Producing Faith

 

 

Producing Faith

 

 

 

 

Contents

 

Introduction

I. A Producing Faith Follows God

II. A Producing Faith Hears from God

III. A Producing Faith Obeys God Regardless Of Human Logic And Reason

IV. A Producing Faith Does The Will Of God Even Though You Appear To Be The Only One

V. A Producing Faith Goes On In Spite Of Opposition And Ridicule

VI. A Producing Faith Separates

VII. A Producing Faith Accepts God’s Judgment Without Questioning His Justice

VIII. A Producing Faith Proclaims God’s Message Regardless Of Acceptability

IX. A Producing Faith Is Always Rewarded

 

 

Producing Faith

 

 

Introduction

 

 

Since we are talking about a producing faith, you should know Hebrews 11:6 which says,

 

 

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him.” We as Christians have one of two ways to receive the things we need in this world. We either have to work through our own effort to receive everything in the natural, or we can learn what God’s Word says about faith so that we can believe God to meet all of our needs according to His riches in glory. On the other hand, I believe there is only one way for a Christian to get his needs met and that is to learn God’s Word.

 

Hebrews 11:6 says,

 

 

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him…and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which He condemned the world, and became heir to the righteousness which is by faith.” As we look at Noah, or any of the other men in this chapter of Hebrews, notice that it always says, “BY FAITH.” Every one of these men of God in the Old and New Testaments lived by faith. They believed God for everything they had and this is something you and I must learn to do.

You may say, “Brother Willis, I have a job and I am working.” Well, God has you working at this job now, but once you learn to exercise faith you can have the best job anyone has. A producing faith is a faith that brings forth results. A washing machine that won’t wash is of no value. A dishwasher that won’t wash clean is of no value. A car that won’t run is of no value. Faith that won’t produce is of no value to God’s people. God’s people have faith, but their faith is not producing, therefore, it is of no value to them. It is lying dormant.

You are going to have to have a faith that produces if you want results — answers to your prayers, healing for your body, and victory everyday. The reason more people aren’t being reached today is because faith isn’t producing.

 

 

Chapter I

 

A Producing Faith Follows God

 

 

Genesis 6:9 says this about Noah:

 

 

“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” The only way your faith will produce is for you to walk with God. You cannot live an unholy life, or a life of serving the Lord part of the time and expect your faith to produce. As you study the great men in the Bible, you’ll find out that these men gave their lives totally to God and this is the condition for a producing faith. Many Christians’ faith does not produce because they don’t walk with God. They walk with God for a while then quit and they wonder why their prayers weren’t answered.

Walking with God means staying in fellowship with Him. Our relationship with God may be stable now, but can be broken because of sin. Any relationship that remains in fellowship is a good one. My wife and I have a good relationship, but if we get out of fellowship a little bit, and she gives me the old silent treatment, or I give her the old silent treatment, there’s not much production going on. In the same way, when we’re not in harmony with God, our faith will not produce. I can tell you all about faith, but if you don’t walk with God in harmony and unity, your faith won’t be worth a flip-flop. It will not produce. You can’t walk in victory everyday unless you stay in harmony and fellowship with God. You can’t live an abundant life unless you stay in harmony and fellowship with God. A producing faith follows and walks with God.

 

 

Chapter II

 

A Producing Faith Hears From God

 

There are so many voices speaking to man today. We constantly hear the voice of the Devil, society, security, success, ambition, the voice of the wife, the voice of the son, the voice of the husband, and the voice of the daughter. There are so many voices calling for your attention today until most Christians’ minds are confused and frustrated. Therefore they can’t hear the voice of God.

 

Genesis 6:13 says,

 

 

“God said unto Noah….“ God speaks to groups, but usually God speaks to a man, then the man speaks to the group. God spoke to Noah and Noah heard. To have a producing faith, we are going to have to walk in relationship to God until we can hear the voice of God. Most Christians are like a radio which isn’t set right on a station. You can hear two or three stations but you can’t tell what any of them is saying. We need to take our spiritual antennas, get our hand upon the tuning knob, and turn it to station G-O-D. This is where you hear clearly and distinctly. To hear clearly, the tuning must be set exactly right. Sometimes you have to keep on fooling with that dial to get a good station, but once you find one, you’ll pick it up clear. If your faith is going to produce, you’re going to have to hear what God wants you to do so you can do it, and it will produce. A producing faith follows God and hears from God.

 

 

 

“And God said unto Noah,” an individual. You must realize that you are going to have to hear God yourself. The Lord could give you some directions through the ministry of a prophet in prophecy, but it should be confirmation to what you have already heard from God yourself. If God wants me to do something, He is going to let me know. Amen? If God lets someone else know, that is good, but I can’t act on it until I know.

The Devil is putting so many things in the minds of people today until they can’t hear God. You’ll find out that so many things are crying for your attention. There are many things you ladies need to do during the daytime. When you men come in, in the afternoon, there will be many things going through your mind that you need to do. Close it out. Take a little time out for Jesus. Take a little time out to meditate upon the Word so you can hear God. You’ll find it is difficult to hear from God if you are busy doing other things. Therefore, a producing faith hears God among the cries of others.

 

 

Chapter III

 

A Producing Faith Obeys God Regardless Of Human Logic And Reason

 

 

God told Noah that there was going to be a flood and according to the Scripture, there had never been anything but mist to fall upon the earth prior to Noah’s time. He did not know what rain was. God said to him in Genesis 6:14,

 

 

“Make thee an ark of gopher wood….“ Genesis 6:22 says that he did all that God told him to do. Therefore, you can follow God, love God, be sincere, stay in communication and fellowship with God, and hear what God tells you to do, but you are going to have to obey Him regardless of human logic and reasoning.

Don’t you know that it didn’t make any sense to Noah’s mind to build an ark? He didn’t even know what rain was! His human logic and reasoning told him he was wasting his time because this didn’t make any sense at all. You are going to find out that obeying God will require you to go contrary to human logic and reasoning many times. Jesus was walking across the water to Peter and He said, “Come to Me.” Human logic says you can’t walk on water, but if Peter had listened to his mind, he never would have walked on water. If you listen to human logic and reasoning, you will never walk upon your problems and difficulties. You will never walk in victory. If you listen to the voice of the world about divine healing, you’ll have to use man to get your healings when God is available any time. Listening to the voice of the world will never help you to live in victory everyday. Your mind and logic and reasoning says you are going to have to have low days, grumbly, mumbly, and bad days. Now if you go by human logic and reasoning, that is exactly where you will live. However, if you’ll go by the Word of God and listen to God, you can live in the spiritual land where God desires you to — high above human logic and reasoning. The choice is yours.

 

A producing faith will take you above human logic and reasoning. Human logic and reasoning says that your body can’t be healed through the power of God, but praise God, faith in God says it

 

 

can be and it happens. Human logic and reasoning says there are no evil spirits but the Word of God says so and you can have deliverance and walk in these areas. Therefore, if you’re going to have a producing faith, you must follow God, hear God, and you must obey regardless of human logic and reasoning.

 Speaking in tongues didn’t make a bit of sense to me when I had the experience. Human logic and reasoning said there is nothing to all that foolish talk! Human logic and reasoning said, “You can’t understand it so why do it?” The answer is simple — God said to. Stop and think — if you would have gone by human logic and reasoning when you came into the baptism in the Holy Spirit, you never would have received it. Man wants to figure everything out in his “computer,” however, spiritual truths will not fit a natural computer. Spiritual truths fit a Holy Ghost computer.

 Here is an example. I was pastoring the First Baptist Church in Baldwin, Louisiana. God was blessing and all of my financial needs were met in Christ Jesus. One day God told me to move to Lafayette, Louisiana, but human logic and reasoning told me there was no way in the world I could just go, rent a building, start teaching the Word of God, and people would come. Human logic and reasoning told me I’d have to find ten or fifteen men, two or three committees, get on the radio, go around knocking on doors and try to organize everything. That is what human logic said, but God did not say to do it that way. God told Noah exactly what to do and it was not according to human logic and reasoning, and it wasn’t with me.

 

 When we started to build our house, human logic said, “You can’t do it. You can’t be in it by October 1, 1974.” Praise God! We

 

 

were in it then! Human logic says you can’t buy a house without going to the bank or finance company to get it financed. You can keep on living all your life with this kind of logic and reasoning, but God wants to teach you and me a better way.

 

 

Chapter IV

 

A Producing Faith Does The Will Of God Even Though You Appear To Be The Only One

 

God told Noah to build an ark, so he started building it. There were thousands of people around, but only Noah and his family of seven worked on the ark. They were the only ones who would obey God. I am sure that the Devil said, “Noah, you’re ignorant. Noah, you’re crazy. Noah, you’re stupid. A man just doesn’t get out here in the middle of nowhere and build an ark when there is no water around anywhere,” and especially one as large as he was building!

 

God asks us to do many things and if we go by what others are doing or saying, we won’t obey God. You and I wouldn’t be speaking in tongues if we would go by what the majority of people say. We wouldn’t be believing in divine healing, casting out devils, shouting or praising God if we listened to the world, or tradition. The Devil tried to tell me I was the only one who would dare to believe God. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, as far as I was concerned, I

 

 

was the only one! I didn’t know there was any such thing as the Charismatic movement. There I was, a Baptist preacher in South Louisiana speaking in tongues! The Devil tried to isolate me many times. He said, “You’re the only one; you’re by yourself; you can’t do anything.” When the Lord told me to share my experience with the people in the church, the Devil said, “You can’t do anything. You’re just one man. Who do you think you are? You’re going to tell these Baptists about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, and since you are just one man, they’re going to run you off.

 

Brothers and sisters, God has always chosen a man somewhere, and he believed God and God honored him. Moses was one man. God spoke to him to go down and lead His people out of Egypt. Don’t you know that the Devil jumped on his back and said, “Moses, you’re all alone? Moses, you can’t do it.” Moses went down before the king of Egypt and with only a rod in his hand he said, “Pharaoh, let God’s people go.” Human logic and reasoning said, “Moses, you’re stupid. You’re ignorant.” However, Moses spoke again and said, “Let God’s people go.” A producing faith does not go by human logic and reasoning. You may appear to be all alone, and many times you

 

 

will be alone, but with a producing faith, you will do whatever God tells you to do. God led the people of Israel out of Egypt because Moses believed God and He will lead you to victory.

 

Many of you feel that you are the only one in your family who is serving the Lord, and you

 

 

may be the only one, but it is the Devil who is trying to tell you you are all by yourself. The Devil says to women, “There’s no use for you to go on. You’re not going to get your husband saved or filled with the Holy Spirit. He’s not going to have anything to do with this.” The Devil tells many men, “You might as well stop this foolishness. You’re the only one; you’re all by yourself.” Hasn’t the Devil tried to tell you that you’re all alone; that you’re crazy? God normally moves contrary to human logic and human reasoning.

Therefore, a producing faith will follow God, will hear from God, and it will obey God. It does all of this even when it appears to be the only one. Brothers and sisters, God is going to call many of you to do certain things, and you’re going to feel as if you’re all alone. This is when you must hear God, obey God, and do whatever He tells you to do.

 

Chapter V

 

A Producing Faith Goes On In Spite Of Opposition And Ridicule

 

Noah was the only one who was trying to build a boat until his sons and their wives began helping him. One plus God is all that is required. One man or woman yielded to God is all it takes. However, if you go by your natural senses, it won’t work. The Lord’s work may begin with one man or woman who is yielded to God, then there’ll be two. Next there will be three who are yielded to God, then there will be four, because one man or one woman yielded to God won’t stay one. When he or she is yielded to God and doing what God says, multiplication begins to take place. You may appear to be the only one, but a producing faith goes on in spite of opposition.

 

Genesis 6:3 says,

 

 

“His days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” In effect, God spoke to Noah and said, “Build a boat for I am going to destroy the earth. It’s wicked. It’s bad. Their days will be 120 years.” God gave mankind 120 years in time. Moses was certainly a faithful man! He remained faithful to God for 120 years and there had been no one else before him who had been faithful to God for so long. Sometimes, when we’re the only one in our family who is going on with the Lord, we stagger at being faithful for a month or two, six months, or even a year! A producing faith goes on in the face of opposition.

II Peter 2:5 says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. The Bible says in Genesis 6 that these people were so wicked God turned His head in disgust and said, “I made them, I’m going to destroy them.” This shows how wicked they were, even with Noah preaching righteousness to them for 120 years.

You can imagine the size crowds he drew. Do you know what this would be like? It would be the same as if I would go to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana to preach righteousness. This is what happened to Noah. I thank God that I wasn’t Noah! He preached 120 years and he only had seven converts — his family of seven!

Many have faced much opposition. For example, with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, you are faced with opposition from your husband, your wife, sons, daughters, society and the churches today. A producing faith will go on and on.

Many have faced much opposition. For example, with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, you are faced with opposition from your husband, your wife, sons, daughters, society and the churches today. A producing faith will go on and on. It won’t pay any attention to time or men, because it is better to please God than to please man.

Imagine Noah and his family building a boat, and there hadn’t been a boat like this before and there was no water anywhere around. I can picture the ridicule they were receiving. Brothers and sisters, blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Noah was a preacher of righteousness and God blessed him because of his faithfulness to preach the Word of God. If you will be faithful to God to preach the things you know, such as salvation, baptism, healing, deliverance, and the truths of God, God will bless you. You can be assured, however, that you are going to face opposition.

I can see Noah hammering on the ark and someone passes by and says, “Hey, Noah, what are you doing, boy?” Noah had been hammering on his boat for forty years and someone snickers, “Hey, Noah, when are you going to finish it? Noah, where is the water that will make it float?” Don’t you know the Devil would sneak up to Noah in the nighttime and say, “Noah, listen now, you’re smarter than this. Noah, listen now, why don’t you quit working on this boat? Give up on it and go along with the rest of the people. You don’t have to face all this ridicule. Noah, you don’t have to face all this opposition and mockery.”

Don’t you know the Devil told Noah these things many times in those 120 years? Hasn’t he told us similar things many times in the few years that we’ve decided to go all the way with God? A producing faith always brings opposition. The Devil only fights where God is moving. The Word says, “Blessed are you when you’re reviled and persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” so we’re in store for some great blessings!

I can picture Noah telling his sons, “Go down to the lumber company. We have to have some more wood,” or they would try to hire ten men to cut down trees for more wood. Don’t you know they had a hard time trying to find labor? Can’t you imagine Noah, living in our day, going to the lumber company and saying, “Hey, listen, I need credit on some lumber cause I’m building a boat. The world is going to come to an end and I need credit for $10,000 worth of lumber. I’ll build this boat then pay you back!”

Don’t you know they ridiculed Noah? Don’t you know they gave him a hard time? I’m sure no one would bargain or trade with him because they thought Noah was crazy! He faced much opposition. I can see Noah and his family walking down the street, with people all around them laughing and saying, “There’s Noah and his family. Poor old Noah; he’s flipped his lid. You know, I’ve been knowing him 300 years, but do you know what? Come to think about it, he always was kind of peculiar!”

 

I graduated from New Orleans Seminary, and after I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit this news got back to the seminary. Many of the guys talked about me. They said, “You know, Brother Willis always

 

 

was kind of funny. He always was kind of peculiar!” Therefore, don’t you know that many who had been Noah’s friends for about 300 years would say, “You know what? I’ve been knowing Noah about 300 years and he always lived and acted pretty good. I guess his age just caught up with him and now he has flipped his lid by trying to build a boat. He’s telling everybody it is going to rain and that his boat will float, but we’re all going to die.”

 

Therefore, if you are going to have a faith that produces, you are going to have to realize that you must hear from God and obey God. In fact, you are going to have to keep going when you appear to be the only one and most of the time you

 

 

will be all alone. This is when you’ll have to go on in the face of opposition.

 

 

Chapter VI

 

A Producing Faith Separates

 

 

A producing faith will alienate you. It will put you off by yourself because most of the people in the world won’t go God’s way. Most people want to go the way the trend is going, which is not to serve God. The world does not believe in the miracle powers of God. The world does not believe in divine healing, casting out devils, praising, shouting, and giving glory to God. This is not the trend of the world, therefore, anytime you go against the trend of the world, you will be alienated and will face opposition. Have you lost any of your friends? All at once they aren’t coming around anymore. They don’t say anything to you; they’re just too busy now. They

 

 

did come every night. They would even cancel other visits to come to see you, but now they say, “Well, we’re busy.”

This reminds me of an incident which happened to me. There was a preacher who was a very good friend of mine. He and I had gone to many conventions and had fellowshipped many hours together. I met him at a store as he was coming down the escalator. I said, “Hey there, how are you doing?” He said, “Oh, I’m doing fine, Elbert. How are you doing? Listen, brother, I have to hurry. I have to go and pay this bill.” A few years back, he would have stopped and talked to me two or three hours! That day, however, he had to hurry and pay that bill. I just smiled and said, “Well, praise God, brother.”

Friends, this life will separate you! Many of your friends will cut loose from you if you want to go on with God and have a producing faith. When I got saved, all of my beer drinking buddies took off. They didn’t come around and say, “Hey, Elbert, do you want a beer?” They didn’t want to get around me. They were still the same, but they didn’t like to be around me any more. I didn’t talk about the same things. I didn’t act the same way.

 

Anytime you have a producing faith, it’ll encourage you to follow God, and this will bring the world against you. You won’t be able to communicate with them anymore. You will have brothers and sisters who aren’t believers whom you love and appreciate, but you won’t be able to communicate with them anymore. They have had

 

 

one birth and you have had two births. They have had the natural birth, but you’ve got that Holy Ghost birth which has brought you into the kingdom of God. You also have the Spirit of God living within you and you have changed. You don’t talk the same anymore. You don’t act the same anymore. They can’t understand you anymore, and they couldn’t understand Noah. The opposition he faced was tremendous. Things happen when you say, “I’ve decided to follow Jesus.”

God spoke to Noah; Noah heard Him and obeyed. Noah went on doing what God said even though he appeared to be the only one, because following God will separate you from many people. God’s people and the Devil’s people can’t mix and mingle. They don’t have the same things in common. This is God’s work. God makes the distinction. God separates.

I had one brother who was killed in a car wreck. He had been out partying all night long until about 6:00 in the morning. He was drunk and on his way home. While driving home, he crashed into a tree. Listen, friends, I only had one brother. He and I were close. I loved him and he loved me. If he had $5 and I needed it, or $5,000 and I needed it, I could get it and the same thing applied with me for him, but after I came to Jesus, there was a split between us. Something was different. I knew it was different. I loved him and he loved me. I loved my mom and dad. When I started serving the Lord, my mom and dad were not serving the Lord. There was something different between us, too. Praise God, however, mom and dad are serving Him today and I can communicate with them now. My brother and I never did communicate in this way, but my prayer is that he lived long enough after he hit that tree and broke his neck, to say, “O God, forgive me. That is my prayer.”

 

The Bible says that Jesus didn’t come to bring peace. He came to separate husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. Your decision to follow Jesus will separate you from people. Your life becomes a completely different one. Many don’t like to talk about this, but we must face the fact that we

 

 

are different from the world. Jesus makes us different.

Noah faced many things such as ridicule and mockery. I can picture somebody passing by while he is working on that boat, saying, “Hey, Noah, do you feel the mist a little heavier today?!” I’m sure others passed by and said, “Hey, Noah, you had better put your boat together a little stronger. If a breeze comes by, it’ll fall over!” You and I know how people are about ridiculing and mocking. Some probably walked by, kicked on that boat and said, “Noah, that thing won’t float.” They told him everything in the world to discourage him!

Genesis 6:18 says there were eight people in 120 days of preaching, who decided to go God’s way. It’s your job to proclaim the message, but it’s God’s job to produce results. Noah proclaimed what God had said to him. II Peter 1:5 says he was a preacher of righteousness. It says that God prolonged the days 120 years so Noah could proclaim the message, but was not accepted all the time. That was a long time! This should encourage you and I to be faithful to God for the few years we are here on earth.

 

 

Chapter VII

 

A Producing Faith Accepts God’s Judgments Without Questioning His Justice

 

 

A producing faith will accept God’s judgment without questioning His justice. Noah stayed faithful to God. God spoke to Noah and said, “Get your family, the animals, and load up.” The Scripture says that God shut the door. God said to build

 

 

one door on that boat and then He shut it. God had a reason for shutting the door Himself. Noah and his family went aboard the boat even though they had been opposed for 120 years. They were the only ones who got in before God shut the door. The Scripture says that the heavens opened up and the rain began to come. This was the first time they had ever seen rain. I imagine that the people were amazed when the rain started falling. Can’t you hear them talking about the big drops since they had only seen mist before?

I’m sure that when Noah and his family got into the ark, and the door was closed, that everyone standing outside the ark said, “Hey, Noah, what are you doing inside there, boy?” The rain was coming and the water was running off the boat as fast as it would come. However, the water began to stay on the ground and the ground became soaked. Soon there was about an inch of water, then a couple inches of water. Many people were probably still ridiculing and mocking Noah. Some may have hollered at them.

 

Suddenly the water began to get a little higher, and a little higher, and still even higher. I believe that when the water started to get about knee-high or waist high, some of them began to get afraid. They remembered what Noah had told them. Some probably said, “You know what? Maybe the old crackpot, Noah,

 

 

did have something. Maybe he knew something,” or, “Honey, get the kids, we’re going to go over there and talk to Uncle Noah. He’ll let us in.” I’m sure some of the grandchildren said, “Come on. Let’s go and see Grandpa Noah. He’s got that big old boat down there. He has plenty of room. He’ll let us in.”

 

Everyone went down to the big boat and

 

 

the man they had called crazy all these years was the man they wanted to see. I believe Noah tried to open that door, but God had shut it. God gives man a time, a chance, an opportunity, and when that time passes it’s too late. The Bible says that God shut the door. This is symbolic of what God does for man today. Genesis 6:3 says that God will not always strive with man. What God is saying is, “I’ll not always plead with you. I’ll not always talk with you. I’ll not always give you a chance. There will come a time when you’ll reject Me so long that I’ll close the door and it will be too late.”

Noah probably said, “Come on son, this door is just stuck a little bit. The water probably got around it and caused the wood to swell and the door is just jammed. We’ll push this door open.” Noah gathered his boys together because outside they were hollering, “Uncle Noah, Uncle Noah. Hey, Noah, this is John. I’ve been knowing you for 350 years. Noah open the door. Listen Noah, I’ve got my kids out here. Noah the water is getting high. Noah open the door.” I’m sure Noah tried everything to open that door. I imagine Noah got big sticks and beat against the door, but when God shuts a door, you can’t open it. When God opens the door, you can’t close it.

A producing faith accepts God’s judgment without questioning His justice. Today man will say, “Well, God was unjust.” God is the author of justice. God is sovereign. God does what He wants to do whether you like it or not. It doesn’t matter to Him if you like it or not. He gives everyone an opportunity to accept what He does and then if they reject it, it is their decision. A world full of people dying is hard to accept with the natural mind. However, God gave them an opportunity. God is giving our world today another opportunity.

I believe that one reason for the Charismatic movement is to demonstrate the power of God today. He has given us fresh fire. He has blown His breath across the coals that were in our lives and built a fire within us and He is making the flames burn again. We’re going to have to move with God and accept His judgments without questioning His justice. The churches today are always questioning what God does. They say, “Well, God just can’t do that and be a God of love.” I want you to know that God can do anything He wants to, any way He wants to, because He is God, and everything He does is right, too.

 

You may say, “Well, I don’t agree with God.”

 

 

You are wrong. He’s the God of truth. Natural man questioning God is like our little cocker spaniel questioning me. If he would be able to talk he’d come up to me and say, “Now, who do you think you are acting this way?” I’d look at that little puppy and laugh. That’s how foolish it is for man to question God. I know where that little puppy stands. Friends, God knows you and me. A producing faith will not only hear God, obey God, do what God says when you “appear” to be the only one, and go on in the face of opposition, but it will also proclaim God’s message.

 

 

Chapter VIII

 

A Producing Faith Proclaims God’s Message Regardless Of Acceptability

 

 

Brothers and sisters, you and I have a responsibility to proclaim the whole message of Christ Jesus. God does not have any silent disciples.

 

 

If you are ashamed of what God has given you, then you should tell God to take it back. If you’re not ashamed of what God has given you, you should stand and say, “Praise God; God baptized me in the Holy Spirit. Praise God, God has healed me.” You might say, “Brother Willis, how about wisdom?” I believe what we use today is not wisdom; it is fear. We don’t want to have any opposition. We don’t want to appear to be the only one. We don’t want to be persecuted. A faith that produces will know that opposition comes and it will proclaim the message regardless of acceptability.

 

When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues, the Devil worked on me about this new experience. He said, “Elbert Willis, why don’t you just go ahead and speak in tongues? You can keep on pastoring this church, but you don’t have to tell everybody about what has happened to you.” However, God showed me a different way to go about it. He said,

 

 

“Are you ashamed of what I’ve given you?” I said, “No Father, I’m not.” He said, “Well, tell it then.” I proclaimed the message regardless of acceptability. I did not hide my pearls.

The Devil said, “Elbert Willis, if you speak in tongues, your church members will run you off. When the Convention hears that you believe in divine healing and casting out devils, you have had it.”

I had a decision to make. I could proclaim the whole message that God had given me or keep my mouth shut. Do you know what I did? I said, “Devil, you can say what you want to say, but I’m not going to keep quiet about any truth that God has given to me.” The Devil said, “Well, you can use wisdom.” Friends, I have learned that you can’t use wisdom and deny what God has given you. That is not wisdom. You may want to put the “wisdom tag” on it, but that’s not what it is. I know there has to be wisdom in sharing it, but not a wisdom in denying it.

 

People have asked me if I speak in tongues. It was hard for me to say yes at first! Your mom or dad may have begun to ridicule and mock speaking in tongues and you might have had a hard time saying, “Well,

 

 

I do it!” I don’t have a hard time anymore. If someone starts saying something about it now, I look at them and say, “What do you mean, you don’t speak in tongues? You don’t do it? Do you mean all you can do is talk in English? My goodness, I’ve got another language and I can talk with God. What’s wrong with you?” It is time for God’s people to stop being ashamed.

Preachers have asked me, “Do you really, really believe in divine healing?” I say, “Yes, I believe it. Haven’t you ever been healed by God? Do you mean to tell me that you still have to have medicine?” They leave me as quickly as they can! They don’t like me!

 

The next thing I hear is, “Poor old Brother Willis. He’s gone off the deep end. He’s just gone too far. You don’t have to go that far to be a Christian.”

 

 

You’ll have to go as far as the truth God gives you. Brothers and sisters, I challenge you to proclaim the truth. Anyone who comes against me now and tries to ridicule tongues, I just look at them and speak in tongues! I say, “Do you mean to tell me you can’t talk to God?” They say, “Oh yes, I can talk to God in English.” My reply is, “Well, I can do it two times better than you can. I can talk to Him in two ways.” Well, praise God anyway! We have to proclaim the message and we have to accept His judgments without questioning His justice.

 

 

Chapter IX

 

A Producing Faith Is Always Rewarded

 

The rains came and I’m sure Noah was in the ark saying, “I wonder if this boat is going to float,” but glory, hallelujah, it began to rise. Don’t you know that Noah and his family began to have a shouting time inside the ark when it began to rise? The world said he couldn’t do it. Man said he couldn’t do it, but God said, “Noah, you do it, and I’ll back it up.” A producing faith will always secure the reward of that faith.

The Devil told me that if I told the First Baptist Church in Baldwin I spoke in tongues, they would run me off. I said, “God said to tell them and I’m going to tell them.” Do you know what happened? They all received it! If I had listened to the Devil, not a single one of them would have gotten it. God showed me divine healing and the Devil said, “Elbert Willis, if you start teaching divine healing, the doctors are going to hear about it and they’ll get a committee together to come against you. They’ll file charges against you and say that you’re crazy.” I just said, “God’s Word says He heals and God has healed me.” I shared this message of healing with the people in the church and God started healing them.

I soon learned about demons. This is when the Devil really worked on me. He said, “Now, listen, you’ve gone too far now, Willis; they’ll surely run you off this time.” Praise God, because I brought the message forth, I secured the reward. I began to minister to many of God’s saints and see them get set free.

The world tells us that we’re stupid, we’re crazy, and we’re illiterate, but there is going to come a day when the trumpet will sound and the world will be just like it was in the day of Noah. The door is going to be closed again. Jesus will say, “You had your chance. You had your opportunity. The message was preached for thousands of years, but now it’s too late.” The dead in Christ shall rise, and the living shall rise to meet Him. These words are just as foolish, and sound just as stupid to the person who doesn’t know God today, as when Noah preached them long ago. They thought Noah had gone off his rocker.

When you start telling people today that the trumpet is going to sound, that the dead in Christ are going to rise and it’ll be too late for them, they’ll just look at you and laugh. There’s going to come a day when the smile and laugh will be on the “other side,” because a producing faith will always secure the reward.

 

Genesis 8:13-22 says,

 

 

“And it came to pass, in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded and altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Praise God, a producing faith will always secure the reward. During those long days when the rain was coming and Noah and his family were in the ark, their hearts must have been heavy when they thought about all their loved ones who had drowned. I’m sure their hearts were heavy when they thought about all those they had preached to who had rejected the Word. However, the time came when Noah sent forth the dove and when it didn’t come back, he knew they would soon be on land again.

God had shut that door, but when it came to the right time, Noah was able to open it. Noah opened that door and all the family walked out. They looked at the sky, the heavens all around them. The Bible says that the first thing Noah built was an altar. I imagine that when Noah came out of that ark, he came out shouting, praising, and thanking God, because a producing faith will always secure the reward. If you and I will be faithful to God, God will reward us.

I praise God that we are learning more and more about the Word. I praise God that we’re learning truths we never knew before. Through the grace of God, our faith will produce and bring forth an abundant and godly life for us that we might be instrumental in reaching others for Jesus. Let’s remember that a faith which produces follows God. It hears God. When you’re following God, you’re in tune with Him, therefore, you can hear what He has to say. It obeys God. It does what God says when you seem to be the only one. It goes on doing what God says in the face of opposition and ridicule. It always proclaims the message. It always accepts the divine judgments of God. Most important, it secures the reward.