1. SCHOOL OF FAITH
(THE REAL MEANING, LIFE AND KINDS OF FAITH)
CHAPTER 1
FAITH IS NOT….
Before we look at what faith is, I would like us to look at what faith is not. This will help us
when we look at what faith actually is, because it will help us not to add it as another
definition of faith. It is the definition not another. Don‟t add, let it be fundamental.
Faith is not hope
Faith is not hope. Hope lives in the future but faith lives in the present, the now not later.
Hope is the assurance, surety or certainty that something will or will not (not may or may not)
be in the future but faith see things already done in the now. Hope makes you smile while the
boat is sinking but faith makes the boat afloat. Hope says „I know I will get it by God‟s
grace‟. So one who lives by hope will say „I know things will get well again‟ but does not see
those things as done in the now. Faith says „I have gotten it by God‟s grace‟. Faith therefore
sees things done and done well in the now, not later or near future. Many people pray in hope
and not in faith. When God revealed this to me I realized that I had been praying in hope for
so long a time. It changed my life. I changed from hope prayers to faith prayers. I used to say
„I know I will get it‟ after my prayers but now I say „thank you Jesus, I know you have given
it to me‟. Hope is an expectation for a thing desired, needed, or wanted. Faith lives beyond
expectation, desire and need. It sees things as already received not in expectation that it will
be given them but that it has really been delivered. They have it in the now and so their
actions are consistent with their faith. For example, if Abraham after hearing from God that
he should leave his country, kindred and father‟s household and go to a land that He will
2. show him, had said, Lord I believe in you absolutely but I will not go, his actions would had
been inconsistent with his faith. His faith would have been questionable because faith stirs up
one to act accordingly and in consistence to the specific word for it was that word he head
that generated the faith in him. Many people have a „faith hope‟. They think that they just
have to see their request granted in the now in the hope that God will grant it later. So in
reality, they do not have it or believe that they do have it in the now but they accept that they
have it in order that God will give it to them later. This is not faith; it is „faith hope‟. It is a
misconception of what faith is. The devil uses this to keep many believers miserable if he
fails to keep them in the realm of hope prayers. God answers faith prayers, not hope prayers
or „faith hope‟ prayers. He who prays in hope should not expect answers from God. Faith and
hope are two different principles and work differently though from the same Spirit.
Jesus said „when you pray, believe…‟ Mk. 11:24. „When‟, not „if‟ meaning you will definitely
pray. And when you are praying, believe! Not hope, but believe! The Bible in Basic English
(BBE) translation puts it this way, ‘…whatever you make a request in prayer, have faith’.
Note, it is „have faith,‟ not “have hope” or „faith hope‟. The lord answers faith, not hope.
They are different principles. Faith is not hope and hope is not faith, just as goats are goats
and sheep are sheep though they are all domestic animals. No cow is a goat; no mango is an
orange or fish a toad. In the same way, these two, faith and hope, function differently, though
from the same Spirit. I will like to reveal a truth in this scripture, it says ‘…whatever…’ and
God meant it when He was saying it because He is Omniscient, Omnipresent and
Omnipotent. „Whatever‟ means „Whatever‟ and nothing is left out of „whatever‟. Reader,
your present situation is included in that „whatever‟. All this while God has been waiting for
you to come to Him in faith not hope or „faith hope‟ and he will answer you immediately. Do
not have faith in God for some things but have faith in God for all things because whatever
you ask in faith will be given you. Scripture says, ‘And all things, whatever you make request
3. for in prayer, having faith, you will get’ Mt 21:22 (BBE). Nothing is left out of ‘And all
things…’ All situations are covered in it but in making the request in prayer, scripture says
make it „having faith’ not „having hope‟ or „faith hope‟. Notice also that it says „having
faith’, this is present continuous, so it is not one time or often nor regularly but always. It is
this faith that God answers and respond to and not hopes. Anybody can hope whether they
are born again or not but it takes faith to relate with God in prayer and in life. Faith is not
hope and hope is not faith just as a cow is not a monkey and a fish not a toad.
Faith is not believe
Believe is not faith. Faith surpasses the point of believe. Though used interchangeably, when
critically examined, believe is not faith. Many believe but may not have faith. Believe simply
means „to accept as true‟. You can accept a thing to be true but if you do not act on it, it will
not yield any result. Faith does what it believes. Faith is a doer not an accepter; it accepts the
thing said by God as true and does it. Faith is inside-out. Believe is outside-in. The word of
God (specifically, rhema) comes from outside and gets into contact with your spirit. Then
faith is imparted into your spirit. This faith then expresses itself from the inside otherwise
nobody will know that it is there. It is the works of faith that shows that faith is there. With no
expression, nobody will know you have faith. When believe becomes outward, then it is faith.
Believe accepts only, faith adds actions to what is accepted. He who believes only should not
expect results. You can‟t say „yes I believe I am healed but get me some paracetamol‟. It is
sick people who take paracetamol not healed people. No healthy person takes medicine; it is
for the sick. So after having received healing from the Lord in prayer, what is the medicine
coming to do? I am not against taking medical treatments but I am against drug abuse. If you
are healed as you claim you believe and still take medicine, then, it is drug abuse because you
are not sick yet you take drugs. It therefore implies that you believed but you did not have
faith. It is faith that heals not belief. For example, if a malaria patient has been given some
4. drugs to take in order to cure him/her and this person collects the drugs believes that if he
takes the drugs he/she will be healed but never takes the drug yet every time he/she keeps on
saying that I believe if I take the drugs will get well, will that heal him/her. The drug, yes, is
the cure or treatment for malaria, the patient‟s accepting this to be true (believing in the drug)
is good but that will not heal him/her, not even his/her confession that I know I will get well
if I take the drug. It is her taking in the drug that will heal her. Though this analogy is not
perfect when it comes to spiritual issues yet the principle remains true. Believe without action
can kill you but faith does not kill for scripture says the righteous shall live by faith.
Therefore believe is not faith and faith is not believe because believe can kill but faith never
kills but rather it gives live. The woman with the blood issue who came to Jesus Christ
would not have been healed and probably die later in it if after believing that if she gets to
Jesus Christ and touch the herm of his garment she will be healed yet did it not. No matter
how many times she confessed her believe in this, if she had not done it she would have gone
home the same and probably die in it since medical treatment could not help her. Believe
initiates the process but faith implements it. Believe therefore is like an idea. Until that idea is
implemented it will not change the situation of the one it came from. In fact they are many
good ideas in the cemetery because the people who had those ideas never implemented them
or shared them. Assuming the one who invented the modern day computers never
implemented his idea and died with it, there would be no computers today unless another
person comes out with that same idea and implements it. Believe is like having an idea but
faith is having the result of the idea and the idea itself. Believe is limited and unnoticed but
faith is limitless and visible.
Faith takes God at his word but believe accepts God‟s word. Accepting, and accepting and
acting, are two different things. Do you make faith prayers or believe prayers? God answers
your faith not your believe. Begin to reposition yourself and relocate from believe prayers to
5. faith prayers and you will see and experience awesome things from the Lord. Every good gift
and every perfect gift is from the father of lights (James 1:17). It will be poured into your
bosom like rain pouring on dry fields. Let‟s look at this scripture:
¶5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the
greatest to the least of them.
6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his
robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the
king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not
let them eat, or drink water.
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every
one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we
may not perish? (Jonah 3:5-9 NKJV)
The people did not only accept God‟s message from Jonah but they also demonstrated it.
They acted it out. Even animals partook in the fasting. Can you imagine a king sitting on
ashes with sack cloth if he didn‟t have faith? There was a sincere repentance by all, it was
deep and complete. Repentance is „a change in mind‟ resulting in a change in behavior,
attitude and direction. If one was moving towards the East and repents –changes his mind- he
does not only change his behavior and/or attitude and continues to move in the same direction
but there is a change in direction, he now has to move towards West. A repented soul acts
oppositely to the thing he/she repented from. It is a change in mind resulting in a change in
6. direction. There is always an action to show that one has changed. A change can not be
hidden; it will always show itself. So is faith.
In verse „10‟, scripture says ‘when God saw what they did’. There was a seeing of what had
been done by the people of Nineveh. God saw their demonstration of faith in him. Faith is
seeable. It will always show up. It will always express itself once it is there. They believed,
acted it out in the form of fasting compelling even animals to fast alongside with them, God
responded. God responds to only faith. If they had believed only and had not acted it out, God
would not have responded because He sees only faith and not believe. God hears and
understands only the voice of faith. Every belief that does not express itself is no belief at all.
Action must be on belief for God to see it. God saw and changed his mind. Hallelujah! God
changed his mind because Nineveh believed and acted it out. If only such faith is
demonstrated, there will be changes in the heavenly places. ‘When God saw…..’ Has God
seen your demonstration of faith? Act out what you believe. How can you say I am healed
and be in bed? Get out of the bed as normal and healthy people do and carryout your daily
activities as healthy people do. When God sees your faith, He will take away the symptoms
also. Let what you say be consistent with what you do. Many Christians live in the realm of
believe but that realm is miserable and full of frustrations because one lives apart from
reality. It does not yield any results. We are to come before God in faith not believe. Believe
is not enough, it is limited and invisible hence unreliable. It is faith that pleases God not
believe. They are different principles and therefore function differently. If the people of
Nineveh after hearing Jonah‟s prophecy had said thank you so much Jonah, we believe your
message but never implemented that believe, they would have perished because God would
have seen nothing. One must however not fake his action for God hates pretence.
Faith is not sensual
7. Faith is not a feeling. Faith is independent of one‟s feeling. That is, faith is not based on
feelings. I often hear people say, oh! I feel am healed. You are not. You don‟t really believe.
When people ask you, how do you know if you are saved? They often say, I feel changed,
happy or light. This means when you feel unhappy, heavy or when you have sinned, you are
not saved. You are healed because God said so and you believe him and so you live as he has
said. Healing is not a feeling; it is what God has said. You are saved because God had said;
‘…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation’ (Romans 10:9-10
NKJV)
The word ‘believe’ from the scripture is translated from the Greek word, „pisteuo‟ which
means „to have faith‟ or „credit‟. And by implication, it means to entrust ones spiritual well-
being wholly to Christ. When you believe, you have just credited (deposited) truth into your
spirit, and that truth is what sets you free because when you know the truth, it brings freedom.
That is why you are saved when you believe. It is faith that does it. So faith is the thing not
feelings.
The BBE puts it this way, ‘… if you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and have faith in
your heart that God has made him come back from the dead, you will have salvation’ Rom
10:9
So immediately you say with your mouth, „Jesus is Lord‟ and „have faith in your heart‟, you
are saved. It has nothing to do with feelings. Scripture didn‟t say and „feel in your heart‟ but
„have faith in your heart‟. Feelings are fruits of salvation, not an indication of salvation.
Good feelings may come when one is born again but that is not salvation. They may point to
something- salvation, but they are not necessarily the indicators of salvation. Salvation is
8. solely based on what God has said about you, not what you feel about yourself. Salvation is
not a thing of emotion; it does not dwell in that realm. Faith is not a feeling. Faith is eternal,
feelings are temporal and time bound.
Scripture also says in John 1:12-13 that:
‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those
who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God’.
The Greek word translated as „believe‟, is the same word used in Rom 10:9, „pisteuo‟. So you
are saved by faith. You are saved because God says so. He says if you believe in your heart
(not your head) and confess with your mouth (not your mind or head) the Lord Jesus, you are
saved. So if you do it sincerely you are saved as the word says. Just like that. The feelings are
a product of the salvation; not it but a product of it. Feelings are temporal. If you base your
healing or salvation on feeling, you will be loosing and gaining your salvation and health as
often as your feelings change. That is, you will be born again many times as often as your
feelings change or as regularly as your feelings change. But that is unscriptural. You are born
again once and for all. Feelings are temporal but faith is eternal. Feelings are bound to change
because that is their nature. Feelings are not meant to be permanent; therefore, faith cannot be
based on feelings. Faith is solid, pure and holy.
Life in Christ is a life of faith not a life of feelings. It is a spiritual life not a „soulish‟ life.
You can not believe with your soul- will, intellect, and emotions. In fact, it is impossible to
believe with your soul because faith is of the spirit, not the soul! In scriptures, the word
„heart‟ does not refer to the biological heart but your „you‟. That is your spirit. If not, then
when a born again, tongue speaking, anointed man or woman of God is about to die, we can
just transplant their hearts to unbelievers and they will go to heaven. Know that you are a
9. spirit. That spirit- the real „you‟- has emotions, intellect, and a will- thus, has a soul which
can think, feel and will. You are however not a soul but a spirit. I have a mobile phone but I
am not a mobile phone, so you have a soul (will, intellect and emotions) but you are not a
soul. You as a spirit live in a body. You are not a body but you live in there. I live in a house
at Bolga-Soe but I am not a house. Hence, man is a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body. That
is why you are a human being. That is a „being‟ in a body. This means there are other beings
without the human aspect. Now getting back to Romans 10:10 and other scriptures, the
expressions; „heart‟, „inner man‟ and „inward man‟ all refer to the actual you- your spirit. So
we believe with our spirit not soul or body. Never base your salvation or healing on feelings
but on the sure word of Christ Jesus.
Faith is not what you see
Faith is independent of seeing for it is not based on sight. It functions in a higher level. The
realm of sight or appearance is not where faith dwells; instead, faith determines this realm.
Faith is not perceived by sight; faith is spiritual. It is what is spiritual that determines what is
seen physically. In fact, most of the time, they are mutually exclusive and are often
contradictory. People often say „seeing is believing‟; even some Christians affirm this saying.
But that is a lie. It is a serious lie from the pit of hell designed to strategically shift and equate
faith to sight. Believing is seeing! Not the reverse. Scripture reveals this clearly in 2Cor 5:7
(For we walk by faith, not by sight) (KJV). The Greek word translated as walk is „peripateo‟.
„Peripateo‟ means to tread all around, i.e. walk at large (especially as proof of ability);
figuratively, to live, follow (as a companion or votary):--go, be occupied with. I like the last
aspect. It says „be occupied with‟. Inserting this in place of walk in the above scripture gives
an interesting revealing. It reads this way; „For we are occupied with faith, not by sight‟. This
is wonderful. „We...’ refers to us, Christians, the verb „are…’ is present continuous meaning
we are always, not often or regularly or even most of the time but always. Then it says „…
10. occupied with faith‟, we are filled with faith, we are occupied. There is no room for sight, we
are occupied. This is our normal state; we are occupied with faith always. Then it says, „…
not sight‟. This means there is the possibility of being occupied with sight just that we are not
supposed to. Being occupied with faith simply means that our lives are lived on faith and by
faith, and being occupied with sight simply means our lives are lived on sight and by sight;
that is, what we see physically determines our next move. Therefore faith and sight are
different rules of life. Sight makes you out of sight but faith gives you insight. The Bible in
Basic English translation put it this way „For we are walking by faith, not by seeing’ 2Cor
5:7. The Holy Spirit through St. Paul is exhorting us not to walk by seeing but faith. Look
carefully at Mk 11:24 and you will see this truth;
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive
them, and you will have them’.
Jesus said you believe before you receive. Meaning you believe before you see, „…when you
pray, believe…‟ it is after the believing that „you will have them’, not the other way round.
But after praying, I often hear many say „I don‟t see any change‟. I still have pains and
headaches, toothache and they go on and on. They want to see before they believe because
they believe „seeing is believing‟. But that is a lie. Faith ignores sight. It does not deny them
but true faith ignores them. Sight strangles faith. It makes things appear untrue, introduces
doubt which gives birth to fear and fear kills faith. The word says;
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when
the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And
they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It
is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command
me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down
11. out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was
boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of
little faith, why did you doubt?" Matt 14:25-31
‘30 but when he saw…..’ It was the seeing that strangled the faith with which he was
walking on the water. And he sank. As long as he did not see the waves of the sea, he walked
on the water. When he walked by faith, he walked on the water but when he walked by sight,
he began to walk in water. Faith makes you walk on your problems and limitations but sight
makes you walk in problems and limitations. The Greek word translated as „saw‟ is ‘blepo’
which means to be aware, perceive, regard or take heed. It is only when he regarded or took
heed of the wind that he began to sink. Faith in Christ disregards all but Christ. When you
take heed of your sickness or its symptoms or regard them, you will sink. But as long as you
regard scripture which is the truth and take heed of it, you will walk on sicknesses and
diseases and nothing will harm you. I choose to walk on problems and not in problems. Faith
walk is an „on‟ walk which is victory, not an „in‟ walk which defeats. Never say or believe
that „seeing is believing‟. It is a „killer lie‟, thus, it will kill your faith if you allow it. Let there
be relocation from sight life to faith life. Then you will be victorious in all you do. Scripture
is clear on this when it said;
‘For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome
the world--our faith’ 1 John 5:4 NKJV.
It says ‘For whatever …,‟ that includes you and me, reader! „Whatever‟ means „whatever‟
and that leaves no one out. The question however is; are you born of God? Once you are born
of God there are no options, you are an over-comer. It does not matter what is happening
around you or in your life for that thing cannot change who you are, an over-comer! After all,
12. you became an over-comer by being born of God, not by the presence or absence of
happenings or difficulties. What happens around us should never determine our next move in
life. Faith life is an „over-comer‟ life but sight life is an „over-comed‟ life- a life that has been
defeated and made meaningless. You are born of God by faith and once you are born of God,
you have over-comed the world. It is the born of God that overcomes the world. You are not
trying to overcome. You have done it already. It is a done deal. Faith overcomes all, sight is
overwhelmed by all. Choose one. Notice the tense „overcomes‟ which is present continues;
meaning the overcoming is at infinitum. Everyday you are a victor, why, because you are
born of God. It is faith that puts you in this position. Refuse to let what you see deceive you;
do not let it entangle you either, but live by faith. It is not what you are seeing but what you
believe that determines what you will get.
Faith is not as you hear
Though faith comes by hearing, not every hearing is of the ability to impart faith into ones
spirit. The hearing that produces faith must be of the word-the rhema. It is not just any
hearing but a hearing that is of the truth. Any hearing different from this kills faith. Faith and
what you hear are two different things and may even be contradictory. God is telling you one
thing through his word and the environment is giving you a different message altogether. If
some one says to me „I hear they have given the job to another person but God also told me it
is mine‟. I will tell him, your problem is the hearing. Why did you hear it? In 1John 5:14, it is
written;
„And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will,
he heareth us: (KJV)
God does not hear us when we pray not according to his will. So if what you heard is not in
accordance with God‟s will, why accept it as true. Why hear it? Just behave like your father-
13. God, for He does not hear us when it is not his will. So also don‟t hear anything that is not
God‟s will. You may say what is, and how do we know God‟s will? It is very simple, we
know his will already; His word is his will. Every situation has a scriptural solution. Give
yourself to the word. Let the word dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Search it diligently and
when you find it, get hold of it. Hear it! Do it! And live by it.
Jesus said „as I see my father do so I do‟. Faith life is never based on what you hear
especially when it contradicts what God has said. Don‟t hear it! God has assured you that you
will get the job and that is his will. Then you later heard, probably from a reliable source (but
not from God), that the job has been given to another person and you choose to believe that
when God has not given you any contrary message. It is a serious mistake; therefore hear
only what God says. Don‟t hear anything outside his will no matter how true it may appear.
His will is his word and once you know it, hold unto it, and never doubt it. What you hear, if
you don‟t subject it to scripture can kill your faith. Note that what you hear varies because it
is temporal but the word of God is constant; it is dependable, reliable, delivers what it
promises and is eternal. Faith is of the constant- the eternal- not the variable. Faith is not a
variable but a constant; it does not vary from place to place or from time to time. Scripture
says faith is eternal, not temporal! It endures forever; it is an everlasting, ever living
relationship with God. Faith is not a momentary character or something you resort to when in
need. It is the life of every believer and abides forever. Scripture says;
‘And now abide faith’ 1 Cor. 13:13.
„Now‟ is present continues, meaning infinitum; this implies faith is outside time and space.
That is changes in times and seasons do not affect faith, it is independent on time, it is above
time. We can grow old but faith, though it grows, does not become old. Have you ever seen
an old faith before? The answer is emphatically no!!! But have you seen an old man or
14. woman before? Sure!!! You may be living with one even now. We grow old because we are
limited by space and time. Time is above us. We cannot tell what will happen next except it is
revealed to us but the realm of faith is above the realm of time and space.
Faith is one of the things that will remain; it has no end. When we get to heaven, faith will be
there just like love, because faith is eternal. There will be love in heaven because love will
remain, so is faith and hope. So when you hear his voice, do not harden your heart (Heb 4:7).
Abraham heard from his environment, his own body and his soul- you are old- but chose to
believe the voice of God (Rom 4:17-21). Today choose to hear only God! Faith is not what
you hear from the environment! Before you accept something as true make sure that it is
coming from God apart from this no matter the source of a message never believe it; do not
hear it.
Faith is not intellect
Faith is not „what you think‟ but „what is‟. It is not „a thinking‟ but the „thing‟. It is not like
the thing but the thing itself, it is the substance, the title deed itself. It has passed from
thinking to the thing. Faith is not intellectual; it is not an idea, an option or opinion nor a
concept of the mind. Faith is neither a rational thing nor irrational thing. It has nothing to do
with man‟s intelligence but everything to do with God‟s wisdom. Geniuses do not have more
faith than any other person. It is not ingenuity but supernatural impartation. Faith is not a
concept of the mind, something brought up by man. It is not a mental activity. Faith is beyond
the mind‟s capacity. If faith were an intellectual activity, then all the Bible scholars should
have been devout believers. All professors would have gone to heaven and illiterates to hell.
But as we know, most of them are unbelievers, sometimes even busy fighting God. Faith is
far from logic. Logic is a thing of the soul whereas faith is a thing of the spirit. Faith goes
beyond ones mind. Your head is not capable of believing in God because it was designed to
15. house thoughts drawn from faith; for this reason, people struggle to understand God. They
use logic, a thing of the soul but God is beyond logic. How do you use logic to explain what
is beyond logic? Scripture says,
„…by faith we understand…..‟ Heb. 11:3
Understanding is a product of faith. Understanding God is a thing of faith, not the mind. It is
by faith that we understand not by logic or the mind. But by faith, understanding is made
perfect. That is why Christians do not struggle when they read Gen. 1 and 2. They understand
by faith that God created the world and everything in it, for by faith we understand. It is
impossible to understand God without faith. Scientists and philosophers use logic, a thing of
the mind; if God created the world, then where was God? But they fail to understand that God
does not need the world or anything in it to exist but that everything-the world and all that is
in it- rather need God to exist. „Intellectuality‟ will pass away but faith lives forever (1 Cor.
13:13). Faith is not a mental assent, agreement or power. One cannot just mentally accept
something and think that it is faith, faith always expresses itself in the things it does. For
example, if you believe in prayer, it will always be the first resort when you are in need. If
any other thing comes before prayer, your faith is in that thing not prayer. If you are sick and
the first thing you do is go to the hospital or see a physician then you do not really believe in
prayer, it is mental assent. I am not saying one should not go to the hospital or seek the help
of a physician but that should be a direction you received in prayer. If God is your last resort
or one of your resorts, then you are living in mental assent not faith. To put it clearly, what or
the one you consult first when you are in need is your god/God. It does not matter what or
who you say you are, if the first thing you do when you are in need is not prayer or something
of God‟s direction, you are living in mental assent. You agree mentally with God but not
spiritually and we do not relate with God in/with the mind but with the spirit.
16. The things you believe may be facts, but facts are not realities. Facts are not eternal; they too
will pass away but faith will remain. Faith is the reality. Hence, it brings one into reality.
Reality is truth. Truth is what the thing is, not what it is like or what it may be. So never say I
think I am healed for it is unscriptural. Healing is not a „thinking‟, but a reality. You are
healed because God had said in scripture „by my stripes you are healed‟ (Isa. 53:5, emphasis
added). Note that it did not say „you will be healed‟ or „you may be healed‟ but that you are
healed. It is the now; you are healed. That is, before the feelings of sickness came, God had
healed you already. He had paid the full price for you to be totally healthy. So when
sicknesses come near you, you just tell them wrong direction and they will vanish because it
is illegal for you to be sick. Christ has saved you from both sin and sicknesses. He bore both
on the cross. When he said „it is finished‟, he meant it. Total health is as free as salvation is.
This is a reality. It is independent of what you think. You believing or not believing do not
change its reality. I will like to reveal an insight that God gave me. He told me one day, son
why don‟t you live in divine health rather than divine healing? Immediately, I realized that
divine health surpasses that of divine healing because divine healing means you may get sick
but recover by grace. But divine health means you will never get sick. It was a hard truth but
I got hold of it and believed it. This may appear ridiculous but it is the truth. Only what God
has said is the truth, even if it does not make sense. After all we walk by faith and not by
sense.
In the same vein, one is born again because God said so. You are more than a conqueror
because God said so. You are an ambassador because God said so. Stop thinking and start
living reality. Faith cannot be limited to what the mind can comprehend. The mind is too
small to contain faith. Logic and intellect, though good, are of the soul. Live the „faith life‟
and not the „think life‟!