God Is Faithful

There are three enemies that believers constantly face, the kingdom of darkness, the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of self. Each one if left unchecked works against the believer to deceive and distract them from the Truth. When Jesus began His earthly ministry as the Son of Man the Bible records that He was water Baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:13-16) and then led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for forty day (Luke 4:1-2). Next, the Bible records, "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13) We see that the devil, even after he was defeated by Jesus in open combat, sought opportunity to get at Jesus.

For believers it is no different. We get victory from an assault of the devil and yet it seem that he looks for opportunity to come at us again.  We need to understand that the devil hates every human being especially those who are "Born Again." His objective is to have as many people as possible face the same fate that he is facing, unimaginable eternal torment in the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10) However, for the believer, Jesus has conquered the devil and all his demon spirits. It is through His meritorious work on Calvary's cross that He has provided a way to be free from Satan's tyrannical reign over them. It is the believers faith in Jesus Christ that has set them free. Although the devil may still try to come against the believer, we must always remember that he is a defeated foe. Paul said it this way, "For sin or Satan shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14) I added Satan because he is the originator and perpetrator of all sin into humanity. Sin and Satan are synonymous.

Next, the believer faces the kingdoms of this world. Unfortunately, most believers do not realize just how dependent they have become on the world. I am not saying this in a condemning way, but it is a reality. For many believers, when things go wrong the first thing that they do, is turn to the world, yet Jesus tells us, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18-19) How does the world hate us? Look at how the world looks at Christianity. Whether a supposedly free country or not, the world has a growing hatred towards true Christians. I say true Christians because many people attend a church service every Sunday an act no different than the fallen world. They have fallen prey to "...all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." John finishes by saying these things "...are not of the Father but of the world." (1 John 2:16) It is no wonder why so many people in the church suffer or have broken hearts. For believers who look to the world for answers and still struggle, you need to know that the world will always take that which is good such as peace, joy, faith and love and then gives worry, stress, disappointment and destruction. The reason for this is due to the CEO of the world system. It is none other than Satan himself.

Finally, the believer faces, the kingdom of self. This is equally destructive to the other two because all three neutralize faith and lead believers away from the abundant life that Jesus brought to earth (John 10:10). The kingdom of self is summed up in this, the love of mammon or riches. In short, it says, "What is mine, is mine" but it does not stop there. It is motivated by the kingdom of darkness and the kingdoms of this world that drives people to get as much as they can. I have seen this in the lives of wealthy people who could retire and live in luxury for the rest of their lives, but are always striving for more. Mammon causes people to waste their lives on things not realizing that they are missing out on the true riches of this life. The kingdom of self unfortunately is a problem among many believers. The best way to see if you are under control of mammon is to examine yourself and see how much you worry about finances especially if you are going to have enough to retire.

So, now that we have taken a brief look at the three areas that believers face, how can we separate ourselves from them to experience the abundant life the Jesus brought? Paul tells us, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2) Believers should consecrate themselves to the Lord daily and use the Word of God daily to transform their mind. This will help believers to find the true riches such as peace, joy, faith and love. Now, I want us to look at another very important key that will help us to act upon the Romans 12:1-2 principle.

David the king was under attack not only by the Philistines but the very king that he served, King Saul. Both wanted him dead which forced him to be on the run and hide in caves. Yet in all of this he remembered who the God he served truly was, "I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies." ( Psalms 18:1-3)

Look at David's confession, The Lord is my strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, my salvation, my stronghold. This is who our God is. When believers truly come to know this about God, the three forces that oppose them will have less and less hold. All believers must come to realize that our heavenly Father is faithful. What He says, He does or He would not have said it. When we find ourselves in a conflict with, the kingdom of darkness, the kingdoms of this world and or the kingdom of self it is not that we should not take a stand against them but we must foremost remember who our God and Father truly is. Confess these things, believe it in our heart and act upon it. Doing this will help us build our faith and when we find ourselves facing a seemingly indomitable task, don't be surprised to hear His small still voice say to you, "I Got This."