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                         How to Be Faithful to God

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By David Wilkerson
August 26, 1991
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          "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly
          calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our
          profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to him that
          appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his
          house" (Hebrews 3:1-2).

          The book of Hebrews offers a strong, vital word to all
          who are "partakers of the heavenly calling." This
          "heavenly calling" is this: that you hear heaven
          calling you.

          Even now heaven is calling for a people who are free
          from the materialism and foolishness of this world.
          This word is to Christians who are not living for the
          world, but who wake up each morning and hear Jesus
          calling them to Himself. They look at all that
          surrounds them and cry inwardly, "Jesus, my heart is
          not here, my future is not here. Nothing in this world
          satisfies me. You alone, Lord, are my life!"

          I believe there are many in the body of Christ who
          truly are not bound to anything on this earth. You
          could take away their house, bank account, job or
          business - everything but the clothes on their back -
          and yet still they would love God with all their heart.

          But faithfulness to God does not just mean a
          willingness to lose everything for His sake. In fact,
          Scripture says you can give your body to be burned at
          the stake as a testimony, but without the proper motive
          - without love in your heart - you will die in vain
          (see 1 Corinthians 13:3).

          Some think of faithfulness as simply living without
          lust and getting victory over sinful habits. Others
          think it means being constant in Bible reading, prayer,
          giving and church attendance. Still others think of it
          as going about doing good, or keeping pure by avoiding
          all that is evil and wicked. But these things can never
          make us faithful to God.

          You ask, "Do you mean all my striving against sin, all
          my sanctified service to God and crying out in prayer
          are not considered faithfulness? If that isn't being
          faithful, what is?"

          All these wonderful things indeed are commanded by the
          Word - and we will do them if we are faithful. But they
          in themselves are not the essence of faithfulness. You
          see, faithfulness to God is impossible unless it
          springs from a trusting, believing heart!

          I want to make a very simple statement - yet it is one
          we cannot overlook if we are to be faithful to God:

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                       You Cannot Be Faithful to God
                         If You Allow Any Unbelief
                        To Take Root in Your Heart.

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          Unbelief in even its slightest form is hateful to God.
          It is a damning sin, one that destroys the soul. It
          hinders God's work in us - and it is the sin behind all
          departure from God.

          You can be totally weaned from all worldly possessions
          and long in your heart for Jesus' coming.

          You can sit under strong preaching and sing God's
          praises in His house. You can devour the Word of God
          every day. But unless you're praying, "Oh God, let me
          hear this word in my inner man; let me believe I can
          apply it and that it will become life to me," then it
          has no effect whatsoever. What you hear must be mingled
          with faith.

          "But the word preached did not profit them, not being
          mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Hebrews 4:2).
          Let those words sink in: "Unless what you read and hear
          preached is mixed with faith, it is of no value to
          you!"

          Scripture says, "(Jesus) was faithful to him that
          appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his
          house" (Hebrews 3:2). In what way was their
          faithfulness measured? How were they truly faithful in
          all things?

          They were counted faithful because they never doubted
          the heavenly Father's word to them. They knew that what
          God said He would do, He would indeed fulfill. You see,
          faithfulness is simply believing that God will keep His
          Word.

          In this sense, Jesus and Moses "held the beginning of
          (their) confidence steadfast unto the end" (Hebrews
          3:14). They didn't have an up-and-down, hot-and-cold,
          here-today-and-gone-tomorrow kind of faith. Their faith
          never wavered to the end!

          And just as Jesus was faithful in His confidence in the
          Father, our faithfulness will measured by the same
          standard: "But Christ as a son over his own house,
          whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and
          the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Hebrews
          3:6).

          As our trials increase and the battle grows more
          intense, our flesh can become weary. And over time,
          many Christians allow fear and doubt to creep in. They
          lose their abandonment to God, their childlike faith in
          Him. Instead, caution and questioning invade their
          hearts.

          As I look down the road that remains of my life, I see
          limited time. And I want more than anything to be
          rejoicing in hope, firm to the end. I don't want to go
          out like so many believers I've seen, whose years were
          wasted because they didn't know where they stood in
          Christ. When the end came for them, I thought they'd
          have a certain strength, something that would refresh
          them to know they were nearer to meeting the Lord. But
          instead, they went out with a whimper - because they
          didn't hold firm to the end.

          Let me share with you how to become faithful to God and
          to hold fast your confidence all your days. If you want
          to be as strong in your last day as you are now in His
          presence, then take three things to heart:

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                 I. Don't Listen to the Lies of the Devil.

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          We must remind ourselves daily, "I have an enemy who is
          out to destroy me. He is a liar, a deceiver and a
          seducer." Jesus said, "The devil... was a murderer from
          the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
          there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
          speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father
          of it" (John 8:44).

          Jesus has exposed to us the "father of all lies" - the
          instigator of every deceptive falsehood. All lies are
          birthed in Satan's bosom! And God clearly warned His
          church that, especially in the last days, the devil
          would spend all his time "accusing the brethren".

          "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
          called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole
          world... for the accuser of the brethren is cast down,
          which accused them before our God day and night"
          (Revelation 12:9-10).

          The devil stands before God twenty-four hours a day,
          accusing and spewing out lies against us. His lies are
          meant to disrupt our peace and confidence in God.
          Scripture says he "cast out of his mouth water as a
          flood after the woman [the church], that he might cause
          her to be carried away of the flood" (verse 15). This
          flood is a flood of lies! And the devil seeks to carry
          us away with it by planting doubts in our minds.

          Satan doesn't waste his time lying to sinners; they're
          already captive, held prisoner by his deception. No,
          Satan lies to those believers whose hearts are set on
          the Lord. He plants lies in the minds of the true
          seekers, God's holy ones. In fact, we can narrow this
          down even further:

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                Satan Uses His Most Subtle, Convincing Lies
                      Against Those Who Are Determined
                       To Enter God's Provided Rest!

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          "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
          For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath
          ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us
          labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man
          fall after the same example of unbelief" (Hebrews
          4:9-11).

          "Rest in God" means a place of total trust in His Word.
          It is a place of faith where there is no struggle, fear
          or doubt. It is a settled rest, a continuous confidence
          that God is with us, that He cannot fail - and that He
          who called us will see us through to the end.

          Yet just when you think you are about to enter a new
          life of total rest and trust in the Lord... just when
          you think your flesh is crucified, that you no longer
          trust in you own works and instead depend on the
          Lord... along comes the old serpent with a pack of
          newly concocted lies and accusations. He gets the ear
          of your conscience - and using horrible lies out of
          hell, he excuses or accuses everything you do!

          Satan's direct target is your faith in God. He knows
          that your faith, if allowed to grow, will make all his
          lies ineffective. And when you stand before God and
          say, "I don't want anything in this world but Jesus"
          the devil knows it. He knows it not just by your words
          but by your actions, because it is no longer a merely a
          statement for you but a way of living.

          If you really meant what you've said, then beware - all
          hell is going to come at you! The devil will come to
          you in your prayer closet, follow you to church, hover
          over you on your job - and he'll say to his demonic
          powers, "Give him this lie... now give him that one!"
          I've read of the lives of many dynamic people of God,
          and all acknowledge that Satan came to them in their
          most productive, holy times, trying to destroy them
          with lies.

          Here are some of the devil's biggest lies:

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            Lie No. 1: "You are making no spiritual progress."

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          A voice whispers, "In spite of all your hunger for God,
          your self-denial, and all the ministry and preaching
          you have taken in, you have made no progress in your
          walk with Jesus. You are still sinful, hard-headed and
          full of self. You've been given so much, yet it has
          changed you so little. You will not grow up spiritually
          even if you live to be a hundred years old. Something
          is wrong with you. Others are growing and passing you
          by. What a phony you are, what a hypocrite. You're a
          weak, spineless, no-good Christian!"

          How many times has the devil come to you with these
          lies? First of all, beloved, we don't compare our
          growth by others'. And second, the devil isn't the one
          to tell you whether you're growing. In fact, he
          wouldn't come to you with lies unless you were growing!

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           Lie No. 2: "You are too weak for spiritual warfare."

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          The devil tells you, "This spiritual warfare is too
          much for you. You are worn out, weary and tired. You
          don't have the strength to go on fighting." In every
          waking hour he whispers, "Weary... worn out... at the
          end of your rope... give up... slow down... go easy...
          tired... tired... tired..."

          Daniel warned that the devil would be successful in
          wearing down the saints: "And he shall speak great
          words against the most High, and shall wear out the
          saints of the most High" (Daniel 7:25). The Hebrew word
          used here is to "mentally tire, make the mind weary."
          Maybe you've heard that voice in your head recently:
          "I'm mentally drained - wiped out!"

          Dear saint, that is not the language of the overcomer.
          Yes, there are times when we become physically weary or
          tired. But the devil wants to use that to make us
          spiritually weary, and to rob us of the victory and the
          joy that is in the Holy Spirit.

          The fact is, much of our spiritual weariness is caused
          by this implanted lie from hell! Satan tells you,
          "Don't get so intense about the things of God, about
          the lost and hurting, the poor and the needy. You
          shouldn't work so hard. Just ease off."

          "Something is wrong - you're wearing down. You're
          supposed to be at rest. You must have sin in your
          heart. What terrible, hidden thing is in you?"

          You may ask, "David, does Satan inject those same lies
          into your mind?" Yes, absolutely! He tries to invade my
          study and whisper into my heart, "You are not a good
          shepherd - you have no true biblical rest in your soul.
          Look how hard it is for you to get a message. David,
          you are tired, dry...."

          "If you had faith, you would not have a daughter going
          through radiation and chemotherapy treatments. You
          would not have a cold that's hung on for weeks. You
          would be so full of power and revelation, multitudes
          would be flocking to God! You are just worn out - you
          have so little faith."

          Where does all this come from? From the father of all
          lies, straight from the pit of hell! Satan questions
          our faith, accuses our faith - and lies about our
          faith!

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                      Lie No. 3: "God is not with you
                       - you have grieved Him away."

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          Satan whispers, "He still loves you. But He is not with
          you now. There is something in you, something unseen,
          unknown to you. His blessing and favor are not with you
          at present."

          The devil will pound you with God's Word out of
          context. He'll say, "Didn't God leave Israel when they
          sinned? He cut them off and forsook them! Your present
          dry spell, your daily struggle with trials and
          troubles, are all proof that God is not with you. The
          Holy Spirit has left you!"

          This was the lie the devil planted in Gideon's mind.
          Israel had been delivered into the hands of the
          Midianites and suffered great cruelty at their hands.
          But God sent an angel who said to Gideon, "The Lord is
          with thee, thou mighty man of valor" (Judges 6:12).

          Gideon looked around him - then heard the devil's lie -
          and said to God, "If the Lord be with us, why then is
          all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles
          which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord
          bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken
          us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites"
          (Judges 6:13).

          True, God delivered them to the Midianites - but only
          to chasten them. He never forsook His beloved Israel.
          And He has never given up on His people. He'll let us
          be chastened by the enemy, but when it's complete, He
          says, "Hands off - these are My people." God did
          perform His word, though Gideon saw no sign of it.

          I'm sure the devil tried to sell Moses on the lie that
          God would forsake Israel and no longer walk with them.
          But Moses knew God's heart and refuted that lie. He
          warned the people that they would backslide and turn to
          idols in the latter days, provoking God to anger. Sin
          would threaten their very existence and scatter them
          throughout the earth.

          "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God,
          thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy
          heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in
          tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee,
          even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy
          God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the
          Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake
          thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of
          thy fathers which he sware unto them" (Deuteronomy
          4:29-31).

          Beloved, we have an even more sure word from the Lord
          today: "For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
          forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
          helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me"
          (Hebrews 13:5-6). "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto
          the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20).

          Right now, no matter what you're going through, Jesus
          has said: "I'll never leave you - I'll never forsake
          you." God is with you always!

          If you've been seeking the Lord, He is with you no
          matter what lies you hear, no matter what you feel or
          what your circumstances. And you need to stand face to
          face with the devil, before all the demons in hell, and
          say, "I don't care what you say about how I feel - God
          is with me!" And "if God be for us, who can be against
          us?" (Romans 8:31).

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                     II. Examine Yourself - See If You
                 Have Been Guilty of the Sin of Unbelief.

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          "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
          evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living
          God" (Hebrews 3:12). This is addressed not to the
          sinner - but to believers. He's saying, "You -
          partakers of the heavenly calling. Take heed, beware,
          watch out. Make sure you don't have an evil heart of
          unbelief!"

          This passage clearly equates departure from God with a
          heart of unbelief - not with drugs, alcohol or
          adultery; those things come when you depart from the
          Lord. No, the Word says the thing that will cause you
          to turn away from God is unbelief in your heart.

          The author of Hebrew ties it all together: 1) an evil
          heart of unbelief, 2) hardening of the heart, 3)
          departing from God. Here is how the process of
          hardening occurs: First you allow Satan to lie to you.
          Second, a seed of unbelief is planted. Then your
          hardness causes all kinds of disruptions: dryness,
          emptiness, a reliance on feelings and emotions.
          Eventually, you end up departing from God in your
          heart.

          Because of unbelief, Israel refused to go into Canaan
          and possess the land. The ten Israelite spies destroyed
          the people's faith and confidence in God with their bad
          report. So the Lord cast them all out into the
          wilderness to wander for forty years. They decided to
          go up to Egypt without God, and the Amorites defeated
          them. "And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but
          the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear
          unto you" (Deuteronomy 1:45).

          After the Resurrection, unbelief hardened the hearts of
          the eleven disciples. They knew Jesus said He would be
          resurrected, but their hearts were full of unbelief:

          "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the
          week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom
          he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them
          that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And
          they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had
          been seen of her, believed not.

          "After that he appeared in another form unto two of
          them, as they walked, and went into the country. And
          they went and told it unto the residue: neither
          believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the
          eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with
          their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they
          believed not them which had seen him after he was
          risen" (Mark 16:9-14).

          Jesus ties together unbelief and hardness of heart. And
          unbelief was the one thing He could stand to see in His
          disciples. When He appeared to them, He "upbraided"
          them, meaning to scold or reprove sharply. In modern
          language, He "bawled them out." He was telling them, "I
          have no place for this!"

          As I examine my heart before the Lord, I have to say,
          "God, I count on You to tell me when I'm dry and empty.
          And even though I love You with everything that's in
          me, I some times feel that way. Lord, what is the root
          cause?"

          Hebrews 3:12 given us the answer: "Take heed, brethren,
          lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
          in departing from the living God." What? You ask.
          Unbelief in my heart?

          Yes! Because if you really believe what God says, He
          has everything you need if you just will come to Him.
          Are you living under condemnation? Are you dry, lonely
          or discouraged? Check your heart for unbelief. If you
          are not able to enter into God's rest, then unbelief is
          your root problem. You are guilty of having a wavering
          faith!

          "Ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
          is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
          tossed. For let not that man think that he shall
          receive any think of the Lord" (James 1:6-7). Inner
          turmoil is caused by our doubting God in some way. Yet
          how sharp and strong are His words to us on this
          matter: "Let not that man think that he shall receive
          anything of the Lord!"

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               III. Be Fully Persuaded That Your High Priest
                Is Touched by All Your Hurts - and That You
                      Have Full Access to His Throne!

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          "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is
          passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
          hold fast our profession. For we have not an high
          priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
          infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we
          are, yet was without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
          unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
          find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).

          We have been invited into the throne room of the
          Potentate of the universe: "Neither is there any
          creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all
          things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with
          whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13).

          He knows what you have been through, what you are going
          through now and what you face ahead. And He is waiting
          for you to come boldly to Him!

          You see, He Himself has experienced all that we are
          going through, at all points. And He is sympathetic,
          loving, full of mercy and anxious to help in our time
          of need. You don't have to explain anything to Him. You
          can just kneel before Him and say boldly, "Jesus, You
          know what I'm going through. I can't put it into words.
          But You've; been here, too - so please help me!"

          Is this your time of need? Do you know He is available
          at any time? You don't have to say, "I've got to go
          home and get in my secret closet to enter God's throne
          room." No, the throne is available to you anytime and
          anywhere. And God invites you to come boldly and
          without reservation, with full confidence that He will
          answer - that He will always keep His Word!

          Yet we are not to bring the abomination of unbelief
          into His presence. Instead, we are to "convince
          ourselves" and be "fully persuaded." "But ye, beloved,
          building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying
          in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 20).

          Saints, we live by promises, not by what we see. And if
          we are to be faithful to God, we cannot sit around
          nursing our doubts. Instead, encourage yourself daily
          in the Lord, dealing with all unbelief, saying, "Lord,
          I'll not put up with it!" Reject the devil's lies, and
          build up your faith upon God's Word. Then you will be
          able to say in all your trials, "I will rejoice,
          because I have a place to go in my time of need."
          Hallelujah!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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