Faith, Part 1 Series

If you walk into one of the stores or shops or restaurants in this town, and hope to do any kind of business or trade, or if you plan on getting any food; someone is going to have to pay for those goods or services, would you agree? In this country the dollar is our standard of currency. So if you are going to do business in any State or city in this country, and I speak of the purchase of goods or services, you will have to purchase those things with the accepted currency of the United States. You cannot use the Yen, the mark, euro, Pecos, or any other national currency; you will have to use the currency of this country if you plan to do business in this country. In fact, someone visiting this country will have to go and have their money (that includes credit, debit cards, or traveler's checks) , into American currency. This same scenario works if you are traveling to another country, you will have to change your money into the currency and at the rate of exchange wherever you happen to be visiting. If you are going to do business in any country, you will have to do it in the currency of that country, or you are not going to receive what that currency could allow you to receive. Essentially, you will have to go without, even though you wouldn't have to.

How about doing business with Heaven? Perhaps you have never thought about transacting business with Heaven. Yet, sticking with this analogy, if you are saved today, that is, if you are a born-again believer, if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, there was a transaction with Heaven that occurred for you and me to receive that. There was an exchange of currency, if you will, that allowed you to receive it. You see, just as surely as there is a recognized currency in this country for conducting business, there is a recognized currency for conducting business recognized in Heaven. That currency is not the dollar. That currency in fact is not silver and gold. The recognized currency of Heaven is faith.

Now, please understand, everything you or I will ever need to live in this world and overcome and be blessed, has already been purchased for us! Ephesians 1:3, puts us it this way - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”. We are already blessed! With what? Every spiritual blessing. But wait, everything that is physical came from that which is spiritual! Why? Because everything that is came from God! We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ! Jesus, with His precious blood, purchased your salvation and mine. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Notice the word, “salvation” here. It is the Greek, soteria. Scofield - “The Heb. and Greek, (safety, preservation, healing, and soundness). Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification.” So, when we speak of “salvation”, we are speaking of the entire redemptive “package”, if you will. It has already been paid for.

If you go into a store, the goods in that store have already been paid for as well. That is why if a person goes into a store and decides they are going to try and take something out of the store without exchanging currency for it, it is called shoplifting. Why? Because before you buy that thing, it belongs to the store. The store wants you to have what they have to offer. The way you get that which is the store's, is to exchange the recognized currency in the country you are doing business in to get that thing you want or need.

Forgiveness of sin, eternal life, healing, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, and protection have already been purchased and are even now in the heavenly market awaiting you and me to bring in our shopping cart and obtain them! Again, however, to do this, we have to use the only currency that heaven recognizes, and that currency is faith!

So, I suppose it would be good to understand some things about faith, wouldn't you agree?

I. WHAT FAITH IS:

A. Ill. Of black preacher and, “the anointment” - I don't know what it is, but I know what it ain't! There are some things that faith “ain't”. SPEAK

B. Hebrews 11:1 quote it. Hebrews 11:1 tell us more what does, than what it is. SPEAK