If you watched Andy Stanley's first video we learned and saw a good foundation for our faith. The big thing I hope you took away is that our faith needs to be constant, not based on experiences or life's circumstances. Our second lesson dives into a fundamental concept that we as Christians need to wholeheartedly live out in all areas of our lives: our faith is a sure thing. Stanley's teaching dives into the popular ideas and notions of what people think about faith and how it shapes and affects their lives.
1) Faith is a sure thing. Stanley gives great real life examples of ways we misuse the term faith. Faith has been a term as Stanley points that people confuse with hope. Examples being let's have faith he'll come through. Our team might win the game if we have faith in them, and the list can go on and on. The encouragement he uses is to substitute the word hope into the above sentences. The Steelers hopefully will beat the Ravens. Let's hope she'll come home. We are hopeful they can turn things around, etc.
The difference is that faith is a guarantee and hope is more of a good chance. Stanley encourages you to bet on hope and to be hopeful in many areas of joy and struggle in your life. But, the conclusion is that faith is and will always be certain.
2) Faith is certain because of who it is in. The Apostle Paul reminds in Romans 8:31-39 that nothing that could ever happen to us on this earth could ever separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. The biggest challenge many people struggle with in their faith is that they forget they've placed their faith in a living God who loves them even more then they could ever ask for or dream of.
One of the challenges I encourage you to partake is to begin being very open and honest with God about your feelings, your hopes, your dreams, and expectations. God's pretty tough so he can handle some difficult things you may be going through. But, I also urge you to explore why you're feeling the way you are. The biggest mistake you can make is to allow negative feelings and doubt in your heart without working through them. Turn to the word of God and allow the wisdom of scripture to illumine your heart and mind. Ask questions of those around you, learn from their stories, and tell your story to help others understand and work through their feelings. Go with the confidence and knowledge that God is sufficient, and God is enough.
3) Joy is one of the biggest by-products of faith. Stanley was very clear in the message that your faith doesn't grow during your journey, but what your faith does do is produce spiritual fruit. There are many spiritual fruits that will be made manifested in your spiritual life. One of the biggest fruits that will be noticed and admired by others will be joy. Nehemiah reminds in Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord will be our strength. So, I want to leave you with this question is the joy of following and being in a relationship permeating from your being? When was the last time you've laughed? Complimented someone out of the blue? Or even smiled?
Your faith in a loving, living God will produce much joy in all areas of your life. People will notice that your life is changing for the better all the time. Step out in faith each and every day of your life with the certainty that God goes with you, God knows you, and your future in Jesus Christ is set. Your joy and happiness will overflow in all areas of your life, and you will be an inspiration as you continue to live out your life with joyfulness during its painful moments. Bet on faith. Not because of how spiritual you are, how many books or Bible studies you've attended, but because of who your faith is placed in.
Feel free to think about and discuss areas where your faith has produced great spiritual fruit how has that made you feel and what did that look like?
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