Published by admin on 02 Apr 2010 at 07:00 am
THE FORCE OF FAITH
Are the children of the Kingdom of God supposed to just sit around being passive, and letting whatever happens to them, happen? After all, we are told to be wise as serpents, gentle as doves. Does that mean we are supposed to be the devil’s doormats? I can’t see anything like that in the Bible. In fact, the Lord wants us to be quite the opposite! We are to be forceful! It is written in Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
It’s pretty obvious the Kingdom of heaven on earth is suffering violence. Laws are being passed every day in the United States that are not-too-gracefully trying to remove every reference to God out of our Country. They outlawed prayer in school. Then they went after places where the Ten Commandments were publicly posted demanding their removal.. Certain people now want the crosses removed from our National Veteran’s Cemeteries, and every cross removed from public lands. They want “In God We Trust” removed from our money, and “One Nation Under God” removed from our Pledge of Allegiance. Indeed, there is a force at work in the earth against the very Kingdom of heaven, not just in the United States, but all over the world.. They want every reference to God to be removed from our societies. Who is going to oppose those demonic forces, and with exactly what force are we to resist? Glad you asked!
For the sake of simplicity, we will call it THE FORCE OF FAITH. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, there is a war going on right now all around us in the spirit realm, and spiritual battles have a way of spilling into the physical realm, in case we haven’t noticed. We have a choice, let evil rule and reign in our lives, and destroy everyone and everything, or we can resist evil and use our faith to come against evil.
Yet, the Lord Jesus told the disciples NOT to resist evil. So which is it? Resist, or be a coward? Here, let me show you what He said in Matthew 5:38-48: We can then use that knowledge to change our lives into what the Lord Jesus taught His disciples, and the multitudes.
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
First, we have to realize, all physical attacks begin in the spiritual realm. Second Corinthians 10:4-7 gives us some insight into that:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
2Co 10:7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.
We have to use some wisdom here to see how the devil uses PEOPLE to stir up trouble. People who do not believe like we do are not our enemy. The enemy is the devil, who warps peoples’ thinking, to persuade them to turn against God. Therefore, our fight is not against people, but principalities, powers, rulers of darkness in this world, and spirits of wickedness in high places.
Did the Apostle Paul teach opposite of what the Lord Jesus taught? No! The Lord Jesus taught how we deal with people. Paul taught how we deal with evil spirits. They are NOT one and the same, even though sometimes it looks like it. Remember, evil spirits drive people, and we as children of God are instructed to expel them. With what? The name of Jesus, and the force of faith. The Lord Jesus gave a huge measure of authority to us as believers, for the purpose of setting those free who are taken captive of the devil at his will.
The Lord Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24 that our faith can move mountains. Read it for yourself, don’t just take my word for it:
Mar 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Do you believe faith can move the mountains in your life? I’m not referring to mountains made of dirt. We have earth moving equipment to do that. I’m talking about the things the devil is taking captive in your life and destroying right before your very eyes. Your faith will work if you will use it. God gave us mountain-moving faith, and it will move your mountain in exactly the same measure as you learn to exercise it. You can move your mountain a teaspoon at a time if you’re satisfied with that result, or you can move it right quickly, depending upon how serious you are about getting with the program. It’s all about being a disciple of Christ Jesus, seeking Him daily, no, hour by hour, reading the Bible, and becoming immersed in Him
You’ll find pretty quickly that God will not do everything for you. Why is that? He has given YOU authority to move the mountains out of your life with the force of faith He has given you. Over the years, my mountains have yielded to the Word of God, because I determined that as His child, I didn’t have to let the devil walk all over me anymore. Put quite simply, If I was to be a child of God, then I’d better start acting like one now, and teaching others to do likewise. The force of faith is a weapon so mighty the devil has no defense against it whatsoever. And he hopes you never find out how to use it, and if you do, he hopes you never point that weapon at him. But go ahead. Use your faith, that’s why God gave it to you. Stop letting the devil walk all over you, your family, your finances, health, and possessions. Take your place of authority as a child of God. As it is written in James 4:7, Submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Where will he flee to? Who cares? But the force of faith will see to it that he doesn’t stick around long!
Johnny Hood on 25 Jun 2011 at 6:01 pm #
This article is great ministry and just what I needed to help me with a meesage I must bring in a conference this summer in Tennessee. Thank you for being online.
speck on 28 May 2014 at 11:42 am #
This piece of writing is truly a good one it assists new internet visitors, who are wishing for blogging.