Christian's Handbook 3

Handbook 3 shares a Christian's personal experiences while being led out of the "organized visible church" by the Holy Spirit.

"The" Faith and Spiritual Warfare: Prayer Without Ceasing!

Handbook 3: Article 54 - Spiritual Warfare

"Now He was telling them a parable to show them at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart... now shall not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night. And will He delay long over them? I tell you He will bring about justice for them speedily. However when the Son of Man comes, will He find the faith on the earth?"

Luke 18:8

WHEN JESUS COMES WILL HE FIND "THE" FAITH ON THE EARTH?

Faith is a core principle of the Gospel:

"For in it the righteousness of God is revealed in (or by) faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith.'"

Rom. 1:17

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

Hebrews 11;5, 6

"For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back My soul has no pleasure in him."

Hebrews 10:3

"Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God."

Romans 10:17

What is faith?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Hebrews 11:1, 2

Notice that in Luke 18:8, Jesus is not asking about faith in general but about "the faith," faith of such substance that by it men of old obtained a testimony that they were righteous.

"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain and through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying by receiving his gifts..."

Hebrews 11:4

"By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, having become reverent, prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of righteousness."

Hebrews 11:7

"By faith Abraham when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the promise; for he was looking for a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

Hebrews 11:8-10

But this verse also in Hebrews 11 is a shocker!

"All these died in faith, without receiving the promises... All these, having gained approval through their faith did not receive the promise, because God had foreseen (or provided) something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect."

Hebrews 11:39, 40

How would I have handled that?

"Abraham went out, not knowing where he was to go. He didn't know what the land would be like, but he went, because his fulfillment was not in the condition of the land, His fulfillment was in the going... Abraham trusted God. His faith was in God, not in what God would do for him... God did not lure him into the land with promises of ease and prosperity, but rather He promised that Abraham's posterity would be aliens in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and ill-treat them four hundred years. And He still went out.

The purpose in our becoming God's children is that we might know and do His will, not that He might cater to our needs. God promised Abraham, 'I will bless you.' It is enough for us to know that. When God says He will bless, He will be true to His word. Eyes of faith will see the blessing even when it does not appear to the natural eye. The key is not in looking for the blessing, but in knowing the One who blesses. This is God's greatest blessing."

Stewart W. Peterson

I will know my faith has substance if the following Scripture describes me.

"All these died in faith, without receiving the promises... but having seen them and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they are strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own... they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them."

Hebrews 11:13-16

"The Faith" sees beyond the daily, the yearly, even the lifetime. "The" faith is not seeking rewards but seeking the One who rewards. It is not a question of "what" is our reward but "Who"!

"Do not fear, Abram, I am... your very great reward."

Genesis 15:1

The Faith in us will press onward, letting the promises and answers to our prayers overtake us in His time and His way. Is it not possible that some of the promises of God and the prayers He gives us to pray will be answered in a lifetime beyond ours, perhaps only when His Kingdom comes?

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:15-18

Now He was telling them a parable to show them at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart... However when the Son of Man comes, will He find the faith (in me)?


« LastNext »

  1. "Come and See!" Pressing On
  2. The Lord God as a Warrior
  3. Jesus as a Warrior
  4. God's People as Warriors
  5. Armor and Weapons of Warfare
  6. God's Choice of Weapons
  7. Prayer in the Spirit
  8. The Way of God's Judgments
  9. "The" Faith and Spiritual Warfare: Prayer Without Ceasing!

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