TEACHING

Don Atkin

FAITH: HEALING AND FINANCES

The just shall live by faith. - Galatians 3:11.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. - Hebrews 11:1,3,6.

Faith gives visible substance to invisible realities. God demonstrated the way of faith by speaking the creation into physical, visible existence. Nothing became something by the word of God! Faith, itself, comes by hearing:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:17.

But, it is NOT the "logos word." It is the "rhema word" that produces faith! It is the hearing of the rhema of God that brings faith.

Neither is it intellectual belief. It is heart belief that generates faith to live by:

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. - Romans 10:10.

Simply confessing Scripture out of your own "wishing well" will not produce righteous results. I am appalled when I hear of people who are "believing God for a pink Cadillac." I am heartbroken when I hear of people falling into disillusionment, because they have believed an illusion. It would be wiser to sell cosmetics and believe Mary Kay for that pink Cadillac!

The same goes for provision and healing. We know by the testimony of Scripture that the general, far-sweeping will of God is for us to prosper and be in good health, but the conditions include (1) prosperity of soul [III John 2], and (2) specifically spoken rhema from God!

Since God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, we should diligently seek Him for all of our needs. Seek God, not merely His provision and healing! Seek God for living words, rhema, that produce faith in our hearts to live by!

We should consult with God regarding all of our needs. We can rightfully approach God with faith in His thoughts toward us:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11.

But, we cannot pick out verses that specifically speak to another person or situation, and "claim" them for ourselves. Specific promises and directives come directly from our Father to us via the Holy Spirit, as a result of our relationship with Him. We cannot replace the Holy Spirit with the Bible! While Scripture helps us to know more about God and His ways, faith comes out of relationship with God, not out of Bible study.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. - Romans 8:14.

As young ministers, my family and I were definitely led into situations where we had to trust God. We have many testimonies. I will share three - two that are positive, and one that is negative.

A testimony on healing. Back in the 1970's, our family of six went for more than nine years without spending one dime on doctors or medication. But, this was not without being tested. God had spoken clearly to us. We were not leaning upon "proof texts." We had the rhema of God which was specifically spoken to us, for us. I’ll share just one testimony.

My wife, Barbara had developed lumps on the side of her left breast. They were measurably growing, and pain was increasing daily. We sought the Lord to see if there were any new instructions from the Throne. We did so daily.

One day, when Barbara was so weak that she could not get out of bed, and the pain level was almost unbearable, I said to Him, "Father, unless you give us a specific word, I will take Barbara to the doctor." Immediately, she was impressed to read an obscure Old Testament Scripture: King Asa sought the physicians. King Asa died.

That rhema word generated the needed faith to stand in the midst of the battle. The next morning, Barbara could not even lift her head from the pillow. I sensed the leading of the Spirit to play a tape on "The Confession of Our Faith." Then, I asked her, "What is your confession?" She responded, "Jesus is Lord, and by His stripes I am healed!" Her voice was very weak, but her resolve was very strong.

I immediately played another tape, "Acting on Our Confession." At its conclusion, I threw back the covers, held out my hands, and said: "Let’s get out of bed." Barbara struggled to the shower, and then got dressed.

Her strength began to return even as she showered, but took several days to become normal. The pain began to subside that evening, and was completely gone by the next day. The lumps completely disappeared within a few days.

Let me hasten to say that, since that season, we have continued to seek God’s will, and then consulted the physicians on many occasions. As much as we were blessed to live under God’s direct divine care, we do not live there all the time. It would be presumption, not faith, to try to walk this out without those specific, faith-generating, rhema words.

A testimony on finances. Our family of six lived for more than twenty-five years totally depending upon the direct, divine and sovereign provision of God. I state it this way, because all believers - including those with regular incomes - are to live by faith. There has been a specific calling upon our lives to live this way. And, with the calling comes the enablement, the provision.

We have never ceased to be amazed as the hand of God has provided just the right clothing for our children, the cost of airline tickets for much foreign travel, and even our daily bread. We have gone to the mailbox many mornings to see if we would have breakfast, and we have always had breakfast!

There are dozens, maybe hundreds of testimonies that I could share. I’ll share the high points of one. We were living in California, and the Holy Spirit was directing Barbara and me to take a coast-to-coast ministry tour, leaving our teenage daughters behind with a married daughter.

We left early on a Sunday morning from California for the East Coast, with a full tank of gasoline and $25 cash. We shared in a small church in Nevada that day, and received a $54 offering. (Remember, this was about thirty years ago.)

We had a promise of hospitality, but no speaking commitment, in Denver on Tuesday evening. We stayed Monday night in a Motel 6 (for $6 back then), ate soda crackers and drank water for two days, and arrived in Denver with the gas tank reading "empty," and less than $2 cash.

A call back to our daughters in California gave us the news that some money had come in the mail. Our host took us to his bank on Wednesday morning, and co-signed our out-of-state check for $75. That got us to Kansas City, where the windows of heaven opened.

For the next eight weeks, and thousands of miles, we had plenty of money for our journey expenses as well as to send back to our daughters to pay all expenses there.

We are not merely testifying of an isolated and unusual experience. We are testifying about a way of life that continues today. Our faithfulness to obey has resulted in an increasing stewardship. We invest more money in the kingdom today than we used to have as total income.

A testimony on missing God. The last local fellowship that we planted had purchased seven acres of land that needed to be mowed. We desperately needed a riding mower. The church had no money, so I presumptuously put the price of the mower ($2,600) on my credit card. Furthermore, I used our credit to carry the church in other ways. Our finances were a disaster for years after that. Because our Father loves us enough to discipline us!

I violated other Biblical principles and mandates regarding not going into debt in order to meet evident needs. This was presumption and disobedience, not faith. And, we paid dearly to learn this lesson.

God finances what He directs. With direction comes provision. If the provision isn’t there, then there is something wrong about the direction - perhaps timing, perhaps something else. We are so capable of erroneously believing that we are being led by the Holy Spirit. We need to be certain that all of the other principles and mandates of God are lining up. God does not lead us into violating His logos!

Faith is our response to His rhema (word), spoken specifically to us.

Whether we are considering healing, finances, or any other topic, we must remember that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the rhema of God. Attempting to "believe God" for anything based merely upon intellectually comprehendible concepts drawn from the logos is usually a mistake, an illusion that will eventually disappear, leaving us in disillusionment. Our loving Heavenly Father has something much better for us.

Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:6, 8-9