John 14:6

...Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Faith

Faith

What is faith?

If we go to Webster's Dictionary, faith is described as:
faith \"fÀth\ n, pl faiths \"fÀths, "fÀthz\ [ME feith, fr. OF feid, foi, fr. L fides] 1 : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty 2 : belief and trust in God 3 : complete trust
(c)2000 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
(There is a 4th part of the definition, but since it talks about "religious" beliefs, let's skip it)

Faith is the basis for our belief in God and eternal salvation through His Son, Jesus.

Faith is the cornerstone of our walk with Jesus-the thing that keeps us going through brightest day, or darkest night. Faith is an integral part of our salvation, for we are saved by grace through FAITH : For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Eph 2:8-9

We live by faith: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17, Hab 2:4

We have access to The Throne of God through faith: Through Him we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice on the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:2

We are healed by faith: Matthew 9:2, 9:22, 9:29, 15:28, Mark 5:34, 10:52, Luke 8:48. (AND MANY OTHER SCRIPTURES!)

We can do great & mighty things by faith: And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there. And it shall move. And nothing shall be impossible to you. Matthew 17:20

We can by used by God by stepping out in FAITH: And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. And, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make an ark of cyprus timbers. You shall make rooms in the ark. And you shall pitch it inside and outside with pitch. And this is the way you shall make it. The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it shall be fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window in the ark, and you shall finish it above to a cubit. And you shall set the door of the ark in the side of it. You shall make it with lower, second and third stories. And behold! I, even I, am bringing a flood of waters upon the earth in order to destroy all flesh (in which is the breath of life) from under the heavens. Everything which is in the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you. And you shall come into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. And you shall bring into the ark two of every kind, of every living thing of all flesh, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive; of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind. And take for yourself all food that is eaten, and you shall gather for yourself. And it shall be for food, for you and for them. Noah did so, according to all that God commanded him, so he did. Genesis 6:13-22

Think about Noah. He listened to God. He didn't know what rain was-it hadn't rained before. He didn't know what an ark was. He took a long time to build something that had never been built before, and took ridicule from all the people who lived near him. He had to build a HUGE thing gather all the materials, make his own tools, and use plans that weren't printed on blueprints. No Home Depots around for convenience! He preached for HUNDREDS of years. NOBODY listened, yet he had the faith to listen to God, bring his family & the animals into the ark, and was then SAVED!

Let's talk about Abraham, one of the greatest fathers of the faith.
Among MANY other things Abraham did in faith, the one we will highlight is the walk up Mt. Moriah with Isaac.

And it happened after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Behold me. And He said, Take now your son, your only one, Isaac, whom you love. And go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to you. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, You stay here with the ass. And I and the boy will go on to this way and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand, and a knife. And they both went together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they both went together. And they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. And he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And the Angel of Jehovah called to him from the heavens and said, Abraham! Abraham! And he said, Here am I. And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, nor do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked. And, behold, a ram behind him was entangled in a thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Will See; so that it is said until this day, In the mount of Jehovah it will be seen. And the Angel of Jehovah called to Abraham out of the heavens the second time, and said, I have sworn by Myself, says Jehovah; because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one; that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies. And in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. Genesis 22:1-18

Abraham had the FAITH to go up that mountain with his one & only son, Isaac. He even told his servants that he AND the boy would be back. The writer of Hebrews even says that Abraham had faith to believe that even if he killed Isaac, the God would & could raise him up from the dead. (Hebrews 11:17-19)



Faith in The Living God has saved MANY from eternal destruction & damnation.
Faithful servants such as Enoch, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Daniel, Isaiah, Mary, Elizabeth, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, and MANY others who gave their all, AND their lives for God should be examples for all believers.

We should, however ALWAYS look to Jesus, who is the author & finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Here's something to think about. How firm is your faith? Is it built on a solid foundation? Or-Is it built on Christ, the solid Rock?

Is your faith built on empty promises, or is it built on the promises of our Savior, Jesus Christ?

Is your faith built on the promises of things in this world, this life-or is it built on the promises of things yet to come?

Is your faith built on Christ Jesus, or some other person, organization or entity?

Remember: Seeing is not believing, believing is seeing.
Faith is believing-plain & simple.

Can I get an AMEN?

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