If we are ever going to be faith people or people who experience God, who understand God, who get past what I call common, modern-day religion, we have to be people of faith, powered by love. If we are ever going to get to a place of power, a place of substance, a place where God moves in our midst, and it is no longer a shock but an expected event, then we have to be people of faith, powered by love.
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 NASB
The reason we are looking at Hebrews 11:6 first is that we must first establish in our lives what is truth. This verse tells us that without faith, it is impossible. That means there is no ability to please God outside of faith. Nothing you do in this world, if it is not of faith, it doesn’t please God. How are we saved? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2 that by grace, we have been saved through faith. It says by grace, but grace is through faith. Everything with God begins and ends on faith. Everything that moves God is by faith. God is not moved if what you do does not require faith. Look at tithing, you can tithe, and God will always honor your tither’s rights. But for some people, tithing takes all the faith you have, and others, it takes no faith. So, for those that it takes no faith, your giving does not move God if it requires no faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Nothing in your life pleases God if it does not require faith.
If you want to please God, then you have to be a faith person. It amazes me how the religious world preaches so little on faith. We wonder why churches are dead, and people don’t know God’s Word. I went to a Christian School for 3.5 years, and I cannot tell you how many people that were teachers or involved with the students that didn’t know the Word. I never heard faith preached about at that school other than salvation. If you think faith ends at salvation, then you are missing your entire walk with God. If we know that faith is the only way to please God, then wouldn’t you agree with me that it is essential to figure out how to get faith?
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 NASB
The first thing in this verse is that faith comes by hearing. It says hearing, not having heard. It is continually hearing, over and over. It is not a one-time occurrence. Some people will complain that their pastor preaches on faith too much. Paul says that it is for this reason that I continually remind you. I don’t care how many times faith is preached; it needs to be continually preached about because I want to please God. The second thing in this verse is that faith comes by hearing the Word. It doesn’t say one little slice of it. If you are going through financial issues, then you need to hear what God’s Word says about prosperity. If you are having health issues, then you need to hear what God’s Word says about healing. If you are wondering about salvation, you need to hear what God’s Word says about salvation. If you are struggling with your marriage, you need to hear what it says about that. The faucet to faith is faith, but the water coming out of it is hearing the Word for whatever subject.
Everything not based on faith is based on fear. The Bible tells us that the world is motivated by fear. How do you build your fear? By listening to anything other than the Word. When I was a little boy, and I would hear preaching on end times, it would bring fear into my heart. One day the Lord spoke to my heart and told me when I preach someday, never preach the end times from a place of fear, I was to preach from a place of faith. The lost will be afraid, but the faith people will be encouraged when they hear the last days preached about because they will be in faith. They know they are born again. You can turn on the television and hear many reasons that you will get cancer, get sick, divorced, have a crappy job, why the country is going to hell, and fear will begin to grow inside of you. Whatever you hear is building. It is either faith or fear. If you want to build faith, you listen to God’s Word. This doesn’t mean just listening to preachers because you have to make sure they are preaching the Word. Take your Bible to church; make sure that what they are saying lines up with God’s Word. Any preacher that doesn’t preach with a bunch of scriptures or go through the Bible verse by verse and show it to you in context should concern you.
If we are going to talk about faith, we are going to talk about Mark 11,
“And Jesus answered saying to them, ‘Have faith in God.’ Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:22-24 NASB
Jesus is commanding us to have the God kind of faith. What kind of faith is that? Look at Hebrews 11,
“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.” Hebrews 11:3 NASB
God wants you to have the kind of faith that creates planets. That is why in Genesis chapter 1, it says that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the water, then God said. Throughout Genesis 1, you can read, ‘and God said,’ then in verse 31, it says that God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good. God wants you to have that kind of faith.
Just because you may have a Lamborghini sitting in your garage, doesn’t make it an awesome vehicle. It must be driven. Faith is the Lamborghini of the Christian walk, it is unique, special, glorious, and wonderful, but if we do not turn the key, rev up the engine, and drive it, it is useless. What is the key to faith?
“For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” Galatians 5:5-6 NASB
No love, no faith. Know love, know faith. Let’s put our eyes on John 3:16,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NASB
