According to Your Faith
Message Summary:
In Sunday’s message, Pastor John Carter taught us about the master key of faith. As believers, we can have all of the other moral qualities of the Bible, we can exhibit all the fruits of the Spirit, but we must have faith to properly navigate this Christian life. Faith is the foundational doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians cannot live without faith. Faith is the key the door to love, hope, and holiness. Without faith, you literally cannot please God. So, if this is the thing that pleases God, then we should prioritize faith and understand how to walk by faith in our daily lives.
Faith is foundational to the life of the believer. We are saved by faith, we are justified by faith, and we are commanded to continue to walk by faith. That faith that began our new life in Christ becomes the center of the new life we continue in every single day. But what does this look like? To walk by faith, you are not walking by sight. That means faith looks at something that you can’t see with your physical eyes. Learning to walk by faith is part of the maturing process for the believer. The Holy Spirit is at work in the true you, the new you on the inside of you, and you access the work of the Holy Spirit with your faith. When we learn to grow in our faith and walk in our faith, we are “growing up” as a believer.
Faith becomes the master key in our lives that unlocks all of God’s promises and blessings in His Word. But whether or not we use that master key is up to us. We have to look beyond what we see in front of us, what is apparent, and chooses instead to believe in the hope of God’s promise. God’s Word is the higher reality that we must believe is the final word in our lives. We must learn how to root ourselves so deeply in the truth of God’s Word, we can look at the temporary conditions in front of us to “be not as though it were.” Our faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Our faith reminds us that God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And that faith unlocks what is unseen and releases it to manifest in our natural circumstances. Our faith is the evidence that the real things, the real promises and blessings of God, exist and are just waiting to be revealed.
Scriptures:
[Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 NKJV] 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible… 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
[Hebrews 6:1 NKJV] 1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God…
[2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV] 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
[2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV] 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Discussion Questions:
What is faith, according to Hebrews 11:1-3?
How is faith the master key in our lives? What does that key open for us?
What does it look like to walk by faith?
Why do we need to walk by faith, and not by sight?
Why is learning to walk by faith part of our maturity process as a believer?
Life Application:
As you study the key scriptures over the next week, examine your life and consider this: Where is the proof of your faith? Remember, Pastor said proof takes the place of the evidence until it arrives. Faith is your proof. It takes the place of that which is not seen until it arrives. Could someone tell by your words, your actions, your devotional life, and your behavior what you are standing in faith for? Are you walking by faith and expecting God to manifest His promises and blessings in your life? Your faith is the proof of what is not yet seen, but what you are certain that what you hope for will come to pass.