FAITH

Synopsis of Bible Study 01/06/21

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Hebrews 10:38 NKJV
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

I.            INTRODUCTION

1. This word today is about faith. As we embark on this understanding of faith, we want everyone to go deeper than the phrase, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” In 2020, almost everyone had circumstances come up that caused their faith to be stretched.
2. What is faith. Is it positive thinking? It is believing in something within an impossible situation?
3. Are you born into Faith? The answer is, “no”. You are not born into it. Faith is a learned behavior.
4. Faith does not originate from within us. Faith comes from God and faith is in God.

II.            FIRST THINGS FIRST

A.     Focus on The Fundamentals

1. Hebrews 12:2 NKJV looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – The Greek word for author can be translated as originator, forerunner, or pioneer, so in other words, Jesus is the originator of our faith.

B.      How Do You Obtain Faith?

1. Romans 10:17 NKJV So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. – When you hear and read the word of God, your faith grows.

III.            WHAT IS THE SUBSTANCE OF FAITH?

• Hebrews 11:1 NKJV Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – How did you come to know God? It was by the hearing of God’s word. You can’t have a season you love God and then have a season where you fall off. You have to constantly feed your faith by hearing God’s word.
• Faith also comes by our experiences. We believe based on our experiences with God, therefore; I believe because of the things I have seen God do in the past. This belief grows my faith.
• Faith is not coming or becoming, it is current. Our faith must be constantly current.
• God speaks to Joshua after Moses died, he tells him to move “now”. Faith must be something current. You can’t wait on it to occur. Not having current faith could cause you to miss the move of God.
• The Word is the substance of my faith. The more I hear God’s word, the stronger my faith becomes. When you seek the word of God as a substance of faith, you read and understand the word in a stronger way.
  • Peter stepped out on the water. He asked Jesus if he could come out unto the water where Jesus was. Jesus tells him to come. Peter steps out of the boat and this is stepping out in faith.
• The substance of my faith is not the opinion of others, it is instead God’s word.

A.     Dismantle Misconceptions About Faith

1. There is word called Apologetics. Christian Apologetics is the study of reason. It is the study of the reasons we believe and have faith. It is to be a defender of our faith.
2. Theology is the study of God. Ology means the study of. The study is not only of what we believe; it is also the study of why we believe it. Many say that they believe this or that, but if you ask why they believe it, they can’t answer why they believe what they believe.
3. When God told Abraham to leave his country and go to a land that He would show him, Abraham has to know why he is leaving his comfort zone and go where God tells him to go. Simply put, Abraham has faith.
4. Hebrews 10:38 ³⁸ Now the^[a] just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”- The just shall live by faith. We have to make up in our mind  that in 2021, we will live by faith.
5. My faith not only tells me what to believe, it tells me why I believe what I believe.
6. Hebrews Chapter 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith” or the “Faith Hall of Fame.” In this noted chapter, the writer of the book of Hebrews introduces an impressive list of heroic figures from the Old Testament –remarkable men and women whose stories stand out to encourage and challenge the faith. Some of these heroes of the Bible are well-known personalities, while others remain anonymous. Hall of Faith.
7. Hall of Fame is something not attainable by most. Hall of Fame doesn’t exist for the regular people. If we see somebody that operates at the Hall of Faith, it lets us know that the bible characters lived this faith out and they are examples for us. Moses stood on faith, Noah built on faith, and Abraham walked all by faith. All things are possible to those who believe.

IV.            FAITH VS. BELIEF

• Some bible translations don’t make a differentiation between the two. Matthew 17:20 ²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[a]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. – Is Jesus asking us to have a little faith?
  • Mustard seed faith; is this enough faith to move mountains? Jesus is telling the disciples that they have a belief problem which is tainting their faith.
• What keeps us believing what God has for us is the fact that we don’t believe it is possible. Do you have belief that it can happen?

A.     Belief

1. You have to believe. The pilot has to believe what the computers tell him, when he is flying a plane.
2. The pilot has to also believe that if he pulls back on the steering wheel, the plain can soar into the air.
3. The pilot wouldn’t go down the runway, if I didn’t believe the plane was able to take flight. I wouldn’t start this journey, if I didn’t think it was possible.

B.      Faith

1. This is Confidence or trust in a person without proof. Belief times Action times Confidence equals Faith.
2. James 2:17 NKJV Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. – THERE IS A CORREPSONDING ACTION TO FAITH.
3. If you can’t act on what you believe in, then why is belief necessary?

V.            FIVE ESSENTIALS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FAITH

1. Faith Stops at The Question Mark
2. James 1:5-8 NKJV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. – If I’m asking God questions, am I trusting God? – Double minded is not believing.

A.     “I See It Now”

1. Joshua 1:8 NKJV This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – I see it now and I take it now

B.      “I Take It Now”

1. Mark 11:24 NKJV Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. – I don’t just see it. I take it.

C.      “I Have It Now”

• 2 Peter 1:2-4 NKJV Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. – I not only see it or take, I have it. My faith believes I already have what I asked for.
• Faith Can Be Developed by Exercise, Use, And Action
• James 1:22-25 NKJV But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. – You have to work your faith.
• James 2:17 NKJV Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. – Working my faith means I am constantly working on it. Working it is not always easy. If I sow at a different level, I am working my faith.
• Faith Focuses on The Desired Result, Not the Dreaded Outcome
• Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ – God says he declares the end before the beginning.
• Faith Begins Where the Will of God Is Known
• John 5:14-15 NKJV Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” 15 The man departed and told the 2Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. – When we know the will of God for my life, why do we doubt it.
• Faith is when the will of God is known.
• Faith Is of The Heart And Not The Head
  
  
  
  
  • Romans 10:10 NKJV For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. – It’s a matter of the heart. Your head will talk you out of stuff.
  • God’s logic is greater than man’s logic. For example, to believe that if you follow God’s principles, you will have more than they pay you.
  • Faith comes by hearing. I take word in and I speak word out. I am speaking those things though they be not as though they were. We have to operate out of faith.
  • Do you believe? stop talking about it and start being about it.