Psalm 101:7
Overcoming Faith
“No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in My house;
no one who utters lies shall continue
before My eyes.”
Psalm 101:7 (ESV)
Those who are faithful speak truth; they do not seek to deceive or manipulate others for their own agendas. When Paul sets forth the “works of the flesh” in Galatians, he warns us of the magnitude of our inherent evil.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who DO such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)
It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to eradicate these things from our lives. The Kingdom of God is not some ethereal place we hope to go to when we die. It is a realm of life in which the Spirit of God rules the lives of His people.
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
1 John 2:16
It is a man-made gospel that ignores the heights to which He calls us to walk and live. The very purpose of His imparting divine faith to us is that by its power we discover His victory over the world, our flesh, and the devil himself.
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:
and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith.”
1 John 5:4
The power given to us to overcome this world is “our faith”. Not the power of the flesh, or the strategies of men, but the faith of God given to those who are born of Him!
“This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might, nor by power,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6
Zerubbabel literally means “born in Babylon”. To a Hebrew audience, it came to mean “pressed out of Babylon” (Abarim Publications). This word is for us. Its message, its power, and its effect are given so that we may become those who overcome the world in all of its ungodly wisdom, ways, and works.
“Not by might, nor by power,
but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”
This is the Gospel of God!
Php 3:12 Not that I already received or already have been perfected, but I press on, if I also may lay hold, inasmuch as I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brothers, I do not count myself to have laid hold, but one thing I do, forgetting the things behind, and stretching forward to those things before,
Php 3:14 I press on after a mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15 Then as many as are perfect, let us be of this mind; and if you think anything differently, God will also reveal this to you.“
God’s Call can only be accomplished by God’s Power. Faith is the conduit by which His Kingdom becomes the substance of our life here.
Salvation is the gift of God, but an entrance into the Kingdom of God is for those who overcome. See the seven letters of John in the Book of Revelation. The promises are given to the whole church, but it is only those who overcome that receive the promises.
Salvation versus The Kingdom of God
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
– John 3:3
“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
– John 3:5
Psalm 101:7 – Overcoming Faith
“Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10
His Kingdom is to be revealed on earth. The Kingdom for which Jesus prayed is expressed through those who do His Will in the same fullness as it is in the heavens.
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
Ephesians 5:5-6 (ESV)
Let us not be disheartened by the enormity of the call, but be encouraged by His love and power.
“You have only to cast your life-long guilt, your ungodliness, your evil thoughts and wicked words, your sinful soul itself, into this crime-canceling, sin-annihilating, soul-cleansing Fountain, in order to obliterate from God’s creation your foul transgressions, and yet leave the Divine perfection fair as ever. The sin which a Saviour’s blood dissolves is the only sin which, after being once committed, is totally extinguished.”
— James Hamilton.
Excerpt from Psalm 101 Series.
Psalm 101:3 – Becoming Pure Link
Psalm 101:6 – Faithfulness Link
Related Post: Serving God – Part Two – Freedom
Brian Troxel
