Faith

Faith has always been the mark of a disciple of Jesus. The early disciples were known as Believers. Faith is the total dependence on God. When Adam sinned he steppd out of God-dependence to in-dependence (unbelief). Therefore God puts high priority on faith. Faith is how we are able to get back into a relationship with God (God-dependence – faith ).

Faith advances you beyond your five senses – seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, releases us from our limited capabilities. In faith we move from inability to His – ability. This is the walk of faith we are all called to. Mat 17:20 - He said to them,“Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

What is Faith ?

Faith is an obedient action in response to what God has said. True faith is expressed in

1. Obedience
2. Action
3. Hearing God's Word

Heb 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Faith is having trust, assurance or confidence in another person or that person's words. Having faith on God involves exchanging self-trust for God-trust. We abandon reliance on our limited source of knowledge and start receiving from his unlimited resource.

Two kinds of knowledge

1. Sense Knowledge – all knowlege to natural man comes through 5 senses – seeing, hearing tasting smelling and touching. This is lilited knowlege described as Man's Knowledge or wisdom.
   
2. Revelation Knowledge – not based on 5 senses, nor natural reasoning but on alternative source – the TRUTH of the Word of God. It is recieved through man's spirit, and descibed as 'God's Wisdom'
   

2Cor5:7 For we live by believing and not by seeing.(NLT) for we walk by faith, not by sight.

The Basis of Faith

The basis of faith in God is in 3 important relaities:

1. The Nature of God: Heb 6:13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name.
   
   1. He cannot change: Mal 3:6 I am the Lord, and I do not change (NLT)
      
   2. He cannot fail: Job 42:2 I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 1Chro28:20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly.
      
   3. He cannot lie: Num 23:19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
      
2. The Redemptive Work of the Son of God : Heb 12:2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 1Cor1:30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
   
3. The Word of God : Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Jer 1:12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” His Word stands true forever.
   

How Faith Works

Rom 3:27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. Is to operate in our lives continuously no matter what the circumstances. Jam1:5,6 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

1. God gives us faith: Rom 1:17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life. The righteous live by HIS faith, i. e. He gives us faith as a gift. Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
   
2. Faith Comes by A word From God: GOd encourages us by speraking a “word” relevant to our circumstances. This may come as you read the Bible or hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit inside your spirit. Rom 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
   
3. Obedience to The Word: For faith to operate in our situation, we must obey that word. Faith is active not passive. Most of God's Promises are conditional – He will do his part if we do ours – Jams 2:17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
   
4. The Crisis, Or “Trial of Our Faith”: This is a period of testing. Everything happening around us appears contrary to what God has said, and there seemsto be no natural evidence for our believing. At this point, our faith rests completely on God' s word (what he has spoken to us) 1Pet 1:6,7 So be truly glad.There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
   
   1. 2Tim2:13 If we are unfaithful,he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. Heb 13:5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.

The Result

The end result is always victory on the part of the believer, bringing Glory to God. 1Jn 5:4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.