Faith Is in the Heart, Hope Is in the Head
Dr RJ Sing, 23 min, Part 3 of Faith Toward God
Originally preached as “Faith Toward God, Part 3”
Sermon outline
Faith is always now, it comes from the Word and it works like an unchanging law, so stop walking by feelings, get hold of the Word, and live, love and give by faith.
Main text
- Romans 10:17
Opening
He opens by saying life is a series of challenges and faith is the only weapon God has put in your hands to overcome them: you change what you do not like by grabbing hold of the Word and speaking life into what is dead. He then asks those taking notes to write down that faith is always in the now, and through the message he returns to ideas from the earlier parts, such as the title deed and being justified rather than trying to qualify.
Faith is always in the now
Ordinary, carnal people confess only what they can see, and at best hope it will change, but hope is always in the future. Born-again people see what cannot be seen. When everything is screaming that it will not work, the spirit of faith takes the Word as the sword of the Spirit and calls those things that be not as though they were.
Illustration: He contrasts the 'third dimension', the natural order where people confess what they see, with the 'fourth dimensional realm' that the children of God look into.
“What you want to see comes from what you can't see.”
- Hebrews 11:1
- Romans 4:17
- Ephesians 6:17
The Word is your title deed: don't let the devil steal it
Because the Word is your title deed, the devil fights to keep you from it. Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God, so never talk down the Word. If you pray and do not see the answer, pray again, because God has done His part and the onus is on you to make your faith work.
Illustration: If you fall asleep every time you open your Bible, or while he is preaching, know that it is a spirit trying to stop you getting the Word. A believer needs the Word the way a motor car needs fuel.
“Don't let the devil steal the word of God from you.”
- Matthew 4:4
- 2 Corinthians 5:7
Faith equals the Word
If you have the Word, you have faith, because faith comes by hearing the Word; without it you suffer from malnutrition. A person walking by faith keeps believing God whatever the evidence. When sickness does not respond to medicine, lay hands on yourself, confess that by His stripes you are healed, and ignore the pain, because the devil works through the realm of feelings.
Illustration: Your feelings are a temperature gauge: they tell you how you are inside. If you are overheating, take a break and recharge; if you are cold, get the heat up by filling yourself with the Word.
“You're not walking by your feelings. You're walking by faith.”
- Romans 10:17
- 1 Peter 2:24
The Word is a living seed: find yourself in Acts and the Epistles
You are born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word, so the Word is living. But not everything recorded in the Bible is written to the church today: much is history, much concerns Israel or prophecy, and the Gospels record a time of transition from law to grace. The New Testament believer finds his identity in Acts and the Epistles, and as the Word gets hold of you it changes your nature from the inside out.
Illustration: Some people open the Bible at random and put a finger on a verse. Do that long enough and you land on Judas hanging himself, followed by 'go and do likewise'; or you read of David and Bathsheba and decide you have found yourself a Bathsheba.
“If you get a hold of the word, the word will get a hold of you.”
- 1 Peter 1:23
- Matthew 27:5
- 2 Samuel 11
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Psalm 119:105
- John 8:44
Faith is in the heart, hope is in the head
Your brain capacity will not determine your walk with God. God wants to take the measuring tape off your head and put it around your heart. If you walk in love, faith and the spirit of faith, God will use you and commune with you, and you become a friend of God who makes time for Him.
Illustration: While you sleep, God may whisper that He needs you to pray. You get up and tell Jesus you love Him, and He says, 'I love you too.'
“Faith is in the heart. Hope is in the head.”
- James 2:23
Faith is a law
Faith is an established principle that will not change, just as gravity works whether you like it or not. You will not get God's attention with a pity party or crying; even when you are weak and in pain, you launch out and the law of faith carries you. Crippled faith comes from listening to two sets of truth at once, filling yourself with junk and then with the Word until your spirit is confused.
Illustration: The woman with the issue of blood said, 'If I may just touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole.' In saying it she activated the law of faith, and Jesus felt virtue leave Him.
“Faith is a law. It will not change.”
- Romans 3:27
- Mark 5:25-34
Faith causes a man to act like God: faith is always giving
Faith is a spirit that links you to God's promises. If you are justified, you are already qualified, so pray as a child of God in a faith family. God by faith gave His Son to receive many sons, and in the same way we love difficult people by faith, with the Holy Spirit's help, and give by faith, knowing it will come back pressed down, shaken together and running over.
Illustration: God sowed one Son and got back many sons.
“Faith causes a man to act like God.”
- Acts 17:28
- John 3:16
- Hebrews 2:10
- Matthew 5:44
- Luke 6:38
Putting it into practice
- Stop confessing only what you see; call those things that be not as though they were.
- Recognise sleepiness over the Bible as resistance and keep getting the Word in.
- If a prayer is not answered, pray again rather than throwing in the towel.
- Do not walk by your feelings; fill yourself with the Word.
- Find your identity as a believer in Acts and the Epistles.
- Love difficult people and give by faith, trusting God to give back.
Closing
He ends on giving by faith: do not ask when it will come back, just know it is coming, pressed down, shaken together and running over. His last words on the recording are that God is no man's debtor; no closing prayer or ministry time is captured.
Declarations he led
- Make your faith work.
- You don't walk by your feelings.
In his words
- “Faith is in the heart. Hope is in the head.”
- “Your feelings is your temperature gauge.”
- “If you get a hold of the word, the word will get a hold of you.”
- “You will not get God's attention by having a pity party.”
- “God is no man's debtor.”
Every scripture in this message
- Hebrews 11:1
- Romans 4:17
- Ephesians 6:17
- Matthew 4:4
- 2 Corinthians 5:7
- Romans 10:17
- 1 Peter 2:24
- 1 Peter 1:23
- Matthew 27:5
- 2 Samuel 11
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Psalm 119:105
- John 8:44
- James 2:23
- Romans 3:27
- Mark 5:25-34
- Acts 17:28
- John 3:16
- Hebrews 2:10
- Matthew 5:44
- Luke 6:38
