Effectual Faith: What to do when the pressure is on…

We have all faced tough times, especially when fighting for the Gospel of Grace. The most difficult time for believers to have faith is right in the heat of battle, or honestly, just after suffering a defeat. That is when we need to think most like sons. That is the time when we need to reinforce our mind renewal. None of us have faced anything as bad as what David faced in this next passage, but look at what he did to get out of it!

1 Sam 30:1-6 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. (NKJV)

David and his mighty men came back from a battle, and found the town of Ziklag raided by the Amalekites. They burned the town to the ground, and took all the women and children, sons and daughters captive. David and his mighty men, warriors who have fought and bled together, who have been victorious in so many battles, were so distressed and grieved and wept until they had no more power to weep. After crying and weeping, the mighty men turned on David and wanted to stone him. Not only did he face this terrible event in Ziklag, but now his most trusted warriors wanted to stone him. That seems like a pretty hopeless situation to me. But what did David do? “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” Other translations use the word encouraged himself. David encouraged HIMSELF. There was nobody there to encourage him. His ‘whole world’ was against him. He didn’t have a pastor to run to, a friend to confide in or a nice book to go read. It was up to him to get himself to the point of being strengthened in the Lord.

Philem 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (KJV)

This verse tells us how to make the communication of our faith effectual. That means we can have two kinds of faith. We can have ineffectual faith or we can have effectual faith. Ineffectual faith is when you believe for something and it does not manifest. That is a scary thought, yet we have all been there. Did we do something wrong? I wouldn’t phrase it like that, but I would rather say you believed with ineffectual faith. To have effectual faith, Paul instructs us to acknowledge every GOOD thing which is in us IN CHRIST. Effectual, in the Greek of that verse, means to be powerful, active, operative, or to do something. We all want faith that is powerful, active and does what we believe for right? To get that kind of faith, we need to do something. Acknowledging everything good that is in you in Christ, just means to get back into the word and find out what God has put inside you, recognize it, speak it, meditate on it, and build your strength by stirring YOUSELF up in the Lord your God. There is a Psalm that we often read and think, “Wow, this is such a nice praise song.” In light of everything we have just read, lets read that Psalm again and see if it in fact is a praise song or not.

Ps 103:1-6 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. (NKJV)

This is how David encouraged himself when things were looking hopeless, when he was facing defeat. This is not a praise song as much as it is a conversation a man is having with his soul. He is not singing, “Bless the Lord”, he is commanding his soul, his mind, will and emotions to line up with God’s word! Read these verses again but read them loud and in a commanding tone. Then you’ll get the idea of what was really going on here. David was forcing himself to think on everything he has in the Lord. Any person starts doubting when they face hardship. But we have a way out of doubt! Strengthen yourself in the Lord! He strengthened himself in the Lord by commanding his soul to submit to his spirit. That is was the Bible talks about as the definition of fasting, as afflicting the soul.

Isa 58:3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ (NKJV)

Affliction is a form of oppression that comes from an outside source. By oppressing somebody, you are deliberately forcing them into submission. When you are afflicting your soul, you are deliberately forcing it into submission to your newly created spirit. Fasting in this sense has nothing to do with eating. If you don’t eat, you are afflicting your body, not your soul. Transforming your life happens through renewing of the mind, not starving of the stomach. Your mind is in your soul and has to be forced into submission to your spirit.

Eph 4:17-24 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (NKJV)

Paul says to not walk in the futility of the mind, like the gentiles do. If your mind is in futility, your are alienated from the life of God. It doesn’t mean you are separated from God or that His presence left you, but the benefits of your unity do not manifest. Jesus said He came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly. He didn’t mean have an abundant life, He meant to have LIFE IN ABUNDANCE. Enough life to conquer the death we face in the world. That abundant life of God is always there, but the access into it is through mind renewal. Paul goes on and he says strongly, “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him.” Learning is a process of deliberately putting information in your mind. You don’t just hear and know, you have to learn Christ but renewing your mind. Once your mind has been renewed to the new life in Christ, and your thoughts are in line with the Kingdom, then you have been renewed in the spirit of your mind. The spirit of your mind is the nature of your mind. Does your mind in nature think in line with the new creation, or does it grow fearful and doubtful every time the slightest problems arise? When there is a storm in your boat, do get scared and cry out to God that “Don’t you care whether we perish or not?”, or do you stand up and out of a renewed mind rebuke the storm?

What would a king do if his generals came running into his throne room crying and moaning, “The enemy is attacking us! What should we do?” If it is a smart king, he would get new generals. Why do you train people in the art of war if they don’t know what to do when the battle comes to them? You don’t see Jesus crying and moaning at God’s feet because there is a storm trying to kill them. He gets up and does what needs to be done. Paul says WE have put off the old man and WE have to take up the new man. He is not talking about trying to sin less. He is talking about the old way of thinking. Put of the old man whose mind is futile and who is alienated from the life of God and put on the new man who with a renewed mind shares in the life that is abundantly found in God.

Matt 17:19-21 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (NKJV)

Jesus told His disciples they failed because of unbelief. If you had but the smallest amount of faith, you would have succeeded. But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting. We know he wasn’t talking about the demons, because Jesus didn’t fast and pray and got the boy free. A few chapters back the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of not fasting, and Jesus said it is because He told them not to. So Jesus couldn’t have meant the demons, because that would mean He purposefully set them up for failure. Jesus was talking about unbelief, or having ineffectual faith. The disciples had faith, they just had ineffectual faith. To get rid of ineffectual faith, we have to acknowledge every good thing that is in us in Christ, by deliberately forcing the soul into submission, otherwise known as fasting! Jesus wasn’t saying, if you can’t do it, stop eating until you can, He was saying renew your mind! Make your faith effectual! I can’t do it for you boys, you have to renew your own mind! When the devil comes with his fiery arrows, his intent is to get you to doubt God. The moment you doubt God, your faith becomes ineffectual. You need to recognize such attacks and deal with them by not letting your soul make the choices. Jesus told his disciples this too.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” (NKJV)

He told them to not allow their hearts to become troubled. Take hold of your emotions and let your spirit rise in supremacy over them. Many times the ‘emotions’ we experience are actually demonic attacks, aimed at troubling your heart. Depression is an emotion caused by a depressed demon. Anxiety is an emotion caused by an anxious spirit. The moment that spirit attacks you, you will begin to feel those emotions. Those emotions are all lies and aimed at destroying your faith in the Gospel of righteousness. Treat them like you would any other demon. Fight them with the word by bringing your soul into submission, taking every thought captive and forcing it into obedience to Christ Jesus your Lord. In Christ we are all triumphant, we all have the victory in every situation. In Christ we cannot be defeated. The only way to have defeat is by surrendering your faith. By not believing. Keep standing, never give up. Encourage one another. Don’t judge people who are in trails, come alongside them, speak the Word to them. If nobody is there to help you, learn to help yourself by persevering in the faith, renewing your mind, and by looking full into the face of Jesus, standing at the right-hand of God!

In Christ,

Cornel Marais

Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!