Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV)
Faith is EVIDENCE. Faith itself. Not just the miracle. It’s faith itself which becomes the EVIDENCE, the SUBSTANCE of things which we don’t have but which we are hoping for. Why so often do we Christians look first for the material answers and don’t look to the spiritual? To God! We would rather go to something we can see and which we think we can depend on. Just as Isaiah said, “Why do you look to the number of chariots, to the men in the army?” (Isaiah 31:1.) They are not God! They are only flesh, and flesh can fail. But God CANNOT EVER, EVER FAIL YOU! I’ve proved that with cancers, I’ve proved that when I was in a communist prison, I prove that when I pray with the sick. It’s incredible, but it’s REAL.
For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NKJV)
The first time I went to talk to the Holocaust survivors in Israel, I said, “O God, how can I talk to these Jews when they went through the Holocaust, their loved ones died in the furnaces? How can I tell them that You are a God of love and healing and power?” But they themselves issued the challenge which gives the answer, “We will listen to you and we will believe you on one condition – that if your Jesus is real and alive today, He will heal the sick!” And of course, when I prayed with the sick, the miracles happened. They told me afterwards, they saw more miracles than they could have ever imagined! The even created a picture of my preaching, and behind me the photos of those who perished in the Holocaust and are remembered in the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Superimposed on these pictures of the dead, were the photos of survivors of the Holocaust who had been miraculously healed in my meetings!
You see, GOD HIMSELF IS THE EVIDENCE!!! And Jesus is the EVIDENCE OF GOD! When the disciples said to Jesus, “Show us the Father” – He replied, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father, I and the Father are One!” So Jesus Himself is the EVIDENCE. Jesus said, “If you don’t believe Me, believe Me for the works, because of the miracles!”
Do you remember how, after the Resurrection of Jesus, He appeared to His disciples several times. One of these occasions, the disciples had gone fishing. It was Peter’s idea. But they had fished all night and caught nothing. In the morning they saw a stranger on the shore – the stranger called out to them and said, “Have you caught anything?” – “No!” – Then the stranger said, “Cast your net on the other side!” The disciples did that, and caught so many fish, their nets broke! Only then, when John, the beloved disciple said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”, did Peter jump out of the boat and make for the shore! Because, suddenly, the EVIDENCE was there! Jesus is the evidence, the Power and the Glory, the reality of God!
Some years ago I went to New York, to David Wilkerson’s rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. I remember walking around, seeing those young addicts in their rooms, doing ‘cold turkey’, going through the pain and the agony of coming off the drugs. I met one who had written these words on the wall: I KNOW JESUS IS ALIVE BECAUSE I TALKED TO HIM THIS MORNING! That’s the reality of our faith! We talk to Jesus, not as a ‘dead God’, but as a living Christ. I never use formal prayers, or read written prayers, because I don’t read something when I’m talking to you! I want to talk to you from my heart! And it’s the same with Jesus. I want you to see this reality and renew your confidence in Christ. Don’t look to the ‘horses and chariots’, let your trust be in God! In Jesus’ Name! Amen.