Answers2Prayer
BIBLE
TEACHING SERVICE
FOCUS:
JESUS
FAITH
Text:
Heb. 11:1-2, 32-40
Memory Verse: Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark. 9:23)
Introduction: Faith means total dependence on God. When Adam sinned, he stepped out of God-dependence into in-dependence (which is unbelief). This is the reason God has placed such a high priority on faith. Faith is the way we come back into relationship with God (God-dependence). This dependence on God is called faith. Faith advances you beyond your five senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. Faith releases you from your limited capacities. By faith you move from inability to His-ability. This is the walk of faith to which all of us are called; where “nothing is impossible” (Matt. 17:20).
WHAT IS FAITH? Faith is obedient action in response to what God has said. True faith is expressed in (1) Obedience and (2) Action, in responses to (3) Hearing God’s word (voice). (Heb. 11:1). Faith means having trust, assurance or confidence in another person or that person’s words. Having faith in God involves an exchange of self-trust for God-trust. We stop trusting in ourselves and trust Him. We abandon reliance on our limited source of knowledge and start receiving from His unlimited source.
TWO KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE (I Cor. 2:4-16)
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Sense knowledge:
All knowledge that comes to natural man comes to him through the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. This is limited knowledge, described as “man’s wisdom”
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Revelation knowledge:
This knowledge is not based on the five senses, nor on natural reasoning but on an alternative source – the TRUTH of the Word of God. It is received through man’s spirit, and is described as ‘God’s wisdom’
THE
BASIS OF FAITH:
The
basis of having faith in God is in three important realities
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The Nature of God - Heb. 6:13
a. He cannot change - Mal. 3:6; James 1:17
b. He cannot fail - Job 42:2; I Chro. 28:20
c.He cannot lie - Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2
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The Redemptive Work of the Son of God: Heb. 12:2; I Cor. 1:30; Rom. 5:1-2
Christ has become the Source of our faith in God. The fact of His death and resurrection provides ground for our believing.
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The Word of God (Matt. 24:35; Isaiah 40:8; Jer. 1:2). His Word stand true forever: Faith comes when God brings a specific word – out of all he has ever said – directly to us in ou circumstances, spoken in this way, the Word of God comes alive to us, releasing our faith.
HOW FAITH WORKS
The principle of faith (Rom. 3:27) is to operate in our lives continually, no matter what the circumstances (II Cor. 5:7, James 1:5-6). It works in the following way:
God gives us Faith (Rom. 1:17; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 12:3)
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Faith comes by a Word from God: Firstly, God encourages us by speaking a ‘word’ relevant to our circumstances.
This may comes as you read the Bible or by hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit inside your spirit. (Rom. 10:17; Gen. 15:3-5; 17:15-21; Jos. 1:8).
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Obedience to the Word: For faith to operate in our situation, we must obey that Word. Faith is ACTIVE, not passive.
Most of God’s promises are conditional – He will do His part, if we do our part. (James 2:17; 1:22-25; Gen. 15:6; Matt. 7:24-27)
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The crisis, or ‘trial of our faith’:
This is a period of testing everything happening around us appears contrary to what God has said, and there seems to be no natural evidence for our believing. At this point, our faith rests completely on God’s Word (what He has spoken to us) I Pet. 1:6-7; Rom. 4:16-21; Psalm 105:17-19.
In faith we cast ourselves on HIS FAITHFULNESS. In our times of doubt and struggle, God is faithful and does not abandon us (II Tim. 2:13). He was faithful to Thomas and Peter when their faith was tested. Jesus didn’t abandon them. (Heb. 13:15)
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The Result: The end result is always victory on the part of the believer.
Bringing glory to God (James 1:2-4, 12; Gen. 21:1-3; Psalm 105:19-22; Acts 3:16; Heb. 613-15; I John 5:4)
