Reset Your Faith
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· 2 viewsEnsure your faith and trust in God is rooted in truth and maintained in all aspects of life.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Without faith it is impossible to please God, but not all faith pleases God.16
A. W. Tozer
Do not rejoice in earthly reality, rejoice in Christ, rejoice in his word, rejoice in his law … There will be peace and tranquillity in the Christian heart; but only as long as our faith is watchful; if, however, our faith sleeps, we are in danger.
Augustine of Hippo
Today I want us to look at the condition of our faith.
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
What is faith?
πιστεύωb; πίστιςb, εως f: to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust…’
Transition
I want to suggest to you that an important exercise in our spiritual lives to look at the quality and condition of our faith.
Illustration: Jesus walks on the water (Matthew 14:22-33).
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
We are going to look at three problems as it relates to the quality and functionality of our faith.
First Problem: Counterfeit Faith
A counterfeit faith is a trust in self or the world—a faith that is more centered on yourself rather than God.
Biblical Illustration: (Acts 8:18)
Simon—who had previously practiced magic—believes and is baptized.
Simon sees people experiencing the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter’s Response: “Your heart is not right before God.”
Example for today: Chasing after religion, rituals, and teachings that are not of God.
Reset your faith by rejecting anything that is false.
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
Test your faith through the study and application of God’s Word.
Test your faith through prayer.
Test your faith through obedience.
Examine and Test Your Faith.
Examine and Test Your Faith.
Second Problem: Halfhearted Faith
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Halfhearted faith is a faith that is half in and half out.
It is a faith that believes in God (to a point), but also embraces the beliefs of the world.
Halfhearted faith is a faith that deceives—thinking that you are righteous and filled with power—but you are empty, confused, and unsettled (with God).
Reset your faith by trusting in Christ alone.
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
You need to abandon the old way of life—and live your live in the reality of Jesus Christ.
Anchor your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anchor your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Third Problem: Discouraged Faith
Illustration: Elijah (1 Kings 19) wanted to die.
Discouraged faith is alone
Discouraged faith is tired
Discouraged faith is frustrated
Reset your faith through praise and worship.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Live by Your faith through the Authority, Power, and Promises of God.
Live by Your faith through the Authority, Power, and Promises of God.
God is God—and He is in control—and our faith is in Him alone (not our circumstance, not our frustration in the world, not our frustration with others).
Conclusion
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”