FAITH ¡V THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING (06.12.05 AM)
HEBREWS 11. 1 ¡V 6
1. WHAT FAITH IS & WHERE IT COMES FROM.
„³ By definition -to believe, fully trust in, have confidence. More than simply believing - believing, & unwavering in that belief.
„³ Eph 2.8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
„³ 2 Tim 1.5 faith in thy g-mother Lois, mother Eunice, persuaded in thee also.
„³ Rom 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.
„³ Rom 10.17 So then faith cometh by hearing, & hearing by the Word of God.
„³ Faith begins, not w/ man, but w/ God. We do not believe b/c we want to, we believe b/c God has given us the faith necessary to believe.
„³ We do not produce faith, therefore, we cannot rely on what we can do. Our belief cannot be in ourselves, it must be in the author of the faith. Hebrews tells us that Christ is the author of our faith, - He is the finisher of our faith.
2. THE GROWTH OF FAITH.
„³ 1 Pet 2.2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.
„³ 1 Sam 17.34-37 - David¡¦s story of the lion & the bear ending in vs. 36b,37 this uncircumcised philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, & out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this philistine.
„³ faith does not develop at our whim, it does not come from our wisdom, our works, or our worship. It comes in the fields of the world, stepping out of our comfort zones, allowing God to do marvelous things in our life. It develops as we exercise it. We must use the faith that God has put in our hearts to the fullest extent. Going farther than we think we can, doing more than we think we can, relying on our Father in Heaven to provide the way, to go before us, to prepare the path for us to travel.
„³ We are going to stumble, we are going to fall, we are going to fail, but faith¡¦s growth depends on us not quitting on God when trouble comes. When it seems that there is no way, it is God showing us that in our strength, in our wisdom, there is no way, but b/c of His grace, He will make a way.
„³ Faith grows by taking one step, then another, then another, trusting that God knows the end from the beginning, has a plan for your life, & will provide the faith necessary as you exercise it day by day.
„³ Paul ¡V Lord what will thou have me to do. Arise go to the city, & it shall be told thee¡K learned he would go to the gentiles. Step by step faith.
3. MATURE FAITH.
„³ Colossians 2.4-10
„³ Heb 11.17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: & he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
„³ Rom 4.3 Abraham believed God, & it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4. FAITH¡¦S PRODUCTION.
„³ Man sick of palsy - healed.
„³ Two blind men - received sight.
„³ Woman w/ issue of blood - healed.
„³ Leper - saved.
„³ Bartimaeus - received sight.
„³ Man born of four - healed, saved.
„³ Man w/ sick daughter - immediately healed.
„³ David - slew Goliath.
„³ Elijah - called down fire from Heaven,
„³ Elisha - shummanite woman¡¦s son raised
„³ Gideon - defeated army w/ 300 soldiers.
„³ 3 Hebrew children - came out of the fire - no smell, no singe, no smoke
„³ Daniel - slept w/ the lions.
„³ Moses - walked on dry land across the red sea.
„³ Enoch - walked w/ God & was not.
„³ Noah ¡V saved from destruction.
„³ John ¡V would not boil
„³ Joshua ¡V sun stood still to deliver Gibeonites, walls fell, no weapons
„³ Peter ¡V walked on water
„³ Faith produces a way out of no way, a hope when there is no hope, peace when the world around us is tossed & tempestuous.
„³ The Holy Spirit wrote that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
5. WHAT THEN?
„³ Why are we not seeing the power of God demonstrated in our lives like the lives of these heroes of faith? James 1.6 ¡V 8, 4. 8 ¡V 10; 4.3
„³ If we want to see our lost saved, our sick healed, our church manifesting the glorious, miracle working power of God. If we want to experience the revival flood of God’s might & majesty. If we truly desire it. If we are desperate for it, if we are unconditionally willing for God to do it in our lives, & in the life of this church, we are going to be required to ask God, as the disciples did in Luke 17.5 ¡V Lord, Increase our faith. We must purify our hearts, we must allow God to tear down the strongholds of pride, self-righteousness, self-trust, the me-you-us-two-our-four-&-no-more-attitudes in our lives, we must allow the walls to be demolished, we must be willing to receive & embrace the command of Jesus to follow Him. To follow Him to the gutters, to the sick, to the lost, to the broken-hearted, to the hungry, to the not-like-us people, to those others have rejected. We must open the doors of our hearts, truly open the doors of the church, & reach out our hearts & hands to hurting people demonstrating the love of God in true & practical ways.
