Fight the Good Fight of Faith (Pt. 2)
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [a]wiles of the devil.– Ephesians 6:11, 1 Timothy 6:12
If you lose or compromise your faith you will end up losing everything. We need to know what we are up against and the fact that it is not a physical confrontation but a spiritual battle; the devil’s schemes and mind manipulations. The devil glories in despotic acts such as dissolving marriages, suicidal tendencies, destruction of careers, and so on. The way to deal with these acts is to fight and keep your faith; faith in the power and word of God. We must know and have confidence in the authority that God has given to us. Little wonder the Apostle Paul was praying that we understand the authority we have in Christ. If we don’t understand the authority we have, we won’t use it. If our understanding of the authority is shallow, we won’t use it effectively too.
You are a member of the body of Christ. God always knew that you would accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. He knows all things; everything. So you were included in what the scripture said about our privileges in Christ even before you actually got saved… calling those things that be not as though they were. When you got saved it became yours. Wherever Christ seats, there you will also seat. The devil’s mission is to try to thwart God’s plans. He did it over and again in the Bible. In the case of the Apostle, he planned to waylay him and stop the gospel from being preached but God averted that by sending a child to reveal his plans. He tried to keep Jesus in the grave with stones but God messed that plan up too. We are seated at God’s right hand with Jesus and all power is under our feet.
If you don’t exercise the authority you have, the devil will keep dominating and causing pain so that you don’t use it. Unfortunately, many believers are not exercising this authority and so we have given the devil the freedom to roam freely and destroy the earth. We must learn to use the authority in the word of God by:
- Resisting the devil’s attacks and mind games by your faith. His goal is simple and straightforward; kill, steal and destroy.
- Speak the word of God that the Holy Spirit has given you. The faithful testimony of Jesus coming out of your mouth will stop him. The word must have conviction and faith in it.
- We must learn to speak to our mountains. Faith is revealed by words and actions. We believe and must speak it.
- Exercise authority in the name of Jesus by preaching the gospel; declare the name of Jesus, heal the sick, cast out demons, and pull people out of the fire.
We must declare the name of Jesus just like David did before Goliath, so we can rise in faith put the army of the devil to flight. The church needs to wake up and embrace the power they have and can live in glory.
Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor of The Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.
- God’s Weapons of Warfare (Pt.4)
- Blessed: The Riches of Christ For Us
- Dynamics of Faith in God
- God’s Weapons of Warfare (Pt.1)