9/8/26 – Faith: Part two – Ps Shian D’Costa

Faith is not a noun that describes religion. Faith is an active word, a doing word. Hebrews calls faith “the confidence of what is hoped for” and “the assurance about what is not seen,” not wishful thinking or a vague hope that things might go a certain way. Pistis means faith, belief, trust, confidence, proof. Faith is a deep inward conviction, something that belongs to the very heart.

Everyday trust gives a small picture of it. A person drives over the West Gate Bridge, rides a bus, boards a plane, or sits on a train without checking every credential. Faith in God goes much deeper than that, because God’s credentials are the utmost and His experience is higher than anybody else’s. Faith in the power of God is reasonable and logical because it is fixed on the real God.

God created the heavens and the earth by His word. God did not lift a finger, but said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. The universe is not random in His hands. The cosmos is purposely designed and harmoniously working together, and God holds it all as the almighty King. Psalm 22 says dominion belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations. This same powerful God is also close, loving, and ever present, a refuge and strength in trouble.

Jesus makes faith reasonable because Jesus never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Revelation shows Him as the living one who was dead and is alive forever, holding the keys of death and Hades. Jesus is the Savior who forgives sin, the conqueror who defeated death, sickness, and Satan, and the compassionate healer who sees harassed and helpless people like sheep without a shepherd. Compassion does not leave people alone. Compassion moves Jesus to heal, help, sit, eat, and restore.

The Holy Spirit also makes faith reasonable and logical. God never left His people alone. After Jesus rose and ascended, the Holy Spirit came to live inside those who believe. Ephesians says believers are marked with the promised Holy Spirit, and Romans says the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead gives life to mortal bodies. Faith is not for elite Christians or a one-off extraordinary experience. Faith is the ordinary believing power God gives every child of God.

Luke 5 shows faith in action. The friends of the paralyzed man did not stop at the crowd. Their faith climbed the roof, ripped through the tiles, and lowered their mate to the feet of Jesus. Jesus saw their faith, forgave the man’s sins, and told him to get up and walk. Faith believes Jesus can forgive today, heal today, and meet everyday needs by God’s power and provision.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith is a doing word Faith is not treated as a label for religion but as the inward conviction that moves a person toward God. Hebrews gives faith substance, assurance, and proof, not vague optimism. Real faith does not sit still when God has spoken, because trust becomes action when the heart is persuaded. [09:36]
• 2. God’s credentials are the utmost Faith becomes reasonable when God Himself is the object of it. The bridge, bus, plane, and train examples show how much ordinary life already depends on trust, yet God stands far above every human credential. The God who made the cosmos is not random or distant, but powerful, ordered, and near. [11:50]
• 3. Jesus is still the same Jesus has not become less compassionate, less saving, or less powerful with time. The risen Christ still holds the keys of death and Hades, and His heart toward the harassed and helpless has not changed. Faith rests on a living Savior, not a memory of what He used to do. [18:06]
• 4. The Spirit lives in believers Faith is not powered by human effort alone, because the Holy Spirit indwells those who believe in Jesus. The spiritually dead heart becomes alive by the Spirit of God. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead gives life, strength, and power for everyday faith. [22:32]
• 5. Real faith finds another way The friends in Luke 5 did not let the crowd become the end of the story. Their faith carried, climbed, opened the roof, and placed the need right before Jesus. Jesus saw that faith and answered with forgiveness and healing, showing that believing trust often takes a concrete step.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [07:43] - Stirring Up Faith
• [09:12] - Faith Is a Doing Word
• [10:25] - Everyday Trust and God’s Credentials
• [13:13] - Faith Fixed on the Real God
• [14:29] - Universe, Cosmos, and Design
• [16:05] - God Rules Over the Nations
• [17:41] - Jesus Never Changes
• [19:36] - The Living One Holds the Keys
• [20:33] - Jesus the Compassionate Healer
• [21:46] - The Holy Spirit Lives Inside
• [24:30] - Faith for Every Believer
• [27:45] - The Paralytic Lowered Through the Roof
• [30:10] - Jesus Saw Their Faith
• [32:23] - Choosing to Use Faith Today

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” [09:41]

Luke 5:17-26
“On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.’” [27:45]

Hebrews 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” [17:57]

Ephesians 1:13
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”

Romans 8:11
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Observation questions

1. In Hebrews 11:1, what words are used to describe faith, and how do those words differ from vague wishing or mere optimism? [09:41]
2. In Luke 5:17-26, what obstacles stood between the paralyzed man and Jesus, and what specific actions did his friends take to get him there? [29:36]
3. In Luke 5:17-26, what did Jesus do first for the paralyzed man, and what did he do after that? Why might that order stand out to the group?
4. What everyday examples of trust were used to help picture faith, and what point do those examples make about trusting God? [11:50]

Interpretation questions

1. Faith is called assurance, conviction, substance, and proof. What does that suggest about biblical faith being more than a feeling, and how might that shape the way a believer responds when circumstances are unclear? [10:27]
2. If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, what does that mean for how believers should think about his compassion, forgiveness, and power in the present? [18:06]
3. In Luke 5, Jesus saw the friends’ faith in their actions. What does that reveal about the relationship between inward trust and outward steps? [30:10]
4. Ephesians 1:13 and Romans 8:11 say believers have the Holy Spirit living in them. How does that help explain why faith is not just for a few unusually strong Christians, but for every child of God? [24:30]

Application questions

1. Faith is a doing word. What is one area of life right now where faith has mostly stayed at the level of thought, and what might it look like to take one concrete step of trust this week? [09:36]
2. God is not distant but present, ruling over all things while also being a refuge in trouble. In a current pressure or worry, what would it look like to treat God as a refuge instead of only carrying it alone? [17:13]
3. Jesus is still the compassionate Savior, conqueror, and healer. Where does the group find it hardest to believe that Jesus still meets people with that same heart today? [20:33]
4. The Holy Spirit lives in believers. How would everyday life change if that truth was remembered in moments of weakness, fear, temptation, or need? [23:29]
5. The friends of the paralyzed man did not let the crowd become the end of the story. What “crowd” or obstacle tends to stop faith most often right now—discouragement, delay, fear of people, disappointment, or something else? [29:05]
6. Jesus forgave the man’s sins and healed him. Which is harder personally to receive right now: Christ’s forgiveness, Christ’s help, or Christ’s healing? Why might that be? [31:12]
7. Small steps can be real acts of faith. What is one small but genuine step of trust that could be taken this week—asking for prayer, speaking honestly to God, bringing a need to Jesus, or helping carry someone else to him? [35:55]