Todays message is on the person of faith.  What does it mean to walk by faith and what blessings
result from walking by faith?  First let’s define what faith is and what it isn’t.  According to
Webster’s Dictionary faith is “2. belief and trust in and loyalty to God.”  Our word we call faith
comes from the Latin word “to trust”.  So then faith is basically trusting God to do what He said
He will do.  Habakuk 2:4 says in the latter part of the verse, “the just shall live by his faith.”
 First, we are saved by faith.  By trusting that God will save us as He has promised to do
for all who repent of their sin and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Ephesians 2:8,9  “For by
grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest
any man should boast.”  Salvation does not come by what we have done, but by what Christ did
on the cross for us.  Only faith in Christ saves.  We must trust Him for our soul salvation.  Once
we let go of our sins and let God saves us then we become justified. Romans 3:24 “Being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” & verse 28 part b “a man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”   We are justified by faith.  Faith is necessary for
soul salvation.  Without faith there is no salvation.  Faith in Christ’s redemptive work is what
saves.
     Even as faith is necessary for salvation, it is an integral part of our walk after salvation.
The just or the saved will live by his faith.  When we are saved we trust God for our salvation,
after salvation we need to trust God day by day.  Faith is a continual process, not just a one time
thing.  We continue to trust God after salvation.  Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the word of God.”  If we are to continue if faith after salvation we need to be in
the source of it which is the word of God.  Psalms 1:2,3 describes the christian who is blessed of
God “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  To
live by faith we must be in the word of God.  That means we can’t be just Sunday morning
christians.  People who only open their Bibles one time a week.  We are to be reading our Bibles
daily, several times a day.   There are some people who say well I don’t have time for that.  Well
did Christ have time to come down from heaven and die on the cross for you?  Probably not, but
He made the time.  We need to set aside time to read and study God’s word.  Psalms 1:3
describes the Christian as a tree.   The Bible is the water that feeds our soul.  A tree without water
doesn’t grow and a soul with out the Bible won’t grow either.  Daily devotions are essential to
living by faith.
     2nd Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith and not by sight;”  As Christians we walk by
trusting God and not by looking at the things of this world.  Romans 14:23 part b, “for
whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  If we aren’t walking by faith we are sinning.  We must
constantly be submitted to God trusting Him to avoid sinning.  James 4:7,8a “Submit yourselves
therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God and he will draw
night to you.”  Faith is submitting to God’s rule in our lives.  We are bought with a price and we
are not our own.  We belong to God after we are saved, so we need to submit to Him.  Now
whatsoever is not of faith is sin, so we must walk by faith to avoid sinning.  Some people know
God is leading them in a certain direction, but then they look at things of the world and get
scared.  Fear and faith cannot peacefully coexist.  If God be for us who can be against us?  Why
should we fear anything if God is for us?  Fear comes from not trusting God.  Fear comes from
lack of faith.  With church growth some people fear what if God doesn’t do what He said he will
do?  God has yet to lie, He cannot lie and He will never lie.  So we can trust God and ditch the
fear.   For we walk by faith and not by sight.  Some christians try to walk by numbers.  They look
at statistics and dollar amounts as their guide, instead of the Bible and the Holy Spirit as their
guide.  A life free of fear can only truly be obtained by resting in the arms of God.  Let go of your
fears and let God do the work in and through you.  When God leads do not resist Him.  Follow
Him by faith.
     There are rewards for walking and living by faith.  First we will not be afraid of what man
can do to us.  We will be free of fear.  That right there is a blessing.  Hebrews 11:6, “But without
faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”  God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him.  We seek Him through the Word of God and through trusting God.  Noah trusted God and
was rewarded.  God told Noah to build an ark, because He was going to flood the world with
rain.  To that point there never had been any rain.  Now Noah could’ve looked at the things of
this world and said. ‘well there hasn’t been any rain in the thousands of years the world has been
around, our plants are watered by the morning dew.  I am here in middle of dry ground, the
numbers say that the probability of a flood are slim to none, so I won’t build that ark.’  If Noah
would have said that then we wouldn’t be hear today.  What Noah did do is believe God’s leading
and built the Ark.  So when the flood came Noah was ready, because he trusted God.  God
rewarded Noah for trusting him through sparing him and his household from the flood.
     As christians we are to trust God when He tells us to do something.  We need to get our
eyes off of the numbers and on to God.  God gives us earthly rewards as well as heavenly rewards
for trusting Him.  He has never lied, so why do we have such a hard time trusting Him in our
lives?  If we can trust God for salvation, then can’t we trust Him afterwards too?