One of the greatest hindrances to the Body of Christ is unbelief. Unbelief is a rejection of known or proven truths. Throughout scripture we see several examples of unbelief and the consequences of remaining in such a negative disposition.
Unfortunately, from the beginning of time we see that the first people on planet Earth failed to believe God. Let us go to Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:1-5
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
The serpent knew what God had told Adam and Eve about eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If he had not known, he would not have been able to say the things he said to Eve to deceive her. The purpose of the serpent’s conversation with Eve was to get her to disobey God.
The enemy is just as cunning and subtle in our lives today. He tries to convince us that God is a liar. Satan will cause us to doubt God’s Word in our lives and therefore, we too, will disobey Him.
We do not want to say we are unbelievers, but we are. We may believe God in some areas, but if we do not believe Him in all things, we are unbelievers. We become just as the children of Israel who did not believe God even after all the mighty works He did for them.
Hebrews 3:8-11
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Many may read these verses of scripture and feel they would not have reacted as the children of Israel did . . . I beg to differ. If we do not believe God now with His Holy Spirit living on the inside, how could we believe Him back then without it?
II. A GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL GOD
Once again, let us go back to the children of Israel and read the account in Nehemiah of all that happened to them. Oh how the Lord long-suffered with His people!
Nehemiah 9:9-31
9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;
10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharoah, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.
11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.
The Old Testament is truly our schoolmaster. Over and over again, the Lord long-suffered and delivered His people. Does this sound familiar?
Saints, it behooves us to come into total agreement with God’s Word. There are no other words to express God’s heart and mind concerning His will for our lives. We must reckon ourselves as dead and let the life of Christ live. If God never says another word to us, He has already given us enough to believe Him and live holy until His Son returns.
Hebrews 10:39
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
PERDITION NT: 684
apoleia (ap-o'-li-a); ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal):
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the opportunity to be saved. Let us continue on to the saving of our souls.
III. BELIEVING THE REPORT
Romans 6:1-7
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now ask yourself, DO YOU BELIEVE THE WORK OF THE CROSS? If so, why do so many still live as men? Why do we subject ourselves to sin? Why after we have known God, or rather are known of God, do we turn back to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto we desire to be in bondage (Galatians 4:9)?
Israel could not enter into the Promised Land because of unbelief. If God were to destroy us today because of unbelief, He would be justified in doing so.
Hebrews 3:19
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:12-14
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
We do not see ourselves as departing from God, but anytime we do not believe Him we separate ourselves from Him and call Him a liar. We discredit the work He has done in our lives and become a stumbling block to those who do not know Him.
We fail to see the importance of believing God’s Word. Every word He speaks becomes law. We must embrace and take heed to that which we have already heard and have come to know. Listen to Paul as he writes to the Hebrew Church.
Hebrews 2:1-3
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Let us read this scripture in the Amplified Version:
1 SINCE ALL this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away.
2 For if the message given through angels [the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty,
3 How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak].
God is adamant when it comes to belief. If we do not come into TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH GOD’S WORD WE WILL NEVER WALK IN THE SPIRIT.
What else does God have to do to convince us that His route (agreement with His Word) is the only way into the Kingdom? He has given us the life of Christ and no longer do we have to live under the Law of Sin and Death. We have power over sin! The life that we now live is no longer ours but it is the life of Christ living through these earthen vessels to continue the work Jesus started two thousand years ago.
To continue to walk in the flesh makes us unbelievers and only brings death and destruction. Anything outside of God’s purpose for our lives is a hindrance to walking in the Spirit. If every hindrance was listed, this study guide would be endless but for the purposes of teaching we will list some.
Personal agendas (Our way):
Anything outside of what God has ordained for our lives is a personal agenda. Many saints listen to the Word of God but only apply selected parts to their lives. Oftentimes, they compromise when they hear the Word. God may tell us to stop entertaining darkness or even command us to turn off our television sets. Rather than obey the commandment, we will set our own agenda. We will omit one show, but then watch another. The Lord may even call us to fast for a week with only water and juices. As soon as our flesh hears the word “fast” it immediately rises up and dictates what it will and will not do.
God may desire to spend time with us but we will overlook Him because we are constantly struggling to keep our personal agendas alive, and yet walk in the power of Jesus Christ. This cannot be done if we refuse to crucify our flesh with its affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24).
Negative mindset: when the uninfluenced mind governs, interprets or perceives a circumstance, situation or relationship in our lives or in the lives of others, plays a vital role in our spiritual growth and development. Many factors cause us to form negative mindsets. These factors include our upbringing, the environment in which we were raised, education, nationality and even religion. These all play major roles in how mindsets are formed.
When we fail to submit these mindsets to the will of God, we are consumed by them and cannot grow. Just as with personal agendas, we will filter the Word of God through our point of view of how a circumstance, situation or relationship should be. As a result, our mindset now becomes the standard by which we judge everything and everyone around us.
Tradition:
Tradition is man’s established ways, doctrines and mindsets that negate the purpose and mind of God and make the Word of God of no effect. Tradition can manifest itself in many different ways. One of the strongest ways is in the “denomination of religion” we are raised in. Too often “religion” has taken man’s rules and regulations and left out God’s standard. Through our traditions, not only are we blind to the truth, but we make the Word of God of no effect (St. Matthew 15:6, St. Mark 7:13).
Tradition often gives a warped interpretation of how to view God. This is unfortunate because many who have been in churches all their lives do not know the true heart and mind of the Father in whom they believe they serve. Instead they are serving the “god” of their imagination and believe they are on their way into the Kingdom.
Depression:
Depression is a continuous denial of expression. We become depressed when we are not able to have what we want when we want it. For one to become depressed a tremendous amount of tension is placed on the fleshy mind (brain). Instead of the affections being stimulated from without the body (which is a more natural operation), the mind now has to search the memory for that which it favors. The heart is forced to produce an emotion it cannot act out. The emotion is therefore internalized and trapped inside a body that is denied the opportunity or ability to express it (Thought War II, Lesson 3).
Frustration:
Frustration is an erroneous interpretation of life’s experiences. When we cannot see circumstances, situations and relationships the way God sees them we will produce conclusions in our mind about the position of things in our surroundings. Frustration is discontentment caused by either a lack of exposure to the truth or a rejection of the truth to which we are exposed (Thought War II, Lesson 4).
Iniquity:
Iniquity is hidden sin in our heart. It is designed to stop the flow of love and hinders us tremendously in our spiritual growth. The Word of God tells us if we regard iniquity in our heart the Lord will not hear us (Psalm 66:18). Iniquity destroys relationships, ministry and the ability to see and hear the truth. It not only robs the people who hold iniquity in their hearts but also those they come into contact with each and every day.
Works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21):
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like are detested in the sight of God.
The list could go on but I think we all agree that these are hindrances to walking in the Spirit. If we do not renounce our ways, thoughts, agendas and mindsets, we will not walk in the Spirit. We will continue to cater to our flesh. We must cast down every imagination and high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. If we are not honest with ourselves about where and who we really are, we will never take on the mind of Christ or walk in the liberty of the Spirit.
It is important for us to remember that we are no longer living our own lives. We were bought and paid for. The life now living through us is the life of Jesus Christ and He always does the will of His Father. There is never a struggle or thought war as to whether or not He is going to fulfill righteousness. His purpose is to reveal and glorify His Father.
