Though the definition of our faith goes beyond belief, it is evident that in order to walk in the faith of Christ, we must first believe God.
Psalm 16:10-11
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
We can always refer to our great example, Jesus. He believed God and therefore, He was always able to please Him. It was Jesus’ trust in the spoken Word of God that gave Him the strength to endure the pains of death and hell. Jesus could have looked at the negatives and began to doubt or get discouraged on His journey.
People had been dying for thousands of years and going into hell and there was no record of anybody ever coming out of hell. But Jesus knew that God would be faithful to Him, so He spoke in the midst of adversity and persecutions with confidence in God. He said you can destroy this temple, but I will raise it up in three days. Jesus was able to stay true to God’s purpose the entire time He was here. He was also able to minister God’s heart and mind to twelve men who would carry this gospel to the whole world. He rebuked all things that would hinder them from believing God. There was never a moment when Jesus compromised the standard of God in the disciples’ presence. He would always stand and in turn be able to show them where they were falling short. On many occasions the disciples would ask Him why He handled certain situations the way He did and He would always take the opportunity to lead them to God’s heart and mind. Likewise, it is going to be our belief that will take us through the trying of our faith without sin. Right here I would like to remind and rehearse what the Father has previously said about the trying of our faith.
The reason for so much unbelief among you is the lack of challenges to the faith. My people have become worn out and weary fighting battles to maintain their own spirituality that they should never have to fight. They make decisions to defy my laws and walk outside the boundaries of the faith and then proceed to fight against the emotions and lust they gendered by wrong thinking in an effort to get back to where they ought to be. They oppose themselves and then blame it on the devil. They spend time trying to overcome offenses and unforgiveness. They lust after the things of this world. They envy and covet the prosperity of evildoers. And then they seek to purge themselves of the lust and wantonness. It is a vicious cycle of wasted spiritual energy. These are not valid challenges to the faith . . . says the Lord.
The concept of Sonship is the dynamic unrelenting desire to declare the Father to a dying world. The true sons of God are not hiding behind church walls, or in comfort zones that never allow them to seek out the lost, the dying and those who are oppressed by the devil. The sons of God are always moving, expanding their coasts, carrying this gospel to the uttermost parts of this world. They are an offense to Satan and they constantly spoil his goods. They exemplify the love and character of Jesus Christ in that they are willing to give their lives for the cause of righteousness. But today the passion for souls is not there, as it was with Christ and the early church. It is a missing factor in the lives of the sons of God. It has been replaced with the passion for preaching, teaching and prophesying. There is much preaching from the pulpits but very little in the streets, and town squares or door to door by the saints of God. The lack of trust and commitment to the vision of the Father has made the Body of Christ more and more afraid of putting itself in harm's way. Even the politics of our generation and the unwillingness to be associated with controversial issues are detouring factors for the sons of God.
Prayer is our platform for ministry but we can even abuse that platform by making it a comfort zone. To pray for lost souls but to never go after them is another manifestation of the spirit of procrastination. We pray and wait for God to bring them into our comfortable churches, when in reality we pass by hundreds of souls each week on our way to prayer or church services. Those who have believed the report must now act on that belief. We must be on the offense, not timid and hiding from the warfare we were called to. We must take this war to the devil. We must exert the power of the Father into the lives of those who are lost and out of the way. We must stop this imaginary defending of ourselves against Satan. We have been given power over all the power of the enemy in our own lives. There is nothing to defend. He is powerless in an attempt to overcome us; for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. The vision is now.
