A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of June 6-10, 2022
MONDAY
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Hebrews 6:11-15
Faith is now. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that. Faith is a spiritual substance and is activated when we seek something promised to us by God. Faith lays hold of the promise and holds onto it until the promise comes to us. Without putting our faith in God, we cannot please Him. Faith gives us an assurance in the now that that which we hope for is coming. Faith gives us the sense that we have it now, and we do, in a spiritual form. However, we cannot totally enjoy the promises in their spiritual form because often we are seeking natural things. We have earthly needs, but we are commanded by God to ask Him for them. There is a process by which that what we desire on earth comes from heaven.
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Matthew 8:16-17 ~ When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
June 6: Deuteronomy 10, Psalms 94, Isaiah 38, Revelation 8
June 7: Deuteronomy 11, Psalms 95-96, Isaiah 39, Revelation 9
June 8: Deuteronomy 12, Psalms 97-98, Isaiah 40, Revelation 10
June 9: Deuteronomy 13-14, Psalms 99-101, Isaiah 41, Revelation 11
June 10: Deuteronomy 15, Psalms 102, Isaiah 42, Revelation 12
June 11: Deuteronomy 16, Psalms 103, Isaiah 43, Revelation 13
June 12: Deuteronomy 17, Psalms 104, Isaiah 44, Revelation 14
TUESDAY
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Hebrews 6:11-15
If faith obtains the promise for us, then we must have a way of knowing that the promise is ours. We know it by our faith. So while faith gives us a knowing that we have received that which we believe, then we must have a way to also make it known to us that we are not inventing this thought and living in a dream world. Fantasies are not spiritual. They are products of the carnal mind. We wish and dream and fantasize about certain things, but we have not received them. Our carnal dreams and wishes are not of the same substance as the spiritual dreams. Therefore, the carnal cannot support or help the spiritual.
WEDNESDAY
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Hebrews 6:11-15
The spiritual must be supported with the spiritual. This is where patience is needed. Patience is a fruit of the spirit, that when added to faith produces a support for our faith that while we perceive it as real and already given, we also have a sense that it is not here yet. When I say here, I mean in the natural form or natural realm. Patience adds reality to what we are believing. In other words, patience makes our thinking sound and reasonable. It helps bridge the gap between the spiritual and the natural and gives us an “explanation” if you will, for why we have it but we don’t have it.
THURSDAY
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Hebrews 6:11-15
Patience makes faith a journey. It is a “walk of faith.” Patience keeps us from being upset that we don’t “see it now.” Patience matures us and keeps us from whining like babies because the need is not yet met. Patience leads to experience (Romans 5:4). The difference between a baby and a mature person is the level of experience they have with life. Experience leads to hope. Hope is that upon which our faith is centered. Hope gives focus and direction to our faith. Our faith is not just in “something” but something specific. Our faith is also in Someone. We have a true vision from God for our future inheritance.
FRIDAY
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Hebrews 6:11-15
Patience ties our faith into a life of faithfulness. Faithfulness allows us an inheritance in God. As we follow the Lord and faithfully serve Him, we move closer to the promise. We are no longer sitting and waiting for Him to give us something, but we are moving toward the thing that we hope for, joyfully serving the Master. Without patience we would easily lose hope, because we would wonder what we can do to speed things up. We would eventually conclude that we cannot have what we prayed for. Patience allows us the assurance that while we have received what we prayed for by faith, the fact that it has not yet come to us in the natural is not a problem for us. We can live in His joy and rejoice along the journey because we are being conformed to His glorious image. Jesus patiently and joyfully waited for us from the time of Adam’s fall until His resurrection. He received His inheritance. We can as well.