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The Power of _______!
by L Cruz III2007
There is an invisible, unstoppable yet nearly palpable power that hangs between all the words of the Holy Bible. However, despite its overwhelming presence in scripture, it is a force that needs to be experienced if it is to be understood. It is a power of such great potential that honest contemplation can stir the awe of even the most steel-hearted person. It is this same unseen force that, if truly awakened, can guarantee a flourishing and personal bond between you, and our triune and God.
It is a spiritual ocean so hallowed, mighty and vast that our hurts and limitations can be washed away by its Wonder through the Grace of God’s Love. Although this weighty deep was created by our Holy Father, every nuance; every ripple, curl and direction of current is a cooperative effort between you and God. It is a sea from which angels sip, where artistic expression is conceived and where miracles are born. It is the one place where you and God can hold hands and make the impossible possible.
Tragically, however, while its power and miracles are available to every human on this planet, it is obscured to most by a common human practice. For them, it is a power that lies dormant.
To what power am I referring? Join me as we explore the Power of _____.
Over 2000 years ago, expressions of love and gratitude flushed the features of countless God-loving people as Jesus’ hands upon their bodies freed them from things like illness, sin, unhappiness, ignorance and evil. Some were even freed from mourning as their dearly departed were departed no more.
Though it is obvious that the power of God had to be present in order for each miracle to occur, there was another power to which Jesus frequently referred. It was a power that had to be present in the heart of the person in order for the miracle to occur. It is a power that an over-reliance one's own knowledge can conceal and the presence of false knowledge can corrupt. To which power am I referring?
Let us review some scripture and see if we can identify the reoccurring theme that Jesus wants us to understand.
(Matthew 9:2)
Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
(Matthew 9:22)
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
(Matthew 15:28)
Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
(Mark 10:52)
"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
(Luke 5:20)
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
(Luke 7:50)
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
(Luke 18:42)
Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."
And finally…
(Matthew 14:25-31)
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified.
"It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
Yes, you have guessed it. The power to which we have been referring is FAITH!
Jesus proved time and time again that with faith you can do anything. Without faith you will be doomed to a life of the flesh…a life that can only take you as far as human understanding. A life without faith is a life on a dog’s leash. Jesus, his Father nor the Bible will mean anything in your life if faith is absent.
Wisdom of the world is comfort, but Faith is power!
(Matthew 21:21)
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.
With faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, not even the limits are the limits.
But, what does this mean? What exactly is faith? This is a tough, but, I believe answerable question. Here is how the Bible defines faith.
(Hebrews 11:1,3)
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
By the Bible’s definition we can see that while faith may begin with a person’s intellectual decision, it moves a person beyond decision and into a state of being...of absolute certainty. A person does not have faith; a person becomes faith filled (faithful). Let me try to explain.
In an article written by Hank Hanegraaff, that explores the same question we explore today, he makes a very astute observation. He writes:
“…it is the object of faith (God's nature) that renders faith faithful.”
What a profound explanation! (If you are anything like me, you had to read it at least one more time.)
Thanks to the brilliant artistry of M. C. Escher and the wonderful people at The M. C. Escher Company (specifically Margareth Verbakel) I have been granted special permission to use one of Mr. Escher’s copyrighted creations to more clearly demonstrate the profundity of this concept.
Take a moment to carefully and thoughtfully reflect upon Mr. Escher’s picture at the top of this page entitled “Drawing Hands.”
Captured between the fingers of each hand is a simple pen. A right hand is on top and a left hand is on the bottom. In this picture, one can easily deduce that “the right hand truly knows what the left hand is doing.” This would HAVE to be the case. A failure of either hand to completely cooperate with the other would mean utter disaster. Reason being, each hand is drawing the other into existence.
So too is faith (from your perspective)!
Drink this in. By having faith in God, God in turn (re)draws our faith. Think about that. By having faith in God, God in turn (re)draws our faith. This, in turn, broadens our understanding of God, which magnifies our faith, which broadens our understanding of God, which magnifies our faith…etc. And, when God, the creator of all things seen and unseen, draws and redraws and redraws our faith, our faith begins to work…the impossible becomes possible…our lives begins to change…we discover that our faith has been rendered “faithful.” Matthew 21:21 comes to life. (This is also when our communication with new believers falls apart.)
The high concept of faith is not one easily digested by many, and especially by those who live by the “wisdom of the world”. The world’s wisdom is often steered by fear, ease and social acceptability and not spiritual truth.
1 Corinthians 1:20
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Keep this in mind. Through His love, God has extended an open invitation to all of mankind through Jesus Christ. This includes you. Take great joy in knowing that half of the job has already been done. All that is left now is you and your decision to extend to God your faith in Him and His son Jesus.
And finally, before I close, I would like to carefully readdressing the picture above within the context of this article. To those who believe that the “Drawing Hands” could be equated to man’s creation of God and God’s creation of man, ask yourselves the following question.
“Who drew the first line?”
Saving the best for last: One more very important thing...
If we look upon that quote again -- "It is the object of faith that renders faith faithful." -- another concept arises. In essence, the author is saying, 'If you have faith the universe is governed by a flying bowl of spaghetti, then your faith won't work. You're simply using your imagination."
Think about that.
What is the object we should have faith in that will render faith faithful? What exactly is he talking about?
He is talking about Truth.
And, by truth he means ALL truth which includes many of the discoveries of science, mathematics, psychology and the like. If you have faith our oceans are made of string cheese, will your faith be faithful? Of course not! The Bible is a book intended to describe what is real. Drink that in. (To disagree is to say the Bible intends to describe what is not real. Reflect upon your thoughts for a moment.)
So, if Christ, the messenger of Truth and bridge to the Father, says even faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain, yet we cannot yet move mountains with our faith, that suggests there is something about truth (aspects of science, psychology, mathematics, mind/soul, physical/nonphysical, whatever) we do not yet understand. But, these truths do not require our understanding for them to exist. Truth simply is. The only time truth requires our permission to exist is when we create something.
So, what Christ is saying is that He can see truths we cannot yet figure out for ourselves, but keeping faith in those truths will benefit us...we will be free...our 'faith will be faithful.'
So, we are to humble ourselves by admitting we are ignorant about many things (so we do not confuse our limited knowledge with reality), and we are to avoid conforming to the patterns of the world that will just make us dumber, and we are to do our best to understand what is true and help others learn to see truth for themselves, but we are also to have faith in those things that are real and truly exist even though we cannot yet intellectualize them.
Then, according to God, our faith will be faithful.
(Can you intellectualize the chemical makeup of the chair you're sitting on? Of course not. You're still sitting on it, though, aren't you? You have faith in the chair!)
TRIVIA: Keeping in mind how vitally important Jesus considers faith to be, can you guess how many times the word “faith” appears in the Old and New Testaments of the King James Version of the Bible? (Answer below)
New Testament: 229 times
Old Testament: Twice!
