Cycling Downhill

Cycling home from work I met a little boy, perhaps five years old, on his bike going downhill. He had a strained expression in his face, his eyes looked scared and very concentrated and the entire bike was unsteady and his body seemed stiff.

I thought about myself with which ease I handled my bike. Nothing strained about my cycling, save I could have been in a better shape. In contrast to him I have plenty of experience and am a seasoned cyclist.

Then lightning struck and the little boy became an example of me when the Spirit is teaching me a new thing like for instance speaking words of faith concerning things I would like to see happen. I am just as unsteady as that little boy often scared of making mistakes or falling off the “bike”.

But, the point is: The little boy was on the bike! He was “there”! He was doing it!

Substance

That I died with or in Christ must be taken literally. However, I didn't notice any death on the body and soul level. So, it must have been my spirit that died, and in the same now it died it was resurrected to newness of life (the time aspect is perhaps of less interest since in the fourth dimension there is no time). This clearly proves that it is our spirits that run the whole machinery, and that what takes place on that level is too deep for us except in rare glimpses.

No wonder we are called to live by faith since everything spring forth from the spiritual realm which is somehow hidden from us, but we penetrate it by faith and we operate it by faith and by the words we speak. In the midst of this symphony we find the Holy Spirit as the Great Conductor joined to our spirits causing us to walk in His ways.

Dying with Christ means that all the old were cut off by the root, but I am still me. Seemingly nothing has changed, but all is changed. It isn’t an improved me. It is something completely new - something never seen before. Life has become an eternal exploration journey in order to find the depths of this change only to find it is bottomless.

We learn from the Bible that faith is substance. Substance is something that exists. When I became saved something took place too deep for me to see or understand. It was true that I was saved - it was substance - it was a fact. However, in the beginning I was still wavering often doubting wondering whether I was saved or not. I held it fast in faith, though, and my confession was that I was saved. One day the substance I had taken in faith came back and took me and it became an inner knowing. That I am saved is never an issue anymore.

Then I learned I was free from the law. It was true - it was substance, but again I went through the same motions of doubt, wavering and confessing. It took a while but suddenly one day I knew that I was absolutely free from its demands and ordinances. And when I took that I am righteous in Christ exactly the same pattern repeated itself. It was true - it existed in the spiritual realm - I took it by faith and confessed that it was so until it was settled in me. That I am in a union with God operating as one person is no exception from this way of taking something in faith, and what I take in faith will ultimately come back and take me because it is substance.

It should be pretty evident from the above that this also is the way of faith for every need, or whatever desire that wells up in us or whatever promise we receive. We take that thing in faith because it exists ("Before you call I will answer") and we call it into existence. But, there is a struggle involved - the struggle to enter His rest concerning whatever we stand in. And there is doubt - plenty of it. Furthermore, we experience minor or great setbacks in the natural, but in faith we see the thing as done and we confess it is so against all appearances, and when we are faithless God is faithful.

Judges 20 tells the peculiar story about Israel being promised victory of the Benjamins, but nevertheless had to endure two major setbacks and defeats before the great victory. Their confusion and sadness is almost tangible after each defeat, but God pushed them onwards because God is always upwards: Life swallows up death, faith swallows up doubt, the positive swallows up the negative and victory swallows up defeat. Always is He tempting us upwards to see that we are two operating as one. His promise to the Israelites is our promise: What He has begun He will finish.

No word of faith is spoken alone, no prayer prayed as apart from Him. He is the Alpha and Omega - the instigator and finisher. Praying isn’t our souls reaching up to Him, but He reaching down moving our souls into action by this or that word or prayer. His great delight is to operate by His sons and see them in action. We do so always with a wink, because we know it is Him by and as us.

Confession is important because words are important. Jesus is called the Word for this precise reason. Our spirit attitude will manifest in what we speak or say. That’s just how it is. God is a rewarder of faith exactly because faith takes hold of substance as witnessed by our words.

On the spirit level every word, every promise Jesus left us is true. For instance I can say that I have peace and joy because that is substance - it is true, without having any peace or joy on the soul level or appearance level.

I am a spirit.....I am.

Hearing the Still Small Voice

Something stirs in me when I see sisters and brothers in Christ still caught up in law no matter how subtle it is. God is constantly calling us to come up higher - to leave behind the elementary teachings and enter new mansions in faith as the Spirit opens up our inner eyes to new and unchartered spiritual sceneries.

I notice that many still see God as apart from them, and one of the consequences of having this inner outlook is that we strain our ears to hear God’s still small voice. We are taught that in order to be obedient to God and His voice that somehow comes to us from outside ourselves we have to learn to be quiet, take no thought, there must be no fear in us because it overrides God’s voice (ergo our fear is greater than God which is nonsense) etc etc. We all start out here, because this is how God comes to us in the beginning, that is, as apart from us. But, there is a better way. It is what Paul called the obedience of faith. Simply put it is doing the next thing and trusting it is God.

In John 8 Jesus outlines what hearing is and how this hearing is spontaneously, without any effort on our part, expressed by our lives in every now. “I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father” (John 8:38). The Pharisees trouble was that they were completely blinded to that they expressed what they heard from their father (the spirit of error). A hearing hidden from them, but nevertheless, operative in them. Jesus even said that their desire was to do the will of their father. Something they of course vehemently denied.

Since the Pharisees heard without hearing, as it were, this evidently must be true also about those who belong to Christ. We hear and see what our Father speaks and is doing and by faith we speak and do accordingly. It is a very spontaneous thing. And like the Pharisees, our desire is to do the will of our Father whether we know it is so or not. The Pharisees were blinded to this, and so are we when we start out on our faith walk. Appearances and sense-knowledge are the beacons we navigate after in the beginning. But these things have to be brought down by the Spirit as we are brought to faith only.

Not few of us face difficulties with our prayer life and we find it also hard to speak words of faith often afraid of the results, and we are also wavering because we think that it is “only us.” This has been a lifelong battle for me, and I find only one way out of this battle and that is in simple obedience of faith saying that it is all Him by me.

My present outlook is thus: God is responsible for the results, not I. And if He wants to look like a fool because I see no results in the visible that is His problem, not mine. My stance is that He prays by me and He speaks His words of faith as me. Anything less than that causes unrest and confusion in my consciousness. To step into the obedience of faith when it comes to these things can be a bit unnerving in the beginning, but the Spirit pushes me onwards.

Paul encourages us to cast our burdens on God which of course means that the burden of prayer, words of faith and results are on Him. The heat is on Christ, not the vessels. It is very tempting to say that something is wrong with us when the answer lingers or the result seemingly fails to appear. Please don’t take that! Christ is working His faith by us, and we cannot say that His faith has failed in accomplishing whatever we have prayed or spoken. The faith heroes of old are our example if we are seemingly confronted with a “failure”: These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar (Hebr 11:13). And then we have Abraham who waited 25 years for God to fulfill the promise He had declared to him.

I do not pray because I have to pray. I do not listen intently in order to know what my Father is up to. If I pray or not pray it is Him. What I do next is Him. This is the oneness Jesus spoke about which was true about Him, and which is true about me too because I am also a son. That God in a sense has made Him available to us is beyond comprehension. Likewise, that He lets His sons be an active part of running His business. Grace upon grace – love too grand to comprehend.

As we are increasingly established in our oneness with God another way of listening comes into play. The Spirit begins teaching us to listen to what we say as a way of finding out what God is up to. God spoke this universe into existence by a word. The foolishness of God is this very thing that we speak substance into existence by our words or confessions. Of course, it is not us, but God speaking as us, yet it is us calling things into existence that are not as if they were. Words that expand the universe and penetrate the invisible. Words that move God. Words that activate all the power of God. Words that open up a way where there is no way. Words that call the impossible into existence.

By faith, just like Sarah, we receive power to conceive (Hebr 11:11).

Becoming Settled - An Exchange between Harriet Wearren and Ole Henrik

Ole Henrik: When you had spoken your word concerning your marriage did you often wrestle with doubt in regards to that you actually had heard from God and had spoken His word?

Harriet: I did, but the same words of faith kept coming back in my head so finally I became settled that the word was from God!  But, you know it went on for a long, long time, so I had a lot of practice in replacing what appeared to be with the word God had given me. And I might add it was not all bliss!! Sometimes I was berserk with all that was going on with us, but would go back to my word. It was very up and down in the appearance realm. It took me to hell and killed me!!! Eventually it was settled in me and I rose!!!

OH: Standing in faith for something is a very lonely affair, isn't it?

Harriet: Right, but it makes us stronger and things learned there, can be gotten no other way!!! It is walking through the valley of the shadow of death or going to the Promised Land, do we see the giants or do we see God!

OH: What is faith actions? Is it to believe against appearances? Is it to do a particular thing?

H: A specific word is to believe against the appearances. We live by faith and we walk by faith, so how the Holy Spirit lives through us is His business. I usually just take no thought or notice unless he gets my attention to something. Simply believing never seems like we are doing enough, because we are used to doing and fixing things. But when you think about it, when we stand on a word of faith, we are activating the power of the Holy Spirit or all the power of God!!! That is doing the most!

OH: What about all these hard days we go through? The sadness etc?

H: Just know that your tough days and rivers of sadness and crying are designed by God for you! It is through these times that God fixes us in what we believe! Norman used to talk about....commission ,cost and completion. Commission is the word we get from God to believe for something, the cost is our tough days, sadness, etc. - the price we pay, and completion comes from the other side, from God. Your faith is swallowed up in knowing that it is finished, before you even see evidence. We do know the voice of the shepherd....trust Him. You are not just you, you are a spirit joined to Him, so it can't be just fooling yourself. He is bigger than we are, He will get His point across!

OH: I have noticed one thing: I am stretched far beyond my comfort zone concerning the things I say. I can for instance not say "if" "what if" or "but", I can only say "when" and that really takes me out on "thin" ice.....And I feel discomfort when I am that bold and say..."When I..." "When this happens....".....and I feel this discomfort because I am far outside my comfort zone....my safety zone......

H: Funny how God loves to get us outside our comfort zone, or sometimes we say outside our zipcode!

OH: What about doubt?

H: The wonderful thing that we know and can trust is that we are no longer for ourselves, we are for others!! And, of course doubts do come and further down the road you will see that they are what make us stronger. When we stand against appearances we become more solid in our word of faith. The gates of hell will not prevail against it! He will not let you sink!!

When I am doubting, sometimes a verse will pop in my head and quite often it is the one in Timothy....."Even when we believe not, He abideth faithful, for He will not deny Himself!" (In me).  And I also know that the doubt is for something constructive..  Because God is always upward!!  "If I ask my father for bread, He will not give me a stone!"

Binding and Loosing

By DeeDee Winter

This was originally written to a friend who asked about a spouse….

You asked about “binding and loosing”…it is simply what we 'say' about a person or situation. We either hold/bind them or free/loose them by our word...what we say about them and their situation. An example would be a friend with a drinking problem. I can say, "She is an alcoholic and that is all she will ever be" or I can say, "She is not an alcoholic...Christ is her life and He knows the way through for her". The first holds her there...binds...and the second frees her to the Life within her and Christ revealing the freedom in His finished work of the Cross that is hers.

We may have many more times when outward evidence (the appearance) screams at us that what we said and are believing for her is rubbish. Never mind that. It is good practice and only strengthens our word. As we come to know the “still small voice” within ourselves and begin to truly 'hear' His voice we understand that our word is really agreeing with what He has spoken in our heart. His voice and our desires, which are His also, accomplish all He has for our friend.

How does this apply to our unsaved ones? I think we would begin by stating the basic truths. Even if a person is unsaved the Gospel of John in the first few verses states that there IS “the light that lighteth every man who comes into the world” residing in him. That light is Christ. For the born-again we see Christ as their life; for those who have not yet received Him we see Him in His un-lit, so to say, form….like a pilot light verses a full flame.

See nothing less than the truth about that person. It is very difficult to say that a person is unsaved…unless they would say that about themselves. We can never know just what goes on in a person’s heart and mind. That is totally between him and the Holy Spirit. So many churches judge by standards that are far from Biblical standards. Don’t be held by any denominational teachings….God is not! He judges the heart. There is even a passage in Romans 2:14-16 where Paul gives a wide birth to folks of many different religions or no ‘religion’ at all. It was transformative to me when the Spirit illuminated this Romans passage to me some years ago.

You also pose the question about our spouses who are His, but who do not ‘see’ their union with God. For your husband or wife stand that he or she IS in union with Christ Jesus and that he or she is only expressing the life of Christ…sometimes even in a negative form. “There You are, Lord.” The Spirit will reveal his or her oneness/union in due time…when he or she is ready. Many times they are held in their unknowing in order that we might get settled in faith. Meanwhile know that God is accomplishing eternal glories in these negatives …nothing wasted…all meant for good!

I was raised Catholic and came to know the Lord through the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1974. God revealed union to me in 1980. My husband has been a Christian since he was a young child, but wanted little to do with Catholicism or the baptism of the HS. But when God took me the next step into union Gary saw something different about me. Since then he has been fully supportive of me in every way, but is not one to go to Bible studies or sit around and talk doctrine…but he LIVES Christ. From the day that I saw Christ as my life, I had to say the same about him…that Christ was his life and the fact that he did NOT want to go to Bible studies or sit around and talk about what he believed was God’s way/life in Gary. As I began to see him rightly he became even more fully his wonderful, God-created self! My judgments of him had held him in some places that were less that what God had for us both.

This is a perfect example of binding and loosing. I was well-trained in the deliverance ministry in my charismatic days and my new understanding of binding and loosing was far superior to what we had been taught. Our statements of FAITH bind OR loose a person.

A brilliant truth Norman Grubb imparted to us was “the greater the negative, the greater the positive”. Just as a pebble in a slingshot is thrust forward farther (positive) when it is pulled farther back (negative) so are our circumstances of life. As we begin to see this and trust God in these right negatives, we will begin to be excited when they surface. We will begin to say, “Well, Lord, here You are. Now let’s see just how You are going to bring good from this!!!” WE will be transformed as well as the object of our faith!

That's Called Grace

The following is from an email exchange.

Q: I would like to know your thoughts and advice on the following.

We have a new spirit and a new heart, so our souls are a pure expression of the indwelling spirit. So we should never say that we constantly sin in many unconscious ways during the day. The approach is that we only accept sin as the Spirit reveals so.

The only possibility to sin is when we don’t live according to the faith of the Son of God (Gal. 2:20). So unbelief is the only possibility to sin and may come to us along the lines the illusion of an independent self-life or giving in to temptation.

A: I honestly do not see sin anymore. It isn't in my consciousness any longer as something I can do whether by this or that, or as something I do determined by whether I believe or not believe. Christ is my faith so how can I ever be found in unbelief? You know, Jesus was tempted in every way but without sinning. I say that is true about me too (My personal word of faith concerning this. I cannot say that word for you. That is something you have to do for yourself). Why? Because the sin spirit is kicked out and the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth who was in Jesus is in me, and it is God who directs and orders my steps. We learn by and by that temptation is an asset. It is God’s way of settling us into Himself.

Q: In your correspondence with Fred I read:
In a way, temptation comes two ways most of the time. A temptation “up,” to see “this thing” as God and in God and at work for Divine purposes out of our inner oneness; or a temptation “down” in which our sight is locked into the temporal appearance as something in itself and “we” as “something in our selves” (separation) responding to this “thing” as if it is outside God, along with us outside God, too. Alone.

I do not grasp these two ways of ‘up’ and ‘down’ well. Would you be so kind to clarify it somewhat and give an example of both.

A: I also struggled a while with what Fred wrote me, but it is much clearer to me now. Assume you were put in a situation that to all appearances look like a disaster, and even challenge your last remnants of morality (we have to learn we are inner driven people, and God has His ways of accomplishing that). In that position you will be drawn in two directions. Either seeing the thing as your fault, that you are to blame for what happened or take place because you have acted irresponsible or something like that. That is the temptation downwards, that is, to see yourself alone apart from God doing your own damned thing. But, there is also an upward pull/temptation from God to see your situation in faith as His perfect situation for you into which He has taken you for His love purposes.

Q: May we call the upward pull a ‘temptation’ because God tempts nobody?

A: Words are of minor importance in this context. Call it upward pull or upward temptation or whatever. Deep down you know what this is. In a sense we can even say that God tempted us to receive Jesus.

Q: If I can never be found in unbelief, how can I ever come in Romans 7 again?

A: In my Father's house there are many mansions, that is, levels of faith which when faith is consummated become levels of consciousness. These consciousnesses are something the Spirit gives us when we are ready. One day we step into a consciousness where Romans 7 is only a vague memory and we are never again worried about going back to the law. We forget the former things and our inner word is: My meat is to do the will of the Father.

Q: If God shows my unbelief then He shows me because it was there and I was not aware of it. It was there unconsciously while I lived up to that moment in the knowledge to be a pure expression of Him, while that was not the case because of my unbelief.

A: My friend, you always are and always have been a pure expression of Him ever since you received Christ. Our baby days are not counted against us. They are a part of growing up. That's all. One day you will to your surprise find that Christ was your faith and did things in faith as you even in those days when you thought you were in unbelief and didn't recognize His faith working in you. That's called grace.

This faith of Christ that works in us is not under any law. We cannot set the ways of the Spirit by us in stone. God always drives us to reach for the impossible so that His faith in us can be stretched and exercised causing us in increasing measure to live by what we not see. It was Norman Grubb who said: Be a grabber of the impossible and not a nibbler of the possible. Welcome to the adventure!

Christ Speaking As Me

By Clint Freeman and Ole Henrik Skjelstad

Moses and the burning bush is a type of how God speaks out of us. We all speak words of faith concerning a matter, both consciously and unconsciously. Christ’s faith is operative in us and as us and the Spirit speaks by us, as promised. By faith recognition we come to affirm what the Spirit has shown us concerning this.

A marvelous word that confirms this is 2 Corinthians 13:3 (KJV) "Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you"

The Amplified version really brings it out!!

"Since you desire and seek [perceptible] proof of the Christ Who speaks in and through me. [For He] is not weak and feeble in dealing with you, but is a mighty power within you;"

Here is the thing, the word "IN" in this scripture is Strong’s #1722 and according to the exhaustive concordance (http://biblesuite.com/greek/1722.htm) it can also be translated "AS"!!! Mark 2:15 is an example: "And (G2532) it came to pass, (G1096) that, as (G1722) Jesus (G846) sat,…"

So back to the original 2 Corinthians 13:3 (KJV); we can in fact translate it like this:

"Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking AS (1722) me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty AS (1722) you!" Another possible translation is: "Christ speaking BY me"

Faith is Substance

What does it mean that faith is substance? It must first of all mean that faith is an entity apart from anything else whether it is emotions, appearances, circumstances or whatever tangible or intangible we can imagine. Faith has its own particular life, not moved by anything. It is like a bright star shining of its own accord.

Peter walking on water is a faith illustration pointing to that the only thing that kept him from sinking was faith. The substance to carry Peter’s weight was not in the water. The water represents that there is nothing apart from faith that is substance. We like to find substance in perhaps an inner knowing, in peace, an inner seeing, in some sort of confirming emotion, in some sort of inner or outer experience or we look for signs that will give us some measure of substance. But, faith is found in none of these. Its substance is apart from all that. Yet, faith is swallowed up in knowing it is finished, even before we see any evidences.

But, nevertheless, faith is in us and as us. We walk in faith every day, but the paradox is that faith is also a choice – a commitment to something.

Faith also has this quality that it leaves reason in ruins, but yearns to be man’s reason.

Doubt and faith go hand in hand. Doubt is faith’s sparring partner training the faith muscle by its negatives and reverse motions. Faith yearns to be challenged, to be exercised and to be tried against the impossible. The nature of faith is that it rejoices when everything seems utterly hopeless and impossible, because it is the substance of the thing and thus knows it exists against whatever testimony to the contrary.

Faith does not make us its slaves; instead it becomes our servant in the will of God. We cannot find faith, but faith finds us and asks us to receive it so that it can be used by the one to whom it offers itself, and faith attracts to itself the secrets of God so that they are revealed to the one who has faith (to those much given more will be given).

Faith is a response to the Word of God either by how He speaks to us in the Bible concerning who we are or how we respond to His promises, or how He speaks personally to each and every one of us concerning a matter. Like with Mary God always takes the initiative and we receive in faith what He wants to do by us, and His commandments are not burdensome, because we will what He wills. But, faith is also found in: "What do you want me to do for you?"

I once had a question in regards to faith which I addressed to the Spirit. I asked Him how I was to know whether my faith was true or not. He said: “Everything you speak is true.” I didn’t understand what He meant right away. But, later I was reminded about Jesus’ words: “According to your faith be it unto you.” In a sense we speak into existence our own truth. Either a “truth” of bondage or a truth of liberty. Either a “truth” according to reason or a truth according to spiritual realities.

Faith is also a consciousness: It doesn’t spring forth from our thoughts which are the wisdom of man. It springs forth from a consciousness higher than ours and which we now partake from and are one with. Faith generates thoughts, but thoughts cannot generate faith.

Clouds That Dim Our Vision

We can easily store up an impressive conceptual knowledge-base about faith and mean a lot about it without knowing what it really is. It is my clear conviction that faith can only be learned in the school of faith in which we are given a faith commission which results in human terms would be said to be utterly impossible to achieve. Not least because we might experience that we are stretched to the limits in the sense that the thing cannot possibly come into being by any human means.

Yesterday it was almost as I could behold faith while I in an odd way was standing outside myself, and I saw how it is purified and "cleansed" by the different challenges we face in a faith commission. Circumstances, appearances, darkness, a rich variety of emotions and suffering are all sent our way so that we learn that we do not find faith in any of those. In that glimpse I saw faith as something (Someone) apart from all those things, but, nevertheless, one with us.

Further, I saw faith as something inner - an inner consciousness of some sort - an inner knowing apart from all those outer things. It is so tempting to read and interpret "the signs" in these outer things in which we are walking, but they carry no weight whatsoever. They are only clouds that dim our vision, whereas faith is clear as daylight and shine in the dimness and we see it and follow it, even when we not “see” it.

And when our vision fails, Christ, nevertheless, walks steady on and suddenly as out of nothing when our eyes are again opened we are surrounded by a new landscape taken there by the One who is our life.

“I have been thinking all morning about what you said about "signs" dimming our vision, but they carry no weight, whereas faith is what we are drawn toward!  Isn't it just amazing ......because we are spirit people, we cannot be satisfied with flesh answers!” (Harriet Wearren)

Another aspect of this which Harriet pointed out: We once in our unredeemed state were slaves of the visible and the tangible. Now, however, we are slaves of the invisible. Of course, the carnal mind - the flesh - still prefers the old state of things. But, we are constantly nudged upwards to leave behind (take off the grave clothes) these elementary things and speak our words of faith with boldness into the invisible seeing the thing as done and expect it to manifest in the visible. As spirit people we are irrevocably drawn into the invisible, because the invisible is the Real from which all things originate.

One last thing: Remember we are calling into existence things that be not as if they were. There are no formulas or precepts to follow. Some will find it peculiar that we have this inner drive to speak our word again and again – often several times a day, that is, repeatedly confessing the thing as done and thanking it is so. If so, that is not unbelief or doubt. It is the Spirit’s way with us. Again, remember, we are calling things into existence. In other instances we might speak the word once and almost forget about it. The inner law of the Spirit is what determines the route – not methods.

Yes, there is a price to pay. There are costs and you might be killed a couple of times before you see the completion. But, the Spirit is persistent and determined to see this through by the sons, and we will prevail. God will pull us through, because it is His battle.

We enroll into this school of faith by speaking our word of faith knowing that faith starts in desire. And from where does desire come? Who is it that makes us to will and act according to His good pleasure? Step out of the boat and be prepared to sink a couple of times……

Newness of Life

By Nancy Thompson

Organized church become cults when the love and salvation of the institution (its beliefs, values and traditions) becomes paramount to the love and salvation of the individual. All its ‘good’ works become tainted and subsumed to the former while ignoring the latter. What this does to persons is to enslave them once more to the ‘basic principles of the world’. ‘We are in the world but not of it’.

“I am the Alpha and Omega”. There is a beginning and end to everything, for God Himself, is its beginning and end. Participation in God’s own house, not built with human hands, becomes free when this is recognized. Nothing remains the same.

Instead of being sad, we become joyful. “See, I am doing a new thing”. And being participants as new creatures in a new creation, we live, love and laugh in all this newness and see that God is All and in All.

Only Believe

Yesterday I was reminded about the three men (the trinity) who came to Abraham, had a meal with him and encouraged him in his personal faith commission. It struck me that it is no different today. God comes disguised as persons He sends our way - who cross our path, and who encourage us in our faith walks. In other words, hearing them speaking words of wisdom and encouragement is God speaking as them, and this revelation or insight gives tremendous weight to their words. And it has to be this way since we so often are wrestling with doubt.

Not everyone who crosses our path is a positive. We will encounter our share of negatives who doubt us and who question our commission. But, they are also sent of God to test our faith, to test our commitment, to strengthen our faith, to press us into faith, and, not least, to press us into God. More than that; this opposition, as it were, will in the long run produce a wonderful fruit: we come to learn that it is God’s own faith we are exercising.

But, what is our part in a faith commission? We have been given a word, and we cannot help it; it wells up in us on a daily basis. This welling up is nothing less than the kind of hearing Jesus outlined in John 8. It is a faith hearing. Outside faith we think it is only ourselves, but faith sees this as a flow from Spirit to spirit. A spontaneous thing in other words. It is not like that we have to strain our ears to hear what God has to say to us. He is much greater than that. He will get His point across and it will be totally natural. Okay, so what is our part?

In several instances Jesus said: “Only believe.” He didn’t say: “Believe and do your part” or “Believe and make some faith action”. Our basic modus operandi is one of fixing stuff. We are so used to taking “responsibility” and to handling things ourselves, that Jesus’ words: “Only believe,” seems, well, too simple. But, there we have it in plain simplicity: Only believe.

But, of course, like Abraham we feel we have to aid God. So we create some Ishmaels, but they are a part of the learning curve. No need to take any condemnation for those. They are necessary negatives to press us into the positive which works by God’s abilities and His ways, which we surprisingly find are our ways since there is no separation of wills between us and God. That we are giving up our way is merely an illusion, because there is only one will and one way and we are walking it every day.

We notice that God didn’t rebuke Abraham for his Ishmael, and neither does He rebuke any of us for ours. He knows only one thing about His sons: This is my son in whom I am well pleased.

We are now going to have a closer look at what I call the circle. In our first great faith commission given us by God we often start out by saying that we have spoken OUR word. However, this idea has to die. Again, a death is involved in this process until we say we have spoken HIS word. Through this we get a feeling of losing ourselves, and we certainly come to know our nothingness by it.

At this point we are only halfway through the circle. What comes next is a most glorious thing. It is the emerging of the son who has taken possession of his inheritance. It is the one in whom Christ is fully formed. He says: I have spoken my word, and it is done. The I returns. But, it is a knowing I. It is an I that see no separation. When it hears itself speak it hears God speaking. God has totally filled the vacuum the nothingness created in the person. When Abraham came to this point of knowing He said: “I and the lad will return!”

Allow me a small digression: There is no future tense in the Hebrew language. Thus I believe Abraham said: “The lad and I are returned.” The thing is done!

Faith is a indeed a choice. It is a commitment to something. It is a joining of hands with God in something that is far bigger than us. And this commitment is so serious that we say the thing has happened even though we see no results in the visible. In a sense it is a contract between us and God, and God cannot lie.

Words of Faith and Hearing God

By Linda Bunting

Ole Henrik:  I assume you have spoken several words of faith of which some have been easy to speak and you have most likely forgotten all about them rather swiftly, whereas others must have cost you a lot both in waiting, opposing circumstances, suffering and travail. Concerning the "difficult" ones; what was the greatest challenge for you after you had spoken the word?

Linda: The greatest challenge to me after I had spoken a word of faith in a general way about the problem was that I heard the Spirit answer with a promise that my word was fulfilled.

His total healing HAD come for us.

For 2 years after that every outer appearance screamed at me that it was not true, but at the same time I would remember Norman's precious words through the years; "Dahling, This is just a little mist on the mountain." Somehow, miraculously, the appearances became small in contrast to the God who had promised, and better yet, HAD ALREADY FULFILLED HIS PROMISE. Not was going to, but had already done it.

Exercising faith is like exercising a muscle. At first it’s easy and doesn't hurt, then comes the ache and pain; BUT as the muscle proves its strength, ease comes and we no longer have to struggle. Same with faith!

Ole Henrik: You heard the Spirit answer with a promise? Did you literally hear His voice or was it more like that He gave you a personal promise from the Bible? Yeah, appearances have a way of screaming at us.....

Linda: No promise from the bible. It was not the first time it had happened to me. I was talking to DeeDee one day about Kim and Karen and the small voice said in my head and heart; "I have healed her." I told DeeDee I had to hang up ... I had just had a word from the Lord.

I immediately said back to Him, how have you healed her? He said "Spirit, soul and body." I am referring to my youngest who had been on Heroin etc. From childhood she also had a tendency to have mood swings.

With that word, I knew God had spoken. But as I said, the next two years’ appearances raged against what I had heard.

But one day, out of nowhere, she called and asked to come home.

The last 4 years have been blessings beyond anything I could have ever hoped to even ask for.

Years and years ago, the same problem presented itself to another one of my children.

I heard it over the TV at that time. I immediately called Harriet to tell her, because I knew if I didn't tell it, I would begin to doubt myself and what I had heard. Just that! I wasn't even interested in what I was watching... in fact it was an advertisement ... but the Spirit overrode my brain and spoke in my spirit saying: "John is NOT an alcoholic." Two nights before he was drunk on my kitchen floor ... the next morning I was telling about his condition, that he was going nowhere in life and needed to go to AA. So when the 'WORD' came IN me, I had to rise up to what the Spirit was about to do in both of us.

I had told my child everything I could think of on the appearances of his problem. But after hearing that word I had to write him a letter telling him the truth about himself and what had been accomplished for him at Calvary. That he was no longer a slave to alcohol etc. He was perfect in God’s sight, but that it was not good enough for God to know it: God would not stop until he knew it about himself.

A year later the same appearance happened and when my accusing finger went up,
John, my son, spoke right back to me saying. ... "Mother, have you forgotten what God told you in His promise?"

Well, that shut me up and all these years later, alcohol hardly ever touches his lips and he is well adjusted in his faith journey.

Need I say more!

Ole Henrik: Many of us have heard God speaking to us, but then doubt overwhelms us and we dismiss what we have heard as if it is a product of our imagination.

Linda: No imagination here, darling, for we are spirit people. What God speaks, although faint at first, we sheep hear and know His voice! Right? Right!

(DeeDee is DeeDee Winter who runs the normangrubb.com website. Norman is Norman Grubb. Harriet is Harriet Wearren who is Linda’s neighbor and good friend. Linda runs the christasus.com website. Both DeeDee and Harriet have contributed with magnificent articles on this blog. DeeDee on the rightness of our souls, and Harriet on faith. Linda's children mentioned in this article have given their permission to have their stories on print.)

Leveled up with the Son

By Linda Bunting

Ole Henrik: You once made a brief talk which you called: “Coming back as YOU.” What was your main idea in that talk?

Linda: The stress put on us to 'be like Jesus' ... and 'what would Jesus do' and all the other suggestions to put us up against Jesus, much less BE Jesus, are misdirected and deny us our own personhood. We were created to be who WE are, no two of us alike.

It infers that someone had thought up a code or life style that would become the model for us to follow. Let’s take a look at Jesus, son of man, to see how he lived. He had no one to follow because he boldly said: "Of myself, I can do NOTHING." "As I see the Father do, I do." Take that in!!! "OF MYSELF, I CAN DO NOTHING" "As I see the FATHER DO, I DO!!

If he lived knowing that within his humanity, he could not produce one act, and that he was solely dependent on the Spirit within (which was Holy) then who are we to think we are left alone to 'act' a certain way.

The point of Jesus coming in human form, in the first place, was to bring MANY sons unto glory. He came to take the place of who we were, and placed within us His Holy Spirit that leveled us up with Him in sonship.

Now that we are a family of sons, Jesus being our older brother, why are we held in the bondage of a great lie telling us we are to be like him?

What would your father say if you came daily asking him IF he was really sure that you were his son; much worse that you did not want to be yourself, but the elder brother in the family. Your father would weep saying ... I don't want 2 of him, I want YOU ... to be who you are.

My eldest son did his work which was final and finished.

Now it is your turn to take your place as a son. Rise, take your inheritance and use it wisely. And exactly what does that mean, but to watch daily by faith (which IS how Jesus lived) to see how the Spirit will live out His life in your mortal flesh. Only He knows how to die and rise again and again as us.

When Jesus said "Don't you know ye are gods, to whom the word of the Lord comes" he was speaking of our level of sonship.

In a recent bible study a friend, alarmed by hearing that statement, brought up the point of us leveling ourselves up with God, to which my reply was "NEVER EVER the transcendent God, but FOREVER the immanent God. We didn't rise up, He came down and filled us with Himself .... Little gods, with our spirit joined to His Holy Spirit. Filled, made perfect to fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ

What is Faith by Harriet Wearren

Ole Henrik: What is faith?

Harriet: I am thinking about it, but it is hard to explain. We have the verses: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (What a contradiction when you look at it with physical sight). Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Then we have the strong verses in Hebrews 11.

It has always been easy to speak a word of faith for someone's salvation and know that God will bring it about. In one of our meetings, years ago I really heard the verse Romans 4:17, about Abraham calling the things that are not, as though they are. It pricked me at the time, but I did not really understand it.

Sometime later, I hit a stone wall in my marriage. Things were awful and I felt that God presented me with the verse to do as Abraham and call into being that which did not exist. I stepped out, by faith, saying our marriage was whole and complete. Everything then went the opposite....to hell!  But God showed me to trust him and know that I walked by faith and not by sight!

When things looked particularly hopeless, the verse I hung onto was "Let God be true and every man a liar". I knew that I might go to my grave saying my marriage was whole, but never seeing anything tangible. You know, Ole, I only told a few people as I ventured out. I felt it was between God and me and I did not take that lightly. I must say, as I spoke these words over and over, and knew that God was fully able to do this but I just had to trust Him, however it went.

The up and down of all of it really killed me, and I thought, though you slay me, yet will I trust you, I felt I had nothing else. Something happened in me and made me solid in what I had entrusted to God, long before I saw any evidence that the marriage would survive. It made me strong, and really showed me that appearances will lie to me, but God is true and is in charge.

Just some musings....

Ole Henrik: I find this "law" in operation that when I have conquered another piece of the Promised Land there will always be some sort of a counter attack. I have come to see that these seasons of darkness and suffering are meant to establish us in the obedience of faith. Another way of saying this is that our faith is tested. Each new level of faith contains a testing of that faith until we are established on that level, and by the Spirit move on to a new mansion. Funny this paradox, because we can confidently say in faith that we are already on the top, but, nevertheless, we go through these stages of faith.

When Jesus began his public ministry he had taken possession of his position as a son. What I mean is that he boldly asserted his I. Most Christians are still like the son who remained with his Father in the parable of the prodigal son, who never have possessed their son-ship freely asserting their I as an I that takes for granted that all what the Father has are theirs. This "I" that says that it only does what it sees the Father is doing - the no separation self. It took Abraham 25 years to come to this point of recognition, but when he was there he could say "I and the lad will return" knowing he spoke as God.

Just some afternoon musings......

DeeDee: Those are some good musings! Yes….always tested to settle further and strengthen further….much like a tennis or golf stroke that is practiced over and over until one day it is totally natural.

(DeeDee is DeeDee Winter who wrote the two magnificent entries on our soul a month ago)

Handling Doubt

I was once introduced to the idea that there is a difference between soul doubt and spirit (heart) doubt. I am well acquainted with soul doubt and how the soul now and then panics. In increasing degree I have been empowered to discern between soul and spirit and am thus enabled more often than before to press through soul variations to the core which is without disturbances. Admittedly, wrestling with soul doubt has more than once cast long shadows of condemnation on my path.

Jesus famous words in Mark 11 concerning the word of faith and prayer have stood before me more than once as something almost outside my reach – not least because of these recurring seasons of doubt. In verse 23 Jesus says something very comforting: “….and does not doubt in his heart….” The heart is the key. In other words those who do not doubt on the spirit level will say to this mountain be thou cast into the sea and it will happen according to their word.

At this junction a most vital issue is brought to light: Does there exist spirit (heart) doubt? We are all familiar with soul doubt and how it plays out, but what about heart doubt? How does it play out?

Before I proceed l have to stress that I have made the Spirit my only teacher in all matters totally relying on Him for enlightenment and for explaining unresolved matters that are still shrouded in dimness. And that was how I approached my problem concerning heart doubt. I asked Him for an explanation.

The answer was most staggering and liberating. “How can there be spirit doubt when your spirit is joined to my Spirit?” “How can such a thing exist when we are one person and Christ is your life?” “The answer to your dilemma is again faith. You simply say that you do not have such a thing as heart doubt. And this is a faith resolve everyone has to make for herself or himself.”

But, what is the point of having soul doubts, we might ask. Our souls are go-betweens between this world and our spirit/Spirit union and can thus we tempted in both directions. I am constantly tempted upwards to see this thing as from God, but I am also tempted downwards seeing myself as if I am doing this thing apart from God. In this tension field of soul emotions and doubt faith is exercised and developed. These soul disturbances are meant to press us into faith. They are our springboard to God’s faith which He has freely given us and which we now can exercise with divine boldness.

Boldness not understood as we are addressing a God apart from us, but a God that speaks out of us in like manner as the voice of God spoke out of the burning bush.

Our Most Valuable Soul......part II

By DeeDee Winter

I awoke this morning thinking of our exchange on the soul. Until the Holy Spirit gets this part of us settled in its rightness, we can never fully “be about our Father’s business”, because every time a negative emotion hits us we will either ask what is wrong with us, taking condemnation, OR confess it as sin. Imagine confessing the LIFE OF CHRIST within ourselves as sin!!!

We were created to bear Him and bring life to our ‘world’. His way of bringing mankind out of slavery to Sin was to die on the Cross, rise again, ascend into heaven and then send us His Holy Spirit. He will be the same dynamic IN US of death and resurrection and in doing so, bring those whom He gives us into light and freedom!

But we MUST first get settled about the purity of our souls…purely expressing Him!

After the Lord said to me “You are not jealous of her, but for her; it is My jealousy in you for her to know Me as you do” I began to search the Scriptures for what there was about our souls, because I knew if God spoke that word to me that it would be backed up by His Scriptures. What I found so far surpassed what I had hoped for! I began with a word search and found Matt 16:26…”What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

I was riveted and began to read back through that passage. The Spirit directed me as far as Matt 16:15. I will loosely paraphrase it all…

Matt 16:15 begins with Jesus asking His disciples “Who do you say that I am?” Peter replies that He is the Christ and Jesus tells him flesh and blood did not tell Peter this, but it was revealed by His Father in heaven and upon this rock (of revelation and faith) He shall build His church. Jesus continues…with these ‘rock principles’ in place He says (19) He will give us the keys to the kingdom…that whatsoever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever we loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. This means that we have the power by our word to set folks free!

Jesus then says He must go to the Cross…to which Peter replies that he does not want Him to suffer (23) and Jesus calls him Satan! It is Satan that does not want the Cross…death to resurrection which is the very nature of God (giving Himself for others) and this truth will become part of every believer when we receive Christ Jesus as our Savior…which is receiving His LIFE! This LIFE is not just when we ‘go to heaven’ but also for every day we live on this earth in time and space. It is His nature, and now ours, to bear conflict in our soul and by our word, bring life to/in the object of our conflict…binding and loosing. “Present your bodies a living sacrifice…our reasonable service” as Ro 12:1 says.

Then comes the resounding climax (24 - 26) of this passage! “If any man will come after Me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” This denying ourselves is to deny that we have ANY ability in ourselves apart from Him…NO independent self that is able to act on our own…nothing in our branch form apart from The Vine (Christ by the Holy Spirit) who IS our life! It is the clarion call to fully BE Who you are!

“For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.” I used to think the emphasis of this passage was on lose and life…but no longer.

I see the emphasis to be totally on “his”…again speaking of the illusion of an independent life apart from Christ…an independent ability to sin or do good. Lose THAT illusion!

And now to the verse that wraps up this exchange. “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Losing our soul…and ALL it is meant to be…is to be suspicious of our emotions and trying to get them under ‘control’. When we do not trust them, fear them or hate them we give up the ‘way’ the Holy Spirit is coming through us for those around us. It is Satan’s gospel that tells the Christian that his emotions are wrong and not to be trusted…and anyone telling us that is preaching Satan’s gospel!

It takes a ‘season’ for the Spirit to settle and train us in the right use of ourselves. We have been so used to fearing our anger, jealousy, hate love…yes, even love. Begin to say the truth about yourself…”Lord, here You are”. At first we will have to simply take these truths by faith, but ever so quietly the Holy Spirit will make them ours. Everything about me has been made right and God is living His life as me…for “In Him we live and move and have our being.” When we begin to see these truths about ourselves ALL of Scripture screams them at us. God will gradually expand our understanding to see that what we want is never for ourselves, but always for the other person's highest good.

The last few words of these verses “…in exchange for our soul” are vital for us to comprehend. Most of the Christian world wants their souls to be flat-lined with no ups or downs…oh maybe the ups are OK, but God help them if there is anything negative! God MEANS for us to have a fully alive and extremely active soul. It is through the activity of our soul that God calls our attention to a person or situation we “bind and lose” as we saw in v.19. We move into FAITH!

As we stated earlier…God’s nature/being is always to give His life for the other. He did this before the foundation of the world when The Lamb was slain. God chose then to be for more than Himself. He chose to be for us and His creation. He will be nothing less/do nothing less than He did before we existed. He will always lay down His life and take it up again. This is His life and is to be our life in Christ. His final commandment to us was “Love as I have loved you.” (Jn 15:12).

It is imperative that these deep realities are settled in us and about us, in order that we can fully be about our Father’s business…in oneness/union with Christ redeeming those He brings to us.