Encounters with God Require Faith

Memory verse: Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)

When God speaks, your response requires faith. Throughout Scripture when God revealed Himself, His purposes, and His ways, the response to Him required faith.

Read the Scriptures and notice what they say about Faith

What is faith?

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1)

What is the opposite of faith?

“We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

How important is it for your faith to be in God and what He says rather than in what you or someone else declares ought to happen?

“A prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say ... must be put to death. If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously” (Deuteronomy 18:20,22) 

What is the potential of faith? 

Jesus said, “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12)

How much faith is required for God to do through you what is humanly impossible?

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20-21) 

On what should we base our faith?

Paul said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

What is one danger of a lack of faith?

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9)

Faith is confidence that what God promised or said will come to pass. Sight is the opposite of faith. If you can clearly see how something can be accomplished, more than likely, faith is not required. Remember the illustration about our church budget? If we had chosen to operate on what we knew we could do, faith would not have been necessary. Faith was believing that the God who called us to the assignments was the One who would provide for their accomplishment.

Your faith does not rest on a concept or an idea. Faith must be in a Person—God Himself. Faith is not drawing up a grandiose idea and then asking God to make it come to pass. If you or someone else decides something would be good to do and then leads people to “believe” or “have faith,” you are in a dangerous position. Faith is valid only in God and in what He says He is purposing to do. If what you want to happen is from you and not from God, you must depend on your own resources to bring it about. Before you call yourself, your family, or your church to exercise faith, be sure you have heard a word from God.

With only mustard-seed-size faith in God, anything is possible. Jesus said His followers would do greater things than He had done. Our faith, however, must be based on Gods power and not on human wisdom. Without firm faith you will stumble and fall.