Standing Only on the Side of Faith

Some of Watchman Nee's spoken messages have been recorded in a book called The Overcoming Life.

The entire book is available online at:

http://www.ministrybooks.org/watchman-nee-books.cfm

This is the conclusion of the chapter titled "The Proving of Faith":

"A person once angrily rebuked me. The more I endured his rebukes, the more he continued. At that time I prayed to the Lord, saying, 'God, give me endurance. Give me the strength to endure. Otherwise, my temper will burst.' If the same thing happened to me now, I would not be that anxious. On the contrary, I would say to Satan jokingly, 'Satan, you can revile me through the mouth of men. Let's see if the Christ within me can be stirred up by your reviling.' I do not hate the revilers. On the contrary, I love them. Indeed, if we act this way, Satan will be unable to do anything against us. Brothers and sisters, thank and praise the Lord. Victory is Christ, not us. If it were up to us, we could only endure to a certain extent. If the reviling went slightly beyond that point, we would lose our temper. But if it is Christ, no temptation will be too much for us, and no test will be too hard to bear. When we stand on the side of God's Word and on the side of faith, Satan can do nothing to us. The Lord has commanded that we cross over to the other side. Surely we will cross over to the other side. It is not our word that counts, but God's Word that counts, because God is faithful.

"Finally brothers and sisters, I have to ask you a question: Are there one or two recurring sins that have been bothering you? I believe there are. Brothers and sisters, when the indwelling Christ is leading us through the test, who is actually being tested? Every time a test comes to us, it is not we who are tested but God who is tested. When our faith is tested, the Son of God is tested. God's faithfulness is tested; we are not tested. Every test is a test to see what Christ can do. Every test is a test of God's faithfulness. Faith is standing on God's side, on His Word's side, and on the opposite side of our environment. This is overcoming. Satan says that we are unclean, but we say that Christ is our holiness. Satan says that we are proud, but we say that Christ is our humility. Satan says that we have failed, but we say that Christ is our victory. We can answer whatever Satan says by proclaiming that Christ is trustworthy and that His Word is trustworthy. This is faith, and this is the substantiation of God's Word. Hallelujah! Christ is victorious! Hallelujah! God is faithful! Hallelujah! His Word is trustworthy!

"Brothers and sisters, please remember that the test of faith will not last long. Immediately after we have experienced the overcoming life, temptation may come more frequently than ever. But after our faith is tested, others will receive the benefit and the help. After our faith is tested, God's heart will be satisfied, and His name will be glorified. Satan's mouth will be stopped, and he will not be able to do anything to us. Hallelujah, God's Word is trustworthy! Thank and praise the Lord! When we stand with God, nothing can stand in our way. When we stand with faith, no mountain is immovable. Faith specializes in moving mountains. As long as it is a mountain, faith can remove it. Hallelujah, God is faithful!"