God’s Only Provided
Place of Worship # 14
Sunday
Morning December 25, 1994
Faith is a Gift from
God
40
GOD'S.PROVIDED.PLACE.WORSHIP - SHP.LA - V-7 N-4 - 65-1128.1M
I believe
the church is beginning to hear the Message, and beginning to understand.
But friends,
listen, we've got to lay in the Presence of the Son, we've got to be ripened.
Our--our faith isn't ripe. Intellectually we're hearing the
Message that God has give us, and seeing the signs that He showed us,
and proving it by the Bible as that; but, oh, how the church needs to
lay in His Presence till it tenders up in the heart, gets sweet in the Spirit
so that it can bathe down. Sometimes in speaking the Message, you get harsh, have to break it in like that, because you've got to
clinch a nail to make it hold. But when the Church once gets It, the Elected is called out and separated (then in the Presence
of God), I know it'll be something like the people was there when it takes its
Rapture.
Dealt = merizo = signifies
to divide into parts, and give out, hence to share. To
portion out.
Now Faith is a gift from God to each of us that
believe. and like any real Father, He wants us to be
happy and be blessed and be fulfilled. So He gives us gifts. And this being
Christmas time and we seem to celebrate the Birth of Christ by giving gifts, I
would like to take the Message this morning on this subject. But to keep in the
same channel of thought as we have been studying from the Message of God's
only provided place of Worship, and this is number 14 in our
series and I believe, number 6 in our mini series on Faith, I
would like to look at this subject on Faith in a different sort of way this
morning. Faith is a Gift from our Father. And as a gift, it is for our use and
enjoyment. Now gifts come in all shapes and sizes. We give our children gifts
with many different purposes in mind. Some gifts are for their education such
as books and certain types of games, while other gifts are given for their
recreation and enjoyment such as bicycles and skates and skis. We also give our
children gifts of clothing, and of food, and music and for various other reasons.
So you see, Gifts are from oneself to another, and in
doing so we want to bring forth joy and fulfillment to the one we give the
gifts too. And so is it with our Heavenly Father. And so this morning we will
examine this Gift of Faith He has given each of us and we shall look at the
many different reasons and uses that we can use our gift of Faith for.
EPHESIANS.2:8 For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the
gift of God:
I PETER 4:10 As every man hath received the gift,
[even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God.
64 PROVING.HIS.WORD -- JEFF.IN -- V-9 N-6 --
64-0816 Now, there is also an old proverb that says,
"Prove it, and I will believe it." Now, they got one of our state, one of our states in the nation, they have a slogan,
"I'm from Missouri, show me." See, in other words, "Prove it to
me, I'm from Missouri." But this doesn't work always, because God has, in
every age, fulfilled and proved the work that He has set out for that age, and
spoke it in His Word. And every time that God's Word has been proven in the
age, the majority has turned It down. So,
"Prove it, and I will believe it," is not so. You can only have
faith as God gives you faith. Faith is a gift of God. Ever how
religious you may be, yet it must take the... well you must have faith. And
your faith can only rest, if you're a Christian, upon the proven Word of God.
In Romans 12: 3, we see that God has given to
every man the Measure of Faith. And Jesus said in Matthew 17 that if we
had Faith the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains. Then Paul in 1
Corinthians 13,
speaks of having All Faith so that we could move mountains, and so we see that
whether you have a little modicum of Faith or having All Faith it will do the
same thing. So why do you long for all Faith when having a little portion is
all you need. It is not the size of the Faith that is at issue then, since
every man is given a measure of Faith, and it doesn't really matter to what
degree or quantity you have. But what really matters is whether you use what
you have.
So then what does it matter if I have all faith or
just that of a mustard seed. Both can move the same
mountain. And so it is not in the
measure we must strive for we are all given a measure by the same Father. I do not give each of my children the same
gifts at Christmas time or at their birthdays. I give them each a different
gift, because a gift is from the heart and as a parent you try to satisfy the
desires of each of your children. And since each child is different and may
have different tastes and different like and dislike, you them
meet the desire as best you can depending on your particular circumstances. I
remember when Elisabeth was just a little baby. Her first Christmas, I gave her
a little baby doll. And as each of my girls have come
forth, They have desired dolls and so that is what I gave them. Now with the
boys it is different. One might want a dump truck and the other a set of cowboy
guns or something. Each child has different desires and needs and we try to
fulfill these needs as best we can. And in trying to fulfill their little
desires we give them gifts. This is one way we express ourselves to them. And our heavenly Father is no different.
JAMES.1:17 Every good gift
and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Now, we don't usually give our children gifts that we
don't want them to use. In fact, sometimes we give them
gifts that we wish we had when we were young.
My mother told me that my father had bought me an electronics set for building an intercom
system when I was 3 years old. I don't remember it, but she said she made him
take it back. He was an Electrical
Engineer before he went to night school to become a lawyer. So I guess he had a
desire for me and thus he gave me a gift to direct me .
So gifts have all sorts of uses. But the main thing is that gifts are for
using. We give gifts expecting them to be used.
No one likes to give a gift knowing that it will be put in the corner
somewhere out of sight. No, we give gifts as a means of expressing our selves,
and therefore, we give them in anticipation that they will use it. (Now remember that as we
proceed in this study, because I wish to show you many uses for your Faith this
Morning.)
And so then the real issue we must consider is this.
Faith is worthless unless it is being used. It is given to be
used. And when it is used it will
produce in you the very thing it was intended to do. So then Faith
has a goal. As we said before, Faith is the assurance of things we
earnestly expect. And so if it is the assurance of things we earnestly expect,
then it has to do with expectations. So then Faith has a goal. Whether your
Faith is just a little tiny seed like faith or whether you possess all faith.
Both will bring forth the same result. Then we can say that Faith has a result,
an expectation, a goal. And so we must focus our Faith on the Goal at hand. For
Faith without an earnest expectation is worthless. And since Faith is placed
within us for our own use, then it must be used. Now if God places the Faith of
His Son in our hearts to move us and motivate us then surely when we are not
operating in the realm of Faith we can not be pleasing to Him. He is child
training us to see what we will do with our Faith. Didn't Jesus Himself say,
"I surely will do nothing until my Father reveals it to me
first"? Isn't that why brother Vayle
has preached so diligently on passive Faith all these years. So that we might come to the place
that we will wait upon the Lord. You see
passive Faith waits for the promise. Passive Faith is patient, and thus it is
Mature. Faith takes over for you, and you rest in that Revelation, knowing that
He which made the promise surely will finish what He has started to do.
James 1: 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your Faith worketh Patience. But let patience have her perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting noting." And there's your key.
Faith is to work a maturity into us through patience.
Patience is the one true characteristic of the mature person. They are willing
to wait because they have faith, confidence in the promise. And thus when we
wait patiently for the promise, this waiting is actually an act of Faith. It
then is a passive which has gone to the active. Now, God has given us each our
measure of Faith and it doesn't matter what our measure is if it all can move
the same mountains. So what is important is that we keep our Faith active. That
we learn how to use this Faith, this gift which we have been all given., Jesus said, He surely can't even do anything Himself
unless the Father shows Him first." So, we then must use our Faith only in
what God has shown us to use it for. And then if He is the One who has given us
our measure of Faith, then won't He be the One Who shows us how to use it and
when to use it?
Then it is up to Him to help us to exercise this Faith
that He has given us. Not that I am trying to tell you that we are to be lazy
with our Faith, but let's face the reality tonight. He gives us the measure of
Faith we possess. He allots to each a certain measure, yet it doesn't really
matter what measure we have because it all does the same thing. It all has the
same backing, and thus the same power.
I Peter 1: 7 - 9 ‘That the Trial of your
Faith (Revelation), being much more precious than gold that perishes, that your Faith may be
found after scrutiny to result in praise , honor and Glory at the Appearing of
Jesus Christ:" So we see here that There is to be a trial or
a testing of your faith. Your Revelation. And the result of this
testing will actually produce in you, praise, honor and Glory. So then
the testing will as James said, bring forth Patience, and when patience has
it's perfect work, it'll produce a fully mature son of God in the very image of the Father just as
His First born was. Remember, Jesus
Himself, God's firstborn, learned obedience to God's Word by the things that He suffered.
Now this word suffered is a word which means to
under go mistreatment or to be maltreated on account off the Word sake. So we see that the trial of your Faith is
exactly that. Your faith is put to the test. God places you in situations because
of your faith to see how you will utilize your Faith. Remember Daniel in the
Lion den and the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. They all possessed the revelation of their hour
and so God tested them by it. The Revelation you possess is your Faith. And
thus in order to get you to use it, and to apply it,
God allows affliction and suffering to come your way because of your stand for
your faith. Thus the suffering is a result of your already possessing Faith and
puts you into the place of having to rely only upon your Faith to see you
through. That is exactly what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego went through. And Daniel & Moses, Abraham and all God's
prophets Each had to go through a trial
of His Faith, A trial of His Revelation. The trial came because of the
Revelation and thus he learned to wait upon God and in due course when God
brought forth His Faith for testing again, it caused the Revelation to energize
his own faith.
You Faith is given you to be
used. But you can't just use it for any purpose. It must be of God's choosing
and according to His timing. But believe me when I tell you this, If God has
given you this measure of Faith, then He will just as surely as He gave you
this Faith, He will test it and cause it to be of use
to you. So when you enter into the trials of your faith, just Let go and let
God.
KJV HEBREWS 11: 1 Now Faith is the Substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Now in examining this scripture we see
the word substance means assurance and in Hebrews 1:3 it is used also as the
very Nature of God. So we see then it is not only and assurance to you
mentally, but it is the very nature of being confident. In other words it takes
over your whole disposition and changes you from a confused creature of
circumstances to one who is sure and confident. You no longer are reactionary
in your Christian endeavor, but you become proactive. You have purpose behind
what you do. You have a plan that is laid out for you and you simply follow it.
AMPLIFIED Faith is the assurance ( the confirmation, the title deed ) of things
we hope for or earnestly expect,
being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction
of their reality - faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed by the senses.
HABAKKUK.2:4 Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the
just shall live by his faith.
MATTHEW.8:26 And
he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he
arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ( Faith lacks fear. Fear is caused by not being sure. )
MATTHEW.9:2 And,
behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus
seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy
sins be forgiven thee.
MATTHEW.9:29 Then
touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
MATTHEW.9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be
of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made
whole from that hour.
MATTHEW.14:31 And
immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and caught him, and said unto
him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
MATTHEW.15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman,
great [is] thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter
was made whole from that very hour. (Just like Haddie
Wright, whatsoever you say. Speak to this mountain and do not doubt and you can
move it. You Faith can be used for just about any purpose)
MARK.4:40 And
he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it
that ye have no faith?
LUKE.8:25 And
he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying
one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the
winds and water, and they obey him. (And what about creating squirrels? And didn't this
same faith stop a storm in Colorado?)
LUKE.17:19 And
he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
ACTS.3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this
man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath
given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
ACTS.15:9 And put no
difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
ACTS.26:18 To open their eyes,
[and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
ROMANS.1:17 For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith.
ROMANS.3:22 Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
ROMANS.3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law.
ROMANS.5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
GALATIANS.2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ,
that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the
law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
ROMANS.4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness.
ROMANS.4:13 For
the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to
his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
ROMANS.4:16 Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to
the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which
is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the
father of us all,
ROMANS.4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead,
when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's
womb:
ROMANS.4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong
in faith, giving glory to God; :
ROMANS.5:2 By
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God.
ROMANS.10:17 So
then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
ROMANS.14:23 And
he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith
is sin.
I CORINTHIANS 2:5 That your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1 Cor 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope,
charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.
II.CORINTHIANS.5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
II.CORINTHIANS.13:5 Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in
the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
GALATIANS.2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.
GALATIANS.3:2 This
only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the
law, or by the hearing of faith?
GALATIANS.3:5 He therefore that ministereth
to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you,
[doeth he it] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ( Brother Branham taught us that even Christ wouldn't of had
a ministry if there was no one who had faith to believe. So your own faith
pulls on the gift, what ever that gift is. Whether it be the Five
fold ministry or even God's prophet or even the Holy Spirit Himself.)
GALATIANS.3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham.
GALATIANS.3:8 And
the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be
blessed.
GALATIANS.3:9 So
then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
GALATIANS.3:14 That
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
GALATIANS.3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might
be justified by faith.
GALATIANS.3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus.
GALATIANS.5:5 For
we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
GALATIANS.5:6 For in Jesus Christ
neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh
by love.
GALATIANS.5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
EPHESIANS.1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love
unto all the saints,
EPHESIANS.3:12 In
whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
EPHESIANS.3:17 That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded
in love,
EPHESIANS.4:13 Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ: 6:16 Above all, taking
the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked. 6:23 Peace
[be] to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
PHILIPPIANS.3:9
And be found in him, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
COLOSSIANS.1:21
– 23 And you, that were
sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he
reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy
and unblameable and unreproveable
in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and
[be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and]
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am
made a minister;
COLOSSIANS.2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the
faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
I.THESSALONIANS.1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour
of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and
our Father;
II.THESSALONIANS.1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as
it is meet, because that your faith groweth
exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each
other aboundeth;
II.THESSALONIANS.1:11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count
you worthy of [this] calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of [his]
goodness, and the work of faith with power:
I.TIMOTHY.3:13 For
they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good
degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
I.TIMOTHY.4:6 If
thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good
minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good
doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
I.TIMOTHY.6:12 Fight the good
fight of faith, lay hold on
eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses.
II.TIMOTHY.3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy
scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus.
PHILEMON.1:6 That
the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging
of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
HEBREWS.4:2 For
unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].
HEBREWS.6:12 That
ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and
patience inherit the promises.
HEBREWS.10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.
HEBREWS.10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without
wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;)
HEBREWS.11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do
appear.
HEBREWS.11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying
of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
HEBREWS.11:5 By faith Enoch
was translated that he should
not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before
his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
HEBREWS.11:6 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.
HEBREWS.11:7 By
faith Noah, being warned of
God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the
saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir
of the righteousness which is by faith.
HEBREWS.11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when
she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
HEBREWS.11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of
his parents, because they saw [he was] a proper child; and they were not
afraid of the king's commandment.
HEBREWS.11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he
endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
HEBREWS.11:28 Through faith
he kept the Passover, and the
sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
HEBREWS.11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]: which the Egyptians assaying to do
were drowned.
HEBREWS.11:30 By faith the
walls of Jericho fell down,
after they were compassed about seven days.
HEBREWS.11:31 By faith the
harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies
with peace.
HEBREWS.11:33 Who through
faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions,
HEBREWS.12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
HEBREWS.13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word
of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of [their]
conversation.
JAMES.1:3 Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh
patience.
JAMES.1:6 But
let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
JAMES.2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this
world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them
that love him?
JAMES.2:17 Even
so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou
hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith
without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith
by my works.
JAMES.2:22 Seest
thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made
perfect? teleioo {tel-i-o'-o} from
5046; TDNT Ä 8:49,1161; vb make perfect
(12)perfect finish fulfill be perfect consecrate 1) to make perfect,
complete; to carry through completely, to
accomplish, finish, to bring
to the end (goal)
JAMES.5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
I.PETER.1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
I.PETER.1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with
fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ:
I.PETER.1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls.
I.JOHN.5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory that overcometh
the world, [even] our faith.
EPHESIANS.2:8 For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of
God:
I.PETER.4:10 As every man
hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God.