Three Types Of Faith Series

THREE TYPES OF FAITH

A drought winter threatened the crop in a village of Crete. The priest told his flock: "There isn't anything that will save us, except a special prayer for rain. Go to your homes, fast during the week, believe and come on Sunday to pray for rain." The villagers went home, fasted during the week and went to the church on Sunday morning, but as soon as the priest saw them, he sent them away saying "Go away, there will be no prayer for rain today. You do not believe." “But Father,” they protested, “we fasted and we believe.” “Believe?” he asked, “Then where are your umbrellas?”

Judges 6:36 Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised-- 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

A pastor's small son was told by his mother that he should wash his hands because there were germs living in all that dirt. He refused and complained: "Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That's all I ever hear around this house and I've never seen either one." As Christians we have placed our trust and built our lives around something which we cannot see. What is the foundation for our faith?

1. Trusting your Head (vs. 37-38) - What God could do

In Judges 6 the Midianites got together with the surrounding nations and marched out to destroy Israel. The Lord appears to Gideon and calls him to deliver Israel. Gideon responds by questioning if the Lord is really able and willing to do what the angel said:

Judges 6:12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." 13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, `Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." 14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" 15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." 16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." 17 Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.

Gideon prepares lunch for his guest but the angel touches it and it is consumed by the fire. Some time later Gideon is about to face their vast army that had gathered. Again he asks the Lord for a sign to make sure that God is able to do what He has said.

A first step in faith is believing that God really IS ABLE to do what he has said. If your view of God is not great enough to allow for miracles than you will not have faith to believe God for miracles. Faith requires an understanding of God’s presence and power. For many people understanding must come before believing. Their faith relies upon knowledge and fact.

Our faith is a reasonable one. It is not a shot in the dark. It is based on truth and fact. It is not what one person once said, “faith is believing something that you know is not true”. There is an intellectual aspect of our faith where we reason and wrestle with it’s truth. The evidence of the existence of God is all around us. There are many convincing proofs which show us that He does exist. Likewise the Bible is most reliable ancient document in existence. It contains eyewitness and first hand information on the person and plan of God. There is a very solid and logical foundation to our faith.

When I was in University I had lots of questions about the bible. Some friends and I formed a 'Heretics Club' and called a local pastor to try and get answers. Over that year as we struggled through the questions I realized that the Bible is a book with answers.