Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Mark 11:22-24, "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

Introduction:

A. It is Not The Plan of God for you to live a Defeated Life.

B. It is my conviction that God has given us Directions For Everything relating to the spiritual life.

Evangelism --- Missions --- Baptism --- Lord's Supper --- Tithing --- Witnessing --- Worshipping ... etc.

C. God has also Made Available all that we need in this life.

Food --- Shelter --- Clothing --- Inward Peace --- Power of Service ... etc.

D. It is Not the plan of God for you to life a Poor, Miserable, Defeated life.

1. Such a life Dishonors God.

2. He wants you to have Peace and Power.

3. These things may be obtained through Faith In God --- A Right Focus.

4. Faith is Looking To God for help and Expecting It.

E. The tragedy is that we look to Self and to the World instead of to God.

1. Unbelief Damns the souls of men.

John 3:36, "... he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

2. Unbelief Hinders the Lord in His working.

Matthew 13:58, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

3. Unbelief Shuts You Out from blessings.

Israel --- the Promise Land --- Numbers 14:28-30, "Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: 29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."

4. Unbelief Keeps Blessings From Others.

Matthew 17:19-21, "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, 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. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

(( Let See What "Faith In God" Does ))

I. Faith Sings --- Rejoices

A. The man Without Faith has No Song in his heart.

He is depressed, gloomy, despondent and blue.

B. A man With Faith in God can Rejoice in the midst of every trial.

C. It is that that H. G. Spafford lost his entire family in a wreck at sea, in the midst of this tragedy, he wrote:

When peace, like a rive, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

D. Fannie Crosby, the Blind song writer wrote:

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told they love to me;
But I long to rise, in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to thee.

*** Also ***

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Fannie Crosby may be Blind but Her Focus was Better than many people who can See.

II. Faith Serves:

A. True Faith Always Results In Action.

1. By faith Noah built the Ark.

2. By faith Moses forsook Egypt and served God.

3. By faith Joshua led Israel into the Promise Land.

4. By faith Gideon served God against impossible odds.

B. Faith does Not ask for the Easy Way.

C. F. B. Meyer said, "We never test the resources of God until we attempt the impossible."

D. Faith does Not ask for Present Pay.

1. If men do not applaud or appreciate, Faith Works On.

2. Faith is willing to Wait until the time of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

E. It is Not a matter whether or not we Can but rather, whether or not we Want To.

III. Faith Supplies:

A. Sinful Man is by nature a Worrier.

He worries about things which Have Not Happened --- probably Never Will Happen --- but he worries about What If They Do Happen.

B. It is Only when man Takes Hold of The Promises of God By Faith that worry slips away --- they are For Us Today.

C. Jesus gave the words to His disciples which we need to study carefully.

Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

D. There are Two things that the Lord Has Commanded us to do.

1. To have Faith In God.

2. To Seek First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.

E. Worry Is Sin --- Paul recognized this and told the church in Philippi that he did not worry.

Philippians 4:11, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." --- V. 19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

IV. Faith Stands:

A. In this day of hurry and rush, there is Nothing More Difficult than to stand and have faith.

B. Study the case of Job --- he lost all that he had.

Job 13:15, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

C. Study the case of Joshua --- when the noble man came to die.

Joshua 24:15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

D. Study the case of Elijah --- in a day of idol worship.

1 Kings 17:1, "And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."

With a courageous heart he stood against the prophets of Baal and brought revival to Israel on Mount Carmel.

E. The Faith that Stands is the Faith that Lays Hold Upon The Promises of God.

V. Faith Saves.

A. Faith saves Christians from Indifference.

1. The work of Christ suffers from too many ordinary Christians.

2. There should be many illustrations of great faith, but we have very few.

B. Faith Saves Christians from the sin of Indifference, let me suggest the following things:

1. Take God at His Word.

2. Remember that God has never failed.

3. God is Concerned about You.

4. Be Optimistic and Cheerful what ever the problems may be.

5. Launch out into the Deep by Faith.

C. Faith Saves Sinners from Hell.

Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."

John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Acts 10:43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."

If You Are Not Saved, Nothing Else Matters