Living by Faith Part 1

 QUESTION: What do an airplane, bicycle and Christian all have in common?

ANSWER:  They’re all designed to get where they’re going by relying on something they can’t see.

There is an invisible resource that gives them the ability to do what they are designed to do:

            Fly

            Ride

            Please God

But, each has a counter force working against them to deny them that pleasure. Gravity – either physical or spiritual – is trying to stop them from moving forward.

We know, what goes up is eventually coming down. And the reality is, an airplane is too big and heavy to fly. A bicycle on its own can’t stay upright. A Christian without the intention to trust God will never discover the fulfillment of the abundant life. Gravity will try will try to stop them every time.

So, if we can’t stop gravity, there must be a way to overcome it. Another invisible force perhaps? But how can you count on what you can’t see to be real?

How can you overcome gravity?

Determination – a pilot on the runway starts to roll then strains to lift his plane

off the ground.

Fear of falling (learning to ride my bicycle)

Our depending on our own ability to live lives that please God.

Faith – trusting in how each is designed to operate.

• Airplane—the designers discovered how they could overcome gravity by the law of aerodynamics. Once that was discovered, they could trust in the law to work on their behalf.
• Bicycle—the rider learns he/she can overcome falling by the principle of balance. Once that is discovered, they can trust balance to work on their behalf.
• Christians—when they realize it pleases God when they rely on His faithfulness, they can trust Him to work on their behalf.

The law of aerodynamics, principle of balance and the supernatural forces of relying on our God, are all invisibles, but when applied these become substance. What is substance? Something that becomes of such importance, validity and significance that it is able to be considered as solid as concrete.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 

The word assurance was translated substance in the KJV. It is the word hupo-histemi. hupó, "under" and hístēmi, "to stand" – used to describe standing under a guaranteed agreement. Like holding the title deed. It grants the privilege of ownership. It affirms the statement: this is mine. Hupo-histemi is a legitimate claim because it literally places us under a legal-standing – entitling us to what is guaranteed under the particular agreement.

In other words, faith permits us to stand under or claim what God has promised by guaranteeing we are entitled to what God grants.

Rom 14:22  The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. [condemned because he tries to bypass faith in order to live according to his own pleasures.] 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. 

Failure to trust God is as rebellion against Him. James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. 

How does the application of faith make the unseen real? Or, from where does faith gain its substance? Faith’s substance comes from the conviction we can rely on God. It’s discovered the moment we connect God’s activity in the past with today. Faith is not trusting God for what we hope He can do, but for what He’s proven He can do. That’s when invisible faith becomes solid. Our assurance has proof.

1Sam 17:34  But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." 37  And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." 

What’s David got to do with me? What does any of the Bible stories have to do with me?

1Cor 10:11  Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 

We look at the results of their choices, then compare what they did or didn’t do with what we’re doing or not doing. That can tell us we are either on track or off, moving forward or backing up. They trusted and look what happened. They didn’t trust and look what happened.

Well, I just don’t have that kind of faith. Yes, you do.

Well, maybe they just had more faith than I do. No, they didn’t.

It’s never an issue of having inferior faith or needing more faith but using faith.

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6 And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you. 

We can’t quantify faith by some measure – a lot or a little. Faith isn’t a commodity. It’s simply an ability to trust. Feeling we don’t have enough means we lack confidence in the target of our trust.

Luke 8:24  They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. 25 And He said to them, "Where is your faith?"

In the first, they said they didn’t have enough faith. After Jesus had assured them they had did, in the second He asks them why they aren’t using it. The issue is being faithless. Not without, but – dis-believing – choosing not to exercise it. Why aren’t you using your ability to trust?

Woman of great faith…

We have faith. It’s our ability to trust God. It’s how we take what we believe and apply it to our lives.

Ps 9:10  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 

Ps 31:14  But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, "You are my God." 

Ps 56:3  When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.

How do we put our trust in God?  First make sure you belong to Him. He’s given you the ability to believe so you can accept Jesus and become a child of God. Then, start reading your Bible. Accept what it says is true. That means, letting the demonstrations of God’s faithfulness in Scripture apply to your life. How can we know what to believe unless we know what’s possible to believe?

How can I trust God to care about me unless I believe:

Cast your cares upon Him for He cares about you.

How can I trust God to lift my burdens unless I believe:

Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I’ll give you rest.

How can I trust God to heal my hurts unless I believe:

I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD

How can we trust god to bless our lives or this church unless we believe:

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

That’s why David wrote: Ps 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; 3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; 4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; 5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. 6 The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. 

How did David know God did that kind of stuff? He had experienced it for himself, or he’d seen God do so in other lives, or he’d read about God’s faithfulness in the stories of Scripture.

Seeing what God has done in the lives of others gives me courage to trust Him in my life. If God did that for them then, surely, He can do this for me now. That’s not presumption, it’s faith. It’s having the confidence to trust.

Well, I don’t want to bother Him with my problems. Know what pleases God? Us trusting Him. The only thing that bothers Him is our unwillingness to trust.

What are you trusting God for right now, at this moment?

Faith is not just hoping good things happen.  It’s more substantial than that.  It is counting on the God Who has given His word to work out the details according to His word. That puts Him in charge of the outcome.

Three schoolboys were asked to write their definition of faith. One wrote: "Faith is TAKING hold of God." The second wrote: "Faith is HOLDING onto God." The third wrote: "Faith is NOT letting go!"

Rom 2:13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 

A man of his word/A man of His word

Tendency is to set the Word aside, close our eyes to the spirit and open up the eyes of our flesh to determine our own preferred outcome. That’s living by sight which is contrary to the requirement of living by faith. Living by faith is a command, not a suggestion.

In the movie The Matrix, the Spiritual leader of the remnant is Morpheus and the young deliverer who he believes is the promised one is Neo. Not everyone agrees that Neo is the promised one. In fact, almost nobody else shares his belief. In one scene Morpheus stands before the council and is asked to defend his actions. One of the military leaders said, "Not everyone believes what you believe Morpheus." Morpheus replied, "My Faith doesn’t require that they do."

Our Faith doesn’t depend on what others say. It isn’t weakened when someone else doesn’t believe what we believe. Our Faith doesn’t change to suit the climate of the current culture. Our Faith is built upon our relationship with the Lord. We don’t allow the world or our circumstances to define our Faith.

Faith is the ability to count on God’s faithfulness. How do we know the extent of that faithfulness? How far can we trust Him with the issues of our lives? It’s in the Book.

During an especially trying time in the work of the China Inland Mission, Missionary Hudson Taylor wrote to his wife, “We have twenty-five cents—and all the promises of God!”

Living by Faith demonstrates my assurance, my conviction that I can rely upon what I can’t see to become solid substance in my life.

If I am flying somewhere, I know I’m not being lifted up by the will power of the

pilot. I’m counting on the law of aerodynamics.

If I am riding a bicycle, I’m not staying up by my determination not to fall. I’m

counting on the principle of balance.

If I am living my life, I’m not relying on what I hope is true. I’m counting on what

God has said being true and choosing to believe what He’s promised, He

will do.

A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence of guilt, but there was no body. In the defense’s closing statement, the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, decided on theatrics. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," he said looking at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors all looked at the door. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally, the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, they returned and pronounced him guilty. "But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." The jury foreman said: "Oh, we did look. In fact, everyone in the room looked. Everyone but your client."

When you know the truth, you aren’t taken in by the downward tug of doubt or trickery of the enemy. You won’t let your eyes deceive you. You can stand firm because your hope rests on the promises of our faithful God.

To fly – trust in law of aerodynamics.

To ride – trust in the principle of balance.

To live – trust in God.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Having faith is a challenge to someone struggling.
2. Either God has become too small or their confidence in His faithfulness has been tainted.
3. Neither of those takes away from His power or our responsibility to trust Him.
4. When we do, we will learn:  He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.
5. What is that power? The ability we have to trust Him - Faith.