Dreams & Mysteries - The Mystery of Faith

out of all of God's creation only humans are capable of having faith what is faith faith isn't a basic human need like food or water you won't see faith mentioned as an instinct for born with like a fight-or-flight response so what's faith then the world would define faith is a belief that's not based upon proof not based that anything exists even what you believe in is there proof or is how much proof do you need to make sure that it exists so how would you define faith would you believe in something for which there's no proof what happens then if you're presented with proof does your faith now change or morph into something else if that's the case how much proof is required to change faith and to that something else or does faith require you to never receive enough evidence to remove all doubt in other words this faith require that doubt exist simultaneously after all people believe in a lot of things they can't prove exists that's what makes life really interesting you don't know the answer but you really want to know the answer we want to believe that there's more out there than just what we can see or feel or taste or touch or even smell it's almost like humans were created to require something more something else something beyond a need and beyond basic survival instincts that's because all humans have a lingering appetite for the eternal something beyond our temporal life it doesn't mean it we recognize it as a need for the eternal it just means we think we'll know what it is when we see it unfortunately very few of us see it because we don't know it drink of this water jesus said and you'll thirst again but drink of the living water I'll give you and you'll never thirst again this is what makes humans different than every other living creature we have a hunger and a thirst for something we can't see we can't see it because it's never been created is shall we say an uncreated reality but here's where we get it wrong we think the power lies in our ability to believe or have faith into something we can't see but there's actually no power or ability in faith itself there's only power and the source of what we put our faith in faith in the self has actually no power at all all power exists in the source of our faith the source of a Christians faith is Jesus would you like to increase your faith and then power God to move more in your life it's really not that difficult but it does require us to dig deeper and to brand-new mystery the mystery of faith this is dreams and mysteries with John Paul Jackson let's take a look at this mysterious substance called faith for a Christian our faith begins and ends with Christ if you remove Jesus out of the faith equation the whole equation becomes absolutely meaningless the Bible says Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith that means the substance of faith that exists on the earth today was created by the life crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus does this substance I'm talking about calling faith outside of Jesus as it exists outside of him well yeah sure the Dalai Lama Buddhist monks even Islamic extremists are tapping into substance they call faith they have a belief strongly that what they're being taught really will work they're actually gaining strength and courage from that belief in fact for some that strength might appear as miraculous power but remember the power of faith it is really important the power of faith will always be limited to the source of what or who you put your faith in that's why I acknowledge that there's incredible evil in the world today but I never focus on what I call a lesser power jesus said it this way in the world you'll have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world understanding the mystery of faith is vitally important to our Christian faith the greater your understanding of faith becomes the greater the ability you'll receive to pray believe and see God act on your behalf that brings me to the very first key and understanding how faith works key number one know who you're placing your faith in faith in God is much more than simply having faith that God exists I run into people all the time you tell me they believe in God and I say great do you believe in the Bible and they look at me and go well yeah parts of it other parts I think are just symbolic but you see that's not really faith true faith means you know ohoo you're placing your faith in to me only believing some of the Bible is the same as believing none of the Bible you don't have to understand how God did everything you did you just have to believe you did it I confront this all the time in my own life I don't always understand God and I certainly don't understand why he does everything that he does but I do trust him I make a conscious decision to trust God even when I don't understand him and when his word proves true I'm glad I did here's something important to understand about faith when you limit the greatness of God to only what you can logically grasp you're limiting God's ability to answer your prayers even the simplest of prayers require supernatural intervention from God into your life the parting of the Red Sea and you getting to work on time in a traffic jam both require a supernatural act of God that's just a simple prayer like lord please help me get to work on time it stands to reason if you're asking God for something like a miracle a good place to start would be to believe that God still performs miracles today to understand how faith works you first have to understand who you're placing your faith in this Jesus who we place our faith in is the same Jesus who told his disciples greater works than these you will do because I go to the Father your job is to have faith in Him and in his word the Word of God tells us what Jesus did and it tells us what Jesus said we would do through him to do this we need to go beyond we just the simple reading of God's Word books are read but the Word of God the Word of God needs to be practiced this brings me to my next key key number two don't just read the Word of God apply the Word of God to your life let me see that again apply the Word of God to your life how do you do this well don't read the Bible like words on a page that's a great start believe and apply the Word of God to your life apply it like you would medicine for healing apply it like you would sunscreen for protection the Living Word of God can stir up your faith like nothing else so whenever possible read the Bible out loud if you have a favorite scripture memorize it and speak it out over your life and over your circumstances don't just read the Word of God speak it let it filled the room let it reverberate let it percolate in the air let the truth resonate and marinate within your bones the Word of God says it this way faith comes by hearing hearing so when you speak it you're hearing and hearing through the word of Christ the Bible the word of Christ is the ultimate source of our faith there's something extraordinary that that happens when you audibly read the scripture and then you apply it to your personal situation I do this really quite often almost every day I pray my favorite scriptures out loud because it stirs up my faith as I hear it and it actually changes the spiritual atmosphere around me especially in my office sometimes I'll even insert my name into the scripture just to personalize it even more the Bible isn't a book that needs to be read it's a map it's a tool chest and it's a weapon for spiritual warfare this mysterious substance we call faith and this word of God are eternally attached at the umbilical cord if you're having a crisis of faith the first place to turn is to the Word of God remember the power of God is made perfect in our weakness the Word of God is the strength we need when we feel our faith is weak key number three grow to appreciate the true power of faith the third key to increasing your faith and empowering God to act on your behalf is to understand the sheer magnitude of what faith is and what faith can do see faith is more powerful than just words we can find to describe it in Hebrews 11 faith is described as the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen that's true but you see it's also the substance literally faith is a substance that next the physical world we can see with the spiritual world we don't see get this faith is the understanding of how the system of heaven works on earth how does it work it works by faith and it works because of faith faith is the understanding of how the visible and invisible worlds coexist and intermingle with each other faith says God's in control and although I don't understand it all God does and I daily choose to put my life in his hands when I do that the power of faith kicks in the gear faith also works like a catalyst as well it's supernatural it's a change agent that only God can do a change agent that transformed prayer from merely words to action we may think as our words that direct heaven but really it's our faith at this point you may be thinking well how can faith be all of that well here's how Matthew 17 24 verily I say to you if you have faith like the grain of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you faith doesn't take up much space but faith is very dense in fact faith makes the nucleus of an atom look really roomy but most of all your faith makes things happen even faith as small as a mustard seed can be the catalyst to move mountains your faith is never more real than when it's being put to the test in the storms faith and miraculous bundle John Paul explains three unique aspects of faith that will help you pray more effectively trust God more and increase your faith in storms faith in the miraculous John Paul describes key principles to strengthen your faith and see the miraculous happen in your life in healings and measures of faith John Paul describes the types of faith present during the healing ministry of Jesus in how God kills fear John Paul shares inspirational teachings that will help you turn your fear into faith and gain victory the storms faith and miraculous bundle is being offered for your gift of fifty dollars or more to the ministry we'd like to send you the CD storms faith in the miraculous the CD or dvd healings and measures of faith and the CD or dvd how God kills fear order yours today by visiting us at dreams and mysteries.com or call us at one eight hundred five three eight five two eight five you want to learn the deeper mysteries of God but feel overwhelmed with your schedule introducing John Paul's online classroom attend his classes without leaving your home explore subjects like dream interpretation hearing from God living the spiritual life prayer and spiritual warfare to begin your journey go to dreams and mysteries.com and click on John Paul's online classroom or call one eight hundred five three eight five two eight five the word faith should mean something completely different to you and me than it does to anyone else who doesn't believe in Jesus to the world faith is a way to describe a belief in something you can't see to us faith is faith in Jesus faith is the understanding of how the system of God's kingdom works on earth and it only works through faith in Jesus so to simply say you're a person of faith is really an incomplete statement you have to know and understand the source at the other end of the faith to the world seeing is believing but to Christians believing is believing that's not to say that you and I don't have real experiences I mean experiences that we know is proof that God exists and the Bible is true but that proof probably wouldn't hold up in court not because it isn't valid but simply because it was spiritually discerned the wisdom of God will always seem foolish to those who don't know him it's no different with faith faith in Christ the cross the resurrection faith in the entire Bible as the infallible Word of God all of this takes a different kind of belief and it has to be supernatural to simply say you have faith isn't really saying anything at all faith in what faith is more than just believing the plausible faith is believing the impossible let me give you a rather long example so stay with me for just a moment it doesn't take faith to believe that roughly 2,000 years ago a man named Jesus from a small city of Nazareth let a peaceful rebellion that caused an uproar amongst Jewish and Roman society this Jesus was ultimately put to death on a cross and then after that death he was rumored that he resurrected from the dead and this caused the man named Jesus to become seen as a martyr the details of that martyrdom became the basis of what we call Christianity today all right now it doesn't require faith to believe that story but why because that's a slice of history in a in a broad sense that's entry level faith at best faith requires believing the entire our Bible including the parts that are difficult to understand even that is just intermediate faith where faith really gets tested as when you're now asked that you believe so much of this that those difficult words to understand and supernatural events of the Bible can still happen today and now you're asked to take action on it and oh by the way in this action you're supposed to be instigating some of that at least that's what Jesus said that's why it's called the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and not the lukewarm Commission you might say the Great Commission takes mature faith to bring heaven to earth I have a dream I get into my truck to go to a meeting and on the way to the meeting I run out of gas I start walking to the nearest gas station and I finally get to it only to discover it's closed it looks as though it's been closed for years I feel the need to knock on all the doors and to look into the windows and to make sure it's been abandoned then I walked to one of the pumps and I start pumping the gas into my amazement the gas starts to flow and I'm able to fill up my truck and get to where I'm going sometimes the simplest of dreams can have profound profound meaning and this this is one of those dreams that has a profound meaning to it the dreamer runs out of gas in his truck and so I'm just going to kind of take it a little bit at a time a truck isn't just a truck one it's a way to get to where God's caused you to do but why truck and not a bicycle the truck takes something from one place to another it helps people on one place it helps people on the other end of the drive as well so a truck is very very important whether it's a small truck or large truck it's very very important but on the way on the way to do one of his trips or one of the trips he runs out of gas gas represents that which empowers gas empowers a gasoline engine it explodes inside the engine and pushes a cylinder down and so you have that what the new test will call the Dunamis the power so gasoline represents the power so his truck had run out of this Dunamis and it was looking for a place to get it refilled which kind of reminds me of the five wise and five foolish virgins because they were all all ten were virgins were pure but five took oil with them or refilled their their had an extra tank of oil or extra cup art our container of oil than to took with him he's looking for someplace to refill of the dreamers looking for someplace to refill the oil out of the gasoline in in his container and get his truck started he looks at a service station service stations often will represent the place that's supposed to supply you with the power where would that be in your life where is the place that's supposed to supply you with power usually you'd call that a church it's the place where you go you get recharged you get REME powered you get reinvasion you you continue with your life and that's what's going on here he's looking for a place that has the power they Dunamis this gasoline that will help him get to where he's going but when he gets to the power supply place the gas station he finds that not only is it closed but it has been closed for a long time in fact it's been closed for years now it looks in the windows what does windows look represent windows represent vision so it's looking to see if the church has any vision is also looking for doors as a way to get in you know Jesus said I am the door I'm the way the truth the life I am the door no one comes to the Father except through me he's looking for an opening an open door so that he can get this power that is looking for now metaphorically that would say and I'm not against churches I've been a pastor of sixth I mean I've started six churches and pastored three others and been on staff so I'm not against churches at all but there are churches that somehow years ago lost their power now in this particular case the church hadn't really lost its power something else happened that church or the filling station had literally been abandoned in other words the power was there he pumped in the ends up pumping the gas out of out of the gas the gas dispenser the gas pump but it had been abandoned in other words God has supplied power to the church but the church had abandoned the power we feel that a lot today we see a lot here here's the wonderful thing about this this man despite of the dreamer in spite of the looking of abandonment of the others of the gas station he has enough faith to go ahead and see if it still works others had abandoned it but this dreamer had the faith to see if the power was still available that is remarkable faith that's that's an incredible dream and it promises to fulfill the dreamer is calling for they're going the purpose for which God created this person is it going to be fulfilled all because he dared to believe the unbelievable over the last 30 years john paul jackson has studied how God speaks metaphorically through dreams parables and proverbs in the Bible God wants all believers to understand their dreams and that includes you for your gift of $60 or more we'd like to send you the essentials of dreams bundle this bundle includes a 2-cd set teaching the basics of dreams and visions John Paul's advanced six CD set essentials of dreams and visions and a three CD set on the biblical model of dream interpretation also included the moments with God dream journal plus four dream cards to help you understand your dreams order your essentials of dreams bundle today visit dreams and mysteries calm or call one eight hundred five three eight five two eight I alluded to this earlier to believe in the cross but not believe in the other supernatural elements of the Bible is going to limit your faith and when your faith is limited God is also limited the parable of the seed and the sower tells us that there were seeds that fell among thorns and thistles these were the cares of the world these were the things that caused us concern and when it comes to faith thorns and thistles represents our thoughts our logic us trying to figure things out and when we can't it usually results in fear fear you know it really boils down to fear fear of not being in control fear that we might be wrong about what God can and can't do fear that he won't act on our behalf here's an important point to remember fear and faith are the same thing that's right I said again fear and faith are the same thing you see they're both the belief that something that hasn't happened is going to happen faith is a belief there's something good that hasn't happened will happen and fear is to believe that something bad that hasn't happened will happen the Word of God restores our faith by replacing fear and the cares of this world with timeless truths and promises of God what part of your life is draining your faith what thoughts are you having that allow doubt and unbelief to creep in there's nothing you're going through that's some new and special problems that's the first of its kind in the entire human race God has an answer and he's written it down in his word just for you the mystery of faith is this we don't truly appreciate it until it's tested fact we don't even know we have faith until it's tested many of you are going through a crisis in your life or a test and you're asking God why why haven't you changed my husband or my wife why haven't you removed my cancer why can't I stop doing the very things that hurt the ones I love most you want to know why God doesn't just step in and remove the pain the fear and the uncertainty I want you to know something look into my eyes look look into my eyes none of this happened because you just didn't have enough faith to prevent it that's not it at all it happened because there's evil in the world that wants to cause you pain it wants to steal and kill and destroy it also wants to attack the very thing in you that can stop it and that is your faith what does it take to have the kind of faith that can change the world here's what it looks like it looks like the son of an idol maker Abraham who God told to just start walking and he does it's the most fearful man in all of Israel Gideon who climbs out of his favorite hiding place to lead his people to victory it's the prostitute it's the deceiver it's the least likely it's the spotted and speckled God has another name for people like this he calls them heroes of the faith you see faith is more than belief in something you can't prove faith is the understanding of how the system of heaven works it's the power of the Creator that he chooses to place inside imperfect vessels you may think you're not qualified to pray for somebody watch them be healed but I'm here to tell you this you are qualified that's what I see when I look at Hebrews 11 and was often called God's faith Hall of Fame I see you your faith may be weak great God's powers made perfect in your weakness why because he receives glory when you do what only you can do through faith in him that's why he created you because nothing makes a Father's heart more proud than to watch his children follow in his footsteps we have an ambitious goal to restore the awe and wonder of God through this groundbreaking TV series would you like to take part then join us in spreading the gospel by calling 1-800 five three eight five two eight five and ask to become a monthly TV partner thank you for watching and may God bless all ago

Channel: Dreams & Mysteries

Views: 71,629

Rating: 4.9101429 out of 5

Keywords: John Paul Jackson, Streams Ministries, Dreams & Mysteries, dreams, dream interpretation, Daystar, Christian TV, Christian, Holy Spirit, faith, Religion (TV Genre)

Id: dNRzjrmDxyw

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 03 2015