Having Therefore Boldness Part 4: The Bold Force of Faith – Ps Sharon Bendixen (WTB)

Scripture Reference: Philippians 3:14 (AMPC); 2 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV); 1 Peter 1:7 (KJV & NLT); Hebrews 12:2 (TPT & AMP); Romans 15:13 (KJV & AMP & VOICE); Jude 1:20 (AMP); John 16:33 (AMPC); 1 John 5:4 (AMPC);

Mark 11:22-24 (KJV & TPT); Isaiah 55:11 (AMPC & MSG & ERV); Matthew 14:28-33 (KJV); Proverbs 24:10 (NKJV & DRA & VOICE); Luke 11:9-10 (AMPC);
1 Peter 1:9 (AMPC & KJV); 1 Timothy 1:18

Greetings, Heritage of Faith people everywhere. Greetings, Heritage of Faith people in Lenasia, Heritage of Faith people in Johannesburg, in Emalahleni, in Diepsloot. A very warm greeting from myself to you, who misses you all very much. Welcome to Sunday morning service, Easter Sunday, and I have really got an amazing message for you from the Lord and I’m really looking forward to ministering it to you.

I began to receive this message on the 28th of March, from the Lord and of course, as you all know, I always take it for myself first, very personally. But He wants me to impart it to you as well today. I’ll not have time to give it all to you, but Pastor John has asked me, to finish it off with two, Midday Moments of ten minute sessions each. So, the rest of it will certainly come.

Last Sunday, I ministered to you about the force of fear and how that force of fear, if you yield to it, will attract what you fear to your life. But today, the title of my message, it’s: Having, Therefore, Boldness Series Part 4. The title of the message today is The Bold Force of Faith. So, what I’m going to be speaking to you about today, what the Lord has been speaking to me about, is that faith is a force. Just as fear is a force. Faith will attract God’s promises and God’s Words into your life.

I was just making some declarations from Brother Jerry’s last message to us, on the 8th of February 2018, and I got to the part where he says the following: There’s so much of God’s goodness that we have never tapped into. Here is how you do it, just like the Apostle Paul, Philippians 3:14, 14I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward (Philippians 3:14 AMPC).

This is Brother Jerry, I press, I press. Paul says, “I press, I press, I do not know any other way.” Amen. I press. If it was all just going to be handed to us then every believer would be extremely blessed, prosperous and healthy, enjoying the good life, but you have to press for that.” Amen. God says, “It is yours, but it is not just going to be handed to you. You have to press for it.” Look at your neighbour and say, “I press.” That simply means you never give up, you do not ever turn back, you never quit, you just keep pressing.

The fact that you have determined to press, once again does not mean, believer, does not mean that Satan is going to just lay down, roll over and play dead. The fact that you are pressing, you are just announcing to the devil, “The fight is on.” You are stronger than Him in Christ. You have weapons that are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of his strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV) says that. And God is on your side, not on his.

I am just still reading Brother Jerry. So you just make the determination. You just make the determination that you are going to press and keep pressing until you reach the promised land. Until you reach, what God has promised to do in your life. Press on. Just notice how many times he uses this word, press. Just press on, no matter how impossible it may seem; press on. No matter how long it takes; press on. No matter what others might think or do; press on. Even if no one else is pressing with you. Those who keep pressing are the ones who experience, the greatest breakthroughs, the greatest victories. Can you say, “Amen.”

God wants to show you, His glory. He wants to show you His manifested goodness until you are totally committed. There is always the opportunity to turn back. I want to be there for the promised completion. I do not want to start good, but not finish good. And what is the promised completion? He wants to show you His goodness. He wants to show you His glory. Can you say, “Amen.” I am His representative in this place tonight, the priest and the prophet of this service and I promise you if you keep pressing and refuse to back off, refuse to give up, refuse to quit, He will show you His goodness. Hallelujah. Give the Lord your best shout if you believe it. Hallelujah! Give the Lord your best shout, right there where you are watching me now. Hallelujah.

As I was reading this portion aloud, the Lord began to speak clearly to me and I’m just going to say it to you as I wrote it down in my journal. He said this, “Your faith is personal, precious and powerful. Precious, personal and powerful – It is precious.”

1 Peter 1 verse 7 says, 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire (1 Peter 1:7 KJV).

The New Living Translation says, 7These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world (1 Peter 1:7 NLT).

It’s precious, it’s personal. The word personal means, it’s carried on between individuals directly. This is a very important point, saints. You must know that your faith, your faith projects are personal and supposed to be personal. You’re supposed to directly be, in communication with the Lord with what you’re in faith for.

Personal means it involves a direct relationship between two people who know each other. Other people can’t see. It’s private, it’s internal, it’s intimate, it’s your own. Your faith walk with God is precious, personal. Personal means it’s going on in your heart with the Lord – you and Him.

Faith is deeply relational. It involves the Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and you; the four of you. It involves you continually. Jesus is the author of your faith, He is the developer of your faith; He paid the price to redeem us from the curse. The moment we were born again He gave faith to us. We’ve got it, we’ve got it. You couldn’t get saved without it. The moment you got born again you got it. It got deposited into our recreated spirit, in the moment. It was given to you the very second your new birth took place. Our new birth could not have happened without faith. It was by faith that we were saved, in that very moment. It was deposited in us as part of the amazing new creation package. All things became new instantly. That is what the scripture says in Corinthians. So, we have it now. We have faith.

I want you to behold how very personal our faith is supposed to be. Look at these scriptures with me. Hebrews 12 verse 2 from the Passion Translation. It says, so this is about faith, 2We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us, can you see that? Jesus birthed faith within us, at the new birth, and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection (Hebrews 12:2 TPT). The Amplified Bible says, 2 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, … (Hebrews 12:2 AMP) Now, you can’t see Jesus physically, but you are focusing your eyes on Jesus, when you’re focusing and you’re reading His Word and you’re looking at His promises and you are fellowshipping with Him and the Holy Spirit; you are looking unto Jesus.

2 [looking away from all that will distract … ] you in your faith walk, focusing our eyes on Jesus. Jesus, who is the Author and the Finisher and the Perfecter of our faith. Jesus gave us our [first incentive for our belief and He is the One who brings our faith to maturity,] … (Hebrews 12:2 AMP) You’re supposed to be with Jesus, from the time you have the incentive to believe the promise, to the time when the promise is fulfilled. It is deeply relational.

Romans 15:13, we’re talking about how deeply relational the faith walk is. The King James says, 13Now the God, now there is God; the God of hope fills you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost (Romans 15:13 KJV). So, we’ve seen Jesus involved in our faith, here’s God the Father and here’s the Holy Spirit.

The Amplified Bible says, 13May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing. The Amplified Bible says, [through the experience of your faith]. While you’re in the experience of faith, God is saying, God is, the God of hope, the author of Romans is saying; 13May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace through the experience of your faith that by the power of the Holy Spirit, there is the Holy Spirit, you may abound and be overflowing and be bubbling over with hope (Romans 15:13 AMP).

There is the Holy Spirit involved, filling you with joy to overflowing, so that your expectancy just never dies down, never fades away. 13I pray that God, another translation says, the source of all hope, will infuse your life with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith, so that your hope will overflow with the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 VOICE)Then, of course, another scripture in Jude 20 says, you are to, 20build yourself up on your most Holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20 AMP).

Then the Lord said this to me, after He said to me, “Your faith, precious, personal, powerful.” He said this to me, “Faith in use presses, it doesn’t know how to do anything else.” Faith, activated faith, or faith in action, faith in use, doesn’t know how to do anything else, but to press.

To press is to exert continuous force on something, to move in a specific direction by pushing, to attack fiercely and persistently is of an enemy, to continue one’s action and to pursue.

When you are in faith, this is how He gave it to me; when you are in faith, then you are in it. You are either in, or out; there is nothing in between. In, expresses an activity you are involved with, in expresses movement with a result that something or someone becomes inclosed and surrounded by something else, like you’re in a car, you are not out the car, you’re in it, that’s how it is when you’re in faith, it means you’re in it; you’re not out of it.

In, also indicates someone’s occupation, I’m in publishing, well that is my occupation. I am in faith. In, also indicates a language or a medium use in Polish or in writing. Well, I’m in faith, you can’t be out of faith, when you’re in it. So, when you are in faith it is the state of faith and condition that you are in. It is your occupation and profession just as surely as I’m in medicine, I am in faith. I am in publishing. I am in faith. I’m enclosed in faith and surrounded by faith. When you’re in it, then you are in it. Faith in action. Active living faith, does not consider the circumstances, when you’re in it, when you’re in faith, you’re not in circumstances, you are in the faith.

Faith is a proper spiritual force. Force is an active power. It is a cause of change. Force is violence exerted against the thing or a person. Force is an unusual degree of strength and energy, so that’s what faith is. Force is power exerted, as by force of arms or to take by force. So, force is a powerful war, the dictionary says, prepared for action. So, this is what faith is. I am saying, it is what it is. It is a force. It is capable of enforcing any and everything in our covenant.

It is capable of overcoming the world, everything, anything in the world system, John 16 verse 33, Amplified, 33I told you these things, Jesus said, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world, you will have tribulations and trials and distress and frustration, but be of good cheer and [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you, I have conquered it for you.] (John 16:33 AMPC) The Amplified 1 John 5 verse 4 says, 4For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world our continuing persistent faith (1John 5:4 AMPC). This is how we conquer everything and anything in the world. Our faith is that kind of force. Faith in action, activated by the Holy Spirit, through His Word in you.

The moment you choose to believe, when His Word comes to you, it is then, action. That’s it. Like you see those clipboards; action. The moment you choose to believe anything that is in His Word, anything that He is saying to you, it is action. It’s your faith in action, and you’re in faith. Faith is a proper real force. The moment it is released from within you through your choice to believe, it goes to work immediately creating what your spirit releases it to create. Your ongoing action of releasing your faith with your words, with your prayer, with your praise, ensures that it continues to work on what you have sent it to work on. There truly is nothing that can stop its force, once it’s released from your spirit.

Here is how it works, Mark 11 verse 22. 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:22-24 KJV).

Five Bible translations put it like this, where Jesus says in King James, have faith in God. Five translations put it this way. Have the faith of God. Have the faith of God. That faith that Jesus imparted to us, when we were born again, is the very faith of God. It’s the very faith of God. Have the faith of God. I have it. I have the faith of God. The Passion Translation puts it this way; 22Let the faith of God be in you. 22Let the faith of God be in you (Mark 11:22 TPT). Let it be. It is already in you. Let it be. Let it be coming out of you as that force to create. This Greek text can be translated as; God like faith, have God like faith.

Where Jesus here, actually is not just giving us a hyperbole which is a claim not meant to be taken literally about moving mountains. What He’s bringing to us here in scripture, it is the active power of faith, to take and carry the power and authority of God’s kingdom realm with us wherever we go in the world. The force of faith only a-baits, or only weakens or lessens when the spirit, the spirit being or a person that the faith is flowing from stops it, interrupts it, allows its force to weaken. This usually occurs when the soul of the spirit being, the soul of the person, has considered the circumstances and yielded in the moment to anxiety and fear in the mind and in their emotions.

In Romans 4, the Bible says that Abraham considered not. Abraham wasn’t trying to not consider, he wasn’t like trying to have faith and not consider the deadness of his body or the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. He was in faith, he was not out of faith, he was in faith. His faith actually, because he was in faith, he couldn’t actually. When you’re in faith you actually can’t consider the circumstances because you’re in faith. The power of the spoken Word of God to him about, “You’re going to have a son and I’m going to bless you, and I’m going to …” All those promises He made to Abraham, dispelled the doubt, he went into override. It’s all he could hear ringing in his ears, in his heart. It’s all he could see with his eyes. The moment he would have considered his own body, he would be out and not in. So we are to maintain faith momentum, this is how God was just giving it to me.

So, I am striking for the changes that I want, I am conditioning and I’m celebrating. I am at this time preparing, guiding, maintaining and propelling my faith. I am fully using this time for my Project Strike. I’m striking, creating for my changes, my Project Conditioning, my Project Celebration. I’m maintaining faith momentum.

Isaiah 55 says this, 11So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11 AMPC). That is what kind of certainty faith is. I am speaking. I’m speaking, I’m releasing the force of faith that I’m believing, because I am believing, because I choose to believe. So, the force of faith comes out of me as I choose to believe and as I’m speaking, 11…. it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11 AMPC).

So my different strikes, I’m sending it to different things. Another translation says, 11That’s how it is with My words, they don’t return to me without doing everything I sent them to do (Isaiah 55:11 MSG). Another translation says, 11In the same way, My words leave my mouth, and they don’t come back without results. My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do (Isaiah 55:11 ERV). The Message Bible says, 11They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them (Isaiah 55:11 MSG). Every one of my arrows that I’m striking with will complete the assignments that I give them.

Peter was in and then out of faith. Peter got out at Jesus’ word. I’m reading this to you, Peter answered Him, from Matthew 14 verse 28 to 33, 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. You see he was in, he was in faith. There’s no ways he could have begun to get out of the boat; he was in faith, but look what he did. 30But when he saw it, it says here, 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, you have to see that in verse 29, he did actually walk on the water. Why? Because he was in faith, because Jesus said come.

30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; He succumbed and yielded to fear, and it says he began, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:28-31 KJV) Why? So, Jesus was fully expecting Peter not to doubt. This word here, little faith, is a Greek which is olegos, which means small, a while, small in extent and degree and duration. he didn’t have small faith to actually be walking on the water, what happened is, he didn’t endure long enough, it was of short extend, and short duration.

We are not to faint, because 10 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small, Proverbs 24 verse 10.(NKJV) 10 If you lose hope being weary in the day of distress, your strength shall be diminished. (Proverbs 24:10 DRA) 10 If you fall apart in a crisis, another translation says, then you weren’t very strong to begin with. (Proverbs 24:10 VOICE) I am going to be sharing with you during the week, on the Midday Moments, continuing in this message about the force, prayer that accompanies faith.

So in Luke 11:9-10 (AMPC), He talks about knock, keep on knocking, ask, keep on asking, seek, keep on asking, because the keep on is vital during the creation period. When you are creating, the changes for all of your strikes. It’s vital to keep on keeping on, and not to stop and cut off your faith, spiritual momentum. That’s why I press, I press for specified things, until it is fully created and there it is. Faith activated, faith in use, always presses, presses and then produces, it receives its end-fulfillment, it reaches its fullest expression. I have sowed my seed, I mix it with faith and I keep on, I keep on.

The Amplified says in 1 Peter 1 verse 9, that 9 … you receive the result and (outcome and consummation) of your faith. (1 Peter 1:9 AMPC) The King James says, 9 Receiving the end of your faith.” (1 Peter 1:9 KJV) The end of my faith is successfully crossing the threshold of the New Wide Open Door for me, by Jesus. My faith speaks, I create. The end of my faith is, supernatural increase, change in the areas that I’m striking for. The end of my faith is my faith is a force released. The end of my faith is a great change in all my strike areas, I’ve just said that. The end of my faith is Marvels and Wonders happening. My faith continues, I keep on, my faith is rearranging parts and elements.

There is a creation period here now, between the point where I first believed, and I release the force of faith, to where I receive the outcome of my faith. The end of my faith is Extraordinary Manifestations of the Greatness of My God for me, in all of my faith projects and my strikes. The end of my faith is, great change in me, for that’s where the kingdom of God is. The end of my faith is, insights coming to me like a stream from the mighty person of the Holy Spirit. I sow my seed; I mix it with faith. My faith reaches its supreme expression.

I live in faith, it breaks free of gravity. It now has momentum and creation is in process. I’m keeping my faith so strong. It just keeps going on and on and on. The end of my faith is the New Door is opened by the Lord. No men, no authority, no principality or power, no circumstance in the world, can shut it. I see it open now. It is open in heaven. So, it is open on earth. It’s wide open for Supernatural Increase in every way.

There is opposition of note, what will I do? I will stand my ground. God has already given me the Wide Open Door, Supernatural Increase coming through, Project Strike, Project Conditioning, Project Celebration.

I’m just going to finish off with this, 1 Timothy 1:18, the prophetic word that was directed to you, prepared us for this time. All those prayers are coming together now. You will do this well, Heritage of Faith people, fearless in your struggle. Fearless with a force of faith. Bold to release the force of faith. Keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is the fight we are in, we are in the fight of faith to win.

Some of the extracts from Pastor John’s recent messages. I’m going to run so far out in the spirit. This prophetic word assists me in continuing in the right direction. It provides me with insights and strategies that only God can give. This is a personal thing. I’m touching Jesus with my faith. This is a full cycle of completion for God and so for us. I’ve struck the Blood on my doorposts. I’m going through. The Blood of Jesus is more powerful than any confrontation, any force, any doubts or unbelief. There is nothing currently at large in the earth that is more powerful than the Blood of Jesus.

Pastor John speaking prophetically, when we have the supernatural increase, it’s going to happen to a point, where you come to the red sea and the impossible of God needs to work, because behind you all the natural forces of humanity are building up to come and take you captive.

I’m speaking prophetically, he said, I’m speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit now and when you look in front of you, and you see no way possible, all my many steps have brought me to an impossible barrier. How is it possible that God would bring me to an impossible barrier, when I’ve been walking through the blood door, with blood on the posts and I’ve come under obedience to Him, and I’ve walked all these steps? Aah, and now an impossible barrier and all the forces that have dominated me in the past are all ganging up behind me to come and destroy my future? That is the point when I need a very special something to hold on to, it’s called the prophetic word, that God has given me and I speak to the water and I speak to that impossible barrier with my force of faith, and I watch God come to work.

Can I just pray for you Heritage of Faith people? The Lord bless you, the Lord keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. God bless you.