the virtue of faith

The virtue of faith

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of

things not seen”

A strong belief in God & all of his holy laws, which is not based upon tangible proof but

is instead based upon your own personal experience & spiritual works in the Lord. It

is to have complete trust & confidence in God’s power, authority & guidance.

Faith defined

©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Many people proclaim they have faith in god

Unfortunately this word is often misused....why?

Because people often feel that you can believe in god without actually obeying him but faith can NOT be separated from works

The bible not only has several examples of people showcasing their faith but speak specifically about faith & works

Misuse of the word faith


“Even so faith, if it hath NOT works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a

man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith

without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also

believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith

without works is dead?”

James 2: 17-20


Christ is our example


Our faith is evident through our obedience & the works we perform on behalf of the Lord

Christ is a perfect example of this

In his own words he states.... “because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (St. John 5: 30)

Christ healed the sick, performed miracles, taught the gospel and faced persecution over and over because it was the will of his Father

Christ’s obedience


Faith enables us to resist the temptation of satan

When Christ fasted for 40 days and 40 nights satan came to him and tempted him three times

Satan’s goal, as with all of us, was to get christ to disobey the father

Luke 4: 1-13

Turn stone into bread to break his fast

Asked Christ to bow down & worship him

Asked Christ to take his own life & tempt God

Christ faced temptation


Satan is like a serpent

Through faith we are able to make major sacrifices

Some may have to face the challenge of giving up their life

We know that christ gave up his life for all of his children

His death was not an easy death

They spat at Christ, they hit him, mocked him & crucified him for 6 hrs before he died

Despite all of this suffering & abuse he allowed for his life to be taken and did not use his power to save himself because he had faith in his father

Christ faced death


Christ’s life on this earth provides us with a powerful lesson

He shows us that through faith....

We can obey God though most in the world refuse to & will often ridicule you for doing so

We can resist the wiles & fiery darts of the devil because we believe & know the laws of God

We can face & overcome great challenges in our lives

We might even have to give up our life but can do so because we believe in the resurrection & gaining eternal life

Christ ‘s faith


Other examples in the bible that showcase

faith


Abraham was a perfect & righteous man because he feared & obeyed god

His faith in god was so strong that he was willing to sacrifice his son isaac without question

Because of his obedience & faith, god was with abraham all the days of his life and made him the father of many nations

Reference scripture: genesis 22: 1-12

Abraham


There was a woman that had a disease of the blood for 12 years

Christ was walking through the crowd with the apostles

The woman touched the hem of christ’s garment with the belief that she would be healed

Christ said to her “thy faith hath made thee whole...”

Reference scripture: Matthew 9: 19-22

The woman that touched the hem of Christ’s garment


Job is well known in the bible for his strong faith despite all the adversity he faced

He was one that feared & obeyed god, steering away from evil

Job was a man that had great wealth, land & 10 children

Satan challenged god and claimed that if he removed his protection from job that he would surely curse him

Knowing his son, god took on this challenge allowing satan to “put forth his hands” against job with the exception of taking his life

Job


Satan reeked havoc in job’s life

In a very short period of time Job lost his servants, land, wealth & children

Naturally Job was extremely upset & went into mourning but he did not curse god instead he said...

“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Reference scripture: Job Chapter 1

Job


When job did not curse god after losing everything, satan did challenge god once more that if job lost his health he would surely turn against him

God took on this challenge and satan caused job to become very ill

Job’s wife and his friends accused him, saying that he must of have sinned because of all that he was going through

Even through all of this, job did not curse god once

Reference scripture: Job chapter 2

Job


After job went through this great adversity the lord did indeed bless him

He regained his health and had 10 more children

His land & wealth was greater than what it was before

Reference scripture: Job 42: 10-13

Job


The saints in the bible provide us with strong examples of faith

We can see that their faith, along with the faith of christ was tried

Our faith will be tried as well (I Peter 1: 6-7)

We may not have to go through all of the trials that job had to go through at once but we will face adversity- there is no escaping it

You may lose a job, the life of a loved one or your health may be compromised

Our faith will be tried


Faith is submitting to the authority of God by obeying his laws & trusting in the instruction he provides in his word

Faith is believing & trusting that god will enable you to have your basic necessities even though you just lost your job

Faith is continuing in earnest prayer for a loved one to be healed even though it has not come to past yet

Faith is continuing to serve God & believing in his mercy even though you have lost a loved one or your own health

Faith is being willing to give up your life for god because you know he will resurrect you in the end

Faith is....


Faith is not something that you can see, touch or feel...we live during a time when god is not physically on this earth but we must know that he is with us

Faith is not stagnant....we must continue to build upon our faith through our life experiences

Faith is not.....


Faith is a fruit of the spirit and a spiritual gift that is bestowed upon us by the holy Spirit

We must pray to God the father to give us the holy spirit & to give us faith

Reference scripture: Galatians 5: 22 & I Corinthians 12: 7-11

How do we get faith


Questions


For questions regarding this presentation please contact us via email at

[email protected] or by phone at 219.949.9308

Please review the following scriptures


Hebrews Ch. 11

James Ch. 1 & 2

I Peter Ch. 1

Matthew 17: 20-21

Matthew 8: 5-10

Mark 9: 17-27

St. John 11: 1-27


Presentation by: Elisabeth C. Pointer

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