Let's say you are driving down the road. You know how to work the steering wheel, the brake pedal, and the gas pedal. When you press on the gas pedal, do you know for sure that it will work? Or are you persuaded that it will cause your car to move forward? This is what Faith is and what we will be talking about. What is faith and how can you grow your faith? The Bible says in Hebrews 11:16 that, "Without Faith it is impossible to please Him." Obviously faith is important to the Christian walk, so what is it?
Very simply put, faith is "To be persuaded of something." If I asked you, "Are you persuaded?" Your response would be "in what?" For some I could ask, "Are you persuaded that Liverpool is the best football team?" And most would say, "No way I don't believe that." Why? Because you are PERSUADED that there are better teams. Let us go back to the car example. We are persuaded that the car will go forward when we press the gas? Why? Because that is the way the car was made. We have faith that the car will react the way it does. There is evidence to back it up.
So does faith work with reason or against reason? Some people would say it works against reason. That is like saying, you should operate your car blindfolded and just have "faith" that you won't run into anything. But that is silly. None of us are persuaded that we would be able to drive blind folded. Faith is not a leap into the darkness blindly. It has evidence to back it up. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen. Evidence is apart of faith.
So how can we grow in our faith? Faith is like a muscle that you have to work out. That means there are somethings you need to do in order to grow in faith. Just like body builders go to the gym to workout, we have to work out spiritually to grow. There are 5 ways that you can do this.
1. Pray and ask for Faith Mark 9:24
2. Read the Bible Romans 10:17
3. Mediate or think about what you read God's Word and Memorize the Bible Joshua 1:8
4. Endure Trials and go through struggles James 1:2-4
5. Obey God when He asks you to do something Psalm 34:8
By practicing these and asking God to give you the Holy Spirit, He is faithful to help you grow in faith. We have faith in the God of the Bible because we are persuaded that He is the best person to place our faith and trust in. Yes, you can have faith in Buddha, or Allah, or Ghandi, or that there is no God. But are they worthy of your faith? Have they given us evidence that they are the one true God? Only God who loved us and gave us His son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. No other god was willing to step down onto earth and pay the penalty for our sin by dying and coming back to life to prove he is the only living God. He has promised those that place their faith in His son Jesus Christ, to have eternal life and live in paradise with Himself forever!
I see evidence when I look out into creation and see God's wonderful creation. Also when you guys gave us cards when we left, I saw His love in your hearts towards us. The God of the Bible. The Triune God that has the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit is the only place to put your faith and trust. He alone has given evidence of His existence and love for us. No other god has done that. So I will pray to Him, read His word The Bible, memorize it, endure trials for His sake, and obey whatever he asks me to do because He is the only true God.
Romans 8:24-25 tells me why I should wait for Him and have hope in Him. "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." I encourage you to place your faith and hope in the God of the Bible.
Very simply put, faith is "To be persuaded of something." If I asked you, "Are you persuaded?" Your response would be "in what?" For some I could ask, "Are you persuaded that Liverpool is the best football team?" And most would say, "No way I don't believe that." Why? Because you are PERSUADED that there are better teams. Let us go back to the car example. We are persuaded that the car will go forward when we press the gas? Why? Because that is the way the car was made. We have faith that the car will react the way it does. There is evidence to back it up.
So does faith work with reason or against reason? Some people would say it works against reason. That is like saying, you should operate your car blindfolded and just have "faith" that you won't run into anything. But that is silly. None of us are persuaded that we would be able to drive blind folded. Faith is not a leap into the darkness blindly. It has evidence to back it up. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen. Evidence is apart of faith.
So how can we grow in our faith? Faith is like a muscle that you have to work out. That means there are somethings you need to do in order to grow in faith. Just like body builders go to the gym to workout, we have to work out spiritually to grow. There are 5 ways that you can do this.
1. Pray and ask for Faith Mark 9:24
2. Read the Bible Romans 10:17
3. Mediate or think about what you read God's Word and Memorize the Bible Joshua 1:8
4. Endure Trials and go through struggles James 1:2-4
5. Obey God when He asks you to do something Psalm 34:8
By practicing these and asking God to give you the Holy Spirit, He is faithful to help you grow in faith. We have faith in the God of the Bible because we are persuaded that He is the best person to place our faith and trust in. Yes, you can have faith in Buddha, or Allah, or Ghandi, or that there is no God. But are they worthy of your faith? Have they given us evidence that they are the one true God? Only God who loved us and gave us His son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. No other god was willing to step down onto earth and pay the penalty for our sin by dying and coming back to life to prove he is the only living God. He has promised those that place their faith in His son Jesus Christ, to have eternal life and live in paradise with Himself forever!
I see evidence when I look out into creation and see God's wonderful creation. Also when you guys gave us cards when we left, I saw His love in your hearts towards us. The God of the Bible. The Triune God that has the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit is the only place to put your faith and trust. He alone has given evidence of His existence and love for us. No other god has done that. So I will pray to Him, read His word The Bible, memorize it, endure trials for His sake, and obey whatever he asks me to do because He is the only true God.
Romans 8:24-25 tells me why I should wait for Him and have hope in Him. "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." I encourage you to place your faith and hope in the God of the Bible.
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