How many knows this morning, we’re living in a time where we really need to have our faith strengthened, when we need to know God. Whether it’s salvation, having a need met, seeing our church grow, being healed, it’s all a matter of faith.
The Lord began to show me three things about faith that I want to share with you this morning.
First, Faith is the material that a strong relationship with God is built on.
Second, Faith is the material that helps you make it day to day
Third, Faith is the material that guarantees you’ll receive what you need from God.
Hebrews 11, the “faith chapter,” is a wonderful passage. In fact, all the Word of God is wonderful. It is not only wonderful, but it also hold the power to change conditions. The Word of God can change any natural condition, because the Word is supernatural power.
In the Word of God is the breath, the nature, and the power of the living God, and His power works in every person who dares to believe His Word.
There is life through the power of it. And as we receive the Word in faith, we receive the nature of God himself. As we lay hold of God’s promises in simple faith, we become partakers of the divine nature into grace, a power that makes dead things live, and a power which is of God, which will be manifested in our flesh. It’s all a matter of faith.
Faith is the material that God uses to work in our life. Hebrews 11:1 says that “faith is the substance”. We may not be able to physically handle, touch or smell faith. But it the Spirit realm faith is a substance. It’s the cornerstone that God builds upon in our lives.
Faith is the material that a strong relationship with God is built on. Where your relationship stands with God right now is a matter of faith. If you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior this morning, it’s not because you mentally figured it out, it’s not because you choose to do so, it’s because Jesus Christ and His cross was in pursuit of you.
John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” KJV
He’s called you unto salvation, He wasn’t willing that you should perish, so He opened your heart and gave you a measure of faith that allowed you to believe that “whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”, it was through faith that you were able to latch on to that promise and receive the precious gift of salvation.
That is just the starting place. Once your saved, you don’t stop there. The Word tells us in Heb 10:38
“38Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” KJV
Do you know one of the signs that a person is living by faith? They live right. If you operate by faith you’re going to live right because when you have faith the Word of God goes from being just a good book to live by to a living Word. When you believe that this book is a living word, then you’re going to take God’s principals seriously.
When you believe the book, you’re going to live different. When you believe the book, you’re going to act different. When you believe the book, your motivations are going to be different. When you believe the book, you’ll come to the place where you understand that having a relationship with God goes beyond just the salvation experience, that there is more that God has in store for you than you ever dreamed. That’s why the Word tells us in Jeremiah 33:3 “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show you great and mighty things that thou knowest not.”
1 Cor 2:9-10 says;
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” KJV
Are you living this morning in what God has prepared for you? The only way to do that is by faith!
Let me share with you where a lot of people are at. They are acquainted with God, but they haven’t cultivated a relationship with Him yet. An acquaintance is someone you might see on a daily basis. You speak to them and ask them how they’re doing. But when it comes to some things that you need to confide with someone, they won’t be the one you turn too.
There’s too many believers that are just acquainted with God. They talk to Him, but there’s no degree of intimacy at all. When you have a relationship with someone you go beyond the casual. A relationship implies a certain degree of trust. You can’t have a real relationship with someone without a degree of trust.
What are you saying preacher? You’ll never be able to have a close relationship with our heavenly father until you get to the place where you have faith in Him, that ability to trust Him, that ability to take Him at His word.
A matter of fact, we just saw in Hebrews that if we drawl back in trusting Him, that God will have no pleasure in us. There’s some people that haven’t gotten beyond the question, will God really meet my need? Will God really do what He said He will do? There’s even some who’ve asked Christ in their life that struggles with the question is all of this just pretend? Is God even real? I know, I’ve been there. When you’re going through the tough times in your life, the enemy is attacking, and you begin to wonder where are you God? Or even worse, is there really a God.
That’s when you need to settle the question once and for all. I began to question whether there was a God or not just because I was going through a tough time. What I didn’t see was that God never had removed His hand from my life, but what He was doing was shaking me out of my comfort zone so He could take me to the next level.
There might be some of you here this morning that God is shaking out of their comfort zone, and it’s when you get in these situations that will either make you or brake you. The longer you resist what God is trying to do in your life, the longer you’ll have to go through it. But if you will come to the place where you understand, that this is God’s wake up call for my life, and you run to the mercy seat of God and throw yourself at His feet, that’s when He will touch you and strengthen you and raise you up. It’s in our weakness He is made strong. It’s in our inabilities that God shows His ability and is glorified.
If you’re struggling in your Christian relationship right now, God is saying run to Him. He’s saying “come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He’s saying “cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you.”
How do you build your faith in God? Start trusting God in the small things. We act like it has to be a monster problem before God will help. Then we feel like we have to bargain with God to try to convince Him to help us in our situation.
When you start to realize that Jesus cares about every area of your life, and the more you turn over to Him, the more you will see Him do. The more you see Him do, the more you will trust Him.
Next, find a promise in the word, fulfill its conditions and stand on it. The Bible tells us, “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
Smith Wigglesworth would say, “If a thing is in the Bible it is so; it is not even to be prayed about; it is to be received and acted upon. Inactivity of faith is a robber, which steals blessing. Increase comes by action, by using what we have and what we know. Your life must be one of going from faith to faith”
You see, the Word of God is eternal and cannot be broken. You can’t improve on the Word for it’s life and produces life.
Faith is the material that helps you make it day to day.
I shared last Sunday night at the Potter’s House, how many times have we said, we just can’t go on another day, but you made it. You don’t know if you can take it anymore, but you took it. Why? Because there is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able to bear, and will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
When the devil tries to tell you it’s all over, you’ll not make it another day, you tell him, God brought through yesterday, He’s going to bring me through today and He’ll be waiting for me when I get to tomorrow.
When you wonder how you’re going to make it today. Start thinking about all the things God’s already brought you out of.
I’ve been saved for 31 years so that means I’ve got 11,315 days God’s already brought me through that I can go back and rejoice over. On top of that, God was watching out for me an additional 3,285 days before I got saved. That’s a track record the devil can’t compete with.
Finally, Faith is the material that guarantees you’ll receive what you need.
There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief.
If we will meet the conditions, God will always meet us. If we believe, all things are possible.
What do you do if you don’t get an answer? Sometimes you’ve just got to keep pressing in, reaching for the hem of His garment. Sometimes you’ve got to go beyond just asking, sometimes it takes more than seeking, sometimes we’ve got to knock until the door is opened up to us.
Our heavenly father will never hold back what’s best for us. What is it that you need from Him today?
