od wants us to be filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit? How can we be filled with faith? How can we know for sure what we believe about God and Jesus and the resurrection? People who have studied the resurrection intently, even trying to disprove it, have been won over to believing it and becoming people of great faith. Keep seeking the Lord, and you will find Him.

Lesson 6 - How to Become "Faith Full"

by Eric Elder

Happy Easter! The resurrection that we’re celebrating this weekend isn’t just a big deal. It’s the deal! Theologian Gerald O’Collins has said: “Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without it’s final chapter. It is not Christianity at all.”

The resurrection is so critical to the Christian faith that the Apostle Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith....For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins....If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead...” (from 1 Corinthians 15:14-20).

Jesus Himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

If you’re lacking in faith today, or you know someone who is, I want to encourage you, or to encourage them to do three things:

1) Read your Bible. The Bible contains story after story of people who have put their faith in God and become “faith full” as a result. When you read their stories, it will help to increase your faith as well.

Today’s a good day to read John chapter 20, for instance, where it describes three sets of people at the moment when they went from doubt to belief, who got to see Jesus raised from the day on that first Easter morning and in the days immediately following His resurrection. The Apostle John says he wrote these stories for you: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).

2) Ask your questions. If you’ve got questions that are keeping you from fully believing what God has said in His Word, take time to get your questions answered so you can move forward in your faith.

This is what Lee Strobel did when his wife told him she had become a Christian. Lee was an atheist and the legal affairs editor for the Chicago Tribune. He decided to use his journalism and legal training to thoroughly investigate Christianity, hoping to liberate his wife from this cult! But his plan backfired when he found more evidence that supported the resurrection than he ever imagined and he ended up putting his faith in Christ. He wrote his conclusions down in a clear and compelling book, The Case for Easter.

3) Go to church. God doesn’t want you to go it alone. He wants you to help each other, to bear each other’s burdens and to sharpen each other like iron sharpens iron.

C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia and other great Christian works, went to Oxford College as an atheist. But after reading books by George McDonald and others he admired and discovering they were strong Christians, he turned from atheism to believing their must be a God. But it was when he began to meet with other Christians in person, like fellow student J.R.R. Tolkein who later wrote The Lord of The Rings, that he was challenged his thoughts and ideas. After talking with his friends till three in the morning one night, Lewis went home and the next morning took the step of faith from just believing in God to becoming a Christian.

Read your Bible. Ask your questions. Go to church. These aren’t the only ways to become “faith full,” and they’re not mind-blowing concepts, but they can be life changing. Even if you’re already a strong believer, they can help you keep “up” in the faith that you’ve already come to believe in your heart.

Let’s pray...

Father, help us to keep putting our faith in you, and to help others put their faith in You, too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

(This message is a condensed from the series, "Acts: Lessons In Faith." To read the full version of this message, click here.)