Understanding the Basics of Faith
Summary
Sermon Summary: Understanding Faith, Its Substance, and a Heart of Gratitude
Opening Exhortations
Those without Jesus are lost and lack hope after death—Christians must “pour out the gospel” urgently.
Guard what and how you hear; the ear is the entrance to the spirit, shaping life and outcomes.
Begin understanding faith by first clarifying what faith is not.
Learning by Contrast: What Faith Is Not
Faith is not physical
Faith is spiritual from start to finish; it draws and enforces the higher power of God.
Hearing is the spiritual channel through which faith comes (Romans 10:17).
Faith is not trust
Trust builds through familiarity and past experience—physical/experiential evidence (Genesis 18:19; John 2:5).
Faith comes through the Word and the Spirit.
Faith is not hope
Hope relies on visible factors or forecasts; it rises or falls with physical evidence.
Faith does not depend on what is seen; it enforces God’s power beyond visible signs.
Faith is not love (Faith only works by love- one of the foundations that faith sits on)
Agape love is spiritual and essential to faith’s operation (John 3:16; Galatians 5:6).
Faith works by love; walking in love empowers faith’s effectiveness.
Faith is not doubt
Doubt and faith are mutually exclusive; operating in doubt means not operating in faith.
What Faith Is: The Substance and Process
Faith is spiritual and comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).
Faith has “substance” (ingredients) and “evidence” (confidence in what is not seen) (Hebrews 11:1).
Vision precedes faith: clearly envision the promised outcome before assembling the “substance.”
Faith is a process of assembly: gathering scriptural promises and aligning hearing, belief, and action.
Faith is not a risk or gamble; true biblical faith operates by spiritual law and is absolute—drawing God’s power to fulfill the God-given vision.
Many think they are “walking in faith” while relying on head knowledge, trust, or hope; true faith enforces God’s power and produces results.
The Role of Hearing
The ear is a direct gateway to the spirit; what we hear energizes and shapes us for good or bad.
“Take heed how you hear”—the quality and content of hearing determine spiritual formation and outcomes.
Hearing God’s Word is the pathway through which faith comes; prioritize Scripture as the main input.
The Missing Link in the Modern Church
Attendance vs. knowledge: many attend church but lack practical knowledge of how to build and exercise faith (e.g., for healing).
Bank analogy: Many banks exist, but without understanding how to earn and deposit money, they don’t help. Likewise, churches abound, but without practical teaching on assembling faith, believers struggle.
Purpose of teaching: Equip believers with the practical knowledge of God’s Word to be blessed and to minister to others.
Illustration Stories and Analogies
Inventor and electricity: Learning many ways electricity would not work clarified the one true way—understanding by contrast.
Building at dawn: If no visible signs appear early, hope diminishes; faith is different, not dependent on sight.
Motivational speakers: Hearing builds confidence and momentum—words move the inner person.
Memory and clients: Hearing replays in the mind and influences actions.
Kenneth Hagin account: A mother, walking in love, resisted the devil and commanded him to release her child; healing followed. Faith’s effectiveness is tied to walking in love and exercising spiritual authority.
Building a chair (vision, substance, faith, trust):
Substance: materials (metal, fabric, screws) are ingredients, not a chair.
Vision: a clear blueprint of the finished chair—“the thing hoped for.”
Faith: assembling the materials toward the vision without prior experience.
Trust: after success, you rely on proven outcomes in future efforts.
Counting your blessings (W-2 analogy): Reviewing God’s works like reviewing year-end earnings—surprising and humbling; fosters gratitude.
Thanksgiving Focus: Gratitude as God’s Will and Wisdom
A heart of gratitude is wise—recognize blessings, including those not requested; God is the source of every good thing.
Gratitude is more than offering; it is a genuine inward posture expressed outwardly.
How to Show Gratitude to God
Give God quality time of praise
Praise consistently, not only when in need.
Praise Him for His mighty acts, greatness, and creation (Psalm 150:1–6).
Reach out to the less privileged
Pure religion includes caring for orphans and widows (James 1:27).
Serving others is a practical expression of gratitude and love.
Corporate Prayer and Worship (Led by Kara)
Job 33:4 — Affirmation of life from God’s Spirit.
Psalm 27:14 — Prayer to overcome fear with God’s peace while waiting on Him.
Main Prayer Points
Salvation of souls in homes, families, and communities.
Overcoming fear and panic; receiving God’s perfect peace (Psalm 27:14).
Deliverance from emotional bondage and fulfillment of God-given destiny.
Prayer for America: spiritual awakening, peace, and healing.
Exhortations and Applications
Guard your hearing: Be careful what and how you hear; the ear is the gateway to the spirit.
Prioritize Scripture: Faith comes by hearing God’s Word—make it your main input.
Walk in love: Faith works by love; cultivate agape love through forgiveness, service, and unity.
Distinguish categories: Do not confuse trust (experience-based) or hope (evidence-based) with faith (Word-based and Spirit-empowered).
Evangelize: Boldly share the gospel because without Jesus there is no hope of eternal life.
Take-Home Points and Action Items
Study the Word: Actively build faith by hearing and studying Scripture (Romans 10:17); gather promises relevant to your needs (e.g., healing).
Clarify your vision: Be specific about the biblical outcome you’re believing for; align vision with God’s promises (Hebrews 11:1).
Practice hearing well: Listen humbly, attentively, and obediently; filter media and conversations through Scripture.
Commit to love: Since faith works by love, forgive quickly, serve selflessly, remove strife, and walk in agape love.
Distinguish faith from trust: Use faith for unseen outcomes; allow trust to develop after experience.
Share your knowledge: Be equipped to minister to others; spread the knowledge of God’s Word beyond the church.
Cultivate gratitude: Thank God in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18); daily praise (Psalm 150:1–6) and serve the vulnerable (James 1:27).
Scripture reading plan for the week:
Genesis 16–20
Matthew 16–20
Engage with questions: Prepare questions for upcoming teachings to deepen practical understanding.
Evangelize: Participate in scheduled outreach efforts.
Church Announcements and Schedule (September 2026)
Evangelism:
Weekly outreach: Saturdays, 5:00 PM–6:00 PM.
Special outreach: Monday, September 7, 2026, at 5:00 PM; meet at the church to walk local neighborhoods.
Prayer: Weekly intercession hour—Fridays, 7:00 PM–7:30 PM.
Fellowship: Pastor’s mother’s birthday celebration—Sunday, September 20, 2026, after service; all invited.
Closing Notes
Pastor Abe invited questions, reactions, and contributions to build up the body through shared understanding.
Congregational comment included reflections on hearing God and love, with a desire to grow in understanding.
Closing prayers included petitions for a spirit of faith, a heart of thanksgiving, God’s perfection in our lives, and success in evangelism efforts on September 7, 2026.
Transcript
Pastor Abe
The substance of faith are what makes faith to be faith. Ingredients. Love is important. So now I gave an example of this chair. We have the material and the metal. When these things were apart, it is metal, it is fabrics, all apart. Fabrics one side, metal one side. You can't sit on them because it does not become. Understand? But the moment you take the metal, goes through the processing, shaping it to become to have this.
00:32:56
Pastor Abe
And I want the people to really understand that is the purpose of the Sunday school Bible study teaching. We must know all this and know the apostles. I know we see have many persons. I know groups they have many persons. Hallelujah! But know what? I would like if you can write all the questions. It doesn't really matter. Next week we can use next week to treat questions and all that. But It's mostly important to me is people get blessed, not following. We have the Bible story too. All those things are custom. But what really matters is I am blessed, you are blessed, and then we close the service here. We able to go to council? What are people outside? Because the knowledge of God, I tell you, is missing outside, and we need to go and spread the word.
00:34:19
Kara
Holy Spirit into our lives. Holy Spirit, we welcome you here. We're so thankful that you came. We invite you here to be in our midst. Just like the air, Holy Spirit, you are fresh air. You refresh us. You refresh our soul. You hover over us. You speak to us. You minister us. You show us through signs and wonders. Holy Spirit, and you speak exactly to us. The Bible says in Job 33:4, the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
00:39:57
Kara
The Bible. We pray for safety and divine. Hallelujah. So, overcoming fear, Lord, remove all panic, paralyzing fear from our heart and replace it with your perfect peace. As Psalm 27:14 says, Wait for the Lord and be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Let's speak to God. God, replace my fear with your perfect fear and peace. Oh God, I will wait for you. God replace my fear with your perfect peace, God. I will wait for you in the name of Jesus. Replace my fear, God, with your perfect peace. Replace my fear, God, with your perfect peace in the name of Jesus. Father, God, we pray for deliverance from every strange thing, every emotional bondage. May it be gone in Jesus' name. Every strange thing, every emotional bondage. May it be gone in Jesus' name. May it be gone in Jesus' name. We declare destiny.
00:40:55
Kara
Fulfillment over our lives in the name of Jesus. I pray. Let our destiny and our name be in the name of Jesus. I will fulfill my destiny in Jesus' name. In the name of Jesus, I declare and decree that our destiny and fulfillment of our lives, as you have written, will be fulfilled in Jesus' name. We pray for America, for a spiritual awakening of peace and healing for our land. We pray for a spiritual awakening of peace and healing for our land, in the name of Jesus. Heal our land, let there be awakening, peace, Father God. Let there be a spiritual connectedness throughout entire America, in Jesus' name, for every leader, every speaker, everybody within the deep state, everybody in the community, in Jesus' name. Save our land.
00:57:30
Pastor Abe
There is a new principle of law. Heaven, the judge was taught on how to interpret the law. I give praise to God more than I pray. I'm serious, because I do it all the time, even when I'm driving. I give praise to God.
01:01:03
Pastor Abe
Or some people that are less blessed than you for the most part, because they are still in the present. Which out of them does God enjoy it most? Hallelujah! These are the ways to show our gratefulness unto God. We don't wait until it's time to give offering, it's time to donate. I'm constantly doing that. There are people who are constantly doing that. They have their own specific month of the year. Probably the same way every May, I will be doing this. I'll go to the orphanage to show my face in order to go.
01:02:02
Pastor Abe
Amen. So these are the ways to be grateful unto God. Let's pray. Let's give praise to God. Now we are gathered listening to His word today. Let's tell Lord, help me to show gratefulness unto You. Let's talk to Him. Lord, help me to show gratefulness unto You in the name of Jesus. I want to be grateful unto You. Help me in the name of Jesus to show my gratefulness unto You in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I'm going to show my great praise unto you. Let's begin to say, Lord, I'm grateful. Let's praise Him. Let's praise Him. The first point stays is praise Him. Let's praise Him for what He has done. Let's begin to appreciate Him. Lord, my heart praises You. My heart blesses You. In the name of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.
01:03:01
Pastor Abe
Thank you, Jesus. Lord, we thank you. Blessed be all of you. Thank you, Jesus. Finally, allow us to take the last verse of that king. He says, "He gave us eyes to see them, to see all the beautiful things he has done. The lives that we might be able to tell. How great is our God Almighty!" Who has made all things well? Let's go on. He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that mean my tongue. Our bread is not of man; who has made all things well? All things, right and beautiful. Our great joy made us small.
01:04:00
Pastor Abe
All things, wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. The Bible says, "In wisdom He has created all things." Have you read before? Say, "In wisdom God has made all things." He's a skilled God, very, very skilled God. He made the mountains. He has done in such a way that even He has made water to come out of the rock. He is skilled. God, He knows what He is doing. Look at the way He set the galaxies, the sun, the stars, the moon, and there is a time for them to come out to give light when it is dark. He is skilled. God, very wise. God, no one has instructed Him in the ways of life. When it is dark, then you see the moon.
01:04:58
Pastor Abe
Come out at night, and then the Bible says he has made a greater light to rule the day. We have this song. This is more brighter than any light that we can have. Hallelujah! The light they can't do now. Put him out there, you won't even be able to see him because he has made a greater light to rule the day. He said, "In wisdom he has made everything." Hallelujah! God is wonderful. So in bringing this message to a close, one more time, I want us to go to God and salute and appreciate His wisdom. Not in wisdom He has created all things. In fact, in wisdom He has made you and I. He made us in such a way that my look is very from your look, so that your mom and dad don't mistake me for you. Hallelujah, the wise God. Hallelujah, that is it, the wise God.
01:05:56
Pastor Abe
Same human being, different looks. Hallelujah. He has made human eye to be so different, so that people do not mistake you for me. Amen. Then look at your brothers and sisters, your siblings. He has created you alike, so that people from other can tell these people belong to the same family. That's called the white stuff. Amen. Let's appreciate him again, Lord. I thank you for your wisdom. Glory to your name. Thank you for wisdom, Lord. In Jesus' mighty name, we are praying. I like us to stretch out our hands while I pray, and then we close the cup. Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for your work today, Lord. We have talked about faith in this Sunday school. We have talked about thanksgiving, Lord. I pray that you grant us the spirit of faith in Jesus' name. Grant us the.
01:06:54
Pastor Abe
Heart of thanksgiving in Jesus' name, as we go this week, we pray that things needing perfection concerning our lives, our families, our jobs, our businesses, Lord, we ask that you perfect them in Jesus' name. Lord, we ask concerning the souls that are yet to be saved, as we go out tomorrow, Lord, we pray that you bring souls unto yourself in the name of Jesus. Amen. Go out of us in the name of Jesus. Lord, we take authority over the devil, over everyone who is of the devil. That this week, the devil is put to shame in our lives, in the name of Jesus, everywhere, socially. In Jesus, by Him we are free. Amen. And amen. Hallelujah. God bless you all. Amen. So don't forget, God.
Scripture References
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