[1Cor. 12:9]

9. To another FAITH by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit.

[Heb.11:1]

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It is the substantiation of things promised by the Word; and expected by them who believe.

It is the revelation of truth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit until it is perceived, understood, and taken as a reality, before it is manifested as expected.

It can be explained as “an abstract assurance” within us which makes us rest or settled upon something promised to us.

DOES FAITH ALWAYS OCCUR TO MAN ONLY AS A REVELATION ALL THE TIME?

The answer is NO! It is not always so. The prophet messenger to this age; William Marrion Branham identifies to us TWO KINDS OF FAITH, namely:

(A). MENTAL FAITH; sometimes referred to as: “Nature-given faith”; or “Intellectual Faith”

(B). SPIRITUAL REVELATION usually received in the realm of the Spirit upon your Soul. It is sometimes referred to as “The sixth Sense”

(A). MENTAL/INTELLECTUAL FAITH:

This is merely an intellectual acknowledgement of Biblical truth concerning anything that God’s Word declares. It is nothing more than a mental conception of the thoughts expressed.

In the message; “The Spoken Word is the Original Seed” we are made to understand that there is a parallel between conception in “The natural Womb of the Female” and conception in “The spiritual Womb” of every believing person”

62-0318 - The Spoken Word Is The Original Seed: [Rev. William Marrion Branham]
178. Now, let's go back now and pick up again, and come down for something. You remember what last Sunday's service was? "The gate to the soul." You remember? Now, there is a womb of the physical. There is a womb for the spirit. Did you believe that? There is a spiritual womb and a physical womb. And THE MIND is the womb to the spirit. Why?

179. Now remember. I told you last Sunday, and drawed it out here for you. These five senses, that enter this seed from the outside; see, taste, feel, smell, hear; Five on the inside; conscience, affection, memory, imagination, reasoning, and so forth; from the inside five. Now, on the Life side, there's only one. That's, you're on the basis of free moral agency, to accept, take in or let out. See?

181. That's how adultery is committed, spiritually; when you, knowing better, by the Word of God, by the intercourse of the mind, take in a lie of the devil, against the Word of God.

182. That's exactly what Eve done, with a spiritual intercourse, first, that come by believing Satan's lie, into the womb of her mind. That polluted her soul, set death in the soul, then the natural act taken place.

183. And that's the only way that a woman ever can commit adultery against her husband, is to first let some man talk her into it, and then receive another man that's not her husband. Then she's committed adultery.

Here is how you will be able to avoid committing spiritual adultery against God, if you are a believer:

-       Do not have your faith flirting with false doctrines

-       Do not  let your faith succumb to false prophecies

-       Do not get your faith messed up with false teachings

-       Do not yield your faith to flirting with misinterpreted scriptures

-       Do not allow your faith to be detoured into misplaced promises

-       Do not slacken your faith to be lured into dislocated promises

-       Do not get your faith entangled with anything which is a permissive will.

-       Do not put your faith into experimentation with impersonators

-       Do not let your faith be deviated into explained-away scriptures

-       Do not have your faith ensnared by misused or misapplied gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Applying your faith in these issues is committing spiritual adultery. And God has the right to put a spiritual adulterer away. Sinning spiritually goes through similar stages, of sinning physically. Here is how James explains it: [James 1:13-15]

       13. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

       14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth fort death.

16.  Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

 

This is exactly what happened in EDEN. Before Eve yielded to the Serpent’s physical act of adultery, she was first talked into yielding her mind to his lie.

 

55-0403 - Fellowship By Redemption: [Rev. William Marrion Branham]
89. Now, a man can have an intellectual faith. And there's where most people get today, calling themselves Christians. The reason you see such carrying on as you do, under the name of Christianity, it's only intellectual faith. "What do you mean by intellectual faith, brother?" This is it… "Man believeth unto salvation. Now, faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the word."

Now, I could preach the Word. You could accept it, say, "That's all right. Yeah, I believe that." Well now, if that's all the farther it ever goes, then you'll never get very far with God. Intellectual faith…

That's the reason people don't get healed, is because they only have an intellectual view of it, what their mind conceives. But the mind willreason. The mind will say, "It cannot be. I am no better." My sense of sight says that, "My arm is no straighter than it was yesterday." My sense of feeling says, "I don't feel any different than I did yesterday." Reasoning, mentaltheology will reason out, say, "Well, now wait a minute, I believe that's foolishness." See, you're reasoning. That intellectual faith will do that.

94. But when once that faith comes down into that compartment down here, it'll never question this up here, at all. It's absolutely a fact, and it'll agree with every Divine Word of God. There's the reason people don't get where they should be. It becomes a mental conception of God. But when that mental conception, you believe Him by an intellectual faith, but that won't do it. It's got to be a borned again experience, where your faith is brought down into this compartment here. And no matter what it looks like, faith says it's so anyhow. See?

-       So you can see that before SPIRITUAL REVELATION (FAITH), is conceived in the soul, it is first conceived in the mind as INTELLECTUAL FAITH.

-       Most people including many Christians live their Christian life in the realm of INTELLECTUAL FAITH.

-       The majority of people who call themselves Christians, because they can read the Word;  agree with it, believe that they have faith in what they have only acknowledged.

-       This explains why people don’t get healed. What their minds conceived is only an INTELLECTUAL VIEW of it.

-        [Read Isaiah 58:1-14] and understand why they were not getting what they thought they did right to get it. It was merely a mechanical activity plus living in transgression at the same time.

-       This kind of faith is still necessary and needful because when it finally drops down into the heart, then, through the channel of the sixth sense, God can quicken it to spiritual revelation.

-       Then it brings the expected results.

(B). SPIRITUAL FAITH.

Apart from intellectual conception of the letter, when the word preached is quickened by the Holy Spirit, it becomes a living faith.  Living faith also manifests itself at two levels:

(i). Regular ordinary Faith.

(ii). Gift Faith.

(I). REGULAR ORDINARY FAITH.

Ordinary faith is the unquestionable response of a believer to what the Word of God says.

It is the faith that is based on the established trust in Jesus for what they had seen him do over and over, and the memory of several of those occasions before his death, burial and after his resurrection.

BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION, DEATH, AND BURIAL. [Luke 5:4-6]

4. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net brake.

MONEY FROM FISH MOUTH FOR TAX PAYMENT: [Math. 17:25-27]

24. And when they were come to Capernaum, they that receive tribute money came to Peter, and said, doth not your master pay tribute?

25. He saith, yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinketh  thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children, or of strangers?

26. Peter saith unto him, of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

• Peter Believed without asking a question and did what he said
• He got the fish and the money as he was told
• He gave it to pay tax for HIMSELF and JESUS.
• No offence was caused to the authorities.

AFTER THE RESURRECTION AND BEFORE MEETING THEM. [John21: 3-12]

3.Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go with thee.  They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night, they caught nothing.

4. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

5. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meet? They answered him, no.

6. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

• The disciples believed, and acted without questioning.
• They were overwhelmed by the catch they made
• They remembered he did it before
• They would believe him for the next anything he tells them to do
• An unwavering trust was now established.
• It became just a common thing to obey what he said.

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER: PENTECOST: [Lk.24:49]

 An , behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

• 120 disciples went to Jerusalem in a simple act of faith to have that promised fulfilled upon them.
• They received the Holy Spirit as promised.
• The Gospel was spread to all the world thereafter.
• By the New Birth was preached, believed on, accepted and the church grew as many were added to it daily
• That pattern is still going on today because all; whose names were written in the Lamb’s book of life will come in, and none will be lost.
• As many as believe on, and received him, to them he gave power to become the sons and daughters of God.

SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS ORDINARY FAITH:

(1). Without faith it is impossible to please God.

(2). God was so pleased with Enoch’s faith till he raptured him, prior to the flood tribulation of Noah’s day.

(3). He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

(4). Faith without works is dead. It must be exercised by relevant action and promise.

(5). Ordinary faith is never stagnant. It grows from one level of glory to another. Each level brings you to higher ground.

1. . It requires exercising oneself to holy living; fasting; taking correction; humility etc.

The first experience, all the 12 disciples had in exercising ordinary faith was before Jesus death. They cast out devils; healed all manner of sicknesses and diseases in Jesus Name. Jesus gave them power to even raise the dead. All of that was before Pentecost. None of them had the Holy Ghost yet, but they had faith to do all those things, by ordinary faith.

Peter had several experiences connected with fishing. He obtained money from a fish mouth and paid tax for himself and Jesus. Then he walked on water; He saw the transfiguration of Jesus.

But after Pentecost, his first sermon netted 3,000 souls into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Acts.2:41. His faith after Pentecost made him to heal the lame man at the roadside.  Then it progressed to the resurrection of the dead such as Dorcus. That faith withstood persecution, imprisonment, and finally his crucifixion head down.

Now let us move on to [PART 9B] and examine Gift Faith; which is one of the 9 Spiritual Gifts. All the 9 Spiritual Gifts are manifestations of The Holy Spirit through Spirit filled believers. Welcome to [PART 9B].

PASTOR MARTIN TOMBE.

RESTORED BIBLE TRUTH ASSEMBLY.