Introduction: Divine Sovereignty and Our Position
We stand before the presence of the eternal God, the Almighty, because it has pleased Him that we should stand upon the face of the earth. All things are under God’s control, and it is precisely by His will that all things are made. As His Word establishes: “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool”.
Therefore, God establishes His sovereignty over the face of the earth and over all the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who is outside His sovereignty. This knowledge is revealed and helps us understand that our lives are not walking outside the reach of God’s hand. The psalmist wrote: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, your rod and your staff will be with me”.
Faith: Beyond Believing
We have begun this new series of teachings about the theme of faith, realizing that it goes beyond simply believing. Faith consists of empowering ourselves within what God wants each one of us to do, that is, within the work of God.
Faith is not only an element to claim those things we need, nor is it only the element that helps us see materialized the things we are asking for or expecting from God. Faith goes much further than simply believing.
It is by faith that we can understand God. No one who does not have faith can understand Him. It is precisely by faith that we can believe Him, because this is how it is established in the Word. Speaking about Abraham, it says that “he believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”. But believing God is not only because He is God, but because there must be an element of faith through which we can believe God.
No one can do the things that God wants if it is not by faith. This is the part that many times we have not been able to see in the Holy Scriptures, because we have a concept quite loaded with a selfish element: faith is for what I need, for what I want, for what I am expecting. But we have not seen the other part, which is the one that helps me understand God, that helps me strive in God, that helps me believe God.
As Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God”.
Faith and Human Responsibility
Although it is true that God gives faith, it depends on the man and the woman whether faith can be established in the mind, in the heart, and in the spirit of the person. This may sound shocking because many times we believe that God implants far above human intervention.
God gives faith, but it depends on the man that this faith be implanted in his heart and in his spirit. If we review Matthew chapter 13, where the parable of the sower who went out to sow his seed is found, we find precisely this. One seed fell by the wayside, another on stony ground, another among thorns, and a fourth on good ground.
Of the four seeds sown in the same ground, three were spoiled, three did not produce. Here is precisely where we realize and are confronted with the fact that God gives the seed, God gives faith, but it depends on the man and the woman whether that faith can be founded, whether that faith can be sown, whether that faith can be established in the mind, in the heart, and in the spirit of the person.
The Hindrances of Faith
It is important within this series of teachings to keep in mind that there are hindrances to faith that prevent faith from being sown and that prevent faith from being able to germinate.
As the second epistle of the apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 3, verse 2 says: “And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith”.
Here it is clearly established by the Holy Spirit that not all have faith. We could say that definitely faith is not of the wicked, of the perverse, of the murderers, but when the Spirit of God through the mouth of the apostle Paul is establishing this word, He is not only referring to those who walk in wickedness, but also to those who appear to be good ground but the seed does not germinate.
As the apostle says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 2: “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it”.
This means that not only the perverse, the wicked, and the sinners are included in that list, but also those who are part of communities that preach and proclaim the message of the Gospel. Why? Because there are hindrances to faith that do not allow faith to be established, or hindrances that spoil the seed that was sown in good ground.
The Seven Principal Hindrances
First Hindrance: Not Wanting to Follow Instructions
Last week we established a very important precept: faith is founded on the capacity that men and women have to follow instructions. Therefore, the first hindrance that prevents faith from being sown in the heart and spirit of the person is precisely not wanting to follow instructions.
For whatever reasons, the incapacity we have to follow instructions or to want to follow instructions is what prevents faith from being sown.
In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7, verses 24-27, we read: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it”.
Observe the two scenarios: the man who does them and the man who does not do them. The same events came to both, but one’s house fell and the other’s did not. What is the difference? The capacity to follow instructions.
Many of us take refuge in Romans saying: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. We listen to God’s word constantly, but if we hear the word and do not do it (which is synonymous with following instructions), faith will not be established, even if we spend 24 hours hearing the word.
It is not about being listening; it is about doing what we hear. As Luke chapter 6 says: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
The greatest hindrance is not wanting to follow instructions, not wanting to do what we are told. Why? Because there is much pride in our lives, much haughtiness, much disguised pride that prevents us from wanting to follow instructions.
Second Hindrance: Idolatry
In First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 2, it says: “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led”. And in Galatians chapter 4, verse 8: “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods”.
When a person does not know God, there is a tendency toward idolatry. Not only sinners and the perverse are those who do not know God; even within a church there are people who do not know God. Not knowing God, not walking according to His will, not following His instructions automatically places us in a position of idolatry.
Idolatry is not only prostrating oneself before an idol as in ancient times. The Word of the Lord says: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”. Where is our treasure? Many times our treasure is not in God, but in the things we have achieved, bought, or earned.
Everything that represents a value to us becomes an idol. Many times there are people who can become idols. How many people are living in bitterness because years ago their father or mother died and they are still saying: “My life is no longer the same because you are not here”?
If your life is extinguished by someone’s absence, that person is really an idol. If we cannot be the same nor can we have fulfillment in the Lord because we have someone’s absence, that someone actually became an idol.
A life that has developed idolatry or that lives submerged in idolatry cannot receive faith.
Third Hindrance: Lack of Diligence
In Genesis chapter 22, verses 1-3, we read: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him”.
The third hindrance that prevents faith from being established in our life is the lack of diligence. When we are not diligent before an instruction we receive, when we are not diligent before what God tells us, we are closing the door to faith.
Note that it says: “Abraham rose up early in the morning”. It was the son of promise, Isaac, and God tells him: “Whom you love, your only one, offer him.” It was as if to want to lengthen the time, but that was not what Abraham did; instead, he acted with diligence.
Verse 4 says: “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off”. It took him three days from where he was to the place that God had indicated. Now you understand why Jesus the Christ spent three days under the earth, because of Abraham’s work. Because when we are diligent, we establish prophetically the work of God.
Many times we want God to speak to us, for God to use us, for God to constitute us as vessels of honor, but we do not want to be diligent. We lengthen the time, and in doing so, we are breaking the prophetic pattern that God wants to establish with our lives.
Fourth Hindrance: Social Environments
In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 2-3, it says: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”.
The fourth hindrance is the social environments to which we belong. A man of God, a woman of God, cannot seek a space in society; we cannot seek a position within society.
Unfortunately, they have fallen into this satanic game, wanting to earn a position in their society under the pretext of giving testimony. We cannot be part of society because when the man of God gets involved with society, he makes alliances with society, and therefore, makes alliances with darkness.
How many men of God, how many women have made political pacts? They cannot seek a political position because society encloses, embraces, and compromises your convictions and principles.
In Second Corinthians chapter 6, verse 17, it says: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you”.
The social environments where we are moving are a hindrance for faith to be established in our lives. Social commitments impose activities on us precisely on the same day, at the same hour that we have a meeting with the Lord, and we opt for what society imposes on us in contempt of God’s work.
As the apostle Peter established: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye”.
Fifth Hindrance: Unbelief
In Matthew chapter 13, verses 57-58, we read: “And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”.
The fifth hindrance is unbelief. Let us not think that unbelief is only part of those who are in the world. We can find unbelievers also within a congregation, and with much more weight, because if they are part of a congregation that proclaims the supernatural nature of God and still there are those who persist in not believing God, they have greater sin.
Unbelief means not believing God. Have you not realized that there are people who receive a word from God, the Lord spoke to them and told them something, and we say: “I am seeking a second opinion”? As if God were not truthful.
What does a man who confesses to be of God do seeking confirmation that God spoke to him? What does a woman who confesses to be a woman of God do seeking confirmation of the word that God gave her? That is called unbelief.
Unbelief is stuck to the heart of man and woman. The great problem with this tendency is that we spend our entire lives seeking confirmations because deep down we do not want to believe God.
Sixth Hindrance: Not Walking in God’s Revelation
In James chapter 2, verses 17-24, it says: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only”.
The sixth hindrance is not walking in God’s revelation. Many times we walk by religious philosophy, by references that other people give us, by our own opinion or criteria, by knowledge that is not supported by God’s Word.
When God opens His Word (as Luke chapter 24, verse 45 says: “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures”), it is not for us to accumulate knowledge, but for us to begin to live by that revelation.
The problem we are having today is that we are becoming theoretical men and women. They walk through the streets of our cities with much knowledge; there are even those who have attended institutes, seminaries, theological faculties, but they are theoretical. They do not walk by revelation.
Not wanting to walk in the revelation that God is opening to us does not allow faith to be established in our life because we are invalidating God’s Word. As Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5 say: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”.
This is precisely taking God’s name in vain: not wanting to walk in the revelation that God is giving us.
We have the example of Nicodemus in chapter 3 of the Gospel of John, who preferred to live his life as an anonymous disciple rather than manifest commitment to the Lord. There are many people who have made the decision to be anonymous, so that others do not realize. Why? Because they are going to expel me from the group, because they are going to marginalize me, because there is going to be oppression upon me. We opt for the acceptance of others rather than wanting to walk in the revelation that God is giving us.
The greatest consequence of this is that faith is not being implanted in us. We may be hearing the word, we may memorize it, but that is no guarantee that faith is going to be established in our life.
Seventh Hindrance: Not Remaining Waiting on God
In Luke chapter 18, verses 1-8, it says: “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
The seventh hindrance is not remaining or not wanting to remain waiting on God. Verse 1 says that He spoke to them a parable about the need to always pray and not faint.
A hindrance for faith to be implanted in our lives is fainting, not wanting to remain waiting. “I have so many years of praying to the Lord, I have so many years, I got tired. God does not hear, God does not answer me. Why continue praying?”
Fainting, not remaining doing what God told us is a hindrance to faith. “I do not see results, I am going to stop doing this because I do not see results.” Brother, we are incurring in a very serious error; we are falling into an enemy trap, and faith is being hindered.
The Gravity of Losing Faith
Faith can be lost. When faith is lost, what happens then regarding God’s grace, since the Word says that “by grace are ye saved through faith”? If faith is lost, what happens then?
In Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 18, it says: “When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby”. The righteousness that the righteous has done will not serve him at all the day he turns away from the Lord.
Therefore, this hindrance is very delicate. Fainting, going backwards, not continuing to maintain or not continuing to do what we were doing is very serious. Faith can be lost, and when faith is lost, hope is lost and everything we have achieved in the Lord is lost.
Conclusion
Not all have faith. Let us not think only of the perverse, the wicked, the sinners. Let us think mainly of us, those who are part of the body of Christ. The hindrances that the enemy interposes so that faith is not sown, the hindrances he interposes so that faith does not germinate.
Faith can be lost. That is why now we could understand when Jesus said in Luke chapter 18: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
May none of this happen to us, but it is important and necessary that each one of us can identify what are the hindrances that are spoiling the faith that the Lord placed and has not been able to germinate in our lives.
