I. The Importance of faith- Definitons of Faith and Reason (according to an online dictionary)
1) Faith- 1 a: allegiance to duty; 2 a: belief and trust in and loyalty to to God; firm belief in something
for which there is no proof; complete trust
2) Reason- 1 a: a statement offfered in explanation or justification; 2 a: a sufficient group of
explanation or of logical defense; the power of comprehending, inferring,or thinking especially in
orderly rational ways
3) Why Faith is so Important: What it can give you that reason can't!
A. a key tool of how we are able to grow spiritually/mentally in Christ
B. We are able to understand God completely and what He's all about
C. We are able to let the Holy spirt dwell in us allowing us to expand our minds into
believing in a Truth that some won't ever comprehend
a) With all of this we can recognize who Christ was, who he is now, who
he will be forever, and apply His actions to our daily lives
II. An example of reason failing- Abraham in the book of Genisis
1) Genesis 17:15-16 - Then God said to Abraham, �Regarding Sarai, your wife�her name will
no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.16 And I will bless her and give
you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many
nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.� (NLT)
A. Now in vs. 17 it reveals to us Abraham's disbelief in having a child and using
reason to justify it
2) Genesis 17:17- Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in
disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of 100?" he thought, "And how can
Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old? (NLT)
A. Fact: According to Jane E. Brody- The New York Times (Jan. 31, 07')
a) The probability of having a baby decreases by 3-5% for women in their
30's and even faster after age 40
B. Fact: The Independent Online Addition >Health Medical (Jan. 31, 07')
a) The older a woman is, the greater the risk of miscarriage, birth defects,
and high blood pressure as well as complications in birth- This is reason
C. Abraham went wrong because he was thinking in a reason based mindset.
Because of him and his wife's age, he doubted the possibility of conceiving a
child. All in all human reasoning wasn't efficient at all because at the same time
next year they had a son named Isaac.
1) Deuteronomy 32:20- And he said: I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end
will be, for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.(NKJV)
2) This describes how our generation is today. And If we care about God then we care about others.
And if we care about others and where they spend eternity, then we are the ones who have to
reach out because no one else will.
A. Religion in American Life: The 2004 Political Landscape
a) The number of young people who say they have no religion has
increased slightly from 12% to 16%
B. That was in 2004. It's been 3 years...Where do you think this percentage is now?
Wherever it is, it has got to be stopped. It is time to get out there to teach faith,
and to teach God's Word.
V. Ex. Reason Failing
1) 1 Samuel 27:1- But David kept thinking to himself, "Someday Saul is going to get me. The
best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in
Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe." (scan down to vs. 6)
2) 1 Samuel 27:6- David was now in great danger because all of his men were very bitter
about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David
found strength in the Lord his God.
A. God wanted to get rid of David's outlook of the situation. David used his human
reasonings to determine the outcome of his life. God took away his fear of Saul
and placed within him a feeling of true faith. A feeling that everything is going to
be okay because he had God on his side.
VI. More Examples
1) Romans 10:17- So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
2) So not only do we teach what faith is and how to apply it to one's life. We also
need to teach how the Word of God is the most powerful way to receive faith.
A. Ex. Cancer Victim
B. Ex. Door Locked
1) Luke 17:5-6- And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." So the Lord said, "If
you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the
roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
A. If we had this much faith, we could do anything that God has would want us to do.
It's all about thinking outside of the box and depending on God 100%
2) Quote- "I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe
in God even when He is silent."
A. This shows me two things:
a) God is still God even when he doesn't respond and/or answers our
prayers on our time.
b) We have to hold more inside of us then just a physical way of
thinking. We have to have our spiritual gear prepared within us .
3) Joseph Rowlands- They are in mortal combat for your soul
A. Some of us will fight this battle our whole lives. Faith and Reason shouldn't be
taken lightly. I shared this message with you because I felt like
a) God wanted me to share this message
b) To stress how important it is to have complete and total Faith in God;
for God will bless the ones who trust and obey Him.
c) To show how reason is not efficient and it doesnt always stand true.
Our world has turned into a science. A way of trying to answer every
question. I say that we get back to a faith-based foundation and put the
questions aside. Not everything can be explained but that was God's
way of saying, it doesn't matter about the little things, just trust in me.
4) John 3:16- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (repeat 2xs)
A. This is the key. It's time to stand up and fight back- To a Faith based foundation. It
takes faith to believe in God and it takes a generation to have enough faith to stand up
and tear the reason-built walls that the world has put up down. Let's do it.
