Acting out in faith.

I've been asked to go over how to act in your faith. This is handy, as recently my church has been looking alot at what faith is.

So let's start by looking at scripture concerning faith.  
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

So faith is the belief in what we do not see, therefore trusting the Word of God is an act of faith, as we have not personally seen Jesus. But in trusting the Word, we must also adhere to what has been set before us.

James 1:22-24 (NKJV) "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was."

So in being faithful, listening to the Word, we must also act in the word, doing the things it has set us, so as to do the will of God.
 
There are hundreds of things in the bible about trusting God, ways to act with people ad ways to deal with things. By abiding what the bible teaches, we are trusting in the honesty of the Word of God and thus acting faithfully. 


So what physical ways can you abide the bible? Well, as my audience tends to be teenagers, I'll apply acting in faith to their world. 


Evangelism. It's one of the key parts of our faith. 
Matthew 28:19-20 ^"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)

Acting in faith with regards to evangelism is simply believing that you are the divine appointment for the people you will talk to. In my personal experience, evangelism works a lot better when you have the faith and belief that God has chosen you to talk to people, where you have faith in God that you are doing His work. Jesus called us to make disciples of all the nations, faith here is trusting in this scripture and believing that we are sent to make those disciples.

Psalm 37:3-4 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Being faithful does not come without it's rewards also. As the Lord calls you to trust in him, and by trusting in him with the things you are unsure of, he will reward you with the desires of your heart.

I've actually differed a lot from what I was originally talking about, but I feel it was important for me to do so. I'll now look at some more practical uses of faith.

James 2:20 "...that faith without works is dead"

This scripture here shows us that having faith is not enough, but we must act out in faith to really understand the true concept of faith. For what man can say he has faith if he is too afraid to use that faith?

Examples of acting in faith:
- Trusting God with your finances. Have the faith God will provide, even when it seems there isn't enough in the bank account.
- Speaking out about Jesus and preaching the Gospel. This is an act of having faith in God's Word and it's promises.
- Seeking the gifts of the spirit. If you have faith in God's word, you must have faith to use the gifts that He wants to give you. If you cannot accept the supernatural, you are not going to receive the gifts.

And above all, listen to God, even when you don't want to. Follow Him instead of the selfishness of your own heart.

Walk faithfully.