FFI Blog

Hope is the Blueprint for Faith

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Sun, 23 Jun 2019 05:00:00 +0000

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for..." (Hebrews 11:1). Has our faith lost its aim? We can have all the faith we need, yet let it scatter in every direction--without results. How can this happen? By losing our hope. As born again believers sometimes we don't think much about hope, we don't pay much attention to hope. We don't think it's as important as faith. But the truth is, our faith won't function without hope. Why? Hope is the blueprint of faith. When our hope is lost, faith loses its aim. It no longer has a mission to accomplish. It just scatters. Let hope come alive on the inside of us. How? By expectancy. Instead of fearing what would happen if our prayers were not answered, start being expectant, start believing and STOP whining! Hope is a divine inner image that is born inside our spirit from God's precious promises. Faith is the heavenly substance that will bring that Word-born picture to pass. Without hope faith has nowhere to go. Today, are we facing serious circumstances? Is our faith and confession splattering in every direction? STOP! Get our Bibles, get alone with God and let that hope that's inside of us come alive. Let the Spirit of God rise up on the inside and relight that fire. Why? It will STOP depression in its tracks, and get our faith on target again. Remember, "Faith is the substance of things that we hoped for and EXPECTED!" Faith or desperation, the choice is ours.

The Genesis Mandate

Rev. Dwayne Wilson — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Every seed of Abraham's faith is ordained to be a world changer, which started with the Blessing in Genesis, chapter one, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28) When God blessed Adam and Eve they were given the divine mandate to fill the earth with God’s goodness. It was God's purpose for man. We call it the “Genesis Mandate,” which came not only with the responsibility but also with the resources for Adam (mankind) to carry it out. This Blessing endued them with THE SAME GOD-LIKE POWER THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE. The moment Adam and his wife received that Anointing, all of creation was under their command (Genesis chapter 2). Now they had just as much ability to fill and resupply the earth as God had when He created it. God commissioned them to spread the Kingdom of God to the four corners of this planet and create the conditions of the Garden of Eden everywhere they went. Through Adam, mankind was given this global assignment to “replenish” the earth, and subdue it, bringing everything in line with Heaven’s blueprint. Then Adam lost his destiny, stolen by an outlaw thief but God put a plan in place to get it back through Jesus. He started with Abraham. “And the Lord God said to Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou are northward, and southward, and eastward and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever” (Genesis 13:14-15).

This was a prophetic picture of restoring the earth back into the hands of its rightful owners, as well as restoring the power or Blessing to govern it. Because of Adam’s sin, the earth was not in the hands of God’s family. The unlawful owner was revealed offering it to Jesus in Luke chapter four, thinking his deception was complete. Then, we see Jesus working the redemptive plan to get it all back…what we refer to as a SUPERNATURAL transfer of wealth and authority. As we get closer to our Lord’s return, there continues to be an invasion of the Kingdom of Heaven into this world. The imposing of God’s will on the plans of the devil and the world's system of operation. Earthly systems, laws, rules, policies, and values are now coming inline with Heaven’s order and Heaven’s Government, the Government of the Kingdom of God. “. . . His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19, ESV). Jesus came as a sample Son to mankind as their destined role model and He demonstrated God's Blessing in full manifestation for the world to witness (the sinless Son of God). Then he did the one thing you couldn't do, He removed the one thing stopping you from walking in the same Supernatural ability; He removed sin on Calvary's Cross as the only pure offering and sacrifice; He alone, so you could return to your destiny. We are now able to reunite with God and receive His Spirit through Jesus Christ and complete His plan, ending with the Revelation setting in place the ruling King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ: all Man and all God.

Can You Afford It?

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0000

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4). There is only one thing we absolutely can’t afford to do without... and that is our time spent in prayer and in the Word of God... it truly is our very life. It is where our victory lives.

We may forget that at times, but the devil never does. He is constantly sending "time stealers" our way. We must be on high alert at all times so we do not become entangled in them. We must ask ourselves, “Can I afford this?” We must simplify our life. We must make the time we spend with God first priority every day. Before we consider taking on any new activity, we must always ask ourselves, “Can I afford this?” Not whether we can afford it financially... but can we afford it spiritually? Can I give time to this activity and still keep my priority time with God? If not, then we cannot afford it!

My dear brothers and sisters heeding this one concept, and it is the truth, will yield every aspect of your life more blessed, if you take the time to listen to God. Nothing is better than hearing from heaven. We have been called to live the high life in Christ Jesus. And not to be tied down to this natural realm. But all too often, we allow ourselves to be tangled in the temporary affairs of this world. We allow those entanglements to drag us into defeat. Don’t ever let this happen. We must simplify our life, and if we don’t currently have time for God, we must make time! We must never let our career, our family, or anything else keep us from spending time with God daily. Confess: “I do not entangle myself with the affairs of this life so that I may please the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Take the Highway

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Take the high way and leave the world ‘s low ways behind. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). If we truly want to accurately understand the leading of God, then we need to get acquainted with His high ways and leave the world’s low ways behind. How? Focus your attention on Him
and on His Word. The Bible tells us that Jesus got up long before daylight to pray. Jesus made spending time with God the first priority in His life. That’s how He knew what God wanted Him to do. That’s how He perfectly pleased Him. He spent time with Him.

How do we get to know someone? We spend time with them. Jesus’ disciples knew by watching His lifestyle that His power was connected to the time He spent praying. That’s why they asked Him, “Lord teach us to pray,“ (Luke 11:1). The instructions that Jesus received from God in prayer weren’t always easy. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus actually sweated blood, and said, ”O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39).

Are we currently in a type of Garden of Gethsemane today? Is God telling us to do something our flesh is not wanting to do? Has He been telling us for weeks or months, it’s time to get up early each morning and spend time in prayer or in His Word? If so, He is only wanting us to get acquainted with Him and have a relationship with Him.

Has God been speaking to us about making some major adjustments in our life? He may be saying, "This is what you can do about this situation. Here’s what we need to change." No matter how insignificant God’s instructions may seem to you right now, you need to take them seriously. We need to obey His instruction. What may seem of little significance now may cause us to avoid serious consequences later.

God’s directions are always in our best interest. If we will begin to spend time with Him, we will learn His ways... His higher ways, and lose interest in and forget the world’s low ways. We will learn to take the High Way!

Confess: “As I spend time in the presence of God, His thoughts become my thoughts and His ways become my ways.” Let’s choose today to take the High Way and leave the world’s low ways behind. We will be eternally glad we made this choice!

We Are His Instruments

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0000

As born again believers we are one with Jesus. He is the Head and we are the Body. We are His instruments in the earth. We must be bold enough to SPEAK the words the Bible speaks and do whatever Jesus tells us to do. The Spirit of God will anoint us and great things will happen.

When Jesus trained the first twelve disciples, He taught them the same strategies He had been using on the earth. "Go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7-8). He told the seventy disciples in Luke 10:8-9 the same thing. His plan for US is the very same thing. His last words before He ascended to heaven were the same instructions. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature... And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they cast out devils... they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark 16:15,17-18).

We have the same new birth, the same Holy Spirit, and the same commission those first disciples had. Do you remember what happened to them after Jesus left? They kept right on doing what Jesus had done. And the crowd treated them just as they did the Master. They brought the sick so they could be healed. They laid the sick in the street, so Peters's shadow might fall on them as he walked by. Why? Because the word had gotten out that if one could get to where the Christians where, they could get healed. The Christians had a reputation. It was the same reputation Jesus had, and the early church grew at a rate of thousands a day!

Now, that's the way it should be for us today. If you are saying, "I can't heal the sick, I can't cast out devils!" God can, and He is in you. The scripture tells us, "The person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him ." (1 Corinthians 6:17 AMPC). Jesus said, "At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." (John 14:20). We are one with Jesus! The Spirit of God will anoint us... and great things will happen! SPEAK the word! Confess "I am united with the Lord, I am one spirit with Him."

Follow the Leader

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Follow the leader! Follow Jesus! Copy Him! "He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him." "...I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things." (John 8:26,28). Jesus said, "As My Father has taught Me, I speak." Jesus is telling us, "I Am copying My Father. Now you copy Me." The question is, who will we choose to act like?

If we choose to act like Jesus we will discipline our words by saying what He says, and we will discipline our actions by doing what He does. The more skilled we become with that discipline, the more we will live in the dimension Jesus enjoyed. We must not let wrong ideas hold us back. Jesus is our very best teacher... He is our very best example. Copy Jesus! Copy Him! Confess "I imitate God, I copy Him and follow His example." Choose to follow Jesus! Copy Him! We must not let wrong ideas and old mindsets hold us back. Read, study and meditate on His Word, that's where we will receive our instructions. Follow the leader! Follow Jesus! Copy Him!

Speaking to The Tither

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 05:00:00 +0000

"I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes." (Malachi 3:11). Who is God speaking to? God is speaking to His people who have given God the first fruits of all their increase; He is speaking to the tither. It is a wonderful privilege to have a financial covenant with Almighty God. It connects us to His Heavenly economy. It means we don't have to worry about recession or depression. There is no recession nor depression in God's economy. It means we can sleep peacefully at night not worrying about a financial failure. It means when the devil tries to come and steal our increase, we can stand firmly on our covenant. We can say with faith, "Get out of here devil! You're REBUKED! We are tithers: we give of all of our first fruits, and God's Word says you cannot devour our money, you cannot devour our goods, you can't devour our health. We've given God the first fruits of all our increase so we are more than blessed. And what God has blessed, you can't curse. So shut your mouth devil!"

Don't be like the people in Malachi's day and protest. They said, "it is useless to serve God, and what profit is it to keep His ordinances?" Read, study and meditate on what they did. (Malachi 3:14-15). God did not like their words: He said they were "stout against Him." Why? Because they were words of unbelief, not words of faith. God not only wants us to give of our first fruits to show Him honor and love, but He also wants us to tithe in faith. It takes faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Get your Bible and read, study and meditate on the promises He has made to the tither. Meditate on His Word, so you can tithe believing that God will keep His end of the covenant and bless you abundantly. God loves it when we tithe with that kind of confidence. He loves it when we give with an attitude of reverence and gratitude, always trusting Him to take care of us.

God considers you a special treasure! "They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels -- My special possession. my peculiar treasure . And I will spare them , as a man spares his own son who serves him." (Malachi 3:17 AMP). Do you want to be counted as one of God's special treasures? I do! First of all, because we love God and want to be pleasing to Him, and because we know how we treat our special treasures. We take very good care of them. And if we are God's special treasures, that's how He will take care of us! Make that quality decision today to become a tither, tithe in faith that what God said is true and receive the blessings that belong to God's special treasures, His tithers. Say "I am a tither. Therefore the Lord rebukes the devourer for my sake." (Malachi 3:10-11).

Hearing from Heaven is a Lifestyle

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Hearing from heaven... we must make it our lifestyle. If we want to be sure that the wisdom of God will be there for us when the crisis hits, we must start listening for His guidance NOW. We must learn to seek His wisdom and to listen for His instructions on everyday matters of life. That way, when big problems come, we will be prepared, because we'll be in the habit of hearing from heaven.

Hearing from heaven is the most important thing in our whole life! We will never come up with a problem too big for God to solve. But we must remember this one very important thing: we can't turn the wisdom of God off and on like a water faucet. There is nothing on this earth more valuable to us than the His wisdom. It's the key that opens every good door to success, prosperity, health, a long life, peace, and security. All of these are available to those who learn from and live by the wisdom of God. Don't be deceived: many believers don't seek God's wisdom until their backs are against the wall. They wait until calamity strikes and then, in deep desperation, they listen hard for God's voice... and all too often, are unable to hear His voice. "The backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the careless ease of [self-confident] fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkens to Me [Wisdom] shall dwell securely and in confident trust, and shall be quiet without fear or dread of evil." (Proverbs 1:32-33 AMPC).

Read, study and meditate on Proverbs 1:23-33, AMPC, and see what the voice of Wisdom says. We must never get caught in that situation; we must never let ourselves get to the point where we are unable to hear from heaven. Confess "I harken to wisdom, and I dwell securely and in confident trust I am quiet, without fear or dread of evil." There is nothing-- absolutely nothing-- on earth that's as valuable to us as the Wisdom of God, hearing from heaven!

Rejoice in The Lord Always

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 05:00:00 +0000

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." (Philippians 4:4). God is full of joy. Jesus is a man full of joy. If we are going to follow after Him, we must be full of joy. What does that joy do? "...for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10).

The Apostle Paul conveyed the link between joy and strength. He knew that our faith is a violent force, that's why he said, "Fight the good fight of faith!" (1 Timothy 6:12). Paul recognized that our faith must be aggressive, and faith uses the Word of God as a weapon against demonic obstacles in its path. Therefore we cannot live by faith without joy, because it takes supernatural strength to live by faith. We are surrounded by a world that is flowing downstream towards death; its natural flow is always negative. To move toward life, we must constantly swim upstream. If we ever get too weak spiritually to swim upstream, we will find ourselves being swept back toward sickness, lack, or some other form of defeat. We cannot afford to run out of strength.

The Apostle Paul understood the link between joy and strength: he wrote "Rejoice in the Lord always!" Rejoice means to be full of joy, to be excited! Never lose your joy... never lose your excitement. Because when we do we will also lose our strength and suffer lack, become sick, and defeated. Read, study and meditate on Colossians 1:11. The true heart of that says we are strengthened with God's power, His might, to endure with joyfulness. Paul affirmed that which was true in Nehemiah's day under the Old Covenant, is also true under the New Covenant. "The joy of the Lord is our strength!" In order for us to remain strong spiritually we MUST remain joyful. Confess "I rejoice in the Lord always!"

The Word of God is Your Weapon

Rev. Patricia Hepner — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Everyone, everywhere, wants to know the answer to this question: what does it take to be a champion... a winner? Everyone wants to win, but not everyone is willing to pay the price to do it. It takes a commitment to be a champion & a winner, not just in the physical realm, but most importantly, in the spiritual realm.

Jesus said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." (Matthew 11:12). When He said those words, He wasn't talking about going to heaven. He was talking about laying hold of the kingdom of God in the earth: taking hold of the promised blessings, healing, prosperity and peace. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in EARTH as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10). We can have those kingdom blessings here and now, but it's not easy. We must take them by force. We must become spiritually aggressive if we want to walk in the supernatural. And we must do it by faith with the word of God or we won't do it at all.

Spiritually speaking faith is a violent force. The Apostle Paul said, "Fight the good fight of faith!" (1 Timothy 6:12). Faith is not passive, it's aggressive . Faith uses the Word of God as its weapon. It uses the Word of God coming out of our mouth as a two-edge sword (Hebrews 4:12). This powerful weapon will bring down every stronghold of unbelief and every demonic obstacle in its path!

Don't waste another minute, let's start training for our race now. Get your Bible, get into the Word-- it is a faith builder. Get aggressive with it. Do whatever it takes to be a spiritual champion... a winner. We can fight the "good fight of faith!" We can take down every demonic force with our two-edge sword, the Word of God coming out of our mouth. Remember, faith is a violent force; start exercising your faith today and become a spiritual champion-- a winner. Keep your two-edge sword sharpened by speaking God's Word out of your mouth daily, it will be worth it! Your faith "muscle" builds the more you use it. Confess "I fight the good fight of faith! I take the kingdom of heaven by force!"