“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5 : 4”
If there is a fight to be fought it should be a faith fight, not fighting with our flesh or demonic forces. Satan tempts your flesh using demonic forces to steal your faith. If you are fighting your flesh and demonic forces this is evident that you are not fighting the good fight of faith. God promises us that if we fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12) we overcome the world, its ways and its method of operations.
The bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). It also says that the just, if they want to live, they must live by faith (Gal 3:11). To live by any other means or method is worldly. To be friends with the world is to be at enmity with God (James 4:4).
This is why it is so important to eliminate darkness so that our faith is not hindered. “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6, 7)”
Studying and obeying God and His word is part of our spiritual work the other part is exercising our faith. Faith without work(s) is dead, and work(s) without faith isn’t faith at all (James2:17). Much of our works are not motivated by our faith in God and His word but our faith in our employer or our faith in this world’s system. We have more confidence in the signature on our pay checks than we do God and His word and His method of living. You better know where your help comes from!
We have more confidence in food stamps and welfare than the Kingdom of God. We have more confidence in medicine than we do the Lord, our healer. We have more confidence in a lottery ticket than sowing and reaping. We have more confidence in our paychecks then we do God providing for us. We have to take on the attitude that if God doesn’t do it, it won’t get done, rather to look toward another source for meeting our needs. God has to be our only source and the only way to get our needs met is by faith. And yes God can use a paycheck, medicine etc....but you must make sure your faith is in Him and Him alone.
If the food gets low in the pantry and you have no way of buying more, then take no thought of what you shall eat or drink for your Father in Heaven knows what you have need of even before you need it (Matt 6:8 & 25). Rather than get in fear, doubt and unbelief, take the attitude that God is more than able and He has promise to do His part. If my patience is being tested, then maybe He wants me to fast. I would rather believe that, than believe His word doesn’t work. Sometimes getting low on food is the only way to get some of us to fast anyway. Couple your fasting with prayer. Fast the God kind of fast (Isaiah 58:6), don’t fast and pray for food.
Fear is what you feel when you believe that something you don’t want to happen... will happen. Dread and anxiety are synonyms to fear—to be afraid. Joy is what you feel when you believe you will receive something you want or need. Unfortunately, what you are afraid of happening, will happen, because you believe it will. If you are afraid that God will not meet a particular need; that need will go unmet. You must believe that He will, in order for Him to meet the need. Your faith in Him is what moves Him to do it.
We all have the measure of faith (Rom 12: 3 - the ability to hope) we just have to figure out what our faith or hope is in. Is it in God’s word or Satan’s lie? To believe that God will not meet your needs is a lie from the devil. What you believe is merely a matter of choice. You choose to believe God’s truth just like you choose to believe Satan’s lie. Faith in a lie is faith. We should have the faith of God. God believes what He says, so should we.
The just shall live by faith. In order for the just to live in this world we have to have the foundational things: God, His word, air, water, food, shelter and clothing. This list could be extended to bus fare, cab fare, a car, gas, electricity, and heating gas, etc…
The first time I went to the gas company they turned my service on without needing money, just my word that I would pay the bill. When the bill was due, I most certainly couldn’t go to the gas company and pay my bill with faith, they prefer money. Now, if I don’t have the money then where do I get the money from? Do I borrow it or steal it? Or do I ask God for it?
We could borrow the money but where will we get the money to pay the lender back? Right back where we started…the Just will ask God. Now I don’t know what some people will experience while growing their faith. Some experience the gas being turned off, some experienced supernatural miracles of receiving money to pay it or simply favor to keep the gas on giving them more time to exercise their faith.
Maybe the gas being turned off was due to double-mindedness. Maybe you received thirtyfold by getting an extension, maybe you receive sixtyfold by getting the money to pay the bill (without borrowing) or maybe you receive 100 fold and paid the bill with some left over.
Anything you need you must get it from God and you must get it by faith. Faith is always based on what God has said or promised in His word. First you must find the word or promise that says you have a right to desire (hope) and ask for it. Then you must approach the throne following the proper protocol, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him and bless His name (Psalm 100: 4)”, we must be just (upright, obedient), even if that means repenting; upright people repent. Then we must ask in faith, believing that God hears us and if He hears us then we know that the petitions of the righteous shall be granted. Anything that is gotten some other way than by faith is ill gotten gain.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we bought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that set their will to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from their faith."
Faith is the substance of things hoped for it is the evidence of things not seen yet it exist (Heb 11:1). Whatever you hope for is a thing. All things that can be seen and not seen are made from the substance called faith. The word of God contains this substance. When you hear the word of God, and you understand it, faith is deposited into your heart.
So how do you know if faith has been deposited in your heart? Ask yourself, do you desire something that the bible says you can have? If the answer is yes, the desire is proof that faith has been deposited into your heart. The bible tells us that God will give us His desires. The desires He wants us to have. So any desire we get from hearing the word is a god given desire and has now become our desire. God given desires have to be gotten God’s way. When we commit our ways to God, He is obligated to manifest the desires we have (Psalm 37:3-7).
Should your desire cause you to obtain it any other way besides God’s way then your desire is considered to be lust.
Lust does not come from God or His word but lust comes from the world. Lust will cause you to love money, or set your will to obtain it. Usually the reason why people ask amiss or go another route than by way of faith is because what they desire is outside the will of God (James 4:1-4). Faith is like a title deed for the things you desire. It has an imprint of its origination (the seller) and who it belongs to (the buyer). Everything that we possess in this world must have it’s origination from God. Everything you get from God will be received through a transaction of faith. If anything you receive in this world does not have God’s imprint on it, then it didn’t originate or come from him. Most likely, it doesn’t have your name on it as the owner either. This possession is always subject to repossession by the real owner.
If what you possess didn’t come from God then it came from the world or Satan who is the god of this world. You see, Satan will never allow you to own anything. He may deceive you into thinking you own it but you may not. Satan will always have a lien on your possession. A lien will always make you the servant of the lien holder.
It is not God’s will for us to be anyone’s servant unless it’s by choice. We serve God because we want to not because we have to. In order for Satan to have servants, he must force or deceive them into being one. Satan wants you to have his stuff. The only way you can get it is to do things his way which is any way that contradicts God’s way. Believe me, the minute you realize you are a slave and you try to break free, he will want his stuff back.
What we get from God, Satan can’t take back because it never belonged to him in the first place. But if we are not privy to this understanding he will try and steal the things you received from God. If what you had, was truly from God, then God says that the thief must restore sevenfold (Prov 6:31). But if you didn’t receive it from God then Satan only took what was rightfully his.
You fight the good fight of faith by continuing to obey God and believe God until you see the end of your faith which is the manifestation of the thing you desire. Don’t give up! Continue to do those things that bring light. Cease from those things that block light, by removing iniquity. Set your priorities and get your house in order. Stay faithful and diligent and you shall abound in blessings and rule in authority!!!