Every Believer’s Battle Against Unbelief Part 2
3 areas of battle in our fight of faith.
Battle area of information.
Battle area of time.
Battle area of the inner man/self
The longer we have been following the Lord, the greater our risk of staggering in faith. New believers are often strong in faith. The faith is young, it is not mature but it is lively. But as we begin to experience some delays, and some disappointments, we begin to flag and get weary. It does not have to be so.
Hebrews 3:14-19 (NLT) 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” 16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.
2. Battle area of time.
Main actor: self (comparison) and the world (mockery)
Manifestation: impatience, greed, jealousy, selfish ambition.
The impact of time on faith.
We all seem to be in a race against time. We do not like to wait, but waiting time is not wasted time. God has a purpose in making us wait.
Our waiting time is made more difficult when we see others receive, almost effortlessly, that which we have long been trusting God for.
Psalms 73:2-14 (NLT) 2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. 4 They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. 5 They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else. 6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. 7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for! 8 They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others. 9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. 10 And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. 11 “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” 12 Look at these wicked people-- enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. 13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? 14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.
Time tests our faith.
Psalms 105:19 (NLT) Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character.
Time reveals what kind of faith we have.
Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But [when] the desire comes, [it is] a tree of life.
The impact of time on Abraham's kind of faith.
God’s greatest goal is a relationship with us.
All His promises must be seen in that light, otherwise, we will be frustrated. God made Abraham some mighty promises at the beginning of their relationship, before Abraham knew God well. After walking with God for 25 years, the promises were yet to be fulfilled, but He had come to know God better. Of all the blessings God can give, His greatest blessing is Himself. God told Abraham, in Genesis 15.
Abraham’s kind of faith sees God as the greatest treasure.
Genesis 15:1 (NKJV) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I [am] your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
While Abraham was waiting for the promised child, he had God.
While he lived in the promised land as a stranger, he had God.
Joseph had Abraham’s kind of faith.
He esteemed God as His greatest treasure, One he could not afford to lose. He said to Potipha’s wife, “How can I do this this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9
Moses also had Abraham’s kind of faith.
He too, esteemed God as His greatest treasure.
Hebrews 11:24-26 (NKJV) 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
If we have Abraham’s kind of faith, we too must see God as our greatest treasure.
By the time the promises are fulfilled, our knowledge of God would be better, and our trust in Him, deeper.
We will come to esteem God as being sufficient. If we have God, we will be satisfied.
Matthew 6:33 promises that all these things shall be added.
While we are waiting for the promised husband, dream job, healing, breakthrough, promotion, we must hold on to God as our true treasure.
1 Timothy 6:6-13 (NLT) 6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.
Faith always involves a trade-off.
Abraham, Joseph and Moses chose not to trade their relationship with God for any opportunities or advantages the world offered. Esau chose a bowl of porridge over the promised birth-right.
Faith is having a right relationship with God.
Relationship with God is life.
Death is separation from God.
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Takeaway From Time: We must be prepared to wait for the Lord no matter how long He takes.
3. Battle area of the inner man/self /ego
Main actor: self (pride)
Manifestation: idolatry
Every test of faith reveals our opinions of ourselves, against our opinion of God.
An understanding of faith cannot be separated from the person of God. The faith we are called to is not faith in a plan or a set of principles, but faith in a person, Persons have wills. Faith always involves a clash of wills. Not my will, but Yours be done.
The inner man wants to have its way. We call it ego, but God calls it pride.
2 Timothy 1:12 NLT — That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.
The serpent dismantled Eve's confidence in God, not merely in a set of principles.
What we truly believe is revealed not necessarily by our words, but by our thoughts and actions.
Our good fight will not end until we see the Lord, when our time on earth is done.
2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV — I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Luke 4:13 NLT — When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
No matter how many victories you've had in the past, there is
no peace-treaty with the devil, only the occasional cease-fire.
We are identified as believers, not because of a belief system we subscribe to, but because of a PERSON in whom we trust in and obey.
If we see our faith merely as belief in a set of principles, then we will treat our faith like a buffet. We pick and choose what we like, we ignore or even reject what we don’t like.
But if we see our faith as belief in a trustworthy PERSON, then we will not pick and choose but we will believe every word that proceeds out of His mouth.
Matthew 4:4 (NKJV) But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
James 2:10-11 (NLT) 10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
Given how critical this matter of belief is, we need to know in whom we have believed. We need to know what He has said and what He has not said. We need to know His voice and not be fooled when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Ephesians 4:14
It is a dangerous proposition to try to reduce the word of God to a set of principles. Instead, it is better to see the Bible as God's autobiography.
Through it, we get to know God. We learn of His ways (principles) as we learn of Him. We learn of His character as we read about His dealings with men.
If the focus is not on God, whatever else it may be on, it is idolatry.
Idolatry is having another god besides Yahweh. The very first of the 10 commandments addresses that. Our relationship with God flows from this first commandment. If we allow any other god, it matters little if we obey all the other commandments.
If we come to God only for blessings, and not for God Himself, that is idolatry.
We are serving God as a means to means to an end. God must be the end otherwise because whatever we hold as our end is the god we are pursuing and serving.
Philippians 3:18-20 (NLT) 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
