Topic: Wednesday Evening Bible Study
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime
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If you want to get rid of unbelief, you must starve it to death.
You must replace unbelief with the food of God’s Word and spending time with the Lord.
Again, you do not overcome unbelief with more faith, you must destroy the unbelief.
- What I starve dies; what I feed thrives.
Just like faith is fed, unbelief is fed.
The way unbelief comes and grows is by listening to the reports of what you can see with your own eyes, the reports of circumstances, and the reports of people.
The enemy’s approach is always going to be through your mind.
The negative circumstances that happen in our lives are designed to be attacks on your mind more than attacks on the natural side.
The mind is the front door of your house.
Satan operates on the power of suggestion coming against your mind.
Those thoughts are seeds in the fertile soil of your mind.
Those thoughts will then spread to your emotions. You were designed for your mind and your emotions to work together. God designed you to be able to feel that thought as well as have the thought.
Your emotions have to be managed and controlled. You can become a slave to your emotions.
When controlled, your emotions can become wonderful helpers to you. But your emotions are not problem solvers but rather can be like throwing gasoline on a fire.
This is a great story of someone controlling their emotions.
2 Kings 4:18-37 NKJV Shunamite woman refused to allow her emotions to get the best of her. She replied, “All is well…”
What is the process of doubt?
If you understand how doubt works, it is much easier to keep it out of your life.
Matthew 14:22-32 NKJV Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. (23) And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. (24) But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. (25) Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. (26) And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. (27) But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” (28) And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (29) So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. (30) But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” (31) And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (32) And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
We have the idea that when we are right in the middle of the will of God, that everything runs perfectly smoothly. That just is not true.
It is the fourth watch of the night which is a little bit before daybreak.
It was Peter’s idea to walk on the water as a way to prove that it was Jesus.
Peter looks at something that is completely irrelevant to his walking on water to Jesus. Whether it is storming or it is a bright sunny, calm day has nothing to do with walking on the water.
There is one thing that is enabling Peter to walk on the water and it is the one Word that Jesus spoke, “Come.”
When you are in the middle of the battle and the circumstances are storming all around you, remember they are irrelevant to your victory. The determining factor of your victory is the Word of God and whether you hold fast to that Word.
God’s Word gave you something to stand on.
When you look around at your circumstances is when doubt is going to arise.
However, when you have that thought of doubt does not mean that you are going to immediately sink. Peter began to sink.
How do I keep doubt out of my heart?
When doubt begins to cast its seeds into your mind you cannot ignore them. You must respond to them.
Luke 6:45 NKJV A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Have an answer already prepared before you need to have an answer.
Develop your answers before the time of battle.
Proverbs 15:28 NKJV The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
You eliminate doubt by studying to answer ahead of time.
The Power of Faith and Patience
James 1:1-4 NKJV James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. (2) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Hebrews 6:11-15 NKJV And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, (12) that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (13) For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, (14) saying, “SURELY BLESSING I WILL BLESS YOU, AND MULTIPLYING I WILL MULTIPLY YOU.” (15) And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
- Patience is not what brings you the answer to your prayer.
- Patience is what keeps you in faith while the answer is on its way.
- Patience works on you while faith works on your problem. That is why they work together.
- If we become impatient, we can stop our faith from working.
Trial or Temptation: (Greek: “peirasmos”) A putting to proof of what you believe by the experience of adversity.
Adversity = pressure in our lives. The enemy is desiring to generate pressure to get you off of what you believe through the adversity.
What We Need to Know About Troubles:
- The temptation, test, or trial is not coming from God.
(James 1:13 NKJV) Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
- God does test us, but never with adversity. His tests are always tests of obedience to His Word.
- The pressure is coming from the enemy because of what you believe.
(Mark 4:14-15 NKJV) The sower sows the word. [15] And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
(James 1:12 NKJV) Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James 1:12 NIV Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12 TPT If your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God!
(James 1:4 AMPC) But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.
Endurance – the ability to last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions.
How to Develop Endurance:
- You must train before the competition begins.
(1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NLT) (24) Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! (25) All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
- You cannot be entangled with the affairs of this life. (taking the cares).
(2 Timothy 2:4 NKJV) No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
If you are worried, you are contemplating how you can solve your own problems.
(1 Peter 5:6-7 AMPC) Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, (7) Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Psa 55:22]
- Make the Word of God first place in your life by spending time in it.
(Psalms 1:1-3 NLT) Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. (2) But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. (3) They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
- If you won’t quit because of weariness, you will win.
(Galatians 6:9 TLB) And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.
- What is the weariness described? Discouragement.
- Discouragement is a product of repeated disappointment. Disappointment – the frustration of expectancy. Disappointment leads to discouragement and disappointment is always rooted in the past and we must forget the past.
- Count it all joy when the test shows up.
(James 1:2 NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Hebrews 12:1-2 TPT As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. (2) We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!
MSG – Because He never lost sight of where He was headed
(Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV) Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”