Faith Is Everything, Believe God’s Promises—and Change How You Live

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Faith Is Everything

Believe God’s Promises—and Change How You Live

By Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

출처 https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/faith-is-everything/

듣기 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbqTa41_L5M

Jesus was never astounded /at someone’s righteousness.

He never said, “Hey, guys, would you look at [that person]!

He’s perfect /in the way () he behaves.”

He was never astounded /by anybody’s intelligence either.

He never said, “Let’s get [Matthew] [to handle finances].

The guy’s phenomenal with numbers.”

No.

[The only thing () Jesus ever marveled about] was someone’s faith—or lack of it.

Faith is Christianity 101.

Hebrews 11, the famous faith chapter, says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God,

/because [anyone //who comes to him] must believe that he exists

and that he rewards [those //who earnestly seek him]” (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).

That verse is an eye-opener, isn’t it?

We can cry a river of tears /for our misbehavior.

We can make promises /until the cows come /home /to do better.

We can sing songs; we can even read the Bible.

Unless it comes /from faith, we can’t please the Lord.

A Roman centurion came /to Jesus once and said, “Would You heal [someone /in my home]?”

Jesus said, “Shall I come /to your house?”

The centurion said,

“No, no, no. Don’t waste Your time. Just speak the word, and I know () my servant will be healed.”

Jesus stopped and said /to the disciples, “Look, I haven’t seen [faith like this] /anywhere.

This is not even a child of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but look at the faith () he has” (see Matthew 8:5–13).

Jesus was moved /by faith.

He was also moved /by a lack of faith.

Do you know that /when He went back /to where He had grown up,

the Bible says, astoundingly, that He could not do many miracles there /because of people’s unbelief?

The problems weren’t too big or the diseases too complex for Jesus;

it’s as if His hands were tied /by the unbelief around Him.

Faith is everything in terms of our approach to God and walking victoriously in the Lord.

In fact, Jesus once said, “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matthew 9:29, NIV).

He puts the ball in our court, as it were.

What are we going to do /with a verse like that?

With big faith, we’ll have [a big God /doing great things in our lives].

With little faith, we’ll hardly know that God is there /all day long.

That’s the truth.

When we’re walking /by faith,

God brings us /into two realms of living //that [people //who don’t know the Lord] don’t understand.

First, we live in the realm of “what we hope for” (Hebrews 11:1)

—that’s the future.

As we read God’s promises in His Word,

faith makes [them] [so sure to us that we change our whole pattern of living].

That’s what made [Noah] [build an ark when God told him], “There’s a storm coming” (see Genesis 6:17).

That’s [what faith does]—it makes [us] [confident about future things], which affects the way () we live now.

Second, we become confident about “what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Someone once defined [faith] /as the ability of the soul to perceive and take in [what the five senses cannot].

[People //who live by faith] are living /by realities //that no one else can see.

In fact, [decisions /made by faith] can seem foolish.

“What are you doing that /for?”

people sometimes ask.

[A young lady from our church] went to work with the Yazidi people in the Middle East.

She works among them, loving and caring for them,

but she also deals with [hassling and dangerous situations].

We helped her, thank God, buy a car /so she won’t have to take cabs and put up with nonsense.

But why would she leave [all the comforts of America] /to face danger

and help [people //who sometimes don’t even want her help]?

She did it by faith.

She knew that God had called her.

Can she prove it?

Is there a written contract () God made with her?

No—it was all by faith.

That’s why Abraham left [where he lived]

/when God told him, “Go. I’ll show [you] [a land //that I’m going to give you]” (see Genesis 12:1).

He went out and became [the father of everyone //who believes].

He did that /by faith.

Abraham was commended /not because he lived a perfect life—he didn’t.

He was a sinner, like we are.

No, Abraham believed God, and it was counted /to him /as righteousness (see Genesis 15:6).

So come on. Let’s walk /by faith.

Let’s dig into the Word, open our hearts, stand on God’s promises, and live with our eyes on invisible things.

We know [who holds tomorrow], and it will affect [the way () we live], to the glory of God.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, increase our faith.

Help [us] [to live with our eyes on You and our hearts open to Your guiding].

Thank You for keeping every promise () You make.

If this encouraged you, you can receive [Pastor Cymbala’s weekly blog post] /by email here.

For More Encouragement

• Listen to the full message by Pastor Jim Cymbala: “What Pleases God (Faith)”
• Enjoy other resources to help you draw closer to God: “Walk by Faith, Not Sight” and “Just in Time”
• Visit Pastor Cymbala’s Facebook page