Lesson for August 18, 2019
The Integrity of God – Lesson 10
The Utilization of the Faith-Rest Technique
The Faith-Rest Technique is a basic problem-solving device, but never ceases to be used by believers regardless of the stage of spiritual growth. This means that when spiritually maturing believers are faced with undeserved suffering, they will need a basic, simple problem-solving device to latch on to. Everyone is human and everyone needs a simple, quick solution to things that may crop up such as fear or panic. Fear is the natural reaction to undeserved suffering when it suddenly hits. But fear can quickly be turned to faith by using this most basic problem-solving device of faith-rest. There are two words in Greek for fear: 1) “Phobos,” which means to be afraid or to be scared and originally meant that which causes flight 2) “Eulabeia,” which means reverence or respect and is normally directed toward God.
Fear is a mental attitude sin that shuts down thinking and makes application of Bible doctrine impossible. When fear catches us off guard, it is important to know the correct recovery procedure. The Faith-Rest Technique involves claiming a Bible promise, applying a doctrinal rationale and reaching a doctrinal conclusion. This is the reason that it is so important that we all learn Bible doctrine. We cannot apply what we do not know. Therefore, we need to be consistent in our intake of God’s Word for the purpose of growth. Growth means learning to use the Word of God resident in our souls to combat and control our sin nature and the influences of Satan’s world system. Since fear is a sin, the first step to recovery from fear is the utilization of I John 1:9. By naming “fear” as our sin, we are forgiven and under the control of the Holy Spirit. Now we are in a position to use the Faith-Rest Technique.
The best illustration of the Faith-Rest Technique is Romans 8:28-32. We can easily follow the progression from claiming a promise, to application, to reaching a conclusion. Romans 8:28 says “We know that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, for those who are the called ones according to a predetermined plan.” This is the Biblical promise to those who are spiritually maturing in their faith (executing God’s plan for their life). This promise is guaranteed by God, and when any spiritually maturing (advancing) believer claims this promise, it can reduce a very complicated situation into a very simple one. When we claim this promise, that God is working all things for our good, fear is brought under control because we are now thinking, not emoting. Fear is an emotion.
Once thinking is resumed, we can move on to step two, application. A doctrinal rationale can be any doctrinal truth that you have learned and stored in your memory. In our passage the doctrinal rationale is a series of five related doctrines:
- Foreknowledge – God’s awareness of all the assets that He prepared for the believer in eternity-past. This assures us that God was thinking about each of us in eternity past.
- Predestination – God predesigned a plan for us in eternity-past. That plan calls for us to be set apart unto God in time and eternity.
- Election –God chose each Church Age believer to be spiritual royalty. Since Jesus Christ was elected, we share in His election because of our union with Him.
- Justification –God declares the believer to be righteous. God actually imputes His righteousness to each believer, setting up the potential for divine blessing in time and eternity.
- Glorification –God gives the believer a glorified body and eternal rewards (based on execution of His plan in time).
These five doctrines in Romans 8:29-30 outline God’s plan for every believer of this age. By recalling these doctrines, the believer can remember his place in God’s overall plan, which is another step in driving out fear. These five doctrines in Romans 8:29-30 outline God’s plan for every spiritually maturing believer. By recalling these doctrines, the spiritually maturing believer can remember his place in God’s overall plan, which is another step in driving out fear. Finally, in Romans 8:31-32, the believer is able to reach a doctrinal conclusion. This passage says, “To what conclusion are we forced? If God be for us, who shall be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up in behalf of us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?”
Reaching the doctrinal conclusion “that God is for us,” allows us to retake control of our situation and restores confidence in God, and in our ability to make good decisions. If the problem is too overwhelming, and beyond our ability to solve, we are still able to cope by placing ourselves in the mighty hand of God and trusting Him for the solution. (Exodus 14:13) Utilization of this technique restores the most important ability God has given us: thinking. This technique does not need to be a mechanical, “step one, two, three,” but can be if the situation demands it. The key is to stop fear in its tracks and restore the thinking process.
There is another way to stop fear in its tracks according to I John 4:18. This way is called “virtue-love” (“perfect love” in the King James Version of the Bible). The Greek word for “perfect” is “teleios,” which means complete or mature. It has also been used in connection with the Greek word “arête,” which means virtue. Therefore, virtue-love is mature love. The love spoken of here is “agape love” or as you will recall, unconditional love. Virtue is strength of character, or in the believer, it is the character of Jesus Christ being produced in him. When we put it all together, virtue-love is Christ’s character of unconditional love exhibited in the life of the maturing believer.
This is the love that drives out fear and replaces it with faith. The reason this is true, is that what you love the most, is what you think about the most. If our love for God has matured into unconditional love based on our virtue and our integrity from God, we will not fear anything or anyone, because we have Divine Viewpoint Thinking. This virtue-love brings confidence and courage: confidence towards God and courage towards people and circumstances. Courage is being able to think clearly under pressure.
Uncontrolled fear is the opposite of courage. Fear causes self-induced misery and often carries with it a punishment of its own. For example, a believer who succumbs to fear has placed himself in a position of weakness. This weakness causes him to make poor decisions, which often bring with them poor results. He has become the product of his own decisions to disobey God by failing to name his sin and to resume his spiritual life. So, to what conclusion are we drawn? Fear can be controlled! It can be controlled by an advancing believer utilizing the Faith-Rest Technique and exhibiting virtue-love.
A relaxed mental attitude is possible only when we are executing God’s plan for us under the control of the Holy Spirit. This means staying it fellowship with God a maximum amount of time. It also means using the Faith-Rest Technique, having a personal sense of destiny and being oriented to God’s grace policy. An understanding of who we are and what we have as a result of our relationship with Jesus Christ should cause us to relax and stop worrying. Stop worrying about things over which we have no control, about what others think of us and about the future. God’s Word commands us to stop worrying and start trusting (that’s faith). (Matthew 6:25-33; Philippians 4:6-9)
Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
“But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a “rewarder” of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith in its verb form is “to believe” and must have a subject and an object. In salvation, the subject is whosoever and the object is Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) In the Christian life, the subject is the believer and the object is the Word of God. (II Timothy 2:15) Faith is effective in the believer’s life only if faith has the right object. Faith is thinking. The content of what you’re thinking is what determines faith’s effectiveness in your life. There is no limit to the amount of faith that a believer can have, but doctrinal content in the soul is what determines the strength of your faith.
Faith is developed by the study and application of God’s Word under the control of God the Holy Spirit. Faith is developed by means of growth when a believer begins to consistently use the Problem-Solving Devices, such as Rebound, Filling of the Holy Spirit and the Faith-Rest Technique. Faith can also be developed through adversity. (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 4:1-3, 12:2; Galatians 5:22-23; I Peter 1:7-9; I John 5:1-5)
The principle of Faith-Rest is from God, Who is perfect. Therefore, the Faith-Rest Technique is perfect. No human deed or work can be added to a perfect provision from God. The believer must cease from human good and enter into a rest where he does no work. The Holy Spirit does the work. The requirement, therefore, for the believer is faith, not human works. Faith is the absence of any human merit, which means, that in and of itself, faith has no value or worth. The value or worth is in the object of our faith. The object of faith for the believer should always be God and His Word.
Faith-Rest is knowing, believing and applying the promises, the principles and the doctrines of the Word of God. (Isaiah 33:6) There are over 7,000 promises in the Bible for the believer. These promises do us no good unless we mix them with faith and apply them to our situation. (Hebrews 4:2) Claiming these promises eliminates mental attitude sins such as fear, worry and anxiety, which cut off Divine Viewpoint Thinking. Faith-Rest will restore Divine Viewpoint Thinking and stabilize the believer in times of pressure and adversity. Faith–Rest results in a relaxed mental attitude. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Satan is going to use everything at his disposal, which includes his world system and Human Viewpoint Thinking, to distract you from your spiritual life. Remember that the spiritual life is a battle. When you spend time worrying, being upset and disgruntled about life, you’re lining up with Satan’s program and you have lost the battle. Peter warns us about the strategy of Satan. (I Peter 5:7-9)
I Peter 5:7-9, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
Casting means “to make a deposit.” In the case of the believer he is to deposit “all of his cares” or literally “all of his anxieties” on the Lord. In other words, give all your worries to God and leave them there. This means that no one is strong enough to carry his own worries. So, stop trying to do the impossible and instead use God’s system, the Faith-Rest Technique.
The Mechanics of the Faith Rest Technique
Mechanics means that you have made a resolve – a decision as to future action. This means that you have predetermined in your mind what course of action you will take when a problem arises. The Faith-Rest Technique is a versatile technique for overcoming any difficult situation, any problem or any disaster. By faith the believer applies doctrine logically while resting in the promises of God. By reaching a doctrinal rationale the believer is re-explaining to himself the basic concepts of doctrine that pertain to his relationship with God. This will be necessary in a crisis because emotion will normally take over and suppress proper thinking. You must take deliberate steps to reestablish the control of the Holy Spirit in your soul.
Here is how the Faith-Rest Technique works:
1) A believer claims a promise. A promise is a guarantee from God that expresses His essence (sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability and veracity). When you lay hold of one of these promises you are able to bring emotion under control, which allows you to think. Before, you were in a state of panic, but now you have peace. This, however, is only the beginning of the drill. Now you must begin to think. (Romans 8:28 – God is working all things together for my good, if I am an advancing believer.)
2) A believer applies doctrinal rationale. The application of Bible doctrine requires the believer to recall certain doctrines that have been stored in his soul. A rationale is the rational basis for something or an explanation of reasons or principles. It is at this time that the believer explains again to himself the doctrine which is pertinent to the situation. (Romans 8:29-30 – God has a pre-designed plan for my life.)
3) A believer reaches a doctrinal conclusion. This means that the believer is able to take control of the situation. By asking and answering certain questions pertaining to his spiritual life, the believer takes control and evaluates the circumstances. He can now make good decisions from a position of strength and take action using the good judgment and the wisdom from Bible doctrine stored in his soul. If God is for me, who can be successful against me or separate me from the love of Christ? The answer is no one. Therefore, I can take control using the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me. (Romans 8:31-35)