Faith no 2

What is Faith no 2?

Faith is a Revelation

May 17, 2017

Brian Kocourek, Pastor

 

This evening we will continue to examine just what is faith? I would like to approach our subject tonight from a description of what Faith is from something brother Branham said in his sermon called the Rapture that we closed our last sermon with but never got into what speaking on what he said in this quotation.

 

If you look at the date this was preached, we find it was three weeks before brother Branham was taken from the earth, and I think this sermon strategically was given to him by God to settle the questions of where are we at in the cycle of time. This sermon was a message of solace to those who believed the Message itself because it told us the order of the end time events concerning the Rapture or catching away and it helped us to understand that there are events and timing and much more concerning the Rapture than people had any idea of before this sermon was preached.

 

We know that there must be Faith to receive the Rapture as there must be Faith to receive any promise from God.

 

For we read in Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

Now within this verse of Scripture there are two very important statements the Apostle Paul makes.

 

Notice he starts out by saying, "Without Faith it is impossible to please God" And therefore statement number one:

1) "for he that cometh to God must believe that he is"

2) That He is a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY seek Him.

 

So we are looking at these two most important statements, one to believe God is, and two, to believe that He is a rewarder of our seeking Him.

 

To put what Faith is in as few words as possible so that there is no mistake in what we are saying, Faith takes God at His Word and believes that God will always honor His promises which is His Word.

 

Therefore anything outside of God's own Word does not qualify as an example of Faith.

 

In other words, you can believe in anything your mind can come up with but God is not obligated to your ideas, or your beliefs, he is only obligated to His Word and He wll always honor His Own Word.

 

Now, with this in mind, let's examine what Brother Branham says concerning what Faith is from his sermon The Rapture which he preached on December 4th of 1965 and we will look at a statement he made in paragraph 40 "But to the church, the Bride, the rapture is a revelation to her. It's revealed to her, that the revelation, the true Bride of Christ will be waiting for that revelation of the rapture. Now, it is a revelation, for the revelation is faith. You cannot have a revelation without it being faith. Faith is a revelation, because it's something that's revealed to you. Faith is a revelation. Faith is something that has been revealed to you like it was to Abraham, that could call anything contrary to what had been revealed to him as though it wasn't so. Now, That's what faith is, is the revelation of God. The church is built upon a revelation, the whole entire body."

 

In a nutshell he is telling us what Faith is. He says, Faith is a revelation, but not just any revelation is faith, for he further defines what faith is when he states, Now, That's what faith is, is the revelation of God.

 

Therefore we must understand in order to have faith that Faith has to deal with one thing and one thing only, knowing what God said about the subject.

 

Faith then is not a guessing like so many believe they have faith when they only have hope. Because hope can be misguided because it believes in something to which it may or may not understand. But Faith is never a hope so, it is a genuine believing in something God has said will come to pass.

 

So get it out of your mind that Faith has anything to do with what you desire, or what you want or any idea that you may have concerning yourself. There is simply one thing that Faith it. Faith is a genuine belief in what God has said, and that God will bring to pass every jot and title of His Word concerning that thing.

 

So faith has nothing to do with you and your own conceptions, but has all to do with God and what He has promised in His Word.

 

It is not about you, It has nothing to do with you, but it has everything to do with Him, for Faith is about God and whether God keeps His Word or not.

 

So let's just read that again, Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

Notice what the Apostle Paul said is all about whether God keeps His word or not, and the only thing it concerns about you is whether you believe God's Word and what he said about it.

 

Therefore whether you believe God or not does not change what God said, it only changes whether you will become a recipient of that promise of not.

 

The promise is there, but is it for you? That is what faith will tell you. Faith will tell you that the promise if for you and therefore you believe God and will hold onto that promise. No faith will tell you that you really do not think that promise is for you and therefore you do not expect anything from God concerning that promise.

 

That is what John 14:12 is about. There is a definitive promise from God which says, "Whosoever believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works shall he do for I go unto my Father."

 

Therefore Faith looks at that promise and says that is a promise for me, and therefore I expect to see the works of Christ in this vessel of mine. Those how have no faith say, "John 14:12 is for one individual and that individual is William Branham." Or "Jesus was speaking to the Apostles, so that promise was to the Apostle and so they are the only ones besides Christ that had any of the works of Christ using their vessels".

 

Now, both of those statements show no faith in this promise of God. And we have a prophet of God who himself demonstrated John 14:12 and he refutes both those attempts to nullify that Word of promise.

 

From brother Branham's sermon The Second Seal 63-0319 P:82 He said, " When Jesus incarnates Himself in His people, the very Life that was in Christ is in this person. What would it do if you took the life out of a grapevine and put it in a pumpkin vine? It wouldn't bear pumpkins no more; it'd bear grapes. See? What if you took the life out of a peach tree and put it in a pear tree? Would it bear pears? No, bear peaches. The life tells what it is. See? When you hear people say they got the Holy Ghost and deny this Word, there's something wrong. The Holy Ghost wrote that Word. And Jesus said this: "If a man has My Spirit in him, he will do My works." You want to read that? If you want to put it down, it's Saint John 14:12. Yeah. All right. "He that believeth in Me, the works that I do shall he do also, even more than this shall he do, for I go to the Father." See? Then He sanctifies and cleans him so he can stand before God. That drop of ink falls there and takes him across the chasm. See?

 

Now, let's skip ahead a few paragraphs as brother Branham further delineates what he means.

 

The Second seal - 63-0319 86. And when a man turns down the Gospel Truth, Satan marks him. Where? At his ear. He deafens him so he can't hear the Truth no more. And he's finished. My. He stays with the group that he's with, if he won't hear the truth. No. "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free." The Truth makes free. God marks His when they comeGod marks His by vindicating His promised Word through them. That's exactly. Saint John 14:12, and another thing if you want to put down: Mark 16. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe."  

 

Notice brother Branham tells us the way God marks His own is with signs and wonders following. And then listen to what he tells us next, because there are some who would have you to believe God limits that to just the apostles or just His prophets. But that is not what God said. I can show you where God made this promise, now you show me where he took it back. Now, listen to what brother Braham says next. Because he is telling you exactly what I just said.

87. Now, let us just take that a minute. Was He joking? [Congregation replies "no"--Ed.] Did He just just mean the apostles as some would tell us? [Congregation replies "no"--Ed.]  "Watch, read the background of it. "Go ye into" (where?) "all the world; preach this Gospel to" (what?) "every creature." It has not even one-third of the way have met it yet. "These signs shall follow in all the world, to every creature, wherever this Gospel's preached. "These signs shall follow them that believe," not just to one little handful. Like a fellow one time tell me: "God only gave the twelve apostles gifts of healing, and..." Oh. Many of the brethren is setting here when he raised up to say that. See? He got enough of it in a few minutes. So now, notice, "All the world, to every creature, these signs shall follow."  88. Don't take Satan's unbelieving mark. Now, he will put it on you tonight if he can do it. He will poke you up against the wall and you'll walk out and say, "Aw, I don't know about that." You go home and study it. And then be sincere and pray, 'cause everything's is too perfectly Scriptural at this very hour, this sacred hour of time. It's done been for years, proved. Come right up to it and this is the hour. This is the time. And now, don't let him poke that in your ear, his unbelieving mark. See? 'Cause he was an unbeliever to begin with. He doubted it. All right. Oh, don't even let him take the Scripture with his wisdom and twist It and pervert It with his own wisdom into reasoning powers. You just be humble and say, "God said so, and that's all there is to it."

 

I like that, because that is what Faith in God's Word, Faith in God's promise is all about. You just be humble and say, "God said so, and that's all there is to it."

 

Now, getting back to our opening text we read where brother Branham was teaching us that "Faith is a revelation". Faith is a revelation, because it's something that's revealed to you. Faith is a revelation. And even more specifically he said, , That's what faith is, is the revelation of God.

 

And that is exactly what the Apostle Paul was saying when he said Faith is believing God and taking him at His own word that He is more than able to bring to pass what He has promised.

 

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

Now only believe what He said, but believe he is more than able to bring it to pass. And not just to bring it to pass to others, but more specifically bring it to pass in you or for you. And that is what determines whether you have Faith or not, is whether you believe God's Word, His promise and that it is for you personally.

 

Now, when brother Branham says Faith is a revelation, he is not saying Faith is some form of mental gymnastics that you must contort your mind into in order to believe. NO way shape or form is that Faith.

 

Faith is a revelation and the definition of revelation in the Webster's Dictionary is this: "Revelation is the manifestation of Divine truth."

Now, in the original 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary it states: The act of disclosing or discovering to others what was before unknown to them.

 

The Webster's New World Dictionary defines the word Revelation as: Bringing into view or manifestation that which has been hidden.

 

And the definition of the word Reveal which is the root word of Revelation is: To disclose, to discover; to show; to make known something that was before unknown or concealed. In other words, to draw back the veil

 

So you cannot have revelation without the one who had been hiding the thing makes that thing available to the view of the one he was hiding it to.

 

Therefore revelation or faith is completely in the control of the one who is revealing.

 

Now, that brings us to Matthew 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12  For whosoever hath, (echoes) to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, (echoes not) from him shall be taken away even that he hath. (even that he thinks he is echoing) 13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

 

Notice they hear but there is no understanding of what they are hearing, and they see but there is not perception of what it is they are looking at. Therefore, Revelation is totally sovereignly given and sovereignly received. In other words, the Word is spoken and people hear it, yet they do not understand what they are hearing, and The Word of God is written and people read it, they see it with their eyes, yet they have no perception of what they are reading or seeing. Therefore it is not up to the individual who reads or hears but rather it is up to God to open their eyes and open their ears to what he is disclosing in His Word.

 

But then Jesus says, "It is given for you to know, but for the others who are without, it is not meant for them to know, therefore I speak in parables, that seeing they might not perceive, and hearing they might not understand." 

 

Now, by these words, it is apparent that many will come in that day and say "Lord, Lord, have we not done this and that in Thy name" But notice they shall be rebuked and told that He never Knew them. And so we are looking at a “Knowing” or an intimate understanding that is based upon a personal relationship or a personal disclosure from God to the person given faith to have and thus to believe. This Word as w know it is the Word Ginosko, and means to know or to understand, based upon an experiential relationship.

 

Now, the reason we are looking at this is because we must understand the difference between just seeing something and recognizing what we see. Many people can look at the Pillar of Fire over Brother Branham’s head and say that is Christ. They may even recognize the Cloud and say that is the outline of the Face of Christ. But even Satan, in all of His wisdom, did not know for sure if Jesus was the Christ. For he said, “If thou be the Son of God turn these stones into bread”.

 

Now he would not have said, “If thou be” if he was 100% certain, and just like so many who claim to follow  this message, they are not 100% sure of what they believe.   That’s why brother Branham told us so often that when the Rapture comes and the Bride is taken out of here, then the tribulation will set in and many people will say, “I thought this was to happen and that was to happen,” and they will not have recognized that the very things they were looking for to happen have already happened and they never knew it.

 

So we see the importance of this KNOWING that is spoken of in the Scripture, This Ginosko. Because it suggests to us more than mere recognition. Rather, it suggests a union with or a becoming one with through intimacy. Mary said, “How can I be with child having known no man. And that word is Ginosko.

 

Then Faith is not only an understanding, but it is a becoming one with the revelation. We become one with the interpretation by becoming one with the manifestation. As the description of word Revelation tells us, "Faith is a manifestation of Divine truth." Then entering into this manifested Word by hearing, recognizing and then acting upon it,  brings us into oneness with it, and since the interpretation is the manifestation of the Promise of God, that is when we have moved from believing in the Word, to Faith in the word which is the reality of the Word interpreted, we then become identified with that promise by stepping into that promise and then we know that promise is ours. by becoming part of that manifested Word, We thus have become a part of the interpretation of that Word, and we are then identified with the promise itself.

 

Lean not unto thy own understanding 65-0120 P:32 The identification, that God's Own interpretation is the manifestation of the promise. Maybe I'll say it, make it a little plainer. When God speaks the Word, He doesn't need any man, or any woman, or no one else to say what That means. When He said... Well, you say, "God meant this." God means just what He says it means. See? Now, how does He interpret His Own Word? By fulfilling It. The Bible said, "A virgin shall conceive"; she did. That don't need any interpretation. God said, "Let there be light," and there was. That don't need any interpretation. God said also, that in these last days He'd pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and He's done it. That don't need any interpretation. That only needs an accepting, somebody to accept what God has done. It doesn't need an interpretation. God interprets His own Word. God promised the things that we see day by day, that He would do it in the last day.

 

Let's read that again, he said: That only needs an accepting, somebody to accept what God has done. 

 

Influence 64-0315 P:93 Healing is based upon your faith. God's identification's based upon the promise of His Word. But your faith in his identification is what heals you. If you don't, no matter, the holiest man in all the world could stand here and pray all day long, it wouldn't do one bit of good until you believe it emphatically yourself. Jesus might be standing here Himself in the incarnate body, lay hands upon you, it still you would not get healed. How many knows that? Many mighty works He could not do because of their unbelief. That's Scripture. So you see, you in the prayer line, it's got to be your faith in the Word.

 

And your faith is what identifies you with that promise. You don't believe in healing based upon myth, or personal belief. You base your faith on what the fact that God is your healer. Therefore unless you believe the God who healed in the Bible will heal you, your faith is in vain. Unless you believe that God is the same and changes not, and that he is not a respecter of persons you will never appropriate faith for your own healing. But when you identify yourself with the promise then that promise is for you.

 

From his sermon, Identification 64-0216 P:7 brother Branham said,  "We're living in a days when identification is required. You can't... Unless you're known at a bank, you can't cash your check unless you have something to identify yourself. I know, my wife, she can't cash a check. Yet when we get our check, we put it in the bank. But she don't cash it, because she doesn't drive; she has no Social Security number, or nothing to identify herself. So therefore, it's a hard thing for her to cash a check. You've got to have some official identification. And I think it's just that time that we're living in.

 

What he is telling us here is that if you do not have identification with the promise you cannot expect to receive the promise. And that is why the Apostle said Hebrews 11:6... for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

Christ is the mystery 63-0728 P:226 His Presence in the individual with a personal a-vindication of Himself expressing Himself, the living Word that's promised for the day, expressing Itself through you, a vindication of the great revelation of God... Look, only in an individual, never in a group: an individual, not in a group, His identification is with an individual. You get that? Not with the Methodists, not with the Baptists, not the Presbyterian, not the Lutheran, not the Pentecostal, but as an individual. "I'll take one and leave one. I'll separate them." That's right. "There'll be two in the field; I'll take one and leave one. There'll be two in bed, and I'll take one and leave one." It's not a group. It is a personal vindication of a pregnated child of God filled with the Holy Ghost, so surrendered to God that he don't care about anything else, and the Holy Spirit living Its Life, pulsating through him, showing the personal--personal vindication of the Word Itself expressing Itself to the people and to the world.

 

In other words, you and the promise are so united as one that you become the identification and thus the interpretation of that promise.

 

Notice then, our receiving the manifestation as the interpretation brings us into oneness with the Revelation, and just as God had to send One with the Message, there had to be ones it was sent to. And the ones that the Message was sent to, are just as much a part of the Manifestation of the Word as the One in Whom the Word is being Revealed through.

 

Again let me remind you brother Branham said in his sermon, Lean not unto thy own understanding 65-0120 P:32 The identification, that God's Own interpretation is the manifestation of the promise.

 

And again we already read to you where he said, Influence 64-0315 P:93 Healing is based upon your faith. God's identification's based upon the promise of His Word. But your faith in his identification is what heals you.

 

God identified by characteristics 64-0311 P:23 Today, Luther said, "When you believe, you've got It." The Methodist say, "When you shout, you got It." The Pentecostal said, "When you spoke in tongues, you had It." We find all that wrong. Some of them said, "The fruit of the Spirit's got It." And it's wrong. The only evidence is, is when the a-vindication, when God Himself identifies Himself in the promised Word of the hour. There it is. Who had any more fruits of the Spirit than them kind old priests, circumcised the children, and blessed them, and everything else? And here this guy Jesus was, come around, kicked over their sacrifice blocks, looked upon them with anger, beat them, run them out, no identification of nothing. The Scripture is His identification. He had no fellowship card; He belonged to no organization. But God spoke of Him; that was His identification. That's the genuine identification of God in any hour, is His identification. That's what it is, the Scriptures that's promised made identified by the characteristic of the promise which is God, and God is the Word. And the characteristic of that promise being identified, that makes the believer. Jesus said so, and that settles it. Amen. Notice, now we find out, the characteristics identify Him. As He said, "If it doesn't do it, then don't believe Me." Now, Jesus spoke that it would identify Him.

 

Token the 64-0308 P:50  The Token proves He is alive to identify Himself with us, according to His promise. Now, how can a man read the Bible and see that He promised it, and see Christ return in these last days in the form of the Holy Ghost and identify Himself alive? That's the Token. That's the sign. That's the price paid. Don't never rely upon some sensation. "I felt chills run over my back. And I smelt something; seen some blood in my hands, or some oil. Or, I won my Bachelor's Degree. Or, I danced in the Spirit. I shouted. I spoke in tongues." Them things might be all right. I've nothing against them, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the identification of the Token, Jesus Christ, raised and in us now, identifying Hisself, to re-vindicate His promised Word of this day. Amen. Then you and Christ are one. God and Christ are One. "That day, you'll know that I am in the Father, the Father in Me, I in you, and you in Me." There is God made manifest in human flesh, showing Himself alive after two thousand years. That's the Token.

 

Token the 64-0208 P:73 He expects us now to display the Token over our faith, to Satan's group, the unbelievers, and cults, and so forth, that don't believe in it, that we, believing what He has said of His promises, and that Jesus Christ has raised up from the dead, showing Himself alive... And that is the badge, the Token of identification, because it's Christ's own Life in you identifying the Word. It doesn't need anything else.

 

Shalom 64-0112 P:61 Turn to His Word and see the promise of today. And then see what the promise is, and watch for its identification. When it's vindicated, then you know whether you're in Light or not. See what the promise is. Changing the pages or changing calendars doesn't change time. A lot of people say, "Well, the old year's gone, throw away the old December calendar now and put up the other one, a new year." That, that's what new years means to them. To me, I want to see what's promised for the day. I want to know what the Light of the hour is, so I can know how to walk in it. I want to know where I'm living, what age I'm in, how far up the road am I?As Paul said, I could stand quoting again, "Forgetting those things that are in the past, now I press towards the mark, the high calling," to the complete identification, when all time will fade out into eternity when Jesus comes.

 

Therefore Faith is not just believing in God and faith is not just believing what God said, but Faith is becoming identified with the promise and thus becoming one with the promise, and then becoming the interpretation of the promise itself.

 

Now let me break this down into 3 points here. We know Faith is a Revelation, but in order for there to be a revelation, there must be three things take place.

 

First there must be One Who reveals, For that is the sole purpose behind faith or revelation because Faith is sovereignly given so there must be One who gives us or reveals to us or discloses to us.

 

Secondly, there must be the One in Whom that The Revealer uses to reveal,  in other words the vessel of God's choosing, and thirdly there must be the ones to whom He reveals.

 

Again, I want you to catch this because this is the revelation of how God made Himself known to us through Christ Jesus His Son. One Who revealsOne In Whom He is revealed through, and Ones to Whom He is revealed.  One Who, One In Who and Ones To Whom.

 

#1) First of all, there must be One who reveals Himself. And we know that God Himself came down with  a Shout. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Ephesians 1:17, Acts 3: 19-21, Luke 17:30, Revelations 10:1-2 

 

#2) Secondly, there must be one that God reveals Himself through, seeing that He promised that He would do nothing lest He reveals it through His Servants the Prophets.  Amos 3:7, Acts 3: 22-23, Acts 13:41 Revelations 10:3-7, Malachi 4:5-6, John 14:7-9

 

#3) And Thirdly, there has to be a people in which His Revelation of Himself  is made known to and upon receiving this revealing or Revelation, they become one with it by receiving the manifestation of It. Hebrews 12:25-29, Colossians 3:4, 1 John 3: 2-3, 2 Thessalonians 1:7&10-12, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Cor 13:12, Romans 12: 1-2,

 

Therefore in order to have faith we must get rid of all uncertainty concerning God's will in the matter. Appropriating faith cannot go beyond one's knowledge of the revealed will of God which we know by knowing His Word, "what does God say about it".

 

It is only by knowing that God promises what you are seeking that all uncertainty can be removed and a steadfast faith can be made possible.

 

Our minds must be renewed by His Word in order to being us into harmony with the Mind of God.

 

Thus Faith for the appropriation of God's promises is a result of knowing and acting on God's Word.

 

Romans 10:17 "So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the Word of God."

 

Brother Branham always taught us that the right mental attitude toward any divine promise of God will bring it to pass.

 

In his sermon God in His Word 57-0323 P:35 You put me on record tonight in these recorders. I have no apology for this remark that I'm fixing to make. I believe, and can prove, that the right mental attitude towards any Divine promise of God will bring it to pass. Yes, sir. The right mental attitude, but you've got to have the right attitude. The attitude is what brings the results. If you say, "Yes, yes, I believe it but I don't know now." That's not the right attitude. The right attitude is to receive it, and say it's "THUS SAITH THE LORD." Then it's right.

 

We would see Jesus 58-0523 P:12 Don't never be afraid to put any Divine promise of God to action. And remember, don't never forget this quotation: "That the right mental attitude towards any Divine promise in this Bible will bring it to pass." Just remember that. The right mental attitude toward any Divine promise that's written in this Bible will bring it to pass. So now, just keep that on your mind. If God made a promise, and you'll take the right attitude towards that promise, God will fulfill everything that He's promised. I know that to be true. And I've saw a sarcomas cancer healed with that, because people believe that it was the Truth.

 

God revealing Himself to His people 50-0813E P:39 The right mental attitude towards any promise of God will bring it to pass. Do you believe that? The Word is a Seed (Is that right?) that a Sower sowed in the ground. And every Seed will bring forth of its kind. If you need salvation, the Seed's here. If you need healing, here's the Seed in the Word. The Word of God is a Seed. Put it in your heart. Don't dig it up every morning to see if it's sprouted, put it in there and leave it there. It's God's business to bring forth the harvest. You just leave it there; water it by faith and praise every day thanking God for it. All right.

 

It would be impossible for a farmer to have faith for a crop of wheat if he knows he never planted any wheat. It is not God's will for you to expect a harvest where no seed has been planted?  The law of life is that "every seed will bring forth after its kind." Genesis 1:11

 

To say "I believe the Lord is able to heal me" before you know from God's Word that He is willing to heal you, is like a farmer saying, "I believe God is able to give me a harvest" without any seed being planted and watered.

 

God operates the energies of God, the operations of God, the manifestations of the Divine Word of God based upon the principles He has laid out for us in His Word. "YOU reap what you sow". If you do not sow, you shall not reap.

 

Praying for anything with those faith destroying words, "If it be thy Will" is not planting the Seed, it is destroying the seed. The prayer of faith is to follow the planting of the seed, it is not to precede the planting of the seed. Because Faith is based entirely on what God promised.

 

James said, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, (a rightly wise man) availeth much. We must know what the promises of God are before we can appropriate them by faith.

 

Only a rightly wise man can have an effectual fervent prayer, because only a rightly wise man knows what God has already said concerning what need that we are seeking to be fulfilled in our life.

 

When I was a young man and decided that I wanted to get married, I searched the scriptures concerning a wife and found all that I could, and knew from God's Word he wanted me to have a wife, then I went to God fully equipped to pray for my need, and within weeks I met my wife and within months we were engaged.

 

God is not obligated to answer your requests but God is certainly obligated to act upon His own Word and what He has promised to do for you. So the first step in asking God for anything is to know what he says about that thing, and then when you pray, your prayer will be effectual because you have become a rightly wise man concerning what it is you desire, and you will know what God said about it, And you will be able to quote back to him what He has promised concerning it, and you will with no uncertainty that the thing you desire is something also that God promised to give you.

 

There are over 800 promises in God's Word for the believer, but you must find the ones your heart desires and then once you have instructed your mind and heart concerning what God has to say about those promises, then you can go to God in Faith, with nothing wavering, no uncertainty, and then your prayer will be the effectually fervent prayer of a righteous man. 

 

Let us pray.