Latest update 21.sep.2005.
Lesson
on
Faith
Vagn
Rasmussen
Lesson on Faith.
Faith
is closely linked to prayer. Faith is verbal expressed in prayer. Faith
honours God. Answer to prayer is conditional on faith.
1.
Faith and the word of God.
All
our faith in our prayer requests should be based on the promises found in the
word of God (someone has said
there is more than 3.000 promises in the bible) All the promises will cover
every aspect of human life.
Rom.
10:17 Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
Matt.
17:20 the mustard seed, the growing faith.
Isaiah
55:10-11
Like the rain and the snow…. So shall my word… it shall accomplish
that which I please..
Hosea
6.6 for I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more
than burnt offerings.
2.
Faith and obedience.
Rom
16:26 …the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience
of faith.
Rom.
1:5 … for obedience to
the faith among all nations, for He’s name.
Matt.
17:24-27. The fish and the gold coin. Peter
was obedient here, in spite of his professionalism in fishing with nets.
John
21:6,11 … cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find. V.11
Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of grate fishes, an hundred
and fifty and three… yet was not the net broken.
Peter
again was obedient to the Lords words, cast the net on the ”wrong” side of
the ship, and by daylight - very unusual fishing in the lake of Galilee.
Peter received his reward.
3.
Faith and repenting.
2.
Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from there wicked ways, then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their, and will heal their land.
4.
Faith and reminding God of His own promises in the word.
1.Kings
8: 25 Therefore now Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father
that thou promised him, saying…
Rom.4:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in
faith, giving glory to God.
2.Cor.1:
20 for all the promises of God in Him (Jesus) are yes, and in Him amen, unto
the glory of God by us.
5.
Faith and the fruits of the Spirit.
Galatians
5:22-23. But the fruits of the Spirit is: love,
joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness goodness, FAITH, meekness, temperance.
The
process of being filled with the Spirit of the Lord is also the process of
producing fruits of the Spirit. Therefore faith increases when being filled
with the Spirit along with all other fruits of the Spirit.
One
of the secrets of a fasting lifestyle is, that fasting increases faith because
by “subduing the flesh” fasting will invariably cause being more and more
filled with the Holy Spirit and faith increases tremendously during a season
of fasting.
6.
Faith contra visible evidence.
Hebr.11:
1 now faith is substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
God
created the universe by faith words, by
words of faith it came into
existence. Sometimes we are taught that God created all things out of nothing
just by saying His word. This is not true. Faith is the unseen substance,
which is transformed by faith to the things that can be seen.
Hebrews.
11:3 through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of
God, so that things, which are seen, were not made of things, which do appear.
(But of substance not seen)
7.
Faith and victory.
Hebrews11:
33-34. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped mouths of lions, v.34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in
fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
8.
Faith and the cleansing of the heart.
Acts.
15:9. And put difference between us and them purifying their hearts by
faith.
9.
Faith and the gifts of the Spirit.
1.Corintians
12:
8-10. For one is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom, to another the word
of knowledge, by the same Spirit. V.9 To another, faith by the same
Spirit, to another gifts of healing, by the same Spirit. V.10 To
another the working of miracles, to another prophesies, to another discerning
of spirits, to another divers kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues.
There are different kinds of faith: saving faith, faith
as a fruit of the Spirit, this kind of faith as mentioned here in Corinthians
12, is faith as a gift of the Spirit, a portion of faith given to equip the
believer for the ministry.
It
is faith (as the fruit of the Spirit) that operates all the 9 gifts of the
Spirit,
Then
there is natural faith, which is not of the Spirit of God. This is the kind of
faith we have when we believe in for example historical records,
or the farmer who has sown his seed in the soil and now
expects a harvest sometime in the future.
10.
Faith works by love.
Galatians
5:
6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availed any thing, nor uncircumcision,
but faith which worked by love.
1.
Corinthians 13:2 though I have all faith ... but not love.
11.
Faith and Gods spiritual
laws.
We
have to fulfil the demands God has connected to the operation of faith!
Mark
11:25 (Forgiveness first and foremost.) and when ye stand praying – forgive
if ye have ought against any, that your Father, which is in heaven, may
forgive you your trespasses.
Also
if you have sin in your heart faith will not work. Even the Pharisees knew
that.
John
9: 31 now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper
of God, and does His will, him He heareth.
12.
Faith and verbal and public confessing.
Mark
11:23. …But shall believe that those things which he saith shall come
to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Romans
10:9-10. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. V.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation
13.
Faith can grow.
2.Thess.
1:3. We are bound to thank God always for you brethren, as it is meet (right),
because that your faith groweth exceedingly.
Faith
as a mustard seed can grow to become a big tree. A mustard tree can reach the
height of 4-5 meters.
14.
Faith and salvation.
Ephesians
2:
8 for by faith are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God.
15.
Faith is given to every born again Christian. Everyone Christian have some
faith.
Rom.
12:3 …. But to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
16.
Faith and prayer and brokenness in tears can change God's plans and will.
2.Kings
20:1-11 Hezekiah was sick to the death, he turned to the wall and cried and
prayed. God changed his prophecy and the Kings destiny, because of the prayer
of Hezekiah. 15 years were added unto his lifetime.
17.
Faith and trial.
1.Peter
1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perish, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
18.
Faith and deeds/works.
James
2:17 even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone
Therefore
faith is ACTIVE.
19.
Faith and pleasing God.
Hebrews.
11:6 but without faith it is impossible to please God.
20.
Faith and justification.
Habakkuk.
2:4 …but the just shall live by faith.
21.
Faith and prayer.
Matthew
21:22 and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive.
Faith
is the uttermost important ingredient in the
prayer.
22.
Faith and fasting.
Faith
is increasing tremendously during a fast and even after the fast.
Fasting
faith is producing much more power over evil spirits especially after a
protracted fast.
Matthew
17:15-21 the lunatic boy. V. 20 because
of your unbelief… v. 21 howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer
and fasting.
23.
Faith and agreeing in the Spirit.
Matthew
18:19 that two of you shall agree on earth, anything that they shall ask it
shall be done for them of my Father in heaven.
We
can add our faith to someone else’s faith and have greater results in prayer.
Faith will increase.
To
agree in the Spirit is not to agree on the mere mental or intellectual level,
but this kind of agreeing IN THE SPIRIT.
24.
Faith is a shield
Ephesians
6:16 taking the shield of Faith... wherewith quench all the fiery darts of the
enemy (the wicked)
Faith
is an effective defensive weapon.
25.
Faith is a substance and also evidence.
Hebrew
11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not
seen.
God
did not create the world out of nothing but created the visible things out of
the invisible things or changed it as such.
26.
Faith
and prayer:
Faith
and prayer are inevitably linked together.
Faith
has its verbal expression through prayer.
We
can ask Jesus for more faith. His disciples did so.
....Lord
increase our faith. Luke 17:5.
27.
Faith and the will of God:
It
is a lot easier to have faith if you pray after the will of God!
1.
John 5:14-15…we know if we pray after the will of God, we know we already
have what we prayed for.
What
faith is not:
1)
Faith is not hope.
An
uncertain hope for something,
sometime in the future, is not
faith
at all.
Faith knows that it has
- now. Faith is assurance in your heart that you
already have what you asked for. Mark 11:24. There for I say unto you, what
things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them.
2)
Faith is not a feeling.
But
it is peace in your heart; it is rest, and reliance and trust in Gods promises.
Faith is absolute trust in Gods Word being eternal, complete and infallible
and absolute true.
A
strong feeling could never produce a strong faith. Feelings will disappear
very quickly, while faith must be standing like a rock, and that rock is faith
in Gods promises in His word.
3)
Faith is not intelligence, not understanding, not of the brain, but of
the heart.
Faith
is a heart matter, because the Spirit lives in the centre of the human temple,
which is the heart of man. 1.Cor. 3:16 Know ye not ye are the temple of God
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
We
believe with our Spirit, with our heart, not with our understanding.
Mark.
11.23 …. And shall not doubt in his heart.
When
it comes to receiving the impossible from God, our intelligence will come
short, yea, it will be a great hindrance to faith.
4)
The opposite of faith is fear.
Fear
is believing the devils word more than God’s word. The devil will come to
your mind with fear trying to take away the faith in your heart. Jesus always
said, fear not. Fear does not come from God. Fear has punishment in it. The
perfect love castes out fear. 1. John. 4:18
5)
The opposite of faith is unbelief.
Unbelief
is not believing God and what He says in His word, and thus making God a liar.
That’s why unbelief is such a dreadful and very dangerous sin. 1.John 5.10…
He that believes not God has made Him a liar…
6) Faith is not begging.
The prayer of faith is not a prayer of begging but it is a strong and firm conviction that God already has granted the specific prayer request asked for according to His promises in His word.
7) Faith is not mere mental power.
It is spiritual power. Faith is an integrated part of the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit you also have faith. The more fruits of the Spirit you have in your life, the more faith you have.