Episode 25: Fruit of the Spirit Ep. 6 - Living by Faith
As we continue the Fruit of the Spirit series today, we are looking at the fruit of Faith. Faith can be very complex to understand but our desire is to give you a foundational understanding of what faith is, examples of faith in the Bible and practical ways we can live by faith.
What is faith? The definition of faith can be found in Hebrews 11:1. Tony Evans’ gives a great definition in his sermon “What is Faith and How does it work? “Faith is only as meaningful as the substance to which it is attached. Faith has to do with an expectation in a hope that must involve a substance. So the amount of your faith is not tied to how much faith you have, it’s tied to how much substance you possess. A little faith in significant substance produces great results. A lot of faith in insignificant substance will produce no results. Because what makes faith, faith, is tied to the substance to which it is attached. To understand faith, you have to look at the substance of things hoped for, what the object is. Faith is not necessarily how you feel. Faith is not an emotion. Faith doesn’t have intellect. Faith is tied to a substance that you have not yet experienced through your 5 senses but that is real based on the integrity of the substance that is calling for the faith. Who is the subject calling for the faith? It’s God.”
Where does faith begin?
Scripture references: Romans 10:13-17, Ephesians 2:8-9
Faith begins by hearing the Word of God, which comes through preaching and is first demonstrated through salvation as we believe in faith that Jesus is the son of God, gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins and is coming back for His children one day. We haven’t seen all of this with our eyes but we believe in faith and hope for those things which we have heard and believe to be true based on the evidence of what God’s Word says is true.
Faith not only begins at our personal salvation, but it must begin in the belief of Creation. (Hebrews 11:3, Genesis 1)
Additional Resource: “Answers in Genesis” by Ken Hamm
Hebrews 10:23-36 - The just, the righteous are called to live by faith and then we find what is often referred to as the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11, We discuss the different men and women referenced in Hebrew 11 and how their faith allowed them to obey God in the midst of difficult circumstances.There wasn’t anything super extraordinary about any of these people, but what made them extraordinary is their faith in the One true God who could do the extraordinary.
2 Corinthians 5:17
What is the purpose?
Embedded in all of the scripture on faith in Hebrews 11, in verse 6 it tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. He’s told us what faith is, He’s given us examples of living by faith and in Hebrews 12:2 it tells us that He is the author and finisher of our faith and one day there will be an end to our faith, He will complete our faith journey when our faith becomes sight. The purpose is that one day we will see Jesus face to face and there will no longer be a need for faith but until then, walk by faith. First Peter 1:7-9 “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ; Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
What is the challenge?
Tony Evans continued in his sermon by saying “When we are not walking by faith, we are challenging God’s integrity. To not live by faith is to call God a liar. Faith is acting like God is telling the truth.” So my challenge this week is exercising your faith by not tying it to your emotions. The strength of your faith is not tied to how you feel but tied to the substance we have faith in, so walk in faith knowing that the ONE your faith is in is faithful. He has proven Himself faithful. We’ve seen the examples in scripture and we’ve seen Him work in our own lives.
We end this episode by looking at 2 more examples in scripture of living by faith found in the stories of the 3 Hebrew boys and Queen Esther. They did not know what the outcome would be, but they knew the One in whom their faith was placed. WE do not know what tomorrow holds and faith is not always getting our own way but it’s knowing that God loves His children and no matter the outcome, no matter the results, we must remain faithful to God our Father because if we are to experience God in action, we must walk in faith.
