Finding Faith

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Finding Faith

• Session 3 Faith in Suffering

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The Mind of Faith Faith Perfects
The Refining of Faith Faith in Suffering
The Victory of Faith Faith in Suffering
The Fathers of Faith Faith in Action
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For with the heart, one believes unto
righteousness and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through
faith to the end that you, being rooted and
grounded in love,
Draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and having our body washed with pure
water,
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Measuring Faith
Jer 179-10 KJV The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked who can know it?
(10) I the LORD search the heart, I try the
reins, even to give every man according to his
ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
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What is the Heart?

• Our minds
• Our emotions
• Our energy
• Our will

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Saved by Faith AND Works?

• Is this what James mean?
• Jam 217-26 KJV Even so faith, if it hath not
  works, is dead, being alone. (18) Yea, a man
  may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works shew
  me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew
  thee my faith by my works. (19) Thou believest
  that there is one God thou doest well the
  devils also believe, and tremble. (20) But wilt
  thou know, O vain man, that faith without works
  is dead? (21) Was not Abraham our father
  justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his
  son upon the altar? (22) Seest thou how faith
  wrought with his works, and by works was faith
  made perfect? (23) And the scripture was
  fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and
  it was imputed unto him for righteousness (26)
  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so
  faith without works is dead also.

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Heart Faith vs Head Faith
Your Text
Creedal or Intellectual Faith Jam 219 WEB
You believe that God is one. You do well. The
demons also believe, and shudder.
Lives in the Heart Develops into Love Bear
Fruits Is living
Your Text
Lives in the intellect Stays as a Creed Is
Fruitless Dead
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The Heart reveals Itself in Works
Mat 1233-35 WEB Either make the tree good, and
its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its
fruit corrupt for the tree is known by its
fruit. (34) You offspring of vipers, how can
you, being evil, speak good things? For out of
the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
(35) The good man out of his good treasure
brings out good things, and the evil man out of
his evil treasure4 brings out evil things.
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The Order is Critical

• Good Tree -gt Good Fruit
• Good Man -gt Good Things
• Faith -gt Works
• There is no faith without works
• There is works without faith
• Abraham is saved First by Faith and then this is
  demonstrated in his obedience to sacrifice Isaac

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And beside this, giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge And
to knowledge temperance and to temperance
patience and to patience godliness And to
godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly
kindness charity. (2Pe 15-7 KJV)
LOVE
KINDNESS
GODLINESS
PATIENCE
SELF-CONTROL
KNOWLEDGE
VIRTUE
FAITH
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Gal 56 WEB For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision amounts to anything, nor
uncircumcision, but faith working through love.
Through Love
Works
Works
Works
Works
Your Text
Heb 116 KJV But without faith it is impossible
to please him for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is
1Jo 47-8 WEB He who doesn't love doesn't know
God, for God is love.
1Co 134-5 CEV Love is kind and patient, never
jealous, boastful, proud, or rude.
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Faith AND Works?

• Salt AND Pepper
• Summer AND Winter
• Seed THEN Fruit
• Body THEN Spirit
• Faith THEN Works
• The relationship is DEPENDENT and CAUSATIVE

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Why am I Suffering?
Time And Chance?
To Prove And Grow Faith
Why?
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The Purpose of Personal Suffering
1 Pet 16-9 (NIV) (6)In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials.(7) These
have come so that your faith-- of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by
fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in
praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is
revealed.(8)Though you have not seen him, you
love him and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy,(9)for you are
receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation
of your souls.
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As Gold is Proved

• "... when He Has Tried me, I shall come forth as
  gold!" (Job 2310)
• Who keeps us in life And does not allow our feet
  to slip. For You have tried us, O God You have
  refined us as silver is refined. You brought us
  into the net You laid an oppressive burden upon
  our loins. you made men ride over our heads We
  went through fire and through water, Yet You
  brought us out into a place of abundance. (Psalms
  669-12)

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Eyes fixed on the Furnace

• Mal 32-3 WEB But who can endure the day of his
  coming? And who will stand when he appears? For
  he is like a refiners fire, and like launderers
  soap (3) and he will sit as a refiner and
  purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons
  of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver and
  they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in
  righteousness.

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Faith like Gold
Gold
Malleable
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Its all about our Faith

• Tests reveal our Faith to us
• In a test
• Our Faith should increase
• Our doubts should decrease
• We exercise our Faith in Suffering

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be
joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness
unto them which are exercised thereby. (Heb
1211 KJV)
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Amen