You Don’t Need to ‘Get More Faith,’ You Need to Trust God

A year we shared briefly some content from the website Great Bible Study. Today we decided to present a full devotional highlighting their ministry. Their articles are smaller than we usually run, but they are indexed by theme, and in selecting the two we have today, I noticed that they both ended with the same scripture verse, somewhat confirming our choice. Click each of the titles below to read these individually where they first appeared.

Exposing False Faith

Many times, people are trying to ‘get more faith’, thinking that if they just believe they will be healed, then it will happen. I have news for you, that is new age faith, NOT Christian faith!

Did you know that Christian faith is merely knowing the promises of God, the provisions of the work of Christ on the cross, and the Word of God, and then accepting and believing those provisions? Let me put it another way, Christian faith is merely knowing the will of God (which is found in His Word), and believing it. Fear comes when (a) we don’t know the will of God or (b) when we don’t really believe that it is true. This is why the Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

If Jesus said that your healing was paid for on the cross, do you really believe that? Jesus asked Peter, “Why did you doubt me?” Why do you think He did that? Because Peter questioned the integrity of Jesus’ command to “Come!”

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Matthew 14:28-31

In other words, Jesus was saying, “Peter, didn’t you believe me?” This is why it is so important to know what God is saying to us (get in His Word!), and believe it. Fear questions, casts doubt upon, and calls God’s Word a liar! The Bible even tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please Him:

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.

Hebrews 11:6

The key is to get yourself to the point where you know the Word of God, then simply believe what He says… THEN you will have real genuine faith… anything else is just false faith.

Do You Trust God?

So many of us would like to think that we trust God, but how many of us really do when we face trying situations in our lives? I was talking with a friend of mine recently who was tempted to take revenge into his own hands against somebody who has done him much wrong. I told him to give place to wrath and let God repay them for what they’ve done. As the Bible tells us, we are to give place to wrath:

Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Do you know that even when we become bitter and allow ourselves to brew over what somebody has done to us… that we are not trusting God to judge rightly in the matter on our behalf?

There are countless everyday experiences just like this that reflect the trust that we have in God. The fact is… if God’s Word gives us an assurance and we continue to ponder the matter… we don’t really believe God in that area of our life!

James 2:23, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

It is time that we take God and His Word seriously and BELIEVE what He’s telling us! This sounds like a simple matter, and it is… but this one truth will separate a mature God-fearing and God-trusting believer from the rest of the church today. God is relying on you to believe what He tells you… for without faith it is impossible to please Him:

Hebrews 11:6, “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.”

 

What Can I Do Next? versus What Must I Do Next?

Ephesians 2: 8-9

^{(KJV) 8} For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

^{(AMP) 8} For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; ⁹ Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

^{(MSG) 8-9}   Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing!

Earlier this week I had a conversation with someone who is moving from passive to active faith. I use that terminology because I don’t believe that his faith was non-existent prior to the past year, but rather, it was probably dormant.

So he asked about things like what is required in terms of tithing, and does he need to be baptized. I tried to give him good answers while at the same time being very aware of the fact he was wanting to do things instead of resting on what Christ has already done.

(Sometimes people coming from a Roman Catholic background wrestle with these things more acutely. I don’t know if that’s the case here. It’s interesting that the Catholic Church refers to certain days in the church calendar as “Days of Obligation.” In a sense this defines “religion;” the idea of obligation overshadowing all else. No wonder many Christians say that Christianity isn’t a religion it’s a relationship.)

Andy Stanley talks about surveys done among people who have been attending North Point Community Church for less than five weeks. Let’s just stop there. Imagine having enough new people constantly streaming through the doors that you can engage a survey company to ask them questions. But that’s a topic for another day.

Of those in that category, a large percentage of them were interested in what they call “discerning next steps.” They wanted to grow. They wanted to serve. They wanted to understand what it means to be a disciple.

But there are sometimes dangers inherent in wanting to do. The story of Mary and Martha is a juxtaposition of two attitudes: spending time with Jesus and doing things for Jesus.

Coincidentally, it is Andy Stanley who has this verse posted in his office from Acts 15:

^{(NIV) 19} “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

^{(AMP) 19} Therefore it is my opinion that we should not put obstacles in the way of and annoy and disturb those of the Gentiles who turn to God…

We discussed this verse in detail previously here in February, 2011.

I think there are two different ways we approach the challenge of what it means to follow Christ:

• We can ask, “What can I do;” and thereby focus on offering our lives as a response to the grace we have received and the love that has been poured out to us. “How can I express my gratitude?” “I want to give something back.”
• We can ask, “What must I do;” and thereby miss the point. “What is this going to cost me?” “What am I going to have to give up?”  Or even, “I have a few hours free; how long is this going to take?”

As we said in the Feb ’11 post, this journey of following Christ should certainly involve counting the cost. In Luke 9 we read:

^{(NIV) 23} Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

But I do not believe it should be about the cost.

The person I spoke with definitely should start a program of percentage giving and definitely should consider being baptized. But it should be done joyfully and willingly.

 

 

 

 

First Faith Lessons

I want to go in a totally different direction today.  I literally stumbled onto this blog and you gotta love the title: Becoming Me: Living a Life of Surrender — The Triumphs and Struggles of a Young Christian.  Sometimes the fresh take of a young believer can give us a perspective we might otherwise miss.  She calls herself Kicking and Singing (!) and titled this post Lesson 114.

I’m really happy to be back and I’m honored that you take time to read my blog. I don’t even know where to begin… I’ve learned so many lessons…here’s what’s on my heart at the moment:

A good friend told me that studying won’t speed up the process, because it’s all in God’s time. I knew that, but it didn’t stop me from trying! I have dreams, big dreams. My dream is to become the woman God created me to be. I want every gift and power released and manifested in my life and I want the generations that follow to be blessed beyond measure.

That’s fine. The issue is when a pure passion becomes perverted. Perversion occurs every time I try to do it myself. Don’t judge, most of the time, I don’t even realize when I’m stepping into Daddy’s (God’s) boots.

Like a child, I only know that I admire Him and I want to be just like Him when I grow up…that’s why I keep asking him, “When am I going to grow up?” I know I’m making progress and that’s great, but when I read the Bible and see glimpses of who He created me to be, I get excited and say, “I want to be her!..now.” Well, that time hasn’t come, so I tried to transform myself, then God justly disciplined me publicly….I got the message that time.

So prayerfully, I’m going to slow down and stop trying to read 6 books at a time. I’m going to love and accept myself for who I am and where I am right now, flaws and all. Why not? Jesus does.

I’m learning that this journey is not about perfection, it’s about the finished product.  So don’t be so hard on yourself, if we could perfect ourselves, we wouldn’t need Jesus.  And don’t try to fix yourself, it won’t work.

Let your mind be renewed, cast out pride, seek humility…

Humility=Awareness, Acceptance and Appreciation of one’s own true worth and value, ability to transfer glory, ability to control knowledge and power even though you know its yours to exercise. (From: Mrs.Green)

He’s the Master Potter: Be Clay
Thank God: He’s Not Finished With Me Yet

Check out Kicking-and-Singing at Becoming Me