To Know and to Experience GodSample

GROW IN FAITH THROUGH GOD’S WORD

INTRODUCTION

Every believer should realize that Christianity life is a journey of faith. Faith is the main fuel for every believer to endure till the end. To be able to see God while we are still in this world, we need faith.

We apply our faith in various ways each day. A doctor might tell a patient about a disease that he never heard of before and write a prescription that he is not able to read. Then the patient will bring the prescription to a pharmacist that he does not know. The pharmacist will then give him a bottle of medicine that tastes bitter. This is faith. 

However, we cannot apply the same thing with our faith in Christ. Our faith in God is not blind faith. God wants us to believe in Him with all our heart, mind and by knowing Him personally – this is a living faith. True faith in God is not passive – it is an active faith.

DISCUSSION

How can we understand active faith? How can this faith grow in our Christianity life? Let us take a look at it by referring to Romans 10:17.

1. Faith is the Gift of God

Where does faith come from? This is the main question in our Christianity life. The important thing that Paul taught us in Ephesians 2:8 is: Faith does not come from ourselves, but it is a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” It is God Himself who starts faith and plants it in us. Faith does not depend on our ability to believe, but it depends on God’s ability. Therefore, the tool He uses to confer faith to us is His word. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We can see here that His word has divine power. God’s word enables our faith to grow to a higher level. If we want to experience growth in faith, the main requirement is to read and meditate on His word day and night. God’s word will help us to know God’s heart and character.

2. Faith is the “Way” to See the Work of God

It must be every believer’s desire to experience miracles. We long to see the answers to our prayers. The key to this is faith. If we want to see God’s miracles, we cannot keep on focusing on what we can see with our physical eyes. God wants us to open our spiritual eyes to see greater things before us. This is faith. With faith, we can see greater things and better things that God has prepared for us. Do not rely on our physical eyes or our own way of thinking. We are limited. Just entrust our whole lives to God. Do not limit His miraculous work with our physical eyes. Because miracles are the work of the Holy Spirit, we must live in the Spirit even more than before, and to be able to access it, we need faith.

3. Take a Step of Faith

Look at the characters in the Bible written in Hebrews 11:1-32, how they live in faith in their whole lives so that God considers them as the role models for people in all generations. If we move in faith, God will surely entrust us with greater things. To be able to grow, faith needs to be trained. When we are facing complicated options in life, this is a great battlefield to train our faith. For instance, God allows a father to quit his job and start a new business. It takes a step of faith. God entrusts a wife to forgive her husband that has hurt her. This is also a step of faith. God allows a student to choose the right school. It also needs faith. We all, without exception, need faith.

It is very crucial to use our faith in every step we take. When we walk in our faith in God, the giver of faith, He will always be by our side in our journey of life, because He is our great Father who always takes care of us His children.

CLOSING

Our Christianity faith needs to be trained to be able to keep growing bigger and bigger. Faith that is never tested will eventually make us spiritually dead and refuse to believe in Christ.

Never fear to enter the battlefield because God never plans to destroy us, but instead He uses it to make us more like Him.

To be able to pass the test of faith, we need the word of God. God’s word is not just God’s only voice, but also testimonies of the heroes of faith who have won the battle of faith. Those testimonies will also strengthen us today. That is the power of God’s word. God’s word will never be outdated. It is new each day and always refreshes our faith.