Mental Assent

For we walk by faith, not by sight. —2 Corinthians 5:7

There are two ways to walk, two ways to live: either by faith or by sight. There is a daily battle in your life between God’s promises and sense knowledge, the natural and the spiritual. Sense knowledge is information that we receive from the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. If you live by your senses (what you see and feel), they will hook you up to the natural realm with little God influence. But a faith-life pleases God. Why? He desires to be involved in your life, and He wants to help you. Living in the natural, believing only what you see and feel, is displeasing to God and to you (Galatians 3:11). The person who is just will believe God’s Word over any natural evidence. He believes God is real even if he doesn’t see Him. He believes the Holy Spirit is in him even when he doesn’t feel Him. He believes God loves him even though his situation seems to contra- dict His love. Sense knowledge agrees with the Word, agrees with the preacher while hearing the Word, but when the natural evidence comes that is opposite of the Word, it believes the natural. It believes the symptom over the healing, the bank account over “my needs are met,” the feelings over the truth. Mental assent also claims to believe the promise; it can quote the Word, but when the attack comes, it fails to act on the Word. It tells others “I know that,” but it does not resist the devil. It does not rebuke the symptom. It does not love uncon- ditionally. Peter told Jesus that he would never leave Him, that he would die with Him, but when the pressure came, he denied knowing Jesus three times. People may have good intentions; they love God, but they fail when the opposition comes. Anybody can live by faith, quote the Word, and praise God in good times. If all days were good days without opposition, there would be no need for faith! Faith will take you above the bad days.

Pastor Tom Kehres

Your Mind’s Eye

Read Romans 4:17–21.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. —Romans 4:18

God gave a word to Abraham: “I have made you a father of many nations.” This word was difficult for Abraham to believe. His body was old; his wife was old and barren. Abraham felt old, and he saw his old, wrinkled, barren wife. The only evidence of a child that he had was God’s word. Yet God had called him “the father of many nations”! God even changed his name from Abram to Abraham, so every time Abraham said his new name, he would remember his new identity, his covenant with God. God has called you anointed, blessed, prosperous, and victorious. But sense evidence, situations, and circumstances may tell you differently. Sense knowledge needs to see the money before it believes it is prosperous, feel the anointing before it acts upon the anointing. Abraham had a fight, a battle. It was God’s word versus his sense knowledge. It was the word versus seeing and feeling. God’s word prevailed, and the power of God produced a child.

Pastor Tom Kehres

Truth versus Facts

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1

Faith residing in your born-again spirit takes you beyond what is humanly possible (in the natural) and brings you into God’s power (in the spirit). Faith will connect you to your home country of heaven and give you access to its ability and resources. All believers are created to do good works. Good works are the works of the kingdom of God: healing the sick, casting out devils, supernatural protection, and speaking with tongues (see Acts 4:8–9; Mark 16:17–18). Faith is not a topic or a subject; it is a lifestyle. How should the just person live? By his faith in the Word of God. When should the just live by faith? Right now! Just read the first word of Hebrews, chapter 11: “Now faith is . . .” (emphasis added). People try to see it or feel it in order to believe it, but the Word itself is enough: “I tried to use faith to get healed, but it didn’t work.” How do you know it didn’t work? “Because I didn’t feel better and I didn’t see the symptom go away.” But God did not give us faith to get healed. He gave us faith because He has healed us. So I am going to believe that I am healed. When? Now! How long must I believe? As long as I live, I will choose to believe the Word and enforce my Kingdom rights. But what about the symptom? It will leave if I continue to believe. “By His stripes” I was healed, so I am healed. Faith receives what is already provided. People usually attack this message about faith when they do not understand it. Many say that “faith doesn’t make sense.” That is because faith doesn’t make sense! Others say that faith is a way of manipulating God to do something for you. But faith simply receives what God has already done for you. Just because people do not understand faith does not mean that it is not real.

Pastor Tom Kehres

The Ultimate Result

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. —2 Peter 1:4

The Church has believed and even taught that you need faith to get what you need or want: money, a new car, a house, or a spouse. But the real purpose of faith is to receive the nature and the life of God in your spirit, to have Christ living in you. Then, by putting faith in the Christ in you, you will manifest the life of Christ through you. Peter tells us in the verse above that we can “partake of the divine nature.” So, how do you partake of God’s nature? By struggling? By doing your best? Peter says that you must simply believe the “precious promises” that God in Jesus has provided for you. The change in your life doesn’t come through your works, but through faith in His work on the cross. You put faith in the new, righteous, Christlike creation that you have been made at the new birth. As you apply faith to the Christ who now dwells within you, you will start to manifest His life through you (Colossians 1:27). Faith is not a way to get what you want. Faith is God’s gift so you can have the life of Christ in you, manifesting through you. If you will grow in faith and in the knowledge of God and His Word, and allow the life of Christ in you to manifest through you, you will have what you need—Christ’s results in your life!—in your family, marriage, health, power, finances. You will get God-results in every area of your life.

Pastor Tom Kehres