Faith Comes by Hearing and hearing by the Word of God
Why do we need to talk about faith?
Mt. 13:3-9 Sower & Seed Parable
To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. - St. Thomas Aquinas
WHAT IS FAITH? - RELATIONSHIP
Greek: pistis - belief, conviction, but also a pledge of loyalty - faithfulness
Hebrews 11:1 - Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen
WE ARE THE EVIDENCE OF THE UNSEEN GOD!
1. Faith is not power to do magic - Real faith is power from God to stay loyal to God, no matter what.
-Luke 10:20 - However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Luke 17:6 - He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you.
-This was a metaphor for being able to uproot things in our lives that stand in the way of our relationship with God. That is why we need faith - to become faithful, to be loyal in our relationship with Christ.
GOD CARES MORE ABOUT CHARACTER THAN CHARISMA
2. Faith is for losers - faith is for people who desire to lose their lives in Christ and follow him, not for people who want to be great.
Luke 9:24 - Whoever desires to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
3. Faith is not about earthly success but heavenly reward- God did not come to make us successful but to set us free. If you become successful, great. Abundant life requires heavenly perspective Mt. 6:19-21, JOHN 10:10
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him
-This word please means to be accepted. God’s love does have conditions. It requires faith. Christ told Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep. That if means there is a condition. Pleasing God means listening to and responding to God.
HOW DO WE GET IT?
Faith Comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17)
Greek: rhema - implies a direct charge from God for our individual lives
-God wants to speak directly two you...
Two streams are always flowing into our lives: God’s and the World’s
Daily Reading: We are quick to forget the words of God when we don’t read them.
God Does not have to repeat Himself, we have to remind ourselves: Now, God’s word reveals itself to us in to different ways: There is Logos – God’s word to all his people and Rhema – God’s specific word to us. As we listen to God’s general word, that is when we also hear specifics from him about our lives and about what he wants us to do. What has God spoken to you in the past? God expects us to guard His word in our hearts: When God speaks, He makes us managers of His word. Guard His word in your heart. Compromise clogs our ears: God wants us to forgive, or to stop doing something that is questionable, but we won’t and, since we won’t listen to God in that area of our lives, we tend not to hear Him in others, and we fulfill the prophecy of being ever hearing but never understanding concerning God’s will for our lives ( see Mark 4:12).Often times, we become cynical about faith, cause us to doubt, because we have tried to mix faith and compromise. We have become confused, defeated and, consequently, embittered. God still wants to speak truth into your life: It doesn’t matter what we have done or how long we have failed to listen – God is waiting to speak His will into our lives. What does it take to hear from God after not hearing for a while? HEBREWS 12:1-2 God is a jealous God and He does not want to compete for our attention. Are you willing throw off the weight of this world’s influences and listen to God?
Hebrews 3:15 - Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
