SOW SEEDS OF FAITH

‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Heb. 11:6)

Faith is the foundation of the Christian life and is the principle that brings us to Jesus Christ. It is faith that will make all the promises of God a reality in your life. When you are young, you practice learning the ABC’s. Faith is the ABCs of Christianity that you must learn, develop and practice each day of your life.

Heb. 11:6 says that “without faith, it is impossible to please God”; Habbakuk 2:4 says “the just shall live by faith”; 2corin. 13:5 advises the Christian to “examine himself, whether he is in the faith”. Jude 1:3 even exhorts us to contend for the faith.

But

Not even the giants of faith got what they wanted. Some Christians think of faith as an almost magic force: If you muster up enough of it, you’ll get rich, stay healthy and live a contented life, they say. Yet how does one ‘muster up’ faith? What is faith? What faith is not? And how can you be sure you’ve got it? What are the signs of true faith?

What faith is not?

Faith is not trying to make God do something for you. If you are trying to make God do something for you, means that you believe He has not done it. Faith begins where the will of God is known. If you don’t know God’s will in a situation then you cannot believe that God will help you. The Word of God tells us that all the promises of God belong to us through Christ. It also tells us that all things that pertain unto life and godliness have been given unto us. When did this take place? When Jesus was hanging on the cross He spoke these powerful words: IT IS FINISHED. What was finished? The plan of redemption for the human race was carried out through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden was given back to us through Jesus!

You can only believe what God has already provided. Faith looks back at the cross and realizes all the promises that belonged to us since that time and lays claim to them in faith. Faith is not trying to get God to do something for you because God has already, through Christ, provided all things for you. Many people say that God is going to heal me “one day”, or meet my financial need “one day”, but God is not going to do it “one day”. God has already met your needs through Christ about two thousand years ago. They will never be a reality in your life unless you reach out in faith and accept them as fact.

What is faith?

We have found what faith is not, so what is faith? I looked in Hebrews 11:1 for a definition of faith, which says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. In other words, Faith simply defined is: believing that you have something that does not exist in the physical, sensory, perceptive world that you live in.

It does exist in the realm of the spirit but it has not yet manifested in the material world. Faith reaches into the spiritual realm and takes hold of the promise of God’s Word and brings it into the realm of reality.

How to know when you are in Faith.

Hebrews 4:3 gives us the answer to this question. It tells us that those which have believed do enter into rest. You could say that those who have entered into faith do enter into rest. Rest is a type of peace. The person who believed God is the person you find in peace. They are not in worry or fear because they know that everything is okay because it has been committed to God.

How do I get Faith?

We live in a faithless world, where most people want to see before they believe. Most of us are behaving like Jesus disciple called Thomas. How do we get faith in this faithless world, in order to please God?

(i)     Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing God’s Word Notice it did not say that faith comes by praying. Faith comes by hearing God’s word. Find scriptures in the Bible that agree with what you intend to believe God for. Write the scriptures down on paper, and then read them out loud to yourself over and over and over until faith comes. You will know when faith has arrived when all doubt is removed from your heart and you feel or know that the promise belongs to you. Then, you begin to experience patience (in affliction and need). eg. When Sick; have marital problems, joblessness, failures, etc.

(ii)    As a church, sharing testimonies of faith encourages others to have faith.(Rev. 12:11)

Practical Application

Find scriptures in the Bible which contain promises for you and your circumstance. Take these scriptures and make them part of your daily confession, reading them over and over, out loud to yourself. Example:

1 .     For sickness you might read Isaiah 53:4-6; Mathew 8:17;1 Peter 2:24 over and over and make them your confession.

2 .     You need a child – Psalms113:9: He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.  Psalms127:3: Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

3 .     Persecution in God’s work -1corin. 12:7-10

Character of faith (not what you’d expect)

Hebrew chapter 11 dubbed the ‘Faith hall of fame’ contains a detailed description of faith. But the picture of faith emerging from these chapters contains some surprises. Words and phrases like “persevere, “endure”, “do not lose heart”. In many instances, the heroes cited did not receive the promise they hoped for; some ended up flogged and destitute, hiding out in goat skins (Heb. 11:36-38). Many died horrible deaths. Faith, the author concludes, most resembles a difficult race. The runner has his or her eyes on the winner’s prize, and despite nagging temptations to slacken the pace, refuses to give up until he or she crosses the finish line. “Throw off everything that hinders”.

Is it worth the struggle?

Why do people punish their bodies to run a grueling marathon race? Most runners name two reasons: the sense of personal reward they get and the physical benefits of the exercise. The same two rewards apply in the spiritual realm: great prizes await those who persevere and the very process of living by faith builds strong character. In this race, no one loses. If you finish you get the reward.

Hebrews holds up Jesus, who endured great suffering for our sakes, as the ultimate example. The Christian faith is not sugar-coated. God does not guarantee a life of luxury and ease. It is tough faith: a constant commitment to hang on and believe God against all odds, no matter what.

Conclusion

Do you live by faith or sight? ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Heb. 11:6). Think about Paul, Noah, David & Goliath, Shadrach, Meshach& Abednego Centurion & Jesus encounter for healing of his servant, etc. Hebrew 11:13: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.. Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity. Without demonstrating faith and trust in God we have no place with Him. Do you want to please God? Then have faith, and hold unto faith! Amen.