Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
—1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)
You fight the good fight of faith with the knowledge of the Word of God and by believing and declaring the truth of who you are in Christ. You fight the good fight of faith from a position of victory because Christ has already won.
“Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. This is to your shame. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (1 Corinthians 15:34, James 4:7, NKJV).
Wake up. Know and believe the Word. The enemy battles you from within with lies—with deception—and will even twist Scripture to deceive you. He will tempt you not to believe the truth of God’s Word. Don’t submit your thoughts to the lies of the enemy. Don’t give him power. Submit your thoughts to God. Resist the enemy. Rebuke him, and he will flee. Stand in the authority Christ has given you to escape the enemy’s subtle manipulation to kill, steal, and destroy you (James 4:7, John 10:10).
We submit to God because Christ has made us righteous. We are convicted by His righteousness—not by the disgrace of shame and guilt. When we understand how we fight sin from a position of righteousness, then we can understand how to fight the battle for our promise from a position of victory in Christ.
Many believers don’t have a knowledge of God in regards to the righteousness Jesus purchased for them. When you know the righteousness Christ has given you, you receive spiritual wisdom in your knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1: 17).
Awake to the righteousness He has given you! Allow the Word to teach you! Jesus has won the total victory over hell and sin and sickness and death! It is a finished work! You fight the good fight of faith from a position of victory! You never fight from defeat! Lay hold of all the promises that are yours in your assurance of the new life Christ has given you. Have you confessed and declared your hope to others? Well, keep confessing the truth of God’s promises. And hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering, for God who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24, NKJV).
How do you fight the good fight of faith and hang on to your promise when you are battle-weary? You have to stand and trust God. You can’t stand and trust God if you don’t know His Word. It may be a while before you experience the manifestation of your promise. Most often, time passes before the mountain you told to be gone is removed. Don’t give up. You appropriate by faith the truth of God’s Word. You believe and take His promise as your own. You speak life to what you are promised (Proverbs 18:21).
Believing doesn’t happen when you have received the answer to your prayer. You have to believe that when you pray you have already received your answer. When you speak to your mountain—when you pray believing without doubting—your promise will come to pass. The key is believing that when you pray nothing will keep you from receiving. When you believe this truth, you are able to stand—declaring what you believe in God’s realm is true for you. You will receive—if you will not give up.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-11, NKJV).
These verses tell you how to stand. Be strong in the Lord and in His power—not in your power. Don’t trust your understanding. The enemy will manipulate you with emotion. Look unto Jesus, the author, and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). Put on the whole armor of God so you can stand against the enemy who lies, deceives, accuses, and creates issues.
Notice in these verses in Ephesians 6:10-11 that we are told twice to stand so that we can “withstand” the heat of battle. Things are not always going to go easy when you are standing. You have to learn to withstand the attacks of the enemy because he wants to tear you down—to make you believe your promise is not true and convince you that God does not care. God’s armor is what empowers you to stand against the enemy’s deception and wickedness and attempts to kill, steal, and destroy you.
During the next few devotionals, we will look at how to stand believing for what God has promised by putting on each piece of His armor. It is God’s righteousness that empowers us to willfully choose the armor. God doesn’t dress us for battle. We allow His power to dress us for victory.
Whatever is born of God overcomes. And the victory that has overcome the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). Do we want abundant life? We stand and fight the good fight of faith believing we have already won.
© 2022 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2022/08/victorious-faith
No comments:
Post a Comment