Hebrews 11:3 KJV “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

God created man to have dominion (Genesis 1:26). For forty days, Israel, including the king, were paralyzed with fear of destruction, as Goliath (the giant) paraded the main street of Israel mocking with words of intimidation (1 Samuel 17:16). David, a young boy, eventually killed Goliath with a sling and with a stone (1 Samuel 17:50). But it was neither the sling nor the stone that gave Israel the victory; it was David’s clear-cut understanding and application of dominion through the spoken WORD. Examine carefully the words that David spoke in 1 Samuel 17:46-47. Those words shifted the battle paradigm (pattern); it became a battle between Goliath and God. Your words can limit you or put you over. The words of Jabez freed him from the curse of pain (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). The words you speak, when filled with faith, have creative power. That is God’s pattern of operation which we need to emulate (Genesis 1:2-3, Romans 4:17). What you say is what you see. If your faith is not talking, your faith is not working! The only way to exercise dominion, is to keep speaking the language of God’s kingdom, where we belong! The language of faith (faith-filled word) is the language of dominion (Matthew 8:8-9).

 

1 Timothy 6:12 NKJV “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Many believers in Christ have the mistaken idea that if something is God’s will for them to have that it will just automatically happen without any effort or involvement on their part. Some think Christianity is passive, advocating that we have to wait for God to act. Not true! On the contrary we must have an active faith. We have a devil to contend with. We have to cooperate with God. We must believe what He says. We must resist doubt and fear. To walk in the fullness of blessing God desires for us, we must fight the good fight of faith. For example, the Israelites had to fight the giants in the land to possess what God said was already theirs. The Promised Land belonged to them already because God had given it to them. But it was still inhabited by others, including giants, who had to be driven out before they could enjoy what was theirs. Standing in faith often involves a struggle because of the contradictory evidences we may experience, so we must hold fast our confession of faith (Hebrews 4:14, 10:23). The devil will try to steal our faith by trying to get us to doubt God’s faithfulness to His Word. We may have to fight with our own logic and perspective. It may tell us it is impossible for things to work out, that God’s Word will not work for us, that we should not expect good things to happen to us. But the plan of God for us is victory through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We must do whatever it takes to maintain our faith in God. It will require boldness. It will require being fearless. It will require active faith. That is the fight we must engage in – the good fight of faith!

 

 

 

GENESIS 8:22 NIV “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

You plant seeds, then in due season you harvest the crops. As long as the earth exists, this is the way things work on earth. This is true in the spiritual realm as well as in the physical realm. The Bible teaches that our words and our actions are the seeds we plant, that produce a harvest in our life. If we are merciful to others, we will be treated with mercy. If we show love and respect, others will show love and respect to us. If we speak words of faith and blessing, good things will increase in our lives. But if we continually speak fear, doubt, and trouble, life will not go well for us. A man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7 NIV). The world has a saying based on this principle, “what goes around comes around.” We reap what we sow; using modern terms, we harvest what we plant. And the more we plant, the larger our harvest will be good or bad. The Bible teaches us that the kingdom of God operates on the “seed principle.” (2 Corinthians 9: 6 NIV). So the wise course of action is to continually give out what you would like to receive. If you desire respect, respect others. Would you like people to give you things? Then continually look for opportunities to give to others (Luke 6:38 NLT). Seed, Time, and then Harvest is how God operates. When Jesus wanted to explain to people how God operates in His Kingdom (or rule), He told them it could be illustrated by planting a seed, which will then grow, and produce a harvest (Mark 4:30-32 NLT). Plant the seed. Be patient and keep believing while the seed grows. Then you will reap a harvest of blessing.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

In these uncertain times, fear is a common emotion, and it has torment. Fear will not protect us, but active faith will. As Christians we know the importance of trusting God, but we must not be ignorant of the cunning devices of the devil; the chief of which is FEAR. Fear can have dominant effect on our emotions and attitude dictating what we think and do. So also, is faith. When we focus our attention on our problems, they are magnified out of proportion. When we surrender our problems and think on God’s provision, the answer is magnified and the problem shrinks. Whatever we think upon is going to dominate us. If we think on depressing things, we will be depressed. If we think on uplifting things, we will be uplifted. If we think, ‘by His stripes, we are healed’, we will be healed. If we think on sickness, we will be sick. Propelled by fear, people are seeking solutions to their problems in the wrong places. Faith is not dependent on feelings or circumstances but on grace – the finished work of Christ (Ephesians 2:8).  God’s commitment to His word is not based on feelings or circumstances but on faith. God wants us to walk and live by faith and not by fear or sight (2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 10:38). That is totally opposite of the way most people live today. No one really desires depression but very few people know they have the responsibility and authority to maintain positive emotions in the face of negative circumstances. We have options: believe in the lies of the devil and be in bondage or believe the truth (God’s Word) and be free. This choice is yours. I want to encourage you today, to focus your attention on the invisible truths of the spiritual realm that are eternal, instead of the visible things of this physical world that will pass away.

Proverbs 18:10 AMP “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil].”

As believers in Christ Jesus, one of the greatest defenses that we have in this world to help us fight against the devices of Satan is the name of the Lord. When we have a revelation of this truth it will be easy for us to understand the absolute security that we have in the Lord. The scripture assures us: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” (Psalm 91:7 NIV). A strong tower that the Name of the Lord represents is set safely and securely high and it is too fortified for the enemy to have access to it. The fact that His name alone is a strong tower tells us that all we need to do is run to Him in times of trouble. The Bible informs us that Lord God Himself is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. In Him, we can take refuge because He is our shield of protection, our horn of salvation, and our stronghold (Psalm 18:2). Over and again, the Book of Psalms compares God to a high and strong tower of protection and a shelter where His people can safely hide. The Bible says God is our refuge and strength, a present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1), our hiding place (Psalm32:7), and a shelter in the time of storm (Isaiah 25:4). The threats of this world are real, but we do not stand against such threats alone. Our Heavenly Father stands with us, and in Him, we have everything we need to face such times and come out victorious! Let us reassure ourselves today that we have a Father in Heaven who is with us in all things.  Let us continue to walk by faith and not by sight; continue to pray without ceasing; and continue to live by God’s infinite wisdom.