Lesson 4: Faith

We have learned how the Israelites had God’s promises, just like we do, but they never received the things that were promised because they did not mix the promises with faith.  But what exactly is faith?  God repeats His definition for faith 3 times in the Bible.

1 the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. (Deuteronomy 30:14 NIV)

2 Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.  Truly I tell you, if anyone says… and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.  (Mark 11:22,23 NIV)

3 The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart… (Romans 10:8 NIV)

Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29 KJV).  In other words, any promise, any blessing, any gift- anything we get from God, we get by faith!

Think about how you got saved.  You believed that if you turned to Jesus, He would forgive you and wash away all your sins.  You believed it in your heart.  Then, with your mouth, you asked God to forgive you, and wash away your sins with the precious blood of Jesus.  Then, also with your mouth, you told God, “thank you for saving me.”  That’s faith!

Questions:

1.   In order for us to receive any of the promises, we must mix the promise with what?

2.   In God’s definition for faith, what two body parts must we use?

3.   It’s been estimated that there are over 3,000 blessings and promises in the bible… how many of these can we have?

4.   How many of the blessings/promises that we have “in Christ” can you remember?

Answers:

1.   Faith is the secret ingredient.  God gives us thousands of promises in the Bible, but they won’t do us any good at all unless we mix them with faith.

2.   God says we must believe His promise in our hearts and say it with our mouths.

3.   2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that “no matter how many promises God has made, they are “yes” in Christ. (NIV)  We can have any of God’s promises and blessings once we make the choice to follow Jesus.

4.   God says we are good, God loves us, God is our friend, God is with us, God protects us, God delights in us, God gives us power to “rule” over the devil, God gives us fruits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, God gives us power to increase (add souls to the Kingdom of God), we are blessed (successful) in everything we put our hand to do…

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.  Used by permission of Zondervan.  All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com.  The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.