Supernatural Transformation: Change Your Heart Into God’s Heart (20 page)

What I think is happening is that a spirit of unbelief has taken control in various churches, causing people to operate by intellectual knowledge alone, rather than by revealed, or spiritual, knowledge. To essentially state that something is impossible for our all-powerful God, especially when He has already demonstrated His ability to do it, is to contradict the nature and character of God. A large portion of the church of Jesus Christ today functions according to this mentality, justifying its lack of power by erroneous doctrine that is incapable of producing spiritual fruit that lasts. (See John 15:16 niv.) Therefore, many pastors do not experience God’s supernatural power because the unbelief in their heart prevents them—and subsequently their congregations—from doing so.

During the time Christ lived on the earth, a similar condition existed in the Pharisees who imagined they were dedicating themselves exclusively to the things of God but were merely following religious rituals. Jesus compared them to
“whitewashed tombs”
(Matthew 23:27) because there was no faith or life in their words. They taught the people unbelief because they served only the letter of God’s Word but lacked the Spirit of it. (See Romans 7:6.)

Who Has the Final Word?

As a result of the prevailing cultural mind-set, the educational process, and erroneous religious belief, most people allow the fields of science and medicine, as well as other realms of human knowledge, to have the final word—and, often, the only word—in their lives. If they are sick, they merely go to the doctor. If they need money, they apply for a loan from a bank or go to a finance company to reorganize and streamline their debt. If their business is stagnant, they seek marketing, advertising, and publicity strategies; new products; modern technology; and so forth. If they have a child who is rebellious, they send him to a psychologist. If they feel depressed, they take a prescribed antidepressant.

If none of the above approaches is successful in addressing their problem, they feel there is nothing left that can be done, because they have been taught to depend solely on what reason, medicine, and science can do. The cultural mind-set and educational process have taught them what is possible and impossible—according to natural, temporal, and physical conditions. Their doctor may have told them that they have a terminal illness and that there is no cure, so they have to accept the diagnosis. Their reason then confirms that there’s nothing left to be done. Or, their bank may have told them that it is going to repossess their house, and their lawyer may have explained that they have no alternative but to leave their home. Their reason may tell them they have to admit to the inevitability of the situation because they have “no way” to come up with the money. Or, perhaps their marriage has been in crisis mode for years, and they have begun to contemplate divorce. The love between husband and wife has grown cold, and neither marriage counselors nor psychologists have been able to help the couple to find a solution. Therefore, they have come to accept the idea that their marriage has ended, believing that it is “impossible” for the relationship to improve. Regardless of how much they might try, there is no way to save it.

Many people who are faced with such situations do not think of praying for healing, financial provision, or spiritual or emotional deliverance—or of asking others to pray for a miracle. But God dwells above and beyond human reason, medicine, and science! Many medical and scientific resources are excellent and enable us to enjoy good health and various advancements and conveniences. However, they can never substitute for the love and power that God our Creator wants to give us. We have to make Christ our priority and turn to Him first when we are in need. Jesus must be number one in our life, not second (or third, or fourth, or fifth…). He doesn’t want to be our last and desperate option “when all else fails.”

Reason and science have established limits on what is possible and what is impossible for us in this natural world.

When Jesus’ mother, Mary, was told by the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to
“the Son of the Highest”
whose kingdom would never end (see Luke 1:26–33), she asked,
“How can this be…?”
(Luke 1:34). Many people today are asking the same question regarding something God has promised. If Mary—a pure young woman who loved God and found grace in His presence to bring His Son into the world—could ask “How…?” then we, also, will have times when we question God and His ways. Yet the point is not that Mary asked how the angel’s words could come to pass. The point is, after she received the angel’s explanation—which was impossible according to human reasoning—she trusted God fully and spoke from her spirit, saying,
“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word”
(Luke 1:38). Now is the time for you to follow Mary’s example and say to God, “Let it be to me according to Your word,” allowing Him to work out the miracle that you so desperately need.

The fallen human intellect doubts that physical healing or other miracles could possibly take place, leading people to ask questions such as these: “How could God do the ‘impossible’?” “How could God make me well when I have an incurable disease?” “How could God restore my marriage when my husband and I no longer love each other?” “How could God cause my ex-husband to be a real father to our child when he abandoned both me and our daughter many years ago?” “How could God transform my grandchild’s rebellious heart so that he will become obedient to his parents and begin to honor them?”

We try to understand how God might be able to intervene in a particular situation, and if we can’t come up with a rational means by which it could be accomplished, we give way to unbelief. So, the question “How?” becomes a stronghold of unbelief in our life. God may not tell us “how” He will answer our prayer or perform the miracle we need. He simply asks us to trust that
“with God all things are possible”
(Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27). He can provide healing, financial blessings, and renewed love—He knows “how” to do it! The only condition is “If you can believe…” (Mark 9:23).

Jesus is all-powerful!
“All authority has been given to
[Him]
in heaven and on earth”
(Matthew 28:18).
“
[God] put all things under [Jesus’] feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22). We have limited God’s abilities to what we can reason, forgetting that He is
El Shaddai
,
“the One who is more than enough”! When we believe, we allow God to perform the miracle—when He wants to do it and how He wants to do it.

Make the decision to remove all limitations you have placed on God based on human reason.

When Emilse’s son was born, he suffered a loss of oxygen to his brain, causing him to permanently lose hearing in his left ear. At the age of five, he underwent surgery for an auditory implant, yet the deafness continued. It was hard for Emilse to believe in miracles after seeing her son’s condition—when not even surgery had been enough. However, during a healing crusade, I made a specific call for people who needed new ears. Emilse and her son, who was then fourteen years old, came to the front. A minister prayed for him and declared him healed. Later, in a step of faith, the young man covered up his right ear, and the minister stood behind him and clapped to see if he would respond. He did! The power of God was present to heal, and the boy’s ear was opened! He had spent fourteen years without the ability to hear, but, in a matter of seconds, God did an amazing miracle by His supernatural power when medical science had no more answers.

Do You Have a Heart of Unbelief?

Can you break through the mental conditioning to which a scientific mind-set, human reason, and religious doctrine have submitted you? Of course you can! You can do so by entering, through faith, into the realm of the supernatural, believing God more than any illness, home repossession, broken relationship, or other problem you may be facing. Humanly speaking, I will not argue that some things seem impossible. But the natural world and everything in it are subject to God’s sovereignty and power. And so I ask you: Which report will you choose to believe—man’s report or God’s?

To help you begin to break through unbelief and believe God’s report, let’s review the characteristics of a heart of unbelief so that you may examine your heart in relation to them.

1. A Heart of Unbelief Thinks According to the Natural Realm Alone

As we have seen, human intellect or reason supports its conclusions by facts alone, and reason has become the way through which most people today determine what they think is real and true. We have been conditioned to think in that way. Yet, in our world, facts are constantly changing, while truth is eternal—including the absolute truth that Jesus Christ and His supernatural kingdom are real. The kingdom of God is a superior reality to any human fact.

Remember that Jesus said to the man whose son was demon-possessed, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes”
(Mark 9:23). That’s when this father
“
cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24). According to our limited human knowledge and reason, there are impossibilities in this world. However, Jesus said,
“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible”
(Mark 10:27).

2. A Heart of Unbelief Resists Change

As believers, we are meant to progress from one level of faith to the next, and from one dimension of glory to another; we are intended to be in a constant state of transformation into the likeness of Christ. (See, for example, 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:13.) Yet, a lack of faith in our heart will thwart that transformation. When various challenges come our way as opportunities to transform our heart and mind, we will reject them if we are stuck in the past due to unbelief and have become skeptics concerning our future.

Skepticism is “an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object.” Often, a person whose heart has been hardened by betrayal, abuse, or rebellion will turn skeptical, even when he sees the power of God operating in the lives of others, or even if he has experienced that power himself in the past. He finds it impossible to believe that God would do something in his favor
today
. If this is your situation, you need to resolve your unbelief and reactivate the process of transformation that leads you to Christlikeness and complete trust in God.

3. A Heart of Unbelief Blocks Miracles

When we think according to a mind-set of reason alone, and when we resist change, we will block miracles from occurring in our life. Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth for the purpose of announcing the gospel of the kingdom and manifesting miracles and wonders, just as He had done in the other towns in which He had ministered. However, He was unable to do much there except heal a few illnesses, because His own family members, neighbors, and townspeople regarded Him with a heart of unbelief. (See Mark 6:5–6.) “Now [Jesus] did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).

As we have discussed, many people in the church today deny, criticize, and/or reject demonstrations of God’s supernatural power, such as miracles, healings, deliverances, the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so forth. In effect, their unbelief has become “institutionalized,” so it seems illogical to them to seek supernatural manifestations from God.

If you want to receive a miracle in your life today, renounce any unbelief that is in your heart and then receive it! “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8)! Jesus did miracles yesterday, He does them today, and He will continue to do them.

When doctors were unable to do anything to improve the health of Marisol, who lives in Peru, her faith moved the hand of God, and she received her miracle. Here is her testimony: “When I was twenty years old, I fell down some stairs. The same thing happened to me at age thirty-five. As a result, the fifth lumbar vertebra in my spine lost its protective cartilage—a condition that caused me great pain. I couldn’t sit down or sleep sideways, and I dragged my leg when I walked. I tried several alternatives for improvement, such as massages and injections, but my condition only grew worse.

“I learned of Pastor Maldonado through his books and videos, which people had loaned to me; the content of those books and videos ministered to me greatly in deliverance. When I learned that Pastor Maldonado would be traveling to Peru, I felt that God was going to heal me through his ministry, and I wanted to go to the event. My husband, seeing how much pain I was in, didn’t know how to help me to get there. My friends told me that it was better for me to go to the doctor, but I didn’t want any more to do with doctors and medicine. I was determined to believe God.

“The pain was intense, but I trusted in my Lord and asked Him not to leave me in shame. He provided the money for me to attend, and I had injections for the pain that enabled me to go. During one of the ministry sessions, Pastor Maldonado said that we shouldn’t expect him to touch people but that each one of us would have to take our healing directly from the Holy Spirit. I appropriated that word. I leaned against a wall, and, at that precise moment, the pain began to disappear. The pastor said that God was healing backs and that we should begin to do what we couldn’t do before, as an act of faith. Again, I cried out to the Lord, and I began to move. My husband, family, and friends, who had seen the condition in which I had arrived, were amazed. My healing was noticeable! I went forward to testify, and Pastor Maldonado sealed my healing by laying his hands on my head. I fell under the fire and presence of God, and everything changed. Because of my testimony, my entire family has come to Christ. My husband now serves the Lord in the church, and our marital relationship has notably improved.”