Welcome to another gracious week of TOTAL EXPERIENCE. We are digging deeper into the mysteries of faith. Faith is never passive. It is always expressed in actions and behaviors that are visible and most times measurable. That’s why the Bible says faith without works is dead according to JAMES 2:14-26, “What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?… Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works…. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?… For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Beloved, in our journey of exploring the mysteries of faith, it is important for you as a Believer to note that there are the dimensions of a fight FOR faith and a fight OF faith involved. The fight for faith is the Believer’s warfare against the enemies of faith. A practical approach to eliminate or drastically reduce the forces that are constantly at work to kill or paralyze our faith. While the fight of faith is the dimension of the Believer taking responsibility to practically nurture the faith and contribute to its growth on a daily and consistent basis. Until you take responsibility, nothing actually responds to you. So the Apostle Paul admonishes us to fight the good fight of faith in 1 TIMOTHY 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” and demonstrates it with his personal life and example in 2 TIMOTHY 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith:”
Enemies of faith
The foundation of faith victory and building capacity to keep the faith is your ability to identify enemies of the faith. Your ability to properly discern the forces that potentially can circumvent your effort to grow and maintain your faith is critical and fundamental. Here, we will deal with a few identified enemies of faith. The list is never exhaustive but can be a pointer to many others not specifically mentioned here. I pray that as you proceed, the Lord will enlighten your heart with great understanding and the courage to deal with all identified enemies of your faith in Jesus’ Name.
Ignorance of God’s word
The first enemy of faith for consideration is ignorance of God’s word. Faith is entirely based on God’s word. Therefore, nothing kills or limits faith like ignorance of the very word of God it needs to operate and deliver. HOSEA 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children”. In ISAIAH 5:13, the Bible says, “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because [they have] no knowledge: and their honourable men [are] famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” Every problem is traceable to lack of knowledge. People are not destroyed because of failed national economy or poor political influence; they are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Your faith can never be strong if you are ignorant of God’s word. You must be knowledgeable of the word of God by studying it. This is because the greatest enemy of man is ignorance. Nothing robs a man of his dignity like ignorance. Ignorance is the reason for stagnation. The glory of any life will only show when it has access to knowledge. PSALMS 49:20 says, “Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish”. Life amounts to nothing but frustration outside knowledge. How deep your insight is, determines the level of faith that you command. In the absence of the knowledge of God’s word, the future can be bleak. Therefore, if any child of God is going through any destruction, it is because the person lacks knowledge of the word of God in that area of life. Everything we need to be fulfilled in life is in God’s word. The acquisition of knowledge is a person’s responsibility. No one knows on your behalf. It is good to study the word of God because, if you are ignorant of God’s word, satan will take you for a ride. Take responsibility to enrich your faith by enlarging your knowledge of God’s word.
Fear
The second enemy of faith every Believer must watch against is fear. It is the opposite of faith. ISAIAH 43:1-3, “But now [in spite of past judgments for Israel’s sins], thus says the Lord, He Who created you, O Jacob, and He Who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you [ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives]; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt [to the Babylonians] for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba [a province of Ethiopia] in exchange [for your release”]. JOB 3:25 says, ”For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me”.
Faith is a never-failing, ever winning force. It commits God’s integrity to perform what He has spoken. Faith is the summary of Christianity; it is standing on the integrity of God’s word. Faith is a display of confidence in God and His Word. Satan is not after your money, wealth or position as much as he is after your faith. Satan knows that if a man has faith, he cannot be sick, poor or fail and that is why he attacks your faith. He knows that with faith you can be rich, healthy and get whatever you desire. If satan destroys your faith, he cripples your life. As Christians, our victories depend on faith, but faith is impotent once fear sets in. Fear is an eternal enemy of faith. Just as light and darkness are incompatible, that is how faith and fear cannot operate together. Fear is the instrument and nature of the devil, while faith is the nature of God. HEBREWS 11:6 says, ”But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.
Fear attracts satan, but faith commits God to perform. Fear is not just a psychological state; it is a spirit that comes from hell. 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 says, ”For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. Fear is a spirit that leads to bondage and it requires a spiritual approach to overcome it. ROMANS 8:15 tells us, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”. You do not have any reason to be afraid because fear leads to fall. The operational base of the devil is fear but in the battles of life, fear will always lose.
14:25-30: “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” Peter heard the voice of Jesus and his faith was activated. You can never have faith except you hear God’s word. Fear causes you to sink and when you live in fear, you become an easy target for Satan. Every time you set your eyes on Jesus, faith is built up, but when you set your eyes on circumstances around you, fear comes in. When Peter set his eyes on Jesus, his faith was ignited, but as soon as he set his eyes on the circumstances, fear came. A wise man once said, “Every time fear knocks at the door, send faith to open the door and you will find out that there is nobody there”.
You will always become a victim of anything you are afraid of. If you are afraid of death, be careful because death may come. The moment Job became afraid, satan attacked him. JOB 3:5, ”Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it”. God protected Job, yet he was full of fear because of ignorance. He created room for the devil to attack. JOB 1:10, “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land”. It was the fear of Job that made satan to strike. Until you are terrified, you can’t be terrorized. Satan places fear in front of you and the moment you give in to fear, you open the door for him to attack.
Therefore, refuse to be afraid because what you are scared of is also scared of you. Anything that can scare you, can snare you and anything that can snare you can tear you apart. Faith guarantees long life, but fear can bring about untimely death. HEBREWS 2:14-15, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage”. You must consciously deal with the spirit of fear if you want to make progress in life. Your life depends on your faith and your faith depends on your victory over fear. Make your faith count by destroying your fear.
DECISION TIME
The best gift of life is time. The best gift of time is now. The best use of now is the decision to secure and prepare for eternity. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, please don’t let this moment pass you. You’re just a decision away from a secured eternity. You can pray this prayer to surrender to Jesus: “Lord Jesus, I believe you died for me. I accept you into my life as my Saviour and Lord. Forgive my sins and give me power to live for you the rest of my life on earth”. Amen. Congratulations! If you have prayed this prayer, you are now born again. You can contact us to let us know about your decision or visit us at the address above to learn more on how to grow in your Christian life. God bless you.