F A I T H

“The just shall live by faith.” This declaration of the Christian’s principle of life found four times in the Bible: Hab. 2:1-5; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:10,11; Heb. 10:38. In Habakkuk we see the difference between the lives of just and unjust. The unjust are puffed up and live by their own self-sufficiency.

But THE JUST LIVE BY FAITH – THEIR CONFIDENCE IS IN GOD.

To them, faith is more than a philosophy of life, it is the very principle of life (Hab.2:4 ).

The righteous shall live his whole life by faith. HE IS SAVED BY FAITH (Acts 16:31 ).

HE IS KEPT BY FAITH (1Peter 1:5);

HE LIVES BY FAITH (Gal 2:20).

His faith shall be tried many times and in many ways (1Peter 1:7),

But faith will always be vindicated, because it is more than equal to any occasion. Faith knows how to wait on the Lord (Isa. 40:31), and

It is always victorious (1John 5:4).

Faith defies reason; it moves mountains (Matt 17:14-21). Faith does not always face facts; it never gives up (Heb. 11:32-39). Faith says, “God is working out His perfect will in my life, and I can wait, endure and suffer.” Faith does not make anything easy, but it does make all things possible.

1. WHAT IS FAITH (HEBREW 11:1-3)

2. THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH (EPHESIANS 6:16)

3. THE LITTLE FAITH (MATTHEW 14:28-33)

4. THREE KINDS OF FAITH (JOHN 11:21-44)

5. THE HALL OF FAITH (HEBREW 11:32-39)

WHAT IS FAITH (Hebrew 11:1- 3)

11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

“Now faith is the substance (title deed) of things hoped for……” Your Faith is your title deed to eternal life. Just as the title deed is the evidence of real estate, so your faith is evidence of your eternal estate in God (2Cor. 4:18).

1. Faith is asking God at His word and asking no question (Hebrew 11:6).

2. Faith is knowing that: “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom.8:28). Faith does not believe that all things (good or bad) work together for good to them that love God.

3. Faith has two sides. One side has to do with the intellect. It has an intellectual conviction that JESUS CHRIST IS GOD. The other side has to do with the will. It is a volitional surrender of the will to Jesus Christ as Master. This is seen when Thomas believed and confessed, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). “My Lord” – this is the volitional surrender; “My God” – is the intellectual conviction. TOGETHER YOU HAVE SAVING FAITH (John 20:31). Saving faith is an intellectual conviction that Jesus is God, and a volitional surrender to Him as Lord (Master) of your life. By faith the mind trusts in God; the heart responds to the love of God; the will submits to the commands of God; and the life obeys in the service of God.

4. Faith is paradoxical. It goes beyond reason. It believes without understanding “why.” It sings in prison (Acts 16:25). It glories in tribulations (Romans 5:3). It chooses to suffer (Heb. 11:25). It accepts all things as a part of God’s will (Phil. 1:12).

You are not born with this faith. It comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). This is why we are commanded to preach the gospel to every creature that they may hear and believe (Romans 10:13,14).

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THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH (Ephesians 6:16)

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

The shield of faith is a vital part of the Christian’s armor. You are to put on the “whole armor of God” (Eph.6:10-18), because the Christian life is a warfare, A SPIRITUAL CONFLICT. As Paul names the different parts of the Christian’s armor, he comes to the shield and emphasizes its importance by saying, “Above all, taking the shield of faith…..” – for with the shield of faith, nothing can hurt you; you are more than conquerors through Him (Rom 8:37). The importance of faith is seen in that:

1. You cannot be saved without Faith (John 3:36)

2. You cannot live victoriously over the world without faith (1John 5:4)

3. You cannot please God without faith (Hebrew 11:6)

4. You cannot pray without faith (James 1:6)

5. You cannot have peace with God without faith (Roman 5:1)

6. You cannot have joy without faith (1Peter 1:8)

7. You are justified by faith not by works (Galatians 2:16)

8. You are to live by faith (Galatians 2:20)

9. You are made righteous by faith (Roman 10:1-4)

10. Christ dwells in your heart by faith (Ephesians 3:17)

11. The Holy Spirit is received by faith (Galatians 3:2).

12. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23)

FAITH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HONORS GOD, AND GOD ALWAYS HONORS FAITH

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LITTLE FAITH (Matthew 14:28-33)

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

At this stage in the spiritual growth of Peter, he was a man of “little faith.” However after Pentecost, he became a spiritual giant. Let us take a good look at his “little faith” and profit from it. Jesus came to His distressed disciples, walking on the water in the midst of the storm. Peter asked to come to Jesus on the water. He must have thrilled at the thought of doing the impossible, Jesus said, “Come.”

1. Peter did the impossible thing: He walked on the water, by faith.

2. Next, Peter did the conceivable thing: He saw the storm, and had a second thought - he doubted. For a moment, he lost sight on Jesus. He may have turned and started back to the boat (Luke 9:62)

3. Now Peter did the natural thing: He feared destruction. Doubts always breeds fear.

4. Then Peter did the expected thing: He began to sink – he failed.

5. Now Peter did the right thing: He prayed, “Lord, save me.” Immediately Jesus stretched forth Hid hand and caught him. Once more Peter made contact with Jesus by faith.

6. Again Peter did the impossible thing: He walked on the water with Jesus to the boat. In this lesson we see the success and failure “little faith.”

Now let us recap the steps that led to failure. Peter started by faith, and walked on the water. Then he saw the storm, and had a second thought that led to doubt, that produce fear, that caused him to turn back, that brought about failure.

We need faith that is bigger than the elements that would drag you down to defeat. You can have big faith by “prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:20,21) and by feeding your faith on the Word of God (Romans 10:17). You can have mountain moving faith.

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THREE KINDS OF FAITH (John 11:21 – 44)

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

In this chapter we see the faith of Martha in connection with the resurrection of her brother Lazarus. Now Lazarus fell ill, and Martha and her sister Mary sent for Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus delayed His coming until Lazarus was dead and in the grave for four days. Then He came to raise him from the dead, and found the limited, fundamental faith of Martha His only obstacle.

1. Martha’s faith was limited. She said, ”Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died (v21). The death of Lazarus meant the end of Martha’s faith. She believed that Jesus had the power to raise her brother up from the sick bed, but not from the dead. Her limited faith restricted the power of Christ (Matt. 13:58). Limited faith is controlled by circumstances, and motivated by fear of failure.

2. Martha’s faith was fundamental. Jesus said, “Thy brother shall rise again” (v23). These words were spoken to kindle hope and faith in Martha; but she said, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day “ (verse 24). Martha declared her fundamental faith in a great truth, but that is not enough. Jesus stated, “ I am the resurrection, and the life” (verse 25). Jesus was saying that He had all power over life and death. Then He asked believest thou this?” (verse 26). Martha evaded the question by stating her fundamental faith in her creed (verse 27). It is not enough to believe in the creed only. Faith must go beyond your creed, to the living all powerful Christ. Her faith limited the power of Christ (Mark 10:27), and “Jesus wept” (verse 35). Jesus wept when he came raise Lazarus from the dead and found limited, fundamental faith only.

3. At last unlimited faith came to Martha when she consented to have the stone moved from the grave (verse 41). When Jesus first ordered the stone taken from the grave,

Martha objected in unbelief (verse 39). Then Jesus, challenging her to believe, said, “Said I not unto thee, that if thou thou wouldst believe thou shouldst see the glory of God” (verse 40). Martha believed and waited to see the glory of God, and she was not disappointed. We often hear that “seeing is believing,” but this is not so. You believe and then see. Faith comes before sight. Now Martha’s faith no longer limited the power of Christ. She consented to have the stone moved from the grave, and

Jesus “cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth” (verse 43), and Lazarus was raised up.

Don’t be satisfied with limited, fundamental faith only, when you can have unlimited faith that pleases God and reveals His glory.

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THE HALL OF FAITH (Hebrew 11:32 – 39)

32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

This chapter is often called the “Hall of faith.” You need to come here often and linger long, that your faith may become strong in the Lord; for in this scripture we get a view of the history of Israel and the Church, as it is written by faith, in the blood of the saints

They worshiped by faith as Abel.

They walked by faith as Enoch.

They worked by faith as Noah.

They lived by faith as Abraham.

They governed by faith as Moses.

They followed by faith as Israel.

They fought by faith as Joshua.

They conquered by faith as Gideon.

They subdued kingdom by faith as David.

They closed the mouths of lions by faith as Daniel.

They walked through the fire by faith as the three Hebrew children.

They suffered by faith as Paul.

They died by faith as Stephen, the first Christian Martyr (Acts 7:54-60 ).

By faith they were patient in suffering, courageous in battle, made strong out of weakness, and were victorious in defeat. They were more than conquerors by faith.

It is only by faith in the all-powerful Christ that you can be superior to circumstances and victorious over all the evil forces that would destroy you. ‘Looking unto JESUS CHRIST the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2 ). The faith of the saints inspires us, but we look to Jesus as our example of faith.

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HOW WILL IT ALL END?