FAITH

Introduction

The vision statement for MICAH TRIBE once again is “to open the doors to our generation.”

Our mandate, as Christians, is to reach out to those who don’t know God. Our job is to tell them about who God is, and why we’re following Him – that is, sharing our testimonies. Whether or not people believe in God or not, is not up to us. When it comes to a decision to follow God, it’s up to them. But we still have a part to play in showing them the way. Hence we’re all here to “open doors”.

In order to open doors, we need keys. The keys in this case are things of which we need to be equipped with. Our first key is FAITH. Faith is fundamental in our Christian life. If it wasn’t for faith, our understanding of who God is and who we are falls apart. Thus, we need to understand what faith is, and how we can apply it. To get this foundation right is critical in preparing ourselves to stand upon our belief and make our testimonies and lives more credible. Let’s get the ball rolling. I’ve found two jokes that are somewhat faith-related:
Great Faith
A nun who works for a local home health care agency was out making her rounds when she ran out of gas. As luck would have it there was a station just down the street. She walked to the station to borrow a can with enough gas to start the car and drive to the station for a fill up.
The attendant regretfully told her that the only can he owned had just been loaned out, but if she would care to wait he was sure it would be back shortly.
Since the nun was on the way to see a patient she decided not to wait and walked back to her car. After looking through her car for something to carry to the station to fill with gas, she spotted a bedpan she was taking to the patient. Always resourceful, she carried it to the station, filled it with gasoline, and carried it back to her car.
As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her car two men walked by. One of them turned to the other and said: "Now that is what I call faith!"
A very faithful Woman
An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout "PRAISE THE LORD!"
Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, "There ain't no Lord!!"
Hard times set in on the elderly lady, and she prayed for GOD to send her some assistance. She stood on her porch and shouted "PRAISE THE LORD. GOD I NEED FOOD!! I AM HAVING A HARD TIME. PLEASE LORD, SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!"
The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, "PRAISE THE LORD."
The neighbour jumped from behind a bush and said, "Aha! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries, God didn't."
The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, "PRAISE THE LORD. He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them. Praise the Lord!"


Part 1: What is FAITH?

Faith is a very broad topic. My objective here is to tell you what faith is, and how we can apply it. I hope that through this sermon, you will hopefully either:

• get a basic understanding of what Christian faith is all about,
• be encouraged in your own faith (understanding some of its foundational concepts), and/or
• develop a confidence to be able to share your own faith.
  

Because one can spend forever explaining faith, these notes will only provide a brief spiel of what it’s all about. As such, many assumptions are made, including but not limited to:

• The existence of God
• The credibility of the Bible
• The resurrection of Jesus
  

We’ll just briefly touch on one of these assumptions: the existence of God.
Like I said, faith is fundamental to the Christian life. Faith in the existence of God constitutes a foundation in the Christian belief.
So how do we know God exists? [1]

• One way to explain is through the Big Bang Theory. One of the most common arguments that a non-believer has, in particular atheists (U5s), is that creation as explained in Genesis, is flawed, and that in fact the Bible is based on many assumptions. Yet, it seems, that the Big Bang Theory is also based on assumptions. All scientific theory is subject to change, as new information is collected. This is proof that our understanding is growing. A new theory, provided it proves more and confirms what is already known, will replace the old theory. The Big Bang Theory seems to be the most up-to-date theory they have. The argument against this is: that whatever begins to exist has a cause. Something (cause) must have happened to bring something else (effect) into existence. Something has to have happened at “time zero”. Scientists call it the Big Bang. But if the universe had a beginning, it must have had a cause. In Christianity, we believe that there is a Creator who is uncaused, immaterial, and unaffected by time. Even atheists believe that things can’t just happen. So it would make sense that there is a Cause for the Big Bang!
• Another case is through The Moral Law. Assuming God does not exist, then morality is simply the product of sociobiological evolution and basically a question of taste of personal preference. Without some kind of higher being to impose a set of moral standards, then there is no absolute right and wrong that imposes itself in our conscience. Deep down, we know that objective moral values do exist.
• The Origin of Life. The evidence is similar to the moral law. Darwinism can offer no credible theory for how life could have emerged naturally from nonliving chemicals. Science explains away that somehow order comes out of chaos. This “somehow” cannot even be quantified, save for some (probably outrageously proven) statistics that say 1 in a million, million of life happening. How they reach conclusions like this is beyond me. Take a look at DNA – the amount of specific information contained in every living cell confirms that there is some Intelligent Designer.
  

Let’s leave it at that. For more in-depth analysis on these assumptions as well as many of the objections against these, read The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel (and if you have time, a previous book by the same author, The Case for Christ).

We are all given a free will. Where we put our faith in is our decision. After all at the end of the day, it’s our responsibility to weigh the evidence, and take the step (or leap) of faith. I’ll leave you with some food for thought from William Lane Craig, a renowned author who has published many books in the Oxford University Press [2]:
“If God does not exist, the life is futile. If the God of the Bible does exist, then life is meaningful. Only the second of these two alternatives enables us to live happily and consistently. Therefore, it seems to me that even if the evidence for these two options were absolutely equal, a rational person ought to choose biblical Christianity. It seems to me positively irrational to prefer death, futility, and destruction to life, meaningfulness and happiness. As Pascal said, we have nothing to lose and infinity to gain.”

Now, what is faith?
In the Bible: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
In the dictionary: “noun 1 complete trust or confidence. 2 strong belief in a religion. 3 a system of religious belief.” – Oxford English Dictionary
Things, for want of a better word, are categorised into: the SEEN and the UNSEEN. We know the things which can be seen exist they are tangible – easily sensed by sight, hearing, taste, touch or smelt. What about the unseen?
The Bible says that faith is “the evidence of things unseen.” It doesn’t have to be biblical. Take the wind for example. You can’t see it, but evidence suggests it is there. Emotions can’t be seen either. Faith is believing something that is intangible exists. In a single statement: faith bridges the gap between the seen and the unseen (or the natural and spiritual/supernatural).
After knowing what faith is, it makes sense to find out what to do about it.



Part 2: How can we apply FAITH? [3]

Let’s take a look at the scene of creation:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. How the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” – Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV)
Here we have God, and we have His Spirit “hovering over the waters.” This can also be paraphrased as “incubating”.
“And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” – Genesis 1:3 (NIV)
The word of creation was spoken and the universe was born.

Revisiting: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
In order to apply faith in our lives, let’s look at the principle of incubation: a simple scenario between a hen and her eggs. Forget who came first! – we’re interested in the face that more eggs, mean more chickens! A hen simply sits on her eggs (the incubation process) until they hatch. The application of faith follows four principles:

#1: In order for us to incubate, we must have a clear goal.
“Faith is the substance of things…”

• In our scenario, these things are the eggs. In our life, these things are our goals.
• DEFINITION: Firstly, we cannot incubate something we cannot see or imagine.
• "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” – Mark 11:23-24 (NKJV)
• Our goals must be clear. Are we specific about our desires?
• DESIRE: Secondly, we cannot incubate something we don’t have the desire to see come to pass.
• “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4 (NIV) Understand that these desires are granted on a premise: that we delight ourselves in the Lord. Paraphrasing, this means according to God’s will. [“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” – 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) ]
• We need to ask ourselves: What are the desires of our heart? …and… how great is our desire?
• Is it a NEED or WANT? A need is a necessity you must have. A want is something that you can do without. Desires here are NEED-related. Note that where the line is drawn between needs and wants is usually not clear-cut. It’s hard to find the distinction, but you will need to know whether this goal will benefit you.
• Is it a long-term goal or a short-term?
• Will it help me grow (or will it develop me)?
• It is a temporal thing that we just need it for a “quick-fix”?
• This desire is our egg, ready for incubation.
  

#2: Visualise the end result of the goal.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for…”

• Just as a hen dreams the chick out of the egg, so we should clearly see the end result of our goal in our vision and dream.
• When you hope for certain things then you can only have a strong vision or dream for that which you have hoped for. If you have not visualised clearly in your heart exactly what you hope for, it cannot become a reality to you.
• Do you really know yourself what you desire?
  

#3: Pray fervently.
“Faith is the substance…”

• To make faith substantial you must have the assurance (confidence, a “launching pad”) in your heart.
• “Substance” – Greek: nupostasis – means “title deed.” A title deed is indicative of property ownership. Likewise, we need to pray to take ownership of our goals.
  

#4: Confession of the mouth.

• A successful incubation comes from a release of faith power through confession of the mouth. Just as evidence of the unseen is reflected in the seen, so a confession of the mouth (seen/heard) is a reflection of the belief in the heart (unseen/unheard).
• “…if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” – Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
• Revisiting: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” – Mark 11:23-24 (NKJV)
• Know that the idea isn’t to simply say random things. Like eggs, goals will take time in the incubation process. It is during this incubation process that our goals align with God’s will.
• God’s Spirit incubated (hovered over) the waters… then the Words were spoken… then Creation happens. Similarly, miracles begin when your goals have been incubated according to God’s plan, and expressed verbally.
• In short, do you desire it or not? Then ask for it!
  

Faith works also by sharing with one another. When you verbalise your testimonies, it will encourage the faith of others. Don’t be afraid to share your testimonies with one another. The day will come when you will need to share it with those who don’t know what faith is!



Part 3: Steps to Developing F.A.I.T.H. [4]

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21(NIV)

Mark Conner shared some lessons he has learnt about faith. He said that the application of FAITH can easily be remembered via its acronym:

Focus on God’s Word.
“…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
“For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” – Hebrews 4:2 (NKJV)
The Word of God, i.e. the Bible, is the tangible evidence we have that God exists.

Ask Largely
“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.” – 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV)
“You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.” – James 4:2 (NKJV)

Insulate Against Fear
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)
Just as faith starts in your heart, so does doubt. Ensure you are feeding the faith, not the doubt!

Take a Step
“…faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” – James 2:17 (NKJV) (see vv. 14-26)
Faith needs to be accompanied with action. Belief itself isn’t worth anything. “Even the demons believe… and fear”, says the Bible.
It doesn’t hurt to start by visualising the answer and acting as if it’s already there!

Hold on!
(See Romans 5:1-5)
There are times when it’s easy to believe everything – times when God’s presence is obvious. Yet there comes a time when the “hype” is gone and our faith level seems to decrease. During these times we need to stand on the Word of God rather than the promises made to us in prayer.



Conclusion: Adding to your Faith

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)

Another (fictitious) story:
God Will Take Care Of Me
There was a very religious man named Jim, who lived near a river. One day, the river rose over the banks and flooded the town, and Jim was forced to climb onto his porch roof. While sitting there, a man in a boat came along and told Jim to get in the boat with him.
Jim said, "No, that's okay. God will take care of me." So, the man in the boat drove off.
The water rose higher, so Jim climbed onto his roof. At that time, another boat came along, and the person in that one told Jim to get in.
Jim replied, "No, that's okay. God will take care of me." The person in the boat then left.
The water rose even more, and Jim climbed onto his chimney. A helicopter came along and lowered a ladder for him. The woman in the helicopter told Jim to climb up the ladder and get in.
Jim said, "That's okay."
The woman said, "Are you sure?"
Jim replied, "Yeah, I'm sure God will take care of me."
Finally, the water rose too high and Jim drowned. Jim got to heaven and was face-to-face with God.
Jim said to God, "You told me that you would take care of me! What happened?"
God replied, "Well, I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What else did you want?"

Final thoughts (moral of the story): know that the way God answers may not be the way you expect. A Creative God will is not limited to your finite expectations. That’s why in Ephesians 3:20 it says that God will do “exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.” Our imaginations are finite, but the possibilities of God are endless. Also understand that God can say no. When He does, it means He’s got a better idea. What’s that idea? Well, it takes faith to keep following Him – and to eventually find out!
Our part is simple: have faith! Even faith “as small as a mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20) is still faith!



Discussion Questions:

1. What are some of the things you cannot see, but know it exists? What are the evidences of their existence?
2. What are some of the objections non-Christians, in particular atheists, have against the fundamentals of God and Christianity? How will you go about explaining your case?
3. “I have faith in you.” “Trust me.” What do people mean when they say these statements? What do they expect?
4. Testimonial: What did you do when God came through for you?
5. Testimonial: What did you do when God said, “No!”?
6. How can you demonstrate your faith this week?
   

Endnotes

[1] STROBEL, Lee; The Case for Faith; Running Press, 2004
[2] CRAIG, William Lane; Reasonable Faith; Wheaton: Crossway, 1984, p. 72
[3] CHO, David Yonggi; The Fourth Dimension; Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1983, pp.17-34
[4] CONNER, Mark; Sermon on “F.A.I.T.H.”; Leaders Summit, Citylife Church (formerly Waverley Christian Fellowship); Tuesday 6th May 2003