Faith

Introduction:  In the Kingdom of God, we do not necessarily see the spiritual realm of what is going on, as we do in the physical realm.  God strengthens our hearts and minds to be in alignment with His heart, so that the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested and the Kingdom is established into reality.  What we do not see is in fact more real than what we see.  God is so much more real than this world can be.  God is so real, we can’t wrap our minds around the glory and goodness and love of God.  What I want to talk about is faith today.  Let me speak this scripture from The Message:

              Hebrews 11:1, 3: Faith is being SURE of what I hope for and CERTAIN of what I don't see...  By faith I understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

              When I was in High School my first couple of years I struggled with making friends.  People would put on acts, as if they were my friends, so I would open up to them, just to have them turn and use that against me, and this happened more than once.  My faith in God, and humanity in general, was hindered to the point that I lost hope in people.  I had God, and I could not see beyond the circumstances I was in.  In this time, I would pray and ask God to send me some good people, kind people.  Friends, people I could hang out with.  After serving at a church camp one summer, I found that there really were good people out there, and I could be loved.  One day, I was praying and playing music in a small practice room in my school when a girl came in, asking me to join her band.  By the end of the week, I had 7 friends, soon to become my 7 very good friends.  God answered my prayer, I had the Kingdom faith that He would follow through, I proclaimed the Word, and I gave the situation up to Him, and He worked it out. 

              Romans 15:13: May God, the source of hope, fill me with ALL joy and peace by means of my faith in Him, so that my hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Big Idea:  God wants to strengthen our faith.  In the Kingdom of God, faith is the currency, and love is what we do.  God wants to pour into your hearts hope, and faith that will become stronger, the more time we spend with God. 

              Romans 10:17 Faith comes from LISTENING to this message of the good news- the Good News about Jesus Christ. 

              Romans 5:2: Through Him I have access by faith into this grace in which I safely stand.  And I rejoice and exult in my hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. 

Point 1:  Faith is strengthened by speaking His word, the power of our words will do wonders. 

Mark 11:23: Whoever says to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!" And does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.

2 Corinthians 4:13-15: And since we have the same spirit of faith in accordance with what is written ‘I believed therefore I spoke’ we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you.  For all this is because of you, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to overflow God’s glory.

By Speaking the word of God, we back up His promise that He made us. The promise, whatsoever we ask in His name, it shall be done.  We can say to the mountains in our lives, to be thrown into the sea, and recite the verse, which even though God knows our hearts before we speak, this will show Him that we are truly serious about what we desire.  When we ask our parents for something, they will ask us ‘Why do you need this?’  Thus, we give them an appropriate answer as to why we need it.  God is our Father, we are His children.  Our relationship with God and our intimacy with God ought to be so strong, that we can come to Him as if He were our loving parents.  Jesus spoke in the gospels.  When Jesus healed, He had faith, AND He spoke for them to be healed.  In Genesis, God said and it was. 

Point 2:  Faith is most important when we cannot see beyond our current circumstances.

Hebrews 11:1, 3: Faith is being SURE of what I hope for and CERTAIN of what I don't see...  By faith I understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  

In times of tribulation, or our bad seasons in life, this is the test that God puts on our faith.  God will reward our faith in the end, but for the time being, we must maintain our faith, and strengthen it, and remember that what we have asked for, we have already received in Jesus’ name as He shed His precious blood for us, and ascended into Heaven, sending down the Holy Spirit into our hearts.  Our faith will strengthen the more time we spend in prayer and fasting with God. 

Luke 2:40: I am growing and becoming strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God is upon me. 

Point 3:  Faith is essential and comes to us by hearing the word of God.

Romans 10:17: Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God

Matthew 13: 19, 23: As I hear the Word of the kingdom, and grasp and comprehend it, ...it will indeed bear fruit and yield a good return.

We need to cleanse ourselves with the Word of God.  The Bible has stories, and insight, wisdom and helps us gain understanding as to how our faith is lived out.  We must love one another, and follow the principles and teachings of Jesus, this will strengthen our faith. 

Close:  Faith is essential in our life with God, and in His Kingdom.  It is our currency, and it is not about us.  It is about how we can best serve the Kingdom and bless the Lord.  If we have faith for a sports car, for the sake of having another car, that is not the right kind of faith, we need selfless faith, and a strong foundation is found in His Word.