone and it hasn’t come back.  All glory be to the King of kings and Lord of lords for He is faithful to fulfill all His promises!  We serve a mighty and supernatural God and it is time to live like we do.  I want to do this series on what it means to be perfected in Jesus Christ because this is a topic for this hour. 

We are kicking off this series with the subject of FAITH.  Many of you probably know Hebrews 11:1 already:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

This verse is the beginning of our journey down the road to perfection.  In Greek, the word “substance” is hupostasis which means “the ground of confidence, assurance, guarantee or proof”.  So faith is our ground of confidence, assurance, guarantee or proof of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:3 goes on to say:

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

I want to ask a sincere question: what sense does it make that we, as Christians, would believe God created the world with His Word, but not believe that He can completely forgive us for our sins, heal our infirmities, save our loved ones or perform other supernatural acts?  I ask because I see many, many Christians drawing a line in the sand, almost as to say, “God can only do as much as I believe He can do.”  Why would you put limitations on a limitless God?  If you believe the God of the Bible, who are you to say what is impossible for God to do or tell Him what He won’t do?  He stripped Himself of glory and “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).  God did not have to send His son to die for you.  He could have said, “This creation is wicked, evil and has rejected me!  I will wipe them all out and start again!”  But instead, He did the unfathomable and sent His only son, pure, righteous and holy, to die for the likes of you and me.  The more I read it and understand His sacrifice, the more ludicrous it becomes.  The love He has for us is overwhelming.  What won’t He do for you?

If you want to cultivate a real relationship with God, you must first accept that He is and accept who He is. This takes faith.  Hebrews 11:6 says:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

When I declared healing for my back, I knew in my heart that God is not a man, that he should lie (Numbers 23:19) and I knew that by His stripes I was healed (1 Peter 2:24).  His promise was that by His stripes I was already healed, so I took hold of His promise by faith and it was done.  Matthew 9:28-30 says:

“And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this?  They said unto him, Yea, Lord.  Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.  And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.”

You will receive according to your faith.  If you don’t think God is willing or able, you don’t know who you’re serving.  If you’re crying out to Jesus and believe nothing will happen, you don’t know the name you cry out to.  Mark 11:24 says:

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

At first, you may not see it with your natural eyes, but you must believe that the Lord has heard your prayer and that it is already done.  Now if you’re praying for the Lord to strike someone with a lightning rod, chances are you won’t receive that.  We want His will to be done and so we pray His will.  How do you know the will of God and what He will do for you?  Well, it always goes back to spending time with Him.  You must pray, read and study His word.  Ask the Lord to open your eyes and show you His will so that you can offer up prayers that are pleasing to Him.  Express how much you want intimacy with Him and prove it to Him by taking time out of your day for Him.  It is the same as getting to know another person by talking and spending time with them.  If you take 15 minutes in the morning to read a devotional and say a quick prayer, it’s about the same as you greeting the same lady at the register at your Starbucks every morning before heading to work.  Maybe you know her name and a few quick facts to make small talk, but that’s about it.  Building up intimacy takes time.  Quality time.  It’s not about what’s convenient for you or how much you feel like doing.  Schedule a time and place to meet Him every day and just spend time with Him.  He loves spending time with His children.  Did I mentioned that it takes time?  We will actually talk more about knowing the will of God in the next part of this series.

Hebrews 11:32-34 says:

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

I love these verses so much because when I read them, I feel like I’m reading about real life Avengers (Marvel fans?).  So maybe they were wearing sandals and fought with swords instead of flying around with high tech armored suits, but come on!  Their super power was great faith that God could make the impossible, possible.  Faith moves God.  It’s great men and women of faith that shaped our history.  Where would we be without the faithful that obtained the promises of God?  Hebrews 11:17-19 says:

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from when also he receive him in a figure.”

Abraham was not just a man of great faith because he was willing to offer up his son.  He was a great man of faith because he stood on the promise that God had made him regarding his only son, Isaac.  He knew that if he sacrificed his son, God was able to raise him from the dead.  He knew it and he showed God that he knew it by his act of obedience.  You can’t tell me that was not a man who knew exactly who His God was.

My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to stop singing “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” and start declaring what will be in the name of Jesus.  “Ana, come on. That’s ridiculous.  Those are old stories and that stuff doesn’t happen anymore.  I am a realist and that’s nonsense.”  Well, I’m a realist too, but my reality is rooted in an almighty, limitless God and the power and authority that is in Jesus Christ. You can tell me that believing in the supernatural is ridiculous, but don’t you dare say with the same mouth that you believe in the God of the Bible.  Believe or don’t believe.  There is no middle ground.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

To say otherwise is blasphemy.  To believe otherwise is to not believe.  You will only go down this road as far as your faith will take you.  James 1:6-7 says:

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”

Guys, I love quoting the Bible because it just lays it all out there without apologies.  I put so many verses in these posts because I like to let the word of God speak for itself.  It does not need my help.  I made faith the first topic for this series because this will determine how far you travel down this road.  How much are you willing to let God in and have His way?  Jesus made the ultimate and perfect sacrifice for you and me.  If you can’t even believe that He has forgiven you and that you are a new creation, you have made His sacrifice and promises to you as valuable as dust.  If you stop believing there, there is no more road for you.  You have reached a dead end. 

I want so much for you all to understand that God is limitless and bursting full of love for each one of you.  I don’t even know you and I can tell you that He loves you so much more than I, or anyone, can express to you in words.  As I have been reading through Matthew, I have noticed something. Jesus continually reaffirms how much we are valued in the sight of our heavenly Father.

Matthew 6:26 – “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they?”

Matthew 7:9-11 – “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

Matthew 12:11-12 – “And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?  How much then is man better than a sheep?”

You have a Father in heaven that loves you.  I mean…the love He has for you is just overwhelming.  “But Ana, you don’t know what I just did last night.”  And it doesn’t matter.  I don’t have to know to know that He loves you.  How precious was David in His sight, knowing that one day he would commit a grievous sin (killing Uriah and marrying Bathsheba)?  Do not let the enemy whisper in your ear, “He would never do that for you,” when He gave you His word.  Defeat the enemy with the word of God and stand on His promises.  You are not a leaf in the wind; you do not have to be blown wherever life takes you.  Stand your ground and speak, audibly, in faith.  You don’t have to see it to believe it.  That’s why it’s called faith.  There is no such thing as a Christian that only believes what they see.

Now, you can take this word and call me a nutcase or you can take this word and run away with it.  If you are having trouble believing, have no fear because the word of God is here.  The Lord had to remind me that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and ears and declare, audibly, that spiritual blindness and deafness be broken off of you in the powerful name of Jesus.  Spend some time with your Bible.  Read and re-read and re-read, audibly, the verses that are really resonating with you.  In fact, keep reading over His promises and just let it all marinate and sink in.  Incorporate His promises in your prayers and hold Him to His word.  For example, you could pray, “Father, I have been in fear for too long.  I loose the spirit of fear from my soul and evict it from my dwelling, for You said that You have not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).  Father, I don’t have to fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that flieth by day; nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday because I have made you my habitation (Psalms 91:5-9).  You are my strong tower and more than the whole world against me, so I stand on Your word and I walk in Your strength.”  You don’t have to pray that exact prayer.  I’m sure you could come up with better.  Just pray His word, pray in faith and expectation, and pray in power.  Kat Kerr, on Elijahstreams, said to ask the Lord for expectation.  I have never thought to pray/ask for that before, but now I am.  Why not pray for the condition of your heart so you can receive the fullness of God?

If you’re sitting here like, “Man, I am overwhelmed.  I don’t know how to pray.  I don’t know where to start.  I don’t know what to do.”  That’s ok.  Just start with meeting God at a time and place.  Incorporate prayer and reading your Bible in every day.  You can start with 15 minutes, but don’t let that be your cut off.  Keep pushing yourself to spend more time with Him.  Make room for the Holy Spirit to take over.  Also, listen and learn from God’s faithful people.  I have learned so much from Hank and Brenda Kunneman.  I attend their church in person when I can and watch online when I can’t.  I love listening to them pray because it is teaching me how to pray and how to declare victory.  Hank just had a Wednesday night teaching (June 16, 2021) on how to pray and press into God (find at lohchurch.org/watch).  Not just them, but there are many other prophets and teachers (easily find some on Elijahstreams or Victory Channel) that are taking the time to show people how to access the fullness of God.  My point is, you can learn by listening and watching other faithful servants.

Ok, that was a lot to take in today.  I hope you got something out of this post.  Perhaps you have only learned that I have gone mad and you wash your hands of this blog.  So be it.  I love you anyway.  God bless and stay faithful!