Chapter 6

FAITH QUENCHES THE VIOLENCE OF FIRE

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens" (Hebrews 11:33,34).

"By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by the dry land:  which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned" (Hebrews 11:29).

Strong men have always failed, always been defeated; only those who have cried out to God in complete total surrender have conquered.  Moses, when he began his walk with God, cried out, "Look who I am."  But when he finished forty years in the wilderness, he asked, "Who am I?"  Moses, who had all the wisdom of Egypt, was unable to cope with the situations that faced him.  He was terrified even to speak; even to hold a face-to-face conversation with man, but -- praise God -- he was able to commune with the Holy One of Israel.  Weak yet strong, Moses' weakness was God's strength.

Yes, "By faith they passed through the Red Sea."  His grace is sufficient, whatever the pathway; His strength in your weakness is perfect.  For "my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  "The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14).

"The Lord said unto Moses, "Wherefore criest thou unto me?"  (Exodus 14:15).  Speak now and tell the to "go forward."  Moses was faced with death.  He feared the Egyptians.  He was afraid of all the horses and chariots of Pharoah, of Pharoah's horsemen and his army.  Pharoah drew near and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, saw the Egyptians, and were afraid, crying out to Moses -- accusing him.  Moses, faced with these extreme circumstances, cried out to God for a miracle.  He was desperately and totally relying on God.  This type of attitude always receives God's help and strength.  This attitude always triumphs.

I remember an extreme circumstance:  I was on an airplane that was filled with Communists.  I had a German overcoat on and it was filled with Gospels.  It was so full that I didn't dare take it off.  I knew if I folded it and laid it above on the rack it was very possible that it would fall.  So I just kept it on.  The airline had no luxury racks or comfortable seats.  It was a war plane converted into a commercial domestic carrier.  It seemed as if the enemy was closing in on every sided.  Three Red Chinese soldiers were heading my way.  They did not crack a smile and they looked very hard at me (as though they were staring daggers at me).  Believe me, I was very consecrated!  I was made strong: I was weak, yet strong.  In my weakness I was made strong by God.  I was totally depending on God to help me.  Like Moses I cried out, "Lord, help me!"  Then the lightning flashes of God's Spirit took hold of my spirit!  And all of a sudden I obeyed the divine flow of love that constrained me to stand and speak "the words of life," as the Spirit of God flashed through my spirit.  That love of God, that miracle-working substance called love, leaped over onto the three Red Chinese solders -- saturated them from the crowns of their heads to the bottoms of their feet.  A smile seemed to ooze out.  They cracked a smile from ear to ear.  I told them their Red Mao badges were very pretty.

I was impregnated now with the abundant divine love of God.  I told of the invisible badge I wore, and that it had all power in heaven and on earth.  It was the name of Jesus Christ.  The love of God flowed from my spirit to theirs.  The divine flowing super-power of God's love transmitted life.  I spoke of a Christ who went to Calvary to die for their souls.  I told them that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  Then in a twinkling of an eye, I challenged them to take Christ. They gave me their Mao badges and received my invisible badge, Jesus Christ the Son of God.  I was weak, helpless; yet I was also strong and powerful, for God's divine love was flowing in and through me.  I was surrounded by the enemy; yet when I cried out to God for a miracle, God answered and made me more than a conqueror in the midst of defeat.  My God blew away all obstacles.

Can you see the armies of Pharoah drawing near?  Can you see the Red Sea standing before you, making escape impossible?  Moses was completely and totally surrendered to God; therefore God moved and supplied the necessary weapons beyond man's own reasoning.  The supernatural was reached, because of Moses' total, consecrated surrender.  God moved a strong east wind, and the Lord God caused the sea to roll back and made dry land appear as the waters were divided.  And the children of Israel were saved.

Have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ?  If you have not, now is a good time to yield to the tugging of the Holy Spirit.  Surrender now and God will cause a miracle to take place in your life.  "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12).  "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).  Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.  "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever" *Isaiah 40:8).  Hallelujah!

I am speaking particularly to backsliders.  Not only to the confessed backsliders, but to the unconfessed backsliders.  There are a lot of people trying to ride along on the experiences and glories of yesterday, and yet in their hearts they are yearning for an up-to-date experience with God.  The Lord has departed from Israel, and instead of the sunshine of His presence, there has been a shadow of fear and bout upon them.  If this is your problem, there is only one answer.  His name is Jesus.

Don't live in the past!  Don't you see?  We must be alive!  Christ must be alive!  He is alive!  Christians can't afford to rest on past experiences.  Turn away from the world now -- surrender to the cross now -- receive His healing power now!  His power is past understanding.  His grace is sufficient to meet your need.  If you are willing, He is willing -- turn now, confess your sins to Jesus Christ.  Surrender right now!  Ask to be made right with Him.  If you have never received Him, ask Him to come into your heart.  Receive Him, and be saved.

Yes, they "quenched the violence of fire," overcame every circumstance, "escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong" (Hebrews 11:34).  They overcame every circumstance.  They were sanctified.

What does sanctification mean?

That means to become set apart!

That means to become a peculiar vessel!

That means to become separated from the world!

That means to have those peculiarities that the world cannot help but see which will always accompany one who will walk a separated life unto God!

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).

The reason for that is, that when the Lord really saves us --

He does not save us on the outside!

He saves us on the inside!

The Lord does not change a man's life!

He changes a man's heart; and because his heart is changed, his life as a natural man changes also.

You cannot draw bitter water and sweet water out of the same fountain at the same time; and when the heart is cleansed, then out of the heart proceed the things that make the man.  When our heart is cleansed, we are going to give the world streams of living waters.  When we are saved, we have a different life, a transformed way of thinking.  "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).  A different method of living will be our testimony.  So we are sanctified as we surrender to His Lordship.  Hallelujah!  Out of weakness we are made strong.

Can you see David, the shepherd boy?  God can make a king out of a shepherd boy as long as he will keep the shepherd boy spirit!

Can you see David standing in the midst of the children of Israel confused and afraid?  No, you see Goliath of Gath defying the whole army of Israel crying, "Give me a man that we may fight together."

David had had two previous experiences, for in the strength of the Lord he had slain the lion and killed the bear.  His was a surrendered life -- the life of a sweet singer of Israel, singing and praising God, who became bold as a lion.  He was a mere stripling, a ruddy youth, but God could use him.  Out of weakness they were made strong; they waxed (changed) valiant in fight.  Yes, David was transformed from a stripling youth to a daring, bold lion risking his life for the sake of the Living God.  My friends, he was weak yet strong!  Praise the Lord!  That's our position when we stay low.  Yes, the way up is down, seeking God's face.  Being broken constantly before Him, never leaving the presence of the Living God!

David could go forward because he had made up his mind to go all the way with God, and after he laid aside the armor of Saul and counted it useless to himself, he still reverenced his elders and laid it aside respectfully.  That armor is a symbol to me of God's weapons compared to the armor of the world.  "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4).  We cannot fight the world with swords.

Or with worldly spears!

Or with worldly guns!

Or with worldly artillery!

For as God was in Christ reconciling the world to Him, so Christ is in us carrying on the work of reconciliation.

The most potent thing in the world is love -- yes, the most potent things that Christ used were seemingly the weakest things!

And the weakest things were the strongest.  "A soft answer turneth away wrath" (Proverbs 15:1).  "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19).  If your enemy comes against you and you want to overcome him, don't fight him!  Please don't talk about him!

But if he is hungry give him food, and if he is thirsty give him drink.

You say that's weakness; but no, that's strength.  My weakness is made perfect in God's strength!

If you want to find the only way, I can tell you in just three words.

Come to Jesus!

Not a system!  Not a plan!  But to a person!

Not to an idea, but to the Son of the Living God!  Come to Jesus!

Turn away from your sins and wickedness.  If your soul is thirsty, come to the waters by Samaria's wayside well, where that blessed message fell on a woman's thirsty soul long ago!  Remember how Jesus said, "If thou knewest who … thou wouldest have asked him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10).

Yes, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6); "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Come to Jesus!  How?  Stop right now and say, "Lord Jesus, forgive me of all my sins; I receive you as my Lord and Savior."  Yes!  "Look and live," cried the prophet!  Surrender now, be sanctified, and rededicate your life; cry out to God now.  "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12).  Out of weakness you will be made strong, and God's faith will quench the violence of fire that so easily besets you.

The Manifested Word In Communist Countries

I remember how God spoke to me in November 1967, "I want you to go to East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia.  Make thyself ready and go."  Every fiber of my being was electrified with the liquid power spoken by the Holy Ghost!  At that time I had very little in my bank account and my wife asked, "Chris, how are you going to go with no money?"  It is strange how the word of faith manifests itself through us when we really don't have an answer in the natural.  I said, "But my God shall supply all my need" (see Philippians 4:19).  She said, "How much do you think you will need?"  I said, "One thousand dollars."  She said, "Darling, where will you get a thousand dollars?"  I said, "God will give it to me."  After I said that, I said, "I am going to Austin, Texas, to speak at a newly-organized fellowship.  Pack my bags and have them ready.  I am leaving this weekend."

When I began to speak that night in Austin, Texas, I sensed the warm presence of the Holy Spirit in a great way.  After the meeting, a man walked up to me and said, "How much do you need to go to Eastern Europe?"  I said, "A thousand dollars."  He said, "That's what I thought you were going to say.  Let me pray tonight about this."  The next morning he came over and gave me a thousand dollars to "go and preach the Gospel."

Praise the Lord!  In my raincoat, dressed for Texas weather (which does not get very cold), I left for Washington, D.C.  I met Brother Andrew (God's Smuggler) there and as we went to his room to pray, he spoke as though God had given him this amazing information in advance; he said that I would win many souls in East Germany and that God was with me.  God always confirms His Word that He speaks to His servants.  Brother Andrew said, "Chris, you are a pioneer like me.  You will reach people that I would never reach."  After our sweet fellowship, God led me to take a jet out of Frankfurt, Germany, and visit a Brother and Sister Loffert.  They were glad to see me again and she makes the best cheesecake in the world.  I spoke in their small fellowship about my plans, and they were all amazed.  Yet one by one they came and bestowed gifts upon me.  God know I needed a heavy overcoat, so one man gave me his.  Another gave me a scarf.  The pastor, Brother Loffert, gave me his sweater and long-johns and I was outfitted right down to heavy socks.  Praise the Lord!  My faith was under fire yet it was full of fire!

Yes, a faithful man, a man full of fiery faith, shall abound with blessings -- shall overflow with blessings.  The blessing of having his prayers answered, of having healing and health, of having his needs supplied.  Yes, great blessings come to those who are full of faith.

There is one Bible way for your faith to increase, for you to be filled to overflowing faith.  That is by the Word of God.  Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."  That is why I urge you, my friends in Christ, to practice saying God's Word daily.  Every time you speak out the promises of God, you are building faith.  Whenever your ears hear God's Word spoken, faith, fiery faith, is being produced.  That is why I wrote this book -- to build your faith.  What is our secret?  Simply speaking the Words of God.

But you can be your own faith builder!  Every time you break the silence that fear would prompt with a bold fiery declaration of "thus saith the Word of God," you are building yourself up, strengthening your faith.  Your ears hear your own lips speak God's Word and that is faith's sword, the Word of God.

Miracle Door In Budapest

My faith was under fire in having no finances; but thank God, the Word of God controls circumstances.  Suddenly I had enough finances.  God opened new and strange doors in Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland.  It seemed, as I was on my way to Budapest with many Gospels and some New Testaments on the train, that the blessed Holy Spirit had gone before me to make the crooked way straight.

Believe me, my faith was under fire.  The devil had zeroed in on Chris Panos.  The devil said, "You will be checked through customs and they will find the Gospels and you will be arrested."  The very air was pregnant with trouble.  As the train neared its destination, the guards boarded and checked the passengers, looked at many of them and thoroughly checked them.  (Believe me, it is not like this now; it still is in Red China, but not in Eastern Europe.  They have relaxed somewhat.)

The devil was pressing in with all of his forces and speaking his words of defeat in my mind.  Then suddenly God spoke, "Son, arise and make ready to depart from the train.  Fear not, neither be discouraged but take courage and follow me."  Praise the Lord!  I felt such a release of faith that I arose zealous, burning with an increased faith full of fire like a torch that could burn through any Iron Curtain wall.

Then God spoke again.  Faith cometh by hearing God's Word.  "Son, this is the way, walk in this door."  All the people were going through another door about a hundred feet further down.  The God of Heaven had imparted fiery faith that swallowed up defeat in victory through His words.  I walked through the first doors untouched, unknown, helpless, powerless, yet untouched by the powers of darkness.

After miraculously going through another door (one that was used only by diplomats), I skipped going through customs and having my luggage checked.  Outside a taxi waited to take me to my hotel. 

It is strange how God speaks the Word of Faith to us; yet it is simple, especially when we are caught off guard and helpless.  Then He manifests His Word through our own spirit.

Remember this principle when you are searching in your Bible for a word, and are seeking some sister, brother, pastor, or evangelist to encourage you.  Listen to the Holy Living Word -- God's voice.  The manifested Word is God.  Now I don't mean you don't need to read the Word of God.  I read ten chapters daily to receive life in order to meet all my daily needs.  We must have fellowship with others.  But what I want to zero in on is that most Christians never hear the Living Word of Faith!  The Word always ran swiftly before me into Russia and Poland, and the Christians in those countries always seemed to know I was coming.    

Have Daring Faith

A real key to success is that what we confess or say today, we possess tomorrow -- whether it is good or bad, sickness or health, lack or financial prosperity.  Did you ever observe that those who are constantly talking about fear are usually quite fearful?  If you think it through, you will discover that the ones who constantly talk about lack experience lack as their master.  Yes, it is true that our words produce the kind of life we have.  The Bible says, "Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee" (Job 22:28).  It shall become a part of your life.  Yes it is true that what you continually say is what you receive.  I trust you will allow this truth from the Bible to sink deep into your life.  When you decree a thing, you will have that thing.  God says that when you or I decree a thing, it shall be established unto us.  

When you state a thing, you actually speak it into your life.  If you speak want, you will have want as your master.  But if you decree that God's supply is yours, then you will have His supply.  If you decree the fact that the Lord is the strength of your life, then you will know His strength.  If you decree God's supply of courage, as I did when I got off the train in Budapest and skipped customs, then you will be courageous, rather than fearful.  You will be successful and walk through the valley of the shadow of death and say like David, "I will fear no evil."  That's faith under fire.

Yes, God says, "Thou shalt decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee."  Jesus said the same thing in Mark 11, when He declared, "Whosoever shall say, and not doubt in his heart, but shall believe those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith."  Whatever you say, or decree, can become a reality in your life, if you continually, daily, say what you decree until you get it.  The words that we speak germinate the presence of faith around us and produce what we say -- good or bad, positive or negative, success or failure.  If you don't understand this, then you need to read Chapters 1 and 2 again.

Please don't forget this fact:  the devil hears our testimony too.  The Bible says we overcome the devil by the Word of God in our testimony.  But if we have a testimony that lacks the Word of God in it, then the devil will rout us.  And if our testimony is not in perfect harmony with God's Word, then the devil will take advantage of us.

Learn to talk about and use God's Word.  Talk about God's goodness to you and your fellow Christians.  Fill your lips with praise for answers to prayers that you have asked, and as you do so, your faith will grow by leaps and bounds.  If you talk about your trials and your difficulties and your lack of money, your faith will shrivel; it will lose its power in your life.

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold fast in our confession of faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)."  Our part in this life of faith is to hold fast our confession; you do that by saying over and over continually what God says until the petitions you asked for come to pass.  God's part is to faithfully fulfill His Word to us and I promise you He will.

Now the hardest battles in which you will ever be engaged will be along this line.  But the greatest battles I have won have been those when everything cried out "impossible!"  But impossibilities become realities when we dare to hold fast our confession of God's Word.  First the problem; next the promise; finally the fulfillment of that promise.  But in your problem three things can happen:  one, you can die there -- physically and spiritually; second, you can prolong your stay there like the children of Israel did for forty years in the wilderness; or third, you can stand on the naked Word of God and confess it day and night and never give in to the adversary until you possess what you confess.

Keep your solid front.  God is for you and you cannot be conquered.  I promise you that then you will walk in the land of milk and honey and all your petitions will flow your way.  You will receive fulfillment.  You will see the manifestation of the promise.

The reason some of you are so defeated is that you are living your problem.  You are living in the wilderness and you have talked the language of doubt and unbelief.  You cannot do that without suffering the consequences.  You talk failure and you will fail.  But I challenge you to begin to make a bold, confident confession.  Dare to be powerful by the words you speak.  Be filled with the zeal of God.  Tackle and storm through every difficulty by the power of His Words -- having daring, rugged, persistent, and fiery faith, the kind of faith that burns with a passion, that wins every time.  (Your life is changing even now -- something really good is heading your way -- you will never be the same again.)  Be bold in your faith.  Jesus will reward your bold, undenying faith.

The men and the women God uses must pay a price of self-denial, dedication, and hard work to see results produced.  It never comes by accident; it is not luck that blessings come our way.  God rewards diligent, fiery faith; He rewards hard work and persistent determination to succeed for His glory.  We must always acknowledge that God alone makes us sufficient.  "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God; Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament" (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). 

Chapter 9

THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH

Second Corinthians 2:14 says "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."

By reading the newspapers today, we see what an utter failure man is in this world.  Constantly we hear and read negative comments.  People face utter defeat in every direction.  The world is dying.

The world is yearning for someone to take over all its problems.  Satan is getting everybody used to the thought of having one government, one bank, and one church.  He's preparing people to yearn and wish and look for superman who will deliver mankind.  But that superman won't really bring peace.  He'll bring total destruction.

Our statesmen meet and legislate, appointing committees to investigate causes and remedies.  The best minds from all over the world gather together and after much deliberation and debate reach their conclusions, yet the world remains in defeat and uncertainty.

Church leaders are in constant turmoil, a turmoil caused by the fact that many do not really know the Lord they profess to serve.  How pitifully weak is the wisdom of this world as it faces the crisis of its life, with history revealing a long record of defeats and failures.

Jesus is the answer.

Natural man is limited -- but thanks be to God, there is a place of no defeat.  Faith knows no limitations!

There is a place where men can stand and be more than conquerors.  In the midst of defeat and failure, the Apostle Paul strikes a clear note of victory and gives us the text of this discourse on the triumph of faith:  "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place" (2 Corinthians 2:14).

What a statement!

God always causeth us to triumph!

Not an occasional victory!

Not a few victories!

But in Christ, God always causeth us to triumph!

Faith brings the reality of victory in the midst of any and all circumstances!  Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail, bound by fetters and with their backs bleeding, sang victories praises that blew open every door of the prison, loosed every captive, and prepared the way for a manifestation of God the Holy Ghost which brought their jailer to his knees.  Seeing the miracle-working power of God, the jailer was saved and baptized.  Many are being imprisoned for the Gospel's sake in this twentieth century.

The Man In "Red China"

I remember an old white-haired man in what I will call Red China.  He was a beautiful man, dignified and well dressed.  His name I cannot tell you, but I can tell you his story.  This man was just released from prison because he refused to stop winning souls.  The secret police had told him that if he would not preach about salvation and the second coming of Jesus Christ, they would not bother him.  He refused to stop even if it meant a prison term.  I remember how his brothers in Christ asked him, "Why don't you just retire now and let the younger saints win souls?  Do as they say; you have paid a great price already.  You have been in prison dozens of times for the sake of the Gospel.  We love you and don't want you to suffer any more."  The glory of God, the triumphant faith of the Living God, seemed to permeate the atmosphere around this man.  As he stood in silence, it seemed that a light shone around his whole body.  Then he said joyfully, "Brothers and sisters, you see I count it a privilege to suffer just a little for the sake of the Gospel.  I am not only willing to be beaten, but I am willing to die for the sake of the Gospel."  As we looked him over, we could not fail to see his right and left hands had been tortured, as the Communists had pulled off all his nails, one after the other.  They pulled them off one at a time, slowly, so that the pain might be intensified.  And when he turned, I saw that this beautiful face had been marred by a hot branding iron.  I can still hear the resounding words of Chou.  "I count it a privilege to suffer, just a little for the sake of the Gospel.  You see I owe a debt to my Master.  He died for me; He took my sins; and I must take the Good News to the prisoners in jail, as well as the prisoners on the streets in this country.  I must work while it is still day, for night cometh when no man can work."  Think about it:  this man was willing to be arrested in order to take Jesus Christ to the prisons of his nation.  Let me close this testimony with his triumphant faith statement:  "I count it a privilege to suffer a little for the sake of the Gospel."  "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ."

The Mysteries of Faith

The natural man cannot believe this good news.  He sees only the whipping post, the shackled feet, the iron prison doors, and the darkness of the midnight hour.

The natural man never hears the song of triumph in the midst of apparent defeat, and even if he should hear, he would not understand.

The world and some believers only go to the door of the Philippian jail.

They never see or know anything about the miraculous deliverance -- THE TRIUMPHANT FAITH.  Faith is the daring of the soul to go further than it can see.

It was this kind of faith that caused Abraham to pursue his triumphant march up to the place of sacrifice and prepare to offer up his only son, believing that God would raise him from the dead.

The world and the unbelieving religionist would watch him go up the mountain and return again with his son, Isaac, and their reasoning minds would say, "Well, he changed his mind.  Abraham lost his courage -- didn't I tell you he would?"

The reasoner always wants to strike a compromise with the forces of evil.  But the believer draws from the resources of heaven.

When Israel, a great host of fleeing slaves, stood helpless and despairing beside the Red Sea with the Egyptian army pressing close upon its heels, the Lord spoke to Moses and said, "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward … and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea" (Exodus 14:15,16).

God said, "Stretch out thine hand over the sea and divide it."  (What an order!)  But Moses had to act on God's Word.

God has always laid upon His leaders the responsibility of delivering His people, and it is necessary for His leaders to believe and follow the Lord's instructions lest the people perish before the enemy.  God instructs believers to heal the sick, laying hands upon them, "and they shall recover" every time.

If Thou Wilt Believe

The same God who told Moses to stretch forth his hand speaks today to every believer saying, "stretch forth your hand in My name and lay it on the sick and they shall recover."  "Deliver those who are drawn unto death."

The thousands who are reading this book now are being pressed hard by the devil -- by sin, sickness, disease, torment, and trouble.  Only the Lord can help.  Some cry in agony, forgetting that God said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23).

Will you be like the old Chinese man who was willing to go forward, no matter what the cost?  If you are, your pressures will vanish.  Arise and go forward!  God's faith will cause you to triumph every time, no matter what your problem is.  To God it makes no difference whether the problem is a lost son, or a lost mate, or a lost parent, or some other member of the family.  God's faith will conquer your problem whether it is in your marriage or outside of it!  Whether it's sin, sickness, poverty, or even death itself that's facing you or your loved ones, God's faith is more than able to meet your need.

Take courage and speak the words of life.  "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth to triumph in Christ!" (2 Corinthians 2:14).  Arise and come out of that prison by releasing the triumphant faith words that abide in you.  There is no jail big enough to contain you.  There are no chains that can bind you.  There is no sin, sickness, or financial need that can hold you.  "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations" (Matthew 28:18,19).  Be His disciples!  Be His Ambassadors!  Now thanks be unto God, Who always causes us to triumph again and again and again through every circumstance!  

The Triumphant Faith Of Job

It is impossible to leave people exactly as you find them.  You will either add something to their lives or take something from their lives.  Some people have a contagious good humor.  They spread cheer wherever they go.  They leave every person they meet just a little better, a little happier than they were before.  Whether you realize it or not, whether you want to or not, you contribute, you transmit to every person you meet, either life or death.

Peter said, "such as I have, give I thee" (Acts 3:6).  Paul said, "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome" (Romans 1:15).  If we give the heathen the Gospel, they will also become like the Christ we give them.  Listen to me, your very best days are ahead of you!  You can be a powerful witness!

Everything is bound in the will of God.  The longer I live with Christ the more I realize we must have a contagious, triumphant faith spirit, the kind we have when prayer has been made and God has entered the scene.  How?  By sharing your love, you can add to the love of others.  By exercising your faith, you can help them to exercise their faith.  By having your courage in the face of opposition, you can encourage others to show theirs.  This is the contagion of a triumphant spirit.

Job had this kind of faith, and nothing could stifle the triumphant quality of his faith.  It remained constant through all of his material losses, forming a solid foundation through his terrible house of pain, and enabling him to rise above his afflictions.  A triumphant faith spirit in touch with God cannot be defeated by sickness or disease of any sort.  In the battle that inevitably follows a sudden attack, a triumphant faith spirit will always overcome. 

Job was covered with boils from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet.  Yet in the midst of this agony, Job's triumphant spirit of faith rose above the corruption of his own decaying body.  Through his swollen lips he made a declaration of faith that echoes down the corridors of time and inspires us in this twentieth century.

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another" (Job 19:25-27; italics added).  When the Sabeans stole Job's oxen and lightning killed his sheep; when the Chaldeans drove off his camels and a whirlwind killed all of his sons and daughters; it was then that Job fell on his knees and worshipped God (read Job 1:20,23).  There is no way Satan can defeat a triumphant faith spirit like Job's.  He had taken away all the Job was and reduced him to be a governor of an ash heap.  Yet Job's spirit of faith soared on high.  Rising above all of the circumstances that had conspired against him, he stood in the mountaintops of faith.

Then there was the triumphant faith spirit of young David, who stood as a dwarf, a midget compared to the giant Goliath, who was nine feet tall.  Goliath's armor alone weighed 150 pounds.  Was it an unequal contest?  It would have been, except for the fact that God had chosen little David to be His champion.  He had put within David's heart an optimism, a triumphant faith spirit, that laughed at the formidable odds he faced.  Hear the confident voice of David ringing out across the valley:  "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied.  This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand … that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel" (1 Samuel 17:45,46).  When the duel was finished, it was Goliath who lay dead in the dust of defeat, and it was David who stood triumphant over his fallen foe.

There was Paul, whose triumphant faith spirit reached out from behind prison walls and dungeon cells to preach the Gospel to uncounted generations.

There was Luther, there was Wesley, there are you and I who spread and are spreading the contagious faith of the Gospel with our lips and lives into the entire world, including Red China.  There are no closed doors to the Gospel.

The world today needs Christians who have faith.  We need believers who have a triumphant faith spirit and can proclaim victory through the power of God.  Each one of us is a sign post, pointing the way either to heaven or to hell.  We are living epistles, known and read by everyone we meet.

Everyone living today has an influence that causes others either to lift up or to fall, and that influence is always at work.  Let us always keep a contagious, triumphant, spirit of faith.  Let us give the world the Good News that Jesus saves.  My friends, arise in Christ!  Get ready to put into action what you have received.  We have won the battle again!  Your best days are ahead of you.

Chapter 10

FAITH BY THE WORD

Let us read the Word of God and see where the faith of Mary came from.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:  blessed art thou among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou has found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to they word.  And the angel departed from her (Luke 1:26-38; italics added.)

The greatest power in all the world is the expression of the force called faith.

In the birth of our Lord Jesus we have the expression of this force power-packed!

The angel of the Lord came to Mary and promised that she would bear a child conceived not by natural means, but by the Holy Ghost.  "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee."  The words spoken to Mary by Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, were enough to give the most spiritual individual reason to stagger!  "Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."  Mary looked at the angel and, with full expression of her faith, replied, "Be it unto me according to thy word."  She had a total acceptance of the will of God for her life.  An inward, mighty, moving, amen to Gabriel's "thus saith the Lord" resulted in the fruit of her womb, our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Mary demonstrated her faith in God.  "With God," the angel declared, "nothing shall be impossible!"

This is the way of faith -- Christ's way.  Like Mary, we too receive Him into our beings in all His fullness.  We receive His quickening life that fills our beings, changes our beings, and puts us in the place where there is always an inward, mighty, moving, God-inspired "amen" to the will of God in our life!

Zacharias and Elisabeth wanted a son.  The angel of the Lord appeared to them six months before he appeared to Mary, proclaiming:

Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

And many of the children of Israel shall return to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:13-17; italics added.)

How destructive and unproductive are the seeds of doubt in a human being!  Nothing holds back the will of God for our lives any more than doubt.

"And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this?  For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years" (verse 18).

Faith never questions!  It accepts the impossible as possible.  Faith knows it is not just dealing with natural causes and natural effects, but wi