OVERCOMING FAITH!

Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

I. WHAT IS FAITH?
Everything in the Christian life comes through faith! The scriptures tell us that without it, it is impossible to please God. Therefore we need to understand it thoroughly. So just what is faith?

BIBLICAL FAITH IS A “HEART” CONFIDENCE AND TRUST IN THE PERSON AND PROMISES OF GOD THAT LEADS TO DECIDED ACTION.

Why “decided action’? Because a faith in God that does not lead to action is no faith at all.

James 2:17
In the same way faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action is dead.

Why “heart” confidence? Simply believing with the mind or agreeing that the Word is true, is not enough. That is simply mental assent or agreement.

Rom 10:10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Mental assent agrees that God’s word is true, but it is not grabbing a hold of it with the heart. For instance, mental assent says. “I believe that God can heal, but why is it that I am not healed yet?” Heart faith says “God’s word says I am healed, so I am. The promise is mine. I have it now! Even though I don’t see it yet.”

Mark 11:22 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

The Difference Between Faith And Hope.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Therefore, faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is not hope itself. Faith is a present reality. Hope is future oriented. Hope perceives things that lie ahead. But faith is in the present. Faith acts on the present tense. Saying, “I hope I will be saved”, “I hope I will be healed”, “I hope I will be delivered”, is not faith. Faith is saved, is healed, and is delivered by acting on the promise of God.


THE VALUE OF FAITH IS BASED ON ITS OBJECT.
The value of faith is based on the object of that faith. For instance, suppose I was alone on a business trip, and upon telling a friend that my wife is at home alone, he comments, “My, you have great faith”. That would be an insult to my wife! No my faith isn’t so great, my wife is! Now if that should be the case in our closest family relationships. How much more in an omnipotent, perfect being like God?

1. The Person of God
God is good, faithful, omnipresent, omnipotent, and true. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy.

2. The Word of God
Because God himself is faithful and true, so are His promises.

Faith is not Mental Gymnastics
Belief removed from the truth is not faith. Believing in a lie, believing in "the word of your own imagination", or even the "word of Satan", is deception. Calling this deception "faith" does not make it so.

A.W. Tozer: "I do not recall another period when "faith" was as popular as it is today. If only we believe hard enough we'll make it somehow. So goes the popular chant. What you believe is not important. Only believe. What is overlooked in all this is that faith is good only when it engages truth; when it is made to rest upon falsehood it can and often does lead to eternal tragedy. For it is not enough that we believe; we must believe the right thing about the right One.


GOD COMMANDS US TO HAVE FAITH.
Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

God says that, without faith, it is impossible for us to please him. So in order to please God, we must be living by faith. This cannot be overstated.


GOD SHOWS US HOW TO ACQUIRE FAITH
Rom 10:17 Consequently faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

God has told us that faith is necessary, but he has also told us how to get it: Through the Word of God. So if we don’t have faith we can’t blame God. We must hear the word of God.

Acts 14:8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.


The crippled man was not healed because he was anything special. He did three things.

First he listened to the Word that Paul preached.
Secondly, he had faith in that word.
Thirdly, Paul gave him the opportunity to act on that faith.

He did, and was healed by God. How important it is for the Word of God to be communicated so that faith can be exercised!