Faith establishes trust

• Trust: the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.
• Matthew 6:25-30 (worry)
• Matthew 14:28-31 (doubt)
• Mark 5:36 (fear) – God is so much bigger than anything we fear.
• John 11:40 (everyday life)
• Matthew 17:20 (evidence)
• II Corinthians 5:6-8 (walk by faith)
• I John 4:18
• I Timothy 6:17-19
• II Corinthians 1:9
• I Timothy 4:10

Introduction

• Psalms 37:1-7

The Bible gives us plenty of examples of those who had to wait

• Genesis 6:3; 7:23 – Noah
• Genesis 12:2, 4; 15:1-4; 21:5 – Abraham had to wait 25 years for Isaac.
• I Samuel 16:1, 12-13; II Samuel 5:4 – David had to wait to become king, possibly 15 years.
• The marshmallow experiment
  • Children who are able to wait and delay gratification historically have much better outcomes in life.

Waiting until marriage

• Hebrews 13:4 – Pre-marital sexual relations are sinful.
• II Samuel 11:2-4 – David’s sin with Bathsheba
• I Corinthians 7:1-5 – Sex within marriage is holy and commanded by God.
• God’s laws are good!
• James 1:14

Material possessions

• I Timothy 6:6-10
• Young people tend to want what their parents have now, even though it took their parents decades to achieve.
• Hebrews 11:24-26
• Philippians 3:17-20 – We must think of ourselves as citizens of heaven.

Joshua 1

• Deuteronomy 34:5, 9

Joshua 1:1-9 – “the Lord spoke to Joshua”

• Joshua 1:2-4 – See Genesis 12:7. This promise will be fulfilled in the book of Joshua, but this plan started before Creation (I Corinthians 2:7).
• Joshua 1:5-9 – God repeatedly told Joshua to be “strong and courageous.” See Ephesians 6:10-11. We are also in a battle – a spiritual one.

Joshua 1:10-18 – Get ready to cross the Jordan River.

• Joshua 1:14 – This would take faith for the fighting men to leave their wives and children and go off to fight, but God would protect them.

Joshua 2

Joshua 2:1-24 – Rahab and the spies

• Joshua 2:10-11 – See Exodus 14-15. Exodus 15:14-16 tells of the terror that other people would have of them. See also Exodus 23:23, 27-30.
• See Matthew 1:5. Rahab ends up in the lineage of Jesus.
• See Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25. Rahab is commended for her faith in welcoming the spies and sending them out safely. She is not commended for lying.

Introduction

• Matthew 20:29-34
• Mark 10:46-52
• In that time, there was very little in the way of a social safety net for a blind man.
• Bartimaeus could possibly have heard that Jesus had previously been healed near this area.

He inquired … Have we lost our curiosity?

• God despises a lack of curiosity and knowledge.
• Hosea 4:6

He cried out … Have we lost our urgency?

• He called out to Jesus as “Son of David.”
• Luke 7:22 – The Messiah would be able to heal people. Jesus could do that!
  • [Note: Verses may have been quoted incorrectly here. The correct references are Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1. Thanks to Joel for the correction! -MRW]
• Bartimaeus sprang up and ran to Jesus.
• Luke 16:24
• Revelation 3:15-17
• II Corinthians 8:10-11 – We can fail if we are not persistent.

He followed Jesus … Have we lost our way?

• Mark 10:52 – Bartimaeus immediately followed Jesus.
• Matthew 13:4-23 – Have we gone back to being beggars after hearing the gospel? We must not go back to our old ways of living.
• Mark 10:46-52

We can develop and strengthen our faith

• Luke 17:5 – The apostles said to the Lord, “increase our faith.”
• John 20:24-29 – Thomas believed with evidence. Jesus said those who believed without seeing were blessed.
• Christ expects our faith to grow
  • Matthew 16:8-12; Hebrews 5:12-14

Why study faith? Why build our faith?

• Faith is challenging because it is under attack in our age. Some view faith as opposed to fact and reality.
• It is important for new Christians to help them grow.
• It is important to those who grew up in the church. I’ve seen many that take their faith for granted.

Goals for this quarter

• Study examples of faith and make application.
• Use these lessons to strengthen our relationship with God.
  • John 3:16; Hebrews 11:6 – Two parts: belief and action
  • Hebrews 10:35-39
  • Jesus is looking for us to have faith. Will he find it? Luke 18:7-8; 17:11-19

Building our faith requires action

• II Peter 1:5 – This process to build our faith ends in love!
• Faith is active!
  • James 2:18-19, 20-24
  • Not just an intellectual assent to the promises laid out by God.
  • It is an embracing of those promises in their fully glory and detail, and the effect that has on our lives!
  • Faith is more than simple belief; it is an active trust in the future God has assured us. Hebrews 10:39
  • Faith is active and it should be active in our lives.

Faith establishes trust

• Trust: the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.
• Matthew 6:25-30 (worry)
• Matthew 14:28-31 (doubt)