Introduction: The single most important thing in a Christian's life is faith.

Eph. 2:8-9, Saved by faith. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:9

Heb. 11:6, We can not please God apart from faith.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. 11:6

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTS OF FAITH AFTER A PERSON IS SAVED IS MISSIONS. MISSIONS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF A BELIEVERS LIFE. THE ACT OF DOING THE WORK OF MISSIONS IS AN ACT OF FAITH.

In truth, missions is the result of ones faith in the Lord Jesus.

A. Christians have too often let the world, or the false teachers define for us Biblical truths. We have gotten our understanding of faith from the so called "Faith Healers" on TV and Radio. The faith they present to their listeners is a distorted and deliberate perversion of Biblical faith. It is obvious they do it for "filthy lucre" or money.

B. Their false idea of faith has misled many.

1. Many have the idea that faith is something mystical. Faith is some invisible attribute.
a. Some think it to be a mental exercise. We focus our attention on believing something and then make ourselves believe it.

b. This warped view presents faith as a work of ones mind in which we coerce ourselves into accepting something.

THAT FALSE TEACHING, SAYS WE CAN MANIPULATE GOD AND MAKE HIM A PUPPET OF OUR SUPPOSE FAITH. THE ONLY LIMIT T OUR USING GOD IS OUR ABILITY TO BELIEVE SOME- THING.

c. Folks that is not faith as presented in the Bible! When one has this view, it actually clouds true faith, and leads us away from real Biblical faith.
WHAT I WOULD HOPE WE CAN SEE TONIGHT IS THAT BIBLICAL FAITH IS ACTING ON THE PROMISES OF GOD. IT IS A MATTER OF ACCEPTING GOD'S WORD, TRUST HIM BECAUSE HE IS OUR CREATOR, OUR GOD, AND THEN DOING WHAT GOD HAS SAID.

C. What is a simple and true description of faith?
1. FAITH IS ACTION BASED ON BELIEF AND TRUST IN THE PROMISES OF GOD.
a. The basis of Biblical faith is the promises of God.

b. Faith is accepting what God has said.

c. When true faith is present action will be the result. In the area of missions the result of faith will that the Gospel is preached, souls are won to Christ and churches are established.

ILLUS: How is a person saved? We must hear the Gospel. We must hear what God has to say to us to whom He created. FIRST: He says we are lost, we are sinners bound under the death penalty of our sin. But the GOOD NEWS is God has made provision for us! That provision is the Lord Jesus Christ. God promises if you will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you shall be saved!
What is faith's part in Salvation? Folks it is that we simply believe GOD!!! God made to us a promise. We accept what God says is true. WE are sinners and without the forgiveness of sin we perish. We accept this as truth because God said it. If it is true then we are in peril.

ILLUS: In Feb. 1993, on Sunday I visited a church in Eastern North Carolina. The Pastor told of taking a trip of several hours with his brother. His brother is a member of a Baptist church, but admits he does not understand Salvation, he admits he has never really trusted in Christ as his Savior. This preacher heart is broken for his brother's soul. What is the problem? The brother has not believed what God says is true. Folks surely a church member in a Baptist church has heard the truth that all me are born sinners. God says there is an eternal Hell prepared for all who die in their sinners.

2. Lets try to illustrate it in the context of missions:

Matt. 28:18-20 The Great Commission.

a. There is but one command in the commission: That is to "Teach" (V19), or make "disciples of all nations". That is the verb of action.

b. The going V19, the baptizing, and teaching of V20 are participles. A participle is a form of a verb that has the qualities of both a verb and an also an adjective. It describes the action of the verb.

c. Making disciples means to win folks to Christ! At times I think we have the idea that being a disciple is a part time affair. Becoming a disciple is the action of one who is deeply committed to another. Once a person receives the Lord Jesus they become followers....follows of Christ. A vital part of being saved is that God will change your life.

d. Thus, a follower of Christ believes God and seeks to make disciples of all nations, He does that by (1) Going, (2) Baptizing, and (3) Teaching them.

ILLUS: Not long after we had completed the new building in Beaver, Utah where I was a serving as a missionary pastor, I had one of the men who attended our church visit. He was upset to some degree because our little church was giving $350.00 month to missions. That was about 18% of our offering received. He said he was concerned because he wanted the church to give me more money and thought that we should cut from missions to do it. I said we can't do that and do not want too. He said, "WHY? We ought first to take care of you!" So I tried to explain to him that we would not be a true Biblical church without supporting missions in in our town, in the United States and around the World! Yes, the church should take care of its pastor, but the church had voted to give that money to several missionaries and the missionaries were serving based on the church's promise. It would be wrong to drop them and give the money to the pastor. I then suggested that if the church wanted to help their pastor more, they should trust God and give more.

I said, we are to obey God, this is His work, we by faith do what He says and he will take care of our every need!!!

e. Note the last part of V20. "I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."

f. Folks, the Command to win folks to Christ is hinged to a promise. That promise is that Christ Himself is with us. He enables, directs, protects, empowers, strengthens, and encourages us.

g. Thus, the heart of the Great Commission is an act of faith. It is carried out be those who believe God, It is doing what God says do. Who said he would be with us? Is God able to do what He says? Is God trustworthy? If he says He is with us then can we trust Him?

h. IF the answer is YES, then the result of our faith, of our believing God is that we will do what he says.

D.Do your find examples in the New Testament of men going out by faith? Acts 11:19-26
1. QUESTION? Who were the first missionaries in the New Testament who went to other areas and preached the Gospel?
a. The first were Christian fleeing persecution in Jerusalem.

b. They were some men from Cy-prus and Cy-ren-e who first preached Christ to the Greeks who lived in Antioch. 300 miles north of Jerusalem. They believed God. The believed Matt. 28:19-20 and Acts 1:9

2. Note V21. Just like Christ said, "The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord."

3. Their belief in the promises of God was their faith....and their trusting in the promise of Salvation to all who would believe in the Lord Jesus made them share it with others, even gentiles, when they were driven out of Jerusalem.

4. Who was the second missionary? Barnabas! When the church in Jerusalem heard of the Greeks being saved, they sent Barnabas.

V24, says Barnabas was a good men, full of the Holy Spirit and of FAITH! It was surely an act of faith for Barnabas to leave his home in Jerusalem and go to Antioch to preach.

3. Paul was the third missionary. V25 says Barnabas went to Tarsus and got Paul and they both returned to Antioch and preached and taught there for on whole year.

E. Some falsely conclude that Biblical faith is a "leap into the dark".
1. Their idea is to take some action alone without knowing whether it is right or wrong....but they take the action hoping it will turn out Ok.
a. FOLKS, Biblical faith knows the end result.

b. Heb. 11:6 says, "But without faith {it is} impossible to please {him}: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and {that} he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

2. These men preached and went to other areas to preach the Gospel having the full and absolute confidence that God was sending the and He was with them every step of the way.

3. NO leap into the dark....THEY WALKED A PATH THEY KNEW GOD HAD PREPARED FOR THEM. Where ever it lead it would be all right...the had the promise of God.

A. In Acts 11:20, it TWO men began telling the Greeks about the Lord Jesus.
1. The hand of the Lord was with them.

2. Great numbers believed.

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed {are} they that have not seen, and {yet} have believed." JOHN 20:29

B. This great number of people 300 miles from Jerusalem....believed!!! Because these believers from Jerusalem trusted God....they obeyed God...they fled Jerusalem for their lives....yet never gave up their faith in the promises of God..
Folks that flies in the face of the false teaches today. They says, you faith is to produce wealth and propriety.....These folks profession of faith in the Lord Jesus put their very lives in peril and even when they fled to escape death, their faith never waned.....they kept on telling people about the Lord Jesus.

ILLUS: One memory I will always cherish was of a man I Baptized just before leaving Beaver. He was saved in July. He was dying of cancer. In the December several weeks before he died, I will never forget kneeling by his bed and praying with him. I struggled to pray for him. My heart was heavy and he was in great pain. I wanted so to encourage him. As I prayed I could feel him wench from the pain. I stopped praying and he sensed I was struggling and he began to pray aloud....You know what he prayed? "Thank you dear Jesus for being so good to me? Thank you God for all you have done for me......!"

That is Biblical faith.