Sermon Tone Analysis

What is faith really?

Is faith a forced belief?

Is faith in something?

Is faith in that something will happen?

Or

Is faith something more beautiful and more tangible then that?

Faith = belief in God

from a root word = trust in or to have confidence in or be persuaded.

To make friends of.

Sense; To have a strong confidence in or reliance on someone.

I have often explained faith is; you know that you know.

You may not be able to fully explain why you know but you just know.

Synonyms for Faith: believe in, connect to, abide in, trust in, confidence in, reliance on, obey, be persuaded by, joined with..

Faith is always about God or a person.

Faith is relational.

In other words faith is the proof of your connection with.

Faith, Hope, and Love are all intertwined.

1 cor 13.

These are all relation attributes.

Love is the soil that Hope grows in.

Hope is the soil that Faith thrives in.

Example:

If someone where to tell me that Danie is a coward, lazy, liar, I would never in a millions years believe them.

Why?

Because my faith in her come from proof of our connection for the past 25 years.

I know that I know that she is brave and hard working and super honest.

She does not have be around me for me to know that about her.

That faith in her is a steady rock on my life about her nature.

Even if she had a bad week where she acted outside of her character, I already know who she truly is.

I would be the first person in her life to help her realize that if she ever forgot.

The father of faith is Abraham.

I would say Abraham was one of the closest to God and he has been given the name of father of faith.

This scripture is pretty profound.

It is describing what bring you closer to God.

Works do not bring you closer to God.

Believing the nature of God is what brings you closer to Him.

God justifies the ungodly.

God chooses the ones who are not like His nature.

Was Abraham close to God because of what he did?

Abraham was close to God because he believed in God. or He knew who God is.

Abraham believed God so much he was labeled the father of believing in God.

Prayer and fasting is symbol of choosing connection with God over any other source of life.

Faith is a substance of a connection with God or a person.

Faith is the substance of love for God or a person.

Faith is what is there even when you are not around God or a person.

Faith in, is always in a person or God.

Faith in prayer or promise is not faith.

Faith is you know that you know about your connection with that person.

Lies have come to plant unbelief in a person or God.

Lies have come to plant unbelief in God’s people.

How do we grow in faith?

If faith is proof of a connection with God, then we grow faith by connecting.

We don’t grow faith by seeing if we can heal.

We don’t grow faith by trying to deliver someone.

We don’t grow faith by throwing money at things.

We don’t grow faith by any works that we can do for God.

Faith comes by hearing Christ.

(Rom 10:17)

We can grow faith by hearing God in all those areas and then acting on what we heard.

We grow faith by hearing and letting what Jesus is telling you sink in that area of our hearts.

Faith without works is dead:

(James 2:14-26) talks about faith with out works is dead.

If you do works to get connection with God that is considered dead works.

We are to repent from dead works (Heb 6:1)

If your connection with God inspires work that believe in that connection, those are works of Faith.

You will know the difference because one fulfills you from the inside the other changes your state from the outside only.

Example:

If Danie is honest, but never again does works of honesty, her faith and our faith her in that area will die.

Some of us have faith in areas because we know what God’s nature and ability in that area of life.

We don’t just have faith in God in that area we have faith in our connection with Him in that area.

Finances, Deliverance, healing, heart healing, hearing God’s voice,

God wants to grow in His connection with us in areas we don’t know Him or know Him a little in.

Closing:

Faith is the substance of your connection with God.

You will know it is faith because no one or no thing can change you mind about that connection.

Love is the soil that Hope grows in.

Hope is the soil that Faith thrives in.

When you read your bible this week, replace the word faith with relationship or connection.

See what Jesus will speak to you about it.

Activation:

Jesus, what area of connection with You, do You want me to have more faith in?

How can I connect to You in that area?

Resources:

Faith:

4102 πίστις [pistis /pis·tis/] n f.

From 3982; TDNT 6:174; TDNTA 849; GK 4411; 244 occurrences; AV translates as “faith” 239 times, “assurance” once, “believe + 1537” once, “belief” once, “them that believe” once, and “fidelity” once. 1 conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it.

1A relating to God. 1A1 the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.

1B relating to Christ.

1B1 a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.

1C the religious beliefs of Christians.

1D belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same. 2 fidelity, faithfulness.

2A the character of one who can be relied on.

from:

3982 ἐπισείω, πείθω [peitho /pi·tho/] v.

A primary verb; TDNT 6:1; TDNTA 818; GK 2167 and 4275; 55 occurrences; AV translates as “persuade” 22 times, “trust” eight times, “obey” seven times, “have confidence” six times, “believe” three times, “be confident” twice, and translated miscellaneously seven times. 1 persuade.

1A to persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe.

1B to make friends of, to win one’s favour, gain one’s good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one.

1C to tranquillise.

1D to persuade unto i.e. move or induce one to persuasion to do something.

2 be persuaded.