A Faith that Works
Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
To believe is not to know, belive is to accept something without evidence. To believe is not to know, Paul says I know in whom I believe and I am persuaded and I*m fully convinced.
Chapter 11 has often been called The Hall of Faith and with good reason. For in this chapter the author(s) show(s) how Gods people in the past had endured hardship, pain, and death, and yet their faith kept them going.
It is perceived in my spirit that I feel that we need more faith, or that we lack enough faith to overcome the adversary. It seems that as soon as we make some progress, we fall back into this void, sad, complacent attitude that is not of God. I believe that through these series of sermon, God will attempt to strengthen our faith.
In this series we began this journey of a Faith that works, with the title, Foundational Faith.
When we use the word foundation, certain words come to mind such as the base, the groundwork, the underlying principle, and the beginning. God has given every person a measure of faith; therefore, we all have the possibility because of the foundational measure of faith, in which we can build upon and activate.
Foundational faith, is that faith that allows us to believe there is a God in heaven that orchestrates the affairs of this chaotic cosmos.
Foundational faith is our basic belief in God that allows us the opportunity to accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as our personal Savior.
Foundational faith is sufficient for getting our sins forgiven and receiving Heaven as our eternal home.
Foundational faith is the entry level for the believer into the Kingdom of God.
Families that are what God intended for them to be are STRONG in their devotion to and for each other within their family structure. This is not always easy to accomplish, and by no means does to develop by accident, or by chance. There MUST be faithfully pursued. In order to have, and maintain a STRONG family structure, there MUST continually be a spirit of genuine forgivenessan abundance of real love a willingness to understand a feeling of acceptance by others a desire to get along with others and by all means, there MUST be*a sincere respect for each other!
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your Faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in faith: prove your own selves, Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Colossians2:6-7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built in the Faith, as ye have been taught.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of Faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Roman 10:9 That if thou will shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. The verse is an example of what foundational Faith can do for us. Thank God for foundational faith. It allows us to access God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ and all of the resources of Heaven.
But if we as children are going to experience the bountiful blessings that can be bestowed upon us as believers, we must move beyond foundational Faith. If we as Christians are going to experience the enrichment that we can be endowed with in our everyday lives by our heavenly Father. It is through activating our faith in God that we as believers leap over into the limitless living by accessing the favor of God.
3 basic principles:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of our selves; it is a gift of God: We understand that we are saved by grace through faith
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we discover, as believers, we are justified by faith
1 Peter 1:5 Who being kept by the power of Gods through faith, *We understand, as believers, we are kept by faith
The average Christian understands these basic provisions of faith. The problem is that many people seem to have is moving beyond these principals and getting a deeper understanding of faith and having a deeper relationship with God; whereby they receive the favor of God by obeying his word
As children of God we must not be satisfied because we have made it to the doorway of faith by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal savior, but move the the faith that allows you to develop and to trust his word. Jesus says that Im the way, truth and the life and no man can come to the father but by me;
Faith is active: moving; going somewhere; doing something; it is not a wait till something happens, faith is a work .
Here in the text: Hebrews 11:1; Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, but the evidence of things not seen this is a wonderful description of what is faith. But my brothers and sisters there is a difference in a definition and a description. Understanding the definition of faith can help one to move from trying to trusting, It can help move from crying out in disgust to calling on God for deliverance; from blindness to boldness; criticizing to caring; doubting to deliverary; dullness to dancing
Many Christians have faith in the idea of faith only, because of the entry level of faith, they never go on to mature in the area of faith; whereby they experience the wonderful blessings of the living Lord that experiential faith ushers into the life of the Christian.
If we are going to activate faith and build on this solid foundation, it is important for us to understand that:
Faith must not only be a profession, but also a possession
Faith must not only be a confession, but also a connection
Faith must not only be a hope, but also a hold
Faith must not only be a witness, but also a walk
Faith must not only be a talk, but also a testimony
Faith must not only be a principle, but also a practice
When faiths principles are practiced, God power will prevail over your problems. Romans 12:3 the end of the verse informs us that God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Even though his or her faith has not been activated, every individual has been given the measure of faith. What we as believer must do is activate our faith*.
The question is asked how do I activate my measure of faith. The word activate simply means to make active or having the power to act. As children of God we have the ability to make our faith active or motionless or simply at rest.
The problem with a lot of Christians is not that they lack faith. They have faith, but its not active. It was a faith in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and give them eternal life that has gotten us to this point in the first place, but what we must do now is activate the faith that we have now.
The Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:5-6 writes these words, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother and you mother, Im persuaded that it in you also. Wherefore, I put the in rememberance that thou stir up the gift of God.
What paul is saying to Timothy, is to stir up, agitate, bring to life, what he is saying is to activate you faith. If we want to receive the favor of God we must activate our faith .
How preacher do I activate my measure of faith. The answer to this question is found in a medley of scriptures. Hebrews 12:2 records, Looking unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. If we are going to have access to Gods favor we must look unto Jesus . When Lazarus was sick, St. John chapter 11, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that his friend whom he lovest is sick. The bible says that he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. While it took Jesus four days to make his arrival to Bethany, Lazarus died and was buried. Both Mary and Martha stated to Jesus, if you had been here my brother would not have died, Jesus says where have you laid him, {activate your faith} out of obedience to Jesus, and because of their faith and obedience to his commands, they watched their brother come back to life. What we have learnd, is that we are saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is not alone
They activated their faith when they sent for Jesus, but obedience produced favor. God is a God of favor
If we want to access the favor of God, we must get to know him personally, and the way we do that is by spending quality time with him. If you want a faith that works, develop a personal relationship with the father*
If you want a faith that works you must not only read the word of God, but you need to hear the word, preached and teached. Faith hangs on the hinges of hearing. Faith cometh by hearing Romans 10:17, for by this we believe that the more you hear, the greater the chance we have to activate our faith and have a faith that works!
If you want to activate your measure of faith, you need a personal relationship with the father.
To activate your faith, we must trust in his word, Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling.
To activate your faith we must believe that the Lord will meet your needs, My God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory
If you want to receive the favor of the Lord and do you want a faith that works.
