These words stand for three aspects of the Christian life that
are
vital to us. It is important to understand them. It is even more
important
that we get them in the right order and keep them there.
God's order is (1)Facts, (2) Faith, and (3) Feelings. Facts form
the foundation; faith rest on facts; and feelings come last.
For most people, feelings are guiding factor in life. If they feel
something, they think it is real. If they do not feel anything, they
think
it is not real. But according to God's order.
Others try to put faith first. They think that if they have enough
"faith," they can make anything come true. But this is not God's way
either.
God wants us to have faith, but our faith must rest on His Word;
otherwise
it is of no value.
God's order is always the same: FACTS--FAITH AND FEELINGS. We are
going to consider these three aspects of the Christian life so we can
better
understand how they effect our lives.
1--WHAT IS A FACT?
A fact is something that is true. For example, two plus two equals
four. This is a mathematical fact. It has always been true. It will
always
be true. It is true in this country, and it is true anywhere in the
world.
Your believing it does not make it true. It is true even if no one
in the world believes it.
We need to get this firmly fixed in our minds - facts are always
true. You may not believe a fact, but it is still true. You may not
feel
that a fact is true, but it is still true.
For example, we know that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose
again to be our living Saviour. We know this is true because God's Word
says so. A person may or may not believe this, but it is still true.
God's
facts are always true.
FACTS!! GOD'S FACTS FORM THE FOUNDATION
2--WHAT IS FAITH?
The word "faith" is used in the Bible 239 times! This shows us the
importance God places on faith.
What is faith? Faith is taking God at His word and acting on it.
God said it!
I believe it!
That settles it!
The Bible makes it clear that all the blessings of God come to us
by faith. Without faith we cannot please God. The Bible says,
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh
to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them
that
diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6
As important as faith is, it cannot stand alone. It must rest on
something, and that "something" must be true. This is why our faith
must
always rest on God's Word. Jesus said, "Thy word is truth."
FACTS - THEN FAITH RESTS ON GOD'S FACTS!
Now let us look into God's Word and learn more about faith.
* FAITH DEALS WITH THE UNSEEN WORLD
Faith deals with things real but unseen. We cannot see God, but
by faith we know that God is real. We cannot see Heaven, but by faith
we
know that there is a place called Heaven The Bible says,
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen." Hebrews 11:1
This means that faith is the way we "prove" the reality of things
not seen. We cannot see the things of the spiritual world, but we know
that they are real by faith in God's Word.
* FAITH MAKES SPIRITUAL TRUTHS REAL IN OUR EXPERIENCE
We must understand this: Our faith does not make God's facts true.
They are true whether we believe them or not.
Then what does our faith do? Our faith in God's facts makes them
real in our experience.
The Bible contains many wonderful promises of God. But they do not
become ours until we claim them and make them ours by believing God's
Word.
As we said before, it is a great fact that Jesus Christ died for
our sins. God promises eternal life to all who believe on Him. But
Christ
does not become your Saviour until you exercise faith in Him.
When you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and you take
Him as your Saviour, you experience salvation. Faith in Christ makes
God's
salvation real in your experience. You can then say, "I am saved!"
FAITH IN GOD'S FACTS MAKES THEM REAL IN YOUR EXPERIENCE
* FAITH BELIEVES GOD'S WORD
Faith believes God in spite of unfavourable circumstances. Perhaps
one of the best examples of this is Abraham.
When Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were quite old, God promised them
that they would have a son, and Abraham believed God.
Fifteen years passed, and God's promise had not been fulfilled.
Humanly speaking, it was impossible for Abraham and Sarah to have a
son.
Yet Abraham continued to believe God. In due time God gave Abraham the
son He had promised to him. The Bible says of Abraham,
"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that,
what
He had promised, He was able also to perform. " Romans 4:20,21
* FAITH OBEYS GOD
Faith and obedience go together. True faith always results in
obedience.
Believers are obeyers! The Bible says,
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which
he should after receive for an inheritance, OBEYED; and he went out. .
." Hebrews 11:8
To say that you believe something and yet not act on it is not
faith.
True faith believes God and it obeys God. Faith that does not obey God
is not living faith. The Bible says,
"...faith without works is dead." James 2:20
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR FAITH
You may say, "I would like to have more faith. What can I do to
increase my faith?"
Faith grows by constant, careful attention to God's exact statements
of fact in His Word.
A great man of God, D.L.Moody, prayed and prayed to God to give
him more faith. But his faith did not seem to increase. Then one day he
read this verse:
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Romans 10:17
In a flash Moody saw it - faith comes from the Word of God. He began
to study God's Word. He studied it carefully each day to see exactly
what
God was saying in His Word. He believed it and he applied it in his
life.
The result was that his faith grew and grew.
WHAT ARE FEELINGS?
Feelings are emotions such as joy, sorrow, happiness, and sadness.
We should understand that feelings are quite different from facts in
that
facts never change, while our feelings are almost always changing. The
state of our health affects our feelings. Our relationships with other
people affect our feelings. Even a change in the weather can affect our
feelings.
You may wonder why we chose a football to represent feelings. The
reason is that our feelings are so changeable. There is a saying, "You
don't know how the ball will bounce." That's the way your feelings are.
You don't know how your feelings will "bounce."
One day you may be full of joy. The next day, for no apparent
reasons,
you may be sad and depressed. The important thing to remember about
feelings
is this: Feelings are very changeable. For this reason we should never
try to rest our faith on our feelings.
A Christian lady was using the Bible to explain the way of salvation
to a young girl. The girl was confused. She said, "I believe in the
Lord
Jesus, but I thought I had to wait for a certain kind of feeling or
some
burst of light or something."
The lady pointed to some verses in God's Word and said, "Here's
all the light you need." The girl put her faith in God's Word and found
the peace and joy she had been seeking.
GOD'S FACTS first, then FAITH and then FEELINGS
Feelings follow facts and faith
No matter how much our feelings may change, they do not affect
facts.
Facts are always true, and they are true regardless of our feelings.
For example, suppose you get a letter from a reputable law firm
advising you that a wealthy relative has died and left you a large sum
of money. Suddenly you are rich! You may say ,"But I don't feel like
that
money is mine." Perhaps not, but nevertheless it belongs to you. It has
been left to you, and it is yours regardless what your feelings may be.
Many sincere people seek for salvation but they do not find it
because
they are looking for some kind of feeling. Feelings do have a place in
the Christian life, but they do not come first. Instead, they follow
facts
and faith. The Bible says,
"He that believes on the Son has the witness in himself." 1 John
5:10a
Note the order: First, we believe; and then we have the witness
of the Spirit in our heart.
FAITH--feelings Don't put your faith in your feelings!
HOW TO HANDLE YOUR FEELINGS
There are times in the life of every Christian when he feels
discouraged
and depressed. Even the great Apostle Paul went through times like
this.
In II Corinthians 1:8, Paul wrote, "For we would not, brethren, have
you
ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed
out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of
life."
What should you do when you become discouraged? The thing to do
is to turn your attention to God's Word. Read and meditate on such
wonderful
passages as Psalm 23, Romans 8, and Philippians 4. As you give careful
attention to what God says in His Word, you will find new faith and
courage
springing up in your heart. The Bible says,
"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."
Romans
15:13
In living the Christian life, we are not to be overly concerned
with our feelings. We are not saved by our feelings and we do not live
the Christian life by our feelings. We live it by faith in God's Word.
If we have enjoyable feelings, we thank God; if not, we go right on
believing
and obeying God. Faith in God's facts is the way to a happy and blessed
life.
THE PRINCIPLE OF FACTS, FAITH, FEELINGS
We have discovered one of the great principles of the Christian
life - the principle of facts, faith, feelings. The principle is this:
Always put your faith in God's facts and let your feelings come along
as
they will.
1. God's promise - This is my fact.
2. I believe it--This is my faith.
3. God fulfils it and I enjoy it-- This is my feeling.
God's order is always:
(1)Facts, Facts form the foundation
(2) Faith, faith rests on facts
(3) Feelings. Feelings come last.
We have joy and peace in believing
DISCOVERED
Always put your faith in God's facts and let your feelings come
along as they will.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MEDITATION GUIDE
On the following pages there is a Meditation Guide this lessons.
Each Guide has a Key Verse, comments questions that will help you to
see
from the Bible the main message of the lesson.
AFTER YOU FINISH the Question Page, and have sent them in, we
suggest
that you work on the meditations. Do NOT send in your meditations. They
are for you to personally use and keep.
THE PURPOSE of the Meditation Guide is to help you learn how to
study the Bible on your own. It will help you to think (meditate) about
a portion of Scripture in order to understand it. It will help you
learn
how to get in touch with God through His Word and through prayer.
MEDITATION. What does "meditation" mean? It does not mean to let
your mind go blank. Quite the contrary. Meditation means that you get
hold
of your thoughts and bring them all together to concentrate on a
portion
of God's Word. As you do this, it gives the Lord an opportunity to make
Himself known to you.
PAUSE TO PRAY. Before beginning each meditation, pause to pray,
quieting your heart before the Lord so that you will be ready to hear
what
He has to say to you from the Bible.
If there are any words you do not understand, be sure to look them
up a dictionary.
MEMORY VERSE. You may wish to memorize the Key Verses, or other
verses found in these Meditation Guides. Memorizing Scripture is the
best
means to meditate on God's Word. It would also be very helpful in
keeping
before you the main truth of each lesson.
KEEP THESE GUIDES
DO NOT SEND THEM IN
Meditation Guide
Lesson 1: FACTS, Faith and FEELINGS
Key Verse: "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy
Ghost." Romans 15:13
Open your Bible to this verse. You may wish to underline it. Quiet
your heart and turn your thoughts toward the Lord. Read the verse
several
times until you begin to understand it.
What do you learn about God in this verse? (These are facts.)
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
What do you learn about the Holy Spirit?____________________
____________________________________________________________
What does this verse tell us to do with facts?______________
____________________________________________________________
Which word in this verse expresses what could be called
"feelings"?_________________________________________________
How do these feelings come about in our lives?______________
____________________________________________________________
How has this meditation made God more real to you? Explain.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
QUESTIONS TEST PAGE COURSE 4 LESSON 1
1. A fact is ____________________________________________ Name a
spiritual fact.________________________________
______________________________________________________.
2. Mark the following statements true or false:
_______My faith makes God's facts true.
_______My faith in God's facts makes them real in my experience.
3. Faith grows by________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
4. Fill in this spaces with the correct words:
Foundation is in _______ Faith rests ___________ Feelings___________.
State the principle of facts, faith and feelings
.____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
5. God's promise - This is my ________.
I believe it - This is my __________.
God fulfils it and I enjoy it--This is my_____________.
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