Lock Out The Doubt 2

I like to do that because I like to remind myself and everybody that's listening and where this message comes from, that comes right out of the Bible, and let's all say this together Say Heavenly Father, I'm so glad I can watch live stream at Glorious Way Church and I believe I received tonight revelation of the Word of God that will water the seed of the Word that I've already received and new things will be planted in my heart that will grow my faith and develop my spirit, and that I will accomplish on this earth my divine purpose.

In Jesus name, amen.

I want to continue tonight with what I preached last Wednesday night, if you were with me, in Matthew, chapter 14, and I just made an executive decision.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

Isn't that great about being a pastor.

Sometimes I can just decide.

Didn't have to have a committee meeting or a board meeting.

You know, god so loved the world that he didn't send a committee, and so I just made an executive decision to change the name of the message.

Last week I preached a message entitled doubt is a robber, and so this is the second installment of that message, but I changed the title to lock out the doubt.

In South Louisiana, where my grandmother's from, she would say it.

Lock out the doubt.

V is a D.

Let's lock out the doubt.

Part two Matthew, chapter 14 and verse 22.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him under the other side, while he set the multitudes away.

But in the fourth watch, verse 25, in the fourth watch of the night, that's between three and six am, jesus went under them walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were troubled, saying it is a spirit, and they cried out for fear.

But straightway Jesus spoke under them, saying be of good cheer, does not?

It is, I be not afraid.

And Peter answered him and said Lord, if it be, thou bid me come unto thee on the water.

And.

And so Jesus simply said come.

Isn't that amazing, just one words.

All he had come.

And and when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

We do have to remember that he did walk on the water.

But verse 30 when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid.

In beginning to sink, he cried, saying Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him old, thou little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

And when they were coming to the ship, the wind ceased.

So lock out the doubt.

You know doubt and unbelief will rob you of God's best.

It wasn't God's best for Peter to sink.

It was God's best for him to walk on the water.

Or what's the purpose of walking on the?

What's the purpose of any miracle?

You know, a miracle is a suspension of the, of the laws of nature.

This is an example of that, and just just it robbed Peter of the confidence that would have come if he could have just stayed out there.

And we made the point last week.

How about the 11 other disciples in the boat that were watching what was going on?

I'm sure that if Peter had stayed out there and started having a good time out on the water of course it was stormy that night maybe some of them would have gotten out of the boat.

But as it turned out, his doubt robbed him of God's best and I think, potentially I believe I could make the case potentially it robbed the 11 of the ability to walk on the water as well, because when he said come, he meant come to all of them, and so Doubt began to sink him.

He didn't sink all the ways that oh Lord, save me.

Jesus caught him and walked him back to the ship.

But doubt came from fear of the circumstances, from looking at the circumstances.

He started off being delighted about Jesus walking on the water, as all he was thinking about oh, I wanna do what Jesus is doing, I wanna walk on the water.

He was just concentrating on that.

But then when he got out there, he started looking at the circumstances.

He saw the wind.

Well, he couldn't see the wind.

He saw what the wind was doing Big waves, big spray hitting him in the face.

But faith sees and faith receives.

You've gotta not look at the natural, you've gotta look at the.

We have eyes of faith that can see what God has given us.

And God gave him permission, through Jesus, to walk on the water.

But when he took his eyes off, his faith eyes off, and he started looking in his natural eyes, then he failed to receive God's best.

So faith sees and faith receives.

So we've got the eye of faith, we've got the hand of faith.

It receives what God gives us.

We have hand-eye coordination.

So we talked about that last week.

So faith sees the promise and calls of things that be, not as though they were.

So let's lock out the doubt.

Don't let doubt rob you of God's best.

So this week I wanted to continue along these lines and keep encouraging your faith, because we live in a time when there's a lot of doubt, there's a lot of fear and many times these kind of things they're out in the world in such numbers, in such pervasive atmospheres.

It can leak into our lives, it can leak into believers' consciousness.

Let's lock the door and keep the devil out.

So first John, chapter five and verse four, very familiar scripture to most of us.

For whatsoever we should say, whosoever is born of God overcomeeth the world.

And this is the victory that overcomeeth the world, even our faith.

So faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

I mean the world is trying to encroach on your world, on your life.

It's trying to encroach on your thinking Every way that it can, try to get a foot into the door.

Just think about somebody that rings your doorbell.

I mean, you know nowadays somebody rings your doorbell.

You better look out the little hole and see who it is before you open the door.

I mean somebody.

If you open the door and they're a robber or somebody wanting to do you harm, they could put their foot in the door.

That's what the enemy is doing.

That's what doubt wants to do.

Doubt wants to get a foothold.

He wants to get a foot in the door of your heart and begin to affect your thinking, affect what you're seeing and affect what you're seeing out of the word.

So faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

And we can do a substitution of the word faith, because what do we know faith is?

You know, according to Romans 4.17, faith is calling the things that be not as though they were.

That's what faith is.

That's a simple one of the simple definitions of faith.

So, if we substitute the word faith and we put in, you know, calling things that be not as though they were is the victory that overcomes the world.

I mean, every time we call the things that be not as though they were, that's victory over what the world is trying to do, whether it's fear, whether it's doubt, whether it's lack, whether it's sickness, whether it's disease.

When we say, thank God, I'm well, when we have symptoms, what are we doing?

We're calling the thing that be not as though they were, and then we're overcoming those symptoms, we're overcoming disease and so forth and so on.

What do we do when we say, thank God, I'm blessed, my finances are blessed, even though it looks like in the natural that we've got more month left at the end of our money?

Hey, that's calling the things that be not.

It's not lying.

In 33 years of ministry almost 40, this is my 40th year of being saved, being around the Word of faith.

I mean, one of the hardest things, I think, for me to master at beginning, and then for most people to keep up, is calling the things that be not as though they were.

Simple definition of faith.

Back in algebra, you remember?

I remember Mr McAllister was my algebra teacher and also my driver's ed teacher, live next door to us.

So I had to do good, he's right there, tell my parents.

And but he taught me he says if A equals C and B equals C, then A equals B.

What in the world do you say?

Well, that's the transitive, that's the transitive property of mathematics, and I had to learn that so.

Well, that's exactly what we performed here when we substituted calling things that be not as though they were is the victory that overcomes the world.

See, it's absolutely true.

And if that is true, then there's another thing.

That's true.

Doubt is the victory that the world uses to overcome the believer.

I'm gonna say it again Doubt is the victory that the world uses to overcome the believer.

I mean, the easiest way for the world to overcome you is to let doubt into your heart, so determined to be a believer and not a doubter.

In fact, that's a good.

You know what that's a good?

Skepticism is one of those things I think you know.

Sometimes we can go too far on skepticism and it can make us just always skeptical of everything.

It'd be better to confess this I'm a believer and not a doubter.

I'm a believer and not a doubter.

And so close the door on doubt.

Lock out the doubt.

Lock out the doubt.

Let's all say that together.

Lock out the doubt, all right.

So the language of faith.

You know, faith has a language and it's something that you have to get used to operate again, and not just when you need things that change, not just when, but the language of faith is a constant way of speaking.

You know, the world speaks death.

The world speaks fear.

Oh, that just scares me to death.

Oh, that just makes me sick.

You know, they speak death, they talk death.

That's the way the world speaks.

And until I knew better, that's kind of how I started speaking as a believer, you know.

But it didn't take me long to find out that that is the way of the world.

That's the way that enemy can defeat me is by through my own words.

So adopt the language of faith, of course, calling the things that be not as though they were.

Hebrews 11, one says now, faith is a substance of things.

Hope are the evidence of things not seen.

So that's another simple definition of Bible, definition of faith Faith is the evidence of things not yet seen with the natural eyes.

When you say I have it, it hasn't shown up yet, there's no outward evidence, but your faith says you have it now.

That's Bible, that's the language of faith.

Learn to speak that way.

That learned.

Instead of speaking doubt and unbelief, speak faith.

Another simple explanation Mark 11, 23.

Jesus, you know, the disciples marveled that Jesus cursed the fig tree and it dried up by the roots.

Peter said look Jesus, look at the fig tree you cursed yesterday.

It's dried up by the roots.

And he said have the God kind of faith.

And then in Mark 11, 22, have the God kind of faith.

And then in Mark 11, 23,.

For whosoever shall say into this mountain, be thou removed, be thou cast into the sea, shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe those things which he saith shall come to pass.

He shall have whatsoever he saith.

So that was Jesus' definition of faith.

Faith believes in the heart and speaks with the mouth what the person believes in the heart.

And so, when you speak faith, your heart is speaking.

I'll say it again when you speak faith, your spirit, your heart is speaking.

And see, that is the supernatural realm right there, that's the realm where people walk on water, that's the realm where people see miracles.

You know, sunday I preached a message entitled the Case for Miracles, why the church must have miracles.

It's not optional.

We need miracles now more than ever.

Well, the church is gonna have to adopt the language of faith.

We're gonna have to start calling it the things that be, not as though they were.

We're gonna have to start, you know, speaking from our heart and believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth, and we shall have it.

So faith, then, is of the heart.

It's a spiritual force.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with the natural eyesight or the natural hearing or your five senses.

And so the language of faith, now we have the language of doubt, as I've said earlier.

Just some examples.

You know Another way of speaking.

You know we just need to tell it like it is.

I'm sorry, honey, I'm just telling it like it is.

Well, there's, you know, that's not gonna help at all, that's just gonna reinforce what is.

You know, I'm just saying, just saying, well, you know you can just say your way right into defeat, right into the world, overcoming you.

Well, just saying, I feel terrible, I must have COVID.

See, you're talking your way into it.

I all believe that when I see it.

You know that's another one man.

People say that I just don't, I don't believe things unless I can see them.

Have you ever seen your brains?

So you know, I rest my case For those things to make everybody laugh for that old joke.

But it's funny.

If you've never heard it before, you can laugh once.

The rest of the time you can shame on pastor.

He said that too many times, but I believe it when I see it.

No, that's Thomas kind of faith.

That's what Thomas said.

Jesus said bless of those who have not seen it yet have believed.

And so you know, god just teaching me a lesson he allowed me to do without.

I know he's got a lesson for me to learn.

I just know that.

No, it's just.

You know, if you're doing without, it's not God's fault.

God provided for you, god has given you provision, you know.

And so all of these excuses many times for failure, and then we try to spiritualize them and call that faith.

No, it's not faith, it's doubt.

Lock out the doubt.

Let's look at another example here in Matthew 17.

I trust you're getting some out of this and again, I believe some of you are hearing things that you haven't heard before and it'll help you gain a foundation for a new life of faith and a new life of being in Christ.

And then, for those of you that have heard it over and over again, like I have, it just waters what you have and keeps it fresh.

Matthew 17 and verse 14.

This is right after the transfiguration on the mount, and you know the story is Peter, james and John went up to Jesus and Jesus was transfigured and he became brighter than the sun.

And so in one version of the gospels it said all the people ran up to them and were amazed, greatly amazed.

Well, why were they amazed?

Because Jesus was still glowing with the glory of God Even after the transfiguration, just like Moses did.

Moses, when he was in the presence of the glory, his face shone, jesus' face shone.

And so they got down there verse 14, when they come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him and saying Lord, have mercy on my son, for he's a lunatic, and so are vexed, for oftentimes he falleth into the fire and often into the water.

And I brought him to thy disciples and they could not cure him.

Then Jesus answered and said oh, faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?

How long shall I suffer?

You Bring him hither to me.

And Jesus rebuked the devil and he departed out of him and the child was cured from that very hour.

And then, when the disciples, they came to Jesus apart and said why could not we cast him out?

And Jesus said because of your unbelief.

For because of your unbelief, or because you doubted.

Now I want you to notice a couple of things.

Earlier in the Gospels Jesus had given the 12 and the later than that he sent the 70 out by two and two.

But first of all he gave the 12 power to cast out demons and to cure the sick.

And after they did that for a while, they came back rejoicing and said Jesus, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name.

So you can't say that they didn't have the power to cast the devil out of this little boy, because they did.

Jesus had given it to them previously.

The power didn't just leave them, he gave them that authority.

And so why was it?

They asked.

I mean, we've worked for us before Jesus, we've done this before.

This is not our first rodeo.

We tried this and it didn't work.

What happened?

Because of your unbelief, because of your doubt.

So that's the simple answer, see.

So they had the power to do it.

I wanted you to see, this Power was there to deliver that little boy from this terrible demon power, and yet they could not get him delivered.

And Jesus said the reason was because of the unbelief.

See, faith is the switch that turns on the power of God, and that is true.

But then on the flip side of that doubt is the lack of the switch.

The power is there, but it can't be turned on.

I mean, I've got power to this building, we've got all these big, massive votes, voltage coming into this church.

But if I don't turn the switch on back there on the wall, it's dark in here, you're not gonna see me, it's just pitch black.

Why?

Well, because I didn't turn the switch on and so we've got to turn the switch of faith on.

That means there's no doubt.

We can have no doubt operating in us.

We have the power to overcome.

Faith gives action to the power.

That's how we're overcoming the world.

But doubt short circuits the power.

Oh, I tell you, we need to lock out the doubt.

Every time they let doubt rob that little boy and everyone watching.

There was a multitude of people there.

A multitude of people saw the failure of the disciples.

Just think of how that affected this crowd.

I mean, some of them started thinking oh, I knew this was too good to be true.

I've been hearing about this.

But look at this.

Oh, I knew this was exaggerated.

See, this is the modern church.

Listen, the church has got to rise up in faith.

We've got to start having the language of faith.

We've got to have the things that happen when power is present as it is, and every believer.

We've got to be able to use our faith to release that power, not only for ourselves but for this lost world.

I'm telling you it's so, so critical, so they let doubt rob that little boy and that entire crowd of God's best.

I was reading recently about a testimony that Brother Hagin gives back when he used to travel in the ministry he had pastored for 12 years and then he began to go out and started going and at first until 1962, he preached in churches.

So about from about the late 40s into about 14, 13, 14 years he preached in churches and then in 62, god gave him orders to start having larger venues.

Most churches back then were not that large and he was getting a bigger crowd and so he moved out of the local church.

But he was a local church guy but he moved into the bigger convention centers and started having meetings like that and of course, all of his life that he preached.

He did come to churches after that too, but he had his own meetings that were bigger.

Anyway, he was in a church that he used to pastor holding a meeting, and back then he said you know, I would just have one altar call and in that altar call a prayer line.

He would have a prayer line and in the prayer line there would be people that wanted to be healed.

There would be people that wanted to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and so he would come up to each person and say, okay, what are we praying for?

Well, he noticed this young man about 18 years old, and he recognized him because when he used to pastor that church, this little, this guy, this boy, was probably 10 or 11 years old at the time, and when he left the church, this little boy was in perfect health.

Here he is in the prayer line.

So he asked him what are we praying for?

And he said I have epilepsy and you know, and I can't get my driver's license.

There's a lot of things.

You know, I have epilepsy, and so the spirit of God spoke to him that it was a spirit of infirmity, it was a demon power behind it.

Not all sickness is a result of demon activity.

Indirectly it is.

But in this case he did get that, and so he was able to cast the demon out of, and that gives people trouble sometimes.

You mean he was possessed.

No, he was not possessed.

He simply had an oppression by a demon power that had affected his flesh.

And so, you know, if you have a home, you live in a home, right.

And if you say, oh, they tell me I've got termites, well, you're talking to somebody.

They know that you personally don't have termites.

You know you don't have termites in your body.

Where do you have the termites?

Well, they're in the house where you live.

Well, it's the same with the demon power.

You don't have the demon.

Your house where you live, which is your body, has a demon, or it might be in your mind.

Some people have trouble in their mind because a demon is occupying space in the brain cavity and giving them mental trouble.

So, anyway, he knew it was a demon.

He casted the demon out and that boy was instantly delivered.

So about a year later he went back to that church, as he often did.

Churches would have Brother Hagin come every year, kind of like we have, you know, brother Mark and Trina Hankins come every year.

And so he came back to this church the same church, and he was up on the platform and you know, he had the altar call and the prayer line formed.

And here's this young man that he had prayed for one year before is standing in the prayer line and he questioned.

He said, lord, I prayed for him a year ago.

And he said yeah.

And so the Holy Ghost started speaking to him as an a word of knowledge.

He said yeah, he's been seizure free for almost a year, but in the last 30 days he's had three seizures, and it's because he was afraid.

And so when he got to him in the prayer line, he said don't tell me anything, just see if I'm right.

Anybody can miss it.

He said why you were standing there?

The Holy Ghost spoke to me and said that you've been seizure free for a year and now, in the last 30 days, you've had three seizures, and it's because you were afraid.

He said that's exactly right, brother Hagin, that's exactly right.

And what happened was one night I was fearful and I fell asleep before I had a chance to get rid of the fear.

And he said well then, you left the door open.

So he cast the devil back out of him and he instructed him how to always keep the door closed.

You know, the Bible says in Ephesians give no place to the devil.

Say so in a way when we leave the door open.

You know, and I grew up in Little Town, you know, in South Texas, referio, texas, and we went to bed every night.

We didn't lock the doors but we didn't leave them standing open even.

I mean, we didn't just leave the door wide open.

I mean, if you left the door wide open, what are you gonna have?

You could have all kinds of things.

You have frogs in your house, you could have, you know, raccoons coming in, squirrels coming in, you could have dogs coming in, you could have a robber coming in, and so, no, we're gonna close the door.

We need to close the door to doubt Close, you know.

Lock the doubt out, lock out the doubt.

So he cast out that dam and he taught him how to stand and how that fear opened the door.

Fear will open the door.

The fear of this kung-flu.

This is opening the door for many people, including Christians.

The fear of this virus is opening the door for the enemy to put this virus in the church, and the church ought to be healthy.

The church of Jesus Christ ought to not have this virus operating.

Why?

Because we've been healed of that Already.

Jesus took this virus and carried these symptoms.

We don't have to have it.

And so when we do have it, it's one way or another we've opened the door.

Let's quit blaming God.

Well, god's got some purpose.

No, he doesn't have anything to do with this virus and he has nothing to do with it coming.

I've heard people say well, it's God's judgment.

Well, it's not God's judgment.

God didn't send it.

No, he's given the church all the ammunition we need to kill this thing as far as we're concerned.

So we need to close the door on any kind of fear, close the door on any kind of doubt, and we've got to lock out the doubt, amen.

So talked a lot tonight about the language of faith, the language of unbelief and doubt.

So abide in the language of faith, act like the Bible is true.

Now, that's why I don't.

I wear a mask in order to go shopping in the grocery store.

I don't wear a mask because I'm afraid of the authorities.

I don't wear a mask because I'm concerned about giving or receiving a virus.

I simply don't want to have an argument.

I've had a couple of arguments and I don't like arguments.

So I just keep the peace.

I try not to offend people.

I put the stupid mask on, but when I do, I say I'm not trusting this stupid thing.

As soon as I get outside, I rip it off my face, and if somebody doesn't like that, I understand.

Now, recently we've got a new law that says if we're not wearing it outside that we could be sighted.

Well, let them sight me if they want to, because I'm not gonna wear the thing all over the God's creation.

I'm getting rid of it.

I don't trust in it.

So act like the Bible is true.

Close and lock the door of your heart.

Don't let doubt rob you.

Amen, lock out the doubt.

I hope that blessed you tonight.

Just lift your hands and receive and receive the word of God.

Praise God for the word.

The word makes all the difference.

I said the word makes all the difference, amen.