Ephesians 6:12 provides a capsulized look at the spiritual competition.
Ephesians 6:12:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of our adversary. Yes, we are in a spiritual competition, and God wants us to win—so much so that He declares our triumph and victory in Christ.
II Corinthians 2:14:
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
I Corinthians 15:57:
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thankfully God, the Author of life, designed and provided a spiritual “playbook”—His Word. In this playbook, He shows us how to be victorious and win in life by believing His Word. God gave us the ability to believe His Word in any circumstance, under every condition.
So let’s study God’s spiritual playbook. We’ll first examine fundamental truths and examples of positively believing God’s promises. We’ll see how important our believing is in the spiritual competition. Next, we’ll expose the adversary’s technique of engendering fear, or negative believing. With this awareness, we can counter his negatives, defeating fear with focused believing action. Finally, we’ll cover some practical considerations about believing. What we choose to believe and confess in this spiritual competition of life directly impacts the outcome of any given situation. Taking believing action on God’s Word leads us to victory!
Let’s start by looking at some fundamental truths on positively believing God’s promises. After we know what is available in God’s Word, the how of receiving the promises of God is believing. Believing is the key. Jesus Christ taught the law of believing in Mark 11.
Mark 11:23:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
In this fundamental verse on believing, we see important elements to carry out as we believe God’s promises. We get rid of any doubt in our hearts, and we believe that what we say will come to pass. What a powerful verse! Is there a “mountain” or challenge we need to remove so it’s out of our way? With God, we can do it. It may seem challenging at times to fathom the extent to which our believing can take us, but with God, all things are possible to him that believes (Mark 9:23).
More foundational truths on positive believing are found in the Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 11:1:
Now faith [believing] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
A literal translation of this verse according to Biblical usage is: “Now believing is the title deed of things prayed for, the evidence they are yours before they are seen.” Believing is the title deed, which communicates that we in essence “own it.” Over the years, various family members have blessed me with vehicles they were ready to part with. At times, these were given to me when I was living on the opposite side of the country. Before I even had the car, they signed the title for the vehicle over to my name. Once they signed the title deed, I owned the car. It was mine even if I had not seen the vehicle yet.
Whatever we pray and believe for, our believing is evidence that we “own it.” It is ours. Our spiritual Coach, God, is encouraging us to believe that we have something even before we see it. How encouraging it is to know that our heavenly Father is willing and able to make things happen for us as we believe.
Let’s see another fundamental truth on positive believing in this same chapter. Verse 6 highlights how to please God and be rewarded by Him.
Hebrews 11:6:
But without faith [believing] it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Without believing, it is impossible to please God. We can’t please God without believing Him. The opposite is also true: “With believing, it is possible to please Him.” When we believe, we please God, and He rewards us as we diligently seek Him. Notice how coming to God and diligently seeking Him involve taking action—and believing is required for both.
There are so many benefits when we believe the promises of God. We have seen that we have the power to remove mountains, that we “own” what we are believing for, and that we get rewarded as we diligently seek Him….
This is an excerpt from the January/February 2015 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2015 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
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