Step 6 – We DIE to self-effort.
The fullness of time… hmmm. It only took 24 years for Sarah to become pregnant! Personally, God, I don’t want to wait 24 years for anything to happen. I prefer it to happen within 24 minutes or 24 seconds of the time God speaks it. His answer back to me was: “Who writes the rules of the universe, you or Me?”
“Fine, You do.”
So many times miracles require an incubation period before they are released from the invisible, spiritual world into the visible, physical world. I need to make sure that, while I wait, I stay tuned only to God’s voice and vision, and don’t come up with my own ideas of how to make things happen (Gen. 16:1,2). For if I do, I will be birthing an Ishmael, which will not be accepted by God (Gen. 17:18,19). I must die to all self-initiated behavior (Jn. 14:10) and only do those things I hear and see the Father doing (Jn. 8:26,38). Wow! This is a totally counter-cultural way of living. Lord, teach me to live this way, I pray.
Step 7 – In the fullness of time, GOD BRINGS FORTH the miracle.
And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him…. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (Gen 21:1,2,5)
Wow! Only took 25 years for this miracle to get started, and the full manifestation of it (i.e. the earth being blessed through Abraham’s seed), occurred 1500 years later when Jesus was resurrected from the dead! Yikes, now I really don’t like the rules of the universe. However, I only have two choices: one is to say “Yes, Lord” and the other is to become angry and bitter and fall away from the living Lord. Of course, whatever is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23).
OK, Lord, I believe, and I am willing to go to my grave believing in the rhema and vision You have given to me. I will be a worshipper until the day I die, and then I will continue worshipping You for all eternity.
A Summary of the 7 Step “Word of Faith” Miracle Model
- Faith begins with a spoken word from the Lord.
- God adds a vision, a picture of the promise fulfilled.
- We ponder this rhema and vision from God – nothing else!
- We speak the rhema and vision God has spoken to us, according to His directions.
- We act on the rhema and vision God has spoken to us.
- We die to self-effort.
- In the fullness of time, God brings forth the miracle.
Mountain-moving faith is conceived by a rhema and vision from God, which when incubated, through pondering, speaking and acting, births a miracle in God’s fullness of time.
For further teaching, order the inspirational sermon by Dr. Virkler on “Mountain Moving Faith”.
And be sure to download the free accompanying PowerPoint slides and PDF handout sheet on that page.