The implication of faith is that we will not have everything under our own control. Faith implies that we do not understand everything and that we are not able to do everything. If we could control, understand, and do all things then we would not need faith. But it is not like that. WE NEED FAITH. However, sometimes the way of faith does not seem like the best way. It may not make sense to us, or we may not understand. The life of faith is not easy, but life without faith is impossible.
Example: A man was climbing a mountain. He fell. He grabbed a branch. He desperately hung onto the branch and yelled for help.
Man: Is there somebody up there?
Voice: Yes…I am here.
Man: Who is it?
Voice: It is the Lord.
Man: Lord…help me!
Voice: Do you trust me?
Man: Yes Lord. I trust you completely.
Voice: Now…let go of the branch.
Man: What?
Voice: I said let go of the branch.
Man: (after a long pause) Is there somebody else up there?
A. BIBLE DEFINITION OF FAITH
Read Heb 11:1
(Heb 11:1 NIV) “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
(Heb 11:1 KJV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
a. (“being sure“= “hupostasis” in Greek) The meaning of “hupostasis”- being sure, confidence, substance, essence, foundation, guarantee, right of property. In the amplified translation, it says “a title deed”
b. Faith is your right of property with respect to your place in eternity and inheritance in Christ.
c. There are two different realms or realities: the natural realm and the supernatural realm; the seen and the unseen realm (2 Cor 4:18-5:1 NIV) “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. {1} now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
Faith is looking into the unseen realm where The Kingdom of God is. All the resources of God, the provisions of the Cross and every benefit of redemption are already available for us, and they are in the supernatural realm.
d. The invisible realm is superior to the natural. The reality of that invisible world dominates the natural world we live in, both positively and negatively. Because the invisible is superior to the natural, faith is anchored (or attached) in the unseen.
Unbelief is anchored (or attached) in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. Unbelief is faith in the lesser or lower realm. The natural realm is the anchor of unbelief.
e. Faith lives within the Revealed Will of God. Faith is the belief in God without questions (Heb 11:6)
f. Faith is both substance and evidence.
Substance is something that is tangible – that which you can hold on to. The substance of our faith is the Word of God, the unseen realm where The Kingdom of God is.
Example: If you go to a restaurant and order pizza (or any food), they will give you a number and a receipt. As you find your table to sit down, you place that number in a place where it can easily be seen. Someone may walk in and announce that they won’t give you any pizza. But you will just point to the number and tell him, “When pizza number 33 is done, it’s mine.” That number is the substance of the pizza hoped for. If that guy tells you that your number isn’t any good, you’ll point to your receipt. It verifies the value of the number. When your pizza is done, the waiter will walk around looking for your number
How does the product or benefits of heaven know where to be delivered? God looks for FAITH – the substance, the validity which is contained in The Word of God. It verifies our right to receive The Promise.
g. Faith is knowing and believing the Truth in Rom 8:28. NIV “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
1. Faith understands that the process may not be perfect.
2. At times the process may include things that are not “good”.
3. However, the end result will be good.
h. Faith must come from the Commandment of God. It must be based on obedience. Faith that is not based on the Commandment of God is presumption or merely guess work.
i. The direction of faith is toward the future, but the action of faith is in the present. NOW FAITH IS… If it’s not now, it’s not faith.
j. Faith is the combination of confidence and hope because faith is the combination of the present and the future.
1. Confidence is in the present (the now part)
2. Hope is in the future.
3. See the following diagram.
FAITH
Assurance things hoped for
Heb 11:1
The present the future
Confidence hope
Faith= confidence +hope
k. Through faith the following things happen:
1. The mind trusts in God
2. The heart responds to the love of God
3. The will submits to the commands of God
4. The spirit obeys in the service of God
l. Faith is a paradox…it goes beyond reason.
1. Faith believes without understanding “Why?”
2. Faith sings in the jail (Acts 16:25 NIV) “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
3. Faith rejoices in tribulation (Rom 5:2‑4 NIV) “through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of The Glory of God. {3} Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; {4} perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
4. Faith chooses to endure ill treatment (Heb 11:25 NIV) “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”
5. Faith accepts that God is working all things together for us who believe. (Phil 1:12 NIV) “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance The Gospel”.
m. Faith is a perception – a belief – it is to perceive as reality that which is not revealed to the senses (“the conviction of things not seen” ‑‑ (Heb 11:1 and 2 Cor 4:18)
n. Sin is the opposite of faith: (Rom 14:23 NIV) “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”
1. FAITH is natural according to the plan of God (Heb 11:3 NIV) “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s Command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
2. SIN is not natural according to the plan of God (Rom 1:26‑27 NIV) “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. {27} in the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”