GREATER FAITH RESULTS IN GREATER ENEMIES

Have you ever asked the Lord to increase your faith? The “natural order” speaks against that. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy always increases with time. Simply put, there is a lack of order or predictability and a gradual decline into disorder. The “natural order” of things would insist that as we grow older our muscles atrophy and our waistlines grow larger. I can certainly attest to that being true in my case. Also, more times than not, older people struggle with memory loss, hair loss, loss of teeth, diminished sexual drive, loss of appetite, loss of health, our looks deteriorate, etc. (here loss, there loss, everywhere loss loss), ad infinitum.

There are always exceptions to the rule. We all know people that never seem to age. I have an aunt like that. My aunt and uncle were in a restaurant one time and a person asked my uncle if my aunt was his daughter. Disgusting as it is, those of us who are older have seen or know people in their 70’s and 80’s who look better than we did when we were in our prime.

What happens naturally in the physical world is all too often applied to the realities in the spiritual world, and it ought not to be. There is a spiritual dynamic inherent in the kingdom of God that takes us from the natural to the supernatural. The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all [young and old alike – author’s paraphrase], with uncovered face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The reference to the “uncovered face” hearkens back to the time when Moses had been up on the mountain in the presence of God, and when he came down, he didn’t realize that “the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:30, NKJV). The latter part of the verse says that when Aaron and the Israelite's saw Moses, they were scared spit-less (again, author’s paraphrase).

One person has said that the same word in the Greek for “glory” is used, but each usage refers to something different. There is mentioned here in 2 Cor. 3 the glory of the Old Covenant, and then there is the greater glory of the New Covenant. There is the glory of The Mosaic Law, and then there is the greater glory of the Law of Grace through Christ. There is the glory we have as mankind of being “created in” His image, and the greater glory of being “transformed into” His image “with ever increasing glory.” How does that happen? The latter part of 2 Cor. 3:18 tells us, “It comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The Bible declares that the Lord changes not.

We find a glorious passage in Job 26:7-14 (LB), that speaks of God’s power. “God stretches out heaven over empty space and hangs the earth upon nothing. He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds are not split by the weight. He shrouds his throne with his clouds. He sets a boundary for the ocean, yes, and a boundary for the day and for the night. The pillars of heaven tremble at his rebuke. And by his power the sea grows calm; he is skilled at crushing its pride! The heavens are made beautiful by his Spirit; he pierces the swiftly gliding serpent.

“These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who then can withstand his thunder?” Job says these are just mere whispers of His power. How could we ever withstand the thunder of His power?

This same God declares that we have access to His power. How, do you ask? Paul said, “it comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 ERV says,

“Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to you, because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you! The kingdom belongs to you, Lord! You are the head, the Ruler over everything. Riches and honor come from you. You rule everything. You have the power and strength in your hand! And in your hand is the power to make anyone great and powerful!”

When I first came to the Lord, I had a great hunger and thirst for the Word of God. I was filled with the Spirit and the love of Christ and couldn’t get enough of church and fellowship with the saints. But over time life wore me down and I became a mere shell of what I once was. A prayer that I have prayed frequently for some time now is, “Lord, I’m asking you that my latter years will be greater than my former.” Greater in passion, greater in intimacy with You, greater in love for You and the lost, greater in power, greater in faith, even greater than what I once had as a new believer.

That brings me back to the beginning of this post. I was asking the Lord to increase my faith, and I heard Him say in my spirit, are you sure you want that? Be careful what you ask for. I was reminded by Him of when James and John came to Jesus and asked Him for the honor of sitting, one at His right hand and the other at His left. You remember what happened? Jesus explained to them that they did not know or understand what they were asking.

At the same time the Lord reminded me of the passage I had read recently in Joshua 17. It says that Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord. The thing that stood out to me was v. 15. “The name of Hebron before was Kiriath-arba [city of Arba]. This Arba was the greatest of the Anakim.” Anakim were a race of giants. Because of Caleb’s great faith God had him face the greatest of their enemies. Herein lies a truth borne out through Scripture: The greater our faith – the greater our enemy, the greater the opposition, the greater the struggle.

I can’t remember which pastor said this, but it stuck with me. We have heard, and possibly said it ourselves, that we have been under attack by Satan. He went on to say that he wasn’t important enough in the kingdom of God to merit Satan’s personal attention. That’s reserved for people like Job, Daniel, the Apostle Paul, the other apostles, or someone like Billy Graham. “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke12:48, NIV)

If you remember the story in Daniel, Daniel had a visitation from an angel who told him, “…“Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you… “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia” (Daniel 10:11-12, NIV).

The Bible teaches that there is a hierarchy in the realm of angels, both those in heaven who remained loyal to God, as well as in the ranks of fallen angels. Bible scholars believe, based on this passage, that there are wicked territorial spirits under the command of Satan who are assigned to nations as a way of opposing God’s will and His people. The angel talking to Daniel told him that it took Michael, one of the chief angels in heaven (most powerful), to enable the angel speaking to Daniel, to overcome the evil angel. Because Daniel was highly esteemed by God, and wholly devoted to Him, Satan dispatched a much stronger demon to war against him.

If we are going to ask God to increase/grow our faith, to use us in a greater way to build His kingdom, then we need to do what the Apostle Peter enjoined us to do. “So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action. Stay alert and fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you…” (1 Peter 1:13, TPT). You’re not going to get a bottom of the bucket, common everyday variety of demon. The greater God uses you, and the stronger your faith is, the stronger your adversary.

I’m not saying this in order to discourage you, but to prepare you. Professional boxers say that the punch that knocks you out is the one you don’t see coming. Here’s a well-used but true cliché, “Those whom God calls – God equips.” The Apostle John in his first letter writes in chapter 4: 3-4, “Everyone who does not acknowledge that Jesus is from God has the spirit of antichrist, which you heard was coming and is already active in the world. Little children, you can be certain that you belong to God and have conquered them, for the One who is living in you is far greater than the one who is in the world” (emphasis added). The victory is past tense. It’s already been won by Christ. We just need to walk in it. That’s easier said than done because there’s always a learning curve, but, “No, despite all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ, who loved us” (Romans 8:37, NLT).

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