Study Notes

I.      Jesus always did those things that pleased God-John 8:29

A.    In every situation that you’ll face there’s a way to respond that will please God

1.      When you see Jesus what you see is him always doing the thing that pleased God

B.     Hebrews 11:6-To please God faith is a requirement

1.      To respond in a way that pleases God it will take faith to respond that way

2.      To respond in way that pleases God you must respond to every situation in faith

a.    EX: What does God say about this I agree and act accordingly no mater what I see or how I feel-That’s faith

C.    2 Corinthians 5:7-Faith is conducting your life based on your confidence in God and His word rather than conducting your life based on what you see or how feel

1.      I can respond the way God wants me to because no matter what I see or how I feel I have faith in God that he knows best and that he’s got my best interests in mind

2.      When Jesus did the thing that pleased God it always took faith in God to do it

3.      Jesus’ continual proper response was the result of His faith in God

a.    The proper response is always the result of faith in God and the improper response is always the result of lack of faith in God

II.     When we see Jesus we see someone who had faith in God; you don’t see somebody who is unsure, uncertain, and lacking confidence and trust in God

A.    Jesus didn’t have some special knowing or special relationship with God that you and I can’t have; the only certainty he had about these things was the written word and the inward witness and then he acted in faith

1.      John 14:16-And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,

2.      He has faith in God that when he prays it will happen; We pray for somebody and we’re not sure

B.     Jesus could do nothing of himself; He must have faith in God to do these things

1.      Matthew 17:17-18-Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

a.    There’s no doubt or hesitation in what he is doing because He has faith in God

2.      Mark 1:40-43-And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

a.    This took faith in God to protect Him from that leprosy

3.      John 11:23-Thy brother shall rise again 

4.      Matthew 17:27-Go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me & thee.

5.      Luke 8:49-50-Fear not, believe only and she will be made whole.

6.      Luke 5:4-Launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a draught

7.      Mark 4:35-Let us go over to the other side and a hurricane comes and he stays in the bottom of the boat; he must have faith in God

C.    It took the most faith for Jesus to believe that he was going to be raised from the dead

1.      He knows this only through His written word and through the HS-John 20:9

a.    Matthew 26:32-But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

b.    Luke 18:31-33-Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. (Mark 10:34)

c.     Mark 8:31-And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

2.      This is never happened before; no man has ever redeemed mankind through death; How does he know this is all going to work out?

a.    Matthew 26:36-The torment is suppose it don’t turn out that way you  

b.    Luke 23:46-He’s trusting God with His spirit; Why? Because when a man dies the death of a sinner he goes to hell

c.     Luke 22:15-18-We’re going to win and when we do then I’ll eat and drink

III.   Jesus didn’t walk by faith automatically. He had the same opportunities to doubt and be moved by his feelings that you and I do-Matthew 4

A.    1-Because Jesus operated as a man and was tempted we know that there were times when the enemy would attack his thought life and Jesus opportunities to doubt

1.      Hebrews 4:15-You’ve been tempted to doubt and so was he

2.      John 11-We he went to raise Lazarus from the dead you know the enemy was in his hear saying supposed he don’t come out of the cave

3.      John 8-When he was surrounded by people who wanted to kill him, you know the enemy was screaming in his hear you’re going to die

4.      Matthew 4-You know the enemy was trying to do everything he could to get Jesus to think, “Maybe I’m not the son of God.”

B.     The enemy is trying to get Jesus to get in unbelief where his identity is concerned-“If thou be the son of God…” with the notion that there’s a possibility you’re not

1.      Satan is trying to get Jesus to desire physical evidence to believe that he is in fact what/who God says he is; Requiring physical evidence is not faith

2.      Up until this point Jesus has no physical evidence that would point to the fact that he is the son of God; he hadn’t done any miracles

a.    The only reason he had to believe he was the son of God was that God told him

C.    Jesus responded in faith and it pleased God

IV.   We never see Jesus try to work up faith, but rather His faith flowed out of the intimate relationship that he had with the Father-Matthew 11:27

A.    The more intimately you know God the more natural faith in him will be; Faith for Jesus was a natural outflow of their intimate relationship-2 Timothy 1:12

1.      Faith in God is the natural outflow of an intimate relationship with God

2.      A problem that we have been having is we don’t know in whom we have believed

3.      Remember nothing was forced with Jesus and even there were times when he was intense and strong on something, there was always an ease that surrounded him

B.     You can get so focused on what was said that you forget the who that said it and that makes faith hard because we are supposed to have faith in God (who) before we can have faith in (what) he has said

1.      Faith does come by hearing the Word, but when you forget whose word it is that principle becomes lifeless-Romans 10:17

2.      Faith comes by hearing the Word because as you spend time in the Word you should be spending time with God, knowing him better and the better you know a person the easier it gets for you to trust them

a.    As we spend time in the Word concerning certain areas we are getting to know God and how he operates regarding those areas and our faith is coming up

V.    Matthew 8:10-Jesus likes faith and because he is the express image of God then we know God does to