Our new series is called, “Forward in Faith.”
And this morning I want us to spend a few minutes thinking about the What? How? and When? of faith.
Faith is a fundamental requirement of life.
All of us have faith in something.
When you went to bed last night you had faith in the alarm clock going off at the right time this morning.
When you got into your car to come to church - you had faith that it would start.
And I’m sure that right now you have faith that this sermon will eventually end!
Simple examples of what we have faith in without really thinking - ordinary everyday things.
Humanly speaking, there may be many different things you have placed your trust in, but do you show a real trust in God in your everyday life?
We may all have faith in many of the every day ordinary aspects of life - but as Christians we are also meant to have faith in an extraordinary God that loves and cares for us and wants to be in a real relationship with us.
Perhaps in your life you have placed more trust, more faith, in the things that you have some control over.
Maybe you are the kind of person that only has faith in yourself.
Perhaps you are the kind of person that wants a safe, risk-free, trouble-free, problem-free life - and maybe you attempt to structure your life so that every possible problem can be solved as quickly as possible.
Before you go out you check the weather forecast, and even if its the middle of a heat wave you take an umbrella - cause you can’t be too careful can you?
Or when you buy light bulbs, you buy some candles and matches too just in case.
When you open the fridge you check the date on the milk every time.
When you go on holiday, just in case the hotel has run out, you fill your suitcase with toilet roll.
Maybe you are the kind of person that only has faith in yourself.
There may be many ordinary things you place your trust in, you may even have only placed your trust in your own skills, talents or abilities...
But real faith in God requires you to believe in the extraordinary - to believe in someone far more capable and able than you are.
To trust in, to have faith in the God of all Creation.
Real Faith helps us to live in the real lives that all of us have.
The Good days, the bad days, the average days, the days that we wish would never end,
the days that we wish would never have started.
The days that bring us joy,
the days that bring us pain,
the days of happiness and sadness.
The real days of our lives require a real faith in a real God who cares.
Faith in Him, trust in Him is our hope, our anchor in the storm.
Our comfort, our peace, our strength.
Do you have that faith in your life?
We are meant to have faith - we are meant to trust - but too many of us live our lives without the faith we should have.
May God help us be the faithful people He has called us to be.
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Have you ever looked at someone and thought “I wish I had faith like them”?
Sometime we look at others and we compare ourselves to them, and when we compare our life with so and so, we assume that they are so much stronger, that they are so much more together, that they have got what we want, but we don’t know how to get it.
Maybe that person looks at you and the same thoughts are going through their heads too.
The way you let God help you get through that situation.
The way your prayers were answered.
The peace you showed.
The love, the mercy, the grace they wish they had.
If we are honest, no one wants to appear weak in faith. And all of us can say the right things.
All of us can appear on the outside like we are in control when inside we are screaming for help.
And deep down in all of us there is an ache,
a longing, a desire that we would have more faith in every situation, in every circumstance.
It’s in those situations we need to say “Lord, I believe - help my unbelief”.
Help me to wait. Help me to trust. Help me to have faith.
Friends that longing, that ache, that desire comes from the reality that in our own strength, in our effort, we can never truly live the life of faith that God wants us to live.
We can only be truly satisfied when we fully rely on Him when we allow Him full access.
When we don’t just say we have faith in Him, but when we actually fully place our trust in Him.
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So What Is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1-3 in the New Living Transaltion says: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”
Faith is assurance based on God’s character - on who He is as a person. He is a good God,
a righteous God, a holy God, a loving God.
Faith is assurance based on God’s promises.
There are some things in our life that we know and we don’t need faith to know them.
I know that I have change in my pocket.
I know that my car is parked outside.
I know that beef burgers may contain something other than beef.
I don’t need faith to know any of that.
But I have faith in God’s promises.
I have faith that His Word is true.
I have faith that what He said He will do, He will actually do.
Faith is a confident assurance, in the evidence of things we have not seen, a confident trust in God’s promises.
We can all trust in the ordinary things of the world, we need to have confident faith in the extraordinary things of God.
His Word - God’s word is truth.
Do you have faith in His Word this morning?
How often do you read your Bible?
Do you have faith that God will speak to you through His word?
How often do you pray?
Do you have faith that God listen to your prayers?
Do you have faith that God answers your prayers?
How often do you share what you have discovered with others?
Do you have faith that what He has revealed to you could be a blessing to others?
Maybe last week you didn’t read anything.
Maybe last week you didn’t pray about anything.
Maybe last week you didn’t share anything.
This week will you?
Will you move forward in faith?
Will you allow God to speak to you?
Will you speak to Him?
Will you allow Him to speak through you to others?
God is faithful. In every circumstance, in every situation, in every aspect of your life - God is faithful.
Faith makes the ordinary extraordinary.
Faith is at the core of our relationship with God but, How Do we Acquire Faith?
We need to read the Word of God.
Romans 10:17 says So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
The Bible is a love letter from God to you.
The next time you pick up your Bible, I want you to imagine God, sitting next to you and pouring out His heart to you.
I want you to listen to His words.
You and Him are side by side.
He is with you all the way.
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Actually, this week I want you to remember that He is with you every moment of your day,
every step of your journey.
Those moments when you feel like you lack faith,
I want you to look to your side and remember that God is with you.
I want you to let God be God, I want you to have faith that God can do what God can do.
Will you do that?
Will you move forward in faith knowing that God is with you?
Friends this week will you show you have faith in a God who says “I love you;
I love you with all My heart;
I love you with everything;
Have faith in ME!”
Will you allow God to strengthen your faith?
Will you allow God to help you grow in faith?
Will you allow God to help you be obedient to Him?
Ok final point, and it’s got a very short answer - when do we need Faith?
Always!
Every day. Every circumstance. Every situation.
In big things, in small things.
Have faith in the God who loves you and cares for you and has a perfect plan for you.
God is faithful have faith in Him.
Let’s pray.
