Luke 18:8 "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
Romans 10:8 "But what does it say? The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach;"
What is Faith?:
Heb 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2: For by it the elders obtained a good report."
Websters: to persuade, to draw towards any thing, to gain; to believe, to obey, to trust.
Vines: "firm persuasion," a conviction based upon hearing.
Faith is a firm conviction, a confident expectation, the title deed of what you believe. Faith reaches into the unseen realm, grabs hold of what you are believing God for until it is manifested in the seen realm.
Faith speaks and believes what is spoken!
2 Cor 4:13 "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;"
Examples of Faith:
Electricity: Electrical wires in a wall - Can't see the electricity in the wires, but it is real!
Laws of Physics: The Chair you're sitting in - Trusting that it will hold you up - is Faith
2 Cor 4:18 "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal."
Grow Your Faith:
2 Cor 10:15 (amp) "We do not boast therefore, beyond our proper limit, over other men's labors, but we have the hope and confident expectation that as your faith continues to grow, our field among you may be greatly enlarged, still within the limits of our commission,"
Romans 1:17 (amp) "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."
Romans 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
How Do You Grow Your Faith?
Reaching or Stretching: a solder going through an obstacle coarse will reach to move forward.
Your Faith will not carry you beyond where wisdom can't keep you. Faith does not replace wisdom.
You do not purchase an item, based on a possible pay raise - you just might not get the raise.
Get the raise first then purchase the item.
Release Your Faith:
Mark 5:25-34 "And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, And who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse. She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment, For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health. And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment. And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes? And the disciples kept saying to Him, You see the crowd pressing hard around You from all sides, and You ask, Who touched Me? Still He kept looking around to see her who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had been done for her, though alarmed and frightened and trembling, fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in (into) peace, be continually healed and freed from your [distressing bodily] disease."
How Does Someone Release their Faith:
1.) She Heard
Romans 10:17 "So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
2.) She Said
Mark 11:22-26 "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
3.) She put Action to her Faith
Mark 5:28 "For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole."
Mark 5:34 "And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
Jesus said to her because of her action of FAITH, she was made whole!
Book Recommendation
Fredrick Price: Faith, Foolisheness, and Presumption.
Commenti