Listen to the song. Yes, that is right. I am encouraging you to click on the play button and listen to this classic Christian Song of The Heritage Singers. The music video is quite old but the lyrics and melody are timeless.

And here is the entire lyrics of this song.

Faith is the essence of things unseen, the substance of things hoped for. God’s word has said it and I believe it for the miracle has happened to me.

God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me. God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me.

Though some may doubt that His word is true I’ve chosen to believe it, now how about you? God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me.

Do you believe that God created you? Just like He told you in His word? Do you believe that every world in space Came to place by His own power?

Do you believe that God can change your life? And give you freedom from your sin? He’ll open every door that blocks the way you can say within…

God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me.

Let’s talk about faith.

But what is faith really? And how do you know if you have true faith?

I have been observing myself and discovered that I used to have a faith which can be compared to a “switch” – you know the light switch? Yes, that’s the one ( object lesson guys and gals!), sometimes it can be switched “on” or switched “off”. For example, one day I’ll wake up and have this full belief in God’s power and promises and then the next day I’ll feel doubtful. You know what I mean? Probably you felt the same way too, or are you feeling it right now?

But the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”- that’s in the Book of Romans chapter 10 verse 17. If I am feeding my soul on the Word of God everyday, faith will come, will be there and will stay. My faith will forever remain switched “On”. My faith will grow as I continue to feed my mind on spiritual matters, on spiritual truth. And that I should not base my faith on whether or not God has forgiven me and how I feel from day to day. Faith like love is not a feeling. It is a principle, a decision. Because if I wake up one day and say “ I don’t have enough faith today or I do not feel I am full of faith today” – but I know deep in my heart and mind that I have already confessed my sins and I have asked God to guide and lead me – well then, I can be assured that God is still with me whether I feel it or not. I do hope I am making sense to you my dears.

In this life of mine, I’ve learned that whenever there are clouds of doubt in my mind I can always clear them up with the ancient Words of God – the Bible. And because we are talking about faith at this moment, it’s a must that I mention the Book of Hebrews chapter 11 which is often called the “Faith Hall of Fame”. I’d like to give you an assignment so get your Bible and read this chapter…again and again and again. It’s a collection of remarkable stories of heroic men and women of the Bible. And these are non-fiction. Stories to encourage you and me and at the same time challenge the faith that we have.

The Book of Romans chapter 4 verse 5 – “ But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for in righteousness.” What does this verse mean? The author Paul is showing the difference being made right with God by works as opposed by faith. The apostle Paul wrote that if we could be justified before God by works (our works), then God would owe us righteousness. It would be like we are getting paid for services rendered, a transaction which we made with the God of heaven. But as Paul wrote in Romans, nobody can accomplish this kind of work because we are all sinners and we all fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Now Paul in his writings, is making us realize the opposite of earning something by work which is receiving it as a gift. The one who receives a gift, a true gift, does not need to try to earn it. Instead, he/she simply believes in the God who justifies the ungodly and that is that, no more additional drama.

This kind of faith is what causes us to be declared righteous by God. And so as per Paul we can describe God as the “God who justifies the ungodly”. This is the long and short of the story of Christ’s good news of salvation. God does not wait for us to become righteous or godly based on our own efforts or hard work before welcoming us with open arms into His family. But because of our faith in Jesus Christ’s righteousness, God justifies us in spite of our sinfulness. And I believe there is no greater gift and no greater love than this.