Scripture: Hebrews 4 v 2; 6: "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.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of unbelief."Job 3 v 25: "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me."
2 Timothy 1 v 7 - 9: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,"
The first time unbelief appeared on Earth was in the Garden of Eden when Eve chose to believe Satan, the Serpent, when he suggested to her that she could doubt God's Word and live. However, he did not give her the fine print of how she would have to live! Outside of God's protection and abundance. Working for a living. Subject to sin, illness, death and him!
Unbelief in God's Word caused her to eat of the forbidden fruit which set in motion all the evil of the world to this day. Unbelief causes us to question God's wisdom and also doubt the power and might of Jesus Christ. If Eve had only resisted those lies we would have had Heaven on Earth from day 1.
When Peter walked on water towards Jesus in the midst of roaring waves and stormy sea, he kept his eyes on Jesus and walked confidently. However, when he looked at the waves around him his confidence was replaced by fear and doubt and he sank below the surface.
Jesus chided him with, "Why did you doubt?" It is only by our faith that God can perform miracles in our midst. When we consider the practical improbabilities of miracles, our faith wavers and collapses into an ocean of unbelief. In the spiritual realm believing is seeing while in the world, seeing is believing.
Our leaning in either direction determines our likelihood of seeing miracles. If we believe what God says is true, it will happen. By His stripes you are healed.....I believe and He has kept me well, and there have been many miracles of healing for others as well.
Faith and fear are direct opposites. Fear is belief in Satan's ability to steal, maim, kill or destroy yourself or those you love. Faith is believing God for protection, healing, salvation, deliverance, love, peace and a sound mind. We pray by faith for our God to show us how to fight the battles that confront us, and for His power in us to overcome anything the enemy tries to derail us with.
When we start to doubt then we start to backslide away from our commitment to Jesus. Just as Adam and Eve covered themselves with the figleaves of self-justification so do backsliders try to justify their sinful actions usually by blaming God for some bitter disappointment. Words like, "If God was real this would not have happened!" This is the core statement of the spirit of unbelief.
When Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments the spirit of unbelief in his brother Aaron was at work down below making another god, a golden calf, to distract the Israelites from the One True God. He may have thought Moses had died up there and he needed to have another way of leading these Hebrews through the Wilderness.
This is the same brother who had witnessed the mighty miracles God did upon Pharoah and the Egyptians, which finally set the Israelites free. He walked between the walls of water of the Red Sea by faith that it would not close over them, but unbelief rose up at the foot of the mountain and he fell for Satan's lies.
Throughout the Old Testament God had to deal with the Jew's unbelief and disobedience, usually by allowing them to be captured until they were willing to follow the Lord again. The same thing happens to Christians spiritually when unbelief sets in and we become enslaved to another god.
It may be alcohol, drugs or tobacco; occult teachings; false doctrines; worship of angels; worldliness; sex, extramarital affairs; fraud or family feuds. The list of foreign gods is a long one. Slavery to any one of them results in obsessions, sorrow of heart and confusion of mind and emotions. It's not unusual for criminal acts to follow this fall from grace so further destroying the personality. This is Satan's primary objective in every human. Utter destruction.
Whenever we compromise our Christianity by allowing the world's ways to influence us we open the door for the spirit of unbelief to do its deadly work. Whenever we justify our sinful actions we endanger our access to the Tree of Life and can be sent out of the place of redemption back into the world to try to overcome our bad nature without the help of Jesus.
It is a place of discipline and hardship which God never intended for His children. Its a place where we come under the condemnation of the law like the foolish Galatians.
All those churches who have abandoned a Spirit-filled walk with Jesus Christ for the futility of living under the Jewish Law are bound by the spirit of unbelief. All those churches who have traded true revival for the Toronto "blessing" are bound by the spirit of unbelief. Those who preach Kingdom Now and Dominion Theology, and that the Rapture is a myth, are bound by unbelief.
All those entertainment centres trying to amalgamate the world and the church are in captivity to unbelief. They have turned God's House into a House of Merchandise and the same anger that drove Jesus to overturn the tables of the moneylenders is directed back at them. . Some churches even have their own ATM's inside the building to assist people to draw money for them.
Satan has sent hordes of spirits of unbelief to destabilise Christianity. Jesus knew he would and even asked "When I return will I find faith on Earth?" Jesus loves you and longs for deeper fellowship with you. If you have realised that you need to be free of unbelief say the following prayer -
Heavenly Father, Today I know myself and see how Satan has deceived me with unbelief. Forgive all my backsliding through doubt. Forgive me for not guarding my soul and for leading others to believe the same errors. Father cleanse me with the Blood of Jesus and restore me to true and full belief in the Word of God. I will bring the truth to those I have misled. Let my confidence and faith be fully restored. In Jesus' name. Amen.