 If you ask the average Christian, it's pretty much almost all or most, you know what? I wouldn't say almost all, but most Christians, if you ask them if they have faith, they'll say yes. Now, it's going to depend on and very determining how much faith is a person to have. What do you mean? How much faith? What do you mean do I have faith? Explain yourself. This issue of faith gets a little muddy, especially now we've got all of these different camps such as the Word of Faith Camp, which has thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly distorted what faith actually is. We talk about faith today, we're not talking about the faith, meaning the beliefs, the tenants that we hold to all the things that make up what we call Christianity. We're not talking about the faith, we're talking about our faith, believing. We need to figure out what that is. What that means. There are people that believe that things cannot happen unless you have faith. There are those that believe that if you have faith, any and everything can happen is either one of those true. Well, truth be told, neither of those are true. Let's look at some passages and let's go ahead and jump into it. We've seen sometimes where Jesus heals somebody and it looks like that the person that is healed, the reason why they are healed is because internally they have the faith for them to be healed. In a sense that's true and I want to go ahead and jump into this. There's plenty of passages that we can look at where Jesus heals somebody and he makes his statement. He says, your faith has made you well or some translations might say your faith has saved you or your faith has made you whole or your faith has healed you. Let's deal with Matthew chapter 9 verse 20, passage you've all seen her before. This is about the woman with the issue of blood and in verse 20 he says, and a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak or the hem of his garment. For she was saying to herself, if I only touch his garment, I will get well. But Jesus turning and seeing her said, daughter, take courage. Your faith has made you well and once the woman was made well. I want you to notice a couple of things about this passage that I think many times we don't look at. A lot of times the answers to our questions are actually there in the passage. I'll come back to that passage again but I just want to also mention that this is covered elsewhere. He says, your faith has made you well to the 10 lepers. I'm just looking at my notes so I can make sure I give you the right passages in Luke 17 19. He says it to the blind beggar that your faith has made you well. Also he speaks it with the exact words that your faith has made you well such as in Matthew 8 13 and 1528. There's the word that's used there oftentimes in some cases this word has saved you which also brings about or conjures up the thought of salvation. The words that we use for salvation can mean spiritual salvation or can mean a physical saving or resting or helping or healing or healing. So now I want to go back to this passage because some are going to say see it's the faith that she had that's the reason why she was saved or that's the reason why she was healed. And one passage before I go back to it there's one passage that people point to that say that you have to have faith in order to be saved. Well all we've got to do is look at the man who was on who was bedridden where his buddies bring him to Jesus and the Bible says their faith made him well. Not his faith he didn't have the ability and there's something about that story that should also let you know what is meant by faith. How does faith make you well? Now let me ask you guys a question. Before I go back to it I just want to just have a little fun here. In the chat I would like for you all to tell me on a scale of one to ten. One meaning I've got just enough faith that Jesus is that Jesus died for my sins. That's all the faith I got. Versus or ten that I got the kind of faith that not only can I move mountains I can move asteroids I can move the moon if I want to. On a scale of one to ten tell me how would you rate your faith one four five ten there's not enough number high enough fifteen and be honest on a scale of one to ten how would you rate your faith? I want to put some of these up here if you don't mind go ahead and propagate for everyone to see you all can see them in chats but out of the box he says ten oh amen. Carson knows that's three Regina says one Miss Jackson says seven I got an eleven I'll see your ten and raise you eleven well what's wrong with this button right here there it is seven six oh oh pastor Trace says ten Yvonne eight now I'm not going to pull all your stuff up there eight six son of John ten two legit seven wait a second you said ten now you're going from eight to ten they're about okay no problem six chest champ ten I want to ask you guys a question though I want to ask you guys a question what makes you think that your number is what it where it is why do you say you who say a one or two or three why do you say it's a one two or three you who say it's Keith Kenneth says it's nine uh sprays rabbit says five why do you say it's five why why do you say it's it's why do you say it's it's seven point five CG why what is it about your faith what's happening in your faith to make you say that Deacon uh says he raises up for 100 I mean to ten from ten to uh to 100 okay no problem but tell me what is it about your faith or that's happening that makes you think that makes you say it's the number that it is I'm not saying that you're right or you're wrong I can't I can't say that uh at all to one of my favorite viewers in the entire world hello Morgan sweetheart baby girl that's my daughter guys how many but which and I shouldn't sit there because now you guys go say hello to Morgan but by the way say hello to Morgan say hello to my daughter she is child number two she hates when I call number two when I forget their names I listen I forget my children's names sometime and I remember the order and so I might say number one by the way the oldest she likes when I call number one and when I say number two Morgan does not like being called to for obvious reasons but anyway but the question is so why do you guys say I I'm a one I'm a five no miss Jackson no you can't call her Morgan her name's not Morgan her name is Morgan and it's a funny story behind it her name she had four or five names when she was born we kept changing we in a span of three days we literally changed her name about five times just just weird and then we settled on the name Morgan my wife wanted to spell it differently and the way we were south saying it was Morgan but and then after that was like you know what maybe we should have put it in that more gun she didn't want to be more gun with with one end like GUN so we wouldn't be thought of naming her after gun we added the other in yeah you know you you you say all kinds of makeup stuff when you have kids with you young so anyway I did I did Anthony why though guys do you say do you say that your faith is where it is second favorite moderator okay amen but why do you say why do you say your faith is where it is why do you say that your faith is a three why do you say it's a 10 why do you okay let's do it in England said he says because my life has changed I'm doing what Jesus wants me to do not perfectly but indeed and loving it okay that's why you say your faith is where it is let's see someone else tell me why why do you think your faith is what because faith is faith and God's will is his will regardless of my faith in him it's his will that will continue to be okay Dino McCain says that must receive faith I want to share something with you guys that may actually cause you I hope it causes you guys to alter to alter your number now I'm not saying it's gonna cause you to alter your number up or to alter it down but I want to jump into what faith is when Jesus makes this statement your faith has made you well this really wasn't a difficult thing to understand at least for them it really wasn't and it's very important that we get this it is vitally important we get this why because this is our life we're not in heaven yet we we are we're here and so we have to walk on this planet we have to do some things we have to live out things we got bills to pay we got kids to raise we got taxes to not pay or to I know but got taxes to pay we've got different things to navigate in the world problems come our way and when problems come our way how do we handle it how do we attack things how do we move towards things our faith is very very important it's vitally important being a Christian doesn't mean being a Christian day one and that's it I'm through I'm good no listen unless unless you die on the first day of your being becoming a Christian then you're gonna need some faith you're gonna need some stuff to get you through and so you got to figure out what does he mean by this word faith or more importantly when he says that your faith has made you well let's go back to mark 6 and let's go to it again this to this woman and then we'll also do with this passage that that that Jesus brings up matter of fact before I go go back to a to a what number was that Matthew before I go back to Matthew let's go to mark 6 because this is a passage brought up what people say we'll see you got to have faith in order for you to be healed in mark 6 there is a statement that's made he says it let's start in verse 5 he says and he could do no miracles there except that he had laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them and he wondered he wondered at their unbelief or somebody say because of their unbelief well that doesn't say what a lot of people think it says that passage does not say that he could not heal people because of their unbelief it was unbelief that was the cause of them not being healed in the sense that they think it is because what do we see we see that Jesus is actually healing people said is one thing I heard and I you know what now I'm thinking about I should actually pull up that clip it's a pretty famous clip from what's the elevation pastor's name Stephen furter he said he said something about the one thing that Jesus can't do it won't do the Lord won't do is override your faith first of all turning your pastor roads because that's not true at all that's not true at all you do realize that when Jesus came into the world they didn't know that he was Jesus they didn't receive him they so there was a whole lot of unfaithfulness that he had to overcome and so that part is incorrect but if you notice the passage something is kind of funny here for a person who could not heal anyone or do anything because of their faith it literally says in verse 5 and he could do no miracles there except that he what laid hands his hands on a few sick and healed them well so even in the passage that people point to sometimes to say that Jesus couldn't heal because of their unbelief because of like I say he healed some people what gives what's the point what what's mentioned there well let's start back up in chapter I mean chapter 6 verse 1 and then we'll go back over to Matthew we got a few more verses to go to as well Jesus went out from there and came into his hometown and his disciples followed him when the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue and the many listeners were starting saying where did this man get these things and what is this wisdom given him and such miracles as these performed by his hands is not look what he says is not this the carpenter the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon are not his sisters here with us and they took offense at him so now what they begin to do is to kind of look down at him even recognizing that he had done some miracles they began to look down at him because they begin to look down at him and talk down to him and as the Bible says even take offense at him what does that necessarily mean they won't do that means they will not come to him what he says Jesus says to them a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and his own household and he could do no miracles there except that he had laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them and he wondered or marveled at their unbelief at their lack of faith so now we're kind of getting on something let's go back to Matthew and I want to pull this passage out because something that he says in Matthew the past says in Matthew kind of helps us understand what it means to have or to be healed by faith verse 20 again and a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak for she was saying to herself if I only touch his garment I will get well but Jesus said I mean but Jesus turning and seeing her said daughter take courage your faith has made you well now if it was her faith intrinsically if it was what was inside of her she had no need to touch him but when Jesus says you're well she got well not the touching but when he said your faith has made you well but and notice what happens before that it says that she said to herself if I get to him if I can just get to him okay I almost wish I was on stage I almost wish I was behind the podium of the pulpit and that people when the audience clapping is somebody understanding she said if I could just get to him are you all seeing this if I could just get to him I wish I had something that kind of told me what your faces were doing if you were kind of perking up I hope you are I hope you're catching this if I could just get to him Jesus makes a statement in Mark 11 and Jesus answered saying to them have faith in God now the word of faith people say it means have the faith of God it does not mean that in a twist that in Romans 4 where it says that God who can call those things that are not as though we though they were that because we have the faith of God we can do the same thing no we cannot we do not have that ability to call anything that is not as though it was we don't if we did we all would we all would either do two things live abundantly and kill our enemies that's what we would do we would live abundantly and kill or destroy all of our enemies if we have the ability to call let's be honest the ability to call those things that are not as though they were we would do those things you know what I don't like his job he makes too much money he makes a lot more than me he's I say in the name of Jesus he's fired in the name of Jesus wife leaves him in the name of Jesus his dog runs away we would do that let's be honest in the name of Jesus I I now make a billion dollars a year matter of fact in the name of Jesus I own all these companies we would do that in the name of Jesus I'm the I'm the mayor no I'm the governor no I'm the president no I'm the king if we had that ability we don't and guess what we don't have the the Bible says that if you had this sort of faith that you had that you could move mountains has anyone ever in the history of the Bible ever moved a mountain last I checked every mountain is exactly where it was when God put it there so what does he mean well before we get there let's look at somebody who we know has a lot of faith Paul Paul has this faith but some of the people that Paul loved the most Paul had the ability to heal Paul did not heal some of the people who he loved the most in 1 Timothy 5 23 says no longer he's speaking to Timothy no longer drink water exclusively but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments Timothy is always having some issues Paul why did you Paul you're so selfish why didn't you just heal Timothy because it doesn't work that way who else who else what about uh-oh what about a pathoditis he said but I thought it necessary to send you a pathoditis my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier who was also your messenger and a minister to my needs because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick for indeed he was sick look what it says to the point of death but God had mercy on him well wait a second he was sick to the point of death how could that be how could you have heard that he was sick when he was with me I'm Paul I could just heal him because Paul couldn't what about trophomus trophomus left the brother behind because he was just too sick to come verse 20 I'm sorry verse 21 I'm sorry verse 20 of 2 Timothy 4 20 says Arrasis remained at Corinth but trophomus I left at Meletus why because he was sick I left him sick at Meletus why didn't you why didn't you just heal him Paul why Paul why couldn't you just heal the man Paul didn't have the remembering first Corinthians I made this statement before that when Paul is talking about these he's giving hypothetical hyperbolic speech when he's talking about spiritual gifts and he talked about the tongues of many angels and he didn't mean that he had the ability to speak in some sort of angelic language he also says I had all faith well Paul didn't have all faith did he not enough to heal these three people whom whom he loved oh by the way Paul also did not have no faith to heal himself verse 1 of chapter 12 in 2 Corinthians boasting is necessary though it is not profitable but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord I know of a man in Christ who 14 years ago whether in the body I do not know or out of the body I do not know God knows such a man was caught up into the third heavens and I know how such a man excuse me how such a man I lost my spot I'm sorry verse 3 and I know such a man whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know God knows verse 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible words which was not permitted to speak on behalf of such a man I will boast but on my own behalf I will not boast except in regards to my weakness here it is for I do not wish to boast I will not be foolish for I will be speaking the truth but I will refrain from this so that no one will credit me the more than he sees in me or here's from me now here's a man who's been shown some things Paul has had quite a life up to this point and even going further he says verse 7 because of the surpassing greatness of revelation for this reason for this reason to keep me from exalting myself there was given me a thorn in the flesh a messenger said to torment me to keep me from exalting myself concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me and he said to me the Lord God Almighty had the audacity to say to me my grace is sufficient no no God no no no your grace ain't sufficient I'm declaring I'm healed heal me in the name of you Lord that's not how that work is look what he says he says my grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness huh I'm gonna come back to this point in the second power is perfected in weakness I'm tie this into what was said earlier most gladly therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me therefore I am well content with my weakness within souls with distress with persecutions with difficulties for Christ's sake for when I am weak then I'm strong what does that have to do with faith and being made well by because his faith didn't make him well didn't make him whole I'm gonna tell you in just a second remember the lady said to herself if I could just get to him what was she dealing with her weakness her infirmity bother 12 years that's a long time to deal with something 12 when most cases not most cases but a lot of cases if you deal with them for 12 years you're like you know what it is what it is it's gonna be that way but wait a second I know a man like the old song says I know a man I know a man who if I just get to him I don't even know what he's speaking about I don't even know his gospel I don't know I don't even know the good news but if I could just get to him are you beginning to see what faith is faith is not the power that resides in you faith is believing in the power that resides in him that's why Paul says in my weakness I'm made strong why because in my weakness I've got to rely on somebody other than me so I'll go to someone other how many times have you gone to the doctor knowing full whether the doctor's gonna make you well even if you even if he didn't we go to people thinking because we got trusted in that they're gonna fix it my car is not working right I know I'm gonna pay I'm gonna pay some money but I have faith in the mechanic that he will take this car and fix it and charge me $5,000 for a piece this big or for the plumber he comes over he does this does that didn't know what he did or I could have did it myself he charged me $500 for that because I got faith in him how do I know I got faith in him I went to him this is what he means your faith in me has made you well they didn't they knew full well the woman that was here the lepers the blind they knew full well it wasn't their faith specifically it was in him that's why they went to him the centurion goes to him gyrus goes to him you go to him not because you can do it if I could do it what I need you for Jesus I'm up why listen though if I haven't been taught anything I've been taught to learn how to cut out the middleman I'ma cut you out if I could but I can't in my weakness I grow stronger because I go to him the bible says this now I learned this from the king james version and the new king james version but he says this that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him let's read it Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 he says and without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must first believe that he is a rewarder of those who seek him the answer is right there here you cannot please God without faith it takes faith why because look what he just says for the person that comes to him must believe that he is that he is what that he is God so you're not coming to him unless you believe that he is who he is that's what causes your faith in him then he says and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him who seek him he is a rewarder of those who say oh what is that word right there I seem to recall us covering this word before remember I talked about when the bible says that there are none that seek after him and the tense of the verb that's used I stated that people do seek after him but not in the way that it's said in Roman people will seek temporarily but the word the verb the tense is used there is a present active participle there are none that are seeking as a constant state after him now after the spirit is in them they do what do you think the tense of the verb is here the very same it's a look at the bottom left hand corner it's a present active participle so he is a rewarder of those who are diligently constantly seeking him as a lifestyle what did this woman do she demonstrated listen if Jesus was on the other side of the planet I've been dealing I've been trying to get this done for 12 years if he's on the other side of the planet guess what I'm getting over there I don't have a boat but I'll swim fast I'll get I'll get a couple sticks and ski over there but I that was the kind of faith that she had the kind of faith that those men had to take their friend and drop him down their faith not that they had the ability themselves but their faith in him that's why they got their friend to him and so this is the faith that saves now I want to look at this past even more so notice what what's happened in chapter 11 matter of fact let's start in verse one let's just start in verse one now faith is the assurance of the things we hope for it is the conviction of the things not seen for by it the men of old gain approval so look what he says about these men by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God why did he say that well simple none of us were there we had no idea how the world was created except that he told us and we believed it how how do we know that Genesis 1 1 is correct how do we know what day that man was made what day that the beast feel will make how how do we know what day such as this was made on we we because he said so and by faith we believe it look what he says verse let's go verse three by faith we understand the world we're prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible by faith able offered to God a better sacrifice than came it was able faith that costs him you know what I'm giving this to God no matter what my brother over here this Joker does or mother siblings do I'm giving it to God by faith able offered to God a better sacrifice than came through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous God testifying about his gift and through faith though he is dead he still speaks now I want you all to see something in this I want you all to see this pattern here by faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see that and he was not found because God took him up for he obtained the witness that before he was taken up he was pleasing to God so someone saw they saw it was evident his wall listen what I'm saying guys listen what I'm saying verse six and without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is that he is God and that he is a rewarder of those who are constantly this passage who are seeking him by faith no being warned by God about things not yet seen in reverence prepared in art now I'll stop there but as we go through this list in Hebrews 11 all of these people had faith so too did the every last person who was healed that Jesus says your faith has made you well faith is not in you faith is in the confidence in him which causes you to do what to seek him which means that faith is faith is causative in what it does it causes an action it causes a move that's what faith does I know it's gonna bother some people I know it's gonna upset some folks that you mean to tell me if I have faith I want to do something yeah if you don't have faith you won't wait a minute aren't we aren't we in a heated battle uh in the youtube sphere and google sphere and wherever else about all you need is just faith that's it sure and we see your faith by you moving Abraham had faith and did nothing yeah Abel had faith and brought the exact same offering that came to you Noah had faith and didn't do nothing but Noah waited on a cruise line to come that's not how that works this woman had so much faith that she didn't need Jesus she healed herself the lepers had so much faith they went they they they cleanse themselves that's not how that worked they had so much faith that they went to him that he is a rewarder of those that are seeking him when someone comes with this foolishness to tell you that faith one is here you can't be healed unless you have faith I asked him what do you mean by faith I asked what what in the world do you mean by faith faith in the faith healer who can't heal anything can't heal himself he's got glasses he's got gray hair he's got wrinkles he has a sore back and a wife that don't love him I feel a part I'm sorry I do but he can't do anything on his own but they want to get you to look at them and we'll find out that the people that look at these people don't have faith in Christ at all they've got because if you got faith in him two things are going to happen two things are going to happen when you got faith can I give this to you when when you got faith did you hear what Jesus said did you hear what God said to Paul God I'm out here serving you I'm doing I'm here's how I would say it let me bring to the modern vernacular Lord I'm out here in these streets and all this stuff I'm doing for you you know it's hard out here for an apostle and I you've shown me some things and I don't mind suffering listen I've taken all these lashes you know I've been shipwrecked all these things Lord can you just hear me just just heal me I'm I'm your man you know my heart what does God say shut up my grace he didn't say shut up my grace is sufficient you don't need anything else you've got all you need what did Paul do did he did he gripe about it did he mope and complain about it no he wrote a book about it that's what he did he boasts it in that here's what truth faith is going to do truth faith is going to cause you to accept whatever the outcome is whatever's happening Jesus is literally in the boat with these men now he's chilling he's sleeping he's snoring whatever I don't know I imagine Jesus I don't y'all think Jesus snored I wonder I wonder no that would mean he would have a what a deviated septum so I don't know I'm not saying Jesus no I'm just I'm just being a little little silly here but here Jesus is in the boat what's happening outside of the boat the waves the wind the storms the rain all this stuff meanwhile Jesus is in the boat sleeping what they did not get and this is why Jesus woke up and said he calmed everything down just for these kids for these guys he says it is as though you have no faith what they did not realize is where Jesus was in the boat with he could have just stood and said you know what there are people that came to me there are people that came to me but here I am with you and you dare worry true faith causes you to accept what's going on okay hey fine listen I didn't get the job I wanted the car that I want a is barely running I'm barely making ends meet but I'm I've got peace yeah I've got peace I've got joy because I might be in the middle of a storm but I'm in the boat with you better to be in the boat in the storm with Jesus than to be on dry land 75 degrees rainbows out yeah better to be in the worst situations with Jesus than perfect conditions with no Lord much better I told you guys at my worst at my worst when it was when I say you know what Lord whatever happens if I if I get out in five more years or till it I've got you and I meant it and so everything that I had in life I gave a Jesus I went to Jesus I mean I Lord is me and you is me and you oh then the healing comes the deliverance come so what could I say the reason why I'm even right here today not still stuck in the jail cell I can say that my faith has made me well not that I did I did absolutely nothing matter of fact probably the biggest reason why my appeal was denied not because it was a bad appeal matter of fact every other lawyer that saw this this appeal is going to win no because who gets the credit and I can't claim faith did it I had to say that uh me and the and the legal writing and the courts did it but no no no put that to the side deny deny deny your faith in me your trust in me coming to me whether I deliver you or not that's what made you well that's what delivered you that's why she went to him not because she had the power in in of herself why she wasted all that money on all these other people no doctor could heal her he was the one that made what now does that mean that he's going to heal everything no and that's the lesson that we have to learn that he's not going to heal everything he's not first of all physically health wise you're going to die at some point in time if he doesn't come back in between if I believe in the rapture if he doesn't rapture us if that if that didn't happen if his coming doesn't happen take place before you die you will die now how are you going to die I don't know heart attack cancer just stop breathing fell off a ladder I there's many ways we can die but there's only one way we can live by having faith in him I like that you know I just made that up right now I just made that up right now I should write that down many ways to die one way to live moderators remind me of how great a statement that was so I can take credit for it or someone else says it in the future but that's the truth though it's it's the God's honest truth if you're tweetable I like that it is it is tweetable if you aren't living for him when you don't have faith you just don't have faith now my question is this though guys now now if I say on a scale of one to ten what's your level of faith there's really only two numbers zero or ten there's really only two numbers zero or ten zero that I ain't going to Jesus for nothing or ten I'm going to him I'm going to Jesus now it might take me a week may take me I got a week but I'm on my way that faith in my diligence this constant seeking the present active partisan that's the burger shoes that's seeking that's the faith that makes me well do I have a witness