By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

“When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Mark 5:39-41

A ruler named Jairus requested Jesus to come and heal his dying daughter. While Jesus was on His way, the ruler’s servant brought news that the girl was dead. Jesus still went ahead to the ruler’s house where He met mourners. He told them that the girl was only sleeping and not dead but they laughed at Him. Laughing at the word of God means you have rejected it and as such, it won’t have any effect in your life. Unbelief hinders God in our lives for two cannot walk together unless they agree. 

Mark 6: 3-6 “Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” 5 And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief”

HOW TO GET RID OF UNBELIEF

1. 1. One way to deal with unbelief is to put away those who laugh at the word of God and make a mockery of your faith. They are not your enemies, but they make the word of God of no effect in your life.  Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night”

   2. Be careful of what and how you hear. That is what our Lord Jesus taught us. Judge all spirits by the word of God. Many well-meaning people are sometimes motivated by demons without knowing it. The goal is to derail your faith. They can easily plant the wrong doctrine into your heart.

An example of this is found in Matt 16:21-23 “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Peter tried to talk Jesus out of fulfilling His mission for mankind. He didn’t know he was motivated by demons!!! It still happens today. Watch and pray. Be very careful what you believe. Let the Scriptures alone be your umpire. At the mouth of two or three witnesses of the Scripture shall every word be established. Do not put any human above what is written in the Scriptures. Scripture is what builds genuine faith in Christ Jesus. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word about Christ Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

1. 3. Do not let the devil manipulate your emotions and make you take matters into your own hands thereby disregarding the Lord and disobeying the word of God. When your emotions are charged up, it is difficult to listen to anything. The scriptures could be read verbatim to you but, you just can’t listen at that point. When your emotions are under control by the enemy of your soul, you are walking in unbelief. He can make you sad, make you doubt, and only see hopelessness. He can stir up your anger to wrath and blind you totally from the word of God. He can make you seem wise in your own eyes!! He motivates well-meaning people to provoke you to wrath, speak unbelief, murmur, or complain. He lays in wait for an open door.

Eph 4:26-27 “And don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”

Speaking evil will rob you of your blessing! You need to know that so you can guard your heart diligently. Walk by faith and not by sight! Overcome evil with good.

1 Peter 3:8-12 “Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. 10 For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.11 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”

1. 4.  Another way to get rid of unbelief is to study and meditate on God’s word with the purpose of HEARING WHAT GOD IS TEACHING YOU AND PRACTICING IT, not just to fulfill an obligation. To focus on knowing Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith. Get away from ritualism and practices that have no basis in the New Testament Revelation of Christ Jesus regardless of how many people are doing it and what miracles you see and hear. Save yourself from this untoward generation. Walk in the word that is a lamp unto thy feet and light unto thy path. Remember that many do not take time like the Bereans to study the Scriptures and confirm whether or not what they believe is Biblical. They just join the crowd and are led straight to the darkness of lies and ignorance until such practices take deep root in them. Walk in the light of the Scriptures. Jesus Christ is the word and the truth!

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.

Watch the full message below.