I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.

John 3:11

One of the tenets of the Gospel is faith.  This can mean many things to some people, but a Bible definition goes something like this:  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1).  While many people claim to have a “faith”, their claims prove to be nothing at all.  They are houses built upon sand (or worse), and they have no ability to stand up for the Truth.

Faith is *NOT* a set of doctrinal agreements.  Faith is MORE than mental assent.  Bible faith is an assurance stemming from a connection with a very real spiritual thing.  Faith possesses something, and a faith that has no foundation is nothing at all.  It is, by definition NOT faith, for it is neither the substance, nor the proof of something false.  It is, in fact, a lie.

Faith stands sure in the storms, and faith sees what cannot be seen.

When Jesus walked the Earth during and before His ministry, He lived completely as a man, even though He had all his godhead available, should He call.  Like a Royal Prince in disguise in a common marketplace, all he ever had to do was throw off the common robe (the flesh), flash the signet ring of the King (the power, authority, glory of God the Father), and everyone would have backed off.  In fact, it was the spirit realm, the demonic powers, that still recognized Him while He walked amidst those whom He himself created.

As He ministered, this was His statement, as a man fully anointed by the Holy Spirit, subject to our weaknesses and frailties: we testify to what we have seen.  Just like when the woman touched Him on the hem of the garment, he indicated that he FELT the virtue, the strength and the power of God, going out of Him.

There is always an element of walking by faith in the Kingdom, but as Proverbs says, [T]he path of the righteous is like the dawn, it gets brighter and brighter until it reaches midday (Proverbs 4:18).  That which we grasped at in faith yesterday, and have seen manifested into the earth, so that our hope is no longer hope and our faith is no longer faith, we see with our eyes.

Jesus understood that His claims challenged the established order, but He came with a demonstration that was out of this world.  He testified to what He saw with His eyes, and spoke of what He knew.

What He came and preached, the Father’s message, was proven and seen.

What people mock today is what they have not seen.  What people disbelieve is what they have not yet experienced themselves.  Yet, the path of the righteous is characterized, by Proverbs, as a continual unveiling, a brightening, of what has only been dimly exposed before.  Greater and greater clarity, nuance, color, definition, should all come as we progress in the Lord.

Even to the disciples, Jesus deferred some teachings to the Holy Spirit who was to come, saying, I have much to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But, He would guide them into all truth.

Jesus demonstrated a greater wisdom than even that of Solomon, and as He walked with God, He grew if favor with men and with God.

There is more to this walk in Christ, not in foundation, but in experience, than we know at the outset.  There is more to discernment, more to the anointing, more to faith, than we understood at the beginning.  If we are afraid of stepping out into a place where we feel like a novice again, it is most likely simply our pride, afraid to look foolish, for as God says, as far as the heavens are above the Earth, so are my ways above yours.

Jesus testified to what he had seen and heard and what He knew, and so when He spoke, it was more than just words in a book.  How can we be certain?  When we have the Faith of the Bible, the living, active word of God (Hebrew 4:12) so works in us, is so alive to us, that though we do not see as the world sees, we see clearly, we testify surely, and stand up with all confidence, because our house is firmly built upon a rock.

From this sure place, we can speak to a muslim and say, your god is false, and you’re bound for hell (Mark 16:16).  Repent, and believe the one true God.  Why?  Because we speak of what we know, and testify to what we have seen.  We do not write to the wind, nor are we led by our eye.  We serve an Eternal Kingdom, not seen with our natural eye, but known perhaps better than we know this world.  Revealed in His Word, and revealed to our heart as a sure reality.

What is this truth?  It is simply the word of God, saying, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes on Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 has become synonymous with many gospel presentations today, and rightly so, and yet, if we would simply learn this one verse, in greater and greater measures, the nation would turn.  There is no room for bhudda, when Jesus gave His life.  Either Jesus was God’s son, given for our salvation, or He wasn’t, and if there was an easier way, surely, the most lovingest Father of all creation would have done that first.  Either Jesus is worth selling all for, as God gave all He had for us, or you make God out to be a liar.  Either His love is as real as the love you may or may not feel from a spouse or other loved one, or this is a sham.

It is _NOT_ about feeling, it is about Faith, but if your Faith never translates into the possession of the genuine article…  Let me put it this way… You’re settling for bread-crumbs when you could be eating at the Lord’s table.  Press on, and lay hold of the master.  Lay Hold of His promise.  Lay Hold of His Kingdom.