“Living A Faith Life”

Six Aspects of Faith
I would like to speak to you today about one of the most important areas in our walk with the Lord and that is our Faith, Trust and Confidence in God.
Hebrews 11:6 it reads: And without faith it is impossible to please Him for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Romans 10:17 it reads; So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Luke 22:31-32 it reads: And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you / that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Luke 18:8 – JESUS said: “…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” The theme of the message today is – “Living A Faith Life”
What is the Definition of Faith?
It means – Belief in / Devotion to / Trust in somebody -or something / Allegiance or loyalty to somebody -or something. For the Christian Believer, Faith is putting our total trust and confidence in God.
{F-A-I-T-H:

• Feeling
• Afraid
• I
• Trust
• Him}
  In Psalm 56:3 – 4 it reads: The Psalmist said: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in YOU.” “In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? “ That is what Faith is about. When we are afraid, we put our wholehearted, or total trust in Him.
  In Hebrews 11:6 we are told that without faith it is impossible to please Him.
  What is the Definition “To Please”? It means to:
• To satisfy, to give pleasure to, to thrill, to make happy, to delight
  Jesus desire and purpose while on this earth was to please His Father – in doing His will .
• Also to finish the work that His Father assigned to Him.
  John 4:34 it reads:
  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
  John 6:38- 40 it reads:
  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
  John 17:4 it reads: I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
  John 19:30 it reads: So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
  John 5:30 it reads: I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me.
  The Bible is very clear that it is impossible to please GOD unless we have one thing… and that is faith.
  What does it take to please God? It is our faith, our confidence, our trust in Him, our obedience to His word, our pleasing Him rather than please people, knowing that if we please people, we cause offense to God.
  In today’s context: Offend God means – being “Politically Right” Nonspeaking the Word of God boldly But playing it down to keep people happy or diluting the Word of God. [Remembering – We are called to speak the Word of God in Love].
  Then to please God: We have to finish His work. It is not how well we start that matters to Him – But how well and strong we finish. It is very important our relationship with Him. How do we “Live A Life Of Faith.”?

1. Faith Is BELIEVING When I Don’t SEE It. Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance [or Essence or Reality] of things hoped for, the evidence [or evidence] of things not seen. ”Faith means : We cannot see the outcome but we know for certain that we will eventually triumph because we placed our TRUST in GOD. Mark 11:24 – Jesus said: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it [past tense] and you will be given what you ask for [present tense].” How many of us have ever said… “I’ll believe ONLY when I see it?” FAITH is believing before I see it
2. Faith Is OBEYING When I Don’t UNDERSTAND It. Hebrews 11:7 reads: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Two important Words stand out. Lead “BY Faith” and “REVERENT FEAR” “Reverent fear” is the word for “obedience.” It reads in Hebrews 11:8: By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Matthew 17:20 it reads: And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
3. Faith Is GIVING When I Don’t HAVE all of it. Giving and faith go together. God sometimes uses finances to test our faith. Have you ever had to decide between tithing and paying a bill? This is a test! GOD is saying, “Who are you going to trust? My promise is to take care of you if you put ME first or yourself?” Matthew 6:33 it reads: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
   In Hebrews 11, amongst the Heroes the first person listed is a man named Abel. Abel gets listed not because he did something great. He had no great accomplishment or Achievement to his name. The only thing he did was he gave a sacrifice that was More acceptable to GOD than his brother Cain. And God listed Abel in the Hall of Fame and Faith. Why? It wasn’t how much he gave, it wasn’t what he gave, but it was the attitude in which he gave God that mattered. Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered to GOD a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” The Bible here is talking about giving a more acceptable sacrifice in faith, God commending this act of giving and it still speaks even though Abel died 1000’s of years ago! It wasn’t what Abel gave that pleased God but how he gave it. It wasn’t the amount but the attitude of his heart. God doesn’t care about the amount. He cares about the attitude in which we give. Whenever we give in faith, God always shows up at the right time! Amen! 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 it reads: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
4. Faith Is PERSISTING When I Don’t FEEL Like It. Persevering, Continuing, Keeping At It, Sticking It Out, Carrying On to the finish. Be it a Job, Ministry, Marriage, studies or even our devotion time – God expects us to persist even when we don’t feel like it. 2 Corinthians 8:10-11 it reads: And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. Persistence brought the bible to completion, financed, translated, distributed to over 90 Nations! Don’t Give up / Don’t give in!
   Another Example: Galatians 6:9 it reads: And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
   Faith is being persistent.

• Faith is refusing to give up.
• Faith is doing the right thing,
• Even when we are tired,
• Even when we are moody,
• Even when we go through disappointments and discouragements.
  Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the Lord.
  “Look back and thank GOD,
  Look forward and trust GOD,
  Look around and serve GOD,
  Look within and find GOD.”
  Hebrews 10:35-38 it reads: So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”
• 5. Faith Is THANKING GOD Before I RECEIVE It. Look at JESUS’ Prayer before calling Lazarus out of the grave: It reads in John 11:41-46 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.
  It also reads in 2 Chronicles 20:18-23: Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voice. Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise / the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
  I believe God gave us this heart to thank Him from. He gave us our moth to Thank Him from. God also gave us His powerful mind to learn to do right and Thank Him in the good and the bad. God brings blessings out of our mess’s. Our Mind can heal our body, but our body cannot heal our mind. But when we straightly pray to our creator God He hears us and goes into action on our behalf. Faith is thanking GOD in advance.
• 6. Faith Is TRUSTING If I Don’t GET It. Paul said ~ in Philippians 4:11-13: I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through HIM who gives me strength.
  God is more interested in my character than He is in my comfort or my wealth.
  God is more interested in making me HOLY than in making me happy.
  {Lets Pray}
  Father God, I can be so established in my own thinking that sometimes I doubt Your Word and questioned Your promises, often wishing I had some concrete ‘proof’ of Your love for me, and yet Your Word gives me all the affirmation of this absolute reality I need, for Your Word and Promises are sure and Your faithfulness stretches beyond the limits of time and space. During the hard times and sufferings. I thank You and praise You for letting me know You and that I needed faith of a mustard seed. I thank You and praise You for the gift of faith, and I believe that day by day my loving trust in You and the reality of Your Word will become increasingly established within my heart, for I long to be where You are at, or if You come back to get me. I will be ready. I thank You and praise You for transformation. I am believing if there is anyone out there who don’t know You that You will guide Your angels in their life to let them know of the freedom they have in Christ if they just believe. Bless them this day Father God. I thank You, praise You and give You all the glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.