Faith

The subject of this paper is faith. This paper is based on a teaching that I did a number of years ago to a men’s prayer breakfast. The intent of the message is the same now as it was then, get you the reciepent of the message to think about the power of your faith. I’m not takling about your religion. I’m talking about your belief system.

Thank you,
Fred

First of all this is a message to Christians. If you have not accepted Jesus The Christ as your personal savior, this message will probably not be of much value to you. If you are of one of the religions that are based on the One God, Jehova (Yahew) you will recognise the stories. This should give you something to think about.

The faith that was required for your salvation is the same faith that will save your life, heal your body, protect your family, feed your children and pay your bills.

Let’s examine faith for a moment. Faith may be defined as: belief, confidence, dependence, desire, hope or trust. Hebrews 11:1(KJV) says "Now faith is the substance, (ground or confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

The Holy Bible is filled with faith. The Old Testament only uses the word faith twice, the word belief occurs only 30 times. Yet the books of the Old Testament are full of demonstrations of faith.

There was the faith of Abraham who was promised a son in his old age. His weakness gave him Ishmael; his faith gave him Isaac.

The faith of Noah caused him to spend over a hundred years, in ridicule, building an ark against a rain the likes of which the world had never seen.

The faith of Joseph carried him from a well to the second highest office in all of Egypt, that he might save his family and the children of God.

It was the faith of Moses’ parents that caused him to be raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. It was the faith of Moses that caused him to suffer the affliction of the desert rather a soft life as the ‘son of Pharaoh’s daughter’.

It was faith that saved the Hebrews at the Passover, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

It was faith that caused the walls of Jericho to fall. It was by faith that Rahab was saved. It was the faith of David that made ‘him a man after God’s own heart’. It was the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that saved them from the fiery furnace. It was Daniel’s faith that closed the Lion’s mouths. These are only a few of the cases sited in the Old Testament. What about the New Testament?

In Acts 3:1-10 we see the faith of Peter and John at the gate of the temple called Beautiful where the man crippled from birth is made ambulatory. It was faith that caused Ananias to go to Saul of Tarsus as he was directed by the Lord. The faith of many of the disciples is well documented. Let us look at the faith of some less well known people.

There was a leper in Matthew 8:2 who was cleansed by faith. There was the centurion that called upon Jesus to heal his servant. (Matt 8:5) By his expression of faith the servant was healed from a far distance. Jesus did not physically see or touch the man. In Matthew 8:10 Jesus expresses his astonishment saying "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

In Matthew 9:2 Some men brought Jesus a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

In Matthew 9:20-22 Jesus’ cloak was touched by the woman with an issue of blood. Her faith healed her, in Jesus own words, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

The faith of the two blind men in Matthew 9:27-29 that were healed according to their faith. In each of the gospels there are men and women mentioned without names. They were not great biblical scholars, great men and women of righteousness or even towers of religious strength. They were just common people with faith. They applied their faith and they were healed. Others were healed by the faith of a believer.

When Jesus was in his hometown he could not do many miracles because of their lack of faith. Matthew13: 58. In Matt.15: 25-31 we see Peter’s faith wanes, being replaced by fear, he begins to sink in the water.

Our lives are filled with acts of faith. We drive our cars at forty-five miles-an-hour on our city’s streets. We have faith that our brakes can stop us. We put our names and the names of our friends and love ones on the prayer list in faith that they will be healed.

We gather together to exercise our faith. Our faith can be compared to a muscle; if you don’t exercise it a muscle will atrophy and wither. Exercise your faith, watch it grow. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. As we go over our prayer list, remember it is your faith that will cause the healing. Your faith that Jesus is alive. Your faith that your prayer is all that is required for the Father to heal those that are in need.

James 5:13-16 in the NIV reads: Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

The faith that was required for your salvation is the same faith that will save your life, heal your body, protect your family, feed your children and pay your bills.

We all have been given the faith for it. It’s time to exercise it.