Bill Winston - Contending for the Faith
Hello, Bill Winston here and welcome to the Believers Walk of Faith, where we walk by faith and not by sight. Now many times in the Bible, it seems that when great faith was mentioned, it was mentioned in conjunction with someone who's believing God for someone else. Well, a way to develop great faith quickly is when you can use your faith to believe God, to set somebody else free. It's a powerful principle. So let's go into it. It's called contending for the faith.
He said contend, earnestly contend for the faith and there is real Bible faith. And then there's a counterfeit. And that counterfeit claims to know all the scriptures, but ain't nothing working. It ain't working in your finances. It ain't working in your marriage. It ain't working, it just ain't working. Now you're riding off of something, but you're riding off your own ability. God that's not going to convert the world. What's going to convert the world is a supernatural. So God has given us this planet. I put two things down here. Am I being too hard and so forth? The earth is our inheritance and the saving of every soul is our responsibility. The earth is our inheritance and the saving of every soul is our responsibility. Alright?
Now, what is he going to do? He's going to send you into places that may be a little hostile. You know, I heard that said about the man and in the Jesus spoke to him so forth and so on. Now I'm not being political. So I don't know what side you're on, but I'm not doing that. I'm just saying anybody that would say that, who's got any statue at all among certain people, they're going to ridicule. Why? It's not them it's the devil trying to come against their faith. The devil is trying to talk you and shame you out of saying the blessing over your food in public. And I'm going to ask you, are you doing that? Because if you're not you being, your faith is being, there's a seige on your faith. And it is not long before he steals it.
You got to start right there with your plate. And I mean, you know, you might be led to get loud, "in the name of Jesus I pray over these poke n beans right now in the name of Jesus. I command you to be Holy". But I'm being a little facetious, but I'm really being accurate. Because how many Christians, you know they're Christians? See I believe that everybody's in here, you're in here because God's led you here. And God gave me this topic for us. I'm not in, I'm not excluding myself. I'm saying what I pointed at my car. First time I pointed at that car, that it wouldn't say anything. It was so cold on, on the lakefront. I was living on the North side at that time, so cold no cars are starting. The tow truck was down there having an old car start.
And I had read where Jesus spoke to a fig tree and it obeyed him. He spoke to a storm, it obeyed him. He spoke to a man, been dead four days and stinking and he obeyed him. And he said, I can do it too. So I said hey, hey, it's time to put works to my faith. I got out of that car, but here's what I did. I looked to see if anybody was looking. Now wait a minute I'm getting used to walking by faith because at first faith may put you in a place of possible ridicule. Look what he says here. Let's put it up there please, Romans chapter 10, please in verse 11. For the scripture says "whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed". Whoa. Lets try that new living and lets see what it says there. Glory to God. It said and the scripture tells us, "anyone who trusts in him will never be what disgraced". Say amen.
See he knew that you were going into a place that they didn't particularly want the God that you serve. Watch this. And you're going to have to have Christian conduct. Now out of that are they going to laugh at you? Alright, let's look at it. Let's look at Mark chapter four pease, Mark chapter five pardon me. Mark chapter five. I'm going to build you up in faith in the name of Jesus. Come on. I'm going to have stuff that's been held up in the spirit to be loosed on your life, by the power of the Holy ghost. Alright look at Jesus. Now he's walking with this man Jairus and this woman stopped him. She had an issue of blood 12 years. So she touched his garment and got whole. Now here's what he said to her. Look what he says starting here at verse 34 and he said unto her daughter, thy, what faith has made thee whole, come on, go in peace and be whole of thy plague.
Now let me just say something. God just spoke to me. The Lord just spoke to me. We're not trying to have you to go in and be anything other than what you are led to be by the spirit. Are y'all with me here? See that's where your safety is. Now I'm saying that because you know, some people kind of start God and start acting ignorant. You know what I mean? I mean, they, they, they they get, get all they done left God. It's all them. And, and, and I'm saying be led by the spirit of God and you'll always be safe.
Alright, so look what it says. He said, "daughter thy faith has made thee whole". And while He was speaking, there came from the rule of the synagogue's house certain, which said thy daughter is dead why troubleth the master? Any further? And soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he said unto the ruler of the synagogue, be not afraid, come on, only believe. What will fear do to faith? It'll cancel it. It'll cancel it. It'll cancel it. You're not supposed to fear anything. If you trust him, you'll never be ashamed. No, I'm not going to fear anything. Well, I suppose the doctor give you, I'm not going to fear why, because I know faith can get it out. Faith, doesn't even have to know what the diagnosis is.
See faith, it doesn't make any difference. Let me, let me get back here. Verse 37. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, James and John, the brother was James. And he come into the house of the ruler of the synagogue and seeith the tumult, and them that were weeping or wailing greatly. And when he was come in, he said unto them, why make ye this ado? And we, the damsel is not dead she's sleeping. And what did they do? What did he do? Put him out. Why am I saying this? Because I don't know of many people that have not had to stand until manifestation. I don't know many people. I mean, suppose when I came here, the enemy told me when I had holes in my shoes and no real nice suits to wear. He had told me you don't want them to see you like this. Why don't you turn around and go back to big blue. That's IBM. Why don't you go back to them.
Well, I could have done that, but I had to stand for manifestation and people are not willing to look that way because they're too pretty. I'm just going to come, coming home with you right now. Got too much reputation to do that. I mean, look at people, Tyler Perry slept in his car. Didn't he sleep in his car? I'm just saying wasn't ashamed. Whoever believes in me, won't be disgraced. But you will have to stand for a miracle. They talking about, bless her heart my wife, my wife's parents. My in-laws. I know they wondered what is he doing with my daughter? You know?
So I, they stole the car and now we don't have a car. We took the bus. We, we didn't have a car. Then we heard some people and members say hey, let's go to an auction and get you a car. Well, I wasn't, you know, you know, borrowing the money to buy a car because I don't borrow money. And so, I said okay, I have $2,500. They said oh, you can get a good car for that. Go to the auction they rolled up a, a Mazda clean. And then look at me, I believe it was a witchcraft spirit that got on me. And I put my hand up, sold. I got in there and it looked clean on the inside. I'm driving home, smoke start coming up inside first. So we couldn't drive it for about three blocks. So we had to take the bus out to her parents house for Thanksgiving dinner.
Here's what he says. This was found in Second Corinthians chapter four and verse 16, here's what he says. Which, cause we faint not, but though outward man perish, the inward man is renewed, come on, day by day. For our light affliction, say light affliction, which is but for a what, a moment worketh for us a far more and exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Come on. While we look not at the things which are seen, but the things, which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal.
Here's what one man says, keep your eye on the prize. All during that time, I'm telling you friends and neighbors, it almost makes you wonder sometime, but earnestly contend for the faith. Look at me now, but now, but now it's the same thing that Jesus did. If you look at it again and Hebrews chapter 12 and verse two, look at it again. Same thing that he did. He says looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith for the joy that was set before him, he did what, endured the cross. Keep going, despising the shame, keep going and was set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Let's put it up there in that other translation, he said, we do by keeping our eyes on him, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith because of the joy awaiting him, endured the cross disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in a place of honor beside God's throne. Wow, but you got to do something with that shame. You got to do something with that shame, you got to do something with that shame. When you see a man that you can't shame, he's about to win. Shame is a spirit, that is designed to weaken your spirit, it's like condemnation or guilt or interiority. It's a spirit, and Satan throws it at you to get you ashamed to weaken your faith so he can stop your race. Last place, let's go to Mark chapter two, glory to God. Are, y'all getting something out of this?
So when you've done all that, you can do to stand what you going to do? You are going to stand man, you are going to stand and stand boldly and don't care who sees it and don't care what, come on now. See, because if you're standing in fear, it's nothing working. If your standing in lack of confidence, there's nothing working. And again, he entered into Capernaum after some days, and it was noise that he was in the house. Alright. And straightway many were gathered together insomuch that there was no room to receive them. No, not as, so much as about the door. And he preached the word unto them.
Now most of them that's in there, were people trying, many of them were trying to catch him in his words. They were religious leaders. You know, you saw all them Donkey's tied up outside with mudflaps. All right, look what it says. They came unto him bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh to him for the press, and uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. Jesus, when he saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, son thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes.
I told you, they were in there, sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sin but God only? Immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit, that they reasoned within themselves, reasoning always takes you away from faith. He said unto them, why reason these things in your hearts? And whether it is easy to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say what, arise, take up thy bed and walk. But that you may know that the son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. He said unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee arise and take up thy bed and go that way to your house. And immediately he rose. He took up the bed and went forth before them all in so much that they all were all amazed and glorified God saying, we've never saw it on this fashion.
So what am I telling you, telling you that these men were using their faith to help a brother that was in trouble. And they couldn't get in because all those religious folks at the door, but they weren't ashamed to climb up on the roof. And then they yanked it open and let down that bed where their friend was. And when Jesus saw their faith it healed this man.
Faith many times works best when you're just a little desperate and you can get desperate for somebody else. Love can do that. Say you have touched my child for the last time Devil. My aunty's been struggling for years, I'm going to use my faith. I'm going to get her out of this. You follow what I'm saying? Each time seemed like great faith was mentioned. It was mentioned when somebody was believing for somebody else. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own issues. But the way to really develop that faith quickly I believe is when you're loving somebody and you'll use your faith to get them set free.
So I can't tell you who paid for that roof, I can't tell you that, but you see what they did. Faith caused them to do something that ordinarily they wouldn't have done. And they tore that roof off and let him down there knowing that if they ever got this man before Jesus, he would be totally healed. Now give God some praise. The hopelessness comes when you can't see anything better. That's why people commit suicide. That's why people get depressed. They can't see anything. So I command a blindness of Satan to come off of your eyes and your spiritual eyes are open and you start now decreeing what God has said. And you will see things that you've never seen before. And you'll never be hopeless again. I don't care what it is.
Remember what I said? One of the rules of engagement of this hour is that you will except no unanswered prayer. That the Word of God is going to be your, your standard. In other words, whatever the word says, that's what you're going to believe. Say, amen. The Bible says we are not a people without hope, say amen. So faith needs, hope, but hope is not the end of faith. See faith is the substance of things what, hoped for the evidence of things what, not seen. Meaning that you got a revelation of something that can't be seen and you get in that Bible long enough.
What I'm telling you now, is for some reason, the theme tonight is revelation that we get in there and look at it and look at it and look at it and look at it. Don't look away. Look at it, look at it, read it, look at it, here it. Look at it, put it on your cell phone, you got everything else on there. Put it on there, go forth and listen to it. Guarantee hopelessness will go, because you'll see something that has never been seen before. And it's a matter of time before you get it.
Par 2
Every one of us who's given according to Romans 12:3, the same measure of faith and faith in God is what moves God. There's always someone that says you know, you know why sometimes taking so long, somebody asked that online, I think last night or whenever, but sometimes it takes a long time because of these two scriptures put up here, Psalm chapter, chapter 62 in verse five. He says my soul, wait though what, only upon God for my expectation is what, from him.
See, when your expectation is not from God, you end up in frustration. See they're looking at people, leaning on people, watching so forth and so on. You're expecting not from God. You, you, you go in, in Genesis chapter 40 and you'll see Joseph was down there in jail and two people got thrown down there with him and he had dreams and he prophesied opens at one of y'all going back to the King and he's going to get the old job back. The other one is going to get his head cut off, so forth. And so he told the one that was going back to the King. He said, tell the King I'm down here.
The Bible says, distinctly, he stayed down there two more years. You can't go to city hall and think he knows somebody at city hall to get him. God is not going to share his glory. This expectation is only from him. Go to Jeremiah chapter 17. I'm telling you it's. So many of God's people trying to know somebody. God don't want you to know nobody but him. That's who he wants you to know. Jeremiah 17:5, look what he says, thus, sayeth the Lord, cursed be the man that trusteth it in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart departs from the Lord. Watch this, for he shall be like the heat in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Blessed be the man, that what, trusteth in the Lord with what, all your heart. You got it, he didn't put it in here, but I'm just telling you. And whose hope the Lord is, keep going, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the rivers and shall not see when he cometh, but her leaf shall be green, glory to God and shall not be careful in the year of drought. You, you, the only way you're going to know it's a drought, you read it in the newspaper. Neither shall cease from yielding fruit. I don't care what happens with the economy around you in your city. You're going to bear fruit. You're going to.
Romans 10 verse 11. As the scripture tells us, anyone who trusts in him will never be what, disgraced. Do you trust in HIm? Now sometimes that's why it takes so long for things to happen, because God's got to get, he got to wait till we stop putting a spank on your cousin and everybody else trying to get something out of them and wait until he becomes your only source and supply. So he's just had to wait. Why? Because his word is out there. He can't violate his word. Alright, you with me? You can see where you're going before you get there.
Look at John, John chapter 16 in verse 13, let's start there. How be it that when the spirit of truth has come. He will guide you into all what, truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. And he will show you what, he'll show you things to come. Why? Because everything God is going to do for you. You got to help me with this. He has already done. Now why, why do I need to tell you that? Because that's your timepiece. In, in the spirit, when you're dealing with faith, you are dealing with the invisible.
You are dealing on a level called the eternal and on the eternal it says in Second Peter chapter three and verse eight, but beloved be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years. And what else? A thousand years, as one day. Now I look back in Genesis, come back there with me in chapter five and you'll see, verse 21. And Enoch lived 60 and five years and begot Methuselah. And you Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah 300 years and begot the sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were 360 and five years and Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
Now Enoch is one of the few that God took. You know, you go to funerals, how's he doing ? Well the Lord took him. Well, everybody in the Bible that the Lord took, he took alive. You with me? He took him. Who else did he take? Anybody remember? He took Elijah, who else did he take, took Jesus alright. All right. Now watch this, Jude, Jude please. And Jude verse 14 it's the number one chapter in there. And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these sayings behold, the Lord cometh with 10,000 of his saints. Wow. He lets you see that Enoch was seventh from Adam and saw all the way to Jesus coming back with 10,000 of his who, saints. He knew what a saint was back here by the garden.
Revelation chapter 13 and verse eight says, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. Whose names are not written in the book of life of the lambs slain from the what, foundation of the world. When was the lamb slain? Now we got it recorded that he got killed and crucified about 2,000 years ago. But the Bible has it recorded that the lamb was slain when, before the foundation of the world. See, and what he is saying here is if you turn with me to Isaiah please, and let's go to Isaiah chapter 46, he says this in verse nine.
Remember the former things of old for, I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and everything I said going happen is going to happen. So everything that God's going to do for you, he has already done. See, now the point of it is, is I don't need to wait to get it.The, here, here's what I'm saying. I'm saying that faith is not time. Faith has no time. Faith is right when, is right now. And if you ever put time in faith, you've just gotten out of faith because ever thing that's going to be done for you is what, already done and faith knows that.
So faith has to be now. So whether you're talking about today or tomorrow, it's always now. So faith calls things, come on, that be not as though they were why? Because they are already done. So faith says by his stripes I am healed. See it's not saying I'm going to be healed because that's a lie. I have been healed and faith calls it down form the eternal. Watch this, and it forces it into your life. Now how much is in the eternal? This book, is an inventory of what's in the unseen, so faith says when things will happen, and time bows the knee. Because faith is a higher law than time and will manipulate time back and forward.
There used to be an old song when I was coming up, you know? And it says, if I could just turn back the hands of time. Well wait a minute now, hold on. Because I saw where the man got healed of leprosy and his skin was like that of a newborn. And somebody turned back the hands of time, don't, come on now, come on. See, I'm saying that most of what faith will do is not being manifested. You see, there's supposed to be a clear difference between you and the rest of the world. They're supposed to be piling in trying to get what you got.
See the way we, one of them, the biggest way that we're going to win the world is through influence. One day they're going to see you, you stupid and the next day you're smart. Or then one day that she's, not, not you but you know, y'all following what I'm saying here? Now, you following what I'm saying? So I can't say I'm going to be healed because that's not true. Truth is a highest realm of reality. It is where things are true. It is where things are as they are. It is the eternal invisible world and you and I are supposed to live according to that. And not according to this world, that's under, and cursed and fallen and man is imprisoned by time. Where he tells you, it's going to take five years for that to get healed, say nope five minutes, five seconds.
See, but I got to participate for God to do it because, he can't move outside of my faith. Faith is released by words and actions. We came from eternity. So did Jesus, he stepped from no time, into time, and then governed time. Got it? Now, faith enables you to see like God. And when you can see like, God, you talk like God, you act like God, you think, come on like God. Second Corinthians chapter four and verse 18. While we look not at the, what things that are seen, but at the what, things that are not seen.
All right, let's go to Mark, finish up in Mark chapter two in verse one. And this is when, the men had this one man on this, this, this, whatever he was carried on cot. And it says here and again, he entered into Capernaum after some days. And it was noise that he was in the house and straightway many were gathered together and so much that they, there was no room to receive them. No, not as much about the door. And he preached the word unto them and they come unto him bringing one sick of the palsy who was borne of four. And when they could not come in for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed where the sick of the palsy lay.
Jesus saw their faith. When he saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, sun thy sins be what, forgiven thee. I call this crazy faith. And let me tell you what crazy faith is. Crazy faith is when people whose minds are no longer governed by what they can see. When you measure your faith to the limit, then God will take you higher. Now, if you don't lose your faith, use your faith. It is possible to lose the measure that you have because some people just choose to be comfortable. And next thing you know their, their faith has been laying dormant and they are not even able to do some of the things that you used to be able to do.
So it's meant for you to continue to use your faith. It's time now for us to use our faith as profession, there's time for us to do something, have something, be something that the world can't do have or be, unless they know Jesus. Isn't that powerful? And the last part is crazy faith again is people whose minds are no longer governed by what makes sense. That's what it is, by what makes sense. Real faith is passionate about the impossible. I'll say it again. Real faith is passionate about the impossible. It is fed every time you confront something impossible. It grows when you overcome.
Now you and I receive the image of God and the faith of God. And when you got God's nature, you also got an appetite for the impossible. Isn't that something? We were created to have this appetite. You are hungry for something to do. You're designed to believe way above what you can think with a heart man believeth and faith has no respect for the word impossible. And God even made provisions for us to get healed supernaturally every time. Think about this. God tells one, man, Noah, build an Ark. Let me ask you this. How many years did he build it? Does anybody know?
I think it was about 120 years. Watch this with no water in sight. He did it by what, you look him up in Hebrews chapter 11, did it by faith. Tells you to do something, you might not see any reason for doing that in a world, but God knows. Watch this, and brought animals from every continent. Watch this, in pairs because of one mans what, faith. God's going to bring you stuff in pairs. See what's happening? Somehow we haven't had faith in God. First thing Jesus says, have faith in God. Have the God kind of faith or have the faith of God and all things become possible.
Sometimes you've got to get in the Bible and find out some of the impossible things that were done and don't read it so fast. Because right in the book of, a place of Noah, there's some stuff that happened in there that's mind bending. How in the world did God do that? He was on that water for about a half a year. And then he had 110 more days or whatever have you. And I'm just saying he had to trust God because there wasn't no CBS news or anything like that to give him some encouragement. But I'm saying with you, when you walk by faith, you're walking by something you can't see, you can't feel, watch this, you can't prove with your mind. It's the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.