Manifesting Presence of the Holy Spirit

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Faith activates the Kingdom of God on earth. Faith activates miracles. They will not be seen or understood without it.

Acts 14:9-10 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

We know that faith is absolutely mandatory in order to believe in God. Because God has not manifest himself clearly in the ordinary world in an obvious way, if one believes in God, it must be from a position of faith. So faith is mandatory to believe in God. This is the first step that leads to any and all things of the Lord and His Kingdom. All things of the Kingdom of God start and finish through faith. Faith is the very doorway to all things God.

Faith is something one expresses, not thinks. Yes there is a conscious decision to first believe, but the fullness of faith is independent of what I have concluded. Because faith believes in what is unseen, conclusion can have no part in faith. Conclusion is based upon what I have figured out in the mind. The expression of faith comes first from the choice to have faith, and then by the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit. It is one part mental and ninety-nine parts supernatural.

Rom 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Now wait a minute… Am I not the one who is supposed to well up faith in my soul? Yes, initially. You are required to first choose faith in any issue. Once God sees that faith, He comes to you and gives you the far greater gift of faith. You have to take the first step and choose faith. But your faith is tiny in comparison to the faith you will need to succeed in Kingdom issues in this world. God comes to those with faith as small as a mustard seed and gives them the gift of faith that moves the mountain. This small mustard seed is as big an amount of faith that we are humanly able to muster. But then comes the Holy Spirit who gives faith as a gift. Hence faith as small as a mustard seed can in fact move the mountain.

Matt 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

1 Cor 12:7-9 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit…

The above scripture denotes the progression of faith. I start with my “small as a mustard seed faith”, Jesus comes in the Spirit and gives me the 1 Corinthians 12 gift of faith that I could never have of my own. I then speak to the mountain in my faith and God moves the mountain by our supernaturally given faith.

I can testify to an event of instantaneous and radical increase of faith that I personally experienced.

In a weeklong conference with a group of Argentinean revival leaders back in 1997, the Holy Spirit came in such power as to see us all on the floor time and again in the Spirit. It was a dear experience in my memory. When we left, while in the car going home, I told my wife, “You know, I clearly feel a huge increase in faith!”  And this was clearly proven so. I left that conference with what felt like a ten fold increase in faith. I believed that I not only knew that I was able, but had a new found desired to go out and do Kingdom exploits on behalf of my Jesus. I knew that I now had something I never had before. And it was a gift I could never muster on my own. I can say, to this day, I have never been the same.

Faith starts with my choice. He then comes with volumes more when He sees my heart of basic faith. The result is the manifestation of God’s Kingdom on earth. Through my heart that was found by Him willing, I then was made able by Him to do what I previously could not do of my own accord.

I know this is a basic discussion regarding faith. But what I see the church failing in is the supernatural part of faith. It is the supernatural given faith that great exploits are made possible. By such a faith, healings happen, deliverance happens and thousands of souls can be won in a day. This is what seems to be missing in the vast majority of today’s church. We desperately need this greater mature level of supernatural faith if we are going to succeed as the church of Jesus Christ in the days to come!

In part, faith is designed to be a shield that protects us from falling into a worldly mindset. The stronger ones faith, the greater is the ability to operate with Kingdom ability in this world.

Faith is the essence required for God’s manifesting Presence. It is the key by which we operate in the power moves of God. Like anything of God, all things require faith first. If faith leads to salvation, then faith also leads to the Presence of the Holy Spirit and the miracles that ensue.

1 Pet 1:5 ..who through faith are shielded by God’s power…

It is a requirement therefore that we live by faith in order to gain power. If we are ever to succeed in our earthly Kingdom call, the fullness of supernatural faith is a must. This faith leads to a power that both protects and enables.

1Pet 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Our faith is tested by fire, by every kind of trial. These tests result in an ability to operate in such power as to be able to walk right down the valley of the shadow of death laughing and dancing in the face of every evil thing.

Faith results in salvation. It then results in revelation, intimacy, followed by power. All these things testify Christ to an unbelieving word. How can I ever reap a harvest if I am not performing Kingdom acts of supernatural power to an unbelieving world? From just speaking of Christ to raising the dead, all these things require faith to activate them.

The measure that we are made able to live a dual citizenship, with one foot one earth and the other foot in the Kingdom while on earth, is directly proportionate to ones level of faith.

A person with great faith is a deadly dangerous agent to contend with in the eyes of Satan. Faith results to a particular authority that when exercised in it’s fullest, will see the enemy flee in seven ways.

Jesus reveals himself by the Holy Spirit. We then, having not seen, must make a choice to believe and have faith. Everything of the Kingdom of God is revealed by faith. Without faith, I cannot not see the thing even if it stands right before me. Faith therefore is the very key to spiritual maturity. As it is in the world, so it is in Kingdom business that the highest callings and releases are given to “those who know.” Only there is no comparison of the wisdom of the world to the revealed wisdom of the Kingdom of God. Who would give an infant a task of leadership?

Heb 5:12-6:1 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God…

Spiritual maturity is directly linked to faith. Any faith we gain as a gift from God is entirely dependant on the faith we first choose to have. God then chooses what measure of divine faith to give us as He chooses.

If where the Holy Spirit is there is freedom, then where there is faith there is freedom. This is because all things of the Holy Spirit require faith first. Faith therefore is prerequisite to freedom, as God defines freedom. Hence the lack of faith is a form of spiritual bondage.

Hindrances to faith are pride, fear, sin issues, and past wounds. Many people are unable to see or hear because of issues blocking their ability to do so. Faith therefore requires that we come to the end of ourselves. The result of this self-death is the choice to become dependant upon God in all things. Faith wells up from this revelation of and subsequent agreement with the concept of dependency. Independence results in spiritual death. Independence results in spiritual immaturity. Independence stiff-arms God in lieu of what I think or conclude. Independence blocks faith.

God accepts that people vary in faith. In a word, I call it “mercy.”

Faith is a product of grace. Grace is the power of God that manifests mercy. Mercy is the difference between perfection and our broken state. Since no man or woman is perfect, and because of the completed work of Jesus cross, there is mercy.

And so, where faith is concerned, people vary in faith levels. Though this is not perfectly desired, it is accepted by Father God because of the gift of mercy that was established through the completed work of the cross. The result is that we are each used according to our faith.

No man should be judged for lack of faith, just encouraged to go deeper through the word expressed and, by the Spirit, the word revealed.

Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

And so all faith starts by hearing. May it be that we all have ears to hear so that we can enter into spiritual maturity and effectiveness in the reaping of this great End Time harvest of souls.

Here are some other relevant scriptures regarding faith:

Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…

Faith starts with me, and is then perfected by Him.

Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Rom 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Rom 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

So now these questions remain. What will you choose to have faith in? How deep do you want to go? What radical things do you want to do for the Kingdom that you know you cannot do on your own? What offering will you have to present to the Father when you go home? How big a reward do you want to give to Jesus for his sufferings?

It all starts and finishes by faith.

T. Scott Morton