sf778 - WHAT FAITH IS - 1 of 16 DEVELOPING A FAITH THAT LASTS (Hebrews 1 1-3)
Hebrews 1:1-3, 6
Introduction
Faith is the most important ability we have.
We use faith everyday of our lives.
Yet, faith is misunderstood.
Faith is more important than…
Ø Feelings
Ø Fame
Ø Fortune
Ø Friends
Ø Fate
God has promised to bless us according to our faith!
“Faith is the hand that reaches to heaven and brings back blessings.” A. Rogers
The lack of faith will bring…
Ø Worry
Ø Loneliness
Ø Disobedience
Ø Unanswered prayers
“Pray and believe you will receive; Pray and doubt and you will do without.”
It is absolutely essential that we understand what faith really is…
1A. Faith is the Foundation for Life. (11:1a)
1B. Faith is the absolute certainty that God’s promises are true.
“assurance” = hupostasis - the essence, the solid ground that lies under the surface.
Titus 1:2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
2B. The world says, seeing is believing; faith says, believing is seeing.
John 20:29 Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
3B. Faith is based on our unchanging God, not on our ever-changing world.
James 1:17 …the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
2A. Faith is the Evidence of Truth. (11:1b)
1B. Faith brings a certainty to life.
When you base your life on absolute truth, you do not have to doubt.
Ø Noah had never seen it rain, but he believed God.
2B. Faith brings a confidence to life.
Real confidence is not the product of wishful thinking; it is the response to God’s absolute reality.
Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
Little boy and his kite – “You cannot see it, but I can feel the tug.”
3A. Faith is the Key to Understanding Life. (11:3)
1B. Every person longs to know the meaning of life.
Psalm 8:3-5 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
To understand the meaning of life we must first understand the origin of life.
2B. Science and our senses cannot reveal the origin of life.
No one can prove by experiment how life began.
When it comes to our origin man must rely on faith.
Ø The secular man has faith in the unknown.
Ø We have faith in God.
3B. Faith in God comprehends that which the mind of man cannot know.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
You will never understand life until you know the creator of life personally.
4A. Faith is the Only Way We can Please God. (11:2, 6)
1B. Faith is our response the God’s revelation. (11:6b)
God causes us to have faith in Him.
Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
Ø God reveals Himself to us so we can know Him and trust Him.
God gives us all the faith we need. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 4:7)
Unbelief is not a weakness it is wickedness. (Hebrews 3:12)
2B. Faith releases God’s power in our lives (11:6c)
In salvation…
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
For peace…
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
For victory over sin…
1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.
For answered prayers…
Matthew 21:22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
Application
What are you building your life on?
What are you trusting in to get you through life?
Once there was a young preacher going home after a meeting. He needed a light to show the way. An older preacher took a pine branch and set it on fire.
The younger man questioned, “what if the branch burns up before I get home?” The older man replied, “it will see you home.”
“What if the winds blow it out?” “It will see you home.”
“What if the rains come?” “It will see you home.”
“What if I am careless with the flame.” “It will see you home.’
Some you are questioning if you can trust God and His Word to get you home.
It will see you Home!
WHAT FAITH IS
Developing A Faith That Lasts – Part 1 of 16
August 2, 1998 - Hebrews 1:1-3, 6
1A. Faith is the __________________ for Life. (1a)
1B. Faith is the absolute certainty that God’s promises are _______________.
(Titus 1:2 NIV) a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
2B. The world says, seeing is believing; faith says, ________________ is seeing.
(John 20:29 NIV) Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
3B. Faith is based on our _____________ God, not on our ever-changing world.
(James 1:17 NCV) Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.
2A. Faith is the _______________ of Truth. (1b)
1B. Faith brings a ______________ to life.
2B. Faith brings a ______________ to life.
(Jeremiah 17:7 NIV) "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."
3A. Faith is the Key to __________________ Life. (3)
1B. Every person longs to know the __________ of life.
Psalms 8:3-5
2B. Science and our senses __________ reveal the origin of life.
3B. Faith in God comprehends that which the mind of man ___________________ know.
4A. Faith is the Only Way We can ________ God. (6)
1B. Faith is our __________ the God’s revelation. (6b)
God made us to have _______________ in Him.
(Psalms 42:1 NCV) As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God.
God _____________ us all the faith we need. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Unbelief is not a weakness it is ________________.
(Hebrews 3:12 NIV) See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
2B. Faith ____________ God’s power in our lives. (6c)
For _________________…(Romans 5:1)
For ________________…
(Isaiah 26:3 NIV) You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
For ____________ over sin…
(1 John 5:4 NIV) for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
For answered prayers…
(Matthew 9:29 NIV) "…According to your faith will it be done to you";
