Faith
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
Faith may be considered as something that is not tangible, but those who say and believe that are those who do not know the bases of true faith. Faith is as real and tangible as the spirit, but then many do not believe in the spirit. A thought that strikes me is that people who cannot see something, do not believe that it is. Yet they believe there is a dark side of the moon, they believe in the Loch Ness monster, and they believe Big Foot. “Oh well,” they say, “I have faith in that because I or others have seen it.” But this is not faith, it is easy to believe in what is seen, faith is believing in what is not seen. As the Apostle Paul writes, "for we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7) There is no faith in believing in what you can see with your eyes, to believe in something unseen requires faith. Faith is acting on something that at best is improbable and many think impossible. It is hard then to walk in faith if you cannot see the path before you, but then the blind most certainly have faith, would you not say. That faith they express in their walk is most certainly tangible to them.
Faith is a power that people can tap into and use to live astonishing lives with purpose and fruitful success. You can have faith in your own abilities, many do and accomplish much in their lifetime. I often ask these marvelous people what eternal value do these great accomplishments have? Most will answer, "It is the legacy that I will leave behind. It is then I realize they have faith in the success of what they have done and a strong to risk more for greater accomplishment. A high class of gambler they would be. I also realize they have no belief in an eternity, no belief that they are a spiritual being, so they have misused the word faith for hope in the outcome of worldly endeavors. This is not faith either.
To me, faith is a spiritual word, one that has along the way of civilization be misused and interpreted. People get faith and belief confused in their thinking. If I was a minute away from death by starvation and a caring soul placed a bowl of soup in front of me and said eat. I would most certainly believe that if I ate I would be revived. And in my joy of hope through my belief, I testified to all who could hear my belief that if I ate this soup I would live all would agree. In my excitement, I could not help but continue to express my thankfulness and belief in this good deed that had been done for me. As the minute soon passed during my rejoicing in my belief I would drop dead on the table. All that belief would have done me no good without the faith to eat from the bowl of soup. That is the point, I can believe in many things but if I do not have the faith to act upon them it will do me no good.
Jesus said, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." (Matthew 17:20) Now some will argue that this is a figurative statement that Jesus was speaking only of the mountains that come upon you in life. I can agree with that, I have faith that this is true. But I also have faith that this is a literal statement too. I have seen literal mountains move by faith. I have known people in my life of great faith and I have known people with only the faith the size of a mustard seed. The mustard seed may appear small in comparison to other seeds, it may seem small in comparison to some of the great accomplishments of those of great faith. But do not underestimate the power of a faith the size of a mustard seed. It is from this small seed that great faith grows. This was a marvelous statement from our Lord. From the mustard seed, a tree grows to a height of 25+ feet and spanning 20+ feet in width. There is nothing small about a faith the size of a mustard seed except what can be seen of the seed itself. But all faith grows from that seed great and small. Without that faith, it would be impossible to please our Father in Heaven. "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
To have a strong and unmovable faith must be accomplished like anything else in our lives. It must be built upon a solid foundation. It is just not saying “I have faith.” As soon as we say that the adversary of man, that serpent of old, will cause the winds of destruction to blow against the house of faith we have built. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24-25) To have a strong and unmovable faith we must build that faith upon the rock of God's Word, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the rock upon which His Church is built and the gates of Hell shall not prevail. (Matthew 16:18) No one can build a great faith without the Word of God. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)
God’s Word is true and faithful. History has proven time and time again that the Word of God is absolute truth. God’s Word is the power of the universe and beyond. It is God’s Word that created the heavens and the earth.(Genesis 1) King Solomon the son of King David, the wisest man to have ever lived testified to the Word of God at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. "Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant." (1 Kings 8:56) It was God’s Word that became the foundation of the Temple, it is God’s Word that is the foundation of His Church, and it is God’s Word that is the foundation of our faith.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) This verse can be considered as the title deed to everything God has in store for our life lived for Him in His service. How can this be I have been asked? If we pray according to the will and purpose of God for our lives, asking Him for the provision we need to serve Him according to His purpose, then He will reveal it to us in the spirit. From that moment on, whether seen or not we have the assurance that we will have that which we have prayed for. I believe this was how the creation came into being. God is a Spirit. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24) God conceived His creation in the Spirit and then through His Word, Jesus, spoke it into being. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17) If we pray for something and God places the reality of it in our Spirit then we have the conviction that we have it. This is the substance of our faith, this is the assurance that our prayer is answered, and this is the reality that is soon to be manifested in our life. This is my deed to what I have asked for. I have a home in Heaven that Jesus has prepared for me. By my faith, I hold the deed to this home. It is mine, I have the deed of my faith, I have seen it in my spirit and it is real to me. It is built upon the foundation of the Word of God, the Master Carpenter.
Your faith built on the foundation of God’s Word in the title deed for all the possibilities that God has for your life. You can become everything that He created you to become. Both now and forever more. Your deed of faith is good for all of eternity. Your life is His property and the Devil cannot kick you off of His property. Why, because God loves you! "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
Jesus came for the purpose to reconcile you unto God by paying the debt of the sin in your life. He has wiped the slate clean with His blood and you will never have to pay that debt. Believe upon His name and have faith in His Word and you will live the abundant life. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10) God, the Father is your provider and He will take care of you. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33) With a faith build on the foundation of God’s Word your spiritual house will stand the test of the eternal time that lays vastly ahead of you. You have this promise from the only One that is faithful and true. "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3)
Thomas N Kirkpatrick
First Baptist Church of Durant February 8, 2015
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR
This article has been read 455 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.