RESTORING THE YEARS: FAITH AS THE FOUNDATION
Dr. Bill Winston spoke at the West Africa Believers Convention on Faith as the Foundation. He used this first session to lay a foundation on the subject for his teaching at the conference.
He said that, for the righteous, faith is the way we get things done. Rom. 1:16-17. He read from Hebrews 11:13, saying that we (Christians) don’t believe things with our minds – with human reasoning or with facts. You receive things into your spirit by faith. Sense knowledge preaching doesn’t make faith, and faith preaching doesn’t make sense. You get what God has for you by faith.
Ministering further, he said that no matter what the devil throws at you, there’s a way out. He said, “that way out will be found by faith”. I Cor. 10:13. In the last days, the challenges will be so great, the only people that will be standing will be a people of faith. Luke 18:8
He explained the concept of time in relation to faith, saying, “if you don’t know how to use faith, time will rule over your life like a taskmaster”. Faith is a higher law than time. Faith tells time what to do. Therefore, one of the reasons why you need faith is to dominate time.
Similarly, Bill said that one of the reasons for the existence of the Church is to make everything submit to the government of heaven in whatever territory she comes into. Quoting Psalm 8:3-6, he observed that the works of God’s hand (verse 6) is time and He has put man in dominion over it.
“If you don’t know how to use faith, time will rule over your life like a taskmaster”.
He buttressed the point with a story found in Mark 7:24-30. The Syrophoenician woman being Greek, wasn’t supposed to get the miracle because the gospel wasn’t yet for the Greeks at that time. But she went ahead of time because of her faith. Likewise, you don’t have to wait on time; you can make time wait on you. Faith is always NOW. Everything God’s going to do for you He has already done.
Dr. Winston further said that faith allows to be done what is normally impossible and underscored the importance of speaking faith. The lowest level of creation is physical creation. Words supersede the physical. The devil gets people to speak wrong because he knows that their tongue determines their outcome. Proverbs 30:32.
Numbers 14:28 was used to stamp the point, “I will do to you the very things I heard you say.” Words have more value than anything visible. God spoke forth everything in creation, and according to Mark 11:23-24, you shall have what you say.
Furthermore, he taught from Mark 5:25-34 that the woman with the issue of blood kept saying something. This is a form of meditation, which will produce belief and conviction in your heart.
“Whatever you believe and speak will come to pass; it’s a law.”
He pointed out from Ex 5:10-11, that The blessing was on the children of Israel even during slavery, such that they were able to meet their daily quota despite the difficulty of the situation. How much more will ‘The Blessing’ work for us under the new covenant. The problem is sometimes we hang so close to the world that we start talking like them.
He affirmed the need to speak courageously in adverse situations. Mordecai was too confident that God will provide deliverance for the Jews even if Esther didn’t make any move. He didn’t say to Esther, ‘If you don’t do something, we Jews will perish.’ That’s faith expressed by his words to Esther. Esther 4:14
“Don’t look at every problem as a problem. See them as opportunities”, he said. You can override time, dominate circumstances and overcome any and every kind of situation with faith.
He likened the operation of faith in the spirit of a man to the digestive process in the biological man. Once you put bread in your mouth and swallow it, your digestive system takes over to make it do what it’s meant to do in your body. Same is true of the bread of life. Once you put it in your mouth and let it get into your inside, it will go to work to produce the result. You don’t have to figure out how. James 1:22-25, II Cor. 3:18
As for The Word, he observed that the Word of God is the mirror. As you look at the Word of God, you’re looking at a ‘television’ that shows you a vision of you. The Holy Spirit does the work of transformation on your inside as you behold the Word.
Faith, he further explained, demands that God is your source. Reading 2 Kings 4:1-7, he explained that God’s going to wait till you exhaust your options. The woman in the scripture may have tried other options to get herself off debt but all failed. When God is not your expectation, it will end in frustration. Don’t wait till that happens to you. Decide from onset that God is going to be your only source. Once an issue shows up in your life, run to God; let him be your first resort.
“When God is not your expectation, it will end in frustration.”
The woman provoked the anointing in the man of God (Elisha) when she put her faith in the God whom the prophet represents. God desires to restore our wasted years but we have to put our faith and expectation in God alone, Winston admonished.
The entire message is available on the church’s website. Click DAY 7 MORNING SESSION 2 to purchase it at 100 NGN.