DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING THE BULLDOG FAITH

IN THE DAYS OF HIS POWER SERIES

TOPIC: DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING THE BULLDOG FAITH

SERMON BY-:
Rev. Innocent Chukwudi Peace-Udochukwu President Living Fountain Ministries Int’l LIFOM

Bulldog: “A ferocious fighter, his massive head is structured so that when he clamps down on an object, his powerful jaws will literally lock down into that position. No matter how fierce the fight a bulldog will not let go. Even in a fight to death his jaws will remain clamped down upon his object.”

It is hard to question today whether this is a definition or a description of faith. “Faith has to do with a reality that is not accessible to our senses and lies beyond the grasp of reason.” Faith is a belief in or a confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one’s life.

Through faith we understand that different time periods, different decades, centuries, millenniums, different generations within the past history of mankind have been completely altered, remolded, and reshaped by those who received a word from God….

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Hebrews 11:1-3

In verse 2 of Hebrews, chapter 11, the Holy Spirit continues to describe the behavior of faith. The verse says, “For by it (that is, by this tenacious, committed, unrelenting faith that knows what it wants and won’t give up until it receives it!) the elders obtained a good report.”

Because of their bulldog tenacity, these men and women changed history! Their actions, their behavior, and their faith in and obedience to that word from heaven took their existing time periods—their decade, their generation, their century, perhaps even their millennium—and completely and radically changed the world in which they lived into something brand, spanking new!

No matter what the circumstances are today in your life, we must maintain that Faith in order to please God. Remember “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.”

Bulldog Faith Is Aggressive!
“The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” –Matthew 11:12 (NIV-84)

Faith is more than believing. The very nature of faith is aggressive, persistent, determined, tenacious, confident and commanding. It is always moving forward and continually reaching for its goal. Faith is not passive, retreating or moving backward. Like a bulldog, it seizes with a grip that cannot be shaken off.

Aggressive faith doesn’t draw back! Hebrews 10:38-39 (KJV) says, “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Does that mean God doesn’t like you if you draw back? No. It means it is His pleasure for you to have what He’s promised you, and when you draw back, He knows you are drawing away from THE BLESSING.

You can’t afford to be passive about anything where the curse is concerned. You can’t afford to be passive about the Word, you can’t afford to be passive about any attack in your life. No. It is time to take up arms and fight the good fight of faith—aggressively!

Bulldog Faith Bites Down and Won’t Let Go
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.” –Hebrews 10:23 (KJV)

You have to bite down on the Word of God—who you are, what you have and what you can do. The devil will try to take it from you, but don’t give up, don’t quit. Be a bulldog where the Word of God is concerned.

DEVELOPING THE BULLDOG FAITH

Do you have a dream or vision in your heart that you just can’t seem to let go of? It could be that God has placed this dream or vision in your heart for a purpose. If this is the case, the writer of Hebrews is telling you to hold fast the profession of.

Keep talking it. Keep speaking it. Keep believing it. Keep it in front of you. Develop your ability to see things that be not as though they were. And don’t let situations put constant pressure on you—you keep the pressure on your situation.

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised”
Hebrews 10:23

Have you ever watched a bulldog with a bone? Once that bulldog has his mouth watering jaws wrapped around that bone, there’s no way that anyone is going to get that bone out of his mouth. He’s laid hold of that which he so desired to possess. That bone now belongs to him. He’s written his signature on that bone with his sharp pointed teeth.

Bulldogs have a reputation. Sure, they have cute wrinkles on their foreheads, but it isn’t their appearance that draws the most attention. Bulldogs are a breed of remarkable ferocity, courage and tenacity of grip. They are stubbornly aggressive, persistent and determined. If something that belongs to you gets in a bulldog’s mouth—don’t plan on getting it back! He’ll hold on, lock down and stand his ground much longer than you’ll want to hang around. That’s tenacity!

We need to be just like that ole bulldog when it comes to our faith. The bone represents the vision that God has placed deep within our hearts. Since the vision was placed inside of us by the Lord, we know that it’s His will for the vision to be fulfilled. How will it be fulfilled? How will the vision come to pass? Answer: By faith.

Bulldog faith never gives up. It lets the devil know who’s the boss. Bulldog faith sees by the Spirit, lays hold of what it sees by faith and causes that thing to be manifested in the natural realm.

Faith is more than just confessing something with our mouths. Many people have been led astray by the “name it, claim it” teaching. They thought they could just confess whatever they wanted (Cadillac, million dollars, diamond ring, etc.) and God would just drop their wishes right in their laps. This is not faith; this is stupidity. We can confess all kinds of things with our mouths, but if the things we are confessing are not God’s will for our lives, we are wasting both our time and God’s time.

I like the phrase that says, “If you can see it, you can have it.”

If we can see what God has for us by the Spirit, we can then lay hold on whatever that might be, by confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts that what He has shown us He will certainly bring to pass.

Once we know what God’s will is in any given situation, it’s then and only then that we will be able to activate our faith. If we don’t have a clue what God’s will is, we won’t be able to put our faith into action.

Remember when Jesus walked on the water to get to His disciples who were in a raging storm at sea? When they first saw Jesus walking toward the boat, they thought He was a ghost. Then Jesus said, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Jesus and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. What happened here? Peter found out that it was God’s will for him to walk on the water with Jesus. After Jesus said, “Come,” Peter activated his faith and stepped out of the boat.

In Acts Chapter 3, a certain lame man was laying at the gate called Beautiful when Peter and John came passing by. The lame man asked Peter and John for money, but Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Peter spoke God’s will to this man. The lame man activated his faith on the words that Peter spoke, leaped up and began walking and praising God for the miracle. It was God’s will for this lame man to be healed. The lame man saw that this was true, and he laid hold of the spoken word with bulldog faith and received a miracle from God.

Bulldog Faith Never Takes No for an Answer
“This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” –John 5:4 (NKJV)

The doctor says, “No, you won’t get better. No, you won’t walk again. No, you can’t have a baby.” Your employer says, “No, you can’t have a raise, and no, we don’t have room for promotion here.” The world says, “No, you can’t enjoy that kind of prosperity without the right degree or climbing the ladder for 30 years.” But what do you say? What does God say?

Every opportunity before you is an opportunity for either faith or failure—the choice is yours.

In the book of Mark, blind Bartimaeus chose faith and persisted until he got his healing:

When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47-48).

The world was telling him to be quiet and stop claiming what belonged to him, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The result?

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked, “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road (v. 51-52).

He was fed up with being blind. He got persistent with his faith, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The persistent widow and Bartimaeus both applied nonstop, constant, continual, steady, relentless pressure on their covenant and on the devil. They did not let go, and they got what they were after. So can you.

I would like to take a minute to inform those of you who are reading this article that it is God’s will to heal. Once we understand this, we can lay hold of this truth by believing in our hearts and receiving our miracle from the Lord. It’s not God’s will that people be sick with incurable diseases placed upon them by the devil. God is not the author of sickness and disease. Jesus came to give us life, not death. He came to save us and deliver us from our sins. He didn’t come into the world to condemn us. He came into the world to die for us and take our place on the Cross at Calvary.

Don’t let what others say or the passing of time affect your faith. Bulldog faith never quits. Bulldog faith says, “God’s Word is mine now. Devil, you can’t take it from me. Just be assured—when this is over, I win!”

Bulldog Faith Is Fully Persuaded
“And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” –Romans 4:21 (KJV)

At 100 years old, you would have to be fully persuaded to believe you would be the father of many nations! And that’s exactly what Abraham was—fully persuaded.

You can develop the same kind of fully persuaded “bulldog faith.” Start by confessing the following:

“I heartily agree with everything God has said about me in His Word.”
“I heartily agree with God’s Word that I am healed.”
“I heartily agree with God’s Word that I am prosperous.”
“I heartily agree with God’s Word that I am redeemed.”

Bulldog Faith Takes It
“How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God…has given you?” –Joshua 18:3

When you get aggressive, bite down on the Word of God, refuse to take no for an answer, and are fully persuaded when you take it, you will develop a bulldog faith that will defeat the enemy every time. You will reap a harvest if you don’t let go of your bulldog faith. You can live and walk in everything God’s covenant promises—just don’t let go!

SHALOM!

FOR MORE SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS/PRAYER REQUESTS PLEASE CONTACT US AT RHEMA PRODUCTIONS TV ABUJA, NIGERIA.

PHONE:+2348033083732

EMAIL: revinnopeace@gmail.com

WEBSITE:
www.rhemaproductionstv.rptvblog.com