FAITH AND CONFIDENCE

”The same faith which caused you to work against your sins as God's enemies will undoubtedly move Him to work for you against them.

"God broke my heart," says the Christian, "when it was like flint, and brought me home when I was walking in the pride of my heart against Him; but can He give bread to nourish my weak grace? I have come out of Egypt; but can He master those giants in iron chariots, which stand between me and Canaan? He helped me in one temptation; but what will I do the next time?" Do not grieve a good God with such heart breaking questions. You have "the former rain." Why should you question "the latter"? The grace, which God has given you is a sure pledge that more is on the way.

Faith's confidence in God is well demonstrated. After Jehoshaphat had prayed and anchored his faith on the word of promise, he marched out under this victorious banner against his enemies 2 Chronicles 20. Christian, do what he did; hasten as he did. And I give you the same counsel which David gave his son Solomon: "Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee" 1 Chronicles 22:16. The same faith, which caused you to work against your sins as God's enemies will undoubtedly move Him to work for you against them.

The lepers in the Gospel were cured not as they sat but as they walked. They met their healing in an act of obedience to Christ's command. The promise says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you" Romans 6:14. So go ahead and make a valiant attempt against your lusts-- and in doing your duty you will find God's performance of the promise.

The reason so many Christians complain about the power of their corruptions lies in one of two roots-- either they try to overcome sin without acting on the promises, or else they only pretend to believe. They use faith as an eye but not as a hand; they look for victory to drop from heaven upon their heads but do not prayerfully fight to get it.” 


Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

THE SECURITY OF FAITH'S VICTORY

”It is not the possession of a shield itself that defends the Christian; we must hold it up and use it in battle against Satan's fiery darts.

Many men say they believe; they thank God they are not infidels. But what can your faith do? Can it defend you in battle and cover your soul when Satan's darts fly all around you? Or is it such a sorry shield that it lets every arrow of temptation through to wound your heart?

If Satan tells you to lie or cheat in your business and your passive faith makes no resistance, you are sinning not only against your fellow man but against faith itself. God forbid that you should think your faith is saving faith. Will faith, which cannot bring you out of hell ever take you to heaven? Do not venture out in life with such a paper shield. To get faith that keeps you secure and strong, come to him who is the Faith Maker-- God, I mean.

It is not the possession of a shield itself that defends the Christian; we must hold it up and see it in battle against Satan's fiery darts. Do not let him take you when your faith is not ready to hand, as David found Saul unarmed in the cave, with his spear on the ground when it should have been in his hand.

Let you faith ask God to come and defend you against Satan's fiery darts. There are three particular acts of faith, which will require God to help-- and we say this with reverence-- because He binds Himself to do so.

Open your case to God in prayer and call in help from heaven, as the commander of a station under fire sends a secret messenger to let his general know the seriousness of his need. The apostle James says, "you fight and end war, yet you have not, because you ask not" James 4:2.If we have any victory it must draw from heaven-- but it will stay there until believing prayer comes for it. Although God purposed to deliver Israel out of Egypt, there was no sign of His coming until the groans of His people rang in His ears.” Amen! 


Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

HOW FAITH QUENCHES THE PRIDE OF LIFE

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" Habakkuk 2:4.

There are several distinctive ways in which faith quenches the pride of life: it takes away the fuel that feeds the temptation; it causes the Christian to expect all honor from Christ; it shows the dangers of bargaining with Satan for worldly glory; and it reveals precedents to believers.

Faith takes away the fuel that feeds this temptation. Pride is the fuel for temptation. Take away the oil and the lamp goes out. Where this lust is present in any strength, the creature's eyes are dazzled with the sight of something, which suits the desires of the heart. By temptation the devil gives vent to what the heart itself is full of. Simon Magus had a haughty spirit; and when he first saw the chance to upstage the apostle, his desire was on fire to have a gift to work miracles himself. On the other hand, a man of humble spirit loves a low seat; he is not ambitious to tower above the thoughts of others; and while he stoops in his own opinion himself, the same bullet flies over his head, which hits the proud man in the chest. Faith settles the heart down. Pride and faith are opposites; like a pair of balance scales, if one goes up, the other must go down. "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith"  Habakkuk 2:4.

Faith is Christ's favorite and makes the Christian expect all his honor from Him. When temptation comes, faith casts the soul on Christ as being all-sufficient to make it happy. And when temptation promises to bring you honor if you will allow a sin, faith chokes the bullet. Remember whose you are. Princes will not let their subjects become indebted to a foreign prince-- least of all to one who is hostile to them. Faith declares that the honor or applause you get by sin makes you subject to the devil himself, who is God's greatest enemy. Faith shows the danger of bargaining with Satan to gain the glory of the world for one sin.” 


Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617