The Supernatural Hand of Faith — Carter Conlon

We're gonna go to the Word of the Lord this morning and then we're gonna go back to worship for a little while if you're willing to Lay this message to heart. I do believe that there'll be a shout that comes into your heart of Faith and victory before this day is out.

You'll have the answer to the deepest need. That's been in your heart. I want to talk to you today about the supernatural hand of faith. Galatians chapter 3 if you'll go there, please in the New Testament.

The Supernatural Hand of Faith and the Hearing of Faith

And then if you'll do like I've done put a marker in your Bible in 1st Samuel chapter 27 and 1st Corinthians chapter 10 if you can remember that Galatians 3 1st Samuel 27 1st Corinthians 10 just for time's sake.

Because we'll be making reference to those verses of Scripture. Now father, I thank you so much For the anointing of the Holy Spirit, I Thank you for the quickening power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for strength God in our weakness.

I Thank you Lord that you have a word for us in season. You have something for the deepest need of every heart today. Give me the ability to speak this today. Oh God quicken my physical body quicken my mind in my heart.

Let me flow in that anointing of the Holy Spirit. God give our hearts the ability to be able to hear and Above all let your kingdom come. And we ask it in Jesus name. Galatians chapter 3 beginning at verse 1 the supernatural hand of faith.

O foolish Galatians. Who hath bewitched you? That you should not obey the truth. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you. This only would I learn of you. Received ye the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith.

Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit? Are you now made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain if it yet be in vain? He therefore that ministers to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you.

Doeth he it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. Know you therefore that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham and The scripture for seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached before the gospel unto Abraham.

Saying in these shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Now Paul is writing to a young church. That began in the spirit now beginning in the spirit means we've come to Jesus Christ.

We've acknowledged him as Lord and Savior. We are given the power of the Holy Spirit. As a deposit as it is of our salvation the life of God is put within us and by the power of the Spirit within us we're given a new nature and the scripture says we begin to change from Image to image and glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

That's why the scripture says if any man being Christ is a new creation. The old things pass away and behold all things become new. It's not that we determine. We're going to be different people. We have that determination in our heart, but we don't determine to do it in our own strength.

Because it was the lack of strength that brought us to Christ in the first place. The realization that you had and I had that we can't change ourselves. I don't know if we have time today. We don't have time.

But if we had time, I think we'd be fun to hear of all the New Year's resolutions that never Happened that people made all the promises that you made to other people you made promises to yourself. Some people even made promises to God sitting in church.

God if you just get me out of this mess I will be the most vibrant Christian that you ever saw in your house in all of eternity and. Yet it failed all the attempts of the flesh failed. And this young church came to this knowledge and having come to Christ through faith.

They were given the power to become another people. Then Paul says to them. All foolish Galatians who bewitched you. That you should not obey the truth. Who the word bewitched means who fascinated you by false representation.

Who brought a dazzling argument to you. Who brought something contrary to the cross of Jesus Christ and the power of that cross and the power of that redemption. Who who got you to the point of thinking?

That you now need to change yourself in your own strength when you couldn't do it before. And you came to the knowledge that it is Christ who gives new life and that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives that enablement.

Where did you get this reasoning from. That's what Paul is saying. Who who put this false reasoning before you that fascinated your heart and gripped your mind and Leaving off the principle of faith and the finished work of the cross.

Then you headed out now to begin to make the kingdom of God happen. Firstly in your own heart and then secondarily in society as you saw it. Are we not living in a generation where people are trying to make the kingdom of God happen?

Strategies and all Types of things to cause the church to grow to give Christian growth. Seven steps to this and five steps to that. 13 steps to this two steps to that all types of steps to everything but victory.

The true victory that Jesus Christ brings when you and I are walking in the power of faith that God plants within our heart and brings to reality through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit Paul was saying to the Galatians.

Where did you start thinking that any amount of human effort? Can bring about the true purposes of God in your life? When did you start reasoning this? How is it he says that God set such a clear path before you and that you came to the conclusion that there's another way Or a better way to get to where you know, God wants your life to be.

All the way through he says did you receive the Spirit verse 2 by the works of the law. Or by the hearing of faith when the Holy Spirit came to you. Were there seven steps to receiving the Holy Spirit?

How did that happen? It was did God not come to you supernaturally just because you believed in him. That's what Paul is saying to the Galatians. Are you so foolish having begun in the Spirit that now you're going to perfect this work of God in Human effort in your own reasoning your own understanding your own strength.

He says in verse 4 of you have you been through so much for nothing? In other words, have you gone through the school of the law? Seeing how weak the flesh is how the flesh cannot do the supernatural things.

Have got how the flesh cannot change itself if you come through all of this school for nothing. Then verse 5 he says those that minister to you The in the power of the Spirit and work miracles among you.

Do they do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Is there a formula to the miraculous or does the Holy Spirit speak to the heart and men and women? Who are moved upon by the Spirit of God begin to speak into your life?

How do these miracles happen? How did the miracle of salvation come? How did the miracle of change come into your heart? How were you called into the ministry if you're a minister here today or if you're ministering anywhere in the name of Christ.

Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know therefore that they which are of faith. The same are the children of Abraham and It was through faith that the gospel was given to Abraham and where God said in thee all Nations shall be blessed now.

Nations will not be blessed folks by strategy. Nations will not be blessed by human effort. Nations will not be blessed by you and I presenting something before the unsaved that they are capable of doing in their own strength.

Nations will not be blessed. Nations will be blessed by faith. By the faith of God moving into people whose hearts are alive in faith. Who read this book and believe it and trust God to make it a reality?

Who are changing from image to image in glory to glory. Who do have the heart of Christ beating within them? They have the mind of God operating the voice of God speaking through them Jesus Christ walking in them and through them a living evidence and testimony that he indeed is alive and seated at the right hand of all authority and and of all power now in order to understand How this happens, how do people move from faith to flesh?

I would have been actually a good title for this from faith to flesh. How does it happen now. It happened to me as a young Christian and In some cases it's happening to some that are here today. Starting out in the spirit knowing it's all God.

Gasping as it is for error coming to an altar saying I can't do this. I can't go any farther. I can't save myself and then we receive salvation. The Holy Spirit comes to us. The Word of God is unlocked and then we say, you know, we don't really want to say but in our heart we say Oh, thank you God for salvation.

I'll take it from here now. And if I need you, I'll give you. I'll call you. But I think I can do this. I think I got the formulas down and I've been to a seminar recently and they told me 17 steps to holy or living.

I think I think I can do this. I tried that I Tried it for several years. It's such a dead-end street. It leads to nowhere. Now in order to understand how it happens you and I first need to see clearly.

What's waiting to spring to life in each of our hearts. Now you have something in you just as I do in me. Now there's a sin nature and it's it's held in check. It's it's held in abeyance by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But the moment you and I are not leaning on God by faith. This thing is just waiting to spring back to life within us again. Genesis. At the beginning of the the Bible God was creating everything. It was God who was seeing and God was creating.

And the scripture says I think in Genesis 1 six times. It says and God saw that it was good. God saw God created and God saw and God saw that it was good. Everything was in the hand of God. All of creation was in the hand of God.

Adam and Eve are created by God. The Garden of Eden is created by God. Everything is in the hand of God. Now Satan came down into the garden and Adam and Eve who are our Predecessors there are ancestors.

He came to them and he said why should it be only God who sees and knows what is good? Now if you you bite into my reasoning. Your eyes are going to be opened. He said in the day you eat thereof your eyes shall be opened and you will be as God's knowing good and evil.

You don't have to just it doesn't have to be just God saying I See you follow what I see you do what I do because I know what is good. Satan said well You don't have to do it that way. I just that's that's limited.

That's that's narrow. That that puts that puts God on the throne. When you can be as God and you can see and you can know what is good. See because it says God saw that it was good, but you can see I mean I mean it can't it doesn't have to be just God that tells you what is good.

You can you can tell yourself what is good. You can be God. Well that sounded so good, didn't it? And of course they bit into that lie and it sewed into the human race what we call a fallen nature a Sin nature and the very foundation of the sin nature is that we can see and be as God.

That is what is always waiting to spring back to life in you and in me. It is only the Holy Spirit that keeps that sin nature in abeyance to the Word of God and to the leading of God. So Satan sowed into you and I the temptation to be our own God charting our own course in our own strength our own reasoning and Confidently declaring it to be good.

I Wonder how many people are here today and you're you're completely on a path other than what God has for your life. And you're here today saying it is good where my life is going. I see Something ahead of me.

Do you ever think it might not be God? You ever think the path may not be God's path for your life. And what you see is really coming out of your own heart and when it's coming out of your own heart God is not Amos 3 3 the Lord says how can two walk together except they be agreed?

And so we come to the house of the Lord and say God give me the power I need to do this. You know Lord. I'm destined to be a great evangelist. You know that I'm supposed to be preaching to thousands all over the world.

So Lord make it happen. The Lord says no, I called you to be an usher. But that's not good. You see what I see is better. What I see is a nicer path. What I see is more glorious. What I Lord don't you see what I see and quite often?

We'll chart our own course and we'll move in our own strength and reasoning and we will confidently declare it to be good and The tendency to do this really comes to life When we find ourselves in situations that threaten to overwhelm us.

When you and I as many might be today you're here and you're saying I don't know how I'm gonna get through this and I don't see Anything ahead of me. I don't see a way out of this. So I've got a minute you see now the the tendency the sin nature says well, so I've got to make a way out of this.

I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of this this situation. I'm in I've got to get out of this trial. I've got to get out of this sense of inadequacy. I've got to get out of this fear. I've got to get out of this battle with sin, whatever it is you're facing and Because you don't know what it is that God wants you to do.

The human nature will take over remember Paul said all foolish Galatians. You began in the spirit and now you're ending up in the flesh and you really think that's going to perfect the work of God in you.

Who gave you this? Mindset now go to 1st Samuel where you put a marker chapter 27 in the Old Testament. This is the easiest way to understand it just by very briefly going through a story and you know.

David’s Flight into the Land of the Philistines

The story is about King David in 1st Samuel 27 called of God. Walking with God anointed of God. Samuel the Prophet tells him clearly David you're going to be king. The Holy Spirit comes upon him. He has a history with God.

He has fought supernaturally. He has defeated the lion is defeated a bear. He has defeated as a young boy. He has defeated a giant a Philistine giant that terrified the entire Army of Israel and even its king were terrified of Goliath.

But as a teenager, he went down into the valley and Supernaturally by the hand of God with faith in a finished work that had been done in his heart. He conquered and triumphed. Then he got himself into some difficult situations.

And in the midst of the difficulty Saul turned against him because Saul was jealous about the anointing on his life and Saul wanted to kill him and had thousands of troops and he was pursuing him and Here is where the flash took over in chapter 27 verse 1 David said in his heart.

Now you're going to see an incredibly hard journey. This man suddenly was on because he didn't inquire of the Lord. You'll find about David he inquired of the Lord. He would spend time with God he would know the mind of God, but he got in to a situation that threatened to overwhelm him and Suddenly that sin nature springs to life.

That says I can be as God in my own life and I can see a way out of this and here's what he said. I see a way out. He said I shall I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul and there's nothing better for me Than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines.

That's like a man saying boy. I'm just getting overwhelmed. There's nothing better than I should go down to the local bar and Sit in the barstool for about five hours. Not feel a whole lot better after that.

The land of the Philistines. I mean, what was he thinking. The Philistines were the avowed enemies of the people of God. That Philistines were the army that he once faced that Goliath was the chief warrior in and He said and Saul shall despair of me to seek me anymore in the coast of Israel and so shall I escape out of his hand.

Error number one. I Shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. When he began to reason with his own heart he came to a wrong conclusion. He's not going to perish by the hand of Saul. He has already have a promise of God that he's going to be a king now.

God’s Way of Escape from Temptation

First Corinthians. If you'll go there, please in the New Testament keep your marker and First Samuel 27 first Corinthians chapter 10. What does the scripture say verse 13? There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.

But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able. But will with the temptation or that means the trial or the test also make a way To escape that you may be able to bear it now for everybody that's going through a trial.

Going through a temptation going through the most difficult time in your life. The Word of God says to you There's no trial taking you but such as is common to man God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tried above that you are able but with that trial We'll also make a way to escape.

God will make a way to escape. That you may be able to bear it. You will not be overcome. You will not be triumphed over. First of all, you have to deal with the lie that wants to find a lodging place in your heart.

If you're a child of God, you are not going to be triumphed over. The enemy is not going to have his way. Jesus Christ has interwoven his life with you. He's Bound the honor of his name and keeping you.

I will never leave you or forsake you. I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means Hurt you you are the church the gates of hell will never prevail against the church of Jesus Christ.

Every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is you'll have a righteousness. It's of me says the Lord hallelujah. Verse 14. He says wherefore my dearly beloved flee from idolatry.

I speak as to wise men judge ye what I say. He says in verse 13. There's no temptation taking you but such as is common to man God will make a way you will escape it and then verse 14 doesn't even seem to fit.

He says wherefore my dearly beloved flee from idolatry. Well, what is the idolatry? The idolatry is the tendency to be one's own God flee from yourself. It's the easiest way to say it flee from setting yourself up on the throne and saying I know how to get out of this.

I See a better way flee from idolatry. When you're sitting on the throne of your own life. You have set yourself up to be God and you have actually fallen for the original sin in the Garden of Eden. I can be as God and that's I guess the ultimate idolatry, isn't it?

Is that you and I sit on the throne and say listen? I've got a test in my life and I don't know how I'm gonna get through and God doesn't seem to be speaking to me. But I think I see a way out. I Shall one day perish by the hand of Saul.

Verse 27 chapter 27 again. 1st Samuel verse 1. There's nothing better for me than I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines. Proverbs 14 to said there's a way which seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

There's nothing better for me than I should escape into the land of the Philistines. Can you imagine? And Saul shall despair of me to seek me anymore out of the coast of Israel and so shall I escape out of his hand.

Error number three. Error number one. I shall now perish by the hand of Saul. Error number two. There's nothing better for me than to go into the land of the Philistines. Error number three. My plan will get me out of trouble.

I Will escape out of the hand of my enemy and it's amazing when you see the journey he's he's brought into the land of Philistines. He makes a. It's a pretended affiliation with a quiche the king of Gath.

David becomes deceptive he becomes violent in this place and he ends up in chapter 29. Face to face with the full power of his enemy only this time. He's in the flesh and he's left to his own resources with no way out.

He's he's it's almost unimaginable. But David ends up in the Philistine army on the other side of the valley facing Israel. Thinking he's going to escape. I've got to find out what was in his mind when I get to heaven.

I don't know what he prayed. I mean, he's there he's caught he's completely caught. What's he going to do that? Saul with his thousands is on the other side and he has to know in his heart. God is not with the Philistines.

God is with Israel and he's with the Philistines and he's fighting with the very army that he once stood against as a teenager and Won a great victory for the people of God. He's anointed to be king of the people around the other side and He knows that he has to know it and here he is and he's got several hundred men with him.

That are following him and they're on the wrong side. You know if you're a pastor, especially if you get on the wrong side, you're taking a lot of people with you on the wrong side. If you get into the flesh, you're taking everybody with you into the flesh and you end up on the wrong side of the battle.

I Don't know. Because the scripture doesn't record it. But I wonder did did he utter a silent unrecorded prayer like some people are today here. Oh God. Oh God. What have I done? Look at where my plan has brought me to.

I'm on the wrong side of the battle. Because I see I see the camp of God and I understand how the camp of God should be operating and I know the promises of God are over there, but I'm over here and I'm Fighting now in the flesh when I used to fight in the spirit.

He's now reached a point where he should be mature. But he's now lost the power of God. Oh foolish Galatians. Who set this argument before you that having begun in the spirit you're now perfected in the flesh.

How do we end up on the other side? How have we as a church age ended up on the other side of the battle? How have we all become strategists now? How did we end up passing out surveys to get people to attend our churches in the Western world in this generation?

How did we end up with the same strategies as those who are building social clubs in the world. Where did the power of the Spirit go? Where did faith go? Where did the supernatural go? It's an hour. We're relegated to Bringing people in and giving them coffee and doughnuts to keep them in the house of God.

Putting on goofy skits and making people laugh in the house of the Lord. Because the power of God is not there anymore. The supernatural is gone. And when the supernatural is gone, we end up in the natural in the end result of this is The David was I believe he just prayed and I think God in his mercy just took him out of there.

And there's a point where we just have to say God you got to get me out. I don't see a way out and it's as if the Lord was saying I've been waiting for this kind of a prayer for a long time. I'm gonna get you out and God does get him out.

Suddenly the Philistine King just turns and says listen, I know about this guy. I heard about his report. I remember hearing that they sang about him in Israel and you remember what happened to Goliath and I don't trust this guy send him home.

Send him out of here and there's a time where just the world will send you out in mercy. Just know what folks it's. I hope soon. The world just looks at the church and says get out of here and go home.

Get out of this get out of thinking the way we think and doing what we're doing and fighting the way we fight. Get out of human strategy and human effort and go home. Go back where you belong. That's what the king told him and I know it was the hand of God and God speaking to some here today saying it's just time to get up.

It's time to die to all your own reasoning. It's time to let go of all the human effort. It's trying to get rid of all the strategies. It's time to get back in the Word of God again and get back in the prayer closet.

Time to get instructions from Almighty God once again and begin to move in faith. David must have remembered That at that point one point in his life that that's all that really mattered. He must have remembered the day that he walked in.

I wonder if when he was on the the mountainside with the Philistine army. Did he look at the other side of the valley? Did he remember the day when he walked in as a as a young teenage boy full of faith and fight?

Willing to go down into the valley. The army of Israel at that time is completely engulfed by the flesh. They don't understand the mind of God. As a matter of fact, it says later in the scripture. They'd not been seeking God during the reign of Saul.

They know very very little about the supernatural. I wonder if David could see the ridge perhaps or where he walked as a boy. Did it all come back to him in a moment of time having begun in the spirit?

Am I now going to be perfected in the flesh? And what a mess we make of the kingdom of God when we try to finish or perfect or bring to completion the work of God in the natural and we leave off the supernatural.

And we leave off a walk of faith we leave off the prayer closet. Folks of strategy meetings in much of today's professed Christianity are packed to the rafters and the prayer meetings are empty. Everyone's standing on the wrong side of the valley.

David Encourages Himself in the Lord

In 1st Samuel chapter 30 David is sent back to this city called Ziklag that he was was his dwelling place and when he got there in Verse 6 it says David was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning him.

Because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. We're living in a generation. When much of the world is at least the Western society is casting off the church is irrelevant.

People are losing their families. They're losing their homes. They're losing hope losing a future and they're looking at the church and they're saying you don't have an answer either. Your divorce rate is just as high as ours is.

Your kids are just as messed up as our kids are. Don't you try to tell us don't point your finger at us and give Us your misguided morality. Because you're on the same side that we're on. You're in the same place as we can we see you in the same place as we go to.

You'd laugh at the same jokes. We laugh at. You do the same things that we do and then you try to tell us that you're ambassadors of a holy God. The best thing the world can do to the church of this generation is cast it off.

David was distressed the people spoke of stoning him. The people were grieved every man for his sons and daughters because while he was fighting in the flesh. Their enemies had come in and their families had been taken.

The security was robbed all of what they had trusted in was gone and David who is the Christ. I've David who has the lineage of Jesus Christ in his loins. He has the church in his loins. He's a type of the church folks and the people all around.

Say your leadership is worthless. Look what's happened to the nation. Look what's happened to our homes. Look what's happened to our families and David could have been greatly discouraged. But instead he encouraged himself in the Lord.

I think I think David Came back to his senses again in verse 7. It says in chapter 30. He said to Abiathar the priest I pray bring me the ephod and the ephod is a garment that it was typically worn when in a time of seeking God David had to come back to himself.

We're quickly coming to a very difficult season in the world as we know it and As the Church of Jesus Christ you and I have got to come back to ourselves again and say Lord. I've got to get my instructions from heaven.

I've got to get my power from heaven. I have to walk in the supernatural again. We must cast off the natural and go back to where the power of God really is and David says Give bring back. This lasting and true source of strength into my life.

Bring me back to where it all began. In verse 8 it says so David inquired of the Lord. Saying shall I pursue after this troop shall I overtake them. And he answered him pursue for thou shalt surely overtake them and without fail recover all.

He's back in the supernatural again folks. He's back following the leading of God. It's now God who says I see something and it's good. I see a path and it's good now folks. It may it may have looked impossible.

It said so he went verse 9 with 600 men that were with him. And he came to the brook besor where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and 400 men for 200 abode behind which was so faint they could not grow over the brook and It's simply moving forward at the word of the Lord and though weary he keeps going because he knows that's where victory is.

The Battle Plan That Makes No Human Sense

Even though it doesn't make sense. It's a it's a Gideon moment. Really again where the Lord says 600 too many and There's so weird, you know, if there's 200 so weary they can't cross over the book then the other 400 are tired as well.

But they have a word from the Lord. Not by might folks not by power but by my spirit saith the Lord. We're all tired. This is an awful generation. There is just evil is in the air everywhere. The workplace is becoming vile.

People's lives the conversation. I've just just walking down the street. I feel like I'm in the sewer system in New York City. The conversations there's almost nothing that people won't say anymore and there's no embarrassment.

There's no shame. There's no blushing that and you know, we're living at a time when at a snap of the fingers this whole thing is just going to turn very nasty very very quickly and It's so hard. You are not, you know, you understand that you walk through the week and you get there.

You just get the Sunday and you're so tired and you just wonder how you're gonna go forward. And the Lord says look I'm going to give you the word and with the word for your life comes supernatural strength.

I will lead you and all you have to do is follow even if it doesn't make sense. You just keep moving forward so David pursued with 400 men and you have to believe these men are weary and Verse 11 says they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and you know, this is the leading of the Lord.

It doesn't look like a terrific battle plan. Imagine the battle plan if a general stood up in the natural and said, okay, we're going into battle folks you know a Third of the army is not going to make it across the river, but by God's grace.

There'll be a starving Egyptian. We'll meet in the desert along the way and he'll tell us where to go and how to get there. Not none of the battle plans of God ever really fully make sense. Remember Gideon stand on a mountaintop divide into three light a torch put it in a pitcher and at the appropriate time.