The Virtue of Faith

The virtue of faith “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen�

Faith defined A strong belief in God & all of his holy laws, which is not based upon tangible proof but is instead based upon your own personal experience & spiritual works in the Lord. It is to have complete trust & confidence in God’s power, authority & guidance.

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Misuse of the word faith Many people proclaim they have faith in god Unfortunately this word is often misused....why?

Because people often feel that you can believe in god without actually obeying him but faith can NOT be separated from works The bible not only has several examples of people showcasing their faith but speak specifically about faith & works Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

James 2: 17-20 “Even so faith, if it hath NOT works, is dead, being alone. 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.

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”

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Christ is our example

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Christ’s obedience Our faith is evident through our obedience & the works we perform on behalf of the Lord Christ is a perfect example of this In his own words he states.... “because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (St. John 5: 30) Christ healed the sick, performed miracles, taught the gospel and faced persecution over and over because it was the will of his Father ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Christ faced temptation Faith enables us to resist the temptation of satan When Christ fasted for 40 days and 40 nights satan came to him and tempted him three times Satan’s goal, as with all of us, was to get christ to disobey the father

Luke 4: 1-13 Turn stone into bread to break his fast

Satan is like a serpent

Asked Christ to bow down & worship him Asked Christ to take his own life & tempt God Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Christ faced death Through faith we are able to make major sacrifices Some may have to face the challenge of giving up their life We know that christ gave up his life for all of his children His death was not an easy death They spat at Christ, they hit him, mocked him & crucified him for 6 hrs before he died Despite all of this suffering & abuse he allowed for his life to be taken and did not use his power to save himself because he had faith in his father Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Christ ‘s faith Christ’s life on this earth provides us with a powerful lesson He shows us that through faith....

We can obey God though most in the world refuse to & will often ridicule you for doing so We can resist the wiles & fiery darts of the devil because we believe & know the laws of God We can face & overcome great challenges in our lives We might even have to give up our life but can do so because we believe in the resurrection & gaining eternal life ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Other examples in the bible that showcase faith Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Abraham Abraham was a perfect & righteous man because he feared & obeyed god His faith in god was so strong that he was willing to sacrifice his son isaac without question Because of his obedience & faith, god was with abraham all the days of his life and made him the father of many nations Reference scripture: genesis 22: 1-12 Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

The woman that touched the hem of Christ’s garment There was a woman that had a disease of the blood for 12 years Christ was walking through the crowd with the apostles The woman touched the hem of christ’s garment with the belief that she would be healed Christ said to her “thy faith hath made thee whole...”

Reference scripture: Matthew 9: 19-22 ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Job Job is well known in the bible for his strong faith despite all the adversity he faced He was one that feared & obeyed god, steering away from evil Job was a man that had great wealth, land & 10 children Satan challenged god and claimed that if he removed his protection from job that he would surely curse him Knowing his son, god took on this challenge allowing satan to “put forth his hands� against job with the exception of taking his life Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Job Satan reeked havoc in job’s life In a very short period of time Job lost his servants, land, wealth & children Naturally Job was extremely upset & went into mourning but he did not curse god instead he said...

“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Reference scripture: Job Chapter 1 ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Job When job did not curse god after losing everything, satan did challenge god once more that if job lost his health he would surely turn against him God took on this challenge and satan caused job to become very ill Job’s wife and his friends accused him, saying that he must of have sinned because of all that he was going through Even through all of this, job did not curse god once Reference scripture: Job chapter 2 Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Job After job went through this great adversity the lord did indeed bless him He regained his health and had 10 more children His land & wealth was greater than what it was before Reference scripture: Job 42: 10-13

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Our faith will be tried The saints in the bible provide us with strong examples of faith We can see that their faith, along with the faith of christ was tried Our faith will be tried as well (I Peter 1: 6-7) We may not have to go through all of the trials that job had to go through at once but we will face adversitythere is no escaping it You may lose a job, the life of a loved one or your health may be compromised Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Faith is....

Faith is submitting to the authority of God by obeying his laws & trusting in the instruction he provides in his word Faith is believing & trusting that god will enable you to have your basic necessities even though you just lost your job Faith is continuing in earnest prayer for a loved one to be healed even though it has not come to past yet Faith is continuing to serve God & believing in his mercy even though you have lost a loved one or your own health Faith is being willing to give up your life for god because you know he will resurrect you in the end Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Faith is not.....

Faith is not something that you can see, touch or feel...we live during a time when god is not physically on this earth but we must know that he is with us Faith is not stagnant....we must continue to build upon our faith through our life experiences

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How do we get faith Faith is a fruit of the spirit and a spiritual gift that is bestowed upon us by the holy Spirit We must pray to God the father to give us the holy spirit & to give us faith Reference scripture: Galatians 5: 22 & I Corinthians 12: 7-11

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Questions

For questions regarding this presentation please contact us via email at info@householdofisrael.org or by phone at 219.949.9308

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Please review the following scriptures Hebrews Ch. 11

Mark 9: 17-27

James Ch. 1 & 2

St. John 11: 1-27

I Peter Ch. 1 Matthew 17: 20-21 Matthew 8: 5-10

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Presentation by: Elisabeth C. Pointer

Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved