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Rev. Ronald C. Purkey claims no originality for this Bible study outline.
However,
every outline posted on this website has been taught by Rev. Purkey.
To see more Bible study outlines go
to page two: More Bible Study Outlines.
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H A V
E F A I T H I N
G O D
SCRIPTURE: “And
Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in
God. 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.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall
have them. And
when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in
heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not
forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (
TEXT: "And
Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God."
--
INTRODUCTION: This
statement of the Lord Jesus needs to be written upon all our hearts.
A.
As we rise to face each new day, we should "have faith in God."
1. As the day comes to a close and we
review what we have tried to do, again there should be that sense of committing
everything to God.
2. Whether in sunshine or rain, it
will help us to have these inspired words before us: HAVE FAITH IN GOD.
B.
Notice that Jesus did not say, "Have faith."
1. All about us there are would-be
advisors who tell troubled people to have faith.
2. The statement is incomplete unless
it reads, "Have faith IN GOD."
C.
I trust that in this simple message I can help you to lift up your eyes unto
the Lord from whence cometh our help.
A traveler in
southeastern
Let us, too,
heed such a command and look higher unto the hills and beyond for our help.
Faith is made
up of belief and trust. Many people believe God, but they do not trust
themselves into His keeping and care; consequently, they are filled with worry
and fear.
Worry is
nothing but practical infidelity. The person who worries reveals his lack of
trust in God and that he is trusting too much in self.
Let us learn
today that in all true faith there is complete committal to God.
* * *
A party of
visitors going through the national mint was told by a workman in the smelting
works that if the hand were dipped in water, the ladle would pour its contents
over the palm without burning it. "Perhaps you would like to try it,"
said the workman to a man standing nearby.
The gentleman
said, shrinking back, "No, thank you. I prefer to take your word for
it."
Then turning
to the mans wife, he said, "Perhaps, madam, you would
like to make the experiment."
"Certainly,"
she replied. And suiting the action to the word, she bared her arm, thrust her
hand into a bucket of water, and calmly held it out while the metal was poured
over it.
Turning to the
man, the workman quietly said, "You, sir, believed, but your wife
trusted."
Now,
let us consider this text in the light of God’s past performances and His promises
for today and the future.
I. GOD DID NOT FAIL MEN IN THE OLDEN
DAYS
A.
Sacred history points out to us that no man who had faith in God was ever
disappointed.
1.
Turn to
2.
That word "faith" occurs some twenty-five times in this chapter
alone.
3.
Some seventeen people are mentioned as examples of what faith in God
accomplished.
4.
I wish that we had time to consider every one of these names in Gods
‘Hall of Fame.
a. In Abel, we have the worship of faith.
b. In Enoch, the walk of faith.
c. In Noah, the witness of faith.
d. In Abraham, the wandering of faith.
e. In Sarah, the waiting of faith.
f. In Moses, the work of faith.
B.
In
1.
The success of faith as exemplified
in Gideons life.
2.
The song of faith given us by Barak.
3.
The supplications of faith by David,
the sweet singer of
3.
And the singleness of faith as made
known in Samuel.
C.
Through flood and fire, stones and swords, destitution and death, affliction
and torment, God delivered His people.
1.
I like to read about Elijah and
his faith.
a.
First, God answered his prayer and brought fire from Heaven, consuming an altar
of wood, stone, sacrifice and water.
b.
Then God answered his faith by sending a downpour of rain upon a parched and
destitute country.
2.
What a joy to read about Daniel, a
young man whose faith towered above all others, just as Mt. Everest towers
above all other mountains in the world.
a. Nothing was able to daunt the faith
of Daniel.
b.
The threatening of an enemy could not shake him; the prospect of the lions den did not
move him from his course.
c. Daniel had faith in God.
d. Sacred history records that God did
not fail him.
D.
Nothing but encouragement can come to us as we dwell upon the faithful dealing
of our Heavenly Father in centuries gone by.
1.
Faith in God has not saved people from
hardships and trials.
2. But it has enabled them to bear tribulations courageously and to emerge victoriously.
E. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs tell us that men and women with
faith in God faced every conceivable torment and death without faltering.
1.
In the early centuries when persecution was meted out without mercy,…
2.
Men were known to sing and smile as the
fires consumed their bodies.
F.
Doesn’t your very heart burn to have such faith in God as the spiritual giants
of the olden days had?
II. GOD IS
A.
Let’s read the verses which follow our text:
"Have faith in God,
"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
"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them. "—
B.
These words are shocking to our modern, materialistic minds.
1. But Jesus said what He meant and
meant what He said.
2. Nowhere in this Bible do we find a
statement canceling this prayer promise.
3. On the other hand, the Bible is
full of promises supporting this statement by the Lord Jesus.
a. When George Mueller began his
mighty work of prayer, he based his faith upon this promise.
b. At first he
prayed, then waited for God’s answer and then gave thanks.
c. But as he read and re-read these
words, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them," he
started thanking God for His answer even at the time the request was made.
d.
If we pray in faith believing, this is as
it should be.
C.
It gives me unusual joy to shout out these words, "God answers prayer!"
1. This is a faithless old world.
a. Men and
women are hardheaded, pleasure-mad, money crazy.
b. They write up their successes and
say, "The power and might of my hand have done these things."
c. God has been ruled out;
consequently, the thrill and romance of true living are gone for most people.
2. If you are a child of God, know
that every promise in the Bible is yours.
a. The Bible
is a gold mine.
b. It’s
waiting for someone to take out its riches.
Most of us are
too much like the woman who received a letter, but in her distress, went to a
friend to try to borrow some money before opening it. The friend said,
"Why, I sent you money yesterday!" "Dear, dear," replied
the poor soul, "that must be the letter I put behind the mirror."
There
are people putting Gods letter to
mankind in some hiding place and failing
to make use of the promises meant for them.
What
is your need? Take it to the Lord in
prayer.
A.
A Salvation Army girl said, "I don’t
know what’s in the future, but I know the Lord is, and I know I am in
Him."
B.
It is true that most of our worries are about things that never happen.
1. We anticipate trouble.
2. We cross bridges before we get to
them.
3. We spend sleepless nights thinking
about things which will likely never come to pass.
4. People become chronic worriers.
5. Even Christians worry until it
becomes a habit.
C.
Someone said, "Worry is the interest we pay on trouble before it is due.
1. Are you worried about the future? Then listen to these Scriptures.
"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in
him; and he shall bring it to pass. " -- Ps. 37:5.
2. Are you a Christian, yet worry
about provisions for the future?
Then hear these words of the psalmist.
"I have been young, and now am old; yet have
I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. "—Ps.
37:25.
a. Jesus said,
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought
for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet foryour body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than
meat, and the body than raiment?
"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow
not, neither do they reap, not gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"—Matt.
6:25,26.
b. Paul says
to us,
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God.
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. . . . But my
God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus. "—Phil. 4:6,7,19.
D.
Another kind of faith that I want to tell you about today is saving faith.
1. Without this saving faith, man
looks into the future and cries, "Where will I spend eternity?"
2. Without saving faith, all that I
have said today avails nothing.
E.
What is this faith that is the foundation of time and eternity?
1. It is faith in Christ, Gods Son.
2. Phillips Brooks definition of
faith has been helpful to many people: F-A-I-T-H means Forsaking All, I Take Him.
F.
Yes, to be saved there must be an acceptance of Jesus and a committing of
oneself to Him.
1. This done, salvation is sure and
eternity is settled.
2. We can then say with the Apostle
Paul, "I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day."
3.The blessed thing about this
salvation is that we can have it at the very moment we receive the Lord Jesus.
4. After possessing this salvation, fear of a dark future is taken away and
peace comes in!
When Cannon
Wilberforce was in this country, he told how a miner, having heard the Gospel,
determined that if it promised his immediate salvation, he would not leave the
presence of the preacher until he was in possession of that salvation.
After the
meeting was over, he addressed the minister in his rude speech, "Didn’t ye
say I could have the blessing now?"
"Yes, my
friend," answered the preacher.
"Then
pray with me now, for I’m not going away without it."
And they did
pray, both the minister and the man. Waiting before God until the miner heard
silent words from the still small voice of the Spirit and knew that he was
saved. Then he started up, saying, "I have got it now!" His face was
all aglow as he repeated, "I have got it now!"
The next day a
terrible accident occurred in the mines. When the preacher reached the scene,
the dead and dying were on every side. Searching among them, he came upon this
big, brawny fellow whom he had seen the night before. He was dying, also. But
when he recognized the minister, his eyes flashed with their new light as he
said, "Oh, I don’t mind to die, for I have got it! I have got it! It is
mine!"
CONCLUSION:
A.
Is salvation yours today?
1. If not, make up your mind that you
will not leave this building until you know Christ as your own personal Saviour.
2. If you have trusted Jesus Christ,
live for Him today!
B.
Have faith in God!
“If you stand
on the mountain of faith and look down, things will seem easy to you; but if
you are in the valley of doubt, they will look like giants. What the church
wants and what it is looking for are men and women of faith.” – D.L. Moody.
REFERENCES: References
used in this Bible study are from the
Believer’s Bible Commentary, David C. Cook Publishers Bible-in-Life, Dr. Cliff
Robinson Bible Outlines, Dr. Lee Roberson’s Sermons, KJV Bible Commentary, Our
Daily Bread, The Bible Reader’s Companion Ed. 3, The Nelson Study Bible: New
King James Version, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Wiersbe’s Expository
Outlines of the New Testament Ed. 4, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines of the Old
Testament, With the Word Bible Commentary, and selected illustrations.
E-Mail: Ronald Purkey
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