In a walk with God we need to understand the balance of the sovereign leading of the Lord and human initiative.
Just how much do we take our own life in our own hands and plan it, and just how much do we look to God for every decision, every answer?
The word of the Lord is “Make it happen”, “I have set before you the principles and the truths of the kingdom.
Now take the initiative to go ahead in accord with what you’ve learned. Make your plans; take the initiative, and the Spirit of the Lord will enlighten you. If you err, you will be checked and hindered.”
Now, this is important for us to know: not only are we going to have the will of the Lord revealed to us, the will of the Lord is going to be a part of our very being.
When you say, “I would like to have a word from the Lord, I would like to have the leading of the Lord,” it is because that leading is still something outside of you that has to be ministered to you.
But God is bringing us to the place where the will of the Lord is going to be incorporated into our very thinking, and then initiative is going to come forth stronger than at any time in the history of the world.
As the sons of God come forth, they will be the most aggressive people with initiative and faith that we have ever seen, so creative.
They won’t have to stop and ask, “Well, Lord, what’s Your mind concerning this?” The will of the Lord and the leading of the Lord will be so incorporated into their very being, into their minds, that their thinking will be the thinking of Christ. Their planning will be the planning of Christ, and they will move ahead.
The ministry of deacons is the aggressive ministries of action. The ministry of elders has to do with oversight and shepherding, and often perception.
But if you look into Acts the sixth chapter, the deacons were men that were filled with wisdom, full of faith, full of power, because they were the aggressive ministries of action.
Phillip goes down to Samaria, the whole city is converted. He was the one who was caught up by the Spirit and set down to minister.
Stephen was the one who was so aggressively moving as a deacon, that while the apostles were off laying foundations in the ministries, he went out and began to minister the word of the Lord, and became the first martyr of the church.
Later on in the history of the church, two or three hundred years later, elders disappeared. Bishops and deacons were the only aggressive strong ministries that were left.
In other words, the elders, the apostles and prophets were wiped out, but those aggressive ministries were still there, but they got off track.
But God will restore again these aggressive ministries of action.
Now this has been leading to what we are going to talk about: God has given us a word, let’s make it happen.
In Romans 4:16–25, we read about the faith of Abraham: … the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not as though they were. Verses 16, 17.
God calls the things that are not, as though they were. You have to understand that pecularity about God. God often looks like He is talking to Himself—He is saying things and it seems there’s nobody there to listen.
But when God begins to talk, there will be someone there created to listen. If God starts giving a word before the foundation of the world for the sons of God, there are going to be some sons of God who come forth and listen to those words and receive them.
He calls things that are not as though they were. God begins to talk in prophetic terms about what you are going to be. You may not be that yet in the natural realm, but He is talking about it. When He says it and He calls you something, and you know that you are not yet that, don’t regard what you are: believe the word of God because that’s what you will become and are becoming.
Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall Thy seed be. Verse 18.
Abraham didn’t have any hope in himself, but he had a hope in God. Many times we come to the place where we don’t have anything to hope in from the natural viewpoint. Everything is no better than ever, but you are greatly encouraged because the hope is in your heart from the Lord and you know that things will change.
“And without being weakened in faith he considered his own body as dead, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb: Verse 19.
Notice that! Without being weakened in faith he considered his own body being as good as dead. A man of faith does not have to be a dreamer. He does not have to con himself into something: a man of faith looks at things as they are and he is not weakened by it.
Abraham looked at his old body, a hundred years old, looked at Sarah’s body, the deadness of Sarah’s womb, past the time of bearing children.
Did that bother him? He didn’t stop to say, “Oh, this is just an illusion, it’s just a false symptom.” No, he looked at her and he said, “Sarah, you look terrible. You’re half dead.” She looked up at Abraham, “You old centenarian, you are dead, too; your body is as good as dead.” The only thing we’ve got to hope in is that we have a word from God.
We can look at ourselves and we are not weakened in faith. Can you look at yourself and not be weakened in faith? Can you take a look at the present situation in your life and not be weakened in faith? Can you be a realist?
Do you have to have your head off in a cloud, or every time you get a glimpse of the natural situation, down goes faith? You have faith to look the thing right square in the eye.
The one thing that kept Abraham going is that he never fooled himself. He knew exactly what the situation was, but he wasn’t weakened in faith when he considered his own body as good as dead. He wasn’t weakened in faith when he recognized that Sarah had passed the time of bearing children.
… yet looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not (King James says “staggered not”) through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God. Verse 20.
Notice that. He didn’t have to make the circumstance the challenge; the challenge was the word of God to him.
We have come to the place where we are not going to waver over any uncertain situation, because our Faith is not based on that.
Our faith is based on a promise from God. We are not going to stagger at the circumstances, because we don’t have to; and if we have faith, we won’t stagger at the promises of God.
The issue is not the circumstances the issue is the word from God.
What makes a good church is the promises of God resting upon it—and a few people to believe it. I’ll stagger not in unbelief.
… being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Verse 21.
That was the faith of Abraham. He was not going to stagger at a promise of God, but he was going to believe that what God had promised him, He was able also to perform.
A lot of people receive promises that never come to pass and never will. They stagger at them; they waver, they have double vision.
The person that gets anything from God is the person that gets a promise from God and makes it happen. They make it happen. God cooperates with them in bringing it to pass.
You see, if God intended to do this all Himself, He wouldn’t even need to give a promise. He would just do it. But He gives you a promise, because that is His way of bringing forth your initiative and faith in your aggressive growth in God. Are you following that?
Probably that’s one of the most profound truths that you will hear for a long time. I am being very careful to just lay before you a word that is as good as a bomb to just blow up your unbelief and let the flood gates of heaven begin to flood your soul.
Now we switch over to another passage in Hebrews 6:11: And desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fullness of hope even to the end.
This is so important: diligence, diligence, diligence unto the fullness of hope.
The word diligence comes from a root Greek word that means-to speed, urge, hasten, press. It speaks of speed, earnestness, diligence, zeal.
If someone has a little hope, it can sort of rise and fall like the tide every few hours. But, oh, to have the fullness of hope!
You say, “I thought we were talking about faith.” It is very much related. Just to be full of hope and to be diligent in the fullness of hope to the end: that ye be not sluggish. The thing that puts the incentive and drive in you is that fullness of hope.
How many have objectives and promises that you really want to hope for? You have some hope for them, but start asking God for more hope—fullness of hope.
At Christmas time, little children live in expectation: they are better than they were all year long. They mind their mama better than ever or they are not going to get a present. They know what they want, they write to Santa and are careful that Daddy gets the letter. They do all of these things because there is an expectation in them; they know at a certain date something is going to happen.
We have the promise; let’s make it happen. Now some people will get more and some less. There will be some people sitting down, sluggish. He said, be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:12.
The promises are there, but you are not going to inherit them if you are sluggish. So, with faith and patience, real endurance, you are going to go after them.
We need to recognize that those promises are only going to be inherited in individuals in the body, who will have the diligence to press in and take them.
Be moved only by one thing: God has given you a word. When God gives a word, and the elders and I lay our hands on you, we are helping you make it happen right there. You not only get the word, but we bring it into action, into reality right there. God give us that diligent faith, that we will get a word and our faith will just bring it right into action, into reality; we will make it happen.
What God has called you to do, make it happen. If you are sitting back waiting for the full details, you will never get it. You can’t steer a parked car; you have to be in motion before you can steer it, and when God gives you a word, start moving, and then God will help you, God will help you steer in the right direction.
If you get off the way, He will get you back on. Get to moving in that aggressive active faith. Make it happen. Faith without works is dead, abiding alone.
Can you imagine Nehemiah sitting and looking at the walls knowing that God set him there to see that those walls come up, saying, “It’s the will of God that those walls come up, and if God wants those walls up—He will bring those walls up, I am just standing here blessing those rocks.” He would still be blessing those rocks!
God said, “Build the wall,” so Nehemiah had to make it happen, and he not only had to make it happen, but he had to turn his back on every distraction that would stop him from making it happen. When somebody said, “Come on down. We want to talk with you,” he said, “I am doing a great work and I can’t come down. Why should the work of the Lord cease while I come down with you?” In other words, Nehemiah said, “I am making it happen. I’m building Zion.”
God is building Zion, and they labor in vain that build the house, unless the Lord build the house. But the Lord doesn’t build the house without you putting your hand to it. Get the saw and hammer, get ready, make it happen. Get the word from the Lord and make it happen.
Do you want to be prophets? Make it happen. How are you going to become prophets of God? Well, in the first place you will have to know the Bible. Read it. “Well, I am looking for the Holy Spirit to teach me.” He will but start reading the Word and the Spirit will teach you as you read it. Get in motion, start doing it.
We don’t understand yet certain disciplines that faith requires. “Well, I want to know the voice of the Lord. Get down on your knees and start waiting on the Lord. You are not going to learn His voice any other way. Learn His voice by waiting on the Lord.
Start doing it! Basic dedication to disciplines are so essential to a ministry, so that you get the word, you get the leading, and you make it happen because you have that aggressive faith.