When Heaven Invades Earth
Chapter Summaries
Week Two
February 17 – February 23, 2008
Chapter Four 

            Chapter Four is about faith and unbelief. It has so many concise truisms on these subjects that as a way of summary, I will quote some of them here:

            Faith provides eyes for the heart...it was never intended only to get us into the family. Rather it is the nature of life in this family. Faith sees, brings the Kingdom into focus. ...the ability to see in the spiritual realm is ..an unused potential of everyone.

            All the Father's resources, all His benefits, are accessible through faith (43,44). Faith is anchored in the unseen. It lives from the invisible towards the visible. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good.

            Real faith is not living in denial of the natural realm... There are no tumors (death, sickness, disease..) in heaven, and faith brings that reality into this one. Fear... is what keeps many from faith. The fear of man is very strongly related to unbelief. Conversely, the fear of God and faith are very closely related. Unbelief is actually faith in something other than God (46). Unbelief is faith in the inferior (45).

            Faith is born of the Spirit in the hearts of humankind. Through faith, people are able to come into agreement with the mind of God (46,47).

            Scripture says, “By faith we understand... “(Heb.11.3). Faith is the foundation for all true intellectualism....faith does not require understanding to function (47).

            Faith is the mirror of the heart that reflects the realities of His World into ours. Through the   prayer of faith we are able to pull the reality of His World into this one - that is how faith functions.         Heaven is not moved simply by the needs of humans... Heaven is moved by faith. Faith is the currency of heaven (48). “Faith comes by hearing...” (Rom.10.17). It is the listening heart, in the present tense, that is ready for heaven's deposit of faith... The whole nature of faith implies a relationship with God that is current. The emphasis is on hearing... in the now!... (49,52).

            Fear attacks the foundation of our relationship with God...our faith. Fear is faith in the devil; it is also called unbelief. ...fearfulness is the same as faithlessness. Fear and faith cannot coexist – they work against each other. Fear is a decay of the heart [that] attracts the demonic in the same way as bitterness and hatred. ...Like faith, fear is a substance in the spiritual realm. Fear becomes our heart's response when we come into agreement with [satan's] intimidating suggestions(50).

            ...those with faith blaze a trail that threatens all of our comfort zones. Faith offends the stationary. Unbelief is safe because it takes no risks. Faith grabs hold of the reality of the Kingdom and forcefully and violently brings it into a collision with this natural one (51).

            For one who has faith, there is nothing impossible. There are no impossibilities when there is faith...and there are no exceptions (52).

            Faith is not the absence of doubt; it is the presence of belief...obedience comes from faith. When the corporate level of faith grows, it has... a cluster bomb effect, where innocent bystanders get touched by the miracle working power of God (53).  Corporate faith pulls down heaven in marvelous ways. His world becomes manifest all around us  Exponential power is the product of the unity of faith (54).

            Real faith is anchored in the invisible realm and is connected to the authority given in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rest is the climate that faith grows in. It comes out of the peace of God (54). A surrendered hear t is a heart of faith. And faith must be present to please God (55).

            What is restful for us is violent to the powers of hell. That is the violent nature of faith. (54). Faith may quietly press in or it may cry out very loudly, but it is always violent in the spirit world. It grabs hold of an invisible reality an won't let go. Taking the Kingdom by faith is the violent act that is necessary to come into what God has made available. Faith connects what is available to the circumstances at hand. Faith takes what is available and makes it actual (55).