Faith: Discovering and using the resources of Heaven

Published in the UK in 2021 by Pete Carter

Copyright © Pete Carter 2022

Pete Carter has asserted the right to be identified

as the author of this work in accordance with the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved.

Bible quotes are from:

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®

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Paperback ISBN 978-1-7397222-0-3

eBook ISBN 978-1-7397222-1-0

Cover design and typeset by SpiffingCovers

Foreword by Lord Jonathan Evans

Arriving at university as a new undergraduate one of my main priorities was, of course, to find new friends, and specifically to find friends who shared my Christian beliefs. On my first evening I joined the dinner queue and fell into conversation with the person standing behind me. To my amazement and delight he turned out not only to be another new arrival but also, like me, he was from Kent. Further conversation revealed he lived only a few miles from me and most importantly he was also a Christian, and a like-minded Christian at that.

You will have guessed that my new friend in the dinner queue was Pete Carter, and we have been close friends ever since. Though our lives have taken radically different paths we have stayed in touch and Pete has been a source of wise advice to me on several occasions over the years. You might imagine that a Christian leader with such a radical vision of God’s work in the world might be a little detached from the everyday challenges of life. That could never be said of Pete. He combines a deep faith with a sharp intellect and a very strong dose of down to earth practicality.

It is part of the human condition that we have to put our faith in something or someone – whether that is in an ideology, in friends or family, in science, in colleagues or in God. However independent and self-reliant we might imagine ourselves to be, we are in reality interconnected and dependent on others. And if we rely on others then we have to trust them, place our faith in them. So one of the biggest questions facing us all is who or what do we trust. Where do we place our faith?

Pete Carter’s book explores faith in God, not just as an exercise in theology or biblical exposition but in stories from Pete’s own experience and those of other Christians. But it is more than a series of anecdotes. From the Old Testament onwards, the truth of God’s engagement in the world has been best shown not by abstract statements or tomes on systematic theology but by stories of how people encounter God in their everyday lives. Stories embody the elusive truth in a much richer and more vibrant way than theory can ever do. They stay in our memory and continue to challenge us. I am sure that the stories you will find here will do the same.  

Lord Jonathan Evans - former Director General of MI5 and Crossbench member of the House of Lords, UK.

About the Author

Pete Carter is a medical doctor and a church leader combining both skills to demonstrate that Christianity provides resources applicable to everyday life on earth.

He is one of the senior leaders at Eastgate Church in Kent, England, where his heart to see the full potential of Christianity realised through daily lives is evidently being fruitful in the people and places that he influences. The resulting wonderful stories of God’s manifest activity through ordinary people, who believe God can do extraordinary things through them as their faith in God grows, give testimony to this. You will find such stories filling the pages of this book.

Pete also has a particular passion to see the world of medicine affected by the power and love of God, and for Christian healing to sit alongside good medicine for the sake of any who choose to benefit from it. Along with others, he founded the Healing Centre at Eastgate in 2011 and since then thousands of people have experienced the presence and peace of God in a joyful environment; and many miraculous healings have occurred. Towards the end of 2018 the Healing Centre was acknowledged by local doctors as a Complementary Service which could be recommended to patients.

In recent years together with a great team he has been developing Heaven in Healthcare which provides support and resources to help Christians involved in all aspects of healthcare to access and manifest the fullness of heaven in their environments. www.heaveninhealthcare.com

Pete is also the author of Unwrapping Lazarus, an inspirational book subtitled Free to live as God intended which has reached the shores of nearly every continent in the world (not Antarctica that we know about!).

He spends his time developing the people of Eastgate, teaching about healing and miracles in many nations, and helping churches and christian ministries to grow structures that reflect a heavenly model. He is on the teaching staff of the Eastgate School of Spiritual Life and has helped to form the Living Fire community of churches, open to all churches who wish to pursue all the fullness that Jesus offers to us.

He loves life with his family; wife Kim, his children and grandchildren. He also loves sport and aims to keep active and competitive for many years to come.

You can follow Pete on Instagram - petecarter1958 and on Facebook - Pete Carter, for other information you can visit the following websites.

Eastgate www.eastgate.org.uk

Heaven in Healthcare www.heaveninhealthcare.com

Living Fire www.livingfire.church

Endorsements

Pete Carter has a passion that shines through every page of his book, Faith: Discovering and Using the Resources of Heaven. He wants to help people successfully navigate the greatest adventure that exists — the journey of faith for a child of God.

Pete reminds me of a seasoned mountain guide, who teaches his students both to master mountain-climbing techniques and to recognize and avoid possible pitfalls that could abort the success of the expedition. If you were one of that guide’s students, you’d want to learn both sets of skills to make sure you got safely to the top of the mountain!

In this book, Pete is working to help you navigate every type of terrain or tight situation you might face on the way to your ultimate destination as you follow Christ. Pete uses a unique blend of tools to accomplish that task, mixing in key scriptural principles with stories of his own and others’ faith experiences that open a window to help you see more clearly.

It’s very evident that Pete is doing everything he can to help you recognise faith, as well as the potential destroyers of faith, when you see them. He also wants to help you know how to develop your faith muscles by using them to conquer obstacles you find along the way.

What’s the point of it all? That your part in God’s great plan will not be aborted on your way to your final destination. I believe Pete has done well to help ensure that one day you’ll be able to stand on your personal mountaintop with a broad view of a life lived fully for God and say with confidence, Through faith in Jesus, I have finished my course for Him! 

Dr. Roberts Liardon

Author of God’s Generals series

I have known Dr Pete Carter for over 20 years now. As a doctor and a pastor, I have seen Pete marry both his sharp intellect and robust faith seamlessly, and this has produced many moments of breakthrough in physical healing, emotional health, and financial miracles. The stories in this book, combined with practical theological insights into faith, are lived out of his experience. Beyond Pete’s ability to live a life of risky faith is his gift to bring others into the same understanding of faith for themselves. Faith: Discovering and Using the Resources of Heaven is not a theoretical book to fill your head with an idea called faith but an invitation to experience the joy of living in faith. This book will produce in you a robust faith that will see the supernatural life of Jesus at work in you and through you. Reading this book has stirred in me fresh faith for miracles and the impossible to invade the earth today. Please read it. Mediate on it and then live it. 

Julian Adams, 

Director of Frequentsee, author of Terra Nova: Fulfilling your call to redeem the earth and make all things new. Founder of Vox Dei School : Training Prophets and Pastor at The Table Boston.

www.frequentsee.org

www.VoxDeischool.com

www.thetableboston.com

In his book Faith, Discovering and Using the Resources of Heaven, Pete Carter breaks down the foundational element of our lives as believers in Jesus Christ, faith. He masterfully sets the stage of not only the imperative importance of faith but also teaches practical wisdom on how to understand and grow our faith. He extends an invitation to every believer to enter into a new realm of faith, one that requires us to trust and obey the voice of God in our lives. Pete has a beautiful way of making complex concepts and revelations, become simple truths that every believer no matter their place in the journey can easily apply to their lives, to live a fruitful and joy-filled life of abundant faith.

Renee Evans

Co-Senior Leader Bethel Austin

It is so appropriate that Pete Carter has written a book on faith, because Pete is himself a man of extraordinary faith who raises faith in others. In all the years that I have known Pete, he has never failed to stir in me a greater revelation of Gods goodness and an increased expectation of God’s power. I am so grateful that Pete has penned a book that will be a legacy of faith for the many who will read its pages and be changed by the words they read.

Phil Wilthew is the author of Developing Prophetic Culture, and also an elder of Kings Arms Church, Bedford, UK.

This book is your practical guide to moving in the supernatural things of God and seeing the impossible happen in your daily life. Dr. Pete Carter is a trusted friend, physician and church leader. We have partnered together many times over the years in seeing God do extraordinary things in the realm of faith and miracles. I find Pete to be an anointed teacher in the things of faith and appreciate his unique ability to partner his faith with his analytical medical training. As a result, you will find this book to not only be inspiring but also an easily understood guide in helping you grow your personal faith. I encourage you to read on as you will find both education and impartation among these pages.

Joaquin Evans,

Co-Senior Leader, Bethel Austin

Pete Carter is a fine leader, and practices what he preaches in the realm of faith. His book is biblical and practical, inspiring, understanding of our struggles in faith, but offering clear and reliable ways to grow in faith. This book will be such a help to church leaders wanting to see their churches grow in faith, and to all of us on the journey of what faith looks like for us. Highly recommended!

Reverend John Valentine,

‘Theologian and Church Plant Trainer at the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication’.

Dedication.

This book is dedicated to my children and my wife - the Carters! Thank you for helping to build a family life that I have found so rich, such fun, so adventurous, and so loving. My life story has unfolded as we have pursued life and God together, and would be so incomplete without you.

My beautiful daughter Kerry I delight in you: you are probably the most courageous person I know and I draw inspiration from you as do so many other people. Your passion for life and compassion for the world is a constant stimulation to me and I have learnt much from you. Your determination to move forward continually and overcome challenges is an extraordinary example to many. Your faith in God and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life will move the hearts of many people as you continue to step forward in life.

My son David - you are so full of integrity, compassion and wisdom that I believe heaven looks on and applauds you. I personally take great delight in you; your passion for God, delight in Him and love of the Bible are an ongoing inspiration to me. Your sense of humour and fun help you to engage with people from all backgrounds and is a valuable component of your excellent communication skills; the humour that we share has also been a wonderful feature of Carter family life. Your life is a demonstration of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and power of his gifts and is a shining example that many choose to follow.

I look back on every season of life that we have had together recalling the fun, laughter, adventures, challenges, hardships, the affection and love that flows between us, and I can truly say that I am so proud of you both, and you bring great delight to me. Your own personal faith in God combined with compassion for the world truly make you world changers. I hope that my life and that of your mum, Kim, serve as a platform for you both to live extraordinary lives.

It goes without saying and yet I want to acknowledge the fact clearly: my beautiful wife Kim’s input into the lives of David and Kerry and her relationship with both has played an integral part in their development.

Kim it has been and continues to be a great delight to walk alongside you and build life together. Your pursuit of God and passion for sharing his love and power with others has helped create an extraordinary journey of faith that we have travelled together.

My love for all three of you is a foundational reality in my life, and I dedicate this book to you.

Pete/Dad.

With Gratitude to many:

This book encapsulates my own journey of discovering the nature of God in ever increasing measure and learning how to trust him in every circumstance of life. Many people have inspired, instructed, corrected and encouraged me along the way, far too many to mention them all personally, but I want to thank all who have played a part in helping me to keep moving forward in my pursuit of God. Particular thanks to members of Eastgate church, students at the Eastgate School of Spiritual Life, those involved in Heaven in Healthcare and also those who are part of the Living Fire community of churches.

Particular thanks also to two of my spiritual mentors, Ray Lowe and Mike Frisby, who helped to lay a firm foundation in my spiritual life and set an example to me of an abundant overflowing life that could enrich the world around me.

Thanks to Sasha Caridia, Janice Pleasants, Dave Foggon and Karen Wellspring whose real life stories not only contribute to this book but are also lived out in front of my eyes as a constant encouragement and inspiration.

Thanks to my big sister Christine Watkins (known as Floss to many) for introducing me to Jesus and encouraging me continually. And thanks to my parents Derek and Kathleen Carter - you courageously chose and created a family life of unconditional love, free of religious restrictions, and full of hope and dreams. You gave me a foundation to enjoy the love of God without limits once I had discovered Jesus, and you also entered into this yourselves when you discovered it.

Contents

Introduction 1

Section 1. What is Faith? 3

Chapter 1 The River 5

Chapter 2. Faith is Worth More than Gold 18

Chapter 3 Faith in the Invisible 27

Chapter 4 Who Do You Trust? 38

Chapter 5 Everyone Places Their Faith Somewhere. 46

Chapter 6 Faith is Assurance 53

Chapter 7 Faith is a Journey. 61

Chapter 8 Faith Comes in Different Shapes and Sizes. 72

Chapter 9 Faith and Authority 81

Chapter 10 Faith Can Calm Any Storm. 90

Chapter 11 Faith Needs to be Tested. 101

Section 2. Enemies of Our Faith. 111

Chapter 12 The Spies who Robbed Their Own People 112

Chapter 13 Enemy Tactics That Can Cause Standstill 122

Chapter 14 Dealing with Delay Part 1 134

Chapter 15 Dealing With Delay Part 2 144

Chapter 16 Why is God not Answering my Prayers? 163

Chapter 17 Familiarity with God - The Nazareth experience. 180

Section 3. How to Grow in Faith 187

Chapter 18 Where do I start? 188

Chapter 19 Continuing the Journey 194

Chapter 20 A Blind Lady in Brazil 203

Chapter 21 The Faith Triangle: an Important Key 211

Chapter 22: Encountering God 225

Chapter 23 Hearing God 239

Chapter 24 New Year’s Eve 251

Chapter 25 Keep your Hope High. 257

Chapter 26 Standing Upon Shoulders 268

Chapter 27 Confidence and Humility 275

Chapter 28 Stepping out in Faith 283

Chapter 29 Never Walk Alone 298

Chapter 30 Checklist 312

Epilogue: The Never Ending Book! 315

Introduction

As relational beings, we choose who to trust in all areas of life and the question of trust is fundamental to us. It pervades almost everything we do and think about. Life is an experiment in trust: Who can you trust? Who do you trust? What do you trust? Relationships are formed on the basis of trust and often damaged by suspicion, mistrust and betrayal of trust. A new born baby soon learns where to place its trust in terms of basic needs such as food, comfort and safety. The inquisitive toddler discovers the opportunities of friendship. When a child starts school, parents trust teachers with aspects of their children’s education and safety. In turn, children face the challenge of being part of a bigger social context. Teenagers learn the more complex issues of freedom and responsibility on their journey towards adulthood and start to make choices about their lives in general. Adults negotiate the complexities of life - choosing life partners, which bank to trust, a preferred supermarket to shop at, where to live, what job to pursue and who to trust to help with health issues. So many questions, and decisions to make, and all of them require trust.

Put simply, faith is trust. Who do I put my faith in? This is something we discover as we walk through life. Finding faithful people who you know you can trust is a very precious thing, something money cannot buy. The Bible says that Faith is worth more than gold. (1 Peter 1:7) How far would you travel to find such wealth? It is a journey worth pursuing. Here are some further remarkable statements made in the Bible about faith:

Anything is possible for he/she who believes. (Mark 9:23)

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. (Hebrews 11:1)

These are statements that lead to many questions. Questions that if pursued honestly can take us on an amazing adventure of discovery, the journey of discovery regarding trust in an eternal, infinite, faithful, loving God. Sometimes I refer to this as ‘Faith - the journey from hope to assurance’

This book is designed to help you develop your faith in God with increasing confidence as you journey through life. Between each chapter is a true story, each one from friends of mine or myself, to encourage and inspire you further on your journey of faith.

I invite you to join me on this adventure, to my mind the greatest adventure that exists. Let’s go.

Section 1. What is Faith?

Faith is not a mystery. It is an everyday reality

lived out by every human being.

Let’s discover what I mean.

Chapter 1 The River

A puzzle that I have spent many years trying to solve is understanding what faith (or belief) is, why it seems to work in some situations but not in others, and whether the Bible has answers for us in regard to these things. I have studied and taught on this subject in many different contexts and as I have studied the Bible I have found numerous answers addressing this question. However, as I tried to share these answers with other people I found that I was struggling to put the answers together to make a complete picture. Something was missing.

The Bible teaches that nothing is impossible for those who believe, it also teaches about the reasons why we do not always see the reality of this. This seems to provide quite a significant tension within Christianity and this is certainly true at Eastgate Church where I am one of the leaders. For instance, when people are prayed for in regard to healing, some people get healed but others do not; this is probably one of the biggest challenges facing Christians who are pursuing the supernatural lifestyle that Jesus modelled for us and asked us to follow. In order to address this whole issue, I decided to do a sermon series at Eastgate on Biblical reasons for why we do not see the fullness of Biblical promises in our current experience and why sometimes our prayers are not answered as we would hope. During this process I was not convinced that I was managing to communicate my thoughts clearly enough, and I was a little frustrated with myself. So one Sunday I asked God to help me by showing me some specific way to approach the problem. Immediately I heard his voice in my head making a suggestion, Study the River Thames. This was an encounter with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, as the part of God that is the Holy Spirit is referred to in the Bible. God revealed something to me that opened up a way to greater wisdom. He gave me a key to open the door to further understanding on the particular subject of faith. I now had the missing piece of the puzzle that would enable me to finish writing this book. My heart and my spirit were stirred with expectation as I began my study of the River Thames.

Did you know that once you are ‘born again’, as the bible puts it, and become a Christian you have a river inside you? Here is what Jesus says about this in the book of John chapter 7:

John 7: 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

This is a powerful image - rivers of living water flowing within us. It builds on other images of rivers throughout the Bible narrative, for instance the four rivers in the creation story in Genesis; in Ezekiel 47 we read about a river flowing from the Temple and carrying life wherever it flows, and at the end of the Bible narrative in Revelation 21 we read of the river of the water of life’.

During my research, I came across this article published in 2010 in one of the UK daily newspapers, The Daily Telegraph.

"Standing statue still on the shoreline, the heron is almost impossible to spot against the reeds behind it. Only once our boat draws near does the bird stir, flapping its broad, grey wings to lift itself into the air.

Other smaller birds dart across the skyline before settling in the water while there is the occasional plop as a fish breaks the surface. It is an idyllic riverside scene that is found in many places throughout the English countryside. The difference on this occasion is this stretch of river sits in the midst of the country’s biggest city. We are on the lower reaches of the River Thames, in the middle of a large industrial estate at Creekmouth, in Barking, London.

It was near this spot in 1878 that more than 600 passengers on the steamship Princess Alice died when the pleasure boat sank in a collision. As they swam towards the safety of the shore, the passengers were overcome by the noxious cocktail of pollution in the water. In 1957, the pollution levels became so bad that the River Thames was declared biologically dead. The amount of oxygen in the water fell so low that no life could survive and the mud reeked of rotten eggs.

Fifty years later, the Thames has become a very different place. It teems with life: 125 species of fish swim beneath its surface while more than 400 species of invertebrates live in the mud, water and river banks. Waterfowl, waders and sea birds feed off the rich pickings in the water while seals, dolphins and even otters are regularly spotted between the river banks where it meanders through London.

Environmental officials now say the Thames is the cleanest it has been in more than 150 years and nearly 400 habitats have now been created to allow wildlife back into the river.

Back in Barking, the evidence of this recolonisation of the Thames is all around. The water itself still looks murky - due to the large quantities of silt and mud the water carries downstream - but it now supports a huge diversity of fish. Juvenile Sea bass, until recently never seen before in the Thames, now fill the creeks that feed into the Thames while flounder, a flat fish, have returned in ever growing numbers. Adult salmon have even been reported migrating up the river.

Above the water too, there are signs of how life has taken hold again.

Crouched among the reeds beneath Barking Barrier is Dennis Ellisdon, a 72-year-old retired marine surveyor and avid birdwatcher. He has been coming to the area, a short drive from his home in Bredbury Station, for 11 years and has spent the morning searching for a pair of peregrine falcons that have been reported nesting in the area.

You often get kingfishers and a lot of wader birds when the tide is out, he said. There are also a lot of migrating birds that stop here now like red starts - that was a big surprise.

I seldom go out without getting a bit of a surprise. You can hear the clank of metal from the scrap yards nearby and the planes at City Airport, so it is not necessarily a haven of peace and quiet, but it is definitely a wildlife haven.

Rare species of wildlife are also making surprise appearances. Water voles are critically endangered across much of the country, but at Thamesmead, just a mile upstream from Barking, the tiny aquatic creatures are thriving. Regular