We Have Come This Far By Faith, Part One, What is Faith?

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory." ~ Romans 5:2 (NLT)

Why we need faith in God. 

Gen. 4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” 13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

Outside of God's plan, people look like Cain, who disobeyed God and did things his way, “A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”Cain recognized his condition, “I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth.”

Fugitive Hebrew definition: “to quiver, shake, reel, stagger, wander, move, sift, waver, tremble”

Vagabond Hebrew definition: “to move to and fro, wander aimlessly, take flight, run away

What is faith? Faith has two definitions: 

1. Passive Faith or faith as a brand: our doctrine or beliefs, such as Christian faith, Catholic faith, etc.
2. Active Faith or faith as a lifestyle in Christ: Acting on God's promise and word. Jesus is the word. 

Matthew 9:2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Certainly, you must have "faith" in order to "faith." If you don't have a relationship with Christ and a firm foundation in correct Bible doctrine, you can't have active faith. 

To win a football game, you just can't firs focus on catching the long pass for a touchdown. You begin with training, practice, learning all the plays, being in top condition. (Show Patrick Mahomes 3 and 15 play)

People want to God to honor their prayers and faith, but have no foundation with Christ and in the Word. 

 

The prayer of faith is not magic like waving your hand a saying "Abracadabra" or "Simon Says."

When the Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God," it is not talking about belonging to a faith, as in a church or religion. The text is not saying "Without being a member of XYZ church it is impossible to please God."

From time to time, we heard statements like "Faith leaders" gathered. That's a reference to Christians, Jews, and Muslims and getting together. Such gathers can serve a purpose.

However, what we need is leaders living by faith, following Christ, and doing the Word.

The second half of the verse explains it, "because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

How Does Faith Come?

Rom. 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

How does (active) faith come and grow?

Passive Listening • Passive means, “not active, but acted upon.” Passive people are generally sluggish and disengaged—believing that “whatever will be, will be.” Passive listeners only “perk up” when something is said that has the promise of easing their burdens or bringing more comfort into their lives.

A passive listener is the kind of person who ignores the importance of changing the oil in his automobile every 3000-5000 miles. Passive listeners tend to take action when trouble arises. Passive listeners tend not to act until they are acted upon. Passive listeners labor under a great number of self-inflicted problems.

Convenient Listening • Convenient is defined as, “Situated within easy reach.” The convenient listener only applies his heart to hear when the information or task is within easy reach. The best things in life are not usually within easy reach. We should not live with a sense of entitlement. We should live with a sense of purpose and responsibility. 

Jesus says something that sounds strange on first hearing, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (John 11:12). He was not talking about physical violence in this text. He was talking about being willing to take action. We call it being “proactive.” Convenient listeners do not embrace this approach to life.

Critical Listening • The word “critical” is defined as, “exhibiting the spirit of one who looks for and points out faults and defects.” Communication often fails because of critical listening that is more concerned about finding faults than in understanding the content and meaning of the message. Critical listeners are not motivated to learn and grow. Critical listeners often develop a self-righteous attitude that seeks to obtain or maintain a superior position. At the same time, such persons are often frustrated with others for not listening to them. Jesus addressed this condition:

“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:2-3)

Active Listening • Active listening allows us to hear without the limitations of passive, convenient, or critical listening. This should be our goal. “Active” is defined as: “Not waiting to be acted upon. Prepared to apply what is heard and act on it—regardless of the circumstances.”

James 1:25 says, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”