(Music starts)
♪ The Word is working
mightily in me ♪ ANNOUNCER>> Welcome to the Concepts of Faith Broadcast. This program is dedicated to teaching you how to put the Word of God to work so that it will make a positive difference in the everyday circumstances of your life. CHARLES CAPPS>> Now we're continuing again today on the same subject that we talked last week, we're talking about going whole hog when half ready. Some of you have done it, I have done it a time or two, and we need to know what the Word of God says about it. Now, in the other broadcast we were in Matthew the fifteenth chapter of the fourteenth chapter, and talking about the fact that Peter had said to Jesus, Lord if it bids you, if it be you bid me to come to you on the water, you remember the story, and Jesus just said come. So he bailed out of the boat to go to Jesus. And uh, he wasn't really ready for water-walking faith, because he had not come to the point that he was single-minded in what he was doing. He began to look at the waves, and at the wind, and he says he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried. Now, notice it says he was beginning to sink. Here, Peter had faith enough to get out of the boat, and walk on the water. Now, you have to realize the man had faith. He walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he concentrated on something that had nothing to do with what he was doing, he saw the wind boisterous, and he saw the waves, he was afraid and beginning to sink. In other words, fear will eliminate faith to the degree that through fear, faith will vanish. Now have you ever seen anyone step in a swimming pool, and they begin to sink gradually, to their ankles, to their knees, and then to the waist, no, they just went ca-chugg and they're gone. So this proves that he lost his faith by the degree to which he observed the wind and the waves. In other words, he was not single-minded, he did not let the Word abide in him. Jesus said come. There was enough power in that one word, enough faith in that one word, for Peter to walk on the water to go to Jesus. Now you have to realize, far as I know, he's the only man other than Jesus that ever walked on the water, so we can't criticize him too much. But, you see, a lot of people have jumped out of the boat, they've bailed out of the boat, when they weren't ready for water-walking faith. And that's why the title of this subject we're talking about, Going Whole-Hog, When Half Ready. We've done it, I've done it, in the past, I'll not do it again, there's a lot of people that didn't understand the faith message and got them in trouble. Now, you'll notice here that Jesus said oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? In other words, the doubt came in, and faith vanished. Now, someone gave me a plaque one time, and it says fear knocked at the door. Faith answered, and there was no one there. Now, let me remind you of what Jesus said to Jairus. In the fifth chapter of Mark, Jairus came to Jesus and said, Lord, my little daughter is at home, and she's at the point of death, but if you come lay your hands on her, she shall live. As she should be healed, and she shall live. Now that was a faith statement, wasn't it? I mean, the girl's at the point of death. She is dying, and he said if you lay your hands on her, she'll live. And then Jesus started going with Jairus, but about a little ways down the road a woman slipped up behind Jesus and she was saying when I touch his clothes, I'll be restored to health. Now, she said it, the amplified says, she continually said that. Till she got to Jesus, and she touched the hem of his garment, the power of God came out of him, she was healed. And here's Jairus standing there, waiting for Jesus to go to his house. And then the runner came. And said, your daughter is already dead, don't trouble the master anymore. Now listen to the words of Jesus. He said to Jairus, fear not, only believe. In other words, don't do anything other than believe. Now what's he gone believe? Is he gonna believe the bad news that the man brought? No, Jesus said believe. Believe what? Believe what he said when faith was high. See your faith don't always stay at the same level. His faith was high when he said Jesus, if you come lay your hands on my little daughter, she'll be healed and she shall live. Well Jesus has left the multitude and started following, then the woman with the issue of blood came along and got her healing, and told them all the truth and testified that all the things that had happened to her. But Jesus said fear not, only believe. In other words, don't do anything, Jairus, not time to try to make a faith confession, just keep your mouth shut. Sometimes, now listen to me. Sometimes, corresponding action is to do nothing. In other words, rest on what you've already decreed in faith. In the book of Job, it says decree a thing, and it shall be established to you, and light shall shine upon your path. So Jairus is there, he gets the bad news, Jesus said don't let fear come, only believe. Just believe what you said. In other words, if he doesn't change what he's already said, his little daughter will be healed. Now if he gets in fear, or if he starts saying now if you hadn't stopped and healed this woman, then you'd got there in time to heal my daughter, got his strife, he'd had a funeral the next day. But you see, Jesus said fear not, only believe. Don't let fear come. Now, you can't stop fear sometimes from getting in the carnal mind. But if you have faith in your heart, that's why Jesus said if you abide in me and my words abide in you. The words of Jesus if they were abiding in Peter when he got out in that boat, then he woulda walked on the water till he got to Jesus. But when fear came, faith left, and he began to sink. Now that proves that he lost his faith by degrees, and some of you have done the same thing, I've done it in days past. But thank God the word that abides in you will sustain you. Now, I want us to come over here to the Mark, the fourth chapter. And I want to show you what Jesus said about the principles of the kingdom of sowing and reaping, and you know Mark gives his account of the parable of the sower. Verse 26, and he said so is the kingdom of God's if the man cast his wheat into the ground. Now we're talking about sowing a seed and reaping the harvest, sowing the seed of the word of God in your heart, or in the heart of someone else. In other words, for them to be saved, or it might be for healing, whatever, but the word of God is a seed. When you sow that seed, if the soil is prepared, if the heart is prepared to receive, then it's gonna affect their life. So as Paul said, I planted, Apollos water, and God gave the increase. The word of God has power in it. There's life. There's energy in it. There's the divine energy of God resting in the word. In other words, the DNA of God is in his word. And it'll affect the lives of people if they'll let it on the inside of them. Way you get it down there is speak it, proclaim it, believe it, say it, and that's the way you plant the word of God. And he said so is the kingdom of God if a man cast the seed in the ground. So an individual is the one that plants the seed. You're sowing for your harvest daily. Whether you're speaking seeds of the word of God, or whether you speak in seeds of the words of the devil, or of the fear, or doubt, or unbelief, or whatever. Those words affect what you do and the decision you make. Because when fear comes, faith leaves. Now notice what he goes on to say. And he shall sleep and rise, night and day, and the seed shall spring up and he knoweth not how. In other words, when you plant a seed in the ground, now that is why Jesus used natural things to show you how spiritual things work. When you plant a seed in the ground, when I was farming I never did have to fast and pray that that seed would know how to raise cotton. Or the ground would know how to furnish the nutrients to cause cotton to grow. The DNA is in the seed, the genetic makeup is in that seed, and it knows how to produce cotton. The soil has no choice but to produce what that seed demands of it. It demands all the nutrients to produce. So the kingdom of God's if a man cast a seed to the ground, he should sleep and rise night and day, the seed shall spring and grow up and knoweth not how, for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself. In other words, this parable reveals that Jesus is likening the ground, he's giving you an allegory, the ground is like the heart of man. When you plant a seed in the ground, it'll produce. When you plant the seed of God's word in your heart, it will produce in your life. But it has to bide in there. Remember what Jesus said, John 15:7, if you abide in me, my words abide in you. Ask what you will. And other scriptures would reveal, pray what you will, declare what you will, say what you will, and it shall be done. But it must abide in you. Now, you know, as a farmer, I knew that when you plant a seed, you leave it planted. You don't go out there and dig it up the next morning, say I tell you what, seeds don't work anymore. I planted this cotton yesterday morning, and not cotton stalk the first out there. Well, no, it takes time. Seed time and harvest, usually plant one day and reap the next. Now I want you to get a hold of this, because this is where some of you have been missing it. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, in other words, plant it, leave it, plant it, trust that the seed will produce and bring forth a harvest. First the blade. Now, first the blade, then the ear. Now, evidently he's talking about corn here. You plant a grain of corn, first the blade comes up. Then the ear, and after that, the full corn in the ear, and when the fruit is brought forth, immediately puteth in the sickle because the harvest is come. Now, remember what we're talking about, we're talking about the subject matter is going whole-hog when half-ready. Some of you have done that. You have planted a seed. It may have been a financial seed, you've planted it in someone's ministry because it produces after its kind. If you need finances, plant a seed of finances in the ministry, and believe for a return. If you need time, give time. I mean it produces after its kind. And then, it looked like you were gonna get a better job, you made an application, and it looked very favorable, you had the blade alright, and you said glory to God, I'm gonna buy me a new car, because I'm gonna get this job and I'm gonna have all this money, so you go and buy a new car. You went whole-hog when you was only half-ready. It wasn't time to harvest. Any farmer knows that when corn gets up about that high, you go out there and cut it off smooth with the ground, try to harvest it, you not gonna have a harvest. Now that's what I'm talking about, when people go whole hog when half ready. You cannot harvest the blade. What you gonna do, you're gonna ruin the harvest. And sometimes the enemy will send something your way that it looks like it's gonna work out, to try to get you off the word, and when it doesn't work out, that wasn't what God wanted you to do anyway, he had something much better over here for you to do, and would pay you a lot more, but because you got offended because you went and bought a new car, you spent the money you thought you was gonna get and didn't get it because you went whole hog, and you wasn't even half ready. You just had the blade, then you turn thumbs down on the faith message, and got mad at God, and pouted, and had a pity party for a while. I'm telling you, this parable gives you insight into how to operate in the principles of the kingdom, and it would change your thinking if you study this parable. First the blade, then the ear. Now you know you've gone to a salad bar, and you've found unscriptural corn on that salad bar. It was a little bitty ear of corn about that long, and it did not have the full corn in the ear. I call it unscriptural corn, and you eat the cob and all. And it was good alright, and I guess that's what whole hogs do. They eat the cob and all. But you see, you're supposed to wait until the full corn is in the ear. and then it's ready for harvest. So here he says he should sleep night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, and he knoweth not how. Now you may not understand how it's gonna work out. But when you plant a seed as a farmer, when I planted fields, I didn't know how that seed knew how to demand of the soil. I didn't understand how the soil knew exactly the elements that that seed needed to produce cotton or rice or soybeans. But I didn't have to fast and pray that it know what to do. It is inherent in it. It's in it. The DNA is in that seed. And the genetic makeup demands of the soil, and the soil has no choice but to produce what it demanded. Now I want you to get a hold of this. When you speak the word of God, the promise of God, until it gets in your heart, it abides in you. I'm talking about it becomes a part of you. It's like quoting the multiplication tables until they're abiding in you, you don't have to sit down and count apples and oranges, to do mathematics now, because it abides in you. Why? Because it's a mathematical law. We're talking about a law of faith here. That ye shall have whatsoever you sayeth, if you believe. If it doubt not in his heart, if it believes what he's saying will come to pass, he shall have. In other words, the man is developed to believe everything that he says release faith in every word that he says.. then when he speaks some things over a period of time, now see what I'm talking about is not just jumping out and doing something on the spur of the moment. The Lord said to me one time, he said you pray too quick. And I thought, that's, I never heard that before from the Lord, you know. He said you prayed before you found out what my word said about it. How could you have Bible faith when you don't know what my will is concerning what you're praying about? Now let me say it again. It is impossible to have viable faith for something you don't know if whether it's God's will or not. Because God's word is his will, and what he says about it in his word is his will, so if you don't know what it is, you can't possibly have viable faith for it. So it must be developed in you, and you develop that faith by confessing the word, reading the word, meditating the word, getting that word down on the inside of you where it will develop and produce a harvest. Once that word gets in you and it's abundantly in your heart, not just in your head, you see you could have mental ascent of the word of God. Well yes, I believe that because it's in the Bible. That's just mental ascent. Mental ascent says I believe that because it's in the Bible and I know the Bible is true. But is that really true to you? The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself. Now you understand that here in this parable, the earth, the ground, is the likened to the heart of man. Whatever you plant in here on the inside of you, it will produce and you will live out the reality of it. In other words, the promises of God, give and it shall be given to you, and all the other promises in the new covenant. If you get that abundantly in your heart, then when you give, you know it is given unto you. There is not doubt about it because, you know, as a farmer, I knew when I planted cotton, I'm gonna have cotton come up. Not gonna be corn. Not gonna be tomatoes. It's gonna be cotton, because it's the DNA's is in it. The genetic makeup of that seed determines what it will produce. God's word has the ability residing in it to produce in your life exactly what the promise says. Who has own self bear our sin in his body on the tree that we be dead to sin to live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. Now you see, that's the word of God. You may not believe it, it may not be abundantly in your heart, but the more you quote it, the more you read it, the more you meditate on it and find out that God sent his word and heals you, 2000 years ago, it's a finished work. Once you become fully persuaded of that, you can live out the reality of it. But you see, you don't go don't go whole hog when half ready. Don't be a granola Christian. Like somebody said well, they took their glasses off and stomped them, because that proves they had faith. No, it may prove they'll have to get someone to drive them to work the next morning. No, you develop your faith, and you develop what you believe, because you see, the word of God will produce after its kind. Now it says, but when the fruit is brought forth immediately, he put them in the sickle. Now let me give you an illustration of people going whole hog when half ready. I had a lady write me several years ago, and I don't say this to belittle her, I say it because you need to know this is not the thing to do. Because here, this woman wrote me a letter that said, I want you to agree with me that someone will give me a brand-new Park Avenue. I'm confessing a brand-new Park Avenue Buick. Well, then she said oh by the way, would you pray that I get a job. Now here's a woman that doesn't even have a job, she wouldn't have the money to pay the sales tax on it or buy the gas to put in it, and she's believing for a new car. Now, she's not even half ready. She's trying to go beyond where she's developed. First thing, believe God for a job and the money to put the gas in the car. You see what I'm talking about? Now, this is just common sense. And then I know of another fellow that he believed for a big house, I mean there was no way he could qualify for the loan it didn't seem like, then he kept confessing that he would get the loan, somehow. He got the loan. But it wasn't a good idea, because he didn't have the income to support it. Well, it worked so good, he confessed an airplane. Started believing God for an airplane. Got an airplane. And I think the next thing he did, he believed for another one. I mean he got all this stuff, and had not believed in the money to take care of it. Now folks, that's what we're talking about. Going whole hog when half ready. You've gotta put first things first. And deal with what you're dealing with here, is the word of God producing a harvest. Don't try to harvest the blade. You harvest when the fruit is brought forth. When the corn is in the ear, when the full corn is in the ear. Now there's a place in the book of Acts I want you to see this when Paul in the fourteenth chapter in the book of Acts. He was at Lystra and there was a certain man in Lystra impotent in his feet, crippled from his mother's womb, had never walked, and the same heard Paul preach, uh speak. And steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed. Now, this is an interesting story because here's a man that had faith to be healed, but he was not healed. Now Paul said that he had the spirit of God revealed to Paul, that he had faith to be healed, but the man was not healed. Did you know it's possible to have faith to be healed and not be healed? Here is an instance. But he heard Paul speak, and Paul perceived he had faith to be healed, but he hadn't acted on his faith. See somebody said well I had all the faith in the world that this was gonna happen, but it didn't. well, that might have been true. You might have had abundant faith for it to happen, but you didn't use it. I mean, you have to release faith. Now, how do you release faith? By saying that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. You have to say some things in faith. You have to speak some things in faith. The same heard Paul speak. Steadfastly beholding him perceiving he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand up right on thy feet, and the man leaped and walked. Now what happened here? Here's a man that the scripture says that he had faith to be healed, but he had no manifestation of it, because he had not acted on that faith. Now, when faith is in the heart, when you're full persuaded, sometimes because people have not acted on their faith, they haven't received the manifestation. Now you have to be careful with that because you could read some things into it that it didn't say. One fellow said that, well, he said that I'm new at this and faith. I wrote the check and sent it to pay my bill when I didn't have the money in the bank, and God will have to put the money in the bank because I had faith. I think that's going whole hog when half ready. It's not God's responsibility to put the money in the bank. Now, he may be in jail before God puts the money in the bank. It's your responsibility. How far can you go with corresponding action? Now remember James said faith without corresponding action is dead. But, let's say it this way. Here's the St. Charles translation the opposite end of that truth. Acting as though you had faith, when you're not developed in it, may be double dead. So you don't want to get out beyond where you're developed. Don't push people out where they're not developed to. It takes time to develop faith. Faith comes by hearing the word, meditating the word, dwelling on the word of God. You push people out and tell them to throw their medicine away and believe God for their healing, and you're gonna have a funeral on your hands on some people because they're not developed there. But if they develop themselves in faith, then eventually they may get to the point they can get their healing through the word of God. So use common sense in the word of God. Don't get out there where you're not developed to. Some people can't believe in God to get rid of a headache, they want to believe him for cancer or something, you know. You've got to develop into it. So this man leaped and walked. He had faith but he had no manifestation of it. Now sometimes there's corresponding action. Now how far can you go with corresponding action as far as paying bills and what have you. Well, write the check even though you don't have the money in the bank, write the check, but put it in the dresser drawer, and confess that in the name of Jesus when a certain period of time, I'll have the money to pay this bill, and I'll put it in the mail. Don't put it in the mail until you have the money in the bank. You understand what I'm saying? You use common sense. Don't throw common sense away and when you grow in faith, there's people that I've heard that they said glory to God, I'm gonna quit my job and live by faith. Well, that's going whole hog when you're half ready. I mean, if you can't live by faith with your job, you may starve without your job. So develop yourself to believe God in the situation you're in. to give you more time to do whatever it is you want to do. Faith is not a way of laziness. When you get developed in the word of God and get it abiding in you, see, words that you speak go before you. They get to the future before you do. Prepare the way for you. Be careful what you speak. Don't speak negative things. Speak the word of God. Develop yourself in faith and wait until there's the full corn in the ear. It's a growing process, it's a process of seedtime and harvest. And it works exactly the way Jesus said it did. Hallelujah. Isn't that good news? Praise God. Now, I want to offer this week offer number, book offer and tape offer number 2133 for $8.00. It's "Seedtime and Harvest", a single cassette tape called "Seedtime and Harvest", and the book entitled "Seedtime and Harvest", for the price of $8.00. now this book and tape will give you insight into what we're talking about here, that you sow a seed, you reap a harvest. Now this is a mini book, what they call a mini book, it's 32 pages long, and it ends with words of life, the spirit of man will sustain his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear. Your human spirit can sustain you. If you get the word of God in it, so you plant the word of God in it, don't agree with the enemy. Here's some of the things we've talked about. Binding and loosing, the spirit world can be controlled by the word of God. Jesus gave Peter some insight concerning the kingdom. I'll give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. In other words, whatever's bound out of heaven, you have authority to bind it off the earth. You're part of the earth now, you're not gonna bind it off of everything, you're not gonna get rid of all sickness and disease, but you can bind it off the part you walk on. Checking the seed. Sow it the way God said it. Sow the seed the way God said it. Check your seed and look before you leap. Speak faith. Faith speaks and when faith speaks, faith, I'm about to get my tongue wrapped around my tooth, when faith speaks it speaks faith, not doubt and unbelief. We have a toll-free order line, 1-877-396-9400. offer number 2133, it's $8.00, single cassette tape plus Seedtime and Harvest Book, same title. It's $8.00. toll free order line is 1-877-396-9400. (Music) Until next time, this is Charles Capps reminding you that the enemy is defeated, God is exalted, and JESUS IS COMING SOON. ♪ The Word is working
mightily in me ♪ ANNOUNCER>> To order a copy
of today's show or any product offered on this program, call
1-877-396-9400. Or visit our website at Capps.tv, where you
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the Word of God to work in the everyday circumstances
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