What’s so important about faith?

· Mark 9:23 [TEV]

Everything is possible for the person who has faith.

· Matt. 9:29 [NIV]

According to your faith will it be done to you

· Hebrews 11:6 [NIV]

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

If it is impossible to please God without faith, then it’s important to define it and apply it.

What is Faith?

Faith is believing the Word of God and acting on it, no matter how I feel because God promises a good result.

Faith is first and foremost believing. But it is more than that because in James 2:19 we read: You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

Believing is the beginning of our faith but it is not the total of our faith.

Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.”

Faith is not believing where there is no evidence. Your faith and my faith should be based upon evidence.

The word “faith” in the New Testament comes from the Latin word “fides” which mean “Trust”, we get our word fidelity from it.

The normal use of the word is, “Trust based on evidence.”

Do you remember Thomas. He was the disciple that wanted physical evidence of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. He said, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Listen to what Jesus said to him in John 20:29:

Two aspects of faith:

1. Intellectual assent: Believing something to be true. The sky is blue but it doesn’t change how you live your life that day. We believe the facts about something but it doesn't have any bearing on our lives or our heart.

2. Trust: Actually relying on the fact that the something is true. The word believe in the Bible gives the idea of trust and commitment.

Jesus asked the crowd that followed Him, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46 [ESV]

Faith is not only believing but acting on that belief. Acting in accordance with that belief.

· Intellectual assent is recognizing that a chair is a chair and agreeing that it is designed to support a person who sits on it.

· Trust is actually sitting in the chair.

Knowing these two aspects of faith is important in understanding our faith.

Many people believe certain facts about Jesus. Many people will intellectually agree with the facts the Bible declares about Jesus. But knowing those facts to be true is not what the Bible means by “faith.” The biblical definition of faith requires intellectual assent to the facts and trust in the facts.

Placing our trust in and relying on the work of Jesus Christ (God’s Son) to forgive our sins is an act of faith.

Faith applies to our salvation but it also applies to the rest of our Christian life. There are 3 things that every Christ-follower will do when they live by faith.

Every Christ-Follower who Lives by Faith will:

1. Believe the Word of God and apply it.

James 2:14 [TLB]

So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.

2. Believe the promises of God, and walk in them

3. Agree with the truth of God’s Word, and be transformed by it (Romans 12:2).

So, Why is Faith so Important?

· Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

· Without faith, we cannot be saved (John 3:16).

· Without faith, the Christian life cannot be what God intends it to be (John 10:10).

6 Phases of Faith

1. The Dream Phase: Nothing happens until someone starts dreaming.

2. The Decision Phase: Nothing is going to happen to your dream until you wake up and put it into action.

3. The Delay Phase: God will not fulfill your dream immediately. Why? Because God wants to work on you before He works on the project.

4. The Difficulty Phase: God uses difficulties to work on your faith and character.

5. The Dead-End Phase: Dead-ends are part of God’s plan for your life.

6. The Deliverance Phase: The best response to a dead-end is to expect God to act. What are you expecting God to do in your life?

If living a life of faith is the only thing that pleases God, then we need to understand it and apply it.

Faith is a gift from God.

God has given us faith to receive His salvation.

He has given us the shield of faith to win our battles.

He has given us the faith we need to live .