What Is Faith
What Is Faith?
Pastor E. Keith Hassell
Hebrew 11:1 (NKJV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we} hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality—faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.”
I. There are two ways faith is mentioned in the New Testament
A. The Faith (Apostolic doctrine that brings salvation)
B. Faith (Believing God personally)
II. What faith is NOT
A. Faith is not intellectual
B. Faith is not a feeling
C. Faith is not presumption
D. Faith is not will-power
E. Faith is not hope
III. Faith is a substance
A. Faith is spiritual but real
1. Faith supercedes the natural
2. Faith causes God to change the natural to make sure His promise
B. Faith is the “title-deed” (Amplified Bible)
1. We only need faith until the substance arrives
a I don’t need my faith for healing once I receive my healing
b I don’t need faith for provision once the bills are paid off
c I don’t need faith to believe in God once I am in His presence
2. Illustration 1: Your uncle John in New York has a vintage muscle-car that as a teenager you love and want. One day he tells you that on your 21st birthday he will give you the car—it will be yours. So you tell everyone that when you turn 21 you will have this car. This is hope. On your 21st birthday you receive a birthday card in the mail from your uncle with the title-deed to the car inside. He informs you that during the summer he will drive it down and give it to you. Do you own the car? Do you have the car? How do you know that you have a car? The title-deed! Faith is the title deed to the promises of God. One day the uncle arrives with the car. I don’t need the title deed to prove that car exists. It is now sitting in my driveway!
IV. Faith is the substance of “things hoped for”
A. The “things” spoken of here are the promises of God based upon His word and spoken to you (salvation, healing, provision, restoration, etc.)
B. Our hope is based upon the promises of God
C. Faith gives substance to hope
D. Faith makes us sure of what we hope for
E. Without faith, our hope is just wishful thinking
F. Faith brings hope into reality
1. 2 Corinthians 10:15 “not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere,”
G. Illustration 2: Excavating Tyrannosaurus Rex. One day while digging in your backyard you uncover a very large bone that you are convinced proves that Tyrannosaurus Rex lived in walked in your back yard. You call an archeologist who comes to your house only to tell you that Tyrannosaurus Rex never lived in your area. You show him the bone as proof. While he looks at the bone and questions your find, a mighty pounding and rumbling begins to shake the earth. Right before your eyes a two-story Tyrannosaurus Rex appears out of the woods. I don’t need evidence to prove anything anymore. Tyrannosaurus Rex is now on the scene!
V. Faith is the evidence of things not seen
A. Evidence is something presented for the sake of proof
B. Natural things which are seen are fact but the things of God we cannot see are Truth
1. 2 Corinthians 4:18 “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
VI. Faith flows from the heart, not the head
A. Faith is spiritual, not intellectual
B. You can believe in your heart and doubt in your head
C. Illustration 3: Circus tight-rope walker
VII. Establishing faith in your heart
A. You must first have hope. Hope comes from the promises of God.
B. You must move from hope to faith. Hope alone will never bring results.
1. Hope is based upon our need. God is not moved by need. The world is full of need. He is moved by faith.
C. Faith is the title deed in your heart until the promise comes