Genesis 17: 1, 2 God showed himself to Abram as El Shaddai, God Almighty. God shows himself to us so we will respond to that revelation
Faith is important to God
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is , and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him Hebrews 11: 6
whatsoever is not of faith is sin Romans 14: 23
The reason that it is so hard to live a life of faith is the fact that we don’t need faith. We are living in our own abilities and limits.
If we live within our limits, we will never live lives of faith that are pleasing to God.
God will never reveal the promise to us if we have Ishmael’s in our lives.
Abraham asked God to bless his own plans (Ishmael) Genesis 17: 17, 18, but God requires us to lay down everything to follow him.
EXAMPLES:
- Disciples had to drop their nets
- Rich man had to sell all he had and follow after Christ
The goal of faith is to bring people into intimacy with God
Romans 5: 2 because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
We can waste time using our faith to stop the problems that are actually building the endurance that is needed to make us who God wants us to be.
Romans 5: 3 – 5 We can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment for we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts.
Living a life of faith is not an option for Christians.
Romans 4: 23, 24 It was not just for Abraham’s benefit but for our benefit too.
Key Point: The condition for a miracle is difficulty the condition for a great miracle is impossibility