Obtaining The Spirit Of Faith
Foundation Statement: People with the spirit
of faith have practiced living by faith
I.
Hearing a lot of teaching
on faith and “knowing” a lot about faith is not the same thing as living by
faith
A. James 1:22-When you hear
a lot about something there can come a deception that you are doer because
you’ve heard it a lot; you can believe you are a doer just because you’ve
heard; just b/c you’ve heard a lot of teaching about something doesn’t mean
you’re a doer of it
1.
You
have to ask yourself: Am I actually living by faith or have I just heard a lot
about faith and assume I’m living by faith?
2.
The most important thing
is not that you hear more, but that you do what you have heard
a. VOICE-Put the word into action. If you think hear is what
matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived.
b. NLT-But don’t just listen to God’s
Word. You must do what it
says. Otherwise, you are only
fooling yourselves.
B. We’ve heard so much that
faith comes by hearing the Word and we’ve equated that to because I’ve heard a
lot of word then that means I’m a person of great faith-Romans 10:17
1.
Faith
comes by hearing the Word, but just because you heard the Word and faith came
doesn’t mean you used any faith
a. EX: There’s a difference
between having a car and driving it
2.
Matthew
14:29-When Jesus said “come” to Peter faith came to Peter, but what made Peter
a man of faith in this situation was not his hearing, but his acting on what he
heard
a. Peter could have got that
message on a CD, took notes, study it, listened to it hundreds of times, that’s
not living by faith
C. James 2:17-26-If you
truly do believe then there should be some action that expresses your faith or
that you’re relying on God and trusting Him
1.
17-Works-Act, deed, thing done, doing
– If your faith doesn’t have some action, some doing then it is dead and
it’s not really faith
a. Are you speaking the
Word? Are you moved by the circumstances? Are you resting? Do you have any joy?
Peace?
2.
18-You
can’t show me faith without doing something because faith is expressed in how
you act
a. Some say, “I have faith,”
but they aren’t using their faith
b. You don’t have to tell
anybody you have faith, just live by faith and they’ll see it
3.
21-Abraham
wasn’t a great man of faith because he heard a bunch of messages, took a bunch
of notes and knew a lot about faith; he was a man of faith because he used his
faith and acted in faith and on his faith
4.
22-Faith
reaches supreme expression through what you do, your doing, your actions
a. Knowing a lot about faith is one thing; Not being moved by
the evil report and how you feel and retaining your faith and holding fast to
the confession of your faith and resting with peace and joy in the midst of a
negative report is a totally different thing
II.
If we want to develop the
spirit of faith then we have to continue in the word about the spirit of
faith-James 1:21-26
A. You will not become a
doer of what you do not continue to look at
1.
The
guy didn’t do it because he looked and then departed and forgot what he looked
at
2.
They
guy did it because he looked and then stayed there and kept looking and rather
than being a forgetful hearing, he was a doer
3.
A
big part of being a doer of the word will be your continuing to look at the
Word and keeping it before you
a. Joshua 1:8-The revelation
is that if you don’t keep looking at it you won’t be a doer of it
b. Deuteronomy 11:18-20-Keep
it in front of so that you can do it
B. Why would you or why
wouldn’t you keeping looking at? (Forgetful-No
longer caring for, neglecting)
1.
One
guy looked and it wasn’t important enough to him to keep looking; He heard
something that must have not been that important to him because he walked away
and forgot it, no longer caring for it
2.
The
other, what he heard was important enough to him that he kept looking at it
C. The engrafted word of
faith can infect your soul with faith so that you think faith, chose faith,
talk faith
1.
If
you will attach the word of faith to your soul you can graft faith in to the
place that it influences your thinking, your feeling, your choosing
2.
Engrafted
means there was attachment to the Word, there was a continuing and remaining
beside the Word until the Word and your soul became one
III.
If you want to develop
the spirit of faith then you have to practice living by faith
A. Hebrews 5:12-14-You
cannot develop in what you do not practice and do
1.
You
can be unskillful (in experienced,
without experience) in the Word, in faith
a. The way to develop skill
and get experience is to practice applying the Word and living by the Word
b. Unskillful means you they
haven’t been practicing
c. Romans 5:3-4-In
tribulation we employ patience and patience leads to experience; If they hadn’t
have practice patience they wouldn’t have had experience
2.
By
reason of use (practice) they
trained their mind to discern good and evil
a. Through practice they
trained their seeing, their thinking, their choosing to distinguish good and
evil
b. Senses-To perceive, With the Mind, By the bodily senses, Faculty of
the mind for perceiving (seeing), understanding, judging
c. They have some experience
because they’ve practiced
3.
If you’re not using your
faith, if you’re not practicing, then you’re not going to develop in faith
a. You can train yourself to see through the eyes of faith,
think through the mind of faith, and make faith decisions THROUGH PRACTICE
b. AMP-Trained by
practice-If you will practice living by faith you will develop the spirit of
faith and faith will transition from something you do to who you are
B. Everybody wants to perform,
but few want to practice-1 Samuel 17:34-37
1.
The
bear
a. I went out after him
b. Smote-Hit, Strike,
Beaten, Wounded, To receive a blow, Beat, Slay, Kill, Attack and destroy
c. Delivered out of his
mouth-Snatch away, rescue, save
2.
The
lion
a. The lion rose against him
b. Smote-Hit, Strike,
Beaten, Wounded, To receive a blow, Beat, Slay, Kill, Attack and destroy
c. Slew-Put him to death
3.
37-David
overcame the bear and the lion with his faith and the Lord delivered him
4.
48-51-He
could perform in the spirit of faith like this with Goliath because he had been
practicing on the bear and lion
C. Philippians 4:9
(Amplified)-Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in
me
1.
This tells me that you
can learn and receive and hear and see and not practice
2.
Are
you practicing? – Trouble doesn’t trouble you – Hold onto your
faith – Despise the pressure – Make pressure work for you – Make
the devil eat it – Confidence/Speaking knowing – Look only to
God/Rely on Him – Run to the Word – Pay no attention to what you
see or how you feel
D. It’s not just important
that you practice, but that you practice right because you’re not going tso develop in the right stuff when you practice the wrong
stuff
1.
If
you practice unbelief you’ll develop in unbelief; Most practice praying in
unbelief so that’s all the develop in
IV.
If we want to develop the
spirit of faith, then we need to hang around people who have the spirit of
faith
A. Proverbs 13:20-If you
walk with a person who has the spirit of faith it will rub off on you
1.
ERV-Be friends with those
who are wise and you will become wise
B. There’s some people and
stuff you just don’t need to hang around
1.
1
Corinthians 15:33-You hang around unbelief and it’ll rub off on you
2.
Galatians
5:9-You can be infected by other peoples unbelief
a. Numbers 13-They infected
a whole generation with unbelief
C. Philippians 3:17-Follow
those who walk and live by faith
1.
1 Corinthians 11:1-There
should be some flesh and blood people we are imitating and copying and learning
from and following
2.
ERV-Brothers and sisters
join together in following my example.
Also, learn by watching those who are living the way we showed you
3.
CEV-My friends, I want
you to follow my example and learn from others who closely follow the example
we set for you