SHARE THIS BLOG

Thursday, October 18, 2012

WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY...LEARNING ABOUT FAITH (PART 3)

STOP DOUBTING & WORRYING


Too often, people give in to worry without realizing how deadly it is. When you get to the root of it, worry is a sin. Worry certainly doesn't come out of faith, and Romans 14:23 (AMP) states that"whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin."




Romans 14:23

23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.


Seeing is Believing

Is seeing believing? Or is believing seeing? Those are questions of faith. Christian struggle with a lack of faith finds its basis. The main reason why so many Christians struggle with a lack of faith is because we follow our perceptions of what is true rather than what we know to be true by faith.

Faith is not belief without proof, or belief despite the evidence, rather faith is a complete trust or confidence in someone or something. That trust or confidence we have in someone is built up over time as they prove themselves faithful time and time again.


In the New 
Testament stories about Jesus and all the miracles that Jesus had done, gives us evidence for complete trust in Jesus.  Christianity is a faith-based religion. It is based on faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. God has provided us with His Word, the Holy Bible, as a testimony of His faithfulness to His people all throughout history, shown in both the New and Old Testaments.  In its bare essentials, Christianity is faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ claimed to be the promised Messiah and the Son of God. This is told throughout the Old Testament, way before Jesus's birth.  His life was one of perfect righteousness according to the revealed law of God and His death was an atoning sacrifice for the sins of His people. By placing our faith and trust in Christ alone for our salvation, God takes our sin and places it on the cross of Christ and awards us, by grace, with the perfect righteousness of Christ. That, in a nutshell, is the Christian message. As Christians, we are called to believe this message and live in light of it. 

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.


The Old Testament stories below are of real people who demonstrated courageous faith in impossible situations


Great Examples of Faith Throughout the Bible

Hebrews 11

New Living Translation (NLT)


3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.



4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.”[a] For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

7 It was by faith that Noah built a 
large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[b] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.

21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.



23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.


24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 

27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 


28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.



29 It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.


30 It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.

31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

My message to you all of you that worry or have doubt, I am living proof of faith in God and His promises. I have been a person that worked three jobs to make ends meet.  Then last October I had an accident at my job.  I injured my right leg severely and have three surgeries and might be having two more.  I have not been able to go back to work.  I have always been a person that was in control and took control of things.  

I can tell you the truth that God has provided for me and my family as He promised in Philippians 4:19.  "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs for his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19.  When things are no longer in your hands and you have no control, the only thing you can do is have faith in God.  That He will take care of you.  

The Bible says: 
"Give all you worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7.




No comments:

Post a Comment