You've Got to have Faith (to be Great)

You’ve Got to have Faith (to be Great)

Genesis 12:1–4; Hebrews 11:6

• Jesus said, “And whosoever will be chief (great) among you, let him be your servant.” (Matthew 20:27) If you want you to have true greatness, you’ve got to have great faith and because you’re great in faith, you’ll be a blessing and serve others. God said of Abraham, “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” (Genesis 17:5) What made him so great? His faith. The Bible calls him, in Romans 4:11, “the father of all them that believe.”

• Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29) That means faith is the measure of your failure or success in the Christian life. Everything worth having, everything worth knowing, and everything worth doing is wrapped up in faith. You need faith to be saved. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) You need faith to be an overcomer. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even [your] faith.” (1 John 5:4) You need faith to have your prayers answered. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)

• You need faith to have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. The Bible says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Ephesians 6:16) Whatever it is in the kingdom of heaven, whatever you need from God, to receive it requires faith. To receive from God, first, you must present to God your faith. “According to your faith be it unto you.” Your faith is His faith in you and through you.

I. The Foundation of Abraham’s Faith

a. What is the foundation? It is a revelation from God. God must speak before you can have faith. Faith is an action in response to trust in what God has said. Unless God speaks, you can have no faith, for faith is taking God at His Word and acting upon it. There must, therefore, first be a word from God, because Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

II. The Obligation of Abraham’s Faith

a. Now, when God speaks, what is the obligation? That we act in obedience. “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” Notice, God didn’t say, “I’ll make thee,” until Abram obeyed, until he got out in order that he might come in. Belief in God’s Word is not faith. It becomes faith not when we believe, but when we act upon it. FAITH IS AN ACTION. If you have faith, your faith is going to be seen in what you get out of and what you come in to. Leaving AND arriving. Getting out and coming in – Action.

III. The Prize of Abraham’s Faith

a. The prize of faith is appropriation (Genesis 12:2). By faith, you appropriate God’s favor. God wants to bless you. How is God going to bless you? When you believe God. How do you appropriate what God has? By faith (Hebrews 11:6). By faith man pleases God and through faith God rewards man. The reward of faith is to appropriate all that God has for you in Christ Jesus in order to be a blessing (servant) to others. God wants you to have great faith because it honors the Lord Jesus Christ.