Faith To Navigate Through The End Times

5.21.2023

Introduction

Mark 9:23 (NKJV)

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

1 John 5:4 (NKJV)

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV)

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

There is a challenge to faith before Jesus returns.

Luke 18:8 (NKJV)

I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

1 Timothy 4:1 (NLT)

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 (AMP)

Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed],

Until Jesus returns, faith should be our response to the pressures of living in chaotic times.

Matthew 24:13 (NLT)

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

We will call this Faith To Navigate Through The End Times

Faith is for what God has provided for you but you can’t see, feel, or experience at the moment.

Faith is a gap stander. It stands in for what God has promised you in His Word until it shows up.

Faith in God is faith in His Word.

For generations, believers have called the Bible the infallible rule of faith and living. I believe that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that we know God by what is revealed about Him in the Bible!

We are living in a culture that has set that aside. Have you?

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (AMP)

And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith].

If you choose to believe the Bible and put it into practice, amazing things can happen in your life!

Today I want to talk about faith as a way of living that can enable us to navigate the worldwide turbulence we are facing.

Philippians 4:11 A.S.Way Translation

No, I have learned in whatever condition I am, to be independent of circumstances. I am schooled to bear the depths of poverty; I am schooled to bear abundance. In life as a whole, and all its circumstances, I have mastered the secret of living – how to be the same amidst repletion and starvation, amidst abundance and privation. I am equal to every lot through the help of Him who gives me inward strength.

There is an optimism based solely on the power of the human will to endure hardship.

And, there is an optimism and hope based on the promises of God to those who believe the Bible!

So, you have 5 senses on one side – and faith on the other side.

We must have an active faith to navigate the dark world climate and circumstances it produces for us today!

I want to encourage your faith today.

 

When I gave my life to Jesus as an 18 year old, I made a decision that I would live by faith in God’s Word.

I went to church but never in almost 18 years heard that faith was anything but static. You get saved and then you endure.

But faith is a force that brings God’s will into your life!

Dr. J. Oswald Sanders Quote:

Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.

Melancholy, fear, and oppression were a part of my daily life.

Faith in God’s Word began to change my life!

For every challenge, I found scripture that I chose to believe in the middle of it!

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

A bright future:

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Proverbs 4:18 (NKJV)

But the path of the just is like the shining sun,

That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Freedom from oppression:

John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide (continue) in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Fear ruled my teenage life until I found – 2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Healing began to replace sickness consciousness when I found Matthew 8:17

Matthew 8:17 (NKJV)

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

A poverty mentality ruled me until I found – Philippians 4:19

Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Regardless of what you face in any area of life, if you allow it, faith in God’s Word will bring God’s answer to you!

I was lonely and I wanted a girlfriend that would become my wife, and for 43 years now we have been together.

I began to exercise my faith for the needs of life and for God’s direction.

Bible school – ask for the money to go, money to move to Tulsa, for a good apartment to live in, and God came through!

 

And down through the years God has been faithful to bring His Word to pass in my life.

He will do the same for you!

Defined:

Faith is acting like God’s Word is true right now, regardless of what you see or feel, in the face of apparent contradiction!

Mark 11:22-23 (NKJV)

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Mark 11:24 (NKJV)

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Mark 11:24 (NLT)

24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)

While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Romans 4:17-21 (NKJV)

17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

Romans 4:19-21 (AMP)

Without becoming weak in faith he considered his own body, now as good as dead [for producing children] since he was about a hundred years old, and [he considered] the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 But he did not doubt or waver in unbelief concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and empowered by faith, giving glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God had the power to do what He had promised.

Hebrews 11:1 (AMP)

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].

Church in Mullins – building.

1st house – 500.00

I have been living with an active faith all of my adult life.

Faith must be a way of life if it is going to work!

1 John 5:4
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

I was raised in church and never heard one message about how faith can change your everyday life.

I was a pessimist. I was afraid. I was insecure. I felt rejected by everyone. I thought my life would never matter very much. I thought I would die young.

I heard a message about the life changing power of faith in the Word of God, and my world turned rightside up!

I’ve been living by faith for almost 46 years now. I want to share some things that have helped me.

In this series, I want to share some principles with you, that, if you will listen to and put into practice, will totally change how you live your life!

God has a plan to free you from your past, empower your present, and launch you into the future He has for your life!

Faith is the best way to navigate through the problems we face in a fallen world.

A serious fact:

The fall of man allowed Satan access to the earth. The fall and Satan’s rule here is the foundation of understanding why faith is the best way to live.

Because of Satan’s legal right to be here and to steal, kill, and destroy, believers must learn how to live by faith, and live out from under his control.

Matthew 28:18-20 – NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Today, for this period of “Adam’s lease,” God has to have permission to invade earth with His ability and power. Our prayers and our faith give God permission to invade our lives and circumstances with His grace, His mercy, and His provision!

Romans 8:2 (NKJV)

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Many people believe that all problems come through God’s hands and become His will for us in order to make us better people.

No, God is good! Problems come because we are flawed, the environment of earth is flawed, and demonic forces are here.

When I counseled people in a large church years ago, I found that you could summarize into three categories the reasons that problems come:

**Personal sin, organic illness, demonic influence…

But the Bible is clear that we live in a Satan ruled environment! We are to see ourselves as soldiers in an army directed by God that will resist Satan’s rule and will help free others!

Regardless of the challenge, God has made a way for us to come out on top!

We can navigate through a fallen world with faith…

John 16:33 (NKJV)

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8:31-37 (NKJV)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (33) Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” (37) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NLT)

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. (8) We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. (9) We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Psalms 34:19 (NLT)

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

James 1:17 (NIV)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

On the one hand, challenges that we face can help mold us if we choose to do the right thing in them.

If you see them properly, your problems help develop your character as you resist them with faith!

On the other hand, we must learn to exercise faith and expect God to help us out of the challenges of life!.

4 Main Reasons Problems Come In Life And Why We Must Exercise Faith

Knowing the origin of problems helps us find the proper solution…

Regardless of the reason the problem came, God wants us to exercise faith in Him and expect Him to help and deliver!

1. The sin nature and personal mistakes.

People can be inherently mean, unfair, and cruel.

The human heart is inherently selfish and cruel.

The spirit of antiChrist that is manifesting right now is showing just how cruel the human heart influenced by Satan really is!

Without salvation people can be hostile to God and his will; selfish, self-serving.

2 Samuel 24:14 – NKJV

And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

Jeremiah 17:9 – NKJV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

 

Matthew 15:18 – NKJV

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

People do cruel things. God can only intervene when faith is exercised through personal prayer or by the intercession of another.

Example – Lindsay’s car.

Example – building appraiser.

2013 – I broke my arm – made a personal mistake. But, I trusted God, and He turned it out for my good!

Sometimes God’s hands are tied because there is no one to help pray it through.

Ezekiel 22:29-31- NKJV

The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

You see, God wants to intervene when tough things happen.

2. The curse on the earth because of man’s fall.

Genesis 3:13-19 – NKJV

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.

Because of the curse, we have microbes that hinder health, and a whole host of challenges because the earth is now tainted with the curse of sin.

With industrialization, we have changed the original form of so many substances, we have polluted the environment, and we ourselves have caused a host of new physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

The stress on modern life is unlike any other generation. Life has become complex and chaotic, and we suffer from the effects of too much stress.

Genetics transferred from previous generations to the next can follow a family for generations.

And now, we have pathogens created in labs by humans that seek to destroy life as we have known it.

The good news is that we can resist this:

Galatians 3:13-14 – NKJV

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We must resist and refuse the things that come to our lives as a result of living in a fallen world.

Most people offer NO resistance. They just float along and subsist, barely getting by.

God wants you blessed!

But you can’t just coast along with little or no spiritual effort and think that all will go well. We live in a fallen world!

Romans 5:17 – NKJV

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

3. Demonic intrusion into your life.

This area is picking up speed right now worldwide. There is an all out assault on morals, children, basic life values that make a family and nation strong.

Familiar spirits, familiar with individuals and families often follow families for generations, until someone rises up and refuses their domination.

Exodus 34:6-7- HCSB

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

In my own family, my maternal grandfather had mental illness, and that has attacked some of my extended family. It tried to attack me when I was young but I absolutely refused it!

Sexual sin, addictions, anger, hatred, violence, and many others things can be exacerbated or made worse by demonic forces that must be opposed in the name of Jesus Christ!

,

Matthew 12:43-45 – NKJV

When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. (44) Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

We must resist Satan and his attacks against our lives and families…

We must learn to hear the Holy Spirit and follow his lead.

4. Failure to listen to the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14- NLT

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

John 16:13 – NLT

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

Me – Don’t go that way – January – 1984

2004 – don’t get on the next flight…

Early 20’s Exercise – have done it all my life.

Many people do not listen to The Holy Spirit and get into trouble physically.

Worry? Diet? Sedentary lifestyle – all get people into trouble.

These are our responsibility – not God’s! And if we will listen, the Holy Spirit will guide us and help us.

Pray in the spirit every day. The Holy Spirit will place desires deep within you to do this or that, and will challenge you in areas that will bring harm.

All areas:

Psalm 139: 23-24 – NLT

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 90:8 – Amplified

Our iniquities, our secret heart and its sins [which we would so like to conceal even from ourselves], You have set in the [revealing] light of Your countenance.

1. The sin nature and personal mistakes.

2. The curse on the earth because of man’s fall.

3. Demonic intrusion into your life.

4. Failure to listen to the Holy Spirit.

Action Points:

1. Do you blame God for allowing problems to come into your life?

2. Do you see God as a good God who only wants to bless and help you?

3. Are there areas of life demonic intrusion into your life that you need to resist and ask God for deliverance from such as anger, jealousy, addictions, lusts, etc?

4. Are you listening for the Holy Spirit to direct you as you make decisions each day?