Living Hope Fellowship Church

NOT NOW FAITH

Training Material

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

NOT NOW FAITH 

Preface

(not faith and now faith)

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  There is power in NOW FAITH.  If, when you pray and begin to move on the promises of God, you don’t see evidence, you do not have NOW FAITH.  I AM is God’s name, not I WAS or I WILL BE.  He is the Living God.  He is a RIGHT NOW God. 

When I was a sinner, it grieved me that I couldn’t do anything about people in wheel chairs, the sick and afflicted, the dying, especially children.  I wanted to pray for the sick and watch God heal them.  However, the Lord started dealing with me about devils!  I said, God, I just want to lay hands on the sick and see them recover.  I’m not messing with devils!  They scare me.  The Lord told me to hush up!  He said, Son, ninety percent of sickness is the manifest presence of a devil. 

If you want to see God heal the sick, gird yourself up in God and walk in the Spirit of God.  You need to pray:  God, I believe for NOW FAITH.  Set me free from NOT FAITH, unbelief, fear, sin, and anything that is not of faith.  Seek His face, because He wants to use you.

NOT NOW FAITH

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 

Now faith has substance and evidence, not just a promise.  Many will preach and claim promises that you will inherit thus and such, and they talk it to death, but there is no substance or evidence. 

Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. . . .”  The faith that God gives us by Jesus will have substance and evidence.  When God said, “Let there be light,” it didn’t come along directly.  It happened RIGHT NOW!  Some people say it took thousands of years for the world to be made, but my Bible says it took only six days.  RIGHT NOW FAITH is substance and evidence, and you can feel it.  The air gets thick and it is not a heat, it is the fire of God! 

When you get filled with the Holy Ghost, you have the evidence of talking in tongues.  If you say by NOW FAITH, Be thou made whole.  Be healed in the name of Jesus,”  How do you know it is going to happen?  It is because the substance of the healing is there.  Where there was no leg, there is one.  Where there was no arm, there is one.  Where the cancer was, it is now gone and the flesh is made whole again.  That is the substance. 

The faith of Jesus Christ is NOW FAITH, not next week, not tomorrow, it is NOW.  Many times when Jesus prayed for somebody, IMMEDIATELY they got up.  Immediately the devil went OUT.  Jesus operated in NOW FAITH.  It sounds good, but how do we get it?

The true Jesus Christ has now faith.  2 Thessalonians 3:2 says, “. . . for all men have not faith.”  Man is born with not faith.  That is generally known as unbelief!  When you are saved by the blood of Jesus, and you do His will, and you receive the power of God, behold you go from not faith to now faith! 

Before you knew Christ, you only had enough measure of faith to get saved.  From then on it has to grow like the mustard seed Jesus talked about.  That is how the kingdom of God grows within you and starts busting out all over.  It is not contained in earthen vessels any more.  You started out with nothing.  You started out with negative faith.  You were against God.

Some are still running from God.  If they had faith, they’d obey Christ.  They are gutless.  They won’t serve the living God who is manifest and set forth among us.  God said He will redeem us from the curse.  We are cursed if we have not faith.  If we accept Christ and live for God, we will receive the blessing of God, and it is called NOW FAITH.

There is power in NOW FAITH.  The Bible decrees that all men have NOT FAITH, and then it decrees again what NOW FAITH is.  If you have NOW FAITH, show me the substance and the evidence.  If, when you pray and begin to move on the promises of God, you don’t see evidence, you do not have NOW FAITH. 

2 Timothy 4:2 says, “. . . be instant in season, out of season. . . .”  Romans 12:12 says, “. . . continuing instant in prayer;”  INSTANT.  Let’s take a jar of instant tea.  It is just an old dead powdery substance setting there in the glass, but when you add (living) water to it and stir it up, your instant turns into manifest!  It turns into NOW, evidence from God. 

You know what instant is?  It is READY.  If it is ready, it is ready instantly.  When?  Now.  NOW FAITH is INSTANT faith.  It is instant manifestation, instant substance.  You can have revival right NOW. 

We want God to move right now, but He asks if WE have been instant, if we have lived READY, or if we have just been sitting.  I know there are times when we have to tarry, and it is up to a person’s free will.  However, when they have called upon the elders of the church, and things are done according to the will of God, and they are yielded to God, and something doesn’t happen - somebody does not have NOW FAITH.  It should be happening; the need should be met. 

The miracles of God and the evidence that God is alive, and that Jesus Christ is alive and well and sitting at the right hand of the Father, should be the most difficult evidence to hide in the universe, because of His power.  It should not be hidden because of the evidence and substance of NOW faith, but the church has not been instant in prayer or ready for God.  He’s been well hidden and thousands are going to hell.  They don’t really know if the Jesus we’ve been preaching is alive or dead. 

Start pressing into God.  As you yield to Him, and get yourself instant and ready for God, you begin to see and experience the power and the glory of God in your life. 

If your faith does not bring forth substance and evidence, then you do not have now faith.  God desires His people to have now faith.  He wants us to have evidence and substance that Jesus Christ is alive and well and doing miracles. 

When man sinned and fell in the Garden of Eden, he lost his spiritual eyesight and hearing.  When Jesus came and took the keys of death and hell from the devil, He restored unto man his spiritual eyesight and hearing, and his substance and evidence before God in the heavenlies. 

When you accept Christ, you are evidence, a sign that God is alive to the rest of the world.  People are supposed to see Jesus again.  Various Christians have manifested the power and glory of God, but very few have desired to be instant.  They want to be instantly blessed, but they don’t want to be instantly prepared. 

How many times has the Spirit of the Lord dealt with you to pray, but you turned over and took a nap?  He dealt with you to fast, but you had yourself another meal.  You won’t see NOW FAITH manifest in your life until you become instant.  As soon as God says something, you say, YES, Lord.  How many times has God moved on you in church and tried to bless you and touch you, and you just sat there? 

Because you quenched the Spirit of God, which He has commanded us not to do, you do not have now faith and now blessing.  (See 1 Thessalonians 5:19.)  He wants to bless you, and heal you, and deliver you NOW.  He is a NOW God. 

I AM is God’s name, not I WAS or I WILL BE.  He is the Living God.  He is a RIGHT NOW God.  Don’t wait till tomorrow; you can believe Him right now. 

Jesus told a man one day, Follow me.  The man said, Lord, suffer me first to go bury my father.  Jesus said (in other words), Let the dead bury the dead.  You go preach the gospel.  Another man said, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me bid them farewell which are at my house.  He was saying, I will follow you, but it is conditional.  I will at a later date.  I will when it is convenient.

You may not have tomorrow.  Convenience in the future is not NOW.  If you want God to move now, you have to yield to Him now.  If you want God to move in your life now, you have to let go and let God now. 

The only way you will have NOW FAITH is if you have invested something right now, and if you are available RIGHT NOW.  What if God calls on you late at night and tells you He wants you to go somewhere and pray for someone who is on the verge of death.  Will you do it? 

If you are geared toward God and you have NOW FAITH invested in God, you can believe God.  If you will go NOW, you will see Him move NOW.  You may tell the Lord it is not a convenient time.  The Lord says, I AM NOT A GOD OF CONVENIENCE.  He is a God of sacrifice.  He required His own flesh and blood Son to be sacrificed. 

One thing men don’t like to sacrifice, other than their money, is their time!  It is the truth.  Give it over to God and tell Him you don’t care about the money and the time.  When He talks to you, move and be instant, stirred up by living water, and God will move.  You have to act on it first, and then you will see God move, and it will be DONE, not tomorrow or next week, but now.

We got redeemed from NOT FAITH.  Some of you have a NOT in your faith!  Hebrews 6:12 says, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  That is how you see God move. 

Some people only pray when somebody has a need.  You are supposed to be on your face constantly; every time you get a chance to talk to Jesus, you ought to be doing it.  It will take up your time, but you will be instant, and you will see NOW faith manifest before a holy God.  Sure it is a sacrifice, but it is not nearly as bad as dying on a cross. 

Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “. . . to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”  Then Mark 16:17-18 will come to pass – “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”  That is right now faith.  You have to have it. 

When I was a sinner, I hurt for people in wheel chairs, the sick and afflicted, the dying, especially children.  It grieved me, and I would cry in bed at night, because I couldn’t do anything about it.  God has given us all the power and the faith and the commandments, yet we won’t obey.  People say, God, why don’t you do something?  Yet He has been dealing with us, Why don’t you get with it?  

The Lord started dealing with me.  I wanted to pray for the sick and watch God heal them.  I had faith for healing and even to raise the dead.  I did!  Then the Lord started dealing with me in an area I didn’t want anything to do with.  He started dealing with me about devils.  I said, God, I don’t want to deal with devils!  I just want to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.  Then I got more stuff on devils. 

I had a few visitations with some devils so they would scare me and keep me away from the subject.  It worked pretty well for a while.  I said, God, uh, you are missing the line of communication here.  Let me show you what my calling is.  You don’t tell God anything.  God tells you, and then you do what God tells you, and then you will see NOW FAITH manifest and the power of God move. 

I said, Now, God, I’m not messing with devils!  They scare me.  I know they don’t scare you, but they bother me.  They are ugly.  I’ve seen a lot of devils in my day, and I’ve seen a lot of devils in people. 

I was a nervous wreck by this time, because I was getting visitations all the time.  I’d go to sleep reading about it, and an angel would wake me up and poke me in the ribs and say, Kevin, wake up, you’ve got to keep on reading so your strength won’t fail you.  It reminded me of Elijah when the angel woke him up and said the journey was too great for him, to keep on eating. 

I heard an audible voice, and I started rebuking everything I knew to rebuke.  I about came unglued!  I was rebuking the wall.  I was rebuking the bed, and I was rebuking the phone.  I just knew it talked to me.

The Lord finally spoke to me and told me to hush up!  He said, Son, ninety percent of sickness is devils.  I said, What?  He said, Ninety percent of sickness is the manifest presence of a devil.  That is why when I pray for people for sickness you will hear me talking to the thing!  A lot of people get insulted at that.  I may look you right in the eyes and talk to the devil while I am looking at you.  Just get right with God and you will understand by and by.

God said, This is your assignment.  This is your ministry, and I want you to do the works of Christ.  If you are instant and ready and you yield over to God completely body, mind, soul, spirit and lifestyle, He will give you NOW FAITH that the signs, wonders, and miracles shall follow you because you believe.  

He told me that I am going to go forth, and there will be many others who will take it up.  I believe God, and I believe Him for NOW FAITH.  If you believe Him now, you get it now.  If you have to think about it, He is not going to do anything.  He can’t do anything with, I’ll think about it, Lord, and you hesitate or linger. 

Lot lingered in Sodom when he needed to get out of there before God leveled the place!  The angels couldn’t do anything until the man made up his mind.  That is why they had to drag Lot, his wife, and his two daughters off.  Then God destroyed it. 

When you hesitate, you are not in NOW FAITH.  I am not talking about spring boarding out there where you know nothing about.  I am talking about believing what the Word of God says.  If it hasn’t happened, something is wrong.  We all the time try to find fault with the Most High.  It is not with Him, it is with you or me, the most low! 

You have a “not” in your faith, and it is in the way!  Raise your hands and say, God, I believe for NOW FAITH.  Set me free from NOT FAITH, unbelief, fear, sin, and anything that is not of faith.  Romans 14:23 says, “. . . for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  Linger in God’s presence and learn to walk in the Spirit of God. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY

LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O. BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL  62941

CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541

E-mail 

livinghopefellowship@lazernetwireless.net

These condensed Bible studies have been published to help new Christians in their new walk with the Lord.  Kevin Badgley, the author, is the pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.

This is a Living Hope Fellowship publication.

 © Living Hope Fellowship, Inc.