Faith Like A Mustard Seed

Faith is one of the most central parts of our relationship with God. The entire Christian life is lived out of a foundation of faith.

Faith is trusting God; lack of faith is doubting God. The difficult times test our faith and trust in God, our faith is being tested daily.

And yet the more we live by faith the better we are able to make our way in the world, to trust in God and his ultimate plan for the Human race.

Faith makes us stronger, braver, and better. Faith helps us in times of trouble and allows us to help others going through their own set of trials.

If we keep our eyes on him and make decisions based on faith, we become agents of God who can move mountains

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; (what do we hope for?- we hope that God is trustworthy and honors his promises) it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (We can be sure that his promises for salvation, eternal life and resurrected body will be ours someday based on who God is, we have no fear of tomorrow, the future; because we have the assurance that He has already gone ahead of us and prepared the best for us, even if sometimes it may not appear good, still He promises that he is working out the best. what an assurance! (Hebrews 11:1)

Christian faith is taking God for His Word and believing His promises. Knowledge brings faith.

Faith is believing something: Thus, knowing what God's Word has to say about something gives us the ability to believe it.

Knowledge of the truth (in God's Word brings faith: it's impossible to lay hold on the promises you have no idea about. "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." Romans 10:17

We have to know the truth and then believe it. That's Biblical faith. "Anything is possible if a person believes." Mark 9:23

Faith and pure conscience: "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews" (10:22)

A "true heart in full assurance of faith" means unwavering confidence; a fullness of faith in God that leaves no room for doubt.

The sacrifice offered by the Savior was designed to give peace to the troubled mind and to make it pure and holy. An "evil conscience" is a consciousness oppressed with sin; that is, a guilty conscience.

Spiritual purity is very important because your faith depends on it. How can you approach God, when your conscience is dirty? The truth is you can't!

One of the greatest hindrances to faith is strongholds, for example, if you see God as a cruel God and a distant God who wants you to be sick and poor, how can you believe that it is His will to heal and bless you?

Change of Actions: Repentance

The biblical definition of Repentance is a change in heart that results in a change of actions. For example, suppose you've been driving and using google maps to locate the route to your destination and accidentally forgot to take that turn and went past. In that case, you will either look for a way back or find an alternative route back to your destination. The Bible says:
All must repent of their sins and turn to God and prove they have changed by the good things they do." Acts 26:20
"Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God" (Luke 3:8)

The connection between Repentance and Salvation

To repent, in relation to salvation, is to change your mind and heart in regard to Jesus Christ. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, he concludes with a call for the people to repent because they had rejected Jesus; to change their minds about Him, and to recognize that He is true "the Lord and Messiah" Acts 2:1-41

The connection between Repentance and Faith

It's impossible to place your Faith in Jesus Christ as the savior without first changing your mind and heart about who He is and what He has done. Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it's a change of mind and heart.
Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith (change of the heart) in Christ.

It's crucially important that we understand repentance is not a work we do to earn salvation, no one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to Himself. John 6:44
Repentance is something God gives and it is only possible because of His grace. No one can repent unless God grants repentance.

All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes and changing our hearts.
God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4)
He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent (2 Peter 3:9)

In the Bible, repentance results in a change in behavior. That is why John the Baptist called people to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 5:8)

A person who has truly repented from rejection of Christ to Faith will give evidence of a changed life 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19-23; James 2:14-26)

I Need Jesus!

He that has the Son has life." We can receive the Son, Jesus Christ, as our Saviour by personal faith, by trusting in the person of Christ and His death for our sins.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. - John 1:12
For this is how God Loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. - John 3:16-18

This means we must each come to God the same way:

• As a sinner who recognizes his sinfulness,
• As one who realizes no human works can result in salvation, and
• Relies totally on Christ alone by faith alone for our salvation.

This is the good news of the Bible, the message of the gospel. It's the message of the gift of God's own Son who became a man (the God-man), lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin, and was raised from the grave proving both the fact that He is God's Son, and the value of His death for us as our substitute. If you have just trusted in Christ, you need to learn about your new life and how to walk with the Lord.