The Power of the Word of Faith -- by Poul Madsen

THE POWER OF THE WORD OF FAITH -- Poul Madsen"And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32)."Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart.... Then they that gladly received his word were baptized" (Acts 2:37,41)."For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).LAST time we noticed what our Lord Jesus after His resurrection, and Peter on the day of Pentecost, and Paul after he had been received up into the third heaven, did not preach, and now we are going to consider what was not their appeal. They did not say, when they finished their message: 'You have heard these wonderful things and now you have to live up to what you have heard!' nor did they say: 'Now you know all this, so you must seek power to do what you have heard.' They did not say anything like that, for their message was not a piece of good advice, but the Gospel. They did not make the Christian life and message a kind of ladder: 'The first step is that you hear, the second is that you understand, the third is that you pray, the fourth is that you understand more because you have prayed, the fifth is that you commit yourself to the Lord, the sixth is that you seek power' -- (and then, as you come to the top, you drop down again!)No, theirs was not that kind of message at all. This is not the Gospel at all, but the law: 'I tell you the truth and it is up to you to do it.' Anyone can preach like that! That is not a gift, but merely a piece of good advice. It is not Divine, but very human.

2. When the Lord spoke their hearts burned, and something happened. When Peter spoke "they were pricked in their heart", and something happened -- the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Why was this?Well, "no word from God shall be void of power" (Luke 1:37, R.V.), and the Lord Himself said these marvellous words which we so often overlook: "it is the spirit that quickeneth" (John 6:63). We would all agree with that, but then he added: "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" -- and we do not agree with that! If we did we would not say: 'You have heard and now you must have the Spirit.' If we say that, then we have not spoken the words of God, because the words of faith do not describe the spiritual life -- they are life. They do not describe the spirit because they are spirit. They do not speak of the truth for they are truthIf our preaching is not like that, then we do not speak the words of God, but only dead letters. We are bringing nothing more than morale, for morale is always teaching people what is right and what is wrong, and then asking people to try in some way -- often, of course, by seeking God -- to do what is right.But when Jesus said: "Daughter, your sins are forgiven", what happened? They were forgiven, for the word brought what He proclaimed. When He said: 'Go away, and sin no more!', He did not add: 'And it is up to you to try.' That would be no Gospel. When He said: 'Sin no more', it was life, and as the woman heard and received the word, so it happened.

3. That is the Gospel. It is a secret, and it remains a secret. The Lord says to you: 'My son, my daughter, you are always with Me and all that I have is yours', but if your answer to that is: 'I will try and live up to that', then you have not heard! But when the Lord says: 'My fullness is thine, My peace is thine; My joy is thine', and you hear it, your heart is warmed because through hearing you have received spirit and life. Then you will not reply: 'Because all that is mine, I must obey', but you will say: 'I have heard, so I can obey.'There is a fundamental distinction between the words of the Lord, which are life and spirit, and what men are so often telling other people. The Lord does not expect us to live up to the heavenly heights, but He does expect us to live out from them right from the very beginning. The Christian life is organic. It starts with fullness, and out of fullness it develops into more maturity. When the Lord gives He does so in a Divine way. When He speaks, He conveys life and spirit. You could never call the Lord a lecturer! Would you say that He lectured wonderfully about Christianity? No! Never has anyone spoken as He did, and if you have ears to hear (which is the most important thing of all!) you, by hearing, receive all that He says, not tomorrow, but now, this very moment.

4. Speaking is most important. It is not lecturing. Preaching is not just speaking biblical truth, for that could just be dead letters. Speaking should be conveying the very life of the Lord.In the Bible there is no distinction between teaching and power. If teaching has no power then it is not teaching at all. And there is no distinction between truth and spirit. If the truth is not spirit, then it is not real truth. We have already heard that life governs everything, and that is very true, so life should govern speaking. Dead truth is no truth at all. Teaching without power is no teaching. Then there is no distinction between words and life in the Bible. If the words are not life then they are only dead letters.All these distinctions have been made by pious men. It seems and sounds very pious to go away from a meeting saying: 'That was wonderful! Now we must see how we can practise it all.' If you go away in that pious mood, then nothing has been accomplished, but if you go away saying: 'I have heard wonderful news! All that I have been seeking and longing for, and praying for, is not up in the heavens, nor deep down in the depths, but here. It is mine! I have it, so I obey, and I can do all that the Lord wants me to do. It is almost too good to be true!' For many Christians it seems that it is too good to be believed! "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." Does that not make you want to shout 'Hallelujah!'?

5. Sometimes Christians are like the Swiss people. They have all this beauty, and when a Dane comes here and sees these mountains and says: 'I never thought in all my life that there was such beauty to be found!', a Swiss man will look up from his newspaper and say: 'Oh, you mean the Jungfrau and the Monch', but because he has them every day he does not see them. It is the same with the Gospel. Oh, it is so wonderful, but Christians do not see it. 'All that I have is thine!' 'Oh, yes', we say, 'I know that. It is in Luke 15, verse 31.' 'You have fullness in Christ.' 'Yes, now where is that? I do not quite remember whether it is in Ephesians or Colossians.' 'Your sins have been blotted out.' 'Now, I think that is in Psalm 103, is it not?' 'We have been seated in the heavenlies with Christ' -- but no one shouts 'Hallelujah!', and no one thinks it is wonderful. Everyone is very pious and will go away from a meeting saying: 'We must try and live up to that!' You can say that for the rest of your life, but you will never live up to it! You can pray for the rest of your life, and you will be more and more pious in the flesh, but you will never be a man of the Gospel.It is up to me now to speak the living words of God, and it is up to you to listen. That is more important than anything else, for the Lord says: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15). If He speaks and you listen, you will receive what He says, so you can live out from that. Difficulties and sorrows will come, and Satan will attack, but sorrows, enemies and satanic attacks all have one thing as their goal -- the quenching of that living, humble faith which was exercised when you listened and heard and received.(This will be continued tomorrow, 9/3)

6. "Faith comes by hearing" (Romans 10:17). Tell me one thing: Did you receive the Spirit through the words of the law or by hearing? If you listen, you will receive, that is what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. This is the marvellous thing about preaching, which is the most important job in the Church. I am very angry with those people who try to undermine the importance of preaching the Word. Some people say that they do not like preaching, and that they need something else. If they do not learn how to listen they will never receive anything from the Lord. Faith comes through preaching, and the Spirit is given when you listen; Christ is formed in you as you listen; all your burdens roll away when you listen and receive in faith, for the spirit of truth makes a man free. It is so Divine that it is, as I said before, almost too good to be true! We easily corrupt it through the carnal man's conception of what is pious and right. I think it was the biggest fight of Paul's life to keep steadfastly on this path all the time, for he was accused by pious people of being too superficial, but right preaching and true hearing bring the soul instantly in contact with Divine reality, and through that a work is accomplished that can stand all the tests of time."The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" -- therefore they quicken, because the spirit quickens.

Thank You so much. I am in awe as to how quickly the Lord answers my prayers. I asked him something last night, as I prayed with my fellow saints. I said, Lord I beleive now, help me with my unbelief. Hallelujah, "Jesus" You are everything to me!

How lovely!"I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee."

7. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" -- therefore they quicken, because the spirit quickens. Well, I believe this. It works, but I know that some of you may perhaps protest that I have forgotten James.So we turn to the first chapter of James. Pious people will say: 'James says that it is not enough to hear. You must also do', for in verse 22 he says: "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." That is clear, is it not? So it contradicts all that I have said and I must sit down in shame. After all, James knows better than I do! But the first thing that James says is: "Be doers," and that does not mean that there is something to do, but something to be. It seems to be a kind of life, and is more than something that you press yourself to do. In other words, you must be the kind of man who does what he hears -- but how do you become that sort of man? Not through superficial hearing; that is what James says: "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."How do you become a man who is a doer of what you hear? .....(to be continued)

8. How do you become a man who is a doer of what you hear? Through, as James says here, looking into the perfect law of liberty, and continuing to look into it. It is just another expression for really hearing the Divine law of liberty, that is, this word which is spirit and is truth and therefore makes you free. If you continually listen to what the Spirit says, then you are transformed through that mighty word which is life, which is obedient life, which is the life of the Lord who was obedient, and it gives from inside that strength that you need, and, as its consequence, you do what the Lord tells you. Through the word of obedience you will receive the life of obedience, you will do the will of God and will be blessed. This word 'blessed' does away with the idea of what a terrible struggle it is to serve the Lord. It is the most wonderful thing to sit down and listen to real preaching in the power of the Spirit and not to have too much else to do so that you can concentrate and look into that perfect law of liberty! That is the law that says that you are free to obey the Lord, and you receive that wonderful message, not as good advice, but as life, and truth, and spirit, and you feel inside -- not in your emotions, but in your innermost spirit: 'I have it now. Therefore I do it. I do not wait until tomorrow. I have heard, I have seen, I have received, so there are no more steps on the ladder. I have arrived, and so I can do what I have to do, and I do it, not as an experiment, but as life.' That is blessed! It is blessed to obey and to follow the Lord in life -- and that is the Gospel.

9. The Lord might say some strong words in between about taking up your cross, but that is just the same. It is not giving you a piece of good advice. You do not have to struggle and say: 'Now I must take up my cross. I must do the best I can!' No! Listen to what He says and look into that law of liberty. Taking up His cross is not a piece of good advice, nor just a command, but it is an honour, a piece of Divine wisdom, and is life from above. Listen a little more, really take it in, and you will find that what He says, even about the cross, is life, spirit and power, and it quickens. Then you will say: 'Now I have it! It has worked in me. Perhaps I do not say "Hallelujah" this time but I bless my Saviour. I fall down and adore Him, and realize how wonderful He is. Now I can sell my ladder at a very low price and live in Him, and through Him.'Do it now, dear friends, and not in an hour's time, or tomorrow. The Lord is risen! 'We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, and therefore we speak', knowing that we are in contact with real reality, with Divine life, with the risen Lord, and with a word that is not just dead letters, but is power, truth, life, joy and peace. That is the word from above.

I remember that about twenty years ago, when I was a young man and knew everything, as all young men do, brother Sparks spoke about learning Christ. I thought: 'Yes, there is a very big difference between learning about Christ and learning Christ', and I fully agreed with him -- until it came to me that learning Christ presupposes that you are teaching Christ! At that time I had just started some Bible teaching, and it was there that it dawned upon one, little by little, that if teaching was not conveying Jesus it was not in power, and was only doing what the Pharisees did -- putting heavy burdens on the shoulders of men and women. I am afraid I have done that all too often! But we have not been called to do that. We have the wonderful privilege of knowing One who speaks, who commands, and it happens. Through the spirit of faith we are one with Him, and our wonderful privilege is just to speak out from Him.Therefore, dear friends, listen once more. He has given us all the fullness of the Godhead. I shall not comment upon that, but if you listen and hear it you have it, and your whole life will be transformed. - P. M. END