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Faith. It is a simple, yet powerful word. Everyone exercises faith in one fashion or another. Even evolutionists have faith that we all evolved from a primordial soup although mathematicians, molecular biologists, and physicist say that it is impossible. Not improbable, but impossible. Faith has changed the course of lives and nations. It has healed the sick and lame, caused the blind to see and the deaf to hear. Our own country was founded on faith. We know from these instances that faith is a powerful thing. However, what can we do with faith? What is the limit? Jesus tells us in the book of Matthew that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we can actually move mountains.
Matthew 17:20 He replied,"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Nothing will be impossible for you! Just think about that. You can do anything your imagination brings to mind if you have faith as small as a mustard seed. How can we harness that power? How can we have that kind of faith? First, we have to know what faith is. What does this one word mean to us as Christians? In the book of better things, Hebrews, we find the biblical definition of faith:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to give specific examples:
Hebrews 11:3-5 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at Gods command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Hebrews 11:7-12 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past ageand Sarah herself was barrenwas enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Without faith, we are lost. We cannot do anything.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
It is easy to believe in things we can see and touch, but believing in those things has no meaning. It requires nothing of us. Believing in something that is unseen, or something that has not happened yet, is a lot more difficult. Jesus told us that we should pray expectantly.
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Faith is the key to answered prayer. Pray faithfully, believing that what you ask for will be given to you. I have seen this in my own life. Working in the field of heating and air conditioning is seasonal work at best. Yet, I pray that God will provide for my family and he has never ever failed. There have been many times when the bank account was empty a week before payday but we always had food on the table and a table to put the food on. I prayed expectantly for a son. Two weeks later, my wife was pregnant with our son. I prayed expectantly for a daughter, not a month went by, and she was pregnant with our little girl. I prayed for a better job with a steadier income and God provided that. Increasingly I turn things over to God and increasingly he answers. My faith grows and so does the blessings God gives me and the more I want to do for him to help my faith grow. Thats not to say he has given me everything I have asked for. He knows more than I do and tells me no just as I tell my son no when he asks for something that will do him harm. He does answer every prayer though, even with a no, I know he has answered me. Ive gone from being a high school drop out to become one of the top technicians in my field. Ive gone from being a confirmed bachelor to being blessed to know the love of one good woman. I assure you both of these are mountains God has moved because I had faith he would provide for me and bless me. I implore you to have faith. Let God move your mountains. Y.B.I.C.,
Matthew 17:20 He replied,"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Nothing will be impossible for you! Just think about that. You can do anything your imagination brings to mind if you have faith as small as a mustard seed. How can we harness that power? How can we have that kind of faith? First, we have to know what faith is. What does this one word mean to us as Christians? In the book of better things, Hebrews, we find the biblical definition of faith:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to give specific examples:
Hebrews 11:3-5 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at Gods command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Hebrews 11:7-12 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past ageand Sarah herself was barrenwas enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Without faith, we are lost. We cannot do anything.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
It is easy to believe in things we can see and touch, but believing in those things has no meaning. It requires nothing of us. Believing in something that is unseen, or something that has not happened yet, is a lot more difficult. Jesus told us that we should pray expectantly.
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Faith is the key to answered prayer. Pray faithfully, believing that what you ask for will be given to you. I have seen this in my own life. Working in the field of heating and air conditioning is seasonal work at best. Yet, I pray that God will provide for my family and he has never ever failed. There have been many times when the bank account was empty a week before payday but we always had food on the table and a table to put the food on. I prayed expectantly for a son. Two weeks later, my wife was pregnant with our son. I prayed expectantly for a daughter, not a month went by, and she was pregnant with our little girl. I prayed for a better job with a steadier income and God provided that. Increasingly I turn things over to God and increasingly he answers. My faith grows and so does the blessings God gives me and the more I want to do for him to help my faith grow. Thats not to say he has given me everything I have asked for. He knows more than I do and tells me no just as I tell my son no when he asks for something that will do him harm. He does answer every prayer though, even with a no, I know he has answered me. Ive gone from being a high school drop out to become one of the top technicians in my field. Ive gone from being a confirmed bachelor to being blessed to know the love of one good woman. I assure you both of these are mountains God has moved because I had faith he would provide for me and bless me. I implore you to have faith. Let God move your mountains. Y.B.I.C.,
