I had faith that when I sat down that this chair would not break, and if it had I would have been surprised. That trust and confidence came from never having a chair break before. This is natural faith. We see that we all have a form of faith. I believe that when we are born, God imparted faith as part of our character. Faith can be broken, and mistrust will take its place when we are let down, lied to, and deceived. This is why we are at the place where our faith is in God, not in man. Christian faith is imparted to us by The Holy Spirit when we are born again.
A. HOW DO WE GET IT?
Spiritual faith comes from God. God gives faith. Man receives faith.
(Rom 12:3 NIV) “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you”.
Phil 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him,
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith‑‑and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God‑‑
There is no relationship with God apart from faith…no praying successfully without faith…we cannot even initiate the faith process without God’s help.
Example: Man is totally helpless, dead in sin. God has many gifts for man, from salvation through eternity. We do not even have the ability to receive them.
God comes to us with the gift that enables us to receive all other gifts…The Measure of Faith.
(Gal 3:22‑23 NIV) “But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. {23} Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.“
(Rom 5:8 NIV) “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Therefore, God is the beginning of salvation. From Him comes faith also enabling us to believe.
Faith doesn’t struggle, it rests… in God.
True faith rests in The Promises of God in the face of contradicting circumstances. If you are fearful or in panic, it’s not real faith. You can tell if you are operating in faith, that is, if you are at peace.
1. FAITH AND THE WORD:
God uses several different ways to impart faith to us. One is The Word of God.
a. We gain faith by hearing God’s Word:
(Rom 10:17 NIV) “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through The Word of Christ.” It does not say that it comes from having heard. It is the listening heart, in the present tense, that is ready for heaven’s deposit of faith.
The whole nature of faith implies a relationship with God that is current. The emphasis is on hearing, in the now. We need to have ears to hear what God is speaking to us today.
b. Wherever the Word is preached, it causes man to have faith:
(Acts 6:7 NIV) “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
(Col 1:5‑6 NIV) “the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in The Word of Truth, The Gospel {6} that has come to you. All over the world this Gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.“
c. The faith filled preaching of God’s Word produce faith:
(Heb 13:7 NIV) “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.“
d. The Word of God cannot fail to produce faith:
(Isa 55:11 NIV) “so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.“
2. FAITH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT:
The means by which God imparts faith is through The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit imparts faith to our spirits… How? By the seed that is planted in our hearts. He will cause it to reproduce after its own kind.
The Holy Spirit lives in our spirit. That is the place of communion with God. As we learn to receive from our spirits, we learn how to be Spirit led.
Most of you had this experience- you’ve been reading the Bible and a verse comes alive to you. There is great excitement over this verse that seems to give so much life and encouragement to you. Yet initially, you couldn’t understand or explain the verse. Your spirit received the life-giving Power of The Word from The Holy Spirit. When we learn to receive from our spirit, our mind becomes the student and is therefore subject to The Holy Spirit. Through the process of revelation and experience, our mind eventually obtains understanding. That is Biblical learning – the spirit giving influence to the mind. Faith comes from a relationship.
(John 3:6 NIV) “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
(John 14:26 NIV) “But the Counselor, The Holy Spirit, whom The Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
(John 15:26 NIV) “”When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from The Father, The Spirit of Truth who goes out from The Father, He will testify about Me.”
(1 Cor 12:8‑9 NIV) “To one there is given through The Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, {9} to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that One Spirit,”
(Rom 1:11‑12 NIV) “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong‑‑ {12} that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”
a. The Biblical role of believers with one another:
Loving:
(2 Th 1:3-4 NIV) We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. {4} Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.@
Call others to faith:
(Rom 1:5 NIV) “Through Him and for His Name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”
Speak to encourage one another:
(1 Th 3:2 NIV) “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading The Gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,”
(1 Cor 14:31 NIV) For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.
Pray for one another:
(Luke 22:32 NIV) “But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.“”
(1 Th 3:10 NIV) “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”
b. Some people will NOT encourage our faith
(2 Tim 4:14‑15 NIV) “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. {15} You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.”
c. Even other believers will let us down:
(1 Tim 1:19 NIV) “Holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.”
d. Our faith is in God (it is not in a concept, a cause, a movement, an experience, or a human). Our faith is in God, not in man. This is why we never look to men, their faith or their deeds. Men fail. Only God never fails. This is why our faith never rests in men, but only in God.
(Mark 11:22 NIV) “”Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.”
(Eph 3:12 NIV) “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
(Jer 29:11 NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares The LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
e. He assures us of His goals for our lives; that they are positive and uplifting, they are for our good. God cannot lie! We place our faith in the Character that He displays.
(Num 23:19 NIV) “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He Promise and not fulfill?”