In the Bible God declares that He has dealt to every man the measure of faith, but the exercise thereof, and the results which accrue are largely left up to the individual, because God never coerces the free exercise of either choice or faith; that rests with the individual. Thus, persons who have been dealt the measure of faith often experience vastly different results, depending on their ability and willingness to believe.
This phenomena has occurred hundreds of times in scripture, from Saul to David, from the ten spies to the two faithful, from the woman with the issue of blood to those who rubbed shoulders with Christ, yet nothing happened. Everyone of them, without exception, were dealt a measure faith by God, but the free exercise thereof is what ended up making the difference. Let’s read:
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The magnitude of our requests to God are directly linked to what we believe He is able to do. Some of us receive very little, because we expect little, while others receive much, because they believe much, and expect much. In most cases the results of our petitions are in our own hands, depending on our exercise of faith in God. My personal advice is to go big!
Case in point is the account of two blind men in the book of Matthew, who came to Jesus, requesting that their sight be given them. The reason why they followed Christ is because they were convinced that He could, and He would. Therefore, because faith is dead without works, they press on persistently with their expectation, that something good is going to happen.
But they would need to exercise the faith that God has given to “Every man”. As we read, let’s observe the question Jesus asks them in response to their request, because the results we receive often hinge upon our answer to this very same question. Let’s read:
Matthew 9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
30 And their eyes were opened.
As was stated several times before on this forum, the vast treasures, the reserves, and resources of heaven remain largely untouched and untapped, all because of our hesitation to exercise a living faith in God. Christ, through His sacrifice, has made more than ample provision for our every need, but we’ll need to take hold of the arm of omnipotence, not permitting our humanistic restrictions, and finite limitations to tarnish our ability to believe.
This leads us to the main course of our Bible study, in which we will investigate a typical situation which has obtained in the temporal realm; one with which so many of us are all too familiar. A widow woman’s husband has died and he, being the bread-winner in the house, has left a gaping hole in her income and resources, and before long she is riddled with debt, and her credit card companies, and her mortgagers are putting a stranglehold on her.
She does her best to stave them off, but alas, that dreaded knock on the door, that notice of intent to evict, with the local sheriff on hand, looms large. It is a desperate situation, and because her creditors are loan-sharks, as is so often the case in our day, they threaten to take her two sons, to sell them into slavery. There are several critical lessons to learn from this true story, lessons that can, and should be applied in our own experience. Let’s read:
2nd Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
Lesson # [1] She is a Christian, and there are times when even Christians who fear The Lord, and try to do what is right, run into financial troubles. Being a Christian does not guarantee that we will not have trouble, it guarantees that we will have help in our never-failing Refuge, which should remind us of that favorite Psalm: “God is our Refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble, therefore will not we fear”.
2nd Kings 4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.
Lesson # [2] The exercise of living faith must at all times include the use of any available resources, wherever and whenever this is possible. Some try to exercise faith, whilst the ways and means that are at their fingertips are left untapped. When she was asked by Elisha “What do you have in your house” it was a reflection of the very same question that was asked in similar situations. And as we read, we will observe a pattern emerging. Let’s read:
Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
Exodus 15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them.
Matthew 14:15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
1st Kings 17:8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
John 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
All that human power could do in the exercise of faith must be done. The removal of the stone, and the loosing of Lazarus could all have been included in the miracle, but supernatural power is never to be summoned to do what we have the ability to do. It is of critical importance for us to remember this in the exercise of our measure of faith.
2nd Kings 4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
Lesson # [3] Elisha did not tell her how many bottles to borrow, he just cautioned her about limiting God by only borrowing a few. The size and the extent of the blessing rests entirely with the woman, for the measure of her faith will inspire her to borrow ten, twenty, one hundred, or ten thousand bottles; it’s all up to her, because God is waiting in the wings to respond according to the measure of her faith.
The magnitude and size of our requests to God are often directly tethered to what we believe He is able to accomplish. If we cherish small concepts of God, those modes of thought will be reflected in the blessings we receive. But if we cultivate a mindset of not limiting Him, nothing will be impossible.
The good news is that God is able to work with any level of faith in His people, but He prefers that we think big, for He specializes in impossibilities, and He often goes where no man has gone before. May the force be with you, The Holy Ghost, that is.
2nd Kings 4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
Lesson # [4] When Jesus is about to bless you, in a response to the exercise of faith, it is preferable in most cases to keep it quiet until the blessings are realized. To expose the would-be blessings to all our friends, family and in-laws, will often open the door to unbelief, and skepticism, in those who might be prone to doubt. Far better to keep it quiet until the blessings are brought safely home.
Logic is often introduced by those of little faith, and their suggestions tend to cast doubt on God’s ability to do and dare. Therefore, it is often much better to keep the potential blessing quiet, and better to shut your doors, until such time that faith becomes the reality. In this way you can come on Wednesday night and give your testimony safely.
2nd Kings 4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet another vessel. And he said unto her, there is not another vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
Lesson # [5] Emancipation from financial slavery should be the goal of every Christian, especially in our day when our indebtedness may be used as a bargaining chip to entice folks over the precipice to take the mark of the beast. Freedom from debt, will put us in a position of independence, so that we be not subservient to the lender. If the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed, which includes a noble independence which should characterize the followers of Christ, wherever possible.
What takes place in the temporal realm often also takes place in the spiritual realm, and vice-versa. We are heading into a time when we will need a double portion of the Holy Spirit, yet, in too many instances we ask in a haphazard manner, not really expecting God to deliver, or in other instances we may cherish the thought that certain aspects of the gospel commission are out of reach to Christians in our day.
Case in point is the healing of diseases, which has now been taken up by many false prophets and is being misused and abused for pecuniary gain. Just because this is the case does not mean that God’s hand is shortened to save, because a proliferation of counterfeits does not restrict The Lord in any way from accomplishing the genuine.
Therefore, as we pray for the latter rain, let us think big, expecting God to do abundantly more than we can ask or think, because His purpose is to invade the gates of hell, to set the captives free, and save to the guttermost, as many as would be saved. The nature, and extent of the gospel commission for our generation is clearly expressed in the following few passages. Let’s read:
Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
John 16:23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For everyone that asks receives, and he who seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
[In heavenly places. pp 335] It is not because of any restriction on God's part that the riches of His grace do not flow to men.... If all were willing to receive, all would be filled with the Spirit. By resting content with small blessings, we disqualify ourselves for receiving the Spirit in its unlimited fullness. Expecting little, we receive little.
Therefore, let us ask, expecting great things, let us petition God’s throne of grace, not with the usual predetermined restrictions and limitations, but let us go big, expecting the whole nine yards, and God will respond in kind, commensurate with our requests and our expectations. We therefore end with two gentle reminders of the main purpose for which The Lord has called us. Let’s read:
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
God Bless!