#107 The Positive Power of One - Believer! (14/12/03)

By: Robert A. Schuller

Well this morning I'm sharing with you the positive power of one believer because I am convinced that as the world continues to see the Christian Community today and see that we are a community of believers. That it has an impact on this world, positive impact and for us to be able to see this positive power of one believer means that we have the ability to know, to declare and to respond in a powerful and a dramatic and a wonderful way. Because I think most of us here when we hear that someone is a believer immediately assume that that person is a Christian. Where in reality people believe in themselves as much as they believe in God in many situations.

And then not only do that, but we can take the next step and we can say well just because they're a believer doesn't mean they believe the same thing about God that we believe.

We can be a believer in God. Or we can be a believer in ourselves. And there are many people who have chose the latter. But even if we decide to be a believer in God, there's still many ways of trying to interpret what God is like. What kind of a God is He? I know many people believe that God is up there just waiting for them to get out of line. It's kind of like Santa Clause, you know, making a list, checking it twice, going to find out who's naughty and nice.

It's like the little boy who got caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar. He turned to his mom and said, boy, between you, God and Santa Clause I can't get a way with anything.
And here we are today with a perception of God. And depending upon our perception of God determines how we respond to God's miraculous and wonderful works in our lives. My son lives with a perception of this and he says these words and I've heard him say it over and over again and as a result they come true. He says, "I have favor." And that's his perception of God. I have favor. And when we have this perception of God we have a totally different understanding of what God is and how He interacts with us. And our responses to Him change accordingly. I have favor.

This is the season of advent. You know advent is the root word for adventure. Adventures. And so this is an adventurous time and a time for us to be able to anticipate the coming of Jesus Christ, to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. And we do that by simply knowing that we have favor. Declaring that we have favor and responding with we have favor. And that's what makes the positive power of one believer.

Mary was visited by an angel. And when the angel saw Mary she said, "You have favor of God. And you will bare a Son. And you will name Him Jesus." And she was so excited about this tremendous news that she went and visited her cousin Elizabeth. Now Elizabeth was six months pregnant and when she went and she visited her cousin, her cousin responded "How is that I have such favor." Here we have two women in anticipation of this tremendous adventure responding with the reality that they have favor. And today I want you to know that every single one us are being blessed. Do you hear that? That's in the present tense. Are being blessed with God's favor.

How do I know? I know. It's just an instinct. It is what we call in theology specific revelation where God specifically reveals Himself to the human being. And you know. You can't say why you know. You can't explain how you know, you just do.

How do you explain the salmon swimming up stream? How do explain the swallows flying back to San Juan Capistrano. How do you explain the Monarch Butterflies flying back to Monarch Bay? How do explain these incredible things of nature? And when they can't explain it, do you what scientists call it? They call it "Instinct." And the human species has that instinct to be drawn to God and to know to the point where it is abnormal for us not to believe in God. Just as it would be abnormal for the swallows not to return to San Juan Capistrano. Just as it would be abnormal for the salmon not to swim up stream. How do I know? I just know.

The positive power of one believer is he knows. Knowing this, the positive power of one believer declares and makes a verbal declaration of this knowledge. We have to realize the power that takes place when we physically, verbally speak. The Bible says that God spoke and the heavens were created. God spoke and the firmament was separated from the dry lands. God spoke this world into existence. There is tremendous power in speech.

I was with a gentleman recently. We were golfing and he says, "I hope I don't hit it OB." Guess where he hit it, OB. He spoke it. You have to remember that the mind does not hear a negative. So when you say, "I'm not going to do this." It doesn't hear the not and it does that. So as soon as he said, "I hope I don't hit it in the out of bounds." all the mind hears is "I hope I hit it out of bounds." Hit it out of bounds. Hit it out of bounds. Out of bounds it goes. When we speak we have to speak what we want and what we believe and as we speak it miraculous things happen and some how, some way we receive it. We must say what we want and not the negative but the positive. I have favor. And when we say those words its hard to believe because that means we have to put everything in the present moment. With all the negative things around us and still recognize the power of God and say those words, "I have favor." And when we say those words we have it.

How many people want the favor of God? Raising your hands doesn't do it. We have to speak it. I have favor. But you know we say it with a little trepidation? That works a little bit but when we say it with confidence that works really much better. So we just have to say, "I have favor." If you want it. If you don't want it you don't have to say it but if you want it you can say, "I have favor." I think you can do better than that. I have favor. You're getting closer. Now you have to say it with conviction. Do you know it? Do you know that God gives you blessings and favor then we can say it? I have favor. There's somebody getting with it there. One more time all together, I have favor. Yeah you can applaud that because its true and its real and God is in the process; current, present, tense process of blessing you right now. I have favor. And you can wake up every morning and look yourself in the mirror and it may not look real pretty but you can say I have favor. And through out the day you can say it even if something happens to you and it doesn't feel good you can say, "I have favor," and miraculous things start to happen.

Now the reason we come to church and we say it here is you have to be careful who you tell other people about that because some people may think your a little off the rocker, you know. And we have to look, and if you look historically in the Bible Joseph he went to his brothers in Genesis and said, "Hey guys I have favor. I had this vision of all these people bowing before me."

And his brothers could not accept it and they threw him into a ditch and they sold him into slavery. So we have to be careful who we share it with.

That's why you come to church. And you can say, "I have favor." And the person next to you will go "Well so do I." God loves you and so do I. Well God loves you and so do I. And we share those blessings with each other because we believe it, we know it and we realize that its available for everybody.

It's like the Texan who went to Australia. And everyone knows that Texas is the biggest and the best, right Texans? Any Texans here today? Yeah, Texans know it. They have the biggest and the best. So he goes to Australia and he sees the wheat field and he goes, 'Well that's a nice wheat field but that looks like my back yard. My wheat fields are this big. And my wheat is this tall.

Well the Australia shows him his cow. And he goes, "Those are cattle? When are they going to grow up?" My cattle are this big and their horns are this big." And they were sitting out on the Australia porch sipping tea and he was Texan was telling them all how wonderful and big and beautiful and grand Texas is. As they're sitting out there a couple Kangaroos went hopping by. Texan had never seen those before. He goes, 'What's that?" And the Australian says, "oh that's just a couple field mice, mate." And then the Texan's eyes got about this big said, "Oh not to worry mate, our cats will take of them."

We got to be careful who we share this wonderful blessings with because people can get completely mixed up and confused and they start thinking we're being braggadocios. They think other things that are not relevant. And so that's why we come here. And here we can say it with conviction, with understanding and with reality and with the truth. I have favor.

The positive power of one believer. He knows. He declares. He responds. He responds because isolation is a very difficult and horrible thing.

In Vietnam there was the Hanoi Hilton. And the Hanoi Hilton is where the prisoner of war spent their days and their nights. And they tried to keep them all isolated as a means of keeping them from communicating. But what they did is they discovered a way to communicate in spite of their isolation. They actually created a grid. A grid, which was consisted of, twenty-five letters; five rows across, five down. And they tapped this grid from which they could spell letters. So the grid went A-B-C-D-E and then the second line go E-F-G, etc. etc. So you had twenty-five of the letters. They took out K and they used the letter C every time a K was used.

And it was a very simple, very simple code, but the Vietnamese never discovered it. And so they would have one tap for the line, a space, and then another tap for the letter. So B should be one tap, space, two more taps. Are you with me? They figured out, they got so good, that the ex-airforce pilot Ron Bliss said it sounded like a den of runaway woodpeckers. And they would sit there and they would communicate like this, telling jokes even. And if somebody was laughing they would pound their feet against the walls. And that was their communication for laughter. But every Sunday morning, at a given time, it became a chorus of tapping. And they tapped out the Lord's prayer and the pledge of allegiance. They responded to one another. Here in the bleakest, darkest of times they found hope by responding to one another. Communicating with one another. And what happens to believers in the midst of the difficulties and the struggles of times, we say, "I know I have favor with God." And somehow, some way God's favor will be seen. God tests to confirm our faith, while Satan tempts to make us fall.

William Cowper gave us these words: God moves in mysterious ways, small wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. You fearful saints fresh take the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. Blind unbelief is sure to err the scan His words in vain. God is His own interpreter and He will make it plain.

Mary was unwed when she was told she was going to have a baby. And it could have been very easy for her to say, "Who me? Favored by God? Blessed by God? Who are you kidding?" But she knew. She saw the angel. The angel came to her directly and she knew. And she responded, "I have favor." And in all things and in all ways and in all times, she continued to respond "I have favor." Do you want the blessings of God today? What are you going to do? I have favor.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You that we have the words to proclaim the goodness of the adventure of Your love for us. And so as we continue to walk the path that leads to everlasting life, and so You bless us, O Lord, with Your grace, with Your mercy, with Your peace. Amen.