Our faith

1) Senator John Edwards is once again a Presidential candidate.

2) About a week ago he made some news by talking about “his faith.”

3) He said when his 16 year old son died, “his faith came roaring back.”

4) Many, many times someone will use two very interesting words: “my faith.”

5) Faith can be a personal thing. It can also be a congregational matter.

6) When Peter wrote to Christians (2 Pet. 1:5), he said, “your faith.”

7) Today we want to think about what this apostle said. This lesson is entitled, “our faith.”

8) What if someone asked us about “our faith”? What would we say?

9) What kind of faith do we have? What kind of faith can we have? What kind of faith do others have?

10) The Bible has a lot to say about faith; there are several types of faith.

a) For instance, we find a certain type of faith in Mt. 6:30.

b) Jesus knew there would be some people who would be consumed by worry.

c) He spoke about individuals who are literally overcome by concerns and anxiety.

d) What the Lord said tells us these people were looking at things from the standpoint of their own strength.

e) Such people have faith in themselves and their own abilities, not God.

f) Jesus commented on this approach to life by saying this – Mt. 6:30 – READ.

g) People who trust in themselves and are filled with worry have “little faith.”

11) This is not the only time we read about “little faith” in the Bible.

12) In verse 26 of this chapter Jesus said the birds of the heaven are able to get by.

13) He also pointed out that little faith is associated with a pagan lifestyle (verse 32).

14) We may start out with just a little faith but that is not where we want to stay.

15) Peter speaks about “adding” to our faith in 2 Pet. 1:5.

a) Adding to our faith is always good, but it is especially important if we have only limited faith.

b) A small amount of faith is often a very dangerous faith.

c) If we do not have much faith, not much is needed to take away the little belief we do possess.

d) There is not much in place to keep us away from developing a hard heart.

e) A little faith makes giving up very, very easy.

f) Having a small amount of faith can make it hard to apply some of the truths in the Bible.

g) If we do not have much faith, God’s will in our lives will often seem impossible.

16) While we read about “little faith” in Mt. 6 we read about “great faith” in Mt. 8:10.

17) This statement is also something we can related to 2 Pet. 1;5. Peter said, “add to your faith.”

18) Common sense tells us Peter wanted his readers to have “great faith.”

19) God tells us this type of faith is possible – Mt. 8:10 – READ.

a) Based upon the information we have, this man was not a child of Abraham.

b) He was not part of the Hebrew religion but he had great faith in Jesus.

c) It is hard to imagine how a person can become a strong Christian but not have strong faith.

d) Faith might be likened to a giant sack.

e) Inside this sack we find all the qualities concerning Christianity.

f) If our sack of faith is like a lunch bag, we do not have room for Christian characteristics.

g) If our sack of faith is like a 100 gallon bag, it can be brimming full of good qualities.

20) For us to have a big sack for faith some things need to be in place.

21) First, there needs to be a “good and receptive heart.”

22) If our heart is not wide open to God and His word, we have no basis for a strong foundation of faith.

23) To have a life full of faith, we also need a great deal of persistence.

24) People of faith do not quit in the midst of adversity and conflict.

25) For us to have a lot of faith, we need a proper understanding of God.

26) If we do not really know who God is and what He does, we cannot have much faith.

27) Knowledge, and especially our knowledge of God, is directly linked with faith.

28) A person may say, “I have some of these things. Can I know how much faith I have”?

a) This is a good question, and we can provide an answer to it.

b) Let’s look at our third reference, Mt. 9:2 – READ.

c) In this passage we find that faith can be “seen.” We can know if we and others have faith.

29) I recently read about a preacher who went to hold a seminar at another congregation.

30) He arrived on a Sunday afternoon and was apparently scheduled to speak shortly thereafter.

31) Minutes after arrived someone else came into the building; the visitor was dressed in a rather odd way.

32) He was wearing a sweatshirt, had on a baseball cap, and a bandana was over his face.

33) His appearance was described as someone from an old western movie.

34) This man entered into the church building and he had a gun.

35) He pointed the weapon and both preachers and said, “I want your money.”

a) At first the two ministers thought it was a joke.

b) They didn’t have faith in a stick-up, and they showed their lack of faith by laughing.

c) Then the gunman pointed the gun at the heads of the men and said it was not a joke; he was serious.

d) These two men soon developed “great faith” in the fact that they were being robbed.

e) The crook took their money, fled, and the guest preacher preached 15 minutes later.

36) Both preachers would tell us, if they were standing here today, faith can be seen and it can grow.

37) A visible faith is certainly consistent with 2 Pet. 1:5.

a) When a person has great faith (a big bag), and it contains all the qualities Peter listed, it shows.

b) A person with great faith will demonstrate their faith in many ways.

c) In 1 Cor. 3 Paul described two basic kinds of Christians.

d) He said there are some brethren who are like “gold.” Others are like “silver.”

e) A third group is comparable to useful stones like granite and marble.

f) Then he said there are Christians who are like “wood.”

g) Wood is not a bad item, but it is nothing like gold and silver.

h) Then he said there are Christians who are like dried grass and even left over corn stalks.

i) Christians really fall into two classes: useful and not useful.

38) Are we like dried grass, wood, or a leftover cornstalk? Is our Christian life one of little faith?

39) If so, we probably know that and others can see it. God wants something different from us.

40) God wants Christians who are like gold, silver, and useful stones.

41) We can be like these latter items if we develop a great faith.

42) Considering these questions we can correlate some words in Mt. 9:29.

a) What is said in this verse is directly related to two blind men.

b) These men cried out for mercy and Jesus responded.

c) Jesus said “according to their faith” they were healed.

43) What if we look at just the words “according to faith” and apply them to our lives?

44) If God were to deal with us “according to our faith,” what would we receive from Him?

a) If our faith is little (small), we would not receive very much.

b) If it were great, we would expect a great deal.

c) Just how great is our faith?

45) Some people may look at faith and think of it as being completely independent of other things.

a) Faith is hard to separate from the other parts of Christianity.

b) Faith is, as stated earlier, like a bag. It contains (holds) many, many things.

c) Jesus spoke about this in Mt. 23.

d) He found some Pharisees and said they were “hypocrites.”

e) These men may have believed they had great faith. They believed in God.

f) They believed in holy writings (the Old Testament as well as the Jewish traditions).

g) How could these men not have great faith?

h) Jesus taught them that great faith goes hand in hand with some things.

i) Mt. 23:23 – READ.

46) Faith keeps company with other parts of the gospel.

47) If we have great faith, we necessarily have other qualities in abundance.

48) Show me a person who lacks love and you will show me someone who has limited faith.

49) Paul said in 1 Cor. 13, “faith, hope and love abide.”

50) Give me a person with limited hope and you will show me someone with limited faith.

51) Another illustration of this principle is in Mk. 4:40.

a) Jesus spoke to His disciples and said they were “fearful.”

b) At the end of the verse we find Him asking them, “Have ye not faith”?

c) Fear goes hand in hand with little faith. Confidence and security are joined with great faith.

52) Jesus once cursed a pig tree; Peter saw the result of that and commented on it.

53) Jesus responded to him by saying, “have faith in God.”

a) This is the very same fellow who spoke about faith in 2 Pet. 1:5.

b) Peter had to learn some things about faith.

c) There were times when he had a shallow faith. He grew. He got to a point when he had a lot of faith.

d) We can get to that same point as well, in part by following becoming the type of people the Bible describes.

54) Jesus’ disciples began to understand some things about faith as they spent time with the Lord.

55) In Lk.17:5 they said to Jesus, “increase our faith.”

a) That sounds like a nice thing – give us a better and stronger faith.

b) That is a request that may be a little more than some desire.

c) Let’s see what people of great faith experienced.

d) A list of people who had great faith is found in Heb. 11.

e) All types of people and experiences are found towards the end of this letter.

f) Some of the things these people faced were really frightening.

g) Heb. 11:23-39 – READ.

56) Great faith came from loving God and believing His word.

57) Faith + obedience led people to be strong children of God who overflowed with godliness.

58) Our society often has a problem with faith because people feel self-sufficient.

a) When it comes to money, many feel like they themselves make it.

b) When it comes to the needs of life, most feel like they can get along just fine on their own.

c) When it comes to health, people think they have all the resources they need.

d) We have an understanding of diet, exercise, and the Internet to diagnose ourselves.

e) When needed, we can consult a doctor, get an operation, or just have a prescription written.

f) Our society has some built-in barriers to having great faith.

59) Not seeing a need for great faith prevents many people from seeking an increase in faith.

60) When people do not seek to increase their faith, they typically wind up with a small faith.

61) Only when it seems a person’s back is “against the wall” will some think about faith.

62) Peter said “add to your faith” all the qualities in 2 Pet. 1.

63) Before we study the specific qualities in 2 Pet. 1, what about our faith? Is it small or great?