Let's begin this study in prayer...
Luke 17:5-6The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea', and it will obey you."
In order to begin our study on faith, lets first review some
background issues.
I. BACKGROUND
A. WHEN GOD SPEAKS HE FULFILLS
To see this let us read what God told BaIaam to say to the
King of Moab,
Numbers 23:19
We also find that,
B. GOD COMPLETES THE WORK HE STARTS
We find this given to us in,
Philippians 1:6
Now with these facts in mind, let us go and review a prayer that
Paul said for our enlightenment.
C. PAUL'S PRAYER
Let us begin by first remembering that,
1. WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY GOD
Ephesians 1:11-14
Recognizing this, Paul then offers up a,
2. PRAYER FOR OUR ENLIGHTENMENT
Ephesians 1:15-23
Notice vs 19
In fact let us read how this verse is translated in the
Amplified Bible,
"And so that you can know and understand what is the
immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power
in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His
mighty strength..."
QUESTION: What does this mean to us? What is the Spirit saying?
We just do not realize the spiritual power that is available to us
who are born again believers. All we need to have is faith. To
illustrate this point let us read about an incident with respect
to the healing of an epileptic boy.
Matthew 17:14-20
QUESTION: Does this mean that whatever we ask for will be given
to us?
Well, no! For let us not forget the admonition given in,
James 4:3
OK?
II. FAITH
QUESTION: Since faith is so critical, what is faith? Well, the Bible
defines it for us in,
Hebrews 11:1
QUESTION: How do we get faith? How do we get this assurance? The
Bible gives us our answer in,
Romans 10:17
Notice: This is a two part action.
A. FAITH COMES BY HEARING THE MESSAGE (i.e. GOD'S WORD)
Romans 10:17(a)
QUESTION: Why? Why does faith come by hearing the message,
i.e. God's Word?
Well, it all goes back to what we had read in the background.
We know that God will not lie. We also know that He will complete
all that He said He will do. Thus, as we know God's will and as we
come to know Him more we are able to pray in accordance with His
will with the assurance that He will grant our request!
Can we just fathom the tremendous blessing and privilege our God
has bestowed upon us?
Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!
Now let us move on.
B. HEARING COMES THROUGH THE WORD OF CHRIST
Romans 10:17{b)
QUESTION: Why?
Faith is a gift, it is not something we work up. To see this let
us read,
Ephesians 2:8
Hence, we find that Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of
our faith. In fact let us read this in,
Hebrews 12:2(a)
Up until now we have been focused upon the importance of faith
relative to our prayer life. However, there is more....much, much
more to this topic of faith. For we also find that,
III. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
If we have faith in Jesus and do not do what He says, then we really
do not have faith in Him at all. In other words, if we do have faith
or believe in Him then we would do what He says. In order to see this
let us go to:
James 2:14-26
Here in James we see work as a physical act such as helping, doing,
etc.
Now in doing these noble works, we must be careful to do them in
faith (or) these acts of righteousness are the fruits of our faith
and not from our flesh (i.e. performed for selfish reasons of
attempting to be righteous and holy and spiritual). Let us remember
that the Bible also teaches us that even if we do great acts of
charity and do not have love we have gained nothing. To see this, let
us read,
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
In other words our acts of righteousness are to be produced or
products of our love. And the love that our Lord Jesus Christ desires
us to have is defined in,
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Oh my ! Oh my !
Dear Lord Jesus I do not have this love as I should ..... how do I
get it or act in it?
By Faith!
QUESTION: How does this work? How do I experience and receive love
through faith?
Well, let us search the scriptures and find out.
IV. LOVE THROUGH FAITH
First of all we are to remember and believe that as born again
believers in Jesus Christ,
A. WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1 Corinthians 6:19
and
B. WE ARE TO WALK BY THE SPIRIT
1. THE INSTRUCTION
Galatians 5:16-18
2. THE FRUIT OF OUR FLESH
Galatians 5:19-21
3. THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Galatians 5:22-23
Notice: Love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION: How? How do I walk in the Spirit? How can the fruits of the
Spirit be manifest in my life?
By faith, by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ that through the Holy
Spirit, His fruits will be made manifest as we fulfill His commands,
i.e. do as He asks.
QUESTION: How about sin? How are we to put faith to work to eliminate
sin in our lives?
Well, let us find out what God has to say about this.
V. SIN
First of all we must realize that,
A. SIN SHALL NOT BE OUR MASTER
In order to see this, let us review the whole purpose of our
baptism.
1. WE ARE DEAD TO SIN
Romans 6:1-2
QUESTION: How can this be?
Well the Holy Spirit answers this question by,
2. A REVIEW OF WHAT BAPTISM IS ALL ABOUT
Romans 6:3-10
Hence by believing that God did what He said,
3. WE MUST COUNT OURSELVES DEAD TO SIN
Romans 6:11
Given this, we now find the following,
4. INSTRUCTION
Romans 6:12-14
QUESTION: So when the tempter comes, what do we do? How do we
not succumb to his wiles and trickery?
Well, we find our answer in,
B. GOD'S DEFENSIVE PLAN FOR US
We find this plan laid out for us in,
James 4:7
Notice: submit, then
resist, then
he will flee!
QUESTION: How do I submit to God?
1. BELIEVE WHAT GOD SAID
Sin shall not be our master,
Romans 6:14
then,
2. PRAY
We must recognize that in our natural self we can not
effectively fight sin and the evil one. To see this let us
read,
Romans 8:1-4
and,
Galatians 2:20-21
And so at the time of temptation we submit to God and
seek His help,
Hebrews 4:14-16
And while we wait for His deliverance, we,
3. RESIST THE EVIL ONE
QUESTION: How are we to resist?
By standing firm in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To see this, let us read,
Ephesians 6:10-18
Notice vs 12
Now after we have done this for a season, God promises us
that,
4. HE WILL RESTORE YOU, MAKE YOU STRONG, FIRM & STEADFAST
To see this, let us go to,
1 Peter 5:6-11
Praise The Lord!
QUESTION: So what is the point of this study? How can it be
summarized?
VI. SUMMARY
Our walk in this life should be characterized by the following
attitude of Paul's,
Galatians 2:20-21
Namely, by faith I am to trust that my Lord Jesus Christ will
manifest His life through the Holy Spirit Who lives and dwells within
me!
Let's end this study in prayer...
Daniel 6:16-23So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angels, and He shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in God.
Read the book by John Sweet, Jr.
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