What's Included - Faith

Big Idea:

The Spiritual Gift of Faith involves miraculous usage resulting in miracles.

Intro:

Good morning family and friends. Welcome to River Church Online! As always, glad you’re with us!

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Well, this morning we are going to talk about FAITH...

So, it helps to start with this: What is faith? Well the Bible says...

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Faith is the “assurance” of things… other translations say...

the confidence...

the substance...

the reality...

So, faith is a real thing. You can’t see it, but it’s still real. It’s so real that it gives us confidence and assurance! The writer of the book of Hebrews uses a word that describes it as a title deed. Like a physical piece of paper that legally proves I own a real thing. He also describes it as a “conviction.” Biblical faith is like convicting evidence in a court room!

But why? What makes faith like a title deed or evidence in a courtroom? That’s a big answer, but let’s stick to what we find in this verse...

It says, “faith is the assurance of things HOPED for.” What is this hope? Is it referring to “I hope I win the lottery. I hope the Giants win the superbowl.”

No. Hope in this context is God’s Word and Promises. It’s what God said happened. It’s what God says will happen. So, faith is being completely convinced about what God says. Because God said it, we believe it! That’s what faith is. And that’s why it’s this real confidence based on biblical hope.

Maybe you’re like, “Yo! Can we get an example? Because what does that look like?” Well look down a couple verses later...

Hebrews 11:8 ESV

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.

If you don’t know Abraham’s story… Abraham was just chillin in the cut like a bandaid. Or… he was living in a land called Haran. He didn’t have a Bible. There was no church. People were just doing their own thing. No concern for the One True God.

I mention this because when God tells Abraham to “go,” Abraham doesn’t really know who the LORD is!

Furthermore, travel is not like today. When we go somewhere new, we ain’t that scared. We have Google. We have smartphones. We can just look up where we going. Do some research. Then, punch in the location and travel on well maintained roads with signs. Abraham had none of that. God just said, “Go that way!” And he went! Take a moment to imagine that!

And faith is the reason Abraham went. He believed God, even though He didn’t know where He was going or who God was! He simply trusted. Sounds a little crazy! But, in a nutshell, that’s what faith is: Believing God’s promises as true, and acting on them, convinced He will give what He promised, no matter the circumstances.

And faith is also the first spiritual gift we are going to talk about in the “What’s Included” series. Now, the interesting thing about faith is all believers have it. So, does that mean every Christians has the spiritual gift of faith? I don’t believe so.

I believe when we see “faith” on the spiritual gifts list, it is a special use of faith. It’s connected to the general use to be sure, but this usage often results in miraculous things. At the very least, it may be simply a miraculous measure of FAITH-fulness. But I personally believe it’s much more. That it results in actual miracles! And, to help us think about this, we’re going to look at a story of general, but great faith. And I believe it’ll help us better understand the special use or spiritual gift of faith.

However, before we start, let me just say something that will be relevant to today’s gift and also the entire series. I personally believe the gifts of the Spirit are still active and in use today. Not everyone believes that. That’s okay (with me). Solid bible-believing Christians are all over the map when it comes to this subject. I mention this because I want you to know I’m okay with you being a part of TRC, and not agreeing with me on this subject (as long as your belief is rooted in Scripture). I believe spiritual gifts are NOT a reason for division. Actually, like we discussed last week, the purpose of them is love. So, let’s make sure we’re operating in love as we discuss spiritual gifts!

Okay, let’s read our story for this morning...

Matthew 15:21–28 ESV

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

I got 6 points for us to process this story through this morning. Don’t worry. I don’t plan on going past 11:45… (we just lost 12 viewers)

Body:

1. Faith will surprise us (v. 21).

Think about this:

In this story, Jesus is outside of Israel. He’s in Tyre & Sidon.

He’s speaking to a Canaanite woman - a non-Israelite.

This is not the place we’d expect to find faith. This isn’t the person we’d expect to have “great faith.” But God surprises us all!

And I believe this is an opportunity for us to remember an important thing about spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit chooses who gets what gift.

1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT

It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

And sometimes the Holy Spirit will surprise us with who He gives the spiritual gift of faith! Therefore, expect the surprise!

And don’t be thrown off if God gives you this gift, even if you wouldn’t think it would be a good fit for your natural disposition! Because faith will surprise us!

2. Faith is born in crisis (v. 22).

This poor woman’s daughter was tormented by a demon! This would be crushing! To have your defenseless child abused by such a strong spiritual force. And even as a mom, what could you do? You can’t fight a demon! It’s a crisis!

Yet, in this crisis, great faith is born!

Faith is a funny thing: It’s hard to have faith when everything is visibly perfect.

Naturally, we don’t feel the need to trust God when it’s all good in the hood - when there’s no crisis...

When the bills are paid.

When everyone is healthy.

When life is great.

Unfortunately, Christians aren’t immune to this either...

On the other hand, we genuinely learn, practice, and grow in faith during crisis. When we’re forced to trust God (who we can’t see) to help us!

When we need God to provide because we have no money or job.

When we need Him to heal because we are sick and the doctors have no answer.

When we need supernatural peace because the raging storm never ends!

Times of crisis are hard, but they’re also great opportunities to see God work! To learn how faithful He is. To grow in our trust of Him.

Some of us are being crushed by COVID..

But what if this is a time for great faith to be born?

What if this is the season God gives you the spiritual gift of faith?

Because faith is born in crisis.

3. Faith requires patience and persistence (v. 23).

This suffering mother cried out to Jesus… and heard NOTHING! It says, “He did not answer her a word!”

But she didn’t give up! Instead she was patient. And she persisted! So much so that the disciples were like, “PLEASE Lord! Just do what she wants! She won’t give up!”

This brings up 2 Questions for us to consider about the gift of faith:

Are you willing to wait on God? To not give up? Do you find yourself asking the Lord over and over again, even if your answer doesn’t come quickly? Maybe you have the gift of faith!

But… maybe you already know you have this gift, but want to know how to grow in it. I believe one way to grow is to practice being patient and persistent!

Wait on the Lord - and keep waiting.

Keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Don’t give up! And watch your faith grow!

Faith requires patience and persistence.

4. Faith looks to Jesus (v. 25).

Faith is not part of a magical formula. It’s not a magical power. It’s not even magically delicious!

It doesn’t start with us. It’s not sourced from us.

Faith is believing God. It’s looking to Jesus, the source of faith and the One who has all the power!

Whether we’re looking to discover or grow our gift of faith, we need to look to Jesus. Like the woman in our story, faith requires us to kneel before the Lord, set our gaze upon Him, and ask for His help.

5. Faith is humble (vv. 26-27).

Jesus said...

Matthew 15:26–27 ESV

And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

If I was there when Jesus said this I’d have this face... and be like, “Yo! Jesus… bro, chill out. That’s messed up!”

This poor lady is coming to Jesus, in faith, needing help, believing He is the Savior/Messiah/Son of David - she’s doing all the right things! She’s doing the things the Israelites (God’s chosen people) should’ve been doing! And Jesus replies, “Get out of here you dog!”

I keep thinking, “Maybe Jesus didn’t mean that? Maybe there’s a softer way to interpret this sentence.” But there’s not! It is what it is! It’s like hearing, “You ugly. You your daddy’s son.” There’s no nice way to receive that!

But here’s the crazy thing: The woman says, “That’s cool. I good with being a dog. I can accept that. Just please HELP me!” And it reminds me that believers aren’t easily offended because they’re HUMBLE!

Humility is a key part of the spiritual gift of faith. Of any spiritual gift. Because as we discussed last week: This ain’t about you! Unfortunately, sometimes we have to learn this the hard way. Sometimes, we need Jesus to be harsh with us to break through our stubborn, hard head.

Church. Christians. Let’s save ourselves the trouble. We aren’t that cool. Be humble.

Btw - in case you’re wondering, there’s a divine reason Jesus is harsh with the woman. By His sovereignty, He doing exactly what needs to happen to draw out “great faith” from her heart. He’s like, “It’s harsh, but it’s gotta go down this way.”

Don’t get it twisted… Jesus loved this woman:

He knew she had great faith inside of her.

He knew she could handle the harshness.

And He knew faith works best in humility.

Maybe that’s hard for us to accept. Maybe we don’t understand or agree with God’s ways. If that’s the case, maybe we just need to learn to be humble and trust God? He knows what He’s doing! He knows how to grow faith.

6. Faith produces results (v. 28).

A miracle happened. An impossible prayer request was answered. Jesus instantly heals her daughter and makes it clear, “It is because of your great faith!”

Maybe this point will be too literal for some of you. But it seems pretty simple to me. If you’re wondering whether you have the spiritual gift of faith, let me ask, “When you believe God for something, does it come to pass?”

Does the impossible happen?

Are mountains moved?

Are miracles done?

If so, you may have the spiritual gift of faith!

Response:

Let’s summarize our time this morning:

Biblical faith is believing/trusting what God says.

Every believer has faith. We having saving faith. And we daily live by faith!

But the spiritual gift of faith is a little different...

It’s connected to general faith, but it’s more. It’s a special usage of faith, given by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Not every believer has this gift.

And at minimum, it’s a special expression of faith-fulness. People who will believe God, even when most won’t!

But in its fullest expression, it’s special faith that results in miracles!

I pray God gives our church many with the gift of faith! Because we need it! Especially in tough times like these, when we need God’s help!

We need people who believe God! Who encourage the rest of us to do the same by their example! And those who, by the use of their special faith, usher in the miraculous!

It’s like when people do amazing things when adrenaline flows through their body! How they lift cars to save people’s lives! Normally, the body says, “I can’t do that! That’s impossible!” But adrenaline says, “Oh yea, watch this!” And the impossible happens! They “yeet” the car!

Yeet? What’s yeet? Yeet is the Greek word “to throw.” When Jesus was in the boat with Peter he said, “Yeet your net to the other side!” (Kidding). But we need people who can yeet mountains; who can yeet giants; who miraculously yeet impossible things out of the way by great faith!

So, how do we get there?

Here’s some practical steps for all of us to grow in faith (gifted or not):

Read your Bible. Open up that YouVersion app! Paul tells us that “Faith comes by hearing the Word of God!” When you get God’s word into you, faith grows!

Have courage! Don’t run from hard times. Run towards them with faith, knowing crisis births faith!

Times like this - COVID19 - have purpose in God’s plan, even if they’re hard - especially if they’re hard! And COVID19 is hard. We have no idea when it will end or what we’ll do!

But think about this… Craig Groeschel says, “If you can’t change your circumstances, change your perspective.” If we can’t currently kick our COVID circumstances, maybe we need to change our perspective.

Maybe this season is an opportunity for God to grow our faith! Maybe, “You were born for such a time as this!” God wants to use your life, our church, to do miraculous things through great faith!

Finally, USE whatever faith you have!

Maybe you’re not a Christian. But you know you need to get right with God. But you think on your life and say, “There’s no way God will accept me! It’s impossible.” Let me tell you, “With faith, it’s possible.”

If you’re willing to use what little faith you may have… to trust that Jesus death on the cross is able to wash away your sin and make your right with God… God will do the impossible. He will forgive you, give you new life, and bring you into His family.

If you need to do that today - don’t wait. Call out to Him wherever you are. And let us know too. If you’re ready to follow Jesus today, send us a message (facebook or website) and tell us, “I’m ready! I’m ready to follow Jesus!” We’d love to be a support to you in your decision and new life!

And for the Christian, let me challenge you! With faith, pray for those in your life who you think it’s impossible for them to become Christians! Let God surprise you! Pray and don’t give up. Have faith! And watch God do the impossible and save them!

Let’s pray!