Bill Winston - Getting in the Drivers Seat
Hello, I'm Bill Winston and welcome to The Believer's Walk of Faith where we walk by faith and not by sight. Well, today's message is entitled, "Getting Into the Driver's Seat". This is an example of the enemy as he tries to hitchhike. You know, you're driving down the road and pick up a hitchhiker and next thing you know, sits in the back, you know, and then as you keep talking and discussing he wants to move to the front and sits on the passenger's side. And then you keep driving and next thing you know, he takes over the driver's seat. That's the way Satan works. He just creeps right into people's lives and the next thing you know, he's taken control. Well, we're going to stop that, praise God! We're talking about God wants you in the driver's seat. He wants you in control of your destiny. Let's go into it and we'll show you how to take control. It's called, "Getting Into the Driver's Seat".
I think I've shared with you before that Satan's a thief and that he'll be on the road hitchhiking. And if you pick him up, he'll first sit in the back. Then as you go, he'll ask to move into the passenger's seat. And then if you keep him in that car, he will eventually put you out, take your car, and he'll get in the driver's seat. I think without faith, you are not in the driver's seat. I don't care how you look at your situation, how you look at yourself, if there is no faith there, you're not in the driver's seat. Now, somebody else may be praying for you, but God wants you in the driver's seat. Say amen. And to put the devil out right along beside the road, just stop the car and put him out. God wants us to build violent faith.
Now let's go over to Matthew 11:12, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force". What do you think the force is that we use? Faith, praise God. Now why is faith such a force? Because when you're in faith, you're in partnership with God. You're in partnership with God. Faith releases God's ability. Well, this idea of faith, it puts you in the driver's seat because it puts you in control over the affairs of this life and in your life. It's an invisible force from God and is capable of doing all kinds of things. Now, I've got a lot of notes here 'cause God gave me a lot on this. I felt an urgency from God to teach on faith. To teach on faith.
Now, what is my objective? What am I looking for? I'm trusting that you will develop great faith. You will develop great faith. Now, developing faith is both nutrition and exercise. The Bible says man shall not live by what? Bread alone. But by what? Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So, the Word of God is considered food. My job is to prepare a meal for you. And your job is to eat it. But Jesus, the Bible says, and if you look at Hebrews 12:2, it talks about Jesus being the author and finisher of our faith. If you look at that same scripture in the NIV translation, let's put it up there please. In the NIV translation it says, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith".
So Jesus is with us in the person of the Holy Spirit, perfecting our faith. So he is not allowing you to eat and just sit there. That'd be against what he's trying to do because it comes... You just can't eat and not exercise. I mean, I advise everybody, if you could just walk down the street, you know, and so forth. If you can't walk down your street, then walk here. Just come right here and walk around the building. But some kind of exercise, 'cause it's good for your muscles, it's good for your limbs, so forth and so on. But as you exercise the Word, then faith comes to fullness, it comes to its perfected state. It comes so that it will do something for you that each time you work that level of faith, then there's another level that God's going to take you to.
Let me show you who's watching you. Look at that same verse, Hebrews 12:1 in the Message translation please. In the message translation, okay? He says, "Do you see what this means? All these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus". Are you following what I'm saying? My point to you is, is even the Bible talks about trim down, get yourself ready. Now, when he's speaking about that, true enough you need to do it for the physical man, but he's saying the spiritual man, let's go back to Ephesians again. In Ephesians 3, it's talking about this spiritual man. Look what he says in verse 14 again, "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and in earth is named. That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened," with what? Might. By his what? Spirit. In where? Your inner man. Your inner man.
Now women, don't have no problem with this. He said inner man, so just say inner man, praise God. We know that we have two genders out here, but he's talking about in the spirit. So this is the inner person that he wants strengthened. Now, the state of your inner man is that which determines the dimension of faith that you can operate in. The state of the inner man is that which determines the dimension of faith you're going to be able to operate in.
So I've got to develop the inner man. I've got to get in here and develop it. Look what it says in Romans, Romans 4:17. This is talking about Abraham. "As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against in hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken. So shall thy seed be. And being not," what in faith? Weak in faith. "He considered not his own body now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was," what? Strong in faith. "Giving glory to God. And being fully persuaded that what he, God, had promised, he was also able to perform".
I read one man's book, he was talking about faith. And he said something, he said faith in us should be so well built and developed until if the doctor said this or that, not that he doesn't make a proper diagnosis, but you would receive it just like you would receive somebody telling you that this man is going to have a baby. It would be that ludicrous. This one man said they even told him that he had high blood pressure. He said, "I can't have it". And it ended up he didn't.
Now, my point to you is, is that as you're going through this world, wickedness becomes more wicked. Deception becomes more deceptive and so forth. And I'm just saying, somewhere we gonna to have to be strong in the Lord. And to be strong in the Lord you're going to have to be strong in? Faith. Because God is not going to move for you outside the capacity of the faith of your spirit man. It should be ludicrous when the enemy gives you some bad report. Let's look over there, look at Genesis 37. Let's look at that.
Now this is when the story of Joseph and how Joseph was raised with his brothers, and he had a dream, and he told his brothers, and they were envious. And then took him, of course, they were going to kill him at first, but decided not to and threw him in a pit. But they took his coat, and they put blood from an animal on his coat. And they brought the blood on the coat back to his father. In verse 33 of Genesis 37, "And he knew it and said, it is my son's coat. An evil beast has devoured him, Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces". Got it? Was that the truth? No. Because you have to answer every problem with the Word of God because it's just, when your faith is strong.
See, and look what he said in verse 35, "And all his sons and his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and he said, I will go down to my grave and my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him". Now I want you to see this because if you look here at chapter, glory to God, in Genesis 42, you will see here, and it says, "Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do we look one upon another? And he said, Behold I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Get you down thither and buy for us that we may live and not die".
Now notice what's happening. What's happening is now where he is supposed to have faith to produce whatever he needs wherever he was when he needed it, now he has dropped his faith because he thinks his son has been killed. When over here, coming back, glory to God, see, I'm getting this thing now. I'm seeing that when God says something about you, the enemy's job is to take that confidence away. Why? So that he can remove and steal what God has provided for you. Are you with me here? And I'm telling you folks, glory to God, that faith moves the hand of God. Meaning that God, when your faith is released, God goes into action.
Now, when God goes into action, is anything too hard for the Lord? Now, I'm saying that 'cause even if Joseph was dead in pieces, God could still put the pieces back together and bring that boy out of the woods. Let's go over to Mark 5, please. If there's nothing too hard for God, he means nothing. I'm saying anything, anybody, whatever the case may be. Now, I'm going to hit some things here and I hope I don't hit your favorite bumper sticker, but I'm going to hit some things here. And you've got to believe the Bible rather than, you know, whatever. What I said here, I talked about six things that are steps to rising to the top. And I said one of them is, do not adjust the Word of God to fit your lifestyle. You adjust your lifestyle to fit the Word of God. And then, also, I said that don't mistaken your condition for your portion. Didn't I say that?
Well, what God said about you in terms of the blessing, you need to come back to the blessing and find out what he say, 'cause whatever he said for you, that's what he's going to do. Now the enemy's job, of course, is to take away your confidence in God. Take away your confidence in the Word, why? Because he knows that without that, you can't get in the driver's seat. Look what he said, this is in Mark 5:22. He said, "And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jarius by name; and when he saw him," toward Jesus, "he fell at his feet and he besought him greatly saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live".
Now watch this, "And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, she was nothing better, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, she came in the press behind and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she knew in her body that she was healed of that plague". "And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue went out of him, turned about and in the press and said, Now who touched my clothes? The disciples said unto him, Master, you see the multitude thronging you and said thou, Who touched me? And he looked around about to see her that had done this thing. For the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down at his feet and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy," what? "Faith has made you whole. Go in peace and be whole of thy plague".
He didn't even say God's power made you whole, did he? Because God's power is available for you right now, but you plug in by what? By faith. And look what he said, verse 35, "While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: don't trouble, why trouble the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard this word that was spoken, he said unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid". Be not afraid. Be not afraid. Only what? Believe. Now this is, what he's saying, because he's saying, wait a minute, wait a minute. First of all, you've got to believe that with God all things are possible here. I don't care whether she's dead or not.
Look at John, John 11, please. Over in John 11, this is when Jesus raised Jairus from the dead. Now I'm just speaking of dead folks now because people think when you're dead you're gone. Hold on! Wait a minute. Look what he says here, it's in John 11:39, "And then Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. And Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh". Meaning that his body is decomposing. So what? I believe you can get folks up from the grave. I believe in these last days, people are going to be develop faith to such a degree that when Satan has destroyed somebody and killed somebody and they use their faith and it's powerful enough, that person gonna show up for dinner that next night. Now, what you do with this kind of talk is you go beyond people who are not looking to develop great faith. They are looking for positions, they are looking for there be a teacher for you and a preacher for you, but not living for you what this Bible says.
See, when you living what this Bible says, you're gonna have a whole bunch of evidence that you can't hide that you're living. You can't hide this mall. You can't hide what God has given to me by faith, because faith brings God on the scene and God is not a small God! It is too much people that are pontificating but not living by faith. And what we got to do is we got to hold everybody accountable. If you're in the kingdom, where is it? Let me see what you got, come on. Let me see the evidence of what you have done that your faith has pulled off so that we could validate the fact, that man's got faith. That woman's got faith. It's not enough that show up. It's enough that you demonstrate because the world is waiting on it, plus the fact, how many things that are still left in the invisible realm that are not here yet because the church has not developed the proper faith?
And I'm telling you, if we had that kind of witness, a bunch of people would come in the church saying, "My God! This is what we need". Now, even Jesus in Mark 6, he could no mighty works. He could no mighty works in his own hometown because of one reason. Why? They wouldn't believe what he said. And I'm telling you, if you sit around this long enough, and you don't act on it, you can feed on it but you don't exercise it, you will eventually be unpersuadable. That's called unbelief. Two kinds of unbelief, one is that you never heard it. Second is that you heard it, but you never want to act on it. And I'm saying to you and to all the body of Christ, it is time for us, if you are saved, show me your faith. And you do it by your works. And it's time for that.
Folks, we got to cut out all this stuff. Church going is not going to get it today. You got church going, and the world is getting worse. Turn to Mark 4, this is going to be good, 'cause this is going to get you up off your rusty dusty. It really is, 'cause it's gonna convict you. "I'm using my faith, and I'm the only one using my faith". Wait, wait a second, that ain't the way it's supposed to be. Everybody up in here got faith. All right, let's keep going. I tell you, hey. I, I, I'm, mm-mmm. We're gonna walk by faith and that's why I have the people that are here, who are here for faith conference because I need people with evidence. If your faith has no proof, it is a fake, and you are perpetuating religion. And religion can cause people to come in here and go out. The faith will cause people to change the world.