The Test of Faith Part 4
Part 4
We should not be too concerned with growing our faith.
Rather, we should seek to grow in our knowledge of God. Great faith is a result of great knowledge of God. As we grow in our knowledge of God, our faith will also grow.
The focus must always be on God, and not on faith, because we are not required to have faith in faith, but to have faith in God.
Our FAITH is meaningful only because of the character of God.
Daniel 11:32Those who know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
Job 19:25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last.
All through the scriptures, great emphasis is placed on the knowledge of God.
Genesis 5:24 NKJV And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Hebrews 11:5 (NKJV) By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Genesis 6:8-9 NKJV But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
Joshua 4:20-24 (NLT) 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. 21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NLT) 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Hosea 4:6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know Me. Since you priests refuse to know Me, Irefuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.
Hosea 6:3 (NLT) Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”
Habakkuk 2:14 (NKJV) For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
Malachi 2:7 (NLT) “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Matthew 16:13-20 (NLT) 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” 15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
John 4:22-24 (NKJV)
22 “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 “God [is] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 14:8-11 (NLT) 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
Acts 17:22-31 (NLT) 22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
Ephesians 4:13-15 (NLT) 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Philippians 3:10 (NKJV) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
As your knowledge of God grows, so will your faith.
2 Peter 1:2 & 5 (NLT)
2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
Are you seeking to grow daily in the knowledge of God?
Judges 2:10-11 (NKJV) 10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.
11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals;
It is not profitable to worship God without knowing Him.
Matthew 15:7-9 (NLT) 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
John 4:22-24 (NLT) 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming--indeed it’s here now--when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
It is dangerous to get close to the things of God, to serve the Lord, without knowing Him.
1 Samuel 2:12 (NKJV) Now the sons of Eli [were] corrupt; they did not know the LORD.
Hosea 4:6 (NLT) My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.
Proximity does not guarantee intimacy. Lucifer was close to God, yet he sinned against God because he did not know God.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NKJV)
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom] which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Knowledge of God is our surest defense against deception. Eve and Adam fell to the lies of the serpent because they did not know God.
Daniel 11:32 (NLT) He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.
3 Questions to help us ace our self-test.
Faith is conviction. Are you fully persuaded?
Until we know God to a point of conviction, we will just be tossed to and fro, by every new popular doctrine, every persecution, every opportunity etc
We must keep learning of God from His word, until we are persuaded beyond any doubt that He is who His word says He is.
Romans 8:35-39 (NLT) 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hebrews 1:3 (NLT) The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
2. Faith is confidence in the character of God. How confident are you in God’s character?
Daniel 11:32 (NLT) He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.
Hebrews 6:18 (NLT) So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
In difficult times of trial and persecution, during times of temptation, during seasons of pain and sorrow, our faith will be revealed by the choices we make.
Faith is what we know; not by hearsay, not by popular opinion, not by the creeds we have memorized, but what we have learnt by personal experience to a point of conviction, (full persuasion.) Faith is what we believe so strongly, we are willing to put our lives on the line for it.
We must grow in our knowledge of God, to a point of conviction., and beyond that to a place of confidence that will keep us steadfast even in uncertain times for however long it takes.
2 Timothy 1:12-14 (NLT)
12 That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.
13 Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me--a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.
14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.
3. Faith is persistence (holding on.) Are you ready to hold on for as long as it takes?
Only those who have grown to this place of confidence will be able to stand faithfully even when storms of life rage.
Hebrew 10:38-39
Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
Matthew 24:9-13 (NLT)
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.
11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.
12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
