FAITH In God:: Shared By Arms ...

SERMON: Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

How does Faith work?

It is important to understand that faith is foundational to a good relationship between us and God.It does not usually operate along a predictable path. If we wish to follow it, faith requires our attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit.True Christian faith is not static. It should be dynamic and ever expanding.Faith must be exercised to gain a workable knowledge of it.Christian faith is not easy to comprehend.

Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 begins, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Example:- Prayer. We pray because we have an assurance that God exists, that He is willing to listen to us, and that there is a possibility that He will answer the request. We have this assurance because we have read about God answering prayer in the Bible or we because have seen Him answer prayers.

Different Levels of Christian Faith

1. Intellectual faith – Our Intellectual faith is the starting point. It is the mental act of believing Biblical truths that cannot be proved by man.
Example:- Intellectual faith is based on the truths we have read or have been taught.

2. Saving faith – A revelation from the Holy Spirit that convinces us that God alone is able to redeem us from the condemnation of original sin. At some time in our lives the Holy Spirit will bring us to a point where we realize that we are a sinners in desperate need of redemption. Saving faith is when we act upon the Gospel of Christ that we have intellectually accepted as truth. At that point we are born again. We are now a new creature in Christ. The Holy Spirit enters us and dwells in us. He opens our eyes to receive spiritual truth that we were previously blind to. We can now experience God first hand. The Holy Spirit is the part of God that actually touches us. John 14:15 – 17 (NLT) “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

Saving faith opens the door to our relationship with God. It is as significant to that relationship as a wedding is to marriage. This is where He changes us to become more and more like Him. It is important that we go on with Him. It is not good to remain at the wedding altar.

3. Working faith – The trust that we have in God as the answer to all the challenges that face us in our walk with Him. We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. People who exercise to build their bodies often use the expression “no pain – no gain.” The same is true in the faith building process. God wants us to be successful in this. He will call us do things that we are capable of doing. As we succeed He will develop and stretch us to have faith in greater things. All along He will supply us with all we need. Just as importantly He will be there to help us.

Many people go to the gym regularly. They invest time and energy to condition and strengthen their bodies. It is a good thing to do. It improves health and raises energy levels so that they can function better.God leads us to exercise faith to develop us and to prove His love and faithfulness to us. Following His leading can at times be difficult and challenging.

Seeing God respond to our faith has an impact on others. How would Daniel have felt going into the lion's den if Shadrach and Abednego were consumed in the fiery furnace?

Who Benefits from Working Faith?

- God benefits. Exercising our faith provides God with an opportunity to be glorified. As God works through us He stretches our faith and is able to do greater and greater things. This, in turn, makes His power more visible to the world that so desperately needs Him.Those around us benefit.

- Unbelievers see God's love and power in a tangible way that gets their attention.

- Other believers are encouraged by how they observe God responding to our faith.

- We benefit. Experiencing His love and faithfulness first hand brings greater peace and joy into our lives. Seeing the benefit it has on those around us brings a greater sense of purpose to our lives.

It is rewarding to see God transform lives, restore relationships, heal the sick, and save the lost. We must exercise Faith as a Service to God.

It is important that all that we do for God is done with a humble heart. Any act of obedience should be done as a demonstration of love for our benevolent Master. We should always keep our place as a blessed servant of the creator of all things.

He is God and we are not!

The exercising of faith is an important part of our service to Him. As His servant, we must remember that it is our duty to respond to His commands. Our ability to hear Him grows as we spend time in His Word, in prayer, praising Him, and giving Him our attention.

Keep in mind that nothing we hear should ever be contrary to His Word or to His nature.

Also consider that it would be unfair of a just God to demand our obedience without telling us what to do.

LESSON: Faith must teach us how to discern His voice.

The End.

Shared by Arms At the Mwafrika chatroom on Friday Sept 18, 2009