What is Faith?
Bro Jason Watford
The Bible teaches in Hebrews 11:1“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen.”
For years as a child, teenager, and even a four year Bible
college student, I honestly wondered what that verse meant and what exactly
faith is. Don’t get me wrong, I heard many sermons on it, heard many
illustrations about it, and had many great men sit down and try to explain it
to me but I never really “got it” until one day in my own personal life I was
forced to come hand and hand with this word faith. I personally believe that
every Christian should and will have to make a decision in their life that they
will have to step out in “faith” and just believe and trust God. Allow me to
take a few paragraphs and try to personally explain what faith is and how to
“step out in faith” based on Hebrews 11:8-10.
September 2012 would probably have been the hardest attack that
the devil had ever put on my family and I. We were doing quite well, and
seemingly the Lord was prospering us. We were financially doing well. I was
leading an adult Sunday school class, over a Bible College, working
on staff at a good church, when I knew in my heart that God wanted more from
me. I KNEW that the Lord wanted me to Pastor and it was burning inside of
me. It is really hard to explain how a person knows God’s calling but I
couldn’t sleep, I just wanted to love people and pastor very badly. Because of
this desire, my family began looking for a church to pastor. We left the
church where we were and went to candidate for a church that I just knew HAD to
be God’s will. To make a long story short, I lost the vote by one
person. We had sold our house, had no job, nowhere to go, and my wife was
expecting. The night we lost the vote by one person, I read Hebrews
11:8-10 and I noticed what Abraham did. These verses changed the way my wife
and I looked at our situation and changed our outlook.
Hebrews 11:8-10 “By faith
Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place, which he should after
receive for an inheritance, OBEYED; and he WENT OUT, not knowing whither
he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacle with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same
promise. For he LOOKED for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and
maker is God.”
The formula
for faith is simple. Obey. Move. Look. When God tells you to do something the
first step is obedience. Obedience is faith. You cannot have faith without
obedience. It’s impossible. Next, is to move and do what God told you to do.
Abraham “went out” and left his country not knowing where he was going.
I’m sure he was scared, but his obedience led to faith and his moving led to even
more faith. I do not know what college you are to go to; however, if God
told you to go to Bible college then you should obey,
move and then look. Look for God to come through. Has God ever really let you
down? I now pastor some wonderful people in Seven Springs, NC. When my family
moved here, there were 30 people and last Sunday we had over 200 by the
grace of God! God knows what He is doing and knows where to put His children.
Have faith in God by obeying Him, making any moves necessary to follow Him, and
looking for Him to come through as He always does.
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