"wolf in sheep's clothing

Mental assent looks, thinks, talks, and sounds

just exactly like faith to the average believer.
However, mental assent lacks one vital ingredient
that is so easily overlooked. For multitudes of
believers, that makes this "wolf in sheep's clothing",
one of the most dangerous enemies of faith.

It is the purpose of this morning to expose

mental assent as one of the most sly of the robbers
that Satan sets forth in order to steal, kill and destroy
the reward of faith promised to every believer.

You are about to enter into an area of study that

is designed to elevate you into the arena of faith; into
the ability that our great Father, God designed you to
enjoy in this life. These truths are going to build into
you the makings of a giant. You will never again need
to approach circumstances in fear or doubt. You will
never again need to be counted with those who
wonder; who are bewildered about why God's word
isn't working for them in life's complex daily
environment.

I am excited for us as we enjoy together

proving to the world that God's word really works;
that when he says, "....who healeth all thy
diseases,"

[Ps. 103:31 he means that not one disease is

allowed to overtake me. When he says, "....and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart,"
 [Ps. 37:4] he means that every secret dream
of life that is incubating within me will be fulfilled! I
will surely see it come to pass!
What you are about to read will bring to light
the only thing that may be standing in the way of your
seeing the awesome power of this God kind of faith

• (this
new kind of faith to the church) begin to
work in your life in greater fashion.
IN A WORLD OF INCONSISTENCY
IT IS SOMETIMES HARD TO COME TO GRIPS
WITH THE FACT THAT THERE IS A REALM
WHERE THINGS ONLY WORK ONE WAY

In the past we have thought that God was

unpredictable in certain areas, while we firmly
asserted his absolute strictness in dealing with man-
kind in other areas.

On one hand, the church has said that God.

always punishes sin. They have faithfully stated,
• "....Be sure your sins will find you out....
everytime!"

Then, on the other hand, they have taught us

that where God's promises of blessing are concerned,
"you just can never know for certain what God will
do."
We exist inside of a world order that moves
entirely on a negative axis. It is easier to die than to
live. It is easier to get sick than to remain healthy.
It is easier to starve than to eat well. It is easier to
be poor than to be rich. This same rule holds true
where faith is concerned. It is easier to believe that
God will punish than to believe that he will bless. It
is much easier to doubt or become fearful than it is
to believe.
IN A NEGATIVE WORLD
IT IS EASY TO BELIEVE THAT GOD DOES
NOT VARY WHEN DEALING WITH US's
CONCERNING NEGATIVE ISSUES BUT BECOMES,
MORE DISCRIMINATE#WITH POSITIVE THINGS

It seems, in the Bible, that no one ever

questioned God's divine judgement of wrong-doing.
If he said to someone, "I am going to destroy this
city," you do not find them saying, "I don't know
whether to believe that or not?"
But, on the other hand, when God showed up
with a promise of blessing, most of the time there
seemed to begin a struggle to believe it.
Even Abraham and Sarah, the father (and
mother) of our faith, laughed when God first
announced the promise of their blessing.

In Luke 1:5-25; 57-64, there is a classic example

of folks not recognizing God's dependability to
perform all of his promises. In these scriptures we
have the account of Zacharias and his wife,
Elisabeth. When the angel, Gabriel, appeared to him
to announce a direct answer to Zacharias' prayer, it
became a real struggle for Zacharias to believe the
dependableness of God's promise.
THIS NEW KIND OF FAITH
WAS CREATED TO WORK IN AN EVIL WORLD
We live in a negative environment. Our senses
are constantly bombarded by the actions of people
around us who are more consistent with their acts
of revenge and judgement than they are with their
promises.
Grudges are held longer than vows.
Vindication for wrongful actions is preached louder
than is loyalty to a mutually held agreement.
The rights of a divorced party, for example,
are protected more than the vows of a married one.
We live in a society that is speeding down a negative
highway of destruction.

It is within this environment that believers must

learn to operate this new kind of faith in God. I
believe that we can successfully do it! I believe that
God has designed his word to work within that
framework. This new kind of faith was created to
work in an evil world.
• "I pray not that thou shouldest take
them out o f the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil." [John 17:15]
• "That ye may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the
midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among
whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding
forth the word of life..." [Philippians 2:15-16]
•
IT SADDENED ME TO SEE CLOSE FRIENDS
UNABLE TO TAP INTO THIS MOST POWERFUL
FORCE OF LIFE. .. EVEN THOUGH THEY
WERE IDENTIFYING WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF FAITH
Mental assent is such a dangerous enemy
because it looks so much like faith, the average
believer can not see the difference. Both, faith and
mental assent, look basically the same; they both
appear to be headed in the same direction.
That however, is wherein lies the greatest
deception. If I view the truth o f the word one way,,
and the current reality of my circumstances
another way, I am only mentally assenting
instead of believing. I must view my current
circumstances exactly as the Word promises it to be in
order to produce faith in my confession.

In his book, The Two Kinds o f Faith, E. W.

Kenyon states, "Mental assent is seeing it,
admiring it, saying 'it is true', but not in my case."

You see, mental assent acknowledges

everything that faith does, except viewing it as a
present reality. Therefore, mental assent will do
everything that faith does except act upon it!
MENTAL ASSENT ONLY POINTS TO THE
WORD. REAL FAITH POINTS TO THE
CURRENT REALITY OF THE RESULTS OF THE
WORD. HOPE POINTS TO THE FUTURE
If you will give it some thought, I think you
will agree with me that the religious world has
basically substituted hope for faith. You will
remember that hope views it as possible ... probable
... perhaps even a real conviction of it happening
someday ... in the future. But hope, by itself, always
dwells in a land of some uncertainty. While there is
a definite place in one's life for hope, that place is never
as a substitute for faith in what you know God's word
says about you.
 MENTAL ASSENT EMBRACES THE
TRUTH - FAITH EMBRACES REALITY

Mental assent says, "I am so excited! I have

found a most wonderful truth in God's word. I know it
belongs to me!"

I ask, "Do you have it yet?" "No ... just

exactly why, I don't understand, but for some
reason I have not been able lo gel hold of it like I
should."

Again I ask, "Are you presently able to act

upon this newly discovered promise ... are you
able now to do it?" "Not yet ... however, I know
that it is the truth ... if God's word says it then that
settles it!"
IN MENTAL ASSENT ONLY
ACKNOWLEDGES - FAITH ACKNOWLEDGES
AND ACTS UPON IT

Mental assent says, "Joshua 1:8 says, 'This

book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayesl observe lo do according lo all that is
written therein: for then thou shall make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success'...and I believe that lo be the truth!"
Faith says, "I believe that lo be the truth!
Therefore,
I will not trust to my own judgement how I
may be doing spiritually. No matter how I feel,
strong or weak, I will spend lime meditating in
God's word." Then faith begins to unwaveringly
meditate in the Word day and night to observe to do
it-then uses the Word to measure the current
reality of every circumstance.

,Mental assent .says, "I know that God's word

says that we were healed through Jesus' stripes. I just
don't understand why it isn't working in my body. I
just don't understand why there is no change!"

Faith says, "I know that a change has taken

place in my body because I was healed through
Jesus' stripes. Therefore, I will go about my day as
usual, allowing God's healing power lo work within
me." 1 know this seems hard, but faith always gets
out of bed with God's promise in it's mouth!

Again, E. W. Kenyon states, "Mental assent

agrees that the Bible is a revelation, that it came
from God, and that every word is true, and yet
when the crisis comes it does not work. It simply
recognizes the truthfulness of that wonderful book,
but does not act upon it."

• I WHY SPIRITUAL LAWS CAN BE SO

FRUSTRATING

You could possibly break one of the laws of

nature and slip past without any reaction; you might
sometimes beat the odds. You might slip over the
speed limit just a little bit, breaking a civil law, and
happen not to get picked up by the patrolman.
 You also, might do a good deed in your
community and no one notice it; the community might
not even recognize your efforts.

Although statistics prove that if you overeat

you will become over-weight, it is possible that you
might find that you could overeat and happen not to
gain a pound.

In the environment in which we live these things

can actually happen because something else was
greater than the general rule.

For example, maybe the patrolman was looking

another direction as you sped by in your automobile.
Perhaps, another notable deed within your community
took the spotlight away from your good deed. The
rule governing your physical rate of metabolism might
be the overruling factor of your not gaining weight.

Living in a world like this, it is so easy to

unconsciously approach your walk of faith in God's
word with this same perspective, which if done, will
always prove to be the most frustrating experience
of your lifetime.

A THERE IS NO LAW TO NEGATE SPIRITUAL LAWS

COD's WORD ALWAYS WORKS EXACTLYI AS IT IS
WRITTEN WITHOUT RESPECT TO YOU OR YOUR
CIRCUMSTANCE
In the natural world one law can overmaster
another causing it to not work properly.
 In the spiritual realm no law can ever
overmaster another. Speaking of spiritual law,
Galatians 5:23 states, "Against such there is
no law."
In other words, the spiritual law always works
exactly as stated in God's written word.
For example, in Mark 11:23 Jesus said,
"Whosoever shall ... not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith
shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he
saith."

It is important for you to understand that there

is no law against that law. It is totally impossible to
slip one past God the way you might the
patrolman. There is no way for God to have been too
busy with his attention elsewhere, and subsequently
overlooked your release and action of faith.

The only thing that can cause Mark 11:23 to

not work is for you to not do it ... nothing else can
keep it from working. nothing!
MENTAL ASSENT CAN BE CONVINCED
THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT WORKING
IN THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCE

The key to detecting the presence of this

enemy, mental assent, is to always be conscious of a
previously stated principle. If you view the truth of
the word one way, and the current reality of your
circumstances another way, you are only
mentally assenting instead of believing.
 You must view your current circumstances
exactly as the Word promises it to be in order to
produce faith in your confession. Then you
must be willing to boldly act upon it! If you
are not yet willing to act upon the Word, that
is a statement that you really don't believe it to
be trustworthy enough for you to stake your
circumstance upon it! Without corresponding
action, if you are declaring your faith in the
promise of God, you are really substituting
mental assent for faith. The real God kind of
faiths is always proved in action!

• In Acts 9:32-35 we have this

illustration,

"And it came to pass, as Peter passed

throughout all quarters, he came down also to
the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there
he found a certain man named Aeneas, which
had kept his bed eight years, and was' sick of
the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas,
Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and
make thy bed. And he arose immediately.
And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw
him, and turned to the Lord."

FAITH ALWAYS ACTS

AS IF THE WORD IS WORKING
EXACTLY AS GOD SAID

The following account, in Luke 24, illustrates

how
so many believers view the words of Christ
during a crisis situation.

"Now upon the first day of the week, very

early in the morning, they came unto the
sepulchre, bringing the spices which they
had prepared, and certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from
the sepulchre. And they entered in, and
found not the body of the Lord Jesus."
It would seem to me, at this point, that they
would have at least considered that what Jesus had
said was true; that he had indeed been raised from
the dead. In Mark 8:31 he had plainly told them that,
".... The Son o f man must suffer many
things, and be rejected of the elder and of
the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed,
and after three days rise again."

Now, in Luke 24, the disciples had witnessed

come to pass everything Jesus had said to them.
They had seen him arrested, beaten, mocked and
scorned by the elders, chief priests, and scribes.
They had seen him killed by crucifixion and buried
inside of the sepulchre.

Why was it so hard for them to believe the rest

of the promise? Why, after seeing Jesus words
unfold right before their eyes, was it hard for
them to accept that he had been raised from the
dead?

Let's look further into Luke 24:

"And it came to pass, as they were much

perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by
them in shining garments: and as they were
afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth,
they said unto them, why seek ye the living
among the dead?
 He is not here, but is risen: remember how
he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
saying the Son of man must be delivered into
the hands o f sinful men, and be crucified, and
the third day rise again.
And they remembered his words, and
returned from the sepulchre, and told all these
things unto the eleven, and to all the rest ....
and their words seemed to them as idle tales,
and they believed them not."

MENTAL ASSENT WONDERS....

FAITH RESTS!

"Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre;

and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid
by themself and departed, wondering in himself at
that which was come to pass. "
MENTAL ASSENT REACTS TO CIRCUMSTANCES
BY TALKING ABOUT THEM AND REASONING -
THE THINGS IT SEES ARE MORE REAL
THAN THE THINGS IT BELIEVES

"And, behold, two of them went that same

day to a village called Emmaus, which was from
Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
And they talked together of all these things
which had happened. And it came to pass, that,
while they communed together and reasoned,
Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
And he said unto them, what manner of
communication are these that ye have one to
another, as ye walk, and are sad?
And one of them, whose name was Cleopas,
answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger
in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which
are come to pass there in these days?"
MENTAL ASSENT WANTS TO BELIEVE
 BUT IS IN REALITY A SLAVE TO CIRCUMSTANCES
THE THINGS IT SEES ARE MORE REAL
THAN THE THINGS IT BELIEVES

"And he said unto them, What things? And

they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth,
which was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people: And how the chief
priests and our rulers delivered him to be
condemned to death, and have crucified him."
MENTAL ASSENT SETS DEADLINES....
ONCE IT PASSES THAT LINE,
IT'S TRUST IS DEAD

"But we trusted [notice the past tense] that

it had been he which should have redeemed
Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day
since these things were done.

Yea, and certain women also of our company

made us astonished, which were early at the
sepulchre; And when they found not his body,
they came, saying, that they had also seen a
vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
And certain of them which were with us went
to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the
women had said; but him they saw not."

MENTAL ASSENT FINDS IT HARD

TO MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN
THE WORD OF GOD AND REALITY -
MENTAL ASSENT CAN ONLY ACT ON WHAT IT
SEES

"Then he said unto them, 0 fools, and slow

of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things, and to enter into his glory?
And their eyes were opened, and they knew
him.... Saying the Lord is risen indeed...."

MENTAL ASSENT IS FAITH'S

WORDS DWELLING IN A SENSE-
RULED MIND

Mental assent wants desperately for God's

word to work; to produce the promises given to
the believer. Mental assent studies the word,
listens to teaching tapes, goes to seminars,
etc.., but can't seem to come to a place where
reality begins. Talk of healing the sick, casting
out devils or dealing unharmed with dangerous
elements all work in theory but never seem to
become a practical part of life.

Mental assent will, in one breath, speak of

the uncompromising nature of our covenant with
God, and at the same time speak or act as
though there was no covenant.

MENTAL ASSENT BOLDLY DECLARES

THAT IT BELIEVES THAT IT HAS RECEIVED
UNTIL IT PASSES THE DEAD LINE

Mental assent will confess that it believes that it

has received what God's word has declared. Mental
assent will say, "My God supplies all o f my needs
according to his riches....", just to turn around and
question, "How am I going to make it since the
factory has shut down? What am I going to do?
There is just no way for me to pay next month's
bills if something else doesn't happen!"

Mental assent may not consider the word "if"

until
it reaches a certain point in the crisis. Faith never
entertain] the thought of "if"! Faith simply says, "My
God is supplying all of my needs according to his
riches...."; and faith never allows one thought, word
or action to exist that would contradict that belief!
Never!!!

Mental assent will say, "I believe that by his

stripes I was healed .... the Lord is the strength
of my life." But then it will turn around and say,
"No, I don't think I will try to make it to the
meeting because I have been having some
problems with my health lately. I'll probably just
have to stay at home and rest."

.. You understand, there is no power at all in

mentally assenting to the words spoken by the
Lord Jesus. If all I do is mentally assent to what
God has spoken, I am left with only a delusion
of truth. I may have the right idea; I may have
the right principles; but there is no substance to
what I am doing.

It may look on the surface, for a little while,

just
like faith. I may be able to convince you that it
is faith. Then when it doesn't happen you may
become confused about the whole matter, when
all the time I wouldn't be using my faith at all.
I must stay on my guard to never allow myself to
be deceived by faith's wolf in sheep's
LAST WORDS

I believe that you can see it now. I believe

that things are going to be different for you
in the future. As you apply them, the words
that you have just read will act as a watchman
to keep God's words from ever becoming to
you as "idle tales."

Mental assent, faith's wolf in sheep's

clothing, will never be able to slip into
your faith life.

You'll be certain that what you believe and

act upon in each circumstance corresponds
exactly with what you believe God has
promised to you in his Word. You will dare
to accept God's word as the final authority in
ever situation of life. You are a believer!

You'll never look at your faith, questioning

it's strength. As you spend time meditating in
the Word to see what God says about you, you'll
never look at a situation and wonder if you
have the ability to face the challenge and win.
You'll not again make a separation between
the reality of the written word and the reality of
your circumstance. You're now more ready
than ever to walk by faith and patience in
God's word. You are a believer!