Lesson 148 - Elementary

Memory Verse

"Increase  our  faith" (Luke 17:5).

Notes

Believing God's Word

None of us have ever seen God; neither have we seen Heaven and the beautiful home Jesus has for us there. But we know that God and Jesus exist and that there is a place called Heaven. Some day we expect to go there to live forever. How do we know these things are true? Because Jesus has come into our heart and saved us. There is something way down in our heart that causes us to believe what the Bible teaches us, and that is called faith. All of us have some faith, and we need more. Do you know how to receive more faith? By listening carefully when the Bible is read to you.

Let us talk about some men who lived a long time ago. They had a great deal of faith, and that is why the story of their lives is written in the Bible.

Abraham

We have studied about Abraham who loved God very, very much. He listened when God spoke to him and did what God told him to do. He wanted to go to Heaven someday, and we are sure he is now in his home in Heaven because he had faith in God.

Noah

Another man who had faith in God was Noah. God told him that there was to be a great Flood, and Noah must build an ark so that he and his family and some of the animals might escape the waters of the Flood. Noah did not say, "How could there ever be a Flood here?” He believed what God said -– he had faith! For 120 years he worked on that great boat until it was finished. Then God said, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark.”

We know what happened: the water began to rise, higher and higher, until the great ship floated upon the high waves. Don't you believe Noah and his family were happy because they had obeyed God? They had faith in what God said was going to happen, and it happened!

Moses

Then there was the little baby, Moses. His mother, too, had faith in God. A wicked king wanted to destroy all the baby boys. But the wise mother of Moses looked at her beautiful baby boy. I cannot let anyone destroy my baby; I believe God has work for him to do when he grows older, she probably thought. It was her faith in God that caused her to make a tiny ark -– not like the ark Noah had made many years before -– but a little basket just large enough for one baby. She placed her baby in the ark and it floated on the water. This child was hidden away along the brink of the river. God took care of Moses and would not let the wicked king destroy him, because his parents trusted God and were not afraid of the king's commandments.

A Good Choice

As Moses grew older he, too, had great faith. There came a day when he must choose between living in the kings' palace and going back to his people and his humble home. He could have everything he wished if he stayed in the king's palace. If he went home to his people he must suffer hard things with God's people. He loved God and had faith that God would help him, so he chose to go to his own people and do the work that God gave him to do. He made the best choice.

It was by faith that he later led the Children of Israel through the Red Sea. The water divided and they walked through on dry ground. The wicked Egyptians who followed God's people were drowned in the midst of the sea. They did not have faith in God, but Moses and his band did.

Many other great things have been done through faith in God. It was by faith that Joshua and his army marched around the city of Jericho seven days. When Joshua gave the command to shout, the people obeyed, and the wall of the city fell down flat.

It was because of Daniel's faith that God stopped the mouths of the lions and would not let them hurt Daniel when he was thrown into the den. It was through the faith of Elisha, the man of God, that the little son of the Shunammite woman was restored to life after he had died.

Our Faith

All of us have some faith, but we want more. Did you ever help your parents plant a garden? You place a tiny seed in the ground, and after a few weeks of sunshine and rain you see a little green sprout pushing through the soil. Day by day you watch it as it grows. That is the way our faith does. It grows and grows as we listen to God's Word and pray every day.

When you ask your parents for something, they give it to you, if it is good for you to have it, do they not? So if you ask Jesus for something, He, too, gives it to you, if it is good for you to have it. Jesus said in [MAT:7:8]: "Every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth.” Then Jesus said if a boy asks his father for bread, would the father give his son a stone? Or if the boy asked for fish, would his father give him a serpent? Of course he would not. Jesus said that if parents know how to give good gifts to their children how much more would our Father in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him. So let us simply believe Jesus as we believe our parents.

When we ask Jesus to save us, He will save us. When we are sick and ask Him to heal us, He will heal us. Jesus said, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” So we know that nothing is impossible with God if we have faith.

Questions

1. Will Jesus give us what we ask of Him? [MAT:7:7].

2. How long was the baby Moses hidden before he was placed in the little ark? [HEB:11:23].

3. Tell how Moses led the people through the Red Sea. [HEB:11:29].

4. Name some other men who had faith. [HEB:11:7-8].

5. Can we please God without faith? [HEB:11:6].