BELIEVE —Then Receive

Even though Jesus told us that He came to give us abundant life (John 10:10) and that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32), religion has given us many explanations as to why we aren’t receiving what is promised.

Jesus also gave us an explanation; and He gave us only one. The ONLY reason we aren’t experiencing what Jesus came to give us and what is our Father’s good pleasure to give us is that we don’t BELIEVE that God is either able or willing to give us all the things He has prepared for us—the things that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man (1Corinthians 2:9), that which is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

Another way of saying that we believe is to say that we have faith. Jesus said that if we have faith even as a grain of mustard seed nothing shall be impossible to us (Matthew 17:20). He consistently rebuked those who demonstrated little faith—those of us who are anxious about provision (Matthew 6:30); the disciples who were fearful of the storm at sea (Matthew 8:26); Peter, when he began to sink as he was walking on water (Matthew 14:31); and the disciples who had forgotten to bring bread (Matthew 16:8). But He commended the woman who touched the hem of His garment, believing that she would receive healing from her illness; He said to her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole (Matthew 9:22). These words were likewise spoken to blind Bartimaeus who cried the more a great deal when people attempted to shush him as he was crying out to Jesus for mercy (Mark 10:47-52).

And to the woman who came to Jesus asking for healing for her daughter, the woman who would not be denied, Jesus said, O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as THOU wilt (Matthew 15:28). It seemed that Jesus was going to deny her request, but, because she BELIEVED, she had to receive. There was absolutely nothing that could keep her from receiving.

Jesus, on another occasion, said precisely this:

Mark 11:23-24 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. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye SHALL have them.

He said it again when the disciples were marveling that the fig tree had withered away so soon after Jesus cursed it:

Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye SHALL receive.

This is spiritual law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that hath made us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Religion has taught us that God just arbitrarily decides whether or not He will answer our prayers, but Jesus is both teaching and demonstrating that our receiving from God and experiencing the kingdom of heaven NOW is dependent ONLY upon whether or not we BELIEVE.

This is what Jesus said to Jairus who had asked Jesus to come lay His hands on his daughter who was ill that she might be healed. Before Jesus could get there (the woman with the issue of blood was healed on the way), He and Jairus were informed that the child had already died. But Jesus said to Jairus, Fear not; BELIEVE ONLY, and she shall be made whole (Luke 8:50).

And He said it again to the man who came to Jesus asking for healing for his epileptic son, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth—to which the father responded, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:23-24).

Yes, unbelief was the problem then, as it is today. When Jesus returned to His hometown to teach in the synagogue, it is said of Him, He did not many mighty works there because of their UNBELIEF (Matthew 13:58).

It was never a question of either God’s ability or willingness to respond to prayer, but rather a question of whether or not the people could BELIEVE. When the leper said to Jesus, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean, Jesus’ immediate response was, I will; be thou clean (Matthew 8:2-3).

And to the two blind men who came to Jesus for healing, Jesus asked, BELIEVE ye that I am able to do this? When they answered in the affirmative, Jesus said, According to your faith, be it done unto you (Matthew 9:28-29). God is always both ABLE and WILLING. That is not the question. The question is whether or not we BELIEVE that He is; that is what determines what we are able to receive.

I want you to notice that on both occasions cited above—that of the leper and of the two blind men—Jesus cautioned them not to tell anyone about what had just happened in their lives—see that thou tell no man (Matthew 8:4; 9:30). He did this also on several other occasions—when Peter identified Jesus as the Christ (Matthew 16:20), when He healed the deaf man (Mark 7:36), when He took the disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:9), and when He raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Luke 8:56).

We have been taught that Jesus did this to keep the crowds away. But when He sent out the seventy to preach the Gospel in the places where He Himself would come, He gave them the same advice, Salute no man by the way (Luke 10:4). Yet to the Gadarene maniac, Jesus said, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee (Mark 5:19).

I believe Jesus cautioned people not to share their revelations for the same reason He told us to Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment (John 7:24). For these are two of the biggest hindrances to our being able to believe—and thereby receive.

When I tell to anyone and everyone what I am learning in the secret place, what God is revealing to me and what I am receiving from Him as I believe, I run a tremendous risk of being ridiculed, scorned and talked out of what I have experienced. People do not like to hear anything that runs contrary to their doctrines about God and our relationship to Him. They don’t wish to hear that I have that which they too want, and have prayed for, but have not been able to receive. They will argue that what I have experienced is just psychological or temporary. And by listening to their explanations and arguments, I can lose that which I have received. This is why so many people lose their healing and their symptoms recur, often seven times worse than before (Matthew 12:43-45)—see Casting Out Demons.

When I look at symptoms (of any lack or limitation) and judge by the appearance, I cannot BELIEVE. I have to judge righteous judgment—know that the appearance is not the reality. Almost anyone I talk to will agree that what I am observing with my five senses is indeed the reality and that I must depend on man’s wisdom to treat or deal with what I am experiencing. But Paul tells us that the wisdom of man is foolishness to God (1Corinthians 3:19). According to all of man’s wisdom, the daughter of Jairus was dead, as was Lazarus—both beyond the help of God (Jesus Christ). We’ve already noted what Jesus said to Jairus, Believe only, and she shall be made whole (Luke 8:50). To the sister of Lazarus, Jesus issued the same challenge:

John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

In both cases, they were asked not to judge according to the appearance, but to judge righteous judgment, the judgment which says, All things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23).

Closely connected to this judging according to the appearance is our wanting to see with our eyes and sense with our senses that we have what we prayed for before believing that we have received. Jesus said that we are to believe and receive when we pray, not after we see the evidence.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

We see this again in the words of what is known as the great commission:

Mark 16:15,17-18 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs shall follow them that BELIEVE; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Notice that the believing comes before, not after, the signs. We cannot wait for a sign that something is happening and then believe. That would be judging from the appearance. The signs follow our believing;—no believing, no signs. Jesus said that to seek after a sign is evil and adulterous—not receiving the kingdom of heaven as a child (the only way to do so) (Mark 10:15). See Receive as a Little Child.

Perhaps the greatest compliment ever paid by Jesus was to the centurion (not an Israelite) who came to Jesus to ask for healing for his servant. He said to Jesus, Speak the word only and my servant shall be healed (Matthew 8:8). Because the centurion spoke the word only to the soldiers under his authority and they obeyed, he knew that the Christ had that same authority over all beliefs in the reality of sickness.

Matthew 8:10,13 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast BELIEVED, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

That same Christ (Father) who lived as Jesus and did the works (the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works —John 14:10) is now living as us (not I, but Christ liveth in me —Galatians 2:20; Christ in you, the hope of glory —Colossians 1:27), enabling us to do what Jesus did:

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Yes, the man Jesus has departed from our line of vision, and the resurrected Christ has taken up His abode within us (John 14:23) that we might be the same expression of God in this earth as Jesus was. Until we know this, we cannot believe when we pray. We will be praying to a God out there somewhere who may or may not respond to our prayer. Jesus located where His Father dwelt, and He went to His Father within to bring into manifestation whatever was needed at the moment—food for the multitude, wine for the wedding feast, or taxes for Caesar. Whatever He believed the Father within could and would give to Him is what He received.

The same is true for us. Although God has told us that He knows what we need even before we ask (Matthew 6:8), that all that I have is thine (Luke 15:31), and that He will give us whatsoever we ask for (John 16:23), we cannot receive it from a God out there somewhere; I can receive only from MY father within—just as Jesus did.

Jesus didn’t say My Father knows what you need, but rather YOUR Father. Until I know (BELIEVE) that God is my Father who is able, willing and eager to give to me all that He has (as is the father we read about in the story of the prodigal son), I will not receive—for I cannot. It is my believing that is the measure of what I can receive when I pray. If I take a pint container to the ocean, I can return with only a pint of water—though an unlimited amount is available to me.

If I believe that God will give me only enough health and provision to scrape by until the last enemy death comes to release me from this vale of tears, that is all I can receive.

If I believe that I must do something (e. g., be morally good, go to church, give to the poor) to get what I want from God, I am under the law and therefore cannot experience the grace of God—which is necessary for me to receive the things that are FREELY given to us of God (1Corinthians 2:12) (see What Is Faith?)

Ephesians 2:8-9

For BY GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Galatians 5:4

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Jesus repeatedly indicated that when we are afraid, we are of little faith, finding it difficult to believe and receive. It is only the perfect love of God that will cast out that fear which did not come from God (2Timothy 1:7). See Casting Out Demons. We have to BELIEVE the love that God has for us (1John 4:16), recognizing that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5) and that we can never be separated from that love (Romans 8:39). Only then can we believe that we receive when we pray.

I think it should be clear by now that we no longer need wonder what God is saying to us when we don’t receive what He has promised—the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. He is not telling us that it is not His will. He is saying only one thing—that we have not yet BELIEVED.

Our responsibility, then, is to ascertain what is hindering us, what is interfering with our believing. We do that by being still and listening to the still small voice, the voice of the Father within. Without scolding us, He will impart to us the wisdom we are asking for (James 1:5). He may, as Jesus did when He walked this earth, tell us that it is our fears that must be addressed, that we need to stop talking and begin listening (to Him, not to the people around us), that we are judging by the appearance or that we are seeking a sign. Or it may be something else not touched upon in this contemplation.

But we can be sure that if we are open to hear what He is saying and willing to obey any instructions, He will take us to the place of let where we will find rest for our souls (see Come to the Place of Let)—the place where we have ceased to wonder if it is God’s will and have abandoned all our attempts to earn that which is freely given, the place where we can BELIEVE as easily as the child believes that he is going to receive what he requested for Christmas. See Receive as a Little Child.

And we will hear the Christ in us telling us (as He told the centurion) that we have great faith and that it will be done unto us as we have BELIEVED.