The Fight Of Faith

The fight of faith is an interesting concept but one that is paramount to grasp if we are to live the abundant life Jesus’ won for us at the cross.

“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” ( 1 Tim 6:12 )

Satan doesn’t let go easily, he has come to kill or destroy everyone and every good thing in our life: our bodies/health, relationships, hope, joy, financial means and peace. If he can’t kill it, he will try to steal it for awhile, hoping you never learn to fight with God’s Word.

Our Weapon to Fight: Scripture

The primary weapon given to believers is the Word of God. “For the Word of God is living and active…” (Heb 4:12).

Jesus Himself is the living Word (John 1:1) and He declares heaven is opened when we speak and stand on a verse of Scripture. This is when angels move. “And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51)

When believers internalize Scripture and speak it in faith, they are aligning their thoughts and words with God’s truth. The Holy Spirit brings remembrance of God’s Word, strengthening faith and directing prayer in accordance with God’s will.

As we speak Scripture in faith, we are aligning our words with Christ Himself, who is the living Word. In that sense, our prayers are declarations of authority, not simply human speech.

This is a powerful reminder that God’s Word is alive in the mouth of the believer, changing our circumstances either immediately or eventually.

“So shall my word that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”(Is 55:11 ESV)

Hidden In Christ: Only Position to Fight Victoriously

As Christ followers, we are seated hidden in Christ in the heavens. Therefore when we speakn God’s Word, it’s as if Jesus were speaking to God.

This is what it means to use the sword of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit longs for us to speak Scripture everyday over every problem so that the angels of heaven can go to work bringing our prayer request from heaven to earth. The Scriptural basis for this is found both in the Old Testament and the New Testament:

“And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” (Genesis 28:12 ESV)

“And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 15:11 ESV)

The ladder from heaven to earth is Jesus and since the book of John tells us that Scripture is actually Jesus (the Word made flesh) we begin to realize that the Scripture we speak boldly out of our mouth is what sets our angels to work to bring our prayer request to earth.

“…Angels are only servants- spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.” (Hebrews1:14)

It Only Takes One Verse Per Problem To Fight Satan

It is necessary to memorize at least one verse of Scripture for each problem we have. This is the weapon we will use to sling at Satan. Why only one verse and how do we know this? It took David only one stone to hurl at Goliath to kill him.

“Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”(1 Samuel 17:45)

David came in the name of the Lord. Christ followers fight our giants in the name of the Lord as well. Then we pick up a rock – a verse of Scripture- perfectly aligned with our need and for defeating our giant.

This whole story illustrates how powerful and necessary it is that we are followers of Christ. David was given power by God and thus he stated that he came against this giant “in the name of the Lord”. When we come against our problems, victory will only happen if we are hidden in Christ as a follower. We become heirs of Christ then, children of God, and we can use His name to bring our prayer request to earth.

Think about a wealthy influential man in the world. His son only needs to mention his dad’s name and doors open for him. In the same way, when we choose to be part of God’s family by accepting His son’s sacrifice as a covering for our sins- we can open doors no man can shut and shut doors no man can open.

Work To Rest

The Bible teaches us that we must work to rest. Paul states: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Pil 2:12)

To work our our salvation with fear and trembling doesn’t mean our eternal salvation. It is referring to the saving grace of God for our current problem. We may have to stand on a bible promise for years, fearing and trembling it may never come to fruition. But we must remember, God wins every battle He fights. Therefore, we cannot retreat, turn back or give up. If we stay in faith, pray God’s will from a surrendered positon, there is no other ending but victory!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”(James 1:17)

Satan’s Mission: To Rob You Of God’s Abundance

When Jesus walked the earth He cast demons out of people, healed the sick, and gave everyone an abundance of food where ever He went. These are the things we are delegated to do as well- if we get enough of the Bible in us to change our thinking from disbelief to faith in His Word.

Jesus’ true followers will come to know how to beat Satan and prevail in life.

“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10)

So what is abundance and how do we get it?

Abundance is everything that enhances life without depleting our energy, resources and time. We have no worries (unless we choose to worry). We have power to overcome even the most dire health diagnosis, financial calamity or relational dead end. The abundant life gives us strength, wisdom and knowledge in order to attain all that is needed and desired in life.

The catch? We have to ignore what we see, feel and hear and instead believe what God says.

In other words, we need to take every thought and compare it to what Jesus said. We have to soak ourselves in the Word of God so thoroughly, that what we see in the natural world becomes insignificant because we have the Power of life itself within us.

A Lesson On Belief and Unbelief

The best picture of belief and then unbelief in God’s Word is when Peter attempted to walk on water. When Peter got out of the boat to walk towards Jesus, Peter had to ignore the wind and the raging waves and simply focus on what Jesus said. He had to keep moving. When he doubted, or believed in the power of the storm more than he believed in the power of Jesus, he started to sink.

Peter had to break through the gates of hades -the stronghold in his mind- in order to believe in Jesus’ words.

It didn’t make sense that water could hold him. It didn’t make sense that Jesus was there standing on the water. It didn’t make sense that the raging waters didn’t take him under. When he believed the words of Jesus more than he believed what he saw- he conquered his circumstances. When he believed his fear more than what Jesus said- he sank.

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.”(Matt 14:28)

Wisdom and Revelations The Keys To Win

vs 17” I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you… (Eph 1:17-18)

Notice the word “called” in verse 18. Jesus has called us just like He called Peter- to trust His Words. And to trust that the things He has promised us as believers, can actually be ours if we keep moving forward and ignore what is happening around us.

The remainder of that verse explains our inheritance: …the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion…(Eph 1:19-21)

The profound authority we have as a believer will give us the power to heal the sick, cast out demons, cleans lepers and raise the dead!

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”(John 14:12-14 NIV)

Lazarus was dead for four days but Jesus spoke and Lazarus came forth alive.

“The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.”(John 11:44)

This is the power we have within us when we get so soaked in the teachings of Jesus. There have been incredible healing ministries in this world for those who maintain a clean conscience through daily repentance stay close to the Lord in prayer and Bible study. I myself have had the spontaneous healing of a broken foot through praying God’s promises back to Him. I am no special person and God has no favorites- this power is available.

The Keys To The Kingdom

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

“Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

“Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”(Matt 15:16-19)

This verse states that Peter made a statement that human intelligence didn’t teach him. He knew Jesus was the Christ because God the Father revealed it to him. And we receive revelations from God the Father as well when we study Scripture. We will know for a fact that the Bible is true and holds power to change any circumstance be it a lifeless marriage, a lifeless body, children who rebel against God, financial problems, health issues simply ANYTHING!

“God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. God is the One who raised Christ from the dead, and he will give life through his Spirit that lives in you.”(Romans 8:11)

We are lifeless- meaning we are at the mercy of luck and hard work- until we are born again into Christ.

Jesus resurrected and took the keys from Satan to open up access to everything for everybody. His supernatural power that caused His resurrection has been placed inside every believer to be used.

Satan came into the world and created chaos, sickness, disease, disharmony and hate. We see this, live in it and believe that this is all there is to life. But this is wrong thinking and an imaginary gate holding us back from believing the power Christ followers have. The land beyond the Gate of Hades is the Kingdom of God, open for all who come close enough to the Lord to learn the secrets of entry into this world.

Satan and his demon powers have set up these gates, or strongholds that we find difficult to mentally surpass. But when we come near to God, listen to Him and obey, we are empowered to break through these secular mindsets and receive our blessings.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:4-5)

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”(James 4:7-8)

The word humble in this verse is to obey. The lame man obeyed God’s request to come near. We too obey God when we come near, read Scripture and pray. Full surrender to God and obedience to what He asks of us is crucial to having our minds re set to the truths we read in the Bible. Until we fully surrender, we have a door open for Satan to enter our life and destroy.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. …25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”(James 1:22,25)

Food For Thought,

Lisa