September 16, 2012 – Pastor Tim – “The Prayer of Faith – Part 2” – Click to download
Psalms 120:1 (NLT), “I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.” Last week we read from Mark chapter 11 where Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22) The literal Greek translation means “Have the faith of God.” This is possible or it wouldn’t be a command. Let me ask you a question, “if you had the powers of a ‘Super Hero’ would you use them?” Because, the same power which was spoken to create this world, flows from your prayer of faith. Man was created with God’s faith but doubt entered in at the fall. In Genesis 3:1-7, the devil said God didn’t really mean you can’t eat the fruit, you won’t really die—you will just know God better, and thus the fall of man. However, faith is restored when one is born again and if faith is exercised and maintained it will grow to all the fullness and power of the Godhead. Colossians 2:9-10, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” In Mark 11 Jesus went on to say as we speak faith words and refuse to doubt, mountainous problems will be removed. The reason this can happen is because we are created in the image of God, after His likeness, we are His body and have been given power and dominion. In other words, just as Jesus was living in a body and spoke words of faith that caused things to happen, SO WE CAN. Think about it. God has given us the tremendous ability to release power, and have the same results Jesus’ Words had. And just as a side note, some believe the mountain Jesus used to illustrate faith here will literally fall into the sea according to Revelation 8:8, “Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.” Some believe this refers to the mountain Jesus was standing on in Mark 11. And some believe that the mountain here refers to the nation of Israel and that the mountain that they sat alone on (that they are the chosen ones) and because they rejected the Messiah they will be cast into the sea of humanity and the Gentiles will be grafted into the body of Christ. Personally, I like both ideas because I think they are both true (one has happened and the other is going to happen).
Praying for the sick is one of the signs that followed the believers. Mark 16:18c, “…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” The word recover includes instantaneous healings, but often implies a person shall start to recover, or begin to get well.
Many answers are instantaneous; some of the greatest deliverances from problems, however, have not taken place immediately. For example, leapers were healed as they went on their journey. Luke 17:14-15, “So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
As the father was returning home his son began to get better. John 4:46-53, “So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” 49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”
52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.
What happens is when the prayer of faith is prayed the problems that have been causing the sickness, financial problem, the spiritual problem, the thing that is “out of order” is driven from the person—the root has been destroyed.
Afterwards the natural restorative forces in the human system begin to rebuild the body and strength returns to normal. (That is why Jesus said when a house is vacant it is important to fill it.) Matthew 12:43-45 in the Message, “When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place.
“That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.”
When we accept Christ for salvation we are saved. But we have to continue to grow in the Word of God, getting strong in Christ, and continue to be made in His image. We are no more saved today than the first day we believed and confessed. Our confidence in Him and Him working through us can and will get stronger—but we are no more saved. But if we don’t continue to grow the enemy will refill our house. Ephesians 3:17-19 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. God doesn’t have us study the Bible for knowledge sake alone. Study is to deepen our relationship with God, and increase our encounters with Him. If it doesn’t we become toxic. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” It is a relational book. People must be taught when one communicates with God by faith things happen. When the prayer of faith is prayed, or the Word of God is released, all hindering forces are removed and one begins to get better—things change.
Scripture verses are quoted in New King James Version unless other wise noted
To start of the sermon, Pastor Tim played this video.
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