THE ARMOR OF GOD TO BATTLE SATAN #4
The subject of "faith" is given a huge amount of time and
space in the Bible. It would take many hours to look up and read
all the verses on the words "faith" and "faithful" and "trust" (a
twin word for faith).
It is not the object of this study to look at all the
passages where the above words can be found in the Bible.
Strong's Concordance of the Bible will give you every verse in
the Bible where those words can be found. You, your family,
friends, your group Bible study could make that a project one day
- reading the context of each passage where the above three words
are used from Genesis to Revelation. It would take many a Bible
study.
Here, first, I will present some "nuggets" on what people
have said and given examples as to what constitutes FAITH.
YOUR FAITH OUGHT TO GET YOU IN TROUBLE AT TIMES. If everybody
thinks you are nuts, you may be. It's OK if some think you are.
You're probably in trouble if no one thinks you are.
Author unknown
......
Faith is resting in the fact that God has an object in leaving me
on the scene when I feel useless to Him and a burden to others.
Pamela Reeves, "Faith Is"
......
Tradition is the living faith of those now dead. Traditionalism
is the dead faith of those still living.
Jaroslav Pelikan, "The Vindication of Tradition"
......
FAITH is speaking truth in love at the cost of position of
relationships.
......
Faith like Job's cannot be shaken because it is the result of
having been shaken.
Abraham Heschel "Certainty, Difficulty"
......
A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes whereas
a strong faith is strengthened by them.
Victor Frankl "Trials, Strengths"
......
Faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in
reverse."
Philip Yancey "Vision, Trust"
......
That you are sitting before me in this church is a fact. That I
am standing and speaking to you from this pulpit is a fact. But
it is only faith that makes me believe anyone is listening.
Anonymous preacher "Fact, Belief"
......
True faith goes into operation when there is no answers.
Elizabeth Elliot "Difficulty, Doubt"
......
Faith does not operate in the realm of possible. There is no
glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins
where man's power ends.
George Muller "Power, glory"
......
Our faith becomes practical when it is expressed in two books:
the date book and the checkbook.
Elton Trueblood "Time, Money"
......
Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to
it.
Ruben Alves "Hope, Future"
......
DEAD FAITH
What you gonna do when the river overflows?! Faith answers, I'm
gonna sit on the porch and watch her go.
What you gonna do when the hogs all drown? I'm gonna wish I lived
on higher ground.
What you gonna do when the cow floats away?
I'm gonna throw in after her a bale of hay.
What you gonna do with the water in the room? I'm gonna sweep her
out with a sedge-straw broom.
What you gonna do when the cabin leaves?
I'm gonna climb on the roof and straddle the eaves.
What you gonna do when your hold gives way? I'm gonna say,
"Howdy, Lord! It's judgment day."
Ben Patterson, "Waiting"
......
A BUCKET FULL
If I Had Only Known You
Lord,
I crawled
across the barrenness to You
with my empty cup uncertain
in asking
any small drop of refreshment. If only
I had known You better
I'd have come Running With a bucket.
Nancy Spiegelberg and Dorothy Purdy, "Fanfare: A Celebration of
Belief"
......
ARE YOU THIRSTY?
LEGEND HAS IT that a man was lost in the desert, just dying for a
drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack-a ramshackled,
windowless, roofless, weatherbeaten old shack. He looked about
this place and found a little shade from the heat of the desert
sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet
away-an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed
the handle, and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing
came out.
Disappointed, he staggered back. He noticed off to the side an
old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust, and read
a message that said, "You have to prime the pump with all the
water in this jug, my friend. P.S.: Be sure you fill the jug
again before you leave."
He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost
full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he
drank the water, he could live. Ah, but if he poured all the
water in the old rusty pump, maybe it would yield fresh, cool
water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted.
He studied the possibility of both options. What should he do,
pour it into the old pump and take a chance on fresh, cool water
or drink what was in the old jug and ignore its message? Should
he waste all the water on the hopes of those flimsy instructions
written, no telling how long ago?
Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he
grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak.
Still nothing came out! Squeak, squeak, squeak. A little bit
began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed!
To his relief fresh, cool water poured out of the rusty pump.
Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it. He filled it
another time and once again drank its refreshing contents.
Then he filled the jug for the next traveller. He filled it to
the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little note:
"Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before
you can get anything back."
Charles R. Swindell, "Living Above the Level of Mediocrity"
......
FAITH is engaging in the deepest joy of heaven, knowing His
unfathomable love for me as I walk through the thorny desolate
now.
Pamela Reeve, "Faith Is"
......
Faith
Someone Once Said ...
* Faith is like muscle which grows stronger and stronger with
use, rather than rubber, which weakens when it is stretched.
J. O. Fraser
* Faith is the Samsonian lock of the Christian; cut it off, and
you may put out his eyes and he can do nothing.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
* Not a great faith we need, but faith in a great God.
J. Hudson Taylor
......
DEFINITIONS of Faith
* The art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted,
in spite of your changing moods.
C.S.Lewis
* Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this
faith is to see what you believe.
St.Augustine
* Faith is voluntary anticipation.
Clement of Alexandria
......
FAITH
Biblical Definitions of Faith
* Believing there will be a fulfilment of those things that are
told us by the Lord
Luke 1:45
* Believing that it will be just as was told us
Acts 27:25
* Not wavering at the promise of God, but being fully convinced
that what He has promised He is able to perform
Romans 4:20-21
* Judging Him faithful who has promised
Hebrews 11:11
* The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen
Hebrews 11:1
......
WHY God Responds to FAITH
Houston pastor John Bisango describes a time when his daughter
Melodye Jan, age five, came to him and asked for a doll house.
John promptly nodded and promised to build her one, then he went
back to reading his book. Soon he glanced out the study window
and saw her arms filled with dishes, toys, and dolls, making trip
after trip until she had a great pile of playthings in the yard.
He asked his wife what Melodye Jan was doing.
"Oh, you promised to build her a doll house, and she believes
you. She's just getting ready for it."
"You would have thought I'd been hit by an atom bomb," John later
said. "I threw aside that book, raced to the lumber yard for
supplies, and quickly built that little girl a doll house. Now
why did I respond? Because I wanted to? No. Because she deserved
it? No. Her daddy had given his word, and she believed it and
acted upon it. When I saw her faith, nothing could keep me from
carrying out my word."
FAITH AS A LIGHT TO OTHERS
Not long after the first Moravian missionaries had left for the
West Indies, John Wesley, unconverted at the time, found himself
aboard ship alongside another group of them. It was January 25,
1736, and the weather was rough. Three storms had already
battered the boat, and a fourth was brewing. Wesley scribbled in
his journal, "Storm greater: afraid!" But the Moravians were
trusting God so simply and so completely that they evidenced no
signs of fear, and they even persevered in their plans for a
worship service. In the middle of their singing, a gigantic wave
rose over the side of the vessel, splitting the main-sail,
covering the ship, pouring water like Niagara Falls between decks
"as if the great deep had already swallowed us up:"
The English passengers screamed as the ship lurched and pitched
between towering waves. A terrified Wesley clung on for dear
life. But the German missionaries didn't miss a note. Wesley,
awestruck by their composure, later went to the leader and asked,
"Weren't you afraid?"
"I thank God, no."
"Were not your women and children afraid?"
"No," replied the man. "Our women and children are not afraid."
Back in London, Wesley was so struck by their sturdy faith that
he attended a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street on May 24,
1738. He later said, "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I
did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance
was given to me that He had taken away my sins, even mine."
Wesley became a famous evangelist and social reformer, with the
world as his parish. But he himself was won to Christ by the
power of a small group whose faith in Christ was strong enough to
keep them unflappable in a storm.
......
An Old Story
One of our oldest sermon illustrations still provides a powerful
illustration of the personal nature of faith. A far-famed
tightrope walker came to Niagara Falls and stretched his rope
across the thunderous currents from Canada to the United States.
Before the breathless multitudes, he walked, then ran, across the
falls. He did the same blindfolded, with drums rolling. Then,
still blindfolded, he pushed a wheelbarrow across the falls.
The crowds went wild, and the aerialist shouted to them, "Who
believes I can push a man in this wheelbarrow across these
falls?"
A gentleman in the front waved his hands, shouting, "I do! I
believe!" "Then," said the walker, "come and get in the
wheelbarrow."
To no surprise, the man's intellectual assent failed to translate
into personal belief.
......
Anyone Else?
A man slipped and fell off a cliff while hiking on a mountaintop.
Luckily he was able to grab a branch on his way down. Holding on
for dear life, he looked down only to see a rock valley some
fifteen hundred feet below. When he looked up it was twenty feet
to the cliff where he had fallen.
panicked, he yelled, "Help! Help! Is anybody there? Help!"
A booming voice spoke up. "I am here, and I will save you if you
believe in me." "I believe! I believe!" yelled back the man.
"If you believe me, let go of the branch and then I will save
you:"
The young man, hearing what the voice said, looked down again.
Seeing the rock valley below, he quickly looked back up and
shouted, "Is there anybody else up there!"'
......
FAITHFULNESS
Someone Once Said ...
* Faithfulness to principle is only proved by faithfulness in
detail.
Frances Ridley Havergal
* My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, but
faithful.
Mother Teresa, to Senator Mark Hatfield who, while touring her
work in Calcutta, asked, "How can you bear the load without being
crushed by it?"
* Dependability: Fulfilling what I agreed to do even though it
requires unexpected sacrifices. (Proverbs 15:4)
Bill Gothard
......
Old Faithful
Old Faithful is not the largest geyser in Yellowstone National
Park, nor does it reach the greatest height. But it is by far the
most popular one. Why? It is regular and dependable, hence its
name, "Old Faithful."
......
FAITHFUL WITH WORKS
Two frogs fell into a tub of cream. The one looked at the high
sides of the tub which were too difficult to crawl over and said,
"It is hopeless." So he resigned himself to death, relaxed, and
sank to the bottom. The other one determined to keep swimming as
long as he could. "Something might happen," he said. And it did.
He kept kicking and churning, and finally he found himself on a
solid platform of butter, and jumped to safety.
(Ah, that reminds me of the "faith" chapter of the book of James
- chapter two. Though Martin Luther of the reformation called the
book of James "an epistle of straw" he could not have been more
wrong; James gives the other side of the coin of true Biblical
faith - Keith Hunt)
......
An illustration of the balance between faith and works lies
hidden within any tree. Leaves use up nutrients in the process of
photosynthesis. As the leaves consume nutrients in the sap, a
suction is formed, which draws more sap from the roots. Without
the sap, the leaves and branches would die. But the continual
flow of this sap comes only as it is used up by the work of the
leaf.
Likewise, through faith we draw life from Christ. But a continual
supply of fresh spiritual nutrients depends on our willingness to
"consume" the old supply through our acts of obedience, through
our works.
......
FAITH TESTED
This piece was heard on National Public Radio's Morning Edition
on November 2,1988:
In 1958, America's first commercial jet air service began with
the flight of the Boeing 707. A month after that first flight, a
traveller on a piston-engine, propeller-driven DC-6 airliner
struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. The passenger
happened to be a Boeing engineer. The traveller asked the
engineer about the new jet aircraft, whereupon the engineer began
speaking at length about the extensive testing Boeing had done on
the jet engine before bringing it into commercial service. He
recounted Boeing's experience with engines, from the B-17 to the
B-52.
When his travelling companion asked him if he himself had yet
flown on the new 707 jet airliner, the engineer replied, "I think
I'll wait until it's been in service awhile."
......
Even enthusiastic talking about our faith doesn't mean much if we
aren't also willing to put our lives where our mouth is.
Donner Atwood, in "Reformed Review," writes:
During the terrible days of the Blitz, a father, holding his
small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck
by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as
soon as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his
arms for his son to follow.
Terrified, yet hearing his father's voice telling him to jump,
the boy replied, "I can't see you!"
The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning
buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, "But I can see
you. Jump!"
The boy jumped, because he trusted his father.
The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not
because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen, not
that we know all the answers, but that we are known.
......
ALL THE ABOVE were taken from four books:
"1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories" by Edward
Rowell
"750 Engaging Illustrations" by Craig Larson
"Stories, Illustrations and Quotes" by Robert Morgan
"Swindoll's Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes" by Charles
Swindoll
......
The Bible is full of quotes about "trust" and "faith" and
"faithfulness." The Bible is full of examples of faith, as you
read the Bible from cover to cover, you will find many stories of
faith, real faith, not blind faith. As you read the Bible you
will find over and over again the truth of LIVING faith as
contrasted to DEATH faith. All of this covers much of what is
written in the Bible. It is a large and expounded truth, which
cannot be covered in this relatively short study, but I will give
you some pertinent verses from the Bible and truths on faith from
Jesus Christ - Keith Hunt
......
Ps.32:10 "He that trusts in the Lord, mercy shall compass him
about."
Ps.34:8 "O taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the
man that trusts in Him."
Ps.64:10 "The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall
trust in Him."
Ps.78:7 "That they might set their hope in God, and not forget
the works of God, but keep His commandments."
Ps.118:8,9 "It is better to put trust in the Lord than to put
confidence in man. It is better to put trust in the Lord, than to
put confidence in princes."
Ps.125:1 "They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion,
which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever."
Ps.147:11 "The Lord taketh pleasure in then that fear Him, in
those that hope in his mercy."
Prov.3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding."
Prov.29:25 "He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe."
Isa.26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee: because he trusts in Thee."
Nah.1:7 "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
and He knoweth them that trust in Him."
There is the book of Romans that expounds for you how we are
justified, made at-one with the Father through faith in the
sacrifice of Christ Jesus. This book I have fully opened to you
under "The New Testament Bible Story."
We are saved by grace through FAITH, as it is written "By
grace are you saved through faith; and not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God" - Eph.2:8.
Being saved by grace through faith I have in-depth revealed
to you in my study "Saved by Grace."
You have also two chapters (Hebrews 11 and James 2) in the
New Testament dealing with faith.
SOME OF THE WORDS OF JESUS ON FAITH, BELIEF, TRUST
Please read the contexts
Mat.7:24,25 "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was
founded upon a rock."
Mark 9:23 "Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things
are possible to him that believes."
Luke 7:9 "When Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and
turned about himself, and said unto the people that followed him,
I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in
Israel."
Luke 17:6 "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might
say unto this sycamine tree, Be you plucked up by the roots, and
be you cast in the sea; and it should obey you."
John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say unto you, he that heareth my word,
and believeth on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life."
John 7:38 "He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the
life; he that believes on me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live."
John 12:36,44,46 "While you have light, believe in the light,
that you may be the children of light. Jesus cried and said, he
that believes on me, believes not just on me, but on Him that
sent me. I am come as a light into the world, that whosoever
believes on me should not abide in darkness."
John 18:37 "Every one that is of the truth hears my voice."
......
Faith is hearing what Jesus taught. It is reading and
listening to God through His written word, the Bible. Faith is
believing that word, that it is truth, and then putting that
faith truth into LIVING ACTION by trusting and obeying the will
and commandments of God. Faith is "trust and obey" just as the
popular hymn says, "Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to
be happy in Jesus, than to TRUST and OBEY."
WITH THE SHIELD OF FAITH IN FRONT OF US AS WE GO OUT TO
BATTLE THE FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED ONE, WE SHALL CONQUER HIM;
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR SATAN'S DARTS TO KILL US WHEN WE FIGHT WITH
THE SHIELD OF FAITH.
...................
Keith Hunt - this study written April 2009
To be continued
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