Many limitations are born of our own thinking. If you think you can do something, you can do it. Some scientists said recently concerning the space program that anything man can imagine he can do. It looks like the world is approaching that concept. In the field of sports, some athletes have gone into some amazing things, taking muscle building drugs that are more dangerous than the drug route some of the young people are following. They are concerned about constantly breaking records. A good illustration of that, of course, is the four-minute mile. Once that was thought to be the limit of human ability, but now so many men have broken the four-minute mile that new goals are being set.
Limitations born of people’s thinking are sometimes abandoned in a moment of stress, and they can come up with surprising energy. An insane man may have such strength that it would be impossible for an ordinary human being to cope with him. It was impossible to keep the demoniac of Gadara chained. When the devils came out of him they answered to the name “Legion,” and said, “We are many.” A Roman legion was about 3,000 men, so the devils in that man were actually able to strengthen what he was able to do.
The Holy Spirit likewise can strengthen people, for there are capabilities in the human body beyond what we know—capabilities of the mind and the body working together. Samson was very strong. One day he looked around for a weapon, saw a carcass of an animal, picked up the jawbone of an ass, and slew a thousand men. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he picked up the gates of the city, carried them away a few miles, and parked them on top of the hill. How is that for strength? He took hold of the pillars in the temple of Dagon and pulled them down. That’s the way he died. But always the Scripture says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. The people couldn’t understand how one man could have that kind of strength.
There are other examples of amazing strength. In one instance a woman with just natural human ability heard a scream, went out and saw that a car had fallen off its jack, and her son was being crushed under the car. She went over and literally picked up the back end of the car (imagine how much weight that would involve) and the boy crawled out. Afterward three of her vertebrae were found to be shattered, but she had not even felt it or known it at the time.
What is it that transcends pain and every limitation we have ever had? The adrenalin stimulates a person and can cause him to move faster in a moment of fear, or flight, or fighting, because of the danger. We don’t know yet what men can do on the natural plane, but we are concerned about the fact that spiritually, linked with the Lord, there ought to be greater possibilities than any of us know.
People make such a big mistake in building elaborate doctrines to explain away miracles and movings of God. They come up with nothing except a blessing that is out in the sweet by-and-by. Fundamentalists tell you that you can be saved, but you can’t expect to see today the miracles, divine healing, or anything you read about in the New Testament that was so spectacular and effective. They insist you received it all when you became a Christian. When you tell them you didn’t experience anything like the people had on the day of Pentecost, they answer, “That is all past. Where there be tongues, they shall cease.” Their reasoning reminds us of the rest of that passage: “Where there be knowledge, it shall pass away” (I Corinthians 13:8). They misuse Scripture all the way around.
What we need to do is be believers. Harry Emerson Fosdick could really put people’s faith to working. He was a modernist who started out as a Baptist pastor. In the days of his more fundamental faith he wrote one of the finest books on prayer. I think his book and Power and Prayer by E. M. Bounds are two of the outstanding books on prayer. He later turned to modernism and pastored in the famous Riverside Church in New York City before retiring. At the end of his ministry he was more fundamental than when he began.
In one of Fosdick’s books, he stated that the trouble with churches was that they were trying to define their doctrines until they believed less and less, in order to try and become united in one simple thing they could all believe. He said that the church was going about it altogether wrong. Everything in God’s Word is demanding that men’s minds and their faith expand.
The problem with scientists has been the reactionaries among them. Every time a doctor has a breakthrough, the rest of them persecute him. Every time something different is suggested, the reactionaries start pulling him back. Yet the scientific world is trying to believe more and more. It has to. Books on electronics and medical science are obsolete by the time the ink is dry on them. A doctor now who has finished his internship and is ready to set up his own practice has less than half of the essential knowledge he will need for his practice. During his lifetime knowledge will be increased so much in his field, that he will be inadequate as a doctor unless he continually learns more and more. Why doesn’t he learn it all now? He can’t. The books haven’t been written yet.
Knowledge will be unfolded so fast. Advances are coming in every field. Why don’t churches believe for greater things too? Why don’t the people rise and say, “We can believe it.” Why is faith fizzling out as the years go by, when the Word tells us to contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude 3)? Do we have any reason to believe that this walk could be superior to even the New Testament church as it existed? Absolutely. Jesus said, “The works that I do shall ye do also, and greater works shall ye do” (John 14:12). They have never been done. No one has ever performed the greater works, yet Christ prophesied it. Sometime a people must come along who will believe the Scriptures and say, “That mountain be removed hence and be cast in yonder sea,” and it will be done. Someone is going to believe it.
Faith is moving in two different directions. In an age when people are so full of unbelief and doubt, there are people coming forth who are believing, whose faith is coming up strong. Watch the things that are happening.
The Bible was not written to be a book of science; it was written to be a mystical guide for people who wanted the truth. Scientists attack the Bible on the basis of scientific inaccuracy, yet they jump over backwards when they dig up some other tablet or artifact. They attack the Bible because it is the Word of God, though there are some things in it that the scientists now approach.
The greatest scientific work being done right now is a method of photography invented by Russia in which photographs can be made of emanations coming from the heart and brain areas. I have seen the photographs and the emanations look like flames of fire. They are trying to find out what is behind the structure of matter. They know there is a force, and they don’t know what to call it. They may decide to call it spirit or a universal mind. They believe it generates electrical impulses which control the structure of all matter. It is especially related to the differences between organic matter and a human being. What they will eventually be doing is photographing the human spirit. It may not mean much to you, but after all these years of Russia preaching atheism, they could well come forth with scientific proof of life after death. They have nearly established it through this course, as well as the fact that memory is retained by a spirit. It still reacts according to memories and patterns of action before the so-called process of death occurred.
We live in a world of unbelief that can change in an instant. Everything could be different. It may not change too fast because people are very reactionary, but I would like to see the churches in this walk come forth and progressively make advances into the realm of the supernatural. We could set about to do it and not think of it as something peculiar that “spooky” people get into. We’ll not be gullible, but we will go at it with both feet on the ground, to learn and find the thing that works, and believe in it and walk in it. We must not have something in theory that is so far removed from actual practice. Any minister should be criticized if he preaches a high level of truth while he and his people are walking far below it.
One of the real prophets of God observed that after divine healing had been preached in the Pentecostal movement for half a century, about ninety-five percent of their people were sick. That is a higher ratio than you would find in a church that doesn’t believe in divine healing. Why? The devil contended for it and he won. They finally came to the place where they were hanging on to a dead doctrine, but had no experience of it.
We believe in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and all that God can do, and we make every effort not only to preach it, but to walk in it and bring our experience right up to it. Then when we say we believe, we can also say, “Here it is; take a look at it.” There may be a little lag, because the Lord always gives more revelation and we struggle to catch up, but that is all right. Let us move into it rapidly.
It is even hard to determine what is wild and far-fetched anymore. We have learned so much in a few years that we hardly know what is happening. Whether other churches are feeling it or not, we know that things are happening in this walk and being reproduced again and again. Signs are coming in our hands. Does that sound ridiculous? Not if we accept the Bible as a kind of mystical book, and realize that there is a scriptural basis for all the signs.
In the Old Testament why did they anoint the priest’s ear, right thumb and great toe? There was a reason. That priesthood was raised up to offer worship to God, to hear the word of the Lord under the anointing, while his feet directed him into the activity he was to follow.
The thumb represented the sign of kings and priests. A priest’s thumb or a high priest’s thumb became a sign of worship and adoration to God. The priesthood ministered before the Lord.
The first chapter of Judges reveals something else about the significance of the thumb. After capturing the king Adonibezek, the first thing the Israelites did was cut off his thumbs and his great toes. He would be a perpetual prisoner, an exhibition of a defeated king. While eating at the table, the victorious king could look down at the defeated king, without his thumbs, and be reminded that he had overcome him and taken his authority away from him.
Some of the most ancient clay tablets show that a thumbprint was used like a fingerprint is used today. Abraham bought some cattle in Ur of Chaldees, and his thumbprint was found on the cuneiform tablets. He could well be the only patriarch whose thumbprint we have. The thumb was the sign of authority. A king would boast about all the kings who had sat at his table whose thumbs were cut off, thereby severing their authority.
As we stand worshiping the Lord, or God begins to bring a deliverance, we may receive a sign in the thumb. What does it mean? It is the sign of authority of the kings and the priests of the Lord who minister in the name of the Lord.
When the Holy Spirit brings the sign of anointing, it is different than it was in the Old Testament times when the priests put oil on their hands. As the anointing of the Holy Spirit comes on the hands, there may be moments when a few individuals in the congregation find their hands suddenly beginning to glisten with a coating of oil. Through the years a number have had that sign. It is not that unusual.
Someone may say, “You are following signs.” No, we are not. We don’t pay much attention to them. The Scripture says, “These signs shall follow them that believe.” When we look back once in a while, we see the signs following, but we are not following them; they are not the directive. We are pursuing after the Lord.
The things that are happening are so fantastic they seem almost weird by human thinking. Does this produce a lot of kooky people? No. In fact, our lives are far more balanced than anyone you could find. They are lives with purpose and direction. They are not confused. We go through tremendous spiritual battles and yet we seem to rise above them, while the Lord accomplishes great things through them. A mark of progress and growth, a mark of what people have in a walk like this, is the fact that they can face any situation and with their faith turn it into the biggest victory ever.
“We believe, and we are going to be believers.” Say that over and over in your heart. Don’t have so much faith in your unbelief. Have more confidence in your faith. Use it. Get into it. So much faith is buried in our hearts. We need to exercise it, bring it out, and walk in the signs and wonders.
We are going to start thinking differently. Instead of looking at people to see their problems, we will believe for the impossible for them. We need to constantly change. We are probably the “changingest” people ever, but we will change even more. We will constantly ask the Lord, “What are the possibilities? What are the things we can really attempt in the name of the Lord?” They will be audacious. Signs and wonders will come. We must condition ourselves to think toward the impossible, to think toward the great possibilities God is setting before us.
The story in Mark 9:14–29 follows in the wake of the transfiguration on the mount, one of the great miracles of revelation in the New Testament. And when they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. The best way in the world to get nothing done is to get into an argument with some scribes. That is exactly what they were getting done—nothing.
And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed, and began running up to greet Him. And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and stiffens out (this was a demon of epilepsy). And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” So they got into a big argument with some scribes.
And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generations, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?” That is a good question for you to ask. How long will the Lord put up with you? How long will the Lord put up with the fact that you are not entering into that miracle walk He has for you?
“Bring him to Me!” And they brought the boy to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling about and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help me in my unbelief.” And when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him; and he got up. And when He had come into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why is it that we could not cast it out?” What went wrong? And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” The margin adds “and fasting,” which I think is a good addition.
When you begin to expect the impossible, you may also tend to expect problems and interruptions. No one should have to make excuses. Some use age as an excuse. I think there is a way of aging when you have no visions or goals, or when you catch up with the goals you do have. To have no goals is bad, but to catch up with your goals, so that you are satisfied, is even worse. We ought to always be attempting things greater than the greatest appropriation we have ever made, something even more startling. All things are possible, although it is sometimes hard to realize it.
Too often we accept and condition ourselves as being handicapped, but I have seen some physically handicapped people who were determined that no handicap would stop them. They refused any limitations. I read about one polio victim who had faith only on a natural plane, yet his accomplishments made me want to kick myself for not believing God for greater things. This man was paralyzed from the neck down and could only function when in an iron lung. He refused to be handicapped by that iron lung and, remembering how as a boy he would breathe like a frog, he practiced breathing that way, by gulping the air. Of course, if he would fall asleep or faint, he would die. He went to school to study law. While he was going through law school he developed a number of illnesses. He only signs his initials and his last name. You see, it is very difficult to write very long holding a pen in his mouth. He couldn’t operate a tape recorder, so he had to sit and listen to the lectures and remember them. In spite of his handicaps he passed his bar exam and became a good attorney.
You think you have problems! I tell you, God keeps saying in the Bible, “Be of good courage. Be of good courage.” Oh, that God’s people had more grit and nerve to attempt greater things in the name of the Lord. What are we using God for? just to calm a few fears? Or do we dare to believe God and launch into the impossible that He sets before us?
There are no handicaps worth worrying about. “I don’t have any money.” God takes the weak things, things that are not, to confound the mighty. “I have no background.” Some of the ministries have no background either, but they are willing workers and they work hard. They may have deep problems, but that doesn’t stop them. At times they may have nothing—nothing except a great hunger for God. If ministries are coming from people so fresh out of deep problems, you should get busy too. You can do it! Don’t excuse yourself by saying that you have no education or you are of a different color. Always be believing. God can do anything.
I am recommending a few things for those who would like to weigh the real possibilities. The Scripture says, “All things are possible. All things are possible to him who believes.” Would you like to take some practical steps toward doing something about this? Instead of merely hearing it and saying, “Oh, yes, I am going to be a believer,” would you really like to do something specific? Here are some suggestions.
1. Have a ministry checkup. If you have some block, find out what it is and get rid of it.
2. Examine your prayer life and devotional life. Don’t time your prayers or count them—weigh them to see if you are believing God to do something great. Way down deep, do you really believe? This is important. It is not how many prayers you pray or how long they are that matters. Start praying prayers of faith. All things are possible to him who believes.
3. Define your goals; then seek confirmation of them. Write out the goals you have set before you, so you will know exactly what they are. Don’t say, “Some day I want to be a prophet.” Be a little more specific. What are you looking for God to do? Define it. Then bring it for confirmation, so you have a word from God about what you should be striving for. I am not saying you should pick out just any goal that happens to coincide with your ambition. Find out what God wants you to do. Define these goals. Go over your prophecies, and have them confirmed to your heart.
4. Redeem the time. You must realize that the trick of the devil is to use up your time. Learn how to move ahead, and quickly. Every day must be important to you. When you walk into it you cannot say, “In the sweet by-and-by.” The devil’s trick is to get you to postpone things until an undetermined future. You should be moving every day toward your goal, doing everything you can to redeem the time.
5. I don’t know how to say this except to use a beautiful translation of Romans 12:11, “Maintain the glow.” Enthusiasm is very important. You may sit in the midst of a living word and become too sophisticated. You get such a rich diet that you don’t feel the need to study the foundational manuals. If you would get up to preach, you would have an old-order sermon from beginning to end, because you never did get the heart of the message planted in your own heart. Study those manuals. Some of the pastors in the walk have no Bible-school background, but they succeed because they don’t have anything to lean on except the word that is coming forth.
You have things you are not taking advantage of. If you want the impossible to happen, move toward it. Your attitude and your vision are absolute keys to see the impossible come to pass. If you believe, and you have a vision and enthusiasm in your heart, it will happen. Every day I live I am more persuaded that enthusiasm is one of the greatest keys. I think it must be an emotion generated by faith, with a spontaneous quality that seems to spark off other people too. The emanations and vibrations of a heart that is believing God yield enthusiasm. When you express that enthusiasm it seems to build faith in everyone.
6. When you talk about possibilities, are you talking about His Kingdom or yours? If you are talking about His Kingdom, the sky is the limit. If you are talking about your kingdom, it will come down, because everything is coming down except the Kingdom of God.
Abraham wavered not at the promises because of unbelief, but waxing strong in faith he believed that what God had promised He was able also to perform (Romans 4:20, 21). Hebrews 7:25 tells us, “He is able to save them to the uttermost.” Something is wrong in your experience, something is deficient in your life, if you say you cannot change. You are either believing in the power of a divine nature coming forth and taking over in your life, making you a new creature in Christ Jesus, or you are not. You can change. Believe it! You can drop those limitations. You can be spiritual.
7. One of the greatest secrets of being spiritual and not fleshly is to be filled with the Spirit. Learn how to drink of the Spirit of the Lord. Some people are going around without too much of God in their life, yet in theory and word they have a great deal. All you need to do is take time to wait before the Lord. You may say, “I should say my prayers and have my family altar.” You can get by without all of that. “I should read the Bible every day.” You can get by with just a little bit of that too. It is surprising that some who have been on a starvation diet for years have still succeeded in growing a little bit. They have not read the Word enough to hardly count for anything. You may not be in intercession enough, but you can still grow if you keep drinking of the Holy Spirit. You can come to the house of God and get enough of the Word and if you can keep filled with the Spirit, you will make it. Walk in the Spirit and you won’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh. If you walk in the Spirit, you are not under the law. You can move into that higher plane of being spiritual with a minimum of effort.
Get on your knees in the morning. Look up and say, “God, I’m going to drink of Thy Spirit.” Be filled. Flow over. It is the overflow that counts. You can have a lot of the Spirit, but if you lack just a little of being full, no one is greatly blessed by you. The blessing comes from the overflow, and the overflow starts with your being filled and continually appropriating more. You can do it. Everyone has had a time of not being overflowing. Some people actually watch themselves go down to the low level. They never stop at the gas station until they see the needle on the gasoline gauge pointing to “empty.” Why don’t you drive on a full tank? You can drive on a full tank! Be filled with the Spirit of the Lord. A certain warning sign, a gauge, turns the light on. “Oh, oh. I’m in trouble. I had better go back and have ministry. I’d better pray more.” You are in trouble if you wait until you have a problem before seeking the Lord. I don’t like the “emergency” saints who are always seeking God in an emergency to keep their head above water.
Some people never pray until God puts them in a corner. They are always praying themselves out of difficulty. I don’t blame God. He would lose you completely if He didn’t keep you in hot water all the time. How is He going to hold on to you? When He blesses you, you relax, become indifferent, and let things ride. The life of great possibilities does not come that way. It comes by walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That is one of the first keys of being spiritual. To tell you the truth, if you are full of the Spirit, you enjoy reading the Word, you enjoy prayer, you enjoy all of these other things. Maintain this glow, this fullness of the Spirit.
Too often you become a victim of your moods. That old nature comes up; it throttles you; it chokes you. That doesn’t need to be. I have never seen anyone defeated in an argument over doctrine who was really filled with the Spirit. I have never seen anyone enticed away to the flesh who was really filled with the Spirit The problems always come through that low level. When will we learn to live in the fullness of the Lord? The command is, “Be filled with all the fullness of God. Be filled with the Spirit!”
These actions seem simple, but this is what makes excellent ministries out of new converts. And the lack of this can make ineffective ministries out of the oldest of saints. Not only today, but tomorrow and the next day, in the dark of the night when the battles come, when the problems arise, we will still trust the Lord for this fullness and this walk. We take faith for it now. Amen.