“If
I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to
devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are
called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and
will heal their land." -2
Chronicles 7:13-14
If
there is a sin that is most grievous than all others, and I believe there is, I
believe it is the sin of unbelief . . . “whatever is not from faith is sin”
(Romans 14:23). Unbelief is the essence
of all sin. This was the sin of the Fall
. . . Adam and Eve chose to believe the lies of the Enemy rather than the truth
of GOD (Genesis 3). We, more times than
not, continue to walk in unbelief . . . for some crazy reason we often believe
the enemy’s lies rather than the truths of our loving Father.
Those
of us who are followers of Jesus have what I call “blanket belief” in GOD and
“blanket love” for GOD. On any given day
in any given church if you were to take a poll on Sunday morning as to who
loves GOD and who believes GOD almost every hand would be raised. But we often do not walk in what I call “moment-by-moment
belief”.
Our
unbelief causes us to breach the Greatest Commandment: “You shall love the LORD
your GOD with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”
(Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5).
Everything flows from our relationship with GOD. Did you read that statement carefully? EVERYTHING flows from our relationship with
GOD.
Unbelief
thrusts us into common sense effort and human flesh as we personally face
adversity. Unbelief thrusts us into
human ingenuity, business tactics and strategy as we strive to “grow” our
churches. Unbelief subtly corners us
into the walls of independence, arrogance and humanism. Unbelief breeds pharisaical judgments and
condemnation upon those for whom GOD’s redemptive plan was ordained from the
foundations of the world.
As
we walk in unbelief we become offended by the culture that surrounds us and we
withdraw ourselves from it rather than being “provoked to engage” it (“The Next
Christians,” by Gabe Lyons).
Belief,
on the other hand, compels us to love GOD with all our heart, soul and
mind. Belief, on the other hand, drives
us to trust GOD with all our heart, soul and mind. Belief, on the other hand, causes us to
collapse into a state of divine rest in the very arms of our Father Who is
greater than the enemy.
Belief
produces within us genuine brokenness and humility. Belief drops us prostrate with our faces in
the mud crying out to our GOD. Belief
relentlessly pursues GOD in all things.
Belief abruptly and powerfully turns us from unbelief and toward rest in
the bosom of the One True and Living GOD.
Belief provokes us to proclaim loudly and walk boldly in the truth of
the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of GOD unto salvation . . . not
politics . . . not programs . . . not strategies . . . not humanism.
Belief
disrobes us from the garment of flesh and brings us naked before the world and
our GOD and in our nakedness we cry out, “I am not ashamed of THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST, for IT is the power of GOD for salvation to EVERYONE who BELIEVES . . .
(Romans 1:16)” and upon this rock, the gospel of Jesus Christ, GOD is building
His Church to breach the depths of hell and the very gates of hell will not
prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).
Let
us heed the call of GOD to repent of unbelief and let us march forward clothed
only with Holy Spirit and “with all prayer and petition pray at all times in
the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and
petition for all the saints, and pray on [behalf of one another] in the opening
of [our] mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for
which [we] are ambassadors in chains; that in proclaiming IT [we] may speak
boldly, as [we] ought to speak (Ephesians 6:10-20).”
