Stepping Out

"The just shall live by faith" is repeated several times in the Scriptures. To live by faith means that we do not live primarily by what we see, or how we feel, but we live by what God says, and what He has promised. We need to live by this faith everyday, and in every circumstance. Heb. 11:6 tells us that without this faith we cannot please God. Living by faith is the only way to please God in our lives. Following are 3 stories from the Bible that illustrate our need for faith. The first one is the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. With the Sea in front of them, and the Egyptian army behind them, the people were afraid. Moses says, "Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." Fear will never get us across the obstacles in our lives, it will always drive us backwards. The people were crying, but God said to them to stop crying, and to move forward. The great miracle of the water dividing happened when Moses lifted up his rod toward the Sea in faith. By faith they crossed over the Sea and saw the destruction of their enemies. Later in the time of Joshua, Israel needed another miracle in order to cross into the Promised Land. The people were to watch the ark and follow it, because they had not passed that way before. The priests were to stand in the Jordan, and as they did, the water stopped flowing, and they walked on dry ground across the Jordan River. This crossing represents our crossing into the promises of God and the fulness of God in our lives. We need a miracle every time we move forward into our promised land. We need to move in faith for each step forward, for we are moving into unknown territory. Then, in the New Testament, we read of Peter accepting Jesus' invitation to walk on the water. Peter made the decision to step out onto the water, and found the reality of the supernatural. We too will find the supernatural power of God when we step out in faith on the promises of God. When fear entered into Peter, he again had to fix his eyes on Jesus in order to walk in the supernatural. "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out saying, 'Lord, save me!' " The circumstances are irrelevant to faith. Walking by faith takes us across the troubled sea. We can cross our Red Sea, we can enter into our Promised Land, and we can walk on the water of the supernatural, as we walk by faith, and not by sight.

Places of Growth

The passage of Scripture in 2 Kings 2:1-15 is a great picture of growth in a Christian's life. It is the story of Elisha following Elijah so that he may receive a double portion of the Spirit. The two men start at Gilgal, which means a circle, or rolling. This speaks of the place we start in our walk with God, the place where our sins are rolled away, and we start our relationship with God. But from Gilgal, the Lord sends Elijah to Bethel. Bethel means the house of God. We too must be established in the house of God. Ps. 92:13 says, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God." The church is the house of God where we must become established in order to grow. The picture of the physical body demonstrates our need to be established in the local church. A member of the body cannot function without the rest of the body. We cannot fulfil our destiny from God without being in relationship with our local church and fellow brothers and sisters. From Bethel Elijah is sent to Jericho. Jericho represents the place of battle in the Christian life. There will be battles that we must push through and overcome as we walk with God. Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22:31-32, "Simon, Simon, satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." There will be times of battling to keep your heart right with God, battling temptation, battling distractions, battling discouragement, battling against principalities and powers. We will battle strife and carnality. We must battle so that we don't become like the Corinthians, who could no longer receive meat, but only milk, because they were not able to eat the meat of God's Word, 1 Cor. 3:1,2. Then Elijah was sent to the Jordan. The Jordan is the place of crossing over into the Promised Land. It is the place of faith, of abundance, of answered prayer, and abundant life. The Jordan is the place where Jesus was baptized, and the Holy Spirit came upon Him. It is the place of Spirit filled living and walking with God. This is the place we want to live. We must not be content staying at Gilgal, or in Bethel, or at Jericho. We must follow on to the Jordan, to the place of greater anointing and blessing. This requires growth in our faith, and in our walk with God. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Pet. 3:18

Moving With God

The example of Elisha following after Elijah is one that spurs us on to follow after God. The Scripture passage is found in 2 Kings 2:1-15. Elijah is moving from one place to another, and each time he moves, he tells Elisha to stay. But each time, Elisha responds with, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." Then the sons of the prophets come to Elisha and say, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?" And Elisha responds with, "Yes I know, keep silent." There are 4 things that stick out to me in Elisha's life: Growth (moving on), persistence, passion, and mentorship. Elisha had decided to move with God. He was not going to stay where he was, nor as he was. We must also decide to move out with God, and not stay the same. God is moving, and the question is whether we will move with Him. God is speaking. Will we hear Him, or neglect His still small voice? Elisha moved with Elijah, because he wanted what Elijah had, in fact he wanted a double portion. We must move on, and be persistant about it. There will be discouragement along the way, and we will be told to stay where we are. But persistence will move us forward through the obstacles. Elisha moved because of great desire. He was concerned about nothing else except keeping his eyes on Elijah. Elijah told Elisha he could have a double portion, but only if he saw Elijah when he was taken. Elisha never took his eyes off Elijah. We must be like Elisha, never taking our eyes off Jesus, the beginner and finisher of our faith. The relationship Elisha had with Elijah made it possible for Elisha to receive a double portion. We also must be in relationship with others who can lead us, and teach us, and impart into our lives the things that will cause us to move on in our walk with God. Elisha received the double portion, and moved out in the anointing as he split the waters of the Jordan, and walked back on dry ground. As we move on with God, in persistence, and great desire, following our leaders, we to can move out in the anointing we have received for our lives.