Fletcher Faith Ministries

FAITH'S BATTLEGROUND

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By Dr. Norman Campbell

Two Worlds

As Christians we live in two worlds!

There is, on one side; the world of the senses which incorporates the physical, the visible, the material, etc.

On the other side there is the world of the spiritual, incorporating spiritual power, revelation knowledge, God’s Word etc.

With our body we contact the physical world!

With our soul we contact the intellectual world!

With our spirit we contact the spiritual world!

Once we are born again by the Spirit of God, we begin to make contact with a new world, that is, the spirit realm, the realm of faith!

This is a world of the invisible, the spiritual, the intangible, the world of revelation knowledge.

1 Timothy 6:12 says, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold.....”

Note that Paul calls it a “good fight” that means it is a fight that you win!

A bad fight is one you lose! And as an ex-dance hall bouncer, I fully understand the import of what Paul says here!

When Paul was prompted by the Holy Ghost to pen these words, the Spirit was talking about the conflict that exists between these two worlds.

2 Corinthians 10:3, “For though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh.”

Once you became a Christian you started to receive information in the spirit, by the Holy Spirit.

Now You Have Two Sources Of Information To Deal With!

Þ 1. The leading of the Holy Spirit who is speaking to your spirit, and your spirit in turn tells your mind to be renewed and obey the Word of God.

Þ 2. The body still gives direction to the mind, supplied through the five natural senses and the influence of the devil and the world.

Your mind has to decide between (1) and (2) and in fact becomes what I call a battleground!

This condition is called carnality!

Then as you allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to control you, you become a maturing son of God and carnality drops away.

Romans 8:14, “For as many as are LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD are the sons of God.”

At this time as you begin to accept the Word of God as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you, you come to a place where the Word begins to produce in your life the health, blessing, and so on which you are exercising your faith for.We are seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, according to Ephesians 2:6.

That means everything is under our feet and we are reigning in life!

Luke 10:19.

Romans 5:17.

There Are Two Sides To Your Position In Christ

Legal which is what the Word of God says about us and there is the Vital or experiential which is what we are actually experiencing right now!

Many Christians are still trying to achieve the victories that have been legally theirs since Calvary.

But as the Holy Spirit enlightens your understanding then you can begin to experience what the Word says.

Thus the legal becomes experiential.

The legal is what God does for us!

The vital is what God does through us!

To get from where we are, to where God says we are, we must go through the mind!

John 10:10, “The thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. But I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

This verse says that believers have abundant life.

BUT you know very well not every believer demonstrates that life!

Do they have it or not?

Which is true?

Let’s look at another Scripture!

1 John 5:11 NKJV And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

This abundant life is in Jesus! He comes to live in our spirit at the new-birth and as a result we now have abundant life in our spirit.

Every Promise Of God Is Already Real And Effective In Your Spirit!

We need the willing agreement of our mind.

Over a long time our mind has been aligned with the natural, the physical realm of the senses, so much so we need to SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!

Paul states plainly in Romans 12:2. Our mind must be renewed and agree with God's Word.

When you were born again, your spirit was made new, but your mind (soul) and your body were unchanged!

The mind must be renewed daily by the Word, and the body presented to the Lord as a sacrifice, and it will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call.

As long as your mind, stays with the sense realm, and relates to a sense world, you will never go from where we are to where God wants us to be!

· We ARE more than conquerors Romans 8:37

· We ARE righteous 2 Corinthians 5:21

· We HAVE strength for anything Philippians 4:13

· We HAVE liberty in Christ Galatians 5:1

· We ARE complete in Him Colossians 2:10

· We ARE blessed in Him Ephesians 1:3

Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Faith is a fight as we said already.

Neh 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Some of you have a mind to work for The Lord but there is so much rubbish in your life you cannot get on with the job.

Some of you have been so surrounded with rubbish you cannot get out from under it.

Neh 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

The people of God in Nehemiah’s day were re building the broken down walls of Jerusalem, but there was so much rubbish they could not get on with it.

Neh 4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

Neh 4:2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

All the rubbish brought CONFUSION and God is not the author of confusion.

There are similarities in our walk with Jesus as we prepare our lives for His soon return.

The RELIGIOUS RUBBISH that comes around these days is nothing new, it has all been tried before but remember Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

There is DISCOURAGING RUBBISH which really is opposition.

When Nebuchadnezzar’s army destroyed Jerusalem they raized [flattened] it completely, just like an atom bomb hit it.

It can come in old ideas and old traditions. We used to do it this way or that way!

Paul the Apostle spent a lot of his life fighting the traditions of the Jews.

A lot of people today have religion but not reality!

Judah cried out to Nehemiah, We are not able!

Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

The Gospel is still the same saving and healing and liberating Gospel, it is based on the shed blood of Christ at Calvary, and our acceptance of His atoning work. It is not based on our works or abilities.

Cast aside the religious rubbish that people try to put on you today.

Just believe God’s Word and act like it is true.

Then there is the RUBBISH of New Experiences.

Everyone is flocking to this meeting and that meeting all across the world to hear the latest ear tickler.

We don’t need the latest SUPER ABUNDANT LIFE AND REVELATION EXTRAORDINARY CONFERENCE, by the Master Revelator & Prophetic Apostle.

Nehemiah sought only the well being of the children of Israel not his own well being.

He knew that a city with broken down walls was a defeated city. When the walls were replaced and strong it was protected and safe.

There is only one foundation to build your life on.

1 Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Cor 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

1 Cor 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

1 Cor 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

1 Cor 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

He is the rock and when the roll is called up yonder you’ll be there.

Neh 4:17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

Neh 4:18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

Jesus says we are to watch and pray!

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We are expected to watch as well as pray. In other words, keep on the job but keep your eyes open and watch out for the enemy.

Nehemiah ended by saying:

Neh 4:14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Neh 4:15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

Neh 4:16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

Neh 4:17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

Neh 4:18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

Neh 4:19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

Neh 4:20 In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

Neh 4:21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

What a challenge to our faith!

Dr. Norman Campbell is a Conference Speaker who currently resides and operates from Melbourne, Australia. He is an ordained minister. His public speaking has taken him and his wife Elizabeth throughout Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Pacific areas also on many trips to the USA where they have appeared on several Television programs. In the last 18 months Dr. Campbell has visited United Kingdom several times and has now done a number of radio interviews, including United Christian Broadcasting from England. This couple have been used by God when He raised people from the dead during their ministry.

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To contact Dr. Norman Campbell, write:

E-mail Address: normc@iprimus.com.au

Mailing Address: PO Box 1228, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia