Scripture reading: Romans 10:17
It is a common error which most of us make when in the heat of the battle – we forget that our power to overcome does not lie in ourselves or in our effort, but in our faith IN GOD. Faith does not necessarily have to be in God. Men can have faith in themselves, or in other persons, or even in other spirits. Today we find that this positive, but misplaced faith has invaded the Christian realm and is causing people to believe for things which are contrary to God’s will. Faith therefore can produce result and yet be not of God. The type of faith used by a well-known “Rev” in New York to produce property and riches, definitely works for those who believe, yet he does not even pretend that it is of God. This faith forms the basis of occult practices, but more and more it is being used by the Christian ministries to produce material results, without spiritual victory. In order to have the VICTORY we must place our faith in God, NOT COMMANDING GOD, as some of us believe we should do, but BELIEVING HIM to destroy the works of the world and the devil in our lives. To believe God, is righteousness.
Many of us are ready and willing to believe God but are lost in the confusion of voices, and cannot have a clear-cut word upon which to place our faith. God has provided ways and means for us to overcome this confusion. There are basically three avenues through which God is speaking to us:
- God is speaking to us through His ministry – BUT there is a thousand ministers preaching a thousand different messages!
- God is speaking to us through His word – BUT there are so many different translations saying different things – I do not know which to follow!
- God is speaking to us from within by His own voice – BUT I hear so many voices within that I do not know when it is self, the devil, or God!
In spite of the many ministries and the many voices speaking different things, the Lord God has only one ministry and one voice. Any voice which gives you VICTORY over the world, the flesh, and the devil, is the voice of God. You can get victory over an ailment, or victory over financial problems, BUT that is not the barometer by which you can test the voices. The test lies in the fact that you are gaining the victory over worldliness, carnality, and the influence of the devil in your life. The whole world lies under the influence of the devil; sociology, psychology, all the sciences, and even theology are the instruments of Satan to bring the people under his power. There is not one facet of our physical world around us which is not controlled by Satan, therefore, we must hear the voice of God in order to counteract these other voices.
(Excerpt from The Omega Message, May 1986)
Thought for today: Any voice which gives you VICTORY over the world, the flesh, and the devil, is the voice of God.
Sonlight Devotional 