Spiritual Gifts: Faith

Daniel Borchers

March 20, 2002


Introduction
Today we’ll be talking about the spiritual gift of faith. There will be a quiz, so please pay attention.


Do you have the spiritual gift of faith? Please raise your hands. All of you – raise your hands. All of you have the gift of faith. If you are a Christian, you have the gift of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Whatever is not of faith is sin. It is by faith that we have been saved and that faith itself is a gift – a spiritual gift – from God.


Faith is, in fact, one of the three greatest spiritual gifts – faith, hope and love – found in 1st Corinthians chapter 13.


While faith is a gift every believer possesses, God does bestow upon some believers a special kind or a special degree of faith – mountain-moving faith. Nevertheless, the gift of faith is one we each have to some degree.


Definition
The spiritual gift survey gives this definition:
The gift of faith is the ability to see God’s purpose in a situation and to trust His wisdom and power to accomplish that purpose. Essentially it is the gift of vision which enables one to believe God for what seems impossible.


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


Paul is talking about future and invisible things.


2nd Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.


Paul is talking about invisible and eternal things.


Spiritual Sight


We read in Hebrews 11:27 that Moses “endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” Indeed, the gift of faith enables us to see with spiritual eyes. It provides us with spiritual sight. As a modern-day psalmist wrote, our “lives are in His hand and through the eyes of faith” we “can clearly see.”


We see this remarkably illustrated in the life of the prophet Elisha.


2nd Kings 6:15-17 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.


God opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant to literally see the army of angels surrounding him. Elisha himself did not literally see those angels, but he, through the gift of faith, knew the angels were there.


(Dear Lord, please open our spiritual eyes to Your awesome presence in our lives and to see Your eternal providence in all of life’s circumstances!)


The gift of faith knows God’s character and love and the gift of faith sees with spiritual eyes. Through faith we perceive the preeminence and transcendence of God in all circumstances. Through faith we know the perfect character of God can be relied upon at all times and that all His promises will be fulfilled. The gift of faith witnesses to our souls about God’s eternal faithfulness and perfect love.


Mountain Moving Faith


And as a result of faith, relying on the faithfulness of God, we can walk boldly into the challenges and trials of life. We can enter the lion’s den. We can endure the desert journeys. We can defeat our Goliath. We can storm the gates of Hell.


The end result of faith is courage to surmount the challenges of life, to overcome our trials, and to experience peace in those challenges and trials.


Have you ever experienced a moment in time and space when you knew God was with you – while you were walking through the valley of the shadow of death, while you were entering in the lion’s den, while you were experiencing a fiery trial – you knew God was with you and you were at peace? That is the gift of faith.
Faith gives us the courage to face anything, knowing that with God all things are possible and that if He is for us who can be against us?


Faith believes!


1st Corinthians 13:2 though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains


Matthew 17:20 So Jesus said to them, “… if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”


Help Our Unbelief


Faith is a gift God has given to each one of us and it is a gift that can be nurtured. We can all grow in faith.


Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”


Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”


Let us pray:
“Dear Jesus, our Lord and Savior, our Brother and Friend, the One in whom we place our complete confidence and total trust, we come before You in faith, thanking You for the gift of faith that You have already placed within us. We ask You to increase our faith. Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief. Give us Your vision. Give us the spiritual sight to see You as You make the footprints in the sand of our lives. Help us to walk by faith and to live by faith, being assured of Your love for us and that You will reign victorious in our lives. As You fill us with Your Spirit, let Your courage embolden us and allow us to rest in Your peace. Increase our faith that we may be faith-filled warriors for Your truth and Your love. Amen.”




Quiz on the Spiritual Gift of Faith


1. Faith is a spiritual gift that___________ Christian have.


2. “Faith is the_______ of things hoped for, the_______ of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)


3. “For without faith it is___________ to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)


4. “For we walk by_____ , not by_______ .” (2nd Corinthians 5:7)


5. If we “have faith as a mustard seed” we can__________ . (Matthew 17:20)


6. “And the apostles said to the Lord,__________ ‘ our faith.’” (Luke 17:5)


7. Faith is which piece of spiritual armor? ____________(Ephesians 6:16)


8. “The_______ shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17, Habakkuk 2:4)


9. Which is the “faith chapter” of the Bible? ______________


10. Who is the “author and finisher of our faith?”_____________ (Hebrews 12:2)


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Answers:
1) every, possesses; 2) substance, evidence; 3) impossible; 4) faith, sight; 5) move mountains; 6) increase; 7) shield; 8) just; 9) Hebrews chapter 11; 10) Jesus Christ.