Faith #3 – the power of God

James Weidner III   -   August 21, 2022

Introduction: 

Let’s us dive back into the topics faith for the 3rd week. 

Some of the main points from the last two sermons. 

  • Faith belongs to the righteous. 
  • Learning to pray through until faith rises in our heart. 
  • Having our eyes full of faith. 
  • Faith can see things from a far off though not yet. 
  • The goal is dying in faith. 

Our Faith walk begins with our reliance upon Christ for salvation!

James 2:23 (NKJV) And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.

  • We first believe God.
  • That He is faithful.
  • That HE will do what He said He will do. 
  • Salvation cannot be earned.
  • But we can by no means sit around and do nothing with the salvation freely received. 

James 2:22 (NKJV) Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

Starting text:

Heb. 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

  1. Walking in faith changes our image, identity and how we see of ourselves. 

Heb. 11:13 … having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

  • We become strangers and exiles: 
  • Without a share in this world,
  • Live like we are passing through,
  1. Seeking another homeland,

Heb. 11:14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

  • Hold on to lightly, 
  • Abraham lived without the security of a home on this earth but rather roamed and lived in tents until the passing of his wife Sarah. 
  1. One of the greatest simple secrets of faith is to stop meditating on where you came from. 

Hebrews 11:15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

  • If they had been thinking of…
  • Thinking = to be mindful of, to remember, to call to mind…
  • Ela… This is one of the reasons I choose not to listen to music from my past. Not because I no longer like it or remember it… but because it brings me back to the person I use to be. As much as I may like the sound and feel of a certain music I do not like it more than how much I dislike the person I was and the place where Jesus brought me from. This same principle can apply to many areas of our life that brings back to memory the past life. 
  • There is always opportunity to return back to the place from which we came out of. 
  • There was noting good about where we came from.
  1. Desiring a better country.

Heb. 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV) 1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

  • Heaven is better. 
  • Our desires begin to be realigned in faith. 
  • Your desires change as your faith grows. 
  • Your desires change as faith brings clarity

Psalms 37:4 (NKJV) Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

  • Ela… “This would be the last place we go” you are stuck with us. haha. 
  • Our faith and our livelihood always seem to be a tangled union. 
  • “If I fail then how will I feed my family”
  1. Faith is demonstrated in forward movement without looking back. 

Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV) 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

  • Having our heart and our eyes continually being filled with the realities of eternity. 
  • Forgetting things behind. 
  • Reaching forward. 
  • Pressing towards.

Transition: Where is your faith? What has faith risen in your heart to do?

  1. For Faith to rise up in your heart find yourself spending increased time the Word of God and the Presence of the Lord. 

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

  • If we as a people want to be walking in faith we need to be walking within the Word of God.
  • The Word of God not only activates our hearing but also gives us something to hear. 
  • Without the Word hidden in our heart there is nothing to hear.
  • So though we walk around with perceived hearing we are deaf. 
  1. We cannot attempt to increase faith depending on the wisdom of mankind. 

1 Cor.2: 4-5 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God.

  • We sometimes mistakenly think our creativity or communication skills has something to do with building faith in people’s lives. 
  • This is where we go wrong.
  • Ela… As mankind continues to evolve, in our own minds, getting smarter and smarter all the while growing more distant from the Lord. 
  • Being an influencers today usually is referring to people who are gifted at crafting well communicated slogans and sayings.
  • To be a communicator is perceived as even more important than what is being communicated. 
  • Man will fail you. 
  • Your parents or spouse will fail you. 
  • I will fail you. 
  • Christ never will fail you. 
  • Rely on relaying the Word of God in our communication of God to others. 
  1. Faith rest on the power of God. 
  • Our faith is energized by the power of God.
  • Not, the power of God energized by our faith. 
  • Preaching in the power of God creates an atmosphere of faith 
  • Faith is given for us to be able to see and step into what God is doing,
  • not for us to initiate something that God was not doing. 
  1. The pressure is off. 

Luke 17:5-6 (NKJV) 5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

  • Faith is not about size.
  • Faith is about trusting in God’s power to accomplish what it needs too.
  • Use what you have. 

Conclusion:

  • Faith exists because God exist. 
  • If you remove Jesus you remove faith. 
  • When Jesus is in your life so is faith. 
  • Jesus being in your heart is proof that faith exist in you. 
  • You have faith for your own miracle.
  • Get your miracle because you use your faith.