Enemies To Your Faith – Part 2

In the first part of our series, we looked at one of the biggest enemies to our faith.  There we found that enemy to be our lack of knowledge or our ignorance when it comes to the word of God.  We found that our lack of knowledge was not due to the knowledge being hidden or being unavailable, but due to the rejection of knowledge.  Our rejection of knowledge coupled with our lack of knowledge has caused us to misplace our faith and our trust.  Instead of placing these things in God, we have actually placed them in man’s interpretation of who God is, what God is, what God does, and what God says.  We are instructed to test every spirit to see if that spirit be of God, but because we lack the necessary knowledge to perform the test, we have unknowingly subjected ourselves to false apostles and deceitful workers, who can transform themselves into the apostles of Christ and to Satan, who can transform himself into an angel of light.  God has instructed us to study, to investigate, to analyze, and to question his word, if necessary, so that we may be able to rightly divide the word of truth and get the revelation knowledge needed to strengthen our faith.  Our lack of knowledge or our ignorance when it comes to the word of God remains the biggest enemy to our faith.

Enemies To Your Faith – Part 1

Let us continue with our series on faith.  We have looked at and defined what Faith Is.  We then looked at what Your Picture Of Faith looks like.  Lastly, we looked at just How Important Is Your Faith.  We know that it has been a while since our last post, but we want to review a few things before we proceed.  First, let us look at the definition of faith again.  Earlier we defined faith as the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen and it is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we cannot see it up ahead.  Faith is trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof.  It is also trusting in somebody that you consider worthwhile and truthful.  It is also accepting that something exists when there is no physical proof of its existence or of its reality.  This definition has been the cornerstone of this series.  Now we want to examine some of the enemies to our faith.

How Important Is Your Faith?

Recently we found out just what Faith Is.  And we also found out what Your Picture Of Faith looked like.  But now we what to know just how important your faith is?  If you remember from our earlier discussion, we defined faith as the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen and it is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us even though we cannot see it up ahead.  Faith is trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof.  It is also trusting in somebody that you consider worthwhile and truthful.  It is also accepting that something exists when there is no physical proof of its existence or of its reality.  But just how important is your faith in all of this?

Your Picture Of Faith

Now that you have found out what Faith Is, let us look to see just how that faith looks on you.  That’s right; we can look to see just how your faith looks on you.  Actually what we are talking about is taking a snapshot of you and your faith.  In this snapshot we want to see where you are in accordance with your faith.  This is not a snapshot of where you want to be with your faith but one that reveals where you are and where your faith currently stands.  You see, you need to determine where you truly are with your faith so that you can know what you need to do and where you need to go to maximize your faith.  Once you determine where you are, you can determine the course that you need to take to get you where you want to be with your faith.  And then you will be able to determine when you reach your goal.  So let us get started.

Faith Is . . .

Explaining faith to those who doubt the existence of faith can be summed up similar to this, which surprisingly supports the existence of faith that can be found in everyone.

A man (woman) agrees to take a job with a company.  The company tells the man that he will be paid every two weeks.  The man agrees to the terms and accepts the job.  The man reports to work the first day, works eight hours, and afterwards, he goes home.  The next day the man repeats what he did the first day.  The man does the exact same thing for one week straight.  This is a classic example of faith in action.  The man has placed his faith in the company, believing that he will be paid when he gets to the end of the pay period, which is supported by him going to work every day and not getting any form of compensation during the period.  Payday comes and the company gives the man his first paycheck.  Now that the man has his paycheck, he does not need faith anymore because the thing that he had hope for, the thing that he believed he was getting from the company is now a reality.

The Truth Behind Good Friday (The Timeline)

This is a chronological timeline of the most discussed events in the history of religion, the crucifixion of Jesus the Christ.  It is our intent to provide you enough information that it will add to your understanding of the events surrounding the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  We trust that this timeline will provide enough information to stimulate your thought processors so that you can think outside of the parameters of our earthly reality and come to a spiritual understanding of the truth as this story unfolds through the word of God.  Should you desire to read about the events chronicled in this timeline, please check out our Blog Spot Topics page and find the post of the same name.  There you will find an eleven part series on this topic.  By the end of the series, you will have explored the resurrection of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, and many of the points in between, just to discover the truth behind Good Friday.  So grab your Bible and let the journey begin.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 9 – The Conclusion)

So how did the challenge go?  Were you amazed at the number of negative confessions you made in your daily conversations?  What about the number of negative confessions your friends made in your conversations with them?  How many of them, you included, ended up actually having what they spoke of to happen?  And while there was such a short time between our previous post and this one, we hope that you will carry this message with you and really pay attention to your negative comments and make an effort to cease and desist all negative confessions.

We have come to the end of our message.  But before we go, we would like to summarize some of the main points that we believe are important for you to remember.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 8)

So, in the story of Job, we have four tragic events taking place on the same day, each included the lost of human life and each completely orchestrated by Satan himself.  We see Satan’s ability to control those who are apparently loyal to him and operate at his bidding.  We see that he used the Sebeans and the Chaldeans, both a band of nomadic marauders, for his purposes and to carry out his plan.

So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote (struck) Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown (Job 2:7).

He even struck Job with sore boils from the sole of his feet to the top of his head.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 7)

So many people believe that God is the creator of most tragedies the happen in their life.  They do not realize that they have been deceived, tricked into blaming God for them instead of praising God, and asking for help with them.  And while the Old Testament scriptures have done more to support the image of a cruel, ruthless, and merciless deity, whose only purpose appears to be the chastisement of his creation by indiscriminately allowing bad things to happen to seemingly innocent men, women, and children, there is one infamous statement by Job that has done more to further this mentality.

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 6)

When we last left off, we had God asking Satan from where had he come and he replied, from going to and fro in the earth, walking up and down in it.  Because an all-knowing God who had no need to ask such a question since he would already know the answer, drew the conclusion that he asked the question for our benefit.  We surmised that there had to be something important in this answer that God wanted us to pay attention to or something God wanted us to know.  We know that Satan patrols the earth seeking souls (victims) to devour, which describes his activities on the earth and it informs us as to his character and the evil purpose for all his travel.  With all of this in mind, let us set the stage for our scenario.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 5)

So, let us now discuss Satan and see what major role, if any, he plays in all of this.  We mentioned that you had to be very careful of Satan because he is a deceiver.  But did you know that Satan was originally created as Lucifer and was one of God’s highest angels?  While the scriptures do not reveal much detail about this entity, there is a lot of speculation pertaining to him and his existence.  It is believed that there was some type of revolt in heaven and he and one third of the angels were cast down to earth as punishment, but there are no indications as to when this revolt happened or when the fall occurred.  The Bible is somewhat vague about how he became known as Satan and his origins, but this lack of verifiable facts has not stopped the speculation about his existence or lack thereof.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 4)

A system that you have been given the power to control and the authority to command.  A system that has been ordered not to do anything until something is said, an announcement is made, or some type of command is given.  A system where everything in this life hinges on the words that you speak, be they positive or be they negative.  How amazing is that notion.

Do you remember the two-part revelation from our earlier discussion?  The first part of the revelation showed that God had done his part by sending his word to us.  The second part showed how we have failed to do our part by returning God’s word to him.  It was God who said his word will not return to him void but it will accomplish all that he wants it to and it will do that for which he has sent it, but the problem has been and continues to be returning of God’s word to him.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 3)

Wow!  You still need more evidence that there be a system that hinges on what you say, be it saying something good or be it saying something bad.  You still need more evidence that there be a system that you have been given the power to control and the authority to command.  You still need more evidence that there be a system that has been ordered not to do anything until something is said, an announcement is made, or some type of command is given.  You still need more evidence that everything in this life hinges on the words that you speak, be they positive or be they negative.

Well, we know that God spoke everything into existence.  He said, Let there be and it was so.  All of creation was done or created in like fashion.  It appears that the word of God has power.  God speaks and things happen.  God verifies this in the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah.  He compares his word to that of the rain and snow that come down from heaven.  Just as the rain and snow stay upon the ground to water the earth, so it is with God’s word.  It stays in the earth realm so that it can accomplish all that he wants it too and so that it can prosper everywhere he sends it.

Death and Life Rest In. . . (Part 2)

That right!  Words are so very important, more so than some people realized.  Words really do control the things that happen to us.  Truly, many people have died because they have said the wrong things.  God has set before us life and death, blessing and cursing and has told us to choose life, but few know how to make this choice.  We make the choice through the words that we speak, for death and life rest in the power of the tongue.  Yes, the words that we speak control a system that has been created to only respond when something is spoken.  And the beauty of all of this is that we have been given the power to control and the authority to command this very system.  Like the seeds of the farmer who sows them in the ground and reaps a harvest; we sow the words that we speak and reap ourselves a harvest, which brings about blessings or curses.  For what we sow, is what we will reap and when we reap, we reap in its full measure.

There are just a few more things we want to share with everyone; a few more things for us to bring everyone in remembrance of; and a few more things for us to tell everyone about.  Remember in the twelfth chapter of the gospel according to Matthew, we found that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Matthew 12:34).  With that being said, we have a few questions we would like to pose for you to consider.  What will we find in your heart?  Will we find it full of the things of the world?  Or will we find it full of the things of God, like his word?  What will come out of your heart when you are in distress?  What will your mouth speak in your time of need?

Death And Life Rest In. . .

Can you image the most powerful system in the world?  What did you imagine it to be?  Was your first thought a governmental type system?  Or, was that first thought a military type system?  Perhaps your first thought was some type of financial system.  Regardless of the system that first came to mind, there is one system more powerful than all of them combined.

Now imagine that you have been given the power to control just such a system.  Yes, that’s right!  Imagine that you have been given the authority to command this system.  What would you do with such a system?  How would you use such a system?  Do you think you could be trusted with such power, with such authority?  Would you want to be in control of such a system?  Well, there is a system in existence that has been ordered not to do anything until something is said.  This same system has been order not to do anything until some type of announcement is made.  And here is the beauty of it all; you have been given the power to control and the authority to command this very system.