BEYOND THE SERMON

Gifts of the Spirit

Message 3: The Gift of Faith

Pastor Rod Meyers with Aries Graves  •  Covington Community Church  •  Key texts: 1 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 11; Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

 

Message Overview

A banner of faith flew in front of the church this weekend. It was ordered months ago, long before anyone knew this series was coming — an accident on our part, but not on God's. Coincidence isn't kosher. And so, on the day the banner went up, we opened the one gift on Paul's list that comes with no explanation at all: "to another faith by the same Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:9).

This message comes in two parts. Pastor Rod defines the gift of faith and points to the heroes of Hebrews 11. Then he hands the microphone to Aries Graves — twenty-two years old, a teacher of children from three to thirteen and a youth leader, whom Rod has watched grow up since grade school — to show what the gift looks like when it is lived out. It is one thing to teach on faith and look at the Scriptures; it is another thing to meet a person of faith and watch them walk out every piece of what it means. Sometimes a gift, when it is opened, comes through something painful. Faith perseveres past the pain and trusts anyway.

Key Scripture

 

 

Aries read the familiar older wording, "the valley of the shadow of death." Either way, verse four is a sign of faith from beginning to end: the valley is real, the walk goes through it, and the fear is answered by a presence.

Word Study

 

What Is the Gift of Faith?

All believers have been given faith by God as the means of salvation — we all came to Christ by believing (Ephesians 2:8-9). But not all believers are given this particular gift in the measure it is given. Like every gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of faith is for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7): it edifies the body. It is not something to cherish, nurse, and keep to yourself. If you have it, you have to share it.

• The gift of faith is a special gift whereby the Holy Spirit provides Christians with an extraordinary confidence in the promises of God. Who wants an extraordinary measure of the promises of God?
• It comes with God's promises and God's power. The person who exhibits this level of faith can take a heroic stand on what God is going to do in the future for the church.
• It is exhibited by someone strong and unshakably confident in speaking toward God in faith and trust. In combat, those are the people everyone looks toward — the ones who simply know it is going to work, that everything God promised will be fulfilled. When we see them, they strengthen us.

Heroes of the Faith

Hebrews 11 is full of them, and they are heroes because they trusted God for specific things:

• Noah preached 120 years to a world that did not believe in God at all — in fact, they laughed — and built the ark anyway (Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 6:13-22).
• Abraham and Sarah were told they would have a baby at ninety. Good luck with that. Does that seem possible in the natural? No — faith takes us beyond reason. They had confidence it would happen, God made it happen, and they named the child Laughter (Hebrews 11:11-12; Genesis 21:1-7).
• Read the whole chapter (Hebrews 11:1-40) and see who the heroes are — and know that your name will probably be in those pages in the future, because you are people of faith too.

Aries' Story: When Fear Met Faith

Aries was raised by her grandmother, who is still her best friend to this day — but it was rough. Her grandmother raised her in church and told her constantly that God is good and that she had to pray, worship, and obey, without ever helping her understand who God is or why. And she taught through fear: physical and verbal abuse, generations of it on one side of the family, from a woman who was working with what she had and thought that protecting her only granddaughter meant coming down hard on every mistake. Aries did everything right — but she did it through fear. She grew up shy, feeling unworthy, unable to stand in front of her bullies, unable to be the princess her King wanted her to be.

"When my grandma gave me fear, the Lord gave me faith." And He did it by showing up when she was weak (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). As an only child with few friends, she had plenty of imaginary friends — but one was different. She knew his height and how he dressed, but he had no face. In one moment from middle school, being scolded in her grandmother's room and unable to cry or speak, that friend stood in the doorway and said, "I'll stand here with you." Then he leaned in: your grandma says you are a disgrace, but I say you are worthy. Your grandma is disappointed, but I am proud of you because you tried. Your grandma sees no hope in your future, but I know you will do great things in His name. Years later she understood: that friend was Jesus, with her from age three to thirteen, and she is still talking to Him at twenty-two (Psalm 27:10; Isaiah 41:10).

 

The beauty of faith is that anyone can have it, and faith is believing before you see. You believe oxygen exists — you breathe it, it gives you life — but you cannot see it. The Lord is like that: present in the highest highs and walking with you through the darkest valleys. If you say you don't feel Him, get out of that closed mindset. There is power in the name of Jesus; even if you feel uncertain, say it, and you will feel it (John 20:29).

Prayer, Forgiveness, and a Checked Heart

To keep her faith moving forward, Aries had to get comfortable forgiving the people who gave her pain — and the one who gave her the most was her grandmother. She prayed and prayed for God to take her grandmother out of her life, and the next day she was still there. Bitterness rose: how could someone say they love me and put me through this? By middle school she was facing suicidal thoughts. She could not forgive someone taking her down that dark path.

Then she found that one way God gives strength is relying on His understanding, not our own (Proverbs 3:5-6) — and she asked what she was actually praying for. She was praying for the wrong thing. She was telling God to take her out of it, when what she needed was for Him to help her through it. When the prayer shifted, she started to see change in herself and in the situation.

 

When her grandmother gave her pain, God replaced it with a heart of forgiveness that set her free. Prayer is powerful: it invites God and His power into the situations you face. Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) — when you get the promotion and when a loved one is on a deathbed. That is faith: choosing to allow God into every moment whether you know the result or not. God answers prayer; the breath in your lungs is already proof He is present. But some things hinder us from hearing His answers (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2):

 

Inheriting His Goodness

How do you get past hidden or unconfessed sin — the anger, the unforgiveness — in your prayer time? By giving God a chance. When you give Him a chance, you inherit His goodness. But how can we inherit His goodness when we are not good ourselves? In high school, Aries could barely look at her grandmother through love because of the pain she still held.

 

That is how: kick out the fear her grandmother put in her, understand that the only fear she needs is the fear of the Lord, and let faith guide the path whether certain or in doubt. The more she did that, the more she saw Him and tasted His goodness. To inherit (Hebrew nahalah) is to receive a gift directly from Yahweh Himself — which means He is not only present; He wants to give you what you lack. She lacked forgiveness, so she asked: "You forgive everyone? Then forgive me, and somehow work in me to forgive my grandma." Today they are close friends who talk every week. Her grandmother, who once said nothing Aries had to say was important, now asks to hear from her — and recently, for the first time, said, "I'm sorry." She has told Aries, "I had an encounter with God." The perfect example of a bad example, and God transformed it all into good (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20).

Faith is a muscle. You do not get stronger by staring at the dumbbell; you have to pick it up. Aries had to have faith that God would change a bitter heart into a soft one, take jealousy and replace it with gratitude, and walk her not only out of the situation but into the woman she is today. She faced suicidal thoughts twice — seventh grade and senior year — and she would not be here if she had not said, "I don't know what's going to happen, but I have faith and trust in You." And she would not have been in a camp cabin this week to catch a crying girl who felt she could never make her mother proud, tell her those were accusations and lies, and hear her say she no longer had to end her life to see a better one. "God, You made me for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14). She saw why faith exists.

Nine Marks of a Faith-Filled Life

 

God will always do His part. Your part is just to trust.

Application

• Identify the gift. Do you know someone whose unshakable confidence in God's promises strengthens everyone around them? That is the gift of faith on display — thank them, and thank God for them.
• Check what you are praying for. Are you asking God to take you out of it, or to help you through it? Shifting that prayer is where Aries first saw change.
• Check your heart. Unforgiveness, unbelief, anger, envy — name the one that is blocking your hearing, and give God a chance with it this week.
• Pick up the dumbbell. Faith grows by use: one verse opened, one prayer prayed in the car, one worship service attended while you are still crying.
• Let your gift come through your pain. Some gifts are opened through something painful, and that is exactly where they become a gift to others — Aries' story became a lifeline for a camper who needed it that same week.

If any part of Aries' story is your story — fear at home, or a season when you did not want to keep living — please do not carry it alone. Talk to a pastor or a trusted person, and in the US you can call or text 988 any time.

 

Series Roadmap

 

 

Reflection Questions

1. Pastor Rod noted that Paul lists the gift of faith without explaining it (1 Corinthians 12:9). Based on this message, how would you explain the difference between saving faith, the fruit of faithfulness, and the gift of faith?

 

 

 

 

 

2. Read Hebrews 11:7 and Hebrews 11:11-12. Noah and Abraham trusted God for something specific and unlikely over a long time. Is there a specific promise of God you are being asked to stand on right now? What would a "heroic stand" look like?

 

 

 

 

 

3. "When my grandma gave me fear, the Lord gave me faith." Read 2 Timothy 1:7. Where has fear shaped how you relate to God or to people? What would it mean for faith to replace it?

 

 

 

 

 

4. Aries realized she was praying for the wrong thing — "take me out of it" instead of "help me through it." Read Proverbs 3:5-6. Is there a prayer of yours that needs the same shift?

 

 

 

 

 

5. Read Psalm 66:17-20. Of the four things that block answered prayer — unforgiveness, unbelief, anger, jealousy — which is most present in your life? What would "giving God a chance" with it look like this week?

 

 

 

 

 

6. Read Psalm 34:8-9. Aries said inheriting God's goodness means receiving a gift directly from Him, not earning it. Why is that hard to accept when we know we are not good ourselves? How does it change the way you pray?

 

 

 

 

 

7. Look at the nine marks of a faith-filled life. Which one comes most naturally to you, and which one is your "dumbbell" — the one you have been staring at instead of picking up? What is one rep you can do this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further Study

• Hebrews 11:1-40 and Hebrews 12:1-3 — the heroes of the faith, and the One who is its pioneer and perfecter.
• Romans 4:18-21 — Abraham, "against all hope, in hope believed," fully persuaded God had power to do what He had promised.
• Mark 9:14-27 — "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
• Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:5-6 — faith the size of a mustard seed.
• Psalm 27:1-14 — the Lord is my light; wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart.
• 2 Corinthians 5:7 and 1 Peter 1:6-9 — living by faith, not by sight; loving the One you have not seen.
• Ephesians 4:31-32 and Colossians 3:12-14 — putting away bitterness and anger; forgiving as the Lord forgave you.
• 2 Timothy 1:5-7 — sincere faith passed down through a grandmother, and the Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

Next in the series: the Gift of Discernment — distinguishing between spirits.