But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’  And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?  They said, ‘The first.’

Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Matthew 21:28-32

When we look at the faith teachers in the past, we do not always see the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus explicitly mentioned, even though they do teach Faith, the anointing, and the realm of the Spirit perfectly.  While there are many variations on faith teaching, it must be noted, however, one crucial thing.  Despite how much revelation one teacher had or another, or how well any person was able to present the message of faith, of more important than the ability to understand and teach faith is whether we choose to LIVE it!

I am faced daily with this challenge.  I will understand faith, but if my life of faith stops at merely understanding the doctrine of faith, it is worse than useless.  I am like the son who says “Yes yes” to His Father who has called me into the Vineyard for the day, yet stays at home.

We have one teacher.  The same Spirit that guides us into all truth has taught the same principles of faith and the anointing to countless men and women throughout the age of the church, whether or not they could ever possibly connect it to every reference in the Gospels.  As it is not necessary to understand how all the scriptures of the Old Testament point to Christ in order to believe in who He is today, it is not always necessary to see how all of the Gospels teach and exhort faith, which they do, SO LONG AS YOU LIVE IT!

The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power (1 Corinthians 4:20).  It is fully preached with the demonstration of signs, wonders, and mighty miracles (Romans 15:19).

Mighty men and women of God has learned and lived faith, and demonstrated great power and anointing, preaching the same principles as Jesus did in His teachings, without ever realizing what they had in the Gospels.  Yet, this same anointing teaches us all things!  But, it is the living of faith, rather than its understanding, that is right before God.

The waters of the heart are a deep well.  It is easy to have many things that can side track us.  Simply to keep track of our own emotional state is difficult in this western culture.  Yet, the primary thing, yay, even the only thing that matters, is faith expressing itself through love.

Every consideration must be made in the context of whether something is done in faith or not.  Every way in which we are pulled away from faith into unbelief, the viewing of the natural must be done away with, and we must live by the Spirit, continually, if we are to be fully fruitful, fully pleasing, and reap great life.

Yet, Jesus taught faith, and taught the principles of the Kingdom.  In my hearing the teachings of others in the realms of faith, even that of Paul, I still have never found anyone that surpassed Jesus in simplicity, depth of commitment, and breadth of scope of faith that Jesus did in the Gospels.

Even Paul presented the very same principles as He was taught of God in his learning by the Spirit.  It is not recorded whether Paul even was presented with the original teachings of Jesus as readily as we have them today.  He was not a follower of Jesus in the days of His flesh on the Earth, nor did He spend a great deal of time with the apostles after his conversion.  Yet, the Lord taught Paul Himself, and prepared Him for service.

Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.

Galatians 2:1-2

Yet, whether we are taught directly by the written Word, by a servant of Christ, or by the Spirit, what difference does it make, so long as we learn true faith, not merely the doctrine of faith, and choose to learn to live by it in every step.

It is those who do the will of the Father that will inherit the Kingdom (Matthew 7:21), not those who know it, preach it, or anything else.  Unless, through the understanding of faith, through our love of the Lord, we find ourselves doing faith, as faith without works is dead (James 2:26), we haven’t done much yet.

But, by His grace, by His anointing, and by His understanding, we will step into greater and greater measures.  We will shuck off this life by faith, we will step into greater and greater glory, selling the past and yesterdays gifting, and find ourselves, someday soon, in a realm of the Beyond, so great and so glorious, that the Earth shakes, nations tremble, and men fall at our feet, take hold of our robes in great terror, and exclaim, “What must I do to be saved?”  Our answer, of course, is obvious.

Acts 16:31

They said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.