In Hebrews 11:1–3 we read, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (or the evidence of things not seen). For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. That which is invisible, as a conviction or evidence of things not seen, comes forth as things which are visible. It is the substance of something you hope for but have not yet seen. Your attention will naturally follow a certain way of thinking by believing God, as in this verse, According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:29b. Although you accept it and believe you are going to receive it, you do not realize that fear, doubt, and all the uncertainties in your life are, in a sense, a force as real as faith itself.
The Scriptures speak about the evil ones and how their fears came upon them (Isaiah 66:4). Fear is a powerful force. A person who is fearful in heart will sooner or later face some kind of tragedy. Someone who is filled with anxiety and fear that some terrible thing will happen to him will never be disappointed. While faith is the substance of something hoped for, fear is a torment. I John 4:18 says that he who fears is not made perfect in love, for fear has torment. Deep torment rests upon the mind and the spirit when a person has fears.
In speaking about things that are visible or invisible and fear or faith, let us define and identify the sources. Where does faith come from? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17. All faith is based on what God has said. You believe God and accept what He says. You voice what He has said, repeating it by faith. Prophesying by the proportion of faith that you have in the very word that is spoken, God’s miracles come to pass.
Where does fear come from? Fear does not come by the Word of God, but by observation. Fear comes as a verdict of the senses, sometimes from that which you cannot even understand. An infant, too young to know the difference between one experience and another, can have a fear of falling. When a baby is huddled within the womb while the mother’s life is feeding him, there is a sense of security (unless some kind of nervous tension is reaching through from the mother).
When a baby first gets a bath, they may begin to cry and wave their hands in fear. To give them assurance, place your hand on their stomach. I have learned that a baby in fear feels security if you place your hand over the abdominal area.
Where do we pick up our fears? What has caused us to be uncertain at times? What causes us at times to withdraw? What has been built into us? Where has it come from? Was it caused by something before we were born? Did it come at the hour of birth? One child, due to a difficult time being born, had such fear that she had to have her mother with her continually. Starting kindergarten was a desperate experience in being separated from her mother. Her birth experience marked her.
What has marked you? What did you see? What has happened to you? Where did you fail? How were you disciplined when you were a child? Did your parents pressure you until your confidence was destroyed? Did you walk through experiences that seemed to terrorize you until you did not know which way to go?
The Word says, The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20b–21. Conversely, everything that is against the Kingdom of God comes with observation. The Kingdom comes not with observation, but the assault against the Kingdom comes by observation. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19. Your senses may say that God does not care about you. You may have a stack of bills, but no money in the bank or in your pocket. You may seem to have no friends. You feel forsaken and rejected. The verdict of your senses goes against God.
I Corinthians 1:21 says that the world by its wisdom did not know God. The wisest man is not able to find Him. A man looks to the heavens and is terrorized as he sees the billions of stars in the Milky Way and realizes it would take thousands of light years to cross that galaxy. He looks up and thinks he is nothing. The man of faith looks up and realizes that God is everything. But he does not see it there; he believes it in his heart.
God speaks a word over your life and you believe. You believe when everything is going against you (through one wilderness after another), when you are neglected with a calculated neglect (and you wonder if anyone is aware of the call of God on you), and when you have been afflicted, oppressed and harassed. You believe, not because of what you observe or feel, but because the Lord speaks that word. The Kingdom of God will not come with observation. Never will there be a particular time when you can look out on the horizon and marvel at all the revivals where the blessing of the Lord begins to flow and everything is changed. You will never see a change or a condition that will make you say that the Kingdom of God has come. The Kingdom will not come with observation. You will never see announcements in the newspapers or on television that the Kingdom of God is coming. The Kingdom of God will not come with observation.
How will you believe God? You will only come forth to do the will of God by refusing the verdict of the human senses. Let God be true and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). Believe the Word. Some may say that the day of miracles is past, but the Bible never said that the day of miracles is past. He is immutable and unchangeable, the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8. For I am the Lord, I change not… Malachi 3:6. You have to believe the Word, not the verdict of your senses. There is no scientific proof that God today is the same as the God of the Bible. You may not see any of the signs happening today which happened in the Bible, but many in those days did not see them either. They wanted to see a sign. Nevertheless, Jesus said, “There shall be no sign given to you, but the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:39).
People want to find out what this walk with God is all about. They want to be shown the Kingdom of God that we speak about. There is no way to show them.
Whenever religious leaders will come into a a church service to investigate what is happening, God will stop the flow as if someone had turned off a faucet. It will happen time and time again. God does not allow them to see it. Martha said, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. John 11:21b. Jesus told her, “If you believe you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40).
You may wonder how to believe the prophecies that come over a brother when you do not see anything happening, or observe anything taking place in his life, other than the testings he is going through. Change does not come by observation. There has to be the witness of God’s Word to your heart. You believe the Word, not the verdict of your senses and by reasoning everything through. Change comes because faith in God’s Word believes and actually brings the change into view.
By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3. From nothing that was seen, everything came into being because God spoke a Word.
We must deal with our basic fear, because the necessity today is to have faith without fear. Fear has torment. Life has not been easy in the days past and it will not be easy for any of us in the days ahead. What is going to happen to us in the days to come? We may hope that things will begin to look better, but they are not going to look better.
Your walk with God is never without confusing circumstances or problems. If you come into a walk with God without any problems, very shortly God corrects that situation. God does not intend that you serve Him for the loaves the fishes or for a practical and simple solution to human problems. You do not serve God because divine order makes perfect marriages, sets the homes in order, or directs people into marriages in the will of God.
A couple may be married in the will of the Lord with prophecies over them that they are marrying the right person. But their marriage is not a solution to all their problems. After they are married, they have to walk with faith, trusting the Word for their union and oneness more than anything else. That is what a Kingdom marriage must be.
You must learn to appropriate the Kingdom provision, the blessing and the anointing of the Lord. You may have thought that because you were moving in the will of God everything was supposed to be beautiful. It is beautiful because God says it is, no matter how the situations may seem. If you wonder what you are supposed to do, follow the leading of the Lord. You may not have any silver or gold, but you can do the will of God. To person after person I can also say, silver and gold I have none; but such as I have give I thee. Acts 3:6. I believe, and I do not look at the evidence of anything else; therefore my wealth is not in safety-deposit vaults.
I have invested in the spirits of men. I have spoken words to their hearts and made them wealthy, for the coin of the Kingdom is not what you hold in your hands, or have in your pocketbook, or in figures on a bank book. But the coin of God’s realm is saying out of an honest heart, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Acts 3:6.
The Kingdom does not come with observation. If you are always looking for some visible support to hold you up, then you are in for a difficult time in the days ahead. You are not to look around for something to support you, for the senses to give you some evidence that you are on the right track. You will never have that evidence.
The world will never have it again, until the King is reigning in Zion and all the nations are under Him. Then the Kingdom will appear in observation, but it is not coming in observation.
It does not first make its entrance to the verdict of the senses as something you can prove. You accept it because it is God’s Word. It is a revelation to your heart. Believe it. This truth will take some of the fear and torment out of your walk with God. It is difficult to walk with a divided heart.
Suppose you had been an Egyptian at the time of the exodus. That would have been difficult to face if a Jewish boy had married one of your Egyptian daughters.
“Now you are leaving, and I suppose you will be taking our girl with you.”
“Yes.”
“Well, we have been thinking about it; we do not like to be parted from our daughter and the grandchildren. You know how much we enjoy the grandchildren. We would like to go along.”
“But you are Egyptian.”
“Yes, but we got rid of all of our pigs and we bought some sheep, and we are ready to go.”
The Word speaks about the mixed multitude that moved out of the land of Egypt (Exodus 12:38). The mixed multitude did not camp with the rest of the people; they settled in the outskirts. “We will stay out here, away from that fire.” One day the fire began to fall on the outskirts of the camp because the mixed multitude had begun to murmur (Numbers 16). Bordering on blasphemy was the murmuring of their hearts. They were not walking because they had a word from God, but because it looked like a good thing to do. They talked themselves into it. Once they were out in the wilderness, they began to see what was involved.
The observance of everything produced an overwhelming sense of unbelief. That is the reason a person with a scientific mind has difficulty walking with God. Such a person still wants to evaluate all circumstances. When all the evidence has been presented to his senses, and his reason has taken over, he tries to find an answer. It does not work that way. That is why the mixed multitude murmured.
Be sure you are really in a walk with God. Be sure it is a revelation to your heart, because a little way down the road it will be rough. When it becomes rough, you will stop and think, “I did not count on this. I thought the Kingdom of God was coming. I cannot see it.” It does not come with observation. You will know it in your heart. You believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth (Romans 10:9). You trust in the Lord with all your heart; and you do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways you acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5–6).
“Well, God gave us heads to think with.”
Why did God give you a head? It serves many purposes: it houses your eyes and keeps your ears apart; it provides a way to eat your food. It is something you can put a hat on. Inside it is your understanding and reasoning. But I Corinthians 1:21 says that the world by its wisdom did not know God. I Corinthians 2:8 says that if the princes of this world had only known, they would not have crucified the Lord.
You may love God, but some day the Lord is going to allow you to walk in a path where there is no one else around you to encourage you, and everything will look very bad. You will wonder why you are in a walk with God. The only answer you will be able to find is that you had a word from the Lord. It is the only answer that will ever satisfy you, and the only reason you can really count on. You may be afraid, but you had better get rid of that fear. Fear will torment you. Your walk with God will turn from the only source of joy and blessing that God has given to a source of inescapable torment, day by day, if mingled with your faith is fear.