This week, I borrow from the late Dr. Frederick Price, one of the early word of faith Pastors and teachers and share what is meant by faith, foolishness and presumption. (Dr. Price's book is of the same title).
Psalm 91:9-10 (KJV) 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Passages like the one above are great promises of God. However, it is a conditional promise. One has to dwell in the secret place. One of my teachers even suggests that the one thousand falling by each side are Christians. The standard for safety and the other promises in this passage are attainable, but not absolute. Of course, we are under a different covenant and depending on our church, we might rely on the healing that comes from the atonement or many of the great promises of God. For instance, K.E. Hagin, is well known for being healed of a heart condition, primarily based on this scripture and his actions of faith.
Mark 11:22-24 (KJV)
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Notice here that we are to believe that we have received them when we pray, not when it is manifested. I have no problem with this message, such faith says basically that any mountain can be moved, including COVID-19. There are several caveats though, that often times are not discussed. First, there are issues about how far you can extend your faith. For yourself, yes, for your non-adult children, yes, for other family members, perhaps, for others, perhaps. In some instances, when the faith is overwhelming and involves far more than anything we could believe, the gift of faith makes it possible. Sometimes too when praying for others, it may also be their faith is needed to receive. Faith for protection operates similarly, you have to pray and believe you have received. If it is true faith, you can have the assurance.
Here is an excerpt from the John G Lake (1870-1935) who ministered during the bubonic plague.
“I and a little Dutch fellow with me went out and buried many of the people who had died from the bubonic plague. We went into the homes and carried them out, dug the graves and put them in.
Sometimes we would put three or four in one grave.
We never took the disease. Why? Because of the knowledge that the law of life in Christ Jesus protects us. That law was working. Because of the fact that a man by the action of his will, puts himself purposely in contact with God, faith takes possession of his heart, and the condition of his nature is changed. Instead of being fearful, he is full of faith. Instead of being absorbent and drawing everything to himself, his spirit repels sickness and disease. The Spirit of Christ Jesus flows through the whole being, and emanates through the hands, the heart, and from every pore of the body.”
FAITH
We know faith can deliver, heal, protect and really do the things the bible speaks about. Where the problem comes in is if the faith is real or are we acting in foolishness or presumption? The primer on this subject comes from Dr. Price.
“Faith is acting on what you believe. That is the first definition. Remember, what you believe must be based on what is written in the Word. You cannot just dream up some dumb thing like, "Well, I think I will believe that I'll fly like a bird." That won't work. That is Foolishness. When you get into faith, faith is acting on what you believe, but what you believe must be based on what is written in the
Word.”
FOOLISHNESS
I can recall someone writing about how bible students at one particular school were trying to practice walking through walls. I never heard of any succeeding, though I can imagine a few pains if one were actually walking right into a wall with an alleged assurance that you would come out on the other side. That to Dr. Price, I believe would be foolishness. Where it gets even trickier though is in the area of presumption. “Presumption "to take or suppose to be true, or entitled to belief without examination or proof, or on the strength of probability, to take for granted, to infer, to suppose, to assume” (Price, 19).
PRESUMPTION
So in regards to something like COVID-19, we have many people assuming God is protecting them but in reality, it is not meaningful enough to be true faith. This is worrisome because COVID-19 can have dire consequences. Of course, the probability of risk, varies with one's age and pre-existing conditions. There is a randomness to the virus as well but in general most do survive it. If one is relying on that probability, then that is not faith, nor is it foolishness or presumption. You are instead relying on science and probability. Still, if you are willing to take risks, you also must know that you can give it to others. The reproduction rate for COVID-19 is said to be in the neighborhood of 1.5 – 3.5 (How Scientists Quantify the Intensity of an Outbreak Like COVID-19). Mitigation measures such as masks or lockdowns will bring this number down. Even if you infect one other person, and that person infects one other person at some point your infection may hospitalize or even bring death to someone down the line. This is one good reason to respect mitigation measures and be preventive, regardless of what the authorities do. Remember too that the authorities typically are business people and they can be strongly motivated to open the economy. Other leaders may be politically motivated to keep lockdowns in place to hurt Trump's chances of re-election. I would say this is rare because other nations around the world do not lock down entire nations to alter a Presidential contest, nor are any state Governors likely to do the same. Anyway, I have digressed enough and want to return to the biggest problem that some Christians may face with this virus, that of being in a position of presumption.
I once commented to a word of faith pastor, a graduate of Rhema Bible Training School as to how difficult it was sometimes to receive healing. Sure it is easy to stand in a healing line, but receiving a healing this way is no given for most. I would venture to guess by my experience that less than 5-10% receive a healing on average, though the number can be significantly higher for certain ministers with a strong annointing and gifting in this area. One can, however, receive healing by faith, through the word alone. I would venture that most healings, come in this way. My point is that to receive, one has to contend for the healing. Yes, I know Jesus already accomplished this, but to believe it with strong faith, there is some time involved. Even K.E. Hagin himself wrote about how sometimes he would spend all night praying and confessing for a healing. Many of us choose to just see a M.D. and perhaps with the right pills we can be healed or at least subdue the symptoms. That of course can be more convenient. So why not just take an antibiotic or some other treatment when what you need is simple? After meditating on this question for some time, this was the response. If you do not believe God for healing your sinus infection, how easy will it be to receive healing for something greater? Now I am not saying that it is impossible, I have heard of ministers who believe it is only when you are desperate, that God shows up the most. Some suggest too that the reason why healings are more common in poor countries, is because the people know that God is their only hope. They have no other options.
The reason I think there is an abundance of presumption out there is because many of us do lack the experience of consistently being healed by God. It is easy to confess Psalms 91, but to have Rhema faith for protection likely means you need a spoken word of from God through the scriptures that brings your faith the the level to avoid COVID-19. Relying on a past word, may not be enough, you need to hear God freshly. If you do not know, that you know, that you know, you are likely operating in presumption and will be subject to the probability of infection and giving the infection to others just like anyone else. Of course you can always be the one that has a miracle in the hospital room, such as some do with various accidents, and this certainly can give God glory, but how sweet it is to live in the full protection of God and avoid the accident altogether.
So for those of us that still are uncertain about our faith in regards to the virus, Here is my list of what can we do to arrive to a position of faith? (I am sure there are other things as well)
In the past I have lingered on patience for the lockdown measures. This patience is beginning to pay off in terms of better treatments options for COVID-19. I touted the drug Remdisiver early on and it is the first drug in the arsenal to come. Of course some states are moving ahead with opening their economies. The problem is that in some instances, like Texas, they are seeing a record number of new cases. As Texas reopens, COVID-19 cases remain high and tests still lag Abbott’s benchmarks If another lockdown becomes necessary because cases begin to rise even further, then the state will be far worse off than those states who never tried. Quite a risk in my opinion. In the future, we will look at the question of openness some more, and the spiritual reasons why this may not go away as quickly as some have hoped. God Bless!
Psalm 91:9-10 (KJV) 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Passages like the one above are great promises of God. However, it is a conditional promise. One has to dwell in the secret place. One of my teachers even suggests that the one thousand falling by each side are Christians. The standard for safety and the other promises in this passage are attainable, but not absolute. Of course, we are under a different covenant and depending on our church, we might rely on the healing that comes from the atonement or many of the great promises of God. For instance, K.E. Hagin, is well known for being healed of a heart condition, primarily based on this scripture and his actions of faith.
Mark 11:22-24 (KJV)
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Notice here that we are to believe that we have received them when we pray, not when it is manifested. I have no problem with this message, such faith says basically that any mountain can be moved, including COVID-19. There are several caveats though, that often times are not discussed. First, there are issues about how far you can extend your faith. For yourself, yes, for your non-adult children, yes, for other family members, perhaps, for others, perhaps. In some instances, when the faith is overwhelming and involves far more than anything we could believe, the gift of faith makes it possible. Sometimes too when praying for others, it may also be their faith is needed to receive. Faith for protection operates similarly, you have to pray and believe you have received. If it is true faith, you can have the assurance.
Here is an excerpt from the John G Lake (1870-1935) who ministered during the bubonic plague.
“I and a little Dutch fellow with me went out and buried many of the people who had died from the bubonic plague. We went into the homes and carried them out, dug the graves and put them in.
Sometimes we would put three or four in one grave.
We never took the disease. Why? Because of the knowledge that the law of life in Christ Jesus protects us. That law was working. Because of the fact that a man by the action of his will, puts himself purposely in contact with God, faith takes possession of his heart, and the condition of his nature is changed. Instead of being fearful, he is full of faith. Instead of being absorbent and drawing everything to himself, his spirit repels sickness and disease. The Spirit of Christ Jesus flows through the whole being, and emanates through the hands, the heart, and from every pore of the body.”
FAITH
We know faith can deliver, heal, protect and really do the things the bible speaks about. Where the problem comes in is if the faith is real or are we acting in foolishness or presumption? The primer on this subject comes from Dr. Price.
“Faith is acting on what you believe. That is the first definition. Remember, what you believe must be based on what is written in the Word. You cannot just dream up some dumb thing like, "Well, I think I will believe that I'll fly like a bird." That won't work. That is Foolishness. When you get into faith, faith is acting on what you believe, but what you believe must be based on what is written in the
Word.”
FOOLISHNESS
I can recall someone writing about how bible students at one particular school were trying to practice walking through walls. I never heard of any succeeding, though I can imagine a few pains if one were actually walking right into a wall with an alleged assurance that you would come out on the other side. That to Dr. Price, I believe would be foolishness. Where it gets even trickier though is in the area of presumption. “Presumption "to take or suppose to be true, or entitled to belief without examination or proof, or on the strength of probability, to take for granted, to infer, to suppose, to assume” (Price, 19).
PRESUMPTION
So in regards to something like COVID-19, we have many people assuming God is protecting them but in reality, it is not meaningful enough to be true faith. This is worrisome because COVID-19 can have dire consequences. Of course, the probability of risk, varies with one's age and pre-existing conditions. There is a randomness to the virus as well but in general most do survive it. If one is relying on that probability, then that is not faith, nor is it foolishness or presumption. You are instead relying on science and probability. Still, if you are willing to take risks, you also must know that you can give it to others. The reproduction rate for COVID-19 is said to be in the neighborhood of 1.5 – 3.5 (How Scientists Quantify the Intensity of an Outbreak Like COVID-19). Mitigation measures such as masks or lockdowns will bring this number down. Even if you infect one other person, and that person infects one other person at some point your infection may hospitalize or even bring death to someone down the line. This is one good reason to respect mitigation measures and be preventive, regardless of what the authorities do. Remember too that the authorities typically are business people and they can be strongly motivated to open the economy. Other leaders may be politically motivated to keep lockdowns in place to hurt Trump's chances of re-election. I would say this is rare because other nations around the world do not lock down entire nations to alter a Presidential contest, nor are any state Governors likely to do the same. Anyway, I have digressed enough and want to return to the biggest problem that some Christians may face with this virus, that of being in a position of presumption.
I once commented to a word of faith pastor, a graduate of Rhema Bible Training School as to how difficult it was sometimes to receive healing. Sure it is easy to stand in a healing line, but receiving a healing this way is no given for most. I would venture to guess by my experience that less than 5-10% receive a healing on average, though the number can be significantly higher for certain ministers with a strong annointing and gifting in this area. One can, however, receive healing by faith, through the word alone. I would venture that most healings, come in this way. My point is that to receive, one has to contend for the healing. Yes, I know Jesus already accomplished this, but to believe it with strong faith, there is some time involved. Even K.E. Hagin himself wrote about how sometimes he would spend all night praying and confessing for a healing. Many of us choose to just see a M.D. and perhaps with the right pills we can be healed or at least subdue the symptoms. That of course can be more convenient. So why not just take an antibiotic or some other treatment when what you need is simple? After meditating on this question for some time, this was the response. If you do not believe God for healing your sinus infection, how easy will it be to receive healing for something greater? Now I am not saying that it is impossible, I have heard of ministers who believe it is only when you are desperate, that God shows up the most. Some suggest too that the reason why healings are more common in poor countries, is because the people know that God is their only hope. They have no other options.
The reason I think there is an abundance of presumption out there is because many of us do lack the experience of consistently being healed by God. It is easy to confess Psalms 91, but to have Rhema faith for protection likely means you need a spoken word of from God through the scriptures that brings your faith the the level to avoid COVID-19. Relying on a past word, may not be enough, you need to hear God freshly. If you do not know, that you know, that you know, you are likely operating in presumption and will be subject to the probability of infection and giving the infection to others just like anyone else. Of course you can always be the one that has a miracle in the hospital room, such as some do with various accidents, and this certainly can give God glory, but how sweet it is to live in the full protection of God and avoid the accident altogether.
So for those of us that still are uncertain about our faith in regards to the virus, Here is my list of what can we do to arrive to a position of faith? (I am sure there are other things as well)
- Consider the past victories that God has given you. Repeat some of those actions that helped bring you those victories.
- Meditate and confess the word, especially the passages that relate to your protection.
- Stay in the shelter of the most high. The days of being in and out of a right relationship with Jesus should be over. Yes, he will protect the wayward to an extent but why put God to the test?
- Repent corporately and personally. Where have we gone cold, have become worldly, have unforgiveness or other issues that should be addressed?
- Consider the love and character of God. Know who you are in Christ and the authority that you have.
- Stay connected in fellowship and praise as much as possible.
- Pray for others. Begin to feel the pain especially of the sickest victims, knowing that some do have life and death in the balance.
- Understand that while it is great to be a doer of the word, we do have sonship and can rest in the work that Jesus has done. That through him we are more than conquerors, that we have the armor of God, that his love does cast out fear (and give faith).Earlier this week I read I Timothy 2:6 where Jesus was a ransom for us all. In the word study I have, I got a revelation from what was listed as the antonym for ransom. "a crushing, complete destruction."Complete Word Study Dictionary. If the opposite of ransom is complete destruction, then what Jesus did for us WAS EVERYTHING WE NEED for complete restoration.
- Ask for wisdom concerning your role and guidance for these times. Keep the things God has told you in the past and present in your heart. For instance, if God has spoken to you about the future, why would he do that only to see you thwarted by some virus? People perish without a vision, and a vision gives faith for the future.
In the past I have lingered on patience for the lockdown measures. This patience is beginning to pay off in terms of better treatments options for COVID-19. I touted the drug Remdisiver early on and it is the first drug in the arsenal to come. Of course some states are moving ahead with opening their economies. The problem is that in some instances, like Texas, they are seeing a record number of new cases. As Texas reopens, COVID-19 cases remain high and tests still lag Abbott’s benchmarks If another lockdown becomes necessary because cases begin to rise even further, then the state will be far worse off than those states who never tried. Quite a risk in my opinion. In the future, we will look at the question of openness some more, and the spiritual reasons why this may not go away as quickly as some have hoped. God Bless!
