CFC SINGLES FOR CHRIST CHAPTER TEACHING MANUAL

FOUNDATIONS FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING

GROWING IN FAITH

A. Introduction.

1. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the
gift of God” Ephesians 2:8. The good news is that all men can enter into a new
relationship with God by believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

a) Faith is the key, Jesus is the door, and salvation is the room to be entered.

b) Faith in God is the foundation of the Christian life.

2. But many Christians today lack a complete understanding of faith.

a) They see the importance of faith just at the beginning of one's Christian life.

b) But faith is not only the key to salvation, it is also the way one receives all of
God's gifts: healing, guidance, answers to prayers, tongues, etc.

* Thus faith is vital not just at the beginning but throughout our Christian life.

B. The Meaning of Faith.

1. True Christian faith is a reliance upon God which allows Him to fulfill His purposes
within and through His people.

a) What are these purposes?

* To form us so our character reflects His own.

* To make us His instruments to touch and speak to others.
* To teach us to pray in such a way that He can guide circumstances which are
beyond our control.

b) Faith releases this threefold action of God.

c) Faith is a way for us to rest in God.

* We abandon ourselves into the hands of a loving God, acknowledging His

greatness and our smallness.

* Faith is not a task, hurdle or obligation, but a gift from God.

2. The basis of faith.

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a) Faith is not a blind leap or an arbitrary act of will. Rather, faith is a Christian's
response to God's revelation of His own nature and plan.

* God reveals Himself in the Bible, in human history, in one's personal

experience, and in the experiences of others.

* Since God's nature is consistent and His word is faithful, we can count on
Him to act in the future as He has acted in the past.

Mark 5:25-34

25 There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She
had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus and
came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. 28 She said, “If I but
touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” 29 Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She
felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30 Jesus, aware at once that
power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has
touched my clothes?” 31 But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is
pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around
to see who had done it. 33 The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the
whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace
and be cured of your affliction.”

b) We can know God's nature, desires and purposes in at least three ways.

* Through His universally binding promises. The Bible contains many such
promises with clearly stated conditions: Luke 11:13; 1 John 1:9; John 3:16.

If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who
ask him?” Luke 11:13

If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. 1 John 1:9

For God so loved the world that he gave[a] his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. John 3:16

* Through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Since God lives within us, we
should expect some direct personal communication from Him.

* Through an understanding of God's nature. God is merciful and has

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compassion for us.

3. Three kinds of faith.

a) Believing faith.

* Acceptance of the basic doctrinal truths of Christianity.

* Such faith is essential, but is not sufficient. “You believe that God is one. You
do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.” James 2:19. Even the
devil has such faith.

b) Trusting faith.

* The belief that God is good, that He loves His people, and that He will care for
them always.

* This is not merely assent to a creed, but entrusting one's life into God's
hands.

c) Expectant faith.

* God wants His people to believe, to trust, and to expect. Expectant faith
reaches out to Jesus and expects him to act in specific situations.

* Expectant faith differs from the other kinds of faith in its active, dynamic
nature. Not just a yielding to the will of God and a willingness to endure
difficult circumstances, but asking much from God.

* For example, it might be God's will for us to accept physical illness, financial
distress or other difficulties as part of purification; or He might be using
difficulties as a way of testing and building our faith.

* Jesus taught his disciples to pray forcefully, even for minor needs. Matthew
7:7-11.

The Answer to Prayers. 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks,
receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door
will be opened. 9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks
for a loaf of bread, 10 or a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 If you then, who
are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

4. Faith is an active, external response, not an internal emotion.

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a) If tied to emotion, faith becomes a sputtering and inconstant flame.

b) Faith is not primarily an emotion, but a way of thinking, speaking and acting
which contains an emotional element.

c) Faith is an external response.

* You have faith if you act in faith.

* However, faith is not just a set of specific actions, but also an outlook which
should characterize one's entire Christian life.

d) A Christian filled with faith will rejoice in all circumstances, hope in God's
providential control of human events, and avoid attitudes of anxiety, fear,
negativism, hostility or discouragement.

C. Growing in Faith.

1. Faith is formed by God. We cannot grow in faith by our own efforts.

a) Nevertheless, we can contribute to our growth in faith by confronting some

important hazards and by following some helpful steps.

b) We cannot build our own faith, but God cannot build it without our cooperation.

2. Hazards to faith.

a) Fear.

* Usually stems from personal insecurity, fear of failure, and an over-intense

approach to faith.

* To overcome these, we should relax, rest in the Lord, remember God's

promises, trust His word, and venture forth with a willingness to make
mistakes.

* If we are just starting to grow in faith, we should begin by praying for small
things.

* We should be eager to exercise our faith. We should view failures as

opportunities to learn about how to exercise faith more effectively.

b) Emotions.

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* We sometimes try to work up intense feelings of faith for our prayer

requests, believing that God will not work unless we have the right feelings
or intensity.

* Feelings of faith are helpful, but God's power does not depend on them.

* We should just stand firmly on the rock of God's word.

c) Self-doubt.

* We should disregard distorted guilt feelings.

* We should trust more fully in the Lord.

d) Satan.

* Some difficulties in exercising faith are caused by satanic opposition.

* We should be aware of the realities of spiritual warfare.

* As thoughts of doubts or fear are planted by satanic forces in our mind, we

can rebuke them with God's authority and replace them with the truth.

3. Positive steps toward faith.

a) An environment of faith.

* We need to associate with people who will foster growth in faith. This is
what we have in SFC.

* We should be faithful to our meetings and activities in SFC, seeing these as a

big help to our faith.

b) Spiritual reading.

* Books and magazines which communicate a faith-filled Christian worldview.

* Our three-year Spiritual Reading Guide. At least one book a month.

c) Hearing God's word.

“Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the
word of Christ.” Romans 10:17.

* Through the Bible, teachings, prophecy, books, exhortations, and direct

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words from the Lord.

* We should be diligent to hear, absorb, contemplate and love God's word.

d) Personal prayer.

* God has adopted us as His sons and daughters, and He delights in answering
our prayers. Thus confidence should pervade our prayer.

e) Prayer for faith.

* A final step is also the most direct: ask God to increase our faith.

D. Conclusion.

1. We in SFC are to be a people of faith.

2. God raised us up and intends to use us. Let us stir up the gift of faith that God wants
to bestow on us.

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