Believing in God vs. Believing God

This morning while I was reading the little mini book by Kenneth Hagin called, "In Him", a particular concept came into my mind that I thought was worthy of a blog.

If you have read the blogs on this site, you may recall that I have mentioned this little mini book, and the concept in it of finding the Scripture verses that tell you what the Bible says about you if you have received salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The following is what I was reading, when the idea for this blog entry came to mind:

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created IN CHRIST Jesus. . .

"We didn't make ourselves new creatures - He did. We are His workmanship. And you'd better be careful about how you talk about His workmanship. Be careful to say the same thing about His workmanship that He says about it in His Word. Be careful not to slur or mock God by saying, 'Oh, I'm so poor and weak and unworthy. I'll never amount to anything.' He didn't make you that kind of new creature. He made you a worthy new creature. He made you a new creature who could stand in His presence as though you had never committed a sin. He made you a righteous new creature. Start telling who you actually are - instead of who think you are."
(Kenneth Hagin, "IN HIM" pg. 16)

After reading this, the thought came to my mind, that there is the difference between believing God, and believing IN God. Many surveys have been done in America in which something like 85% of Americans say they believe in God. If 85% of the people believe in God, then why is our nation in so much of a backsliding condition? I can tell you why. And it has to do with the difference between "believing IN God" vs. "believing God".

James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is one? Good for you! The demons believe it too - the thought makes them shudder with fear!"

The context of this statement in James is concerning putting action to your beliefs. Verse 20 goes on to say:

"But, foolish fellow, do you want to be shown that such 'faith' apart from actions is barren?"

Well, going back to what Kenneth Hagin wrote in His book, I wondered how many "Christians" truly believe God, versus how many simply believe IN God. The difference is this:

To believe IN God doesn't mean much at all! So what if you believe He exists, if there is no personal affect of this in your life. According to James, this simple belief causes the devils to tremble. Does it cause you to tremble? Does it cause you to change your behavior? How can people say they believe in God, and yet largely ignore this God in whom they say they believe?

To believe God means you believe what He says, as Kenneth Hagin points out. You can not believe God, unless you read the Bible to find out what it is He has done and said. When you read the Scriptures, you are showing that you believe God. When you receive what He has said, you are believing God. When you make a change in your life because of something you read in Scripture - in the way you think, in your words, and actions - you are believing God.

As a person, I prefer that someone would believe me, rather than believe in my existence. It is not worth a penny to say they believe I exist. Of course I exist. I believe George Washington existed too. That is what most people mean when they say they believe in God. They believe He exists. However, I prefer that a person would believe me. Believe me when I say something. Of course, since I am human, I may not always be correct. But the fact that a person will listen to what I say, take it into consideration, and esteem what I esteem as valuable, is the very basis upon which a relationship can be built. It is even more so in the case with God. You can not have a relationship with someone with whom you rarely talk. You can not have a good relationship with someone that you give no credence to. If you refuse to believe the majority of what someone has tells you is true over and over, how can you have a good relationship with that person? In a husband and wife relationship, if one or the other expresses a constant disregard for the thoughts and words of the other, that relationship will fall apart. It is the same in our relationship to God. That is the point Kenneth Hagin was making too. The Bible says that we:

"Have been delivered from the power of darkness, and have been translated into the kingdom of Jesus." (Col. 1:13)

"Have received an inheritance in union with Him, and were chosen in love before the creation of the universe to be holy (set apart) and without defect in His presence, so that we would bring Him praise commensurate with His glory." (Eph 1:4-12)

"Have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We are His ambassadors to tell the world that they can be reconciled to God - He is not holding their sins against them." (2 Cor. 5:18-20)

"We are the Temple of the Living God" (2 Cor. 6:16)

Believe Him. He does not lie.

With that in mind, I encourage you to look into the Scriptures again. Read the letters to the Churches (you). Find out who you are in Him, and dare to believe it. It is more than we think.

Walking Worthy of the Lord

In Colossians, Paul prays for the Christians that they, "would walk worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work ." The fact that he prayed this prayer tells me that it is not an automatic fact that all Christians walk - conduct their lives - in a manner that is worthy of the Lord. If it was automatic, Paul would have had no need to pray for it to be worked out in the lives of the Colossians.

I am concerned that so many churches today teach the people to strive after prosperity, yet that is never the focus of any of the letters to the Churches. As a matter of fact, in the book of Revelation, the Church of Laodicea is reprimanded by the Lord for feeling that they had really arrived because they had accomplished a level of financial success. Walking worthy of the Lord has nothing to do with how much money you make. Laodicea was a wealthy town. The people there raised sheep that had black wool, which was very popular and was sold in many of the surrounding countries. It was the latest greatest fad. And the Laodiceans benefited from it financially. Also in Laodicea was a medical center that was well known for an eye salve they made. It is striking that the Lord rebuked them in direct correlation to these circumstances. He told them the were poor and naked. The expensive black wool did not impress God. He told them to buy white robes from Him. He told them they were blind. Their special eye salve would not be sufficient to take away spiritual blindness.

So, what is it then, to be rich towards God?

Does it seem like God is never satisfied and is always picking on our faults?

God knows that eternity is forever, and this life is very short. He knows that the things of this world can easily turn our hearts away from Him and draw us away from Him - yet they can also never truly satisfy our needs and fulfill us as human beings. If we have all the finances we need, yet lack love, we are poor indeed. If we stop following after Him, and are no longer in the process of being made into His image, our growth becomes stunted. We cannot rid ourselves of our bad habits. We lose sight of the hope of the glory and eternal life that is ours in Him.

Paul wrote to Timothy about what true riches are:

"As for those who do have riches in this present world, charge them not to be proud and not to let their hopes rest on the uncertainties of riches but to rest their hopes on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. In this way they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may lay hold of the real life."
I Tim. 6:17-19

Prayer

My sister and I are endeavouring to embark on a prayer project. We want to see results from our prayers. We have agreed to make prayer a priority for thirty days, praying everyday. Anyone who wants to join us is welcome, and can blog or comment here to let us know your experiences. I will be posting Scriptures that are especially good to pray, since God's Word has power. It is by God's Word that the universe and the world with all its inhabitants have been created (And God said. . .Gen. 1:6,9,11,14,20); and it is also an obvious way to know what God's will is in a matter, and the Scripture tells us that,

"If we ask anything that accords with His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, then we know that we have what we have asked from Him." (1 John 5:14,15)

Remember to pray to the Father, in the Name of Jesus (you are praying as a person who is allowed to come before the Father because of Jesus - you are not coming in your name or strength, or based on any good thing you have done, but come based on what Jesus accomplished on the cross!)

One Scripture that is always good to pray is Ephesians 3:17. I am quoting from the Complete Jewish Bible. Paul is writing and says:

"For this reason [so that the Ephesians would not be discouraged by the troubles Paul was enduring] I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character.
I pray that from the treasures of His glory He will empower you with inner strength by His Spirit,
so that Jesus may live in your hearts through your trusting.
Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love, so that you will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Love of Jesus so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God."

In Colossians 4, Paul says that, "Epaphras always agonizes in his prayer on your behalf, praying that you may stand firm, mature and fully confident, as you devote yourselves completely to God's will."

Ezekiel 36 has some good verses to pray also; I will list some paraphrases, but you can read it for yourself and apply whatever you feel is appropriate:

Sprinkle clean water on ____ and ____ will be clean.
Cleanse _____ from all uncleanness and from all their idols.
Give ____ a new heart and put a new spirit inside _____.
Take the stony heart out of ____ flesh and give ____ a heart of flesh.
Put Your Spirit inside _____ and cause them to live by Your laws, respecting God's rulings and obeying them.

Paul writes in 2 Cor. 5:15

. . .because we are convinced that one man died on behalf of all mankind, and that He died on behalf of all in order that those who live should not live any longer for themselves but for the one who on their behalf died and was raised.

And of course, Jesus taught us to pray:

. . .Your Will be done on earth [in ____'s life] as it is in heaven.

So, in summary, some Scriptural things to pray for include:

That God will empower our loved ones with inner strength
That they will be rooted and grounded in love, and filled with the fullness of God.
That they will stand firm and mature, devoting themselves completely to God's will.
That God will cleanse them and give them a new heart of flesh and remove the stony heart (give them a heart that is sensitive to God)
That God will give them His Spirit and cause them to live according to His laws.
That they will not live for themselves any longer, but that they will live for God and for His glory.
That God's will should be done in their lives.

I encourage people to keep a journal, at least marking on a calendar each day that you pray. It will help you to not get off track too much - and helps keep you accountable to yourself. Another idea is to write these verses on an index card which can be easily referred to for praying and then mark it each time you pray. Of course, I find that whenever I think about my loved ones I am praying for, I can simply pray any of these from memory and don't need to mark the card. Praying the Scriptures helps me stay focused on God and His ability, rather than focusing on the problems. Paul wrote that, "God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think." (Eph. 3:20)