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If we are admonished to fight the good fight of faith, then it goes without saying that
we must have enemies against whom we are contending.
And for anyone to be declared a conqueror, such a one must have fought some battles
and
prevailed.
Oftentimes, many children of God act as if this fight is against flesh and blood, and
so they confront people in their zeal to fight the good fight of faith.
It is therefore necessary for us to know who or what we are fighting against in this fight
of faith, for only then will we be able to prepare properly, aim accurately, and win
in this fierce battle.
But before we consider this fight of faith more closely, let us remind ourselves of what
God said concerning us.
We are born of God and new creatures in Christ.
And the scripture says that whosoever or whatsoever is born of God overcomes the
world.
This verse reassures us that we are destined to overcome because we are born of God,
and
that our faith is the means by which we attain the victory.
We must not be under the illusion that we will become conquerors and overcomers by
wishing
it and doing nothing.
The road of overcomers is less frequently traveled and is paved with hardship and
opposition.
But those who overcome are tenacious and relentless.
They fight, they persevere, they endure, and at the end they receive the crown of victory.Those who are patient, patience another product of the Spirit, is a relative of faith and
a requirement for the Christian soldier who is going to win in this fight of faith.
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit
the promises.
Hebrews 6.12.
A lot of times we start well in our faith walk.
We receive the word of faith with joy, we believe it, and we begin confessing and acting
in line with our belief.
But after we wait and wait and wait some more, and the promise doesn’t seem to
materialize,
our faith seems to wear thin and we become weary.
This is where patience should step in and help faith.
Fight with patience and perseverance.
Patience is that spiritual force that helps us to remain constant under spiritual stress.
It makes us retain our confession, giving us longevity in a drawn out battle where we
would have given up otherwise.
The Apostle James exhorts us in his epistle on this saying, “My brethren, count it all
joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith
worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.”
James 1.:2-4.
Let patience run her full course, is the key admonition from the Apostle in the verse
above.
He added that if we let patience finish her work, we will be fully developed and perfectly
equipped.
Our Father is training us to develop this important fruit of the Spirit that will helpus win every battle we engage in.
Faith is our victory, but we must patiently hold on to faith until the victory is complete.
Sometimes, because of lack of patience, we stop the force of faith and terminate the
battle before our victory is complete.
Hence we fail to reap the reward of faith.
We need to develop patience which will give us endurance to persevere until the victory
is won.
This will help us hold on and not cast our confidence away.
“Cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great recompense of reward, for ye
have
need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast
unto the end.” Hebrews 3.14.
God our Father is patient.
He is the wise husbandman who plants his seed in the garden and waits patiently for the
seasons to pass before looking for a harvest.
The Apostle exhorts us to be like him.
Be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long
patience
for it until he receives the early and latter rain.
Be ye also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
James 5.7.8.
Like God our Father, let us sow the seed of the Word in our hearts, or speak it into our
situations and patiently watch it create and produce.The seeds of the Word we sow will produce faith in our hearts, and by faith we will
overcome.
Patience will help uphold our faith when we seem to be growing weary, and our faith
seems
to be dwindling.
You have spoken the Word of faith to your situation, you have sown good seeds, you have
been tending it and watering it, and you know in your spirit that you are acting in faith
and that your faith is bringing forth.
But nothing seems to have changed in the physical, nothing seems to be happening.
You may not be able to see any changes yet because your seed is undergoing
transformation
in the spiritual realm.
Rejoice over it, however, for in due time the fruit will emerge and you will see the
answer materialize right before your eyes.
The Lord said, “Fear not, only believe; and if you believe, you will see the glory of
God.”
The waiting period may be difficult and painful, but remember what the prophet said, “He
that
goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.”
Psalm 126, 6.
There is a time to sow and a time to reap.
Therefore the farmer must wait for the grains to mature and the fruits to ripen before
reaping
them.
The crops must receive the needed rain and go through the necessary heat of the sun
before
coming to maturity.The Lord of the harvest knows the exact time interval between the sowing of the seed
and
the reaping of the mature crops, and so we must wait for harvest time.
And we can be sure of this one thing, that if we sow our seed, the harvest will surely
come.
And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
Galatians 6, 9.
If we are going to become overcomers, we must fight the good fight of faith.
And if we fight with the armor of God on the right and on the left and endure with
patience,
we are sure to win.
Now let’s discuss how to overcome some enemies of faith.
The enemies of faith are the forces that militate against us with the aim of preventing us
from
living the life of faith.
These forces desire to make us doubt the promises of God or repudiate His Word.
These are potent weapons in the hands of the devil, who is always seeking ways to punch
holes in our faith to prevent us from inheriting the promises.
Here are some enemies of our faith.
Enemy No. 1: Ignorance of God’s Word
The first of these is a lack of understanding of our redemption.
Faith comes by hearing.
If we are ignorant of our redemptive rights in Christ and our position in Him, we cannot
exercise faith in those rights.
If all we know is that we have been saved from sin, and we do not know that we have
the very life of God in us, we will not be able to live a victorious Christian life.
To become overcomers, we must know that the Almighty God dwells in us.
Apostle John writes, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, becausegreater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”
First John 4.4.
God has completely delivered us from the dominion of darkness and translated us into
His own
kingdom.
It is complete deliverance through the blood of the Lamb.
Praise His holy name.
Enemy No. 2: Lack of Understanding of one’s Righteousness
Now, the second enemy is similar to the first.
It is a lack of understanding of one’s position in Christ and lack of understanding of one’s
righteousness as to what it is and what it gives.
Praise holds more people in bondage than anything else.
As children of God we have not just been forgiven but Christ Himself is our right standing
before
God.
We can approach God’s throne of grace and commune with Him as if we have never
sinned.
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness
of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21.
And also Romans 5.18 which says, “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came
upon
all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all
men unto
justification of life.”
Enemy No. 3: Condemnation.
This enemy is similar to the one mentioned above and it’s another enemy that holds many
a believer in bondage.It is also related to a lack of revelation knowledge of our right standing before God.
Not being fully educated in the spirit of the scriptures, believers resort to the letter
and thus get into condemnation instead of walking in liberty because Christ has set
them free.
The scripture says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin
and death.”
Romans 8 verses 1 and 2.
We fight this enemy by seeking to know God and the revelation knowledge of who we are
in Christ Jesus.
Enemy No. 4: Fear.
This is an arch enemy of faith.
Man was not made with fear in the day that God his Father made him.
It was sin that brought fear.
Adam walked in perfect fellowship with God in the garden until the day he sinned.
It was after he sinned that he hid himself when he heard the voice of God.
And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, “Where art thou?”
And he said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and
I hid myself.”
Genesis 3 verses 9 and 10.
This was the first time man experienced fear.
While faith grows when we hear the word of God, fear grows when we listen to the voice
of the enemy.
Fear grows when a believer listens to the voice of the flesh instead of meditating on
the word of God.Fear is a spiritual force, just like faith, but from the negative side.
It arises from the spirit and grips the brain and body.
Fear can have such a powerful hold on the individual that it becomes a torment and only
the power of God’s love can cast it out.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment.
He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
I John 4 verse 18.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7.
We cannot have both fear and faith.
When faith walks in the front door, fear exits through the back door, and both emanate
from
the spirit.
Faith is of God and comes from hearing the word of God.
Fear is of the devil and comes from listening to the lies of the evil one.
Fear is one of his most potent weapons.
Therefore we must cast it out by word and by the revelation of the power of God’s love.
If we entertain fear, we will not have faith.
Fear will cripple the believer and prevent him or her from inheriting the promises.
It prevented the majority of those who came out of Egypt from entering into the land of
Canaan.
The next enemy is worry.
Enemy No. 5: Worry
Worry is another powerful enemy of faith.
It is caused when we refuse to cast our cares upon God and we willfully bear them
ourselves.
It is also a sign of unbelief and a potent force against faith.The Lord Jesus, warning us against this, said, “Look at the birds which fly in the air.
They do not sow or reap or store up in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you of much greater value than they?
Which of you by being overanxious can add a single foot to his height?”
Matthew 6 verses 26 to 27.
And the apostle admonishes us to, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ
Jesus.”
Philippians 4 verse 6 and 7.
Worry is a thief that steals believers’ peace and joy and renders them totally impotent.
It can completely demoralize you.
Preoccupied with cares and concerns both real and unreal, you become a nervous wreck.
Worry is a result of disobedience and refusal to cast our cares upon him.
If we obey the word of admonition from the Lord, we’ll abide in peace and quietness.
If our hearts are fixed on him, we’ll live in perfect peace and be free from all worry.
For the prophet declared, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed
on thee, because he trusteth in thee.”
Isaiah 26 verse 3.
The peace of God which passes all understanding will flood our souls.
Sense knowledge reasoning can also cause the believer to incessantly live in worry.
Dwelling on knowledge of the cause, diagnosis and prognosis of a disease attacking the
body
of a believer can take the individual away from faith to worry and eventually to fear.
This first corrodes the believer’s trust in the word of God and he or she will beginto figure things out by human understanding.
Trust in the Lord, the scripture says, with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own
understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6.
Let’s call this next enemy of faith, the future faith.
By definition and in practice, faith is now.
It’s always present tense.
Hebrews chapter 11, the classic chapter on faith, begins with the phrase, “Now faith
is the substance of things.”
Hope looks into the future and is always future tense.
Hope says, “It will be mine someday.”
Hope has its place, especially when we consider the second coming of the Lord.
But when we confuse hope with faith, it becomes a hindrance.
Faith says, “I believe and I receive it right now.”
Someone after praying said, “I believe I will receive my healing someday.”
That’s not faith, that’s hope, because it is looking to some indefinite future time.
Hope has no present substance.
It is faith that gives substance to the things hoped for.
Faith says, “By his stripes I am healed, therefore I receive my healing now.”
It is faith that gets the job done today.
Enemy No. 6: Failure to Act On God’s Word
The next enemy is failure to act upon the Word.
When we fail to act upon the Word of God, we’re undermining the progress of our faith.
And if, God forbid, we cultivate a habit of not acting upon God’s Word, we get to a
point where we’re no longer sensitive to the walk of faith.
Simply put, if we habitually refuse to act upon God’s Word, being disobedient, our faithbecomes weak and we cannot please God.
Unbelief is disobedience and does not please God.
But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only deceiving your own selves.
James 1 verse 22.
We must give the Word of God first place in our lives.
We must not joke with the Word as some do, making a comedy out of the divine Word of
God and thus making it of no effect in their mouths when they speak it.
Hold the Word with reverence and gravity.
Let’s return to the main text of this section and carefully examine the other verses of
Scripture forming the context of the passage in the letter written by the Apostle to his
son Timothy.
Let’s begin reading from the sixth verse.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called,
and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
First Timothy 6 verses 6 to 12.
Enemy No. 7: The Love Of Money
The Apostle began by admonishing his son and us to seek after godliness and
contentment.
He warned in the earlier verses not quoted above that seeking after the things of this
world will lead us into a snare and cause us to fall into temptation.
He noted that believers who in times past had coveted and lusted after money had gone
astray from the faith and been pierced with countless sorrows.
Here we can see another enemy of faith, one that can cause you or me to stray away from
the path of faith.
In the sixth verse of this chapter, the Apostle says the love of money is the root of all evil.
One version of the New Testament renders this as saying, “For from love of money all
sorts
of evil arise, and some have so hankered after money as to be led astray from the faith
and
pierced through with countless sorrows.”
First Timothy 6 verse 10.
To fight this enemy and the other pernicious lusts associated with it, the Apostle tells
us that we must flee.
But you, O man of God, must flee from these things, and strive for uprightness, godliness,
good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper.
First Timothy 6 verse 11.
The fight of faith is not an external battle with a human opponent.
It is a spiritual battle, and it starts within each of us.
The Apostle tells us that we need to flee, and not only that, he tells us what to pursue.
We are to flee the lust for money and pursue uprightness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
and meekness.
Then in the next breath he says, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal
life.”
In this sentence he seems to be saying that these enemies’ goal is to prevent us from
laying hold on eternal life, and he strongly admonishes us to put up an overcoming fight
and lay hold on this goal.
Fight the Good Fight of Faith
In the sixth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians he wrote, “Wherefore take unto
you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplateof righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts
of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God.” Ephesians 6 verses 13-17.
In this warfare we must not forget to always be in an attitude of praise and thanksgiving
to God, giving thanks always unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Ephesians 5 verse 20.
Praise is an effective weapon in this fight of faith.
In fact, praise is faith at work.
We confidently praise Him in the face of contrary evidence because we believe Him and
refuse
to believe what we see.
And as we continue to praise Him we’ll eventually see the walls of Jericho fall right before
our eyes.
The walls may not fall on the first day we sing His praise and walk around the city.
They may not fall on the second day, and they may not fall on the third day.
But we’ll continue singing His praise because when we praise Him in this situation we’re
acting out our faith.
What should we do, someone asks, if we continue to praise Him and the situation doesn’t
seem to get better but seems to be getting worse?
Keep praising Him.
Give Him thanks.
Like Jonah in the belly of the whale, sacrifice to Him with the voice of thanksgiving.
Jonah 2 verse 9.Remember the declaration of Habakkuk the prophet, “Although the fig tree may not
blossom,
or fruit be on the vine, the produce of the olive fail, and the field yield no food.
The flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stall.
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Habakkuk 2 verses 17 and 18.
In the midst of the battle and the difficulties of life, let us, as the scripture admonishes,
fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith.
And what shall I more say?
For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson and of
Jephthah,
of David also and Samuel and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms,
wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence
of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting
deliverance,
that they might obtain a better resurrection.
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and
imprisonment.
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword,
they
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of
whom the world was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God
having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be madeperfect.
Finally my fellow believer, don’t give up in your fight of faith.
The scripture encourages us not to be weary in our faith.
For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Benediction
Now the God of peace that brought from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work
to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
Thank you for joining us in this broadcast edition today.
Please join in the next one and catch the fire and the passion to seek Him and find
Him so you can know Him and make Him known.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters
cover
the seas.
Amen.
