Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it, the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

The rest of chapter 11 tells of the faith of people in the Old Testament who had great faith. These regular people like you and me believed what God said and trusted in Him to fulfill his promises to them.

We sing about God’s faithfulness toward us...but how faithful are we to Him?

It’s our hope that you will benefit from our message today and move into more faithfulness to God. Also, to be aware of what can kill your faith.
Believing in God and being faithful to Him are not the same.

James 2:19 says You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God... Good for you! Even the demons believe this and they tremble in terror.

So believing alone is not enough. We have to trust Him. Trust Him for salvation, eternity and day to day living. It’s that day to day living that we have problems with. How many times have we heard or said ourselves....I’ll have to see it to believe it.

Jesus said in John 20:29 “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me”

2 Corinthians 5:7 says For we live by faith, not by sight.

So how do we walk in faith and become more faithful to Him?

1. Ask the Lord to bring to your memory times that He has helped you, took you out of a bad situation, showed you how to do things in a better way.

Spiritual warfare lesson: God gave Marvin a plan to pay off a car that the bank was going to repossess. It involved selling some lab puppies. He went to work and I was to be at home when the man came to get the puppy and I could not find it. It was no where to be found. I was begging God to give me a vision of where it was...but nothing. I was hanging out the last towel on the clothes line and I heard in my head “tell the devil to give it up!” So, I obeyed and shouted “Devil give it up!” I picked up the basket, turned around and there it was!! I had never been taught how to pray in an offensive way...God did that....so whenever we had a situation where we knew we were in a fight with evil...we knew how to pray.

2. Remain loyal and putting that loyalty into constant practice regardless of extenuating circumstances.

No matter what you face in life financial difficulty, relationship difficulty, personal battles, let your faith rise and have confidence that God loves you and cares about what you are experiencing and that somehow He will make a way for you.

3. Faithfulness requires commitment and availability

Stay committed to God and your faith in Him and be available to add your faith, prayers and encouragement to others....this is where works come in.

God’s verbal blessing
In 2014 Marvin was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had 6 surgeries that year, carpal tunnel surgery in both hands, colon resection, then completely herniated his incision, so surgery to correct that, surgery on his broken fore arm (both bones), but also broken ribs twice, argon poisoning.and an MRI revealed he needed another procedure. He had worked about 6 months out of the whole year and slept in the recliner many months. The Sunday after we learned of the colon cancer we were in service with Jason in Longview. During worship I heard the Lord say to me. “Don’t worry about anything, I’ll take care of everything.”

It was the following Tuesday that he broke his forearm. We had to wait 2 weeks for arm surgery, then 2 more weeks to schedule the colon surgery. I have admit that I wondered...how fast is this cancer growing? After two weeks of Marvin’s surgery and they got it all!! Praise the Lord, no chemo or radiation needed!! I went back to work. When I got there the bank president, who was also a long time friend, welcomed me back and said Is there anything you need? So here’s fix-it Gwen, trusting in myself to get things done and not trusting what God said...I said ....I may need some money to pay our mortgage.....Our truck and car I can extend the notes for a couple months. As I said it, I remembered a message Jason had preached about when you have adversity....the God you trust will come out....so god Gwen was showing up and not God.

I went home at lunch to check on Marvin...he begged me to not go back to work. I suggested he get a shower and shave and maybe that would make him feel better. While he did this, there was a knock at the door. It was a long time family friend. She said I was praying for you this morning and I heard the Lord say He has seen your seed (works) and it is time for you a harvest. She handed me a check for $10,000.00. The following Saturday, I was mowing the yard and thanking the Lord for the finances He had sent and He said.” I have seen your seed (works), but what I am honoring is your faithfulness’!!! I had to stop and run into the house and tell Marvin what God had said......so see, I heard God speak a promise to me
just like He spoke promises to those in the Old Testament. I never had any fear about Marvin’s cancer (What I could not see...but what I could see (our bank balance) I did not trust in the beginning.

I’m using this experience, to show that when I began to try and fix it myself, the Lord gently corrected my by reminding me of Jason’s message. That reminder caused a pivot in me, to remember the promise He had given me about taking care of everything!! Then He continued moving forward with His provision.

We learn of God’s faithfulness mainly through adversity. Experiencing God’s faithfulness during difficult times, teaches us to trust and have confidence for the future.

Things that will kill your faith:

Fear
I’ll use Jonah here. God told him to go to Ninevah...he ran, got on a boat....went to sleep probably to try and calm his fear, a storm came and they started all praying to whatever god they trusted in....Jonah still asleep, must have been known to them as a man of faith, because the captain went down to the belly of the ship and woke him up to pray to “his God” They decided that Jonah was the one who caused the storm so they started interrogating him and he said, I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. The crew became more afraid because the storm became greater. Jonah said, “this storm is because of me so pick me up and throw me into the sea and the storm will calm.” So they picked him up and threw him over. When they did the storm calmed and the crew feared the Lord and and made a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. But the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. Can you imagine his fear when hey picked him up to throw him over...then a big fish comes along and you are swallowed?Jonah 2: 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord and my prayer went up to you into Your Holy temple” God caused the fish to vomit Jonah up onto dry land.

A great work requires great faith.

Doubt
Again, James 1: 5-8 If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, he who doubts is like a wave of he sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is double minded, unstable in all his ways.

God will give to you, what he can trust will flow through you.

Sin
Samson, born to a barren woman, who received a promise that she would have a son, who would be called a Nazirite to God from the womb. His parents asked the Lord to give them instructions on how to raise him and one of the requirements was they were to never cut his hair. He had great strength and he was know throughout the land. His story is found in Judges chapter 13-16 telling of his sinful marriage, his judgeship of Israel, his failure and his death. He loved a woman named Delilah. She nagged Samson daily to tell her where his strength came from. “No razor has ever come upon my head, I have been a Nazirite my whole life. If I am shaven I will become weak, like an other man”. When he went to sleep, she cut his hair, then shouted,” The Philistines are upon you, Samson” When he got up he did not know that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. Then he was captured, they put out his eyes, put him in bronze and he became a grinder in the prison.

God wanted to do a great work in Samson to bless the Israelites with freedom.

What does God want to do in you to bless others around you?

The whole book of James speaks of the development of faith, works of faith and power of faith. It tells of the purpose of testing, the source of temptations, How faith obeys the Word of God. Faith removes discrimination, proves itself by works, it controls the tongue, it produces wisdom, produces humility, produces dependence on God, it endures awaiting Christ’s return, it prays for he sick and confronts an erring brother or sister. Please read the book of James this week and ask the Lord to help you grow in faith and become faithful to Him,

1. Remember to bring to your mind things God has done.
2. Remind others of what God has done for them.
3. Remain in Gods promises.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?