Faith for the Supernatural

Saturday, October 31, 2009
Luke 19:28-40

These days, we hear of so many supernatural things happening. Paranormal activities are seen time and again and we are baffled. However, even the scientists, historians and professors could not deny that the most famous supernaturalist was Jesus Christ. Back then, the people were well amazed because people thought that it was impossible for miracles to happen in an instant.

I have no idea why I’m making a big fuss about some prediction of Jesus of a donkey in town. But this is the only time I think that Jesus did not do something flashy but simply said something and it was there. Did Jesus know ahead of time that someone had put a donkey there? I doubt so. How much faith did it take to believe that when He asked His disciples to go find the donkey that the donkey would actually be there? Or maybe God the Father had told Him.

But then I think about the various miracles that Jesus did and think, “Wow, He did have faith.” Every time Jesus did a miracle, it was without a doubt. Jesus always said things like, “Get up and walk,” or “Be healed,” or “Your faith has restored you.” Now what do we usually say? The lamest of the lot would be, “God if it is your will, let him be healed but if it is not your will, let him stay sick.” What kind of prayer is that? Well pastors would pray, “In Jesus name, be healed,” or “by the stripes of Jesus, be healed.” How do we release healing? How do we grow in faith? How come we have faith in some things and not in others? Take me for example, I have faith that every time I worship or I sing with the right motives, God’s presence will come. But I have little faith to heal someone or prophesy over someone or even preach the gospel to someone.

Maybe if we look at how we gained faith in the faith-filled areas of our lives, we might be able to find out how to gain faith in other areas of our lives. So how do I bring God’s presence?
• I remember practicing countless hours to be confident in my guitar playing.
• I remember spending time with God every morning and simply long to draw closer to Him.
• I remember having the passion to actually bring God’s presence into my CG whenever I lead praise and worship.
• I remember disappointments and asking God, “why didn’t he turn up when I asked Him to.”
• I remember learning that when I worship, it is not about how I feel but about God moving and that my duty was simply to worship and to lead the worship.
• I remember thinking that it is not about me feeling something but it is about God wanting to move or not, that I am simply the vessel for Him to work with.
• I remember not feeling God’s presence in the middle of worship, checking myself, figuring out that I was not there to worship but to show off, tuning in again and asking God to move because whether I am embarrassed or not, it is not about me but about God, and feeling at that instant, God starting to move.
• I remember playing the guitar so hard that I wasn’t feeling God but saw that everyone else was worshipping and knowing that it is not me that moves but God that wants to move.
• I remember going back after every worship session and thanking God for being there.

So with all this that I have remembered, I figured it is all applicable in every area of miracles. It applies to reaching out, healing, delivering, restoring, etc.

E.g.
Reaching out:
• Practice countless hours to be confident in reaching out.
• Spend time with God every morning and simply long to draw closer to Him.
• Have the passion to actually reach out to my friends whenever I am with them.
• Being disappointed and asking God, “Why didn’t he turn up when I asked Him to.”
• Learning that when I reach out, it is not about how they respond but about God moving and that my duty was simply to reach out and to share the gospel
• Thinking that it is not about me getting a response out of them but it is about God wanting to move or not, that I am simply the vessel for Him to work with.
• Not getting a response in the middle of reaching out, checking myself, figuring out that I was not there to reach out but to show off/debate, tuning in again and asking God to move because whether I am embarrassed or not, it is not about me but about God, and knowing at that instant, God starting to move.
• Preaching so hard that I wasn’t feeling God but saw that everyone else was responding and knowing that it is not me that moves but God that wants to move.
• Going back after every gospel sharing and thanking God for being there and for the response I got.

Healing:
• Practice countless hours to be confident in healing probably by reading God’s word, hearing sermons, following healers, etc.
• Spend time with God every morning and simply long to draw closer to Him.
• Have the passion to actually heal the sick whenever there’s an opportunity.
• Being disappointed and asking God, “Why didn’t He turn up when I asked Him to.”
• Learning that when I pray for healing, it is not about whether they are healed but about God moving and that my duty was simply to pray for healing
• Thinking that it is not about me getting a miracle out of them but it is about God wanting to move or not, that I am simply the vessel for Him to work with.
• Not getting a miracle in the middle of the healing prayer, checking myself, figuring out that I was not there to heal but to show off/debate, tuning in again and asking God to move because whether I am embarrassed or not, it is not about me but about God, and knowing at that instant, God starting to move.
• Praying so hard that I wasn’t feeling God but saw that the sick were in tears and knowing that it is not me that moves but God that wants to move.
• Going back after every healing and thanking God for being there.

I guess if I have time, I would actually go through the whole list of areas that we struggle with. Even dealing with sins and addictions, if we have faith to believe for it and act on it, we can overcome them.

So for myself, I’ll keep looking back on these two since they are something I have passion about so that I can be on track to have faith in these areas.