Transcription
It's time that we in the body of Christ begin to see through the eyes of faith. Not doubt, not fear, not compromise faith. Jesus said, "You can ask for anything in my name and I will do it." So that the son can bring glory to the father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.
Here Jesus tells us something incredible that if you ask for something in his name that is by his power under his authority according to his will that it will be yours. And this statement was so astonishing that he had to emphasize his point in verse 14 where he reaffirms yes ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.
Now look at the context setter. Verse 12, I tell you the truth. Anyone who believes in me, do you believe in him? >> So he's talking about you. >> He says, "Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done and even greater works because I'm going to be with the father." And then he challenges us with these faith inspiring words. Ask me for anything and it's done.
Let's go to 2 Kings chapter 6. I want to show you an example of seeing through the eyes of faith. 2 Kings chapter 6 and hold your place at verse number 15. 2 Kings chapter 6 verse number 15.
Now the temptation with the words of Jesus is to try to explain it away. And often what we call wisdom and balance is actually just doubt and fear in disguise. And many people will look at that statement from Jesus and they'll say, "Well, maybe he didn't mean exactly what he said." Or maybe if you look at the context, it can slightly change the application. But I'm telling you that we must not try to explain away the supernatural element of the teachings of Jesus. We serve a God who is able to do above and beyond what we can imagine. And we have to stop trying to bring him down to the level of our understanding. Again, we call that wisdom, but it's doubt. We call that balance, but it's fear. Some of you afraid to believe, afraid to get your hopes up, afraid to put your faith in God and be disappointed. Let God be true and every man a liar. It's time that we rebuke the doubt. It's time that we rebuke the liar. It's time that we rebuke the accuser and instead stand firm on the words of Jesus. You ask anything in my name, I will do it. He'll perform it according to his promises.
So now 2 Kings 6:15. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. "Oh sir, what will we do now?" the young man cried to Elisha. "Don't be afraid," Elisha told him, for there are more on our side than on theirs. Then Elisha prayed, "Oh Lord, open his eyes and let him see." The Lord opened the young man's eyes. And when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. As the Aramian army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, "Oh Lord, please make them blind." So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.
Elisha's servant looks around and sees that he's surrounded by enemies. He's filled with fear. He begins to fret. He begins to panic thinking that he's reached the end. But what he did not see was that in the realm of the supernatural, there were more for him than against him. There were more hosts of angelic armies than there were enemies that were surrounding them. I pray too that we would have our eyes open. I pray too that we would learn to see in the spirit, to see from the perspective of God's word, to see from the perspective of God's truth, to see from the perspective of faith, knowing that though we look at the situation, and though it looks impossible, though it looks troubling, though it looks dangerous, that if only we see through the eyes of faith, that we'll see heaven's armies, that we'll see that God is for us. And if God be for us, who can be against us? God sees the future. God sees beyond what we can see. And God can do more in a single moment than you can in a lifetime. >> But you won't get there by fear. May God open your eyes to what he is doing. He is doing things in the background. He's already had it handled. He's already taking care of it.
In fact, if you look in Psalm, this is one of my favorite verses here. Psalm 77:19, "Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters, a pathway no one knew was there." In other words, when the children of Israel came up against the waters, they saw a barrier. God saw a pathway. They saw a challenge. God saw a miracle. They saw the end. God saw potential. He sees pathways that no one else can see. He makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Around the end of the year 2018, our ministry embarked on a project. And our ministry is constantly doing projects, constantly growing, constantly expanding. And this season was no different. And so we stepped out in faith to build a television production facility in Cerritos, California. We spent months fundraising for it and we raised about half of the amount that we needed. The total amount was just about $300,000 that we needed for renovation, lighting, TV set equipment, office supplies. It was a whole new facility. And so we believed God for it and just a little over half had come in. But now we had exhausted our emailing list. We had done all of the videos for our partners. We did behind the scenes updates at the studio. We did everything that we could in our ability and then we reached the end of our ability and it wasn't even the complete amount. It was just a little beyond halfway there. And so we were wondering, Lord, how are you going to do it? We've already exhausted our resources. We've already done everything that we know how to do.
And one day I get invited to a lunch in Northern California. The invitation came from a woman we call Mama Sophia. Sweet little lady. And we call her Mama Sophia because she's like our ministry team mom, you know, the soccer team mom and they have different parents who get involved in sports. Well, she's our ministry team mom. So, she arranges this lunch and she has different pastors and business people there. And I'm there sharing the vision at this and, you know, believing God for the fundraising to come through.
Now, before I had gone to the lunch, I was getting ready in my hotel. And as I'm getting ready, I hear within my spirit that God told me, he said, "The need, everything you need is coming in today." And I don't always respond this way, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, I believed completely. It was as if you had already put the check in my hand. That's how excited I was. I was rejoicing. In my mind, it was done, and no one could convince me otherwise.
So, I go to this lunch. I'm sitting down with these business people, these pastors, and I begin to share the vision. And some of the businessmen who were there, I was expecting maybe they might be the one. I'm looking around the table going, who's going to be the one to sew this remainder. It was about 130,000 that we needed left. And the Lord told me it was coming in that day. And they did sometimes what business people do when you ask them for a donation. They gave me advice. And they, the pastors, I asked them for some help. And they did what sometimes pastors do. They gave me encouragement. Somebody's going to give something. You keep believing. And so I left the lunch not having received a single donation for the project and I was a little bit discouraged. I said, "Okay, Lord, you told me it was going to come in by the end of the day, but all of these people just gave me advice and encouragement and now they're gone and here I am. It was just me, Steve, and Mama Sophia at the restaurant." And Mama Sophia tells me, "Wait here. There's someone else I want you to meet."
So she goes to the front of the restaurant and she comes back. And by the time she comes back, I see that she's locked arm in- arm with another woman. And Mama Sophia is just crying. She's sobbing uncontrollably. And she can't tell me what's happening. And I'm trying to figure it out. I'm saying, "Mama Sophia, what happened?" And she's like, I'm like, "Just tell me." The suspense was killing me. It was building up in my head. I'm like, "Is she going to help us? What's going on?" And finally, this woman who I'd never met before speaks to me and she says, "I'm going to help you." I said, "What do you mean you're going to help?" And I'm thinking, okay, maybe she's going to give a thousand or a few hundred dollars. She says, "No, no, I'm I'm going to help you." I said, 'What? But what do you mean by that? What do you mean you're going to help? She goes, "Hold on." She reaches into her purse, pulls out a checkbook. She says, "How much do you need for the project?" I said, "Oh, we we need about $130,000." And at this point, I still hadn't figured out what she was doing. She says, "Okay." and she leans over onto the table and begins to fill out a check for $130,000 for the ministry. And then she messed up that check and she messed it up like three times and had to start over. Each time I'm praying, Lord, steady her hand. Guide her as she writes this. Let it be a perfect signature. And she hands the check over and within a day what had seemed impossible, insurmountable, what I couldn't see the solution for solved. Just like that.
You know, sometimes we put time frames on God. And it's a subtle way of protecting ourselves from disappointment. Now, I understand the timing of God and never should we teach anything that would not acknowledge the sovereignty of God. But I think that sometimes we put timing on things because it makes it easier to believe. But here's the thing, and I pray you catch this. Sometimes we get stuck in this frame of mind where we're constantly saying, "One day God will do it. One day the miracle will come." And by adding that gap of time, we can see it as more possible. Maybe God won't do it today, but surely within the next 10 years, God will do something and that'll give him enough time to figure it all out. But God can do more in a moment than you can in a lifetime. >> So we need to stop saying one day. I don't want one day faith. I want present faith. I want now faith. Remove the limitations from your thinking. Had I asked anybody else, they would have told me, "Oh, that's quite a large amount. Maybe you can put together a plan, a special campaign over the next six months. I'm sure you'll get most of it." But God's way was higher. God's way was more effective.
Go with me now to Joshua chapter 6, beginning at verse number one. Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in, but the Lord said to Joshua, "I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the ark, each carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day, you are to march around the town seven times with the priest blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast of the ram's horns, all have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse and the people will charge straight into the town."
Here we see Jericho surrounded by walls. On the other side of those walls were the promises of God. God gave the land to the children of Israel. It was his word to them, his guarantee. But standing in the way, blocking the path was a wall. Now he gives them instructions. And I thought the instructions were interesting because he didn't give to them some military strategy by which they could overtake that wall. He didn't give to them some divine plan on a certain weapon to craft that would bring down the wall. He didn't promise them that angelic armies would come and tear down the wall for them. He gave them an instruction that did not rely upon their power. that did not rely upon their strength, that did not align with their understanding. He says, "You want the city?" And I'm sure they were worked up, ready for the instruction. Give us the word, Lord. We'll show our might. We'll demonstrate our ability. We'll do all that we can. Okay, just walk around and then at the end of it all, you're going to shout and make a lot of noise. That doesn't make any sense because it didn't depend upon their intellect, strength, or ability. It depended upon their faith. And that's the instruction God gives to us. The instruction that depends upon faith. Because if you do it in your ability, you can take the credit. >> If you do it in your strength, you can get the glory. But God does things according to our faith so that we know who was the one who accomplished the miracle.
So they're marching around once a day for six days. And as they're marching, the scripture gives no indication that as they're marching, the wall begins to crack or that any signs whatsoever appeared that would indicate to them that it was working. So once a day for 6 days, they're walking around. I'm sure some of them thinking, I hope this works. Do you see anything happening to the wall? I don't. And they did not allow what they saw with their physical eyes to deter them from believing the promise that God had given to them. They obeyed by faith.
Notice also on the seventh day they march around seven times. Why? I believe this shows us that the most difficult days come just before the breakthrough. That tension of challenge, that feeling of I've given all I have. I've believed for such a long time. I'm exhausted. I'm drained of my resources. I've put everything I have into this and Lord, I've come up against this wall. Now, that is when the breakthrough is just within reach. That is when the Holy Spirit begins to work it out. Could it be that the most severe symptoms come just before the healing? Could it be that the most frustrating financial aspects of your life reveal themselves just before God gives a financial breakthrough? that child you're praying for, that loved one you're praying for, you see them raging against the truth and they become more angry, more bitter, more stubborn. How do you know that it's not their last resort? Because they can feel in their heart something changing, and they're growing tired of fighting the conviction of the Holy Spirit. How do you know that within 24 hours, God isn't going to turn it around? How do you know that by the end of the week you're not going to be celebrating a miracle? They marched and on that final day they marched around several times and those walls came down.
Well, think of the power of God. I find it interesting that they released the sound of the trumpet and the shouts. It was like the breath of God flowing through them. The Psalmist writes that it was God with God's breath that he blew and cause the waters to split. The breath of thy nostrils just you just need the Holy Spirit to breathe on it. You're waiting, you're praying, you're doing all you can. You just need the breath of the spirit. Once he does that, there's no stopping it. You may feel like it's been delayed. You may feel frustrated because nothing seems to be working and you're doing all you can. But when the miracle finally comes, no one will be able to stop it because it comes from the breath of God. The breath of God causes the walls to fall like water and it causes the water to stand up like walls. Whatever it is you need, he has. Whatever it is you're believing for, his power can accomplish it. Only see through eyes of faith. Ask anything in my name and it shall be done. Stop seeing through the natural. Stop seeing through the lens of fear. Stop seeing through the lens of limitation and start seeing through the lens of the promises of God that tell you what God can accomplish. Stop listening to negative people who tell you, "Well, if it was going to happen, it would have happened already." Stop listening to the voices of doubt that tell you that God is doing this because he wants to punish you for a sin that he's already forgiven you of. Step out in faith. He gives you an instruction. Move. And it's not in your ability. Faith is the exchange of your ability for God's ability. When you believe, you set down your strength and you pick up God's. When you believe, you're stepping out of your authority and into God's authority.
We were in Orange County, California, where I was hosting a healing service. And a woman comes to the service believing for her miracle. She came in a walker unable to move her legs without severe pain. There was weakness in her legs, pain in her legs. So much so that she had to be carried into the service. They helped her get to her seat. The service was concluding. This woman asks for prayer. She comes forward in her walker. The woman comes up to the side of the platform. She sits on the stairs and I lay my hands on her, begin to pray for her. Reuben, you were there. Pastor Mike, you were there. Steve, you saw this. I'm praying for her and she falls over and it was not her being slain in the spirit. It was because she couldn't hold herself out of balance because of the problem with her legs. She falls down the stairs, lands on her back and she's looking up at the ceiling just crying out to God.
Now, I'm going to be honest with you. Typically in a situation like that, I would have been scared thinking I would be sued. >> I'm just being real. >> But the Holy Spirit did something in me in that moment. He's the hero of the story. The Holy Spirit did something in in that moment where faith rose up within me. I knew she fell. I watched her fall down the stairs and there was a boldness that came over me. I said to the people, "Keep praying. God wants to heal her." I step down the stairs, lay my hand on her head. She's screaming out in pain, saying, "God, please heal me." And she's crying out, "God, please heal me. I'm deformed. I'm deformed. My legs are deformed. Heal me." She can't even pick them up. Praying for her, believing in faith. The people of God were believing in faith. This woman lying on the floor in pain, screaming, begins to slowly start to pick up her legs. She's crying out, "God, please do it. I'm saying,"Lord, I know you're doing it." The power of God could be sensed in the room. It was electric in the atmosphere. She begins to kick her legs up and down, stands up on her feet, and begins to move through the crowd. And the people of God erupted in praise. She was so excited that she took off her wig >> and starts swinging it around in the air. I kid you not. >> She's crying out, "I'm walking. I'm walking. I'm walking. I'm walking." That was the power of God. What was it? It was a moment of faith. >> She believed for her miracle and God met her there. >> The situation didn't look good. I thought I was going to get sued, but God did the miracle. >> What was it? It's faith. In moments like that, people think I'm using some technique. I'm thinking my hands are just like your hands. I'm just It is as simple as I'm laying my hands cuz he said to do it. I'm asking him to heal the sick cuz he said to ask. >> Everything else is God. There is no technique. There is no um protocol that you follow. It's just the spirit of God giving you faith and you step out.
Now in Luke 18:es 1-8, we see the story of the woman who was crying out for justice and she was asking this unjust judge to give her justice. She continually bombards him with her request. She just wouldn't stop. But then in Luke 18:8, at the conclusion of that parable, Jesus says this, I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly. But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith? Notice here that Jesus equates persistence with faith. Continuing to believe.
I remember when we began in ministry and we started live streaming. What did we say around 2010 we started live streaming and Jeremy, you were telling me that you remember one night after a broadcast as soon as I was done I asked the media operator. I said, "Hey Frank, how many viewers did we have tonight?" And he shouted with joy, "We had seven." >> And the whole team was like, "Seven? That's incredible. We were amazed at what God was doing. I look back over the years at God's faithfulness and I can tell you that there were moments when I stopped and asked the Lord, "Lord, are you sure you called me?" Lord, are you sure this is what you want me to do? I can't tell you how many times I felt like I just didn't have what it took. And of course, we know it was him. But but we went through years of seven people watching the programs, years of live streaming at the local church and in my parents' garage. I would write blogs, spend hours on them, and literally zero readers would read them, but I would do it every single week. My grandma went, "A, it's okay, Nani. This story ends well." No one would read them. You see the events we do across America and around the world. People can't get seats. It's one of the biggest complaints. Oh, but there was a time when we couldn't fill a room with a 100 chairs. We were lucky if we had 12 people show up. It's okay. Not breaking our heart here today. But we persisted. I wonder how many people give up on the miracle in the night that was destined to come in the morning.
So many of us are afraid to believe just because we don't want to go through the process of believing. We don't want to be disappointed. But let me show you something here. I'm just going to give you the context. You know the story Mark 5:21-43. It's a story of the woman with the issue of blood. Now, she had been through 12 years of suffering, bleeding, and at this time in that culture, when you have an ailment like that, not only are you sick and weak, but you're considered by society to be unclean. So, she was shunned by society, in pain, weak in body. And the Bible tells us that that she spent all that she had on doctors and that not only did she not get better, it says rather she grew worse. How many times do you think a medical professional came to her and said, "We're going to fix you." How many times do you think she got her hopes up only to see them come crashing down? How many times did she hand over money for a cure and then it didn't work? Yet when she hears about a man named Jesus passing by her way, she has the courage. She dares to say, "If I can just touch the fringe of his robe, the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole." If I can just touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole. She didn't allow the past disappointment to rob her of a present miracle. She didn't allow the calamity of what she had been through to keep her from believing God today.
Now, I know that as believers, we're going to face trials and heartache and disappointment and delay. That's not a matter of if, but when. The question is, can you stand in faith after you've been given reason not to? Not only that, when she sees Jesus, he's being crowded by people who are all desperate for their own miracle. And she not only pressed through the doubt, but in her weakened state, she presses through the crowd and says within herself, "I just have to get to Jesus." In some seasons, that's all you can do. You're not always going to have the answer to why did this happen. You're not always going to understand the pain you're going through. You're not always going to go and down the path of ease. But despite all those distractions, you have to keep saying within yourself, if I could just touch him, if I can just get a hold of him, if I could just have that one moment, and and you have got to stretch your faith, >> despite the disappointment and the let down and what people have done or haven't done, despite the emotional pain and the mental anguish, despite the delays, despite the failed attempts, You have to push through and say if I can if I can just touch the hem of his garment. And what happened was in that moment immediately she knew she was made whole. >> Now that's amazing.
But let me show you something here. Mark 6:55 and 56. This takes place after the account of the woman with the issue of blood. Watch this. Now this is incredible. Speaking of other people, the scripture says, "And they ran throughout the whole area carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went in villages, cities, or the countryside, they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe. And all who touched him were healed." Wait a minute. Look up at me here. What does it say in verse 56? They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe. Now, where did they get that idea? Your miracle when it comes, and it is coming. Yes, you're going to celebrate it. Yes, it's going to change your life. Yes, it's going to inspire your faith. But what if everything you're going through today [Music] will one day serve as a testimony for someone else. going through the same disappointment because the faith that it takes to receive your miracle will be the very same that inspires someone else. [Music] So, you're not just believing for you. You're believing because it will affect your spouse. You're believing because it will impact your children. You're believing because it will inspire your brothers and your sisters.
I was in the Philippines and there was a moment in the service where I received a word of knowledge and I called out somebody's being healed in their left ear. A man comes up his ear had opened. But immediately after someone else comes to the platform to testify said what happened with you? They said my left ear was healed too. And then immediately after that someone else comes up. I said what happened with you? He said my left ear was healed too. [Music] And would you believe it? Another one comes up right after. >> It wasn't I don't think it was his left ear. I think it was his right ear. He says, but he says, "I received my hearing." >> Why? Because they watched someone else receive that healing miracle.
Hebrews 11:1-3. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. [Music] You watching this, I want you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive what I'm about to tell you. And you in this room, lift your hands. Say, "Holy Spirit, >> help me receive." >> Help me receive. >> Okay.
Now, look at me. I mentioned this a few moments ago, minutes ago in the sermon where I talked to you about getting stuck in the frame of mind of one day, one day, one day. And I commend that. That's wonderful. But again, we're putting limitations on God there. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith, right now, right now faith." And then the scripture declares, "It is the substance of things hoped for." What does that mean? Well, well, fill fill your sleeve or your phone or your Bible. Touch the chair in front of you. That's substance. It's substance. I can hold it. See, we're waiting to begin rejoicing until we can hold the substance of the material world. But the writer of Hebrews tells us that faith itself is the substance. In other words, if I can truly believe for it, it's mine. >> Faith now is the substance of the healing. Faith now is the substance of the deliverance. Faith now is the substance of my saved loved ones. Faith now is the substance of the financial breakthrough. Faith now is the substance of the mental and the emotional healing. God is not limited by our timelines. [Music] He who formed time cannot be bound by it. [Music] Now faith is the substance. >> I'm not going to wait to rejoice until I hold the material substance. I'm rejoicing now because I have the faith for it. And that is the substance of things hoped for. [Applause]
Well, I pray that that message stirred your faith and inspired you to believe God for the impossible. And now I want to invite you to be a part of supporting this ministry. If you've been blessed by this ministry, will you step out in faith now and consider becoming a supporter today? You can support the work of this ministry, everything that we do, media, events, church planting, by either becoming a monthly ministry supporter or by giving a single gift. Do as you're led by the Holy Spirit. You can go to davidhernandisministries.com/partner to sign up for an automatic monthly gift or you can go to davidernnandministries.com/donate to give a single gift. But whatever you do, large or small, monthly or single, everything counts. So, please do your part today. Help our ministry. We need the support. We're growing. We're expanding. We don't want to miss any opportunities. Help us win the soul of this generation. And I know that as you step out in faith and as you support the work of the kingdom, as you support this soulinning ministry, that God will prosper you. As you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully. So give today. One more time, davidernnandezministries.com/partner/donate to give a single gift. Step out in faith and do as you're led by the Holy Spirit today. Now, if you enjoyed this message, make sure you also check out my teaching entitled Right Before God Uses You, the Devil Will Try These Attacks.