THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH - PART 1

THE LIFESTYLE OF FAITH - PART 1

Hebrews 11:1 “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

Matthew 8:10 “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, ands said unto them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel”.

Hallelujah! We thank God for another new week. It shall indeed be a most inspiring week for us all. Amen. 

We have all heard of the word Faith from the scriptures, both the old and new testament. The Word Faith is mentioned over 400 times in the NLT version and over 300 times in the King James version of the Bible, to tell of how important this word is unto us. But this does not matter if we have no understanding of what Faith really is. We understand that Faith is a force of distinction. We see this in Hebrews 11 from the lives of saints and biblical patriarchs who have gone before us. Verse 33-34 talks about this more clearly “who through Faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword...” However, we must know that the understanding of any subject matter is what makes us outstanding in it. Take away the place of understanding from the life of a man, and He is left standing alone to be destroyed. Proverbs 21:15 “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead”. Hosea 4:6 stresses this further; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”. We see here, these are His people-you and I. This tells or shows unto us the value God has placed on knowledge; the importance He has ascribed unto the place of understanding. He says in His word “because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee”. God Forbid! Therefore, it is very important that we give much attention to the place of Understanding. 

This week we will be considering the Faith of our Fathers- the Faith that made the likes of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Jehoshaphat, Samson, Gideon, David and so on. We will see from the perspective of the Bible-Based Faith i.e. Faith given to us from the word of God. Romans 10:17 says ‘So then Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God”. There is no other approach to this dimension of Faith but through the constant study of God’s word. We see this in the life of Abraham. The Bible makes us to understand that through Faith He laid hold on the promises (Romans 4: 3,22); but how did He exercise this faith? He did it in the understanding of the Word of God. Verse 20-21 “He staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, he was able to perform”. We must understand by now that God’s words are His promises. He says what HE promises and He promises what HE says. Thus, Faith or Bible-Based Faith is gotten on the platform of us receiving the Word. The Bible in Luke 1:45 “Blessed is she that believeth for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her of the Lord”. To believe is to have Faith. As such, if we must see prophecies come to fulfillment in our lives as believers, then we must have Faith. 

The anchor verse in Hebrews tells us what Faith really is. Faith is the substantial evidence of things we hope for and the things which are not yet seen. Biblically, we can say Faith is the opposite of you seeing. The Bible in 2Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by Faith, not by sight”. Your immediate condition does not look like it, but you are trusting in the Lord. It does not look like the answers are in view, but you have no doubt that they will come. This is all Faith-that ticket of Assurance. Faith does not look at your capacity to perform; it focuses more on the efficacy of God to perform. It goes beyond what our imaginations as man may be; it just goes on trusting in the One who has spoken the Word. Now we see, we cannot separate Faith from God’s words. Did Abraham not hear that he will be the Father of many generations or in him shall all the families of the earth be blessed? but He never became that prophecy until much later. The Bible makes us understand that for him, it was a hopeless situation (Romans 4:19 “he considered not his own body now dead neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb”), still he continued trusting in the Lord; hoping in Him who is able to do all things He has said. Even when he was still told; now sacrifice this son whom you have waited so long to have, yet He did according to God’s word. What more is Faith? Believing when situations around you convince you otherwise. “Faith is putting God’s word to work, believing God is not a man. He says what He means and He means what He says”.

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THE MEN THAT LEAD

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