Have Faith In

GOD

 (based on conversations I have had with professing christians)

-part four-

 

what faith means:

(or so they say)

 

Have you ever heard of the irresistible force paradox? If an immovable object meets an unstoppable force, something’s got to give. At least, that’s what Frank Sinatra sang. The construction of modern word of faith teaching presents faith as both an immovable object & an  unstoppable force. Indeed, Paul tells Corinth & us by extension, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1^st Corinthians 15:58) & again “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.” (2^nd Corinthians 1:24). Is this what faith means? Our word of faith friends will tell us that it is, but in our eagerness, haven’t we missed some vital aspects concerning a true & living faith in God, in Christ & in His word?

Not least of all, we must return to The Scriptures afresh. Because if our view of our God, The Lord Jesus Christ & His Word are wrong, we will soon find ourselves in uncharted waters & there is no telling what those waters are infested with. Take heart weary reader, this will not take long. Rather than conduct a long & drawn out forensic examination of word of faith doctrine, we can simply take a biblical sledgehammer to it. Word of faith rhetoric is paper thin. It is a mile wide, but mere millimetres deep. It is highly unstable & dangerously incendiary. But it continues to insinuate its way into the main body of christian doctrine & casually rub shoulders with orthodoxy all too easily. Only in The Millennium can we expect to see the wolf & the lamb laying down together, yet this deadly set up & state of affairs occurs every time false doctrine remains unchallenged with The Church. The lamb may believe it’s raining, but in reality, it is the drooling of the wolves surrounding it.

Before we attempt to go any further, we need to recognise the role that we have played in this scenario. If there weren’t individuals like us, prepared to believe what’s being taught, our situation would be very different indeed. At a very basic level, the problem we began with was a concerning lack of biblical literacy on our part. I didn’t say that the Bible wasn’t being read. I didn’t say that The Bible wasn’t loved. I didn’t say that The Bible wasn’t believed. I’m saying that a proper biblical exegesis wasn’t being viewed as a vital part of our discipleship. As I stated previously, in our first meeting on this subject; the ill-informed & the ill-prepared [are] equally susceptible to the attractive propositions offered by word of faith mythology. Faith teaching [fills] the vacuum created by our ignorance. With little or nothing in the way of strong, orthodox, biblical theology to compare it to or combat it with, many of us blindly followed the instructions given to us on the tin of Charismatic goodies.

At the inception of The Church “..they that gladly received [Peter’s] word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:41-42). The Apostles taught the people what Jesus taught them. That was their doctrine. Their instructions from Christ were “ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:” (Matthew 28:19-20a). We seem to have strayed from the path. But who has led us awry? Whose drumbeat did we march to? Whose pied piping made us dance? I’m glad you asked, so I’ll tell you.

Men & women in the ministry were claiming to have been gifted with supernatural & superhuman abilities, granted to them by none other than The Holy Spirit Himself. Men & women waving their hands & their coats, displaying their amazing spiritual powers, one of which seemed to be making a whole heap of cash. These heroes of the faith & their exploits rivalled those of men & women in Hebrews chapter eleven. Well, every champion needs an origin story. How does a person go from being a mild mannered & simple individual, to a superhuman or supernatural powerhouse?

Perhaps a sickly man or woman is dramatically healed of their terminal disease in a demonstration of God’s miraculous power & is then called into the healing ministry, being commissioned personally by The Lord Jesus Christ Himself in a series of glorious visitations? Is this what faith means?

Perhaps a deeply poverty stricken man or woman receives direct revelations from The Lord concerning principles for prosperity & they somehow manage to use these universal laws that have been revealed to them, becoming rich beyond measure as they effortlessly manipulate the power of their apparent blessing? Is this what faith means? 

Perhaps a prayerful but powerless man or woman, seeking The Lord about their apparent inadequacy, finds themselves overwhelmed by tangible currents of something akin to electricity & from that moment forward, they are infused with a power or ability that they did not possess previously? Is this what faith means? 

Whichever way we may choose to cut it, we have the same circumstance constantly & consistently repeating itself within parts of the modern Church. The leading actors of the word of faith movement begin at the other end of the scale to their present embodiments. They who were weak are now supernaturally strong. Is this what faith means? They who were poor are now unequivocally rich. Is this what faith means? They who were sick are now healing dynamos. Is this what faith means? How do they claim to have achieved their status? By faith, of course. Is this what faith means? 

You will be promised that you can be the same as them if you listen to, follow & obey their instructions. Before you know it, the doctrine of the Apostles, which they received from Christ Himself, is the furthest thing from your mind. Instead, you’ll find yourself eating up every word that proceeds from the mouths of these teachers. With your newly found faith you’ll be able to turn stones to bread, conquer kingdoms & realise your own godhood. What a very sorry state of affairs we have found ourselves in. 

If you’re reading this article & you are on this unbiblical treadmill, you must seriously consider what you’re doing & what you’re believing. I remember reading book after book, attending service after service, watching video after video & listening to cassette tape message after cassette tape message, in which the pursuit of the God kind of faith was the primary objective. At the time, I was convinced that that was the only way forward, but I later discovered that I was very, very wrong. 

We have to look again at the shaky foundations of this movement. We have to look again at the pattern that exists, at present, among those in the Bible-twisting-confession-claiming-believing-coat-swinging-arm-waving-kicking-punching-slapping-blowing-barking-howling-rolling-word-of-faith contingent of The Church. 

During my tenure within charismania, there was a lot of teaching & preaching. There were a multitude of books & articles written. There was an assortment of special meetings convened, all themed around the subject of the faith message. However, in typical charismatic fashion, solid biblical exegesis was very thin on the ground unless it served the preacher’s purpose. Not that that mattered to the majority of ministers, ministries or those being ministered to. Everyone wanted revival & a tremendous move of The Holy Spirit. Of course, we were told that in order for us to be an effective part of that wave, move or restoration, we would have to be taught about the law or force of the God kind of faith. So, where did we begin? We started with some so called specialists. In they came, brandishing their particular & peculiar set of knowledge & skills. We were told their origin stories, their personal experiences. They taught us their interpretation of The Bible. They laid their hands on us for divine impartation. They left with pockets full of our cash, smiling as they did so. They did it all by faith, of course. We clung to the grindstone, pressed in & worked the word. 

“Do not become discouraged because the truth [as they teach it] does not dawn on your spirits all at once. But keep meditating on the facts of [their interpretation of] the Word. The more you meditate on that which is written [in their many overpriced & heavily plagiarised books], And the more you meditate on that which is said [by them about God’s Word] as one shall speak under the anointing and the inspiration of the Spirit, then little by little it will become real to you. And as on the inside of you, in your spirit, in your inner man, it takes shape and form [said no Scripture anywhere!], it will reshape your own spirit, until you'll no longer be a weakling, spiritually, [what a pity The Lord slipped up when He told Paul “ ..My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..”] but you shall become strong, and be able to stand, and do the works the Lord has called you unto, and rule and reign and dominate in life, as a king by Jesus Christ. So do not turn away [buy more of our overpriced & heavily plagiarised books] even because you do not fully understand or see [because there’s actually nothing there]. But let your mind be open and your spirit be receptive [remain highly suggestive & deeply impressionable] and say thou, "O blessed Holy Spirit, unveil the truth unto my spirit [which He has already done in the closed canon of Scripture], that I may stand in the fullness of the provision of my Father, For He is my Father [because I have His DNA?]. I love Him and He loves me." And so you will become that which He has ordained that you should become [a little god?], and rise up to the level of the full privileges, and rights, and authority, and dominion of a [Branhamite manifest] son of God. Rejoice and be glad, and speak forth the Word of Faith [y a w n]. Speak unto those circumstances that have you bound. And command them to leave, and so you shall be loosed. Speak unto the storm that appears on the horizon of your life, and say, [y   a   w   n] "Peace be still," and there will be calm. Learn what [we say] is yours, and act upon it. And it shall become yours in reality. Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Prophecy given by Kenneth E. Hagin October 19, 1980, RHEMA Bible Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma (emphasis & parentheses added)

These & many other so called words from The Lord form the backbone & the parameters within which word of faith teaching takes root, grows & eventually blossoms. It is only when one steps outside of this framework & views it in the pure illumination of The Scriptures, that its cracks appear. Until then, word of faith doctrine is a false light. To the uninitiated, the sales pitch is subtle. The product is attractive. The cost appears to be minimal. It’s all about you, even though it ought to be all about him. However, in an abstract, backward & roundabout way it becomes about him, by being about you, because you’re exactly like him. Poor old God. He just can’t tell the difference between you! Remember that “..as he is, so are we in this world.” (1^st John 4:17b). We’ll ignore the sixteen & a half verses before this one, as well as the four after it.

“God made man His understudy [chapter please?]. He made him king [verse please?], to rule over everything that had life. Man was master [not a servant son?]. Man lived in the realm of God [no, he didn’t, he lived on the Earth]. He lived on terms of equality with God [no, he didn’t. Man would have to possess every Divine attribute for that to be true!]. God is a faith God [no, He isn’t. God alone is God]. All He had to do was simply say, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3), and there was light [yes, because He is Almighty!]. God created everything except man by speaking it into existence. He's a faith God [I refer the gentleman to the response I gave moments ago]. Now, God made man a faith man [Genesis 2:26?], because man belongs to God's class [in a classless society?]. A faith man lives in the creative realm of God [so what did man create?]. This is the end of the weakness message [never heard that one]! Man lost his place by high treason against God. He lost his dominion over all the works of God's hands. He lost his dominion in the fall. With the fall went his dominion over his spirit and soul [what about his body?]. But, my friends, if one is a thinker or a student of history [or incredibly naive], one knows universal man has ever yearned for the return of his lost dominion. Here's one of the most tremendous facts we have to face: There never has been a primitive people found upon the face of the earth who have not yet yearned for dominion [like the nazis?]. Not a single primitive people has been found who did not have a golden past where they had dominion, and a golden future where dominion was going to be restored [yep, just like the nazis]. That is the tradition of universal man.”

Kenneth Hagin Copyright © 1981 RHEMA Bible Church, AKA Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved (emphasis & parentheses added)

Forgive me, but it is only when these things are viewed in the cold light of day, they can be seen for what they really are. Riddle me this; what is the success v failure rate among those who embrace these doctrines & practise them? Balance that against those who embrace these doctrines & teach them. I’ll give you three guesses which way the scales tip. Not your way or mine, but theirs. What are their reasons or excuses for their triumphs & our tragedies? Well, we’re obviously not using the right kind of faith. Apparently, there is sense knowledge faith & revelation faith. The human kind of faith & the God kind of faith. If you use the wrong type of faith, you’ll fail. However, if you learn how to use the right type of faith, you will become like God Himself, but with a little ‘g’. Like Christ, you’ll become [an]  “..absolute Monarch of the laws that govern the Universe.”

“Faith has never been given a square deal by the Church [then surely very few have ever been born again & even fewer please God], yet it has given birth to all of man's greatest achievements. Woolworth had faith in five and ten cent pieces and left behind him a fortune of $60,000,000 and stores at every crossroad. Ford had faith in a low-priced automobile that every man could afford to buy [two examples from the world of business do not prove the point, after the fact. What about Nikola Tesla? What about Thomas Edison? Oh no, they had failures didn’t they]. Faith is the greatest element in advanced civilization [then why haven’t they managed to cure the common cold!]. As human faith gives birth to such achievements in the natural realm, so the believer's faith in the Father and His Word gives birth to spiritual achievements [for instance?]. The preacher who has faith in the message that he is giving, finds that the Word produces faith results in the hearts of the men who hear him [if his teaching is correct]. He has faith in the Word, that God is in it and back of it [if his teaching is correct]. He has faith in humanity, that it will respond to the thing he is giving [his faith should be in God & in The Gospel, if that is indeed what he’s preaching]. He has faith in Love, the Jesus kind of Love. He believes it is the solution of every human problem, and the family that practices love produces the highest type of Christian character [not read much church history then, eh?]. It was a great day in my own life when I discovered that God was a Faith God [He isn’t]. I knew He was a Love God [He is]. I Knew He was a Righteous God, an Omnipotent God, an Omniscient God [He is]; when I found He was primarily a Faith God [found this how?]I saw that it was natural for us, as His children, to walk by faith.”

The Two Kinds of Faith Copyright © Kenyon’s Gospel Publishing Society 1981 (emphasis & parentheses added)

Is this really what faith means? I say again [that] we must return to The Scriptures afresh. Because if our view of our God, The Lord Jesus Christ & His Word are wrong, we will soon find ourselves in uncharted waters & there is no telling what those waters are infested with.

²⁵ But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:25).

The word of faith movement has thrown down the gauntlet. Its claims to superiority, dominance & authority are truly unfounded. Now that we have faith, we no longer need the old schoolmaster of the law & its traditions. Neither do we need the complexities & entanglements of a proper theology, because The letter killeth (2^nd Corinthians 3:6). Interestingly enough, those who denounce a formal theological education will scramble to use the title Dr. or Ph.D & plaster the moniker everywhere they can, with every given opportunity. We’re encouraged by them to freewheel our way through The Bible, ripping the text out of all reasonable context, claiming revelation knowledge & insight into biblical principles. Now that faith has come, we can take our place as supermen & do exploits. Is this what faith means?

¹ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; ² but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. ³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: (Galatians 4:1-3).

Apparently, The God kind of faith will move us from the place of spiritual childhood into maturity. Until we do this, we will never enjoy the rights & privileges that we’re entitled to. We will be held back by our old schoolmasters & their tutelage, never rising up above the elements of the world, by faith of course.

⁸ But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8).

If the chief promoters of the word of faith movement are correct in what they teach & preach, the world should be a very different place. The dominion decreed; the power desired; the prosperity declared, should have swept through society in a whirlwind of revival. But these things have not happened. There are popular preachers with huge ministries & mega churches, all promoting their books, programming & conventions. They all claim to preach the word of faith & live by its principles, but they do not.

In our next meeting we will conclude by going full circle & examining the basic, faulty premise that this movement has as its foundation. With close to half a billion people claiming to be of the charismatic persuasion, why are there so few for whom it works? The success stories are at the top, yet these same people do not practise what they preach. If it isn’t good enough for them, doesn’t that tell you something? Furthermore, doesn’t it make you wonder & ask the question; is this what faith really means?

 

 

 

 

 

copyright © by David Samuel Parkins mmxxv all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

 

 

Have Faith In

GOD

 (based on conversations I have had with professing christians)

-part three-

 what faith does:

(or so they say)

 

The face of western christianity is changing rapidly. This is nothing new & it didn’t begin yesterday. It’s happening nevertheless. Neither will it stop anytime soon. These agents of transformation are not amoral or neutral. They are deliberate & they are definite. Perhaps the most visible & audible of these changes has been the word of faith message & the movement that has grown up around it. Gone are the days of itinerant nondescript ministers, who were few & far between, visiting church fellowships as gifted speakers, with their new & unfamiliar doctrine. Some of these teachers drew enough of a following to start their own churches & organise their own conferences, dedicated to their particular system of beliefs. Others founded their own institutions & seats of learning. Christian schools. Bible colleges. Universities. Hospitals. Some pioneered radio & television stations.

If we were to ask these individuals how these things were done & by what means they were accomplished, what would be their answer? Was it more luck than judgement? Was it acumen or expertise? Was it drive & charisma? Was it blind ambition? In my opinion, it’s a subtle mixture of all of those elements, coupled with some opportunism. However, I can almost guarantee that despite my belief, their answer will be something like this; we did it all, by faith. With a little humility, of course. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith” (Romans 5:17).

On the surface, there isn’t a problem with anyone claiming this, if they mean a biblical trust in & obedience to The Lord. However, given the evidence that the word of faith movement has supplied to us & to the world, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that they mean the use of the law or force of faith. They mean the God kind of faith. Their faith conquered. Their faith overcame. Their faith dominated. It developed & grew from a mustard seed into a mountain moving phenomenon. Afterall, don’t forget [that] “…If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”. (Mark 9:23).

As we follow the narrative of a robust & powerful faith, cutting a swathe through every challenge that it faces, like a hot knife through butter, we may become excited & encouraged. Can we really expect to win every battle, triumph in every circumstance & overcome every obstacle, as we fight the good fight of faith (1^st Timothy 6:12)? Is this what faith does? Apparently so, or so we’re told.

The force of faith, when used correctly, allows the believer to swashbuckle their way through life & emerge victorious every single time. Faith is our evidence. There is no defeat, because there is no failure in God. There is no lack, because there is no insufficiency in God. There is no disease, because there is no infirmity in God. A couple of questions ought to arise here, but they’ll be mown down with a conveniently misinterpreted verse of Scripture. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1^st John 5:4). The God kind of faith doesn’t stop to think, ask questions or take a breath. You couldn’t stop such an irresistible force, could you?

For every endeavour of faith that we’re told about, there has to be a word that the man or woman of faith has heard. Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). You’d be hard pressed to find verses of Scripture that specifically promise the projects, aims & ambitions that word of faith leaders use their faith to achieve. So how does their God kind of faith work under these circumstances, if faith comes by hearing? They must have a different kind of word.

In our New Testament there are two words translated ‘word’. One is logos (loggos), which is the written word. The other is rhema (rayma), which is the spoken word. This is much simpler than it sounds. However, when it’s taught by certain parties, it can appear that one is superior to the other. If I see you in the street and say ‘hello’, that is a rhema word because I spoke it to you. However, if I left you a note saying 'hello’, that is a logos word. Inevitably, prominent word of faith teachers have told their congregants, listeners, adherents & students that The Lord said something to them. It may have been an audible voice. It may have been a personal prophecy. It may even have been a vision or trip to heaven & a full blown conversation with The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Either way, it conveniently circumnavigates the need to supply Scripture as proof that what they’re doing is biblical. Based on what they claim The Lord had said to them, they then applied their faith, confessed it with their mouths & received the desired results. We won’t mention the subtle solicitation of donations from faithful followers, the compulsory purchases of ministry materials or the fees often charged for teachers to make personal appearances.

Of course, any word of faith proponent will say that we’re not to seek experiences, but rather, stick to The Word. This is reverse psychology. If the follower has similar encounters to the leader, they feel just as spiritual & equally as powerful. It also reinforces our belief in the means & methodology we’re being taught. Let me give you a couple of examples.

“Rhema Bible Training College began with a quickened word spoken by my dad, Kenneth E. Hagin. When Dad received the mandate, "Go teach My people faith", that was a rhema word to him of what to do in ministry..[Hagin Jnr continues]..I often heard him pray, "Lord, how am I going to get this message out? I'm just one man." His answer came during Campmeeting 1973. Dad said under the inspiration of the Spirit, "We're going to start a Bible school!" When he said that, I had a rhema word inside of me—Lynette and I were to help Dad start the school. Those rhema words gave the direction of how to get the faith message out and fulfil the mandate..[because there are no verses or passages concerning starting Bible colleges]..Dad didn't want to put his name on the school. When we discussed what to call it, he suggested "Rhema" based on a message Roy Hicks [a fellow minister & personal friend of the Hagins] taught at Campmeeting. We chose the name Rhema Bible Training College because it is purpose driven, not personality driven. And it's still not personality driven! It was founded on the principles of the infallible Word of God, learning how to be led by the Spirit, and knowing the authority of the believer—while zeroing in on the practical aspects of ministry.”

Kenneth W. Hagin Copyright © 2024 Kenneth Hagin Ministries  (emphasis added)

It’s commendable that Kenneth E. Hagin ‘didn’t want his name on the school’, however, the church attached to Rhema is also known as Kenneth Hagin Ministries. They must have forgotten to remove his name from there. Our next example is in the same vein.

“In his long career as a religion peddler, [Oral] Roberts claimed to talk directly to God and Jesus. In 1963, he built his Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma after he said God instructed him to do so. In 1977, Roberts had a vision of a 900-foot Jesus who told him there was an urgent need to erect the City of Faith Medical and Research Center. Roberts raised the funds for the hospital [$250,000,000], though it didn’t stay open long [from 1981 to 1989]. In 1983, God again contacted Roberts to tell him that he wanted him to find a cure for cancer. No such cure has been reported. In 1987, Roberts reported that God was threatening to call him home [who did this guy think he was?! Moses?! Exodus 4:24-26] unless his followers forked up millions so he could maintain his [ego driven vanity project] fundamentalist empire. Though he was criticized heavily for using that tactic, the faithful came through and donated what he needed.

by Tommi Avicolli-Mecca, 2009, Beyond Chron (emphasis added) 

It’s interesting to me that a famous healing evangelist was sanctioned to find a medical cure for cancer. Why didn’t The Lord simply heal the disease. Nevertheless, that was the rhema word that Oral Roberts laid claim to.

Of course, we’ll be told that even a word from The Lord will not benefit us unless we mix it with faith (Hebrews 4:2). There are however two primary dangers here. We will begin to ignore the importance of God’s written Word. We will also begin to interpret the written Word in the light of these supposed rhema words. If any of this sounds vaguely familiar, consider the oral tradition of the Pharisees.

They revered Moses, but happily set him aside in favour of their man-made oral traditions. The Lord Jesus lambasted them for this; “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” (Mark 7:9). This is not what a wholesome & biblical faith does. But it is all too common throughout the word of faith movement. Whatever the leader says, is the true interpretation. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21). Be careful. Speak life, not death, because you’ll have what you say. Really? Is that what this verse means? Well, it does if Dr. so & so with his bought doctor-of-divinity-degree says that is what The Lord told him. Bypass the correct interpretation because someone wants to sew his theology together, like the fig leave leaves of old.

The faith of the word of faith movement is willing to ignore Scripture despite its plain reading & accept random interpretation as revelation. “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;”. (2^nd Corinthians 4:13).

The God kind of faith is a law or force that is fuelled by the words of the movements leaders, not by God’s Word.

Despite their rhetoric, these teachers are not interested in you or I pursuing the truth of The Scriptures, but rather, their interpretation of it. This will be reinforced by a berating of bonafide theologians & even insisting that The Lord Jesus Christ Himself had appeared to them, saying, “..Sometimes your theology needs upending..”. If indeed The Lord Jesus had appeared & said that, He was right, because their theology is dead wrong.

This also means that faith teaching & everything associated with it has redefined what is scriptural & what is not. With a huge concentration on The New Testament & an over spiritualisation of The Old, word of faith teachers are forced to twist every text they choose, into something unrecognisable. Let me save you some pain & anguish reader. The Lord is not going to honour something that He did not promise in the first place. In reality you’re not actually exercising faith at all, never mind the God kind. However, I do believe that The Lord has compassion on the ignorant (Hebrews 5:2). Trust me, I have been there.

Whether you view your glass as half full or half empty, the truth is that the receptacle has been deliberately over engineered. You’re so close to getting your breakthrough. Like Peter, you’re encouraged to step out in faith because you have a rhema word. Like the disciples who had toiled all night & caught nothing, at Christ’s word they dropped their nets on the other side. Like the man born blind, who when he was told to, went & washed in the pool of Siloam. The list goes on & on until sooner or later, there you are. The word of faith movement is teaching that you & I can use the law or force of faith arbitrarily. This seems to have more in common with what could be classed as enchantment than anything else. The Bible becomes a spell book. The Name of The Lord becomes a magic wand. Followers become sorcerer’s apprentices.

These leaders act as if they’re in a Marvel Comics movie, with super-powers & special effects. In reality, their performances are more akin to The Wizard of Oz, with the brainless, the heartless & the cowardly, leading the clueless!

The most important element in the word of faith system, is ensuring that adherents are in the constant, endless cycle of mining Scripture for promises, making verbal confessions & then believing that they receive. Once you’re aboard their treadmill, you feel as if you’re going somewhere even though you are not. Movement & progress are not the same thing. All you need is a regular shot in the arm.

“Think of having faith in your own faith! Think of the thrill of having your own prayers answered!.. This should be the normal experience of every one of you.. Your faith may be developed until it becomes a mighty force. That was the dream of the Father for you. The Word will build up your sense of righteousness. I know of nothing that is needed more than this. When we become conscious that we are righteous, we will not think of our weaknesses and failings.. The effect of righteousness on your heart is a new quietness and a new type of faith.. You know that you are a master of circumstances. You know that you are a master of demons. You have moved out of the restless atmosphere of fear and doubt, into the quiet waters of victory. You have become a master where you served as a slave. You are a conqueror where you suffered defeat. You walk in the light where you walked in darkness. He is not a subject, a slave. He has passed out of that class into the class of a master. They no longer walk as natural men. They belong to the love class, the miracle class. They are in the Jesus class. They have graduated from the lower class. They are the men and women who have attained unto the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, and have become full-grown men unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. They have their own faith. They are established in the truth. The Word is real to them.” It's all about YOU!!

Identification - E. W Kenyon (emphasis added)

*Although I will speak more about E. W. Kenyon later, I remind the reader that there is a reasonable review of him, his teachings & his influence on word of faith doctrine put forward in part in our article ‘Betrayal: A Clarion Call to The Faith Once Delivered’, published in this blog, in March of 2016.

Because of the nature of word of faith teaching, its extremes & the extra biblical claims it makes, there are two serious elements up for our consideration. These are, a radically over realised eschatology at best or full blown heresy at worst. Sadly, it would seem that these two constituent parts have merged somewhat & this mixture is highly volatile. When you tell an individual that they are in God’s class of being, that they’re exactly like Christ & possess Divine DNA, that is dangerous. When you tell an individual that their words are as powerful as God’s when spoken in faith, that they’re little gods & that they can literally have whatever they say, it is unsafe. When you tell an individual that their god-like faith gives them dominion, makes them like God & allows them to be everything that He Himself is, that is heresy & blasphemy. Yet these things are taught. They are believed. They are confessed. They are practised. As well this, our word of faith friends will wheel out the usual suspects as proof positive that they are correct in their assertions. Apparently, this is what faith does.

²⁵ And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, ²⁶ and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, ²⁷ when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. ²⁸ For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole (Mark 5:25-28).

⁴⁶ And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, sat by the highway side begging. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. ⁴⁸ And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. ⁴⁹ And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. ⁵⁰ And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. ⁵² And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way (Mark 10:46-52).

⁸ And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: ⁹ the same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked (Acts 10:8-10).

The faith of the word of faith movement stretches back to man in creation for its image of dominion. It spans & scans both testaments, picking individuals who seem to have embraced it & utilised its power. Let me try to explain, while attempting to keep a straight face.

God demonstrated the proficiency of the God kind of faith in the beginning, didn’t He? He spoke faith filled words & created everything didn’t He? He trained men how to use the God kind of faith, didn’t He? He taught Abel, the elders & Enoch the principles of faith, didn’t He? (chortle).

Abraham learned how to be strong in faith, didn’t he? Joseph realised his dreams & brought them into reality by faith, didn’t he? Moses defeated Jannes & Jambres, then parted the Red Sea by faith, didn’t he? Using the law of faith David demolished Goliath with a stone from his sling & separated the giant’s head from its shoulders with the big man’s own sword, didn’t he? (snigger).

Then apparently, we had a masterclass in the proper operation of the force of faith from The Lord Jesus Christ Himself! He laid aside His deity & entered the human race, didn’t He? He lived for thirty years, learning to use the God kind of faith, didn’t He? After His baptism & temptation, Christ began ministry as a man anointed by The Holy Spirit & armed with faith, didn’t He? He constantly demonstrated this as He healed the sick, cleansed lepers, opened blind eyes, cast out demons & raised the dead, didn’t He? Finally, as His crucifixion approached, Jesus gave His disciples [& us by extension] the key to & secret of the law or force of faith, didn’t He? (titter).

²² And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. ²³ For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. ²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:22-24). 

After decades of these things being taught concerning faith, how much progress have they actually added to The Church or to the cause of Christ & The Gospel? The leaders of the movement have fared very well indeed. They will claim that their designer clothing, expansive properties, high end automobiles, executive aeroplanes, expensive jewellery & reams of cold hard cash, are a testament to them having learned to use the law of faith successfully. All of this is put forward as a testimony of what faith does, but in reality, it is a clear statement of man’s attempt to become a super-hero. To have faith in God, is one thing. To have the God kind of faith, is quite another.

 

 

End of Part Three

 

 

 

 

copyright © by David Samuel Parkins mmxxv all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

 

 

   Have Faith In

GOD

 (based on conversations I have had with professing christians)

-part two-

 how faith comes:

(or so they say)

 

Modern word of faith doctrine is systematic, whether we recognise it or not. It is a series of formulas & equations. Using the system of logical conclusion that’s so common in faith circles, we would have to take it for granted that in order for faith to come to us, we would have to hear God’s Word first. This verse is then deliberately tied in to Hebrews 11:3.

¹⁷ So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). 

This particular verse of Scripture is one of the foundations of word of faith teaching concerning how we obtain faith, & what it does. Of course, there are sixteen verses leading up to Paul’s conclusion here. However, I would suggest reading Romans chapter ten in its entirety instead of lifting one verse out of the twenty-one that make up this great section. According to our word of faith brethren, faith comes by us hearing God’s Word. More specifically, it comes to the heart of man & is released by the confession of his mouth. We are told that this is not only true of receiving God’s free gift of salvation, but also vital for obtaining any of God’s promises, by faith of course. But is this the sum total of Paul’s doctrinal statement here to The Church at Rome? Is he teaching principles of word of faith theology as taught by some in The Church today? The Apostle quotes specific passages from The Old Testament, referencing Moses, Joel & Isaiah. Are we to believe that these quotes support their questionable suppositions? These questions are rarely dealt with. Instead, the next step in your word of faith journey will be an avalanche of selected verses that claim to support the practical principle demonstrated here; faith is created in the heart by hearing God’s word & it is released through the mouth by confession. Therefore, as in the case of our salvation, if we need healing, prosperity, deliverance or any number of things in between, we must find God’s promises concerning these things in His Word, then rehearse & repeat them. As we hear God’s Word, our faith will develop & bring what we hope for into reality & our possession. Or so we’re told. Again, using the logic employed by our word of faith friends to reach their conclusions, we see examples of what they preach & teach played out conveniently in carefully selected Bible passages. 

Before this is done however, we will be given the greatest example of this principle in action as proof positive of its validity. We will be taken to the creation narrative in an effort to show that God Himself possesses & utilises the law of faith. He is [they claim] a faith God, Who used the same faith formula to speak His creation into existence. Just in case you’re thinking that this is an utterly ridiculous statement, that couldn’t possibly be true, let alone truly believed by anyone, lean in reader. 

“How did God do it? God believed that what He said would come to pass. He spoke the Word, and there was earth. He spoke into existence the vegetable kingdom. He spoke into existence the animal kingdom. He spoke into existence the heavens and the earth, the moon, the sun, the stars and the universe. He said it, and it was so. That is the God kind of faith. God believed what He said would come to pass, and it did!”

Kenneth E. Hagin ‘Exceedingly Growing Faith’ Copyright © 1983 RHEMA Bible Church AKA Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved (emphasis added). 

Every time I read that quote, I am ashamed, because I once believed that wholeheartedly. There was a time that I embraced the belief that God had faith & was teaching us how to have the same abilities as Him, through His Word. I was so nose blind to the borderline blasphemy I was being taught. In order to give credibility to their error, word of faith leaders will teach that we are simply emulating God. Are we though? 

If faith comes by hearing God’s Word & God uses faith, whose word was God hearing? Where did the faith of this faith God come from? Why does God even need faith when He is almighty? We’re told by these teachers that knowing is beyond believing. The Lord is omniscient; therefore He doesn’t need faith. Pointing these things out is similar to informing someone that their laces are undone & then being completely ignored by them. It’s also important to note that there are millions of people who stake their lives on what they’re told & taught by those at the forefront of the word of faith movement. Sometimes with fatal results. 

Perhaps it isn’t enough to try & demonstrate that faith was used in creation, by a faith God. What about The Lord Jesus Christ, in His earth walk? Once again, we are told that this law or force of faith can be wielded in order to reap results, if certain steps are followed. In Christ we have a perfect example of what an anointed man is capable of doing once he’s learned the principles of the God kind of faith. Lean in & listen to this. 

²² And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. ²³ For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. ²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:22-24). 

“Let us focus our attention on the statement, "Have faith in God" (v 22) or, as the margin [of the kjv] reads, "Have the faith of God." Greek scholars tell us this could have been translated, "Have the God kind of faith." Jesus demonstrated that He had the "God kind of faith.".” Hagin continues, “After telling His disciples in verse 22 to have the God kind of faith, Jesus went on to define and describe for us what it is. The God kind of faith is the kind of faith in which a man: (1) believes in his heart, and (2) says with his mouth what he believes in his heart, and (3) it comes to pass. Jesus showed that He had that kind of faith, for He believed that what He said would come to pass.”.

Kenneth E. Hagin ‘Exceedingly Growing Faith’ Copyright © 1983 RHEMA Bible Church AKA Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved (emphasis added). 

It would seem that we’re being offered a formulaic, foolproof & failsafe method of grasping how the law or force of faith operates & how we can obtain the results we want, by following a prescribed pattern. Is this the reason that The Lord cursed the Fig Tree & then taught His disciples a valuable lesson on faith & how it works? The Lord could have worked a miracle & created fruit on that tree, but He didn’t, He cursed it. There was something more important that Messiah was demonstrating & it was not the God kind of faith as it has been described. This would also mean that a faith God would have believed in His heart, said what He believed in His heart & then had whatever He said. Again, if faith comes by hearing, where did God get His God kind of faith? Watch out for those shoelaces. 

¹⁷ (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. ¹⁸ Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. ¹⁹ And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: ²⁰ he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; ²¹ and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:17-22).

 

These verses are often the third of two or three witnesses put forward to shore up the argument for the God kind of faith. Surely the words of Paul here, show conclusively that God used the principle of faith. Don’t they? Not only did He speak His creation into reality by it, but also in His interaction with Abraham He speaks of things that do not exist as if they do. Isn’t this the God kind of faith? The Patriarch then emulates his faith God by employing hope against hope, not wavering, not doubting. He was strong in faith. He ignored his advanced age as well as that of his wife & was convinced that his faith God was able to do what He had promised. There you have it. Proof positive. Case closed. Slam dunk. Wait a minute. Have we missed something? I’m scratching my head. I’m rubbing my chin. I’m wracking my brains. What could it possibly be? Hmmmmmm… 

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? ¹⁸ And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! ¹⁹ And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him (Genesis 17:17-19). 

⁹ And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. ¹⁰ And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. ¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? ¹³ And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? ¹⁴ Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. ¹⁵ Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh (Genesis 18:9-15). 

Well, well, well. Houston, we have a problem. The apparent difference between these accounts & the one in Romans chapter four are eye wateringly obvious. However, your word of faith teachers will conveniently disregard the Genesis narrative. Why? Because they cannot explain the larger theological & doctrinal point that our dear brother Paul is making. We will come to this later. In the meantime, notice that Abraham had no physical problems when he went into Hagar. He hadn’t laughed when his wife suggested it as an alternative to her giving him a child (Genesis 16:1-4). Neither had he laughed at the prospect of being the father of many nations or having descendants like the stars. He was told that his heir would come from his own body (Genesis 15:1-5). Perhaps Paul missed these small but significant details. Afterall, it’s not as if he was a scholar or theologian. He must have hit his head when he fell on the road to Damascus. However, if we look again at Romans chapter four & keep reading, we will see a big fat finger pointing us in the right direction. We will come to this. 

Let me tell you what we will not see. We will not see a faith God using the God kind of faith. We will not see Abraham confessing, believing & eventually possessing a desired end result or goal. The Lord God made Abraham a promise & He kept it. Despite the man’s laughter. Regardless of his wife’s amusement. No matter the deadness of his own body, or that of Sara’s womb. All of these things pale into insignificance when compared to what God says He will do. Truly, “Is there anything too hard for The Lord?”. The answer is no. 

The God of the word of faith movement is some kind of almighty alchemist. The Jesus of their belief system is a sort of messianic magician. The men & women who believe in them are nothing short of miniature gods, who are in training for reigning. With the God kind of faith at their command, The Word tucked away neatly in their spirits & a hearty confession in their mouths, they step out into the world to act on what they believe. As I said previously, there are millions of people who stake their lives on what they’re told & taught by those at the forefront of the word of faith movement. Sometimes with fatal results. It is a very slippery slope indeed, that begins with a simple winking at ignorance & ends with a sinister laughter at blasphemy. 

If we hear God’s Word with the sole intent of developing a faith muscle, we miss the point spectacularly. If we search The Scriptures in order to find passages to claim as our own, by faith, we do a huge disservice to their purpose. If we reduce The Lord & our Saviour to the level of a cosmic physicist, to Whom we are apprenticed, we commit an act of wickedness. The word of faith movement has denigrated God & Who He is by bringing Him down to man’s level. As well as this, man has been elevated & even deified. 

Let me give you a very simple pointer. You can use this to identify the very instance that you went off track. The moment that you were told that learning to develop & use the God kind of faith was you acting just like God. When you believed that, you were cooked. Do you remember where you first heard that? It wasn’t from me. It’s right there in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. It is a dirty lie. It is a dangerous error. It is a damnable heresy. 

¹ Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵ for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. ⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (Genesis 3:1-7). 

What was the first thing the serpent said? It questioned the authenticity of God’s Word. Eve responded by adding to God’s instructions. Although technically they couldn’t eat the fruit without touching it. Furthermore, when a lack of knowledge is mixed with deception, you have something highly unstable, dangerous & even lethal. Forbidden fruit looks good, sounds great & feels amazing. Then it brings death. Their eyes were opened. Word of faith teaching, much like any other classic deception, offers revelation. It promises more than you’ve ever read, heard or believed. The promise of elitism, power & even godhood. The claim is that we’ve been religiously brainwashed, instead of New Testament taught. Yea, hath God said? If you question or doubt what you’re being taught by word of faith leadership, it will affect your faith. This allows the word of faith specialist to manipulate Scripture like a bad juggler. By the time they’ve finished, The Bible has been twisted into something that resembles a piece of modern artwork. Effectively, according to word of faith mythology, our fore parents acted on what the serpent said, instead of on what The Lord had said. This resulted in their ejection from Eden & death. They failed to use the faith that comes from hearing God’s Word & don’t forget [that] “..whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b). Apparently, this is what Adam & Eve did. This has been taught. This has been believed. Forget the proper context. Embrace the revelation. 

Man committed an act of treason and sold out to satan. This means that the tempter took man’s place of authoritative precedence on the planet & consequently, God has no right to intervene or interfere in the affairs of men, without permission. Therefore, this means that He is mighty, but not all mighty. I’m sure there must be Bible verses & passages to support their doctrine. Right? 

³¹ Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. (John 12:31). 

³ But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ⁴ in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2^nd Corinthians 4:3-4). 

² wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2). 

There you have it. Proof positive. Case closed. Slam dunk. Wait a minute. Have we missed something? None of these verses say anything about this world being the property of satan to the exclusion of God. I’m scratching my head. I’m rubbing my chin. I’m wracking my brains. What could it possibly be? Hmmmmmm… “..to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (Daniel 4:17 b). “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalms 24:1). “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.” (Jeremiah 27:5). 

I say these things to alert you to the fact that just like the serpent in the garden, not everything the word of faith movement purports to be the truth, is so. 

If you are reading this article, stumbling through this Charismatic life without a clue where the path is, stop. You’ve lost your way & it’s getting dark out there. You went in with a simple desire to know God & The Scriptures. You ended up believing you’re a little god with the power to speak God’s Word after Him & wield the God kind of faith. The big bad wolves are leading you astray, telling you to keep confessing. Keep giving. You’re so close. You’ll have whatsoever you say. Don’t let go. You’re almost at grandma’s. Keep on keeping on. Keep believing you receive. You have dominion. Did I mention that you have to keep giving? You’re acting just like God. 

In what way is man like God? Man is made in His image & after His likeness. Does that make man a god? Man was not created as a result of God speaking. He was made with The Lord’s hands, as was Eve. The animals copulated in order to breed. The plants, shrub & flowers cross pollinated. In order for man to be a god, he would have to have been the result of some form of Divine duplication or mating. This would then endow man with the same attributes in his nature as his Creator. Do I need to go any further for it to be abundantly clear how thin the doctrinal ice is here? God’s creation of man was not an act of reproduction. If, as we have been taught, man can do what God can do, man does not need God at all. Eventually he will be off believing, confessing & creating all by himself. This reminds me of a story I heard when I was in the throes of the word of faith movement. At the time I believed it to be true, which shows how quickly one can travel from the sublime to the ridiculous. 

“While out hunting in October (1959), Brother Branham was meditating on Mark 11:23, and God revealed to him that a man can be so anointed with the Holy Spirit that when he opens his lips, it is as if God is speaking. After showing Brother Branham this, the Lord instructed him to say whatever he desired, and it would be granted to him. Brother Branham requested squirrels to meet his hunting allocation. The Lord pushed him to speak squirrels into existence twice, and they materialized out of nowhere before being shot by Brother Branham. Later God showed him that these signs pointed to a change in his ministry that would soon culminate in a magnificent ending.”.

Branham, William. 1959, November 23. Speak To This Mountain (59-1123). 

This is nothing new. However, the statements of many word of faith leaders have become tamer in an age where it is easier to fact check their proclamations. There are those who claim to stem the tide of diseases or control the weather. They command healing & miracles that are never documented, while they decree & declare unbridled prosperity, revival & wealth transfers. All of these things were done by exercising the God kind of faith. “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.”. (Job 22:28). While they’re at it, why don’t they just tell The Lord what to do. “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” (Isaiah 45:11). 

The context doesn’t matter. Just find any verse, anywhere at any time & make it yours. But this is a million miles away from what Scripture actually teaches. “..A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” (John 3:27). No confession? No believing with the heart? Just the simple trust & reliance on God? The word of faith movement makes promises that it cannot keep. These promises are made after taking The Scriptures out of all reasonable context. While it is absolutely true that faith comes by hearing God’s Word, it comes to make us God’s, not gods.

 

 

End of Part Two

 

 

 

copyright © by david Samuel Parkins mmxxv all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is presented & without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser