Them That Believe

Hebrews 11:1

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



Faith is the believer's sixth sense. The believer can see what cannot be seen with the natural eye, hear what cannot be heard with the natural ear, and taste what cannot be tasted with the natural taste. Faith, a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 12:9), is the supernatural sense birthed in the human heart when God's Word is heard, received, believed, and acted upon.

It enabled Elijah to hear the sound of "an abundance of rain" when not one drop had fallen from the sky in over three years. Faith sustained a widow woman through the famine; her meal barrel wasted not, and the cruse of oil did not fail until the Lord sent rain according to the Word of the Lord by Elijah. By faith, a widow woman went from nothing but a small pot of oil to an abundance that satisfied her creditors, fed her family, and blessed her community.

By faith, Noah, being warned by God of things not seen yet, moved with fear and prepared an ark to save his house, by which he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness by faith.

By faith, the walls of Jericho fell, after they were compassed about seven days.

Notice the action words connected with faith in those sentences: Moses moved, the walls of Jericho were compassed or walked around for seven days. Faith is not a generic mental assent to the truthfulness of the Word of God. Anyone can say: I believe in the strength and the ability of that bridge to support the weight of my car and myself, but it's only faith on your part once you are driving across yourself.

Mark 16:15-18: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

If we believe that God's Word is true, why do we not see more of the power of God manifested in our lives? I think the answer is in understanding what Jesus meant when he said, "Believe."

Are we really believers? I look around today, and I get a sense that we're raising a generation of mental assenters. Christians who are not true believers. They do not have true Bible-believing faith; they agree, in their mind, that the Word is true but take no action to show that they genuinely believe. The Apostle James said, "Faith without works is dead."

Jesus taught His disciples in Mark 16 that faith turns into people of action. "Believers" are more than simply those who agree with the Word; they act upon what they hear and receive and become doers.

The Apostle James tells us in James 2:19 that devils believe and tremble but don't do any righteous works of faith. The plague that has infected the church, is calling the mind's agreement a vital and living faith, calling it "believing," but it is not "believing" without corresponding actions. That weak mental assent makes one no better than a devil.

According to the scripture, faith has corresponding works; without works, it is dead. That means that a believer is a doer. For example, to agree that tithing is a biblical principle that transcends both old and new covenants does not make you a believer; it just makes you an assenter, and you can assent and not be a doer. But the minute you act on what you agree with, you have become a biblical believer.

The same is true with prayer; to agree to the great need for prayer in your life does not make you a praying person. 

To merely agree to Jesus' words does not give you power over demons, but a relationship with Jesus through prayer and the baptism of the Holy Ghost makes you a threat to hell! 

To agree to the liberty of the Spirit, to worship the Lord by praising, clapping the hands, shouting, and dancing, does not make you a liberated worshiper unless you begin to enter into the presence of and genuinely worship the One True God. 

To agree to Jesus' words concerning self-denial and taking up the cross brings us no closer to resurrection power unless we die to ourselves and begin to live for Him!

Believers are Doers. And Doers are Seers. In other words, we will see the manifestation of God's power in the doing, not the agreeing. So many haven't seen more of God's power and glory in their lives because they have mistakenly accepted a mental assent, an agreement of the mind for Bible-believing.

Many people will say they believe the Bible, but if they are not living according to its principles, they don't believe they agree. When we believe, we will do, and when we do or become doers of what we agree with, we will see the power of God.

At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus says to Take away the stone.

John 11:40

"Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"

What was between the believing and the seeing? The doing, removing the stone.

We can talk about prayer, sing about prayer, write songs about prayer, preach about prayer, and teach about prayer, but we will only experience the benefits and the power of prayer once we pray. The same goes for fasting: We can preach and teach about the need for fasting, how Jesus and his disciples fasted, and the great benefits of fasting according to the Bible, but until we actually push the plate away and deny ourselves, there will be no release of power.

There will be no signs: no one will be healed, no one will be set free from addictions, no families will be restored, no chains will be broken, and no one will be filled with the Holy Ghost – no one will be saved until the church demonstrates true belief. None of the things Jesus said will follow them that believe, will follow us until we believe!