FAITH: The Instrument for Victory

When the Holy Spirit desired to instruct Christians on the importance of trusting in God, He presented faith as an essential ingredient. Hebrews 11:6 states:

 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

If we keep in mind that Hebrews was written to a group of Jewish believers that were persecuted and discouraged, the importance of Hebrews 11:6 takes on gigantic proportions.  The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is often referred to as the ‘Hall of Faith’ due to the many references to biblical personalities that wrought great feats while trusting in God. The list is lengthy and includes Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel, and others that were left unnamed.  By exercising faith in God these men and women developed into a galaxy of testimonials to the power and fidelity of God. The work that they were challenged with was greater than any single individual. They needed more than mere human skill and talent in order to be successful.

 The Bible says of faith: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

                                                                                                                Hebrews 11:1

Studying the verse in its proper context we can see that the writer of Hebrews was encouraging his readers to maintain their trust in God even though they were faced with some difficult circumstances. They were being tempted to lapse back into Judaism. The temple at Jerusalem was yet standing when Hebrews was written, therefore these believers who were being persecuted for placing their faith in Christ and had suffered material loss and experienced cruel 'mockings' were contemplating if they had indeed made the right decision. Were they not better off under the old system? Did they not enjoy the respect and admiration of others within the community before their conversion to Christianity? What advantage was there to their new profession as Christians? (Hebrews 10:31-39). It was after they were confronted with their real hardships and fears that the Holy Spirit revealed to them the importance of walking by faith as opposed to walking by sight (Hebrews 11:38).  True faith is not blind; it has a vision all its own. The person who walks by faith is able to see many things that the individual who walks by sight cannot see with the natural eyes. Faith then is supernatural, it is characteristic of the one that is just (declared not guilty) in the sight of God. ‘The just shall live by faith . . .’

FAITH IS BELIEVING BEYOND REASON

 There was no earthly incentive for Noah to continue building an ark in a godless world, away from the ocean, in which it had not yet even rained. The amount of labor that such a task would require would be huge. The mocking that Noah and his family would have to endure would be disheartening. There was no logical reason for him to put up with the inconvenience of building a boat while at the same time preaching to the people of his generation of the impending judgment of God by means of the flood. None of this made any sense. So what made Noah and his sons press on with the task of building the ark? He had received a word from the LORD. As he acted upon that word he ‘moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.’ (Hebrews 11:7) Noah believed what God told him even though he could not see it with his eyes. Nevertheless, by acting upon that Word from God, he reprioritized his life, adjusted his behavior and lived differently from the fallen world that was all around him. As a result he saved his family from falling under God’s judgment.

When Joshua and Caleb were sent to spy out the Promised Land with ten other leaders from among the Israelites, they saw the same topography, and witnessed the exact same cities and warriors that their brethren witnessed. (Number 13:1-33) Caleb did not wish to delay any longer. His desire was to go up at once and possess the land. The other ten men were intimidated by the terrain and the stature of the inhabitants. They failed to act upon God’s promise to give them the land of Canaan. As a result of this failure to trust God their eleven-day journey turned into forty years of wanderings. Finally, God fulfilled His promise to the Israelites through the leadership of Joshua following the death of Moses. The faith of Joshua and Caleb enabled them to see victory in the face of the overwhelming circumstances. Genuine faith is able to vault great obstacles. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. (1 John 5:4) It is not defeated even when great odds are against it.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus chided His disciples on a number of occasions because of their lack of faith.

O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

         Matthew 16:8.

‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’

       Matthew 17:20.

 . . .Said not I unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

John 11:40.

True Faith is Tested Faith.

Faith is not a toy; it is a tested tool. We don’t make God become our plaything and try to ‘command Him’ to do our will. That is false theology and has more in common with New Age Mysticism than Biblical Christianity. God was not talking about ‘naming it and claiming it.’ God will put a task before us that will require more resources than what we have available in the present. The task will be in the will of God. He wants it done on earth! God then places the burden for this task on the heart of a praying Christian or a group of Christians, because only Christians that pray can truly get in touch with the Almighty about any issue.  As the need to accomplish the task becomes real to the believer, he is then confronted with his own inadequacies to accomplish it on his own. The believer is then forced to return to God over and over again to gain reassurance that indeed he is the one that is to accomplish the work. By doing this he learns to rely on God for more things than ever before. Whether it is another person to help him in the work, money to finance the work, or doors of opportunity to open in order that he might advance the work, it is his faith in God’s Omnipotence that enables the faithful servant to continue laboring even when ‘winds’ are contrary.  Then as God uses the time element to put the pieces into place that are needed to fulfill the vision, the believer receives the reward of having placed his faith in God. 

Does everyone have the same amount of Faith?

Faith is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8) Every person alive on planet Earth may receive faith to be saved from the penalty of sin, but not everyone has the same measure of faith when it comes to trusting God for other things. This is due to the fact that most people use their human capabilities as the measuring stick for what they think God can do. Of course, this places limitations on God’s working in the lives of those individuals. Faith is the evidence of things not seen; however many of God’s people only accept the evidence they do see. This results in doubts, fears, and numerous defeats. The prophet Elisha had a young servant that became terrified when he awoke one morning and saw the armies of the Syrians surrounding the small city of Dothan. Immediately thoughts of insecurity filled his heart. The city would be taken and plundered, he imagined. And this probably would have been the outcome except that he was standing next to a servant of the God of Israel who had daily communion with God. Note Elisha’s answer in 2 Kings 6:16:

Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

Then he prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant that he might see. What did he see? He saw what Elisha was already seeing, the presence of the mighty host of the Lord God. –2Kings 6:17. These were more numerous and of greater power than the Syrian army or any other army of the past, present, or future that the nations of men could put forth. I believe these men witnessed the host that was on standby when the Lord and Saviour was headed to the cross and Simon Peter sought to ‘rescue’ Him by cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus remarked that He could have prayed to His Father, and he could have had more than twelve legions of angels ( Matthew 26:52-53). As it turned out the fears of the young man were unfounded, for God already had established ultimate victory, even though he did not know about it. The closer a person walks to God, the greater will be his measure of faith and he will be able to see more of the naturally unseen.

Some receive faith to establish large works for God in the earth, others receive faith to take care of raising a family when earthly resources are few, and others believe God for physical healing. And some simply rely on Him for their daily needs.

It is not easy to live by faith. The list of distractions is as large as life itself. Living in an affluent culture may actually undermine faith. Listening to Bible messages will help us. Romans 10:17 states:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

History records many people that achieved great works based upon their belief in Scripture. We too shall do greater works for God by the exercise of our faith.

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

James 2:17

Dr. Tony Smart