One evening the Lord commanded His disciples to cross the Lake of Galilee to the other side. Suddenly there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat upon the boat so much that it was now filling up. The Lord Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. The disciples awakened Him and said, "Teacher carest Thou not that we perish?" The Lord arose and rebuked the wind. But what did He say to His disciples immediately afterwards? ... "have yet not faith?" (Mark 4:40). This indicates that many hasty prayers are but an expression of unbelief. If there were faith, you would stand firm. The Lord orders you to cross to the other side; He has not commanded you to go to the bottom of the lake. Because He has given His order—and no matter how strong the wind blows or how high the waves beat—the boat cannot capsize. Praise and thank God, victory is Christ, not I. Were it I, I could only endure so much, and then I would explode. But if it be Christ, no temptation will be too much for Him, nor any testing too difficult for Him. Stand on the side of God's word, stand on the side of faith—and Satan is rendered helpless. Since the Lord orders us to go to the other side, to the other side we will go. Not because our word counts, but because God's word is trustworthy, for He is forever faithful. No matter what the enemy says, your response is and always shall be that Christ is trustworthy and God's word is dependable. This is faith; this substantiates the truthfulness of God's Word. ... Genuine faith believes in the Word of God exclusively, it is not believing in one's own experience, feeling, or dark environment. If environment and experience coincide with God's Word, we praise and thank the Lord. But if these disagree with His Word, then the Word of God alone stands true. Whatever is contrary to God's Word is false.
The Scriptures show us that Christ is our head (Eph 1:22, 4:15, Col 1:18). Just as the head of a man feels and cares for and controls the body, so Christ is towards us who are Christians. We do not need to ask Him to be our head that we may be His body. Today He is the head, and we are members of His body... God's Word states that Christ is the head; do you believe that He is at present caring for you? The Word of God also reveals to us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). It is not that He will become our vine and we will become His branches. It is not that in the near future when our spiritual life is more advanced than it is now we will then become His branches and He will become our vine. We should bear fruit as He does. We should be filled with virtues as He is filled with virtues. For He has given His "sap"—that is to say, His life and fruit-producing power—to us. He is now already the trunk, and we are already His branches. He is presently supplying to us His life with His perfection and holiness and all virtues. Do we believe this? Do we believe that He now is our trunk and we are His branches? When you believed Him as your Savior, you were already perfectly joined to Him. Do you believe this? You do not need to figure out how you can be joined to Him since God has already made you and Him into one tree. Can you now believe that He shall be towards you even as the physical trunk of a tree is towards its branches? It is not that you bear fruit for Him, but rather that He bears fruit through you. The grace of God has already given the Lord Jesus to us; today by faith we accept all that God has given us so that the life, power, liberty, and holiness of Christ may be manifested in our body. By believing what God says about Christ dying on the cross for us, we receive eternal life. Likewise, by believing that the Lord Jesus lives in us, we receive the life that wins.
First of all, please notice that victory is an exchange life, not a changed life. Victory is not that I have changed, but rather that I have been exchanged. One verse which is most familiar to us is Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God." What is meant by this verse? It has only one meaning: the life spoken of is an exchanged life. Basically, it is no longer I, for it has absolutely nothing to do with me. It is not that the bad I has become the good I, or the unclean I has changed to be the clean I. It is simply "not I." "Change" is never God's way; His way is always "exchange." All these years I have not been able to change myself, yet God has exchanged me. This is holiness, this is perfection, this is victory, and this is the life of God's Son! Hallelujah! Henceforth the gentleness of Christ is my gentleness; the holiness of Christ is my holiness; the prayer life of Christ is my prayer life; the communion of Christ with God is now my communion with God. No sin is too big that I cannot overcome. No temptation is too severe that I cannot prevail. For the life that wins is Christ, not I. Will Christ ever be fearful of a big sin? Will He be afraid of a great temptation? Praise God, I no longer fear because hereafter it is Christ and not I.
God demands that we present ourselves—together with our families, business and wealth—wholly to Him. It seems, however, that every Christian tries to retain something for himself. Let us understand that although under the Old Covenant the people had to offer one-tenth to God, the New Covenant offering is ten-tenths. Many Christians are fearful lest God trouble them. Once a believer who was afraid of offering himself to the Lord said, "If I offer myself to God, and He makes me suffer, what can I do?" To which I replied quit seriously: "Who do you think God is? Suppose a child who used to disobey his parents said to them that hereafter he will obey them. Do you think his parents will deliberately require him to do what he cannot do so as to make him suffer? If so, they are not parents, but judges. Being parents, they doubtless will be especially merciful to their child. How, then, can you suggest that God would purposely cause you to suffer? Do you really think He would intentionally destroy you? You forget that He is your Father." Whoever is afraid to lay all (including people, things, and affairs) before God in consecration cannot be an overcomer... Consecration makes life powerful as well as joyful. He who is unwilling to offer to God is powerless, joyless, and sinful.
This mystery of union is God's work by which the unsearchable riches of Christ become ours. Do we believe this? All that is Christ's is ours. Do we believe that God has given us His holiness, perfection, life, power and riches? God has joined us to Christ causing Him to be our head, our trunk and our food. Do we believe that Christ is now our righteousness and sanctification and redemption? Do we believe He is presently living out His life in us? God has indeed invited us, nay, He has commanded us to believe. Our union with Christ is patterned after the union of Christ with God; therefore, His patience, gentleness, purity and goodness are all ours. Just as in initial salvation we previously believed Him to be our righteousness, so today let us likewise believe Him to be our holiness. Yet how many fail in this respect. They know God's way of victory, but they do not have the faith. They know their inability, but they do not know Christ's ability. They see the total corruption of their flesh, but they do not see the riches of Christ as God's gift to them.