Faith

ABRAHAM

A Man Of Faith

Quick Overview

In the Bible God came to Abraham and told him to take his only son and offer him as a burnt offering. I’m sure this sounded absurd to Abraham but he had faith in God. So he took his son up to the mountain and built an altar. He tied his son and laid him on the altar, right as he lifted the knif

e he heard a voice calling him, it was God, he told him not to harm his son. Just as God said this a ram appeared on the mountain, God had sent an offering, He was simply testing Abraham’s faith.

Faith is trusting God, it is living in a relationship with God that is motivated and continual growing by a person realizing that God does keep his promises, and that his Word is true. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 7:9 this ‘Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.’ The character of faith is trusting the goodness of God. Faith is believing that God sent his only Son to die for YOU and accepting his grace through his son Jesus Christ. Faith is just one of the many gifts God gives to those who believe. Faith is not just about believing that God sent Jesus to die for our sins (though that is important) but it is believing that God will get you thr

ough any of the trials you may be facing, and that he will never give us more than we can handle, the Bible is clear about this, it says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 ‘No temptation has over taken you except is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’ Just like with Abraham, not that he was tempted to kill his son, but God told him to. Can you imagine what Abraham must have been thinking when God told him to do this, surely he was wondering ‘why would God ask me to do something like this? He just gave me a son, why would he ask me to kill him’ I’m sure his mind also floated back to God’s promise to him and his wife Sara, God had told him that he would give him many children. God had made a promise and Abraham knew God would keep his promise. And sure enough right before Abraham was about to kill his son God sent a way out, a ram to offer as a sacrifice. God will always provide a way out to those who have faith in him.

Read the

following verses then answer the questions below;

Hebrews 11:1, 1 Peter 5:7, Isaiah 40:31

Question One. How does the Bible define faith?

Question Two. How do I show faith in my day to day life?

Question Three. What can I do to strengthen my faith?

Question Four. What can get in the way of me being faithful?

Question Five. How can I keep my faith strong even when I feel alone?

Question Six. How will faith affect my walk with Christ?

After answering th

e questions above, do you have a better understanding of what faith means and why it is so important?

HOW TO RESIST SUFFERING BY STAND FIRM IN FAITH

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:16 ‘In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extingu

ish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.’ When you are being tempted and tested you are su

pposed to put up a shield of faith, so that the devils shots (si

ckness, poverty and problems) won’t pierce you, or stick with you. God wants you to get rid of your trials, and make your faith stronger. But if you think that troubles and trials will automatically make you stronger, then you are sadly mistaken. Trials come along to test your faith. This means that the trials you face are a battle. And if your faith is not fighting back, you will not win. And obviously if you are not winning your faith is not growing, God wants the trials we face to strengthen our faith and help us to resist the devil that sent the trials. Facing trials can be compared to lifting weights. Imagine lifting a weight, if you are bent over hands on the weight are you becoming stronger? Of course not! You only become stronger when you lift the weight. Your faith is just the same, just because you are facing a trial doesn’t mean you are automatically becoming strong you have to endure and lift the trial up to God. Though it does not feel like it trials can actually be helpful.

Next time you are facing a trial say a prayer.

Dear God, I know that you Word says that you will not give us more than we can bear, but I feel like I’m never going to see the end of this. So God please help me to fight back with my faith, and to keep trusting in you. Thank you for sending your son for me, and my sins. Thank you that your son also faced many of the same trials I do, and for being an example.

In Jesus name

AMEN