Fundamental of Christianity 2 / Training Center / Next Lesson / Previous Lesson / Home / Testing Center
Elements of Faith
Fundamentals of Christianity 2
Lesson 9
Faith is belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. It is believing something you cannot see. You have no proof of it but nonetheless, you believe it.If we have faith, we believe when we pray that our prayer is as good as answered, we now wait expectantly for the manifestation of the answered prayer. It may not come immediately but we believe it will come. We still may feel the pain of the illness for example but we know we are healed because God's word promises healing. We know the sickness has no choice but to bow it's knee to the name of Jesus and that the pain will go.
Faith doesn't look at the circumstances, the bigness of the problem but rather it looks at, and perceives the bigness of our God and of his goodness. We see the circumstance changing by God's power before it changes. This is faith. If we only believe after we see, it is not faith but rather it is sight. We have a God so powerful, so wonderful, so gracious that we can dare to believe before we see!
Faith is how the entire kingdom of God works. Everything you receive from God will come only by your faith, beginning with your salvation. You don't have to pay for it, you don't have to work for it, all you have to do is believe and whatever you need from God is yours! The Christian life is a life of faith in God from beginning to end. No other religion in the world is like Christianity!
But, you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in Him. Romans 4:5
God has given us all a measure of faith, but we can increase our faith. Today we will discuss how to increase the measure of faith God has given us.
..according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Rom 12:3b
Faith is also one of the fruit of the Spirit of God. When you were born-again you received the Holy Spirit and one of the things He brings to you is faith. Faith along with all the other fruit resides within you. You only have to choose to live out the fruit of the spirit. They are yours to make you more like your daddy, God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith meekness temperance: against such, there is no law. Galations 5:22-23
We can lean how to build our faith by looking at the elements of faith:1. Knowledge and understanding of God's character, His ways and His will.
We learn these things by His word and intimate time with Him. How can we know what to believe God for unless we first hear His word?
God's word is like seeds of faith. Our heart is the soil. When we hear the word of God, it is planted into our hearts. Satan, through the struggles of life will try to steal the word of God from our heart. If he is able to, we produce no harvest of faith to believe for whatever we need from God. Remember, everything we receive from God we receive through faith, in other words, we must believe in order to receive.
If we stand firm and continue to plant God's word into our heart we will grow very strong in faith and be able to receive every thing we need from God by that faith. For example if we need a healing, we plant God's word concerning His promises for healing into our hearts. If we do not allow the devil or life to steal that word from us, it will grow into a huge harvest of faith for healing and we or the person we are believing for will be healed. To get a better understanding of this read all of Mark chapter four. This is a very important parable concerning how the kingdom of God operates. Jesus said if we cannot understand this parable we will not understand any of the parables.
Again Jesus said: God's kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how. It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. Mark4:26-28
2. Love and compassionLove and compassion are important elements of faith. Faith works by love according to Galations 5:6. God looks at the motives of our heart. What is our motive for the things we ask of God? Is it our love or compassion for people? When we act out of love or seek things from God out of love, our mind is one with His, because His every motive is love. He wants our motive to be love too. You will notice many times that before Jesus performed a miracle, the Bible specifically says that Jesus had compassion. His desire to perform a miracle was always out of love for people. We must also be motivated by love in order to be full of faith.
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith works by love. Galatians 5:6
So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. Matthew 20:34
And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14:14
We are commanded to be kind to each other and have compassion for others. When we do, we are one with God and we are praying for His perfect will to be done. When our motives are pure our faith will soar. How can our prayers not be answered? Love is the key to a successful life in Christ.
And finally, all [of you* be of] one mind, sympathetic, loving [one another] as brothers [and sisters], compassionate, friendly; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but on the contrary, giving a blessing, knowing that for this [reason] you were called, so that you shall inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9
3. Boldness, courage, absence of fear - fear of man and fear of failure are important elements in having faith.Being a man or woman of faith takes boldness and courage. We have to get rid of all fear. Fear is the exact opposite of faith. It is faith's enemy. It is impossible to have faith and fear at the same time unless it is a reverent fear of God, which does not work against our faith.
Two of the most powerful fears are fear of failure and fear of man.
Fear of failure: We may be afraid of disappointment if our prayers are not answered in the time and the way we expect them to be. We may be afraid of letting others down. We may be afraid of embarrassing ourselves. These issues are resolved as we get to know the character of God, His will and His ways. As we study his word and His ways more and more faith will overtake all fear. We must realize it is not us that does the miracles but God. Our part is to believe and step out in faith declaring God's word and His promises then expect to see God move powerfully. God cannot lie, His promises will come to pass if we believe.
Fear of man: We may be afraid to step out in faith because we are afraid of what others will say or think about us. If we want to be powerful for God, we cannot care what anyone thinks about us but God. We must be God pleasers rather than man pleasers. The Bible says, "if God be for you, who can be against you"? What can man do for you? Very little, but is there anything God cannot do for you? No, nothing!
4. Resolve, determination to stand, stubbornness and intolerance of evil are important elements of our faith.
To be a person of faith takes determination and resolve. We must boldly declare what side of the fence we are on and stay there with determination. We must read God's word and make a firm decision to believe it and stand by it with bulldog tenacity, knowing that it is the truth. Faith is not being moved by what we see, hear or feel but making our decisions based on what we know from God's word.
5. Action: Faith without action is no good.
If you really believe something, it will cause you to act out that belief. Faith will also cause you to speak words of faith rather than words of doubt. Pay attention to what is coming out of your mouth. It is words of faith or words of doubt? Make your mouth line up with God's word. Does your actions show your faith in God's word? If you really do have faith in a certain promise of God, your actions will speak that faith.
Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless? How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. Can't you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions. And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend. You see, then, that it is by our actions that we are put right with God, and not by our faith alone. It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road. So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead. James 2:20-26
Simple trust is beyond faith. Trust can be a simple child like trust. One that doesn't have to understand things, but still trust's. Many times a brand new Christian will have this child like faith. It is very pleasing to God and the kind of faith we must have in order to be saved. Trust can also be one that is developed after years of intimate relationship with God. It is a quiet, easy, mature faith. It has been tested and tried with years of answered prayer and gained knowledge. Trust whether childlike or after years of experience with God, will cause all your prayers to be answered. This faith or trust is what God is looking for when we pray.Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
They who trust in Jehovah shall be like Mount Zion; it is not shaken, but remains forever. Psalm 125:1
Satan will try to tear your faith down. He knows if we put our trust in God it is like a shield to him and he cannot hurt us. There will be times that God will test our faith. God knows on what level our faith is but He wants us to see where it is and work on growing it. We must stand strong; we never know when our faith is being tested or even under demonic attack.
In closing, faith is what unleashes God's hand to bless you. It is the key to unlocking the tremendous resources of heaven for your use. More than anything God wants to pour out His goodness on us. He wants us to trust Him without reserve.
Weekly Challenges:
Scripture Memorization: As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of Jehovah is tried; He is a shield to all those who trust in Him. Psalm 18:30
L.O.V.E. Challenge: Show your neighborhood your faith in God by serving your community this week-end at the Easter outreach at the Shell Street Park. This is your faith in action and is a true example of selfless love for others.
Scripture Reading: Read a chapter of the Bible each day working your way through the New Testament.
Prayer: Pray at least 20 minutes daily. Continue to make worship a daily part of your prayer time