Is the Faith You're Living For Worth Fighting For (Santosh Poonen)

When we came out of our mother’s womb, we were born for the first time into the realm of this earth. Similarly, when we are born again, we are born for the first time into the realm of faith. God has made faith so precious that you have to fight for it, and the reason many Christians stop living by faith (Romans 1:17) is that they aren’t fighting for it (I Timothy 1:18). The world’s way is fighting in your own strength for victory; God’s way is praising your way into victory (II Chronicles 20:22). The former is actually quite tiring; the latter is peace. When you pick up your weapons of the flesh (words, actions, etc.), you effectively drop the mighty spiritual weapons God has given you (II Corinthians 10:4), and this immediately makes you powerless against the Devil and his hosts (Ephesians 6:12). Faith Battlefield #1 – God is Ruler of Time: God is the same yesterday, today and forever: He wants to work in your past as much as in your present and your future. If He loved you enough to forsake His only begotten Son on Calvary, how will He not also freely give you all the things that come along with Christ (Romans 8:32)? Level 1 of faith is trusting that God causes my present to work together for good. Level 2 is trusting the same about my future. Level 3 is trusting that God causes the events of my past also to work together for my present and future good! If one of the Devil’s fiery arrows of anxiety and worry was able to get through into your life, it just means that you failed to take up the shield of faith in that area. Don’t let it get through next time. When the Devil tries to sow unbelieving thoughts into your mind about what COULD happen (II Corinthians 10:5), destroy them by reminding him about what DID happen (Colossians 2:15). Faith Battlefield #2 – The Word of the Invisible God Will Come True: God is contrary to your natural senses. That’s why you can only understand Him by faith. Every time you look at the world around you, it should be a reminder that the God who brought all of it into existence from nothing, will bring into existence spiritual reality in your life — by His word (Hebrews 11:3). The reason the world does not take God’s word seriously is because He is invisible. But, His word spoken then, is just as powerful today and o fight the fight of faith is to punish all disobedience (II Corinthians 10:6). Faith Battlefield #3 – God is the Only Source of Wisdom: God knows best, and His stamp of approval is the only thing that matters (Hebrews 11:2). The reason God resists us when we’re proud (I Peter 5:5) is that every lofty thought is an affront to Him and prevents us from knowing Him (II Corinthians 10:5). I have come to see this new definition of God: He is the only one who gets all the glory. So, the moment I try to take some glory to myself, I am effectively claiming that there are now two gods; and God hates polytheism (Exodus 20:3).