The Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 6 that

we should take up the Shield of Faith.

It is not something we put on but something
we pick up ourselves and use as a defense to
the fiery darts of the enemy…
The shield is the first line of defense.
While the rest of our armor helps protect us
from Satan's onslaught, it is not what you
ideally want to be using to absorb every hit.
You do not, for instance, go out into battle
intentionally blocking everything with your
head.
He said the shield was like faith.
So last week we looked at Hebrews 11:1 to
define faith,
11 Faith is the substance or shows the reality
of what we hope for; it is the evidence of
things we cannot see.
We found that faith is the Greek word Pistis
It is a noun which means it is a thing
The thing called faith is the power source of
the kingdom we live in.
And it is triggered by our hope.
And when our hope is aligned with the
promises of God it produces in our lives.
The thing we hope for becomes real.
So I want to go further this morning into the
operation of faith
There is one more step that is so necessary
for faith to function.
So we know that faith is a noun
But faith is also a verb
In the original language we see faith used as
a noun and a verb
Pistis is the noun
And
pisteuē (pisteuo)
Pistis is translated as faith
But pisteuo is translated as believe
Faith is a noun
Believe is a verb.
Faith is a thing but believe is an action
But it is a very specific type of action

It is the third part of the operation of faith

So let’s turn to mark 11:23 and see how it
works.

Mark 11:23-24
New Living Translation
23 
I tell you the truth, you can say to this
mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown
into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must
really believe it will happen and have no
doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray
for anything, and if you believe that you’ve
received it, it will be yours.

The word Believe here literally means "to

accept something.
but your acceptance means you think it is
totally true.
It is an acceptance that causes a total
transfer to take place in what you believe.
IT is accepting something so completely that
not only do you believe it but you are sure it
will happen, there is no doubt.
It means that everything you do, say or think,
reflects your belief.

I am reminded about a story of a story about

a man who Late one night went into a small
Alabama cemetery…

What He believed was shown in his behavior.

In the 1970s, Sam Shoeman was diagnosed

with liver cancer and told he had only months
to live.
A few months after his death, the autopsy
revealed the doctors were wrong.
He had only one small tumor was still
contained within the liver—not a life-
threatening stage of cancer.
See Sam Shoeman did not die from liver
cancer; he died from believing he was dying
of liver cancer.

Our beliefs change us mentally, physically

and spiritually.

So here is what you need to know about

belief and believing…
 What you believe must penetrate your
behavior.
 What you believe has to become how
you behave.

When our faith in God's omnipotence and care

has no doubts, in other words you totally
believe, it is impossible for Satan to break
through our shield and land an attack.
But when we allow doubt to creep in, as Peter
did when distracted by the waves in Matthew
14, we will start to sink.
Let’s take a close look at why that happened.
It will give us a true clue how faith and belief
operates in our lives.

So turn to Matthew 14:22-33

So let me give you some background here.

In Matthew 14:
 Jesus hears that John the Baptist is dead.
 He has compassion on 5000
o he heals the sick and then feeds them
o So The disciples have just experienced
a mind bending show of faith.
 He tells them to go to the other side of
the lake and he will meet them there.
 So they get in the boat.
 
Tell the story..
Peter and many of the disciples were
fisherman
They had lived there lives on the sea and had
gone through many storms.
They had lived with Jesus and saw many
miracles and had experienced the power of
the HS.
I think that peter was a lot like us today.
So a big terrible storm developed
So they are all in the boat
And Based on their past experience and
knowledge, It is the safest place to be when
in a storm
It is small and it is limited but it is safe
Now Peter understood how the boat worked
because he was a fisherman
HE has years of expertise,
He is relying on past information and
experience.
So they see Jesus walking on the water.
And Peter says if that be you lord tell me to
come.
And Jesus said come…
Now the other disciples had decided to stay in
the boat but peter saw Jesus and realized
that Jesus was calling him into something
new
Calling him to do something that would
change everything he ever knew about boats
and water.
It wasn’t normal at least by past experiences
Jesus is walking on the water coming to the
boat.
Jesus was calling him to step off of the boat.
Step out of the familiar into the unfamiliar.
Step off and walk on water which up till now
was impossible.
So peter stepped out of the boat.
And at that moment everything they had
known changed
The realm of what was possible changed.
Peter was walking on the water with Jesus
But He walked just a few steps on the water
and then began to sink.
He got his eyes on the wind and waves.
He began to remember that this isn’t normal

He was out of the boat and walking on the

water but His mind was still in the boat.

You can’t be out walking on the water and

your mind and thinking is still in the boat.

See you can’t walk out into the new and still
be thinking in the past.

You will sink everytime.

If you are going to continue to control your

life with the thinking of the past and the
familiar you will sink every time you step out
in faith.

Here is what we need to understand.

You are no longer a citizen of the world.

You live in the world but you are not of it.

And satan does not want you to know who
you are in Christ Jesus because you will
change your life and become like Him,

See when Jesus came and the Holy Spirit was

released into the earth and began to live in
man, everything we were familiar with and
knew and believed changed.
Acts 1:8 says you will receive power capable
of doing anything when the Holy Spirit comes
to live in your life.
You become a new creation and everything
that Jesus won for us on the cross now
belongs to you.
So when you come face to face with biblical
truth in your life you are going to have to
decide;
Do I stay in the safety of the boat and not
step out in faith.
Do I stay in the boat where everything is
familiar to me.
IT may not be biblical truth but it is what I
thought.
Do I stay here in the boat with my past
experiences and my perception of life even in
the face of new truth?

What new truth?

1 Peter 2:24
He personally carried our sins
    in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
    and live for what is right.
By his wounds
    you are healed.
Philippians 4:19
And this same God who takes care of me
will supply all your needs from his glorious
riches, which have been given to us in Christ
Jesus.

John 10:10
The thief’s purpose is
to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is
to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Mark 11:23 24
23 
I tell you the truth, you can say to this
mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown
into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must
really believe it will happen and have no
doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray
for anything, and if you believe that you’ve
received it, it will be yours.
Any mountain you face in your life can be
moved by the truth of the God’s word and
what you believe.