from pastor Rich Allcorn 

The Bible tells us that "faith" is the evidence, the real world proof of what we are praying for, before we ever see it in the physical realm.  The more real your faith confession is, the more you believe it.  And the more you believe it, the more real it becomes! 

Last week we talked about "now faith", and we asked you to review yourself and see if your faith is alive.   

Do you remember the story where God told the prophet Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones?  There was a whole army of dry bones, and God told the prophet to speak to the dry bones!  He spoke to them, and prophesied, and the bones became alive!  Sinews and flesh came upon them, and they were covered with skin, and he spoke "breath" into them that they might be alive!

What a sight that must have been!  On our ranch, we used to have a place where we dragged off the dead carcases of cattle and horses.  We called this place the "caliche pit".  It was full of the old dry bones of horses and cattle, long since dead.  And thinking about this story, I have often pictured this caliche pit of dry bones coming alive!  I can imagine the cows and the horses as they are re-constructed, bone-to-bone, with sinews and muscle tissue following, and then a covering of flesh, as the breath of life comes into their bodies and they suddenly get up!  Wow! 
 
Remember what God told me about things that are note changing?  Well, those old bones in that pit were not changing one little bit!  But what if?  Yes!  You see it, don't you!  You can now "see" the horses and the cattle as they get up and walk away from that old pit!  And so can I! 

Remember that God also told me, "things have to flow, and grow and change, or they are dead."  Well, in the same sense, your faith needs to grow!  It needs to flow!  It needs to change, in order to be alive! 

So, I want you to do this for me.  I want you to imagine yourself as the prophet Ezekiel.  Imagine yourself with the power and the anointing of Almight God upon you!  Imagine yourself with that FAITH that moves mountains!  And I want you to "speak" to your dry ... old ... bones!  Speak to your FAITH, and tell it ... 

"In Jesus name, I speak life to you!  I speak the faith of Almighty God into your midst!  I speak the life-giving Word of God over you, that you shall produce, and you shall prosper, and you shall provide ... for me in ALL AREAS, that I may have a need or a desire! 
In Jesus name!" 


In the week ahead, this time I want you to visualize yourself in a gymnasium, or a health club, and I want you to visualize your spirit man "working out"!  I want you to visualize your faith on those machines, lifting weights and pumping iron!  I want you to visualize your faith growing stronger and stronger, as it works out in this gym or this health club! 

"Brother," you may ask, "are you trying to get us to use visualization to improve our lives?"  Not exactly.  The Bible teaches us that "as a man thinketh in his heart, so - is - he."  I want you to just imagine your faith as it grows and develops, as it "pumps iron" so to speak, to get stronger and stronger!  Your faith is like a muscle, and it needs to be "worked out" in order to grow and to be stronger ... that you can put it to good use, while here!  God has given you an assignment, and He has given you your faith as a tool, as a servant to accomplish these tasks! 

So, develop your faith!  Build it up!  Challenge it to be ... better!  Better, stronger, faster! 
In Jesus name, and for His glory! 


Next week I am going to give you some tools to build your faith, and some principles that will totally rock your world, where walking in faith is concerned!  So, until next week, I want you to confess before God, each and every morning when you wake, and every evening before you go to bed (set an alarm to remind you!) ... and you "speak" to your spirit man and you say to it ...

"Spirit man!  I speak to you, in the name of Jesus!  I command you to prepare yourself for change!  I command you to prepare yourself for renovation, for an overhaul, and for improved results ... in the name of Jesus!"     "A-men!"