Biblical
Faith: a new dimension
Session 26
Recap
·
It
is impossible to please God without it
·
It
is the only way to tap in to the grace of God
·
It
is the way to know God, as against knowing about Him
Defined in 4 ways: The historical faith, saving faith, the
gift of faith and ‘childlike’ or ‘daring’ faith.
Jesus said (Luke 17:2);
if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you will move mountains.
Today, we’re looking at:
Faith: how do we get it?
Faith: what stops it?
1. Faith: how do we get it?
Heb 11 reveals to us that faith comes through the word of
God. Examples of Noah (Gen 6:9-14 and 22), and Abraham (various texts). Look at
James
M.O.T 92 - Do we understand that to ‘get’ faith we need to engage with
the word of God.
2. Faith: what stops it?
a)
Discontent
Rooted in bitterness, discontent is an enemy of faith (see Num 11:1)
M.O.T 93 - Are we complainers or do we think the best of one another?
b)
Pride
Thinking of yourself in an over-elevated way. Such a person
was King Saul. Compare with Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.
M.O.T 94 -Pray for God to highlight any
wrongful pride in our lives, and then repent of it.
c)
Unbelief
I want to differentiate between unbelief which is always
destructive, and doubt, which can sometimes be constructive.
M.O.T 95 - Try the Rom 8:1 test on yourself
M.O.T 96 - Have we moved beyond the cycle of
unbelief to a place of release and promise and faith?
Final thoughts on doubt (or risky curiosity)
In the Narnia Chronicles, Aslan the Christ figure was known
as the ‘not so tame one’. Have we tamed Jesus and made him predictable? Look
again at dialogue between Jesus and Thomas (John
M.O.T 97 - Discover and nurture ‘risky curiosity’.