How to Grow in Faith
What we get out of life is determined by our choices.
Illustration: Sometimes fear of punishment motivates better than anything else. One mother decided she would put the fear of a speeding ticket in the speeding drivers going past a local elementary school. Every morning she would park her car in front of the elementary school and point her black hair dryer - shaped like a radar gun, out of the window at speeding cars. The effect was dramatic as drivers slowed down fearing they might receive a speeding ticket. Fear the Lord you His saints, for to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions lack and suffer hunger but they who seek the Lord will lack no good thing.
In 2 Pet 1:3-8 we are told Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who calls us by His own glory and excellence for by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises in order that we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped corruption that is in the world by lust.
We can either appropriate His promises by faith and become more like Christ or allow ourselves to experience a life of frustration with self-destructive choices.
How can we choose to grow in faith instead of being overcome by frustrations?
Faith comes from greek work that means (1) a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation or truth, e.g., 2 Thess. 2:11,12; (2) a personal surrender to Him, John 1:12; (3) a conduct inspired by such surrender, 2 Cor. 5:7.
Faith is the confident persuasion that God will do what He says He will do and acting on that conviction
Faith is the evidence of things not seen the assurance of things hope for.
Why do so many Christians fail to consistently make wise choices that allow them to grow up in all aspects into Christ? Why do so many believers struggle with sadness, fear and overcoming their difficulties. When a warning light appears on our dashboard we take it to a mechanic to diagnose the problem and have it repaired before something worse happens to the engine. But many people drive on in life ignoring the warnings that God gives them through His Spirit without making the proper adjustments. Paul said, “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (We need to cooperate with other members of the body of Christ to experience the fullness of Christ and greater maturity in our faith. Do not try to mature in isolation of members of the body of Christ – your faith development will be incomplete) Speaking the truth in love let us grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head even Christ so that
"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was good as dead. Yet, he did not waver through unbelief regarding God’s promise, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised." (Romans 4:18-21)
Today, Abraham is regarded as the father of faith. When all hope, as a human possibility, failed, Abraham placed his hope in God. Sure, Abraham had some anxious moments, but God did not count these against him. Abraham did not refuse to face reality. He chose to look beyond his difficulties to the Lord and His promises. Let us look at eight stages of maturity in faith and their alternative eight stages of frustration:
Let’s have the kind of faith Jesus challenged us to have. John 14:12-14 – He who believes in Me, the works that I do will He do also and greater works than these will He do because I go to the Father and You can ask anything in my name and I will do it.
8 Stages of Faith - 8 Stages of Frustration
1. Basic Trust - A firm belief in the reliability of God and the truth of His word. Just as a child learns to implicitly trust its mother, so a young Christian relies on the Lord for its spiritual leading, feeding and protection.
A. I Pet 2:2 – As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that they can grow thereby.”
1. Suspicion - A doubt that God or others care about one’s best interests. One who inclined to doubt the genuineness of others’ motives. We live in a post-modern age that is characterized by cynicism and skepticism. Do not give into these tendencies.
A. When we have been hurt it is very easy to give into feelings of fear, anger or doubt.
B. We choose to become bitter or better as a result of every thing that comes into our life.
Great Divide – Rocky Mts. –
2. Confidence - One develops a firm reliance on the certainty of God’s grace, counsel and enabling.
A. I John 4:18 -
2. Fear - One develops a deepening sense of apprehension that perceives people, circumstances and new ideas as threatening.
A. Bear in German Zoo –
B. David wrote, “Psa 34:7 – I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all of my fears.”
3. Innovation - When a person knows one’s value before God they are free to initiate ideas, services and love.
a. 2 Tim. 1:12 – Paul said, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
3. Inhibition - When a person lacks a mature faith he or she tends to shy away from taking any risks. A person who is inhibited resists thinking or acting in new ways.
A. 2 Tim. 1:7 – Paul said to timothy who had a tendency to be shy, withdrawn and rather timid. God has not given us the spirit of timidity or fear, but of power , love and a sound mind or self-discipline.
B.
4. Productivity - The deeper one’s faith, the greater capacity an individual has to generate the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, or self-control.
A. 2 Tim. 3:16,17 – Josh 1:8 – Learn to spend at least 15 minutes in prayer, praise and the reading of God’s word every morning so you can say like David, “Psa 145:18 – Let me hear your lovingkindness in the morning, Make me to know the paths in which I should walk for to you I lift up my soul.”
B. Rom 5:1-5 – Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and not only so but we rejoice in tribulation knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance character and character, hope and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” We can produce fruits that are evidence of the qualitative and quantitative growth of the kingdom and His righteousness in numerous ways.
John Bunyan – Thrown into Jail for 12 years he wrote, Pilgrims Progress – One of the best sellers of all time.
John Wesley – Preached 35,000 sermons on horse back because he did not sense the growth in the confines of the state church of England.
Paul the apostle – choose to write most of his epistles in a dark dungeon chained to a Roman guard
4. Inferiority - When a person fails to show fruit over time, he or she experiences feelings of shame, emptiness or futility. Often times people try to compensate for these inadequate feelings by inventing some reason to justify themselves.
A. 2 Tim. 4:12 – Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but in speech, conduct, love faith and purity, show yourself to be an example to the believers.”
5. Integration - When a person grows one is able to integrate his or her beliefs with truth in the realities around them.
A. James 4:- Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Resist the devil and He will flee from you. Think of Robert Coleman, the director of evangelism at the Billy Graham center in Wheaton, who wrote, Master plan of evangelism. Integrated the principles of Christ’s disciple-making into a book that is now into its 72 edition. Taught the timeless concepts of How Christ SACIIDDRS. Millions have learned how to integrate disciple-making ministries into every aspect of their ministries and relationships
B. Wesley – the founder of the Methodist Church suffered great persecution for holding church services outside of church builders. He knew that when God allows one door to close He always open up a better one. Rev. – He opens doors that no man can close and closes doors that no man can open
5. Confusion - One who fails to grow in faith becomes increasingly frustrated and confused. This failure to integrate his or her faith into reality leads them into further confusion about people, ideas and situations. A distorted perspective leads to dysfunctional actions.
A. John Walker – Lindh – confused Father became gay and mother turned to Buddhism and he searched for an identity and something to believe in.
B. Col. 2:3 – All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.
6. Friendly Intimacy With Others - When a person becomes closer to the Lord they are free to get closer to people. There is no fear in love as it casts out the fear of being misunderstood or hurt.
A. Luke 2:52 – Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and in favor with God and men.
B. Greater faith helps us gain greater love for one another. ( Faith, hope and love – The triad of Christian virtues.) I Cor. 13:4-7
6. Cool Estrangement - These people experience an increasing sense of loneliness and feelings of alienation. Human contacts start to become unsatisfying. Pretensions get erected keep people from hurting one’s feelings.
A. Don’t’ need anyone – isolated Eccl. 4:10 -= Two are better than one for they have a good reward for their labor, but woe to the one who is alone for they have not another to help them up.
7. Creativity - The person who grows in faith is one who brings to birth original ideas. Inventing new programs, services, or activities keeps this person from becoming stale.
A. Eph. 6: - Taking up the shield of faith so you can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
Charles Stanley – Faith is the word for shield as a door – Roman soldiers who bowed down and then let the horses jump over them as well as the arrows from their enemies. and fired on them in their backs as they passed by. Let so many of the darts of criticism disappointment and temptations just by defended by shield or be like Keanu Reeves or Justin Clemente in the Matrix and let the darts pass on by.
7. Static - A person who fails to grow in faith stagnates in the development of his or her mind, attitudes, and actions.
A. 2 Pet. 1:3-8 – Teaches us to constantly be adding to our faith, goodness, and goodness knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, Christian love. For if these are yours and are increasing they render neither useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8. Christ-Likeness - A fully mature person increasingly becomes more like the Lord in thought, speech and action. A great person’s faith allows him or her to see things from God’s point of view.
a. I John 5:4,5 – Faith is the victory that overcomes the world
b. Heb 12;1-3 – Fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.
c. Phil. 3:10 – That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering being conformed to Him even to His death.
8. Regret - A person sinks to a deep level of sorrow, remorse, and distress over the loss of missed opportunities.
A. You do not want to get to the end of your life and regret not having grown in faith. Saddest people are the ones who live for eternity in regret of not having taken advantages of the benefits they were given by God.
B. If you do not get what you want, He may have something better in store for you.
C. 2 Cor. 7:Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. How many people have come up to me and said, “One time I was called to be a missionary but something came up and I regret that I didn’t go. It takes faith to avoid living in eternal regret.
Roger Bannister -
