Church Leadership- Know Your Spiritual Flow

We have all heard the phrase, “Garbage in, garbage out”, most of the time referring to what we either put into our mind or put into our body.  It was a phrase repeated to me numerous times as a kid to get me to think about what I was listening to and what I was watching. It has to do with flow, the progression of how thoughts, faith, ideas, emotions, and wisdom move through us.

I recently experienced an interesting, but expensive, illustration of this truth. We were having some plumbing problems in our house, popping in the lines, sudden dripping in some faucets, so we called our local, friendly, and did I mention expensive, plumber. He walked in the house and took a quick listen to what our aliments were and immediately said, “I know what your problem is…”.

“OK”

“It’s your PRV valve, where is your main water cut off in the house?’

“Wait, a what valve?”

“PRV”

“You got me, what is PRV?… and is it expensive?”

“It is your pressure reducing valve”

“You got me again, what is a pressure reducing valve?… and is it expensive?”

“The PRV regulates the water pressure coming in from the street, it really shouldn’t be higher than 70-75psi. Yours is probably too high, it is why you are having these sudden leaks, there is too much pressure pushing against the faucets and hoses.”

“Oh, Ok… and is it expensive?”

“Yes”

The problem I was having with the “outflow” in my faucets was that my “inflow” was too strong… and after the repair, I needed more “inflow” into my bank account because my “outflow” was more than I expected!

The spiritual flow in a church is similar. As church leaders, as shepherds and servants in our congregations, we need to be aware of the “flows”.  In the beginning the Bible says that the Spirit was “hovering over the face of the deep”. That imagery is powerful, the awesome Spirit of God not sitting or relaxing, but hovering, waiting to move in power at the Word of the Father.  The flow begins as the Father says, “let there be light”, now there is movement, an outflow of power and might and wisdom as the universe comes into being.  Flow can be a powerful thing, sometimes it is gentle like a creek, sometimes it is powerful like the images we have seen from the Japanese tsunami. We can feel flow, we can hear flow, we can see flow, because we as people can sense movements, even slight ones. You could call spiritual flow the feel of a church- energized, tired, worn out, a servant’s heart, stagnated, lethargic… all describe an issue with spiritual flow.

Spiritual flow however has more to do with the idea of discipleship than anything else.  It is opening ourselves up to allow God to pour into our spirit and our mind and then allowing that flow to go through us to others. In a church setting sometimes we can get really tangled up with how to understand if God is working in our midst, are we making an impact?, are we making progress?… lots of questions that can be hard to discern. Grabbing a hold of the idea of flow can help us understand the nature of what is happening spiritually.

Here are several truths about spiritual flow that we need to get:

1) Flow is movement- there is no more simple truth than that, you cannot have flow without movement (verb- to move along in a stream, to circulate, to proceed continuously and smoothly)

2) Flow has to have a force- there is no movement, no spiritual flow without a force acting upon our Spirit.  Newton’s first law of motion tells us a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless it is acted upon by an outside force. To create flow, we need a flow creator, a force to put our Spirit in motion. God is the flow creator!

3) Flow has to be nurtured- flow cannot remain constant without action to keep it going. Spiritual flow runs into all kinds of obstacles that seek to block it and slow it down. Sin, circumstances, the world, pain, suffering, disappointments, conflict, and many other things seek to block spiritual flow.  You have probably encountered many of these kinds of things. Sometimes we call them joy killers, faith stealers, but the idea is that they are obstacles to God having full access to work through us. Because we inevitably run into these things, the spiritual flow in our lives and in the life of our church needs to be nurtured.  Hebrews 11 tells us that faith has to be nurtured,

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Despite all circumstances we must believe that God is, He still exists, is there even when we don’t necessarily see Him and that He is still in the blessing and working business by rewarding those who diligently seek Him.  In Transformational Church, the writers share about our bent toward allowing life or circumstances to make us think otherwise:

“But sometimes the tendency is to focus so much on the negative that we essentially  act as if God no longer exists” (Transformational Church, p. 21)

4) Flow is fluid- spiritual life is not mapped out in blocks, it cannot be programmed or timed nor is it stiff and rigid. Like a river, spiritual flow has to rise, fall, turn, move, go over and around things. Spiritual flow changes and moves to fit the place it is given. Like liquid takes the shape of the vessel it is put in, so we to have to make a proper place for spiritual flow in our life.  Romans 12 tells us that if we are not to be like the world, but to allow ourselves to be open to God changing us into the image of Christ, the flow of the Spirit changing us as it moves through us.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

5) Flow can be stopped- God intends for the flow to continue, our lives are to be more like rivers of spiritual life, yet often they more imitate reservoirs. A reservoir is a place where flow stops, is backed up and is not allowed to move at its’ own pace. Reservoirs are tightly controlled places and flow can’t happen in tightly controlled places. Flow can be stopped by unbelief, rebellion, a lack of following, a hard heart, a stubborn selfishness, or too tight a control on our spiritual life, an unwillingness to allow God to change us, a fear of growth into the unknown….any way in which we purposefully resist God’s work in us.

6) Flow is meant to be a blessing- Early civilizations understood that the flow of water was a life-giving place. Early societies and towns often popped up next to rivers, canals, coastlines. These were places that allowed them fresh drinking water, a way of movement, abundant sources of food. Spiritual flow is like that- it is meant to be life-giving as God works through us.

Let’s take a look at inflow in our spiritual lives and the life of the church. We could haggle about the order of which is most important, but the important part of inflow is that these things are moving into our lives.

Inflow:

1) Worship-  Some would say that worship is outflow, something that pours out of us toward God, and I would absolutely agree. In fact there are several things that work in cycle. But in the life of the church, the community of believers, there is not much else that pumps Spiritual life and excitement into the body like worship.  Think about the meaning of corporate worship versus private worship. In corporate worship there is a joining of voices, hearts, focus and intent. What flows in as people encounter the pleasure of God at His people worshiping Him is affirmation, joy, encouragement and hope. The connection to God in worship give us a reminder that God is real, alive and well, worthy of our worship. Our private worship, those times of loving God that come in our private times are more intensely personal, but the result is the same- we are open to God, with our hearts focused on God allowing Him to shine brightly into our hearts. But corporate worship adds one key element, the secure feeling of being among those who are like-minded, believing and verbally and visibly showing their faith through worship. There is that extra bit of encouragement that comes by being together with others who are loving God as well.  It is the “cord of three strands” concept from Ecclesiastes. Look at passage below and think about how it applies to corporate worship…

9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

The spiritual inflow of worship stops when we believe that corporate worship is meant for our pleasure or entertainment rather than connection with God.  It is hard for the Spirit of God to flow when our heart is focused on self rather than on the object of worship which is God. He alone is worthy of worship and when we give Him the honor that is due His name, we bless Him.

2 Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4 All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” … 8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard     Psalm 66

God flows through that kind of praise. If your corporate or private worship is anything other than an offering to God, then it can be seen as nothing more than a self-help exercise to make yourself happy. Those may seem like harsh words, but God will not share His honor, or His worship, with anyone else. As church leaders, how are we presenting the discipline of worship to people… as a meeting, as entertainment, or as a sacrifice, an offering that is given to the Lord?  How are we helping people to get outside of themselves to focus on God rather than on self? How are we challenging people to slow down and take the time to, in a heart-felt way, truly honor and bless the Lord?

2) Prayer- again to some this may seem like something that we dish out, but prayer in its’ most basic form is connection with God.  Jesus Christ gives us bold and confident access to the Father, He intercedes for us and that connection brings life into us… at least it should. Prayer is the place that we can bear our souls, not to complain or gripe about our life, but so that we can truly encounter God, be honest with God and allow Him to bring us help, healing, guidance and hope. That kind of inflow energizes a believer, it fills them with the good things of God, no  matter what their circumstances are on the outside.

Prayer becomes ineffective when it is dialog, us talking to God, but not listening for Him to speak to us.  Really, you can no longer classify it as prayer, since the essence of prayer of the desire to connect with God through the sacrifice of Christ. If we don’t allow God to talk  we cut ourselves off from everything that is good in prayer. Yes we may be able to get things off our chest for a moment, but nothing ever departs because we don’t allow God to replace it with any of His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing…. And unfortunately this is the case all too often. Lots of talking, but no inflow in prayer. Make sure that prayer, whether personal or corporate takes time for inflow, intentionally taking time to listen and hear God. That is healthy spiritual inflow.

3) Bible study-There are times I believe that we have so overemphasized Bible study that we have made it the “first and greatest commandment”.  Bible study is both driven by and has the goal of loving God. We love God and want to discover more about who He is, how He works and how we are to live through His Spirit. It also has the goal of making us more like Christ, and more pleasing to Him, and as we learn more, falling deeper in love with God. That is the flow of Bible study, more than just learning facts, words and concepts. When we open our Bible we open ourselves to experience an inflow of truth, of righteousness, of conviction, of challenge, of hope and promise.

What inhibits spiritual inflow in Bible study is what I call dry knowledge. I have met many people over the years that are full of Bible knowledge, but very little of Jesus. They have a knowledge of Bible words, can tell you the order of the kings of the Southern Kingdom, but display no fruit of the Spirit. As leaders if we encourage people to study the Bible, we also have to share with them the goal of Bible study. As people we will naturally default to the easiest way to satisfy a standard or goal, left to our own devices, we believe the goal of Bible study is knowledge rather than life change. For many that is what we have set as the bar, “know your Bible”. But knowing our Bible does us little good unless we see and take the next step of allowing truth to flow into our lives and shape our heart into the image of Christ.

4) Fellowship- Spiritual inflow occurs as we live our Christianity out in community.  Many people see their Christianity as private, but it is meant to be anything but private, personal yes, but private no. The Bible is full of references to the corporate nature of our faith. Acts tells us that the church worshiped together, shared together, ate together, and generally supported one another, prayed for one another and ministered to one another. Inflow comes as we allow others to be an important part of our spiritual lives. God has equipped the body with a “diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit” (I Cor 12:4).  These differing gifts are meant to be a blessing to all, a way for each of us to minister to others, and when we allow others to use their gifts to bless us and help us, there is an inflow of the Spirit.

There are no self-sufficient Christians, and the belief that we don’t need others is a sign of pride. The Scriptures tell us that “God resists the proud” (James 4:6), that is another way of saying that there is no spiritual inflow for the proud!  As leaders are we encouraging the practice of fellowship, the use of spiritual gifts or are we promoting only an individualistic form of Christianity where everything is about being blessed, being fulfilled and going to heaven?  Here is another thought that constantly challenges me, as leaders are we modeling the need for others or are we trying to be completely self-sufficient?  Do you ever confess your need for others in the body of Christ?  Do you ever learn from other people in the church? Do you acknowledge the gifts of others?

If we desire our churches to have a great outflow in ministry and outreach, we have to monitor and promote the inflow into the life of the body. I love Jesus’ words in John 7 that speak to flow…

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing  in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

There is an expectation that believers will have a great outflow, a river of living water pouring out of each believer. The Spirit overflowing and not just spilling out of our life, but flowing, moving like a river. What a beautiful picture of the life-giving Spirit flowing out of us and into others, blessing them with all the awesome things that God can accomplish in their lives. But we have to nurture the inflow, the filling of the Spirit into our lives. I pray for Jesus’ words to be fulfilled in every believer, every person with the Spirit flowing out of their heart, blessing this world with the presence and power of Jesus Christ.

How Do I Study the Bible?

God’s Word

The Holy Bible

It can sound intimidating– studying the Bible, knowing God’s Word. It can sound like you need to have an extra special education, be a monk or speak in several languages… or maybe even know the secret handshake to figure this out.  As a pastor I have heard many people talk about their lack of understanding of the Bible, their confusion about how to study it or understand it.

Many people are intimidated when it comes to reading the Bible. They hear pastors and teachers teach, and think “how could they know all that stuff”.  There are terms that we don’t use in our everyday language today- propitiation, sanctification, not to mention all the -ology’s (soteriology, ecclesiology, etc).  Then there are places that seem strange and hard to place- Where is Bethel?  Where is Elam on a map?  How about all those strange nations and people who are mentioned- Philistines, Hittites, Edomites… and all the other -ites.   To many, understanding the Bible is like a foreign language, trying to understand something from another world… and in some ways it is.

The Bible is a spiritual book, authored by and understood by the Holy Spirit.  For some that is not helpful because they are unsure about the Holy Spirit, but hang with me.

The Holy Bible (Bible is a french word for book) is a book about God’s character, His actions and His expectations for man. Yes there is a lot that is foreign to us in our modern, particularly American, culture. But the encouraging thing here is that the intent of the Bible, the reason we read it and study it is not to know who the Hittites were or what propitiation means… it is to know the God the Bible talks about.

Jesus looked at the religious leaders of His day and told them that they had missed the entire purpose for God’s Word…

John 5  39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

The Scriptures were really about Him, not the words on the page, not the people, places or things in the Word of God.  Not that those things are not important, just that they are not the primary purpose.  The same is true for us today, we have to approach the Bible, not for the sake of knowing the Bible as a book, but so that we can get to know God.  So don’t allow all the things you don’t know or don’t understand keep you from opening and reading your Bible, come to it with the intent that you are here, with Bible open, so that you can get to know God better, understand the teachings of God better so you can follow Him closer.

So now that we have got the Bible open, what’s next?

Over the years I have answered a lot of questions about Bible study, a lot of questions that people were really kind of afraid to ask, after all, aren’t Christians and church people supposed to know how to study the Bible?  So, while to some of you this may seem simplistic, here are some answers to common questions about Bible study…

1) How much am I supposed to read at a time?

I have heard a lot of answers to this question- a chapter a day, whatever is in the devotional you are using, etc..  Well, let’s go back to the purpose for Bible study- to get to know God.  Read until you come across something that teaches you something interesting, profound, challenging or encouraging about God. That may be a few verses, a chapter or two or three chapters. There is no contest to see how much of the Bible you read, the important (read vital) part of reading the Bible is to draw closer to God, to fall more in love with God.

God is concerned not with volume but quality. He wants you to get to know Him through His Word, and He delights in teaching us who He is. Read these verses below and make this your approach to reading the Bible…

Psalm 119  12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

Psalm 25  4 Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

So each time you pick up the Bible to read, read until God speaks to you, are drawn to a phrase or verse or story, and spend some time reading it over a few times, letting the words sink into your mind and heart. If you feel like you only read a few verses, remind yourself of the purpose- I am here to get to know God, and He spoke to me. If you feel like to had to read a lot to get something, remind yourself of the purpose- I am not here to read a little or a lot of the Bible, I am here to get to know God.   And spend a few moments thanking God for teaching you about Himself.

2) How do I understand what it says, so much of this seems hard to get?

First of all, you’re right, the Bible can be hard to understand and apply to our lives. The Bible is a spiritual book, written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit…

2 Peter 1  20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

So we are dealing with the supernatural acts, thoughts and character of God. God spoke to the prophet Isaiah and told him that man’s ways were not naturally our ways…

Isaiah 55  8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

This seems like an impossible barrier to overcome. It would be like someone like me being told to read a nuclear physics book and understand it. Their ways are not mine, I don’t know how it works, how to define their terms or even how a clue as to how a nuclear reaction really works. What I would need is a teacher… and so God provides the perfect teacher for us to understand His ways.

Our teacher is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God who comes to live in every believer. And yes, the same Holy Spirit that inspired the men who wrote the Bible. Nothing like the author of the book being your teacher of the book.

John 14  26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

So how do we understand what the Bible says?  We listen to our teacher. The Holy Spirit can reveal the meaning of things to us, as we need them, as we need to hear and know them. He does not give us instant understanding of everything in the Bible. Like a good teacher he shows us what is next, what we need, what we can bear, what we can grasp.  Read the passage below and realize that you will never know God’s things by just being able to understand, you have to be taught by the only one who really knows, the Holy Spirit…

1 Corinthians 2   9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy  Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

So when you read the Bible, first get ready to get to know God, not just the words on the page, and second pray and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what you are going to read.  Now the Spirit may also use a Sunday School teacher or a pastor or another Christian to help you understand a passage or a word, so here is part of my “best advice” for understanding the Bible- ask questions, lots and lots of questions.

When I first came to know Christ, I had very little Bible knowledge. I didn’t know the difference between Galatians and Genesis, between Joshua and Joseph, between… well, you get the idea.  I did however attend a Sunday School class and our Bible Study on Wednesday night, and before, during and after, I would pepper my teachers with questions. Not because I was obnoxious, which I am sure in some ways I was, but because I wanted to know.  And they were great in helping me to understand.  If you have questions, find someone you can ask them of- a pastor, a Bible Study teacher or if you wish email me (pluslife.ministry@gmail.com) and I will be glad to help you.  But please ask. The Holy Spirit has given many in people in the Body wisdom and understanding and they would be glad to help.

3) But there is so much I don’t understand, it seems frustrating?

Without being sarcastic, welcome to the club!  Because the Bible is a spiritual book, written by God, there is not a person on this planet who can explain everything in it in perfect form and know everything about God. God is too big to be outlined, flow-charted, cliffs noted, and put into your pocket.  Everyone who reads the Bible struggles with understanding what it says, what it means, how to put what they read into practice. Don’t be intimidated by people who seem to know a lot about the Bible, no one just knows this stuff or is just smart at it. Everyone, whether they have a college education or a fifth-grade education, has to learn through the Holy Spirit teaching them. No one has a leg up on knowing the Bible, everyone is dependent on the Holy Spirit to give them understanding.

The point is not what you don’t know, the point is to gain something you need to know.  Too many people look at the Bible like another subject. I want to learn math so I read, do problems and there you go… I know algebra.  Christianity and living the Christian life is not like that.  The depth of what you can know and learn is infinite, because it is not the 66 books of the Bible you are seeking to know, it is God Himself, and He is God without end, infinite in love, power, forgiveness, hope, grace and mercy.  We have a hard time picturing the infinite in our mind.  What is something like that has no end?  That is what it is like to try to know God, there is never an end to His greatness.

So don’t concern yourself with your lack of knowledge or understanding of a certain part of the Bible.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, is constantly in a learning process when it comes to studying the Bible (any of you who would like to give encouragement to others about this leave a comment on the bottom).  Just engage yourself in the process and read your Bible, what you don’t understand, let it be OK. There is more than enough to learn and know, you will get around to the rest. Listen to the Spirit and learn what you can this day.

4) Where do I start?

If you are just starting to read the Bible, I would suggest you start with one of the first 4 books of the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are what is called the Gospels. These are the books about the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. John can be a little easier or Luke. but these are usually a good place to start reading.

5) What version of the Bible should I read?

A loaded question for sure. There is some controversy in the church today about Bible versions, not as much as there used to be, but still some people like some versions better than others. This answer is not a ringing endorsement of any particular version just a short thought on some of the more popular versions-

King James- traditional version used in the church for many years. Written in Olde English- thee, thou, knowest, etc. If you find this lyrical and have a high reading level, you might find this enjoyable.

New King James- basically the same as the King James with all of the Olde English removed. This is the Bible version that I normally preach from. Very readable and understandable.

New International Version- written in modern English and the most popular version on the market

New Living Translation- this is a version where all of the more difficult words and concepts are broken down into easy to understand English.

If you would like to compare versions, my suggestion would be to go to http://www.biblestudytools.com and read a passage in the several different versions that they have online.

6) Should I have a reading system or a devotional to use?

If you find this helpful to keep you reading on a regular basis, by all means use one.  Here is one caution however, remember the point is for you to get to know God and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you each time you open the Bible. Reading a short scripture and a devotional thought does not mean that God has spoken to you. If you read your passage and devotion and are unmoved, and the Spirit is silent, keep reading or pick another book or chapter to read as well. Don’t stop just because that is what the devotional said to read for today.

7)  Are there some other books that would be helpful to me in studying the Bible?

There are a few things that would be helpful. First, a good study Bible would be helpful. This is a Bible that has cross-references so you can see other passages in the Bible that deal with the same subject you are reading about, it also has study notes at the bottom of the page to help you understand.  There are a few ones that I recommend…

The Life Application Study Bible- good study Bible with notes on how to apply what you read

Quest Study Bible- good for the first time Bible reader

NIV Study Bible- solid study Bible with lots of cross references and notes

Experiencing God Study Bible- great Bible that helps you connect with God (out-of-print but you can find them on Amazon or other used book sites)

Secondly, and these are just suggestions: Manners and customs of the Bible (typical reference book that helps you to understand time period places, people and things), Strong’s Concordance (look up words and where they are used in the Bible), Bible Dictionary.  All of these references can be found in Bible study software that I would strongly encourage you can purchase.  Check here for different versions and prices on the software.

I would like to end our blog with a prayer for you as you look to get more out of your Bible reading or would like to start…

Our Heavenly Father you are a great God, a God worth knowing and knowing better each day. Help us as we open your Word, your Word that you have left us to bring us and you closer together. Lord there is much that we do not know and much that we do not understand, please fill us with your Holy Spirit, our teacher and guide, so that we can be excited, uplifted, challenged, corrected and encouraged by what we learn each day.

Blessings on you as the Bible in your house gets opened more and the pages of it become more of a friend to you.  We will do more on How to Study the Bible in a later post.

The Faith Equation

The Faith Equation

I have always wondered exactly how God measured faith.  The Bible says that God has given to each one a measure of faith. Jesus said that people had “great” faith and “little” faith.

We think about great and little… in terms of money, status (the little people), height, talent (she has great ability), etc.  The idea is that some have more than others  or can do more than others.

What about faith?  Faith seems so hard to measure or the understand. It seems mystical and hard to grasp. But Jesus  measured it, quantified it, so there must be some way to understand how we are doing with our faith.

Now the title of the blog is “The Faith Equation”, but I am no mathematician. In fact I believe part of the reason I went to seminary was that I only had to be able to count to three: Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  That is about the extent of my math prowess.

The purpose of this is to sort through some of my own thoughts about faith because it seems that so many, including me, struggle with understanding their own “level” of faith.  As a pastor I have heard numerous times, in numerous forms, this idea. People are unsure if they can take on a position of responsibility because they don’t feel “right” about their walk with God. People feel overwhelmed by their problems because they struggle to feel like they have “enough” faith to have a proper walk with God.  People feel small and insignificant because they feel as though they don’t “measure up” to others in the church who make the Christian life look easy and fun.

First let’s get this out of the way- there is not a single Christian that goes through life without struggles in this area, searching out God for help, feeling like life is too big for them, dealing with painful experiences… and wondering about their faith. If anyone tells you that they have never doubted, never questioned, never felt inadequate, then I am wondering if they are really trying to live their Christian life at all.

To understand our level of faith we first have to understand that faith, the trust that God is who He says He is and can do the things He says He can do, is something that ebbs and flows, rises and falls, and must be worked on to be maintained. Just like in any relationship, as we go through issues, situations, circumstances, there can be conflict, questions, frustrations, and so it is with us and our Heavenly Father.  Faith however, is the ability, throughout life, to maintain a relationship with God and continue to love and believe God.

Faith can be hard, mainly because it is impossible for it to be easy!   Why?  Because our heart cannot conceive of God’s ways on its’ own. Our wisdom cannot understand God by itself. We don’t have the capacity to grasp God, and flow chart His character, sound bite His ways and cliff notes His works.  By ourselves we struggle to “get” God. God says…

Isaiah 55 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Faith requires us to get outside of ourselves and look beyond just what we can think or believe. In talking with people about forgiveness I have heard, “but you don’t know what I have done, how can God forgive me?”.  Their struggle is in believing the depths of God’s forgiveness, the incredible abundance of God’s mercy.

Psalm 40  5 Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.

God is simply bigger, greater, deeper and higher that we can understand on our own. That is where faith comes in.

God says He is holy, morally perfect and without sin or fault. Now we have never seen anyone like this. Our mothers and fathers may be good, really good, but not perfect. We have known people who thought they were always right, but we know that they are not. So, in order to believe in a God who is perfect, it takes us outside of our experience. Do we believe in a God who is perfect, even though we have never seen any perfect person?

God says that He is all-powerful. We have seen powerful people come and go on this earth. We have seen powerful nations that were powerless to stop bad things from happening.  Powerful, wealthy people have ended up broke and jobless. How can we grasp a God who is all-powerful, able to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants?

Faith is the belief that God is who He says He is and can do the things He says He can do.

I believe that God is Holy, not because I have such great experience with being Holy nor because I have been around so many people who were morally perfect, but because I trust that God is who He says He is. God has a track record of demonstrating His holiness and holding people accountable to His high standards.

I believe that God is all-powerful, not just because I can conceive of having the power to do as I wish. Even my childhood hero Superman was not all-powerful, kryptonite was his undoing. But God proclaimed that He is the almighty, that nothing is too hard for Him. God has restrained His power at times, and He has used it when no one thought He would work, created miracles out of disaster and generally has shown that He has the power to do as He pleases, when He pleases. Do I fully understand God’s power?  No. Do I get the full picture of all that God could do?  No. But I believe that God is who He says He is, the Almighty God.

So the first part of our faith equation is that we believe that God is who He says He is and that He can do all that He says He can do.

The second part of the equation involves my actions and decisions. Am I basing my decisions and actions on the character of God or upon my own circumstances or understanding?

In order for us to have “great” faith, our decisions and actions must be based on our belief in who God is and what He can do.  The gospels give us an example of this

Matt 8   5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!… 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

The Centurion based his actions on what he believed about Jesus. He believed that Jesus had the power to simply speak a word, without being at his house, and the servant would be healed. So his request reflected that belief. He was confident is his request, understanding Jesus’ authority to do great things. His belief in who Jesus was and what Jesus could do, drove his actions.  Jesus described this as great faith.

Take this into our world today. When we have a decision to make, a situation that needs God’s attention, are we like the Centurion, believing that God can do as He pleases or…  are we, and I am not trying to be nice here, whiny, begging, needy, whimpering at the slightest inconvenience. Does trouble or pain cause us to believe that God has left us, forsaken us in our time of need?  Does difficulty cause us to doubt God’s goodness and love or His power to do anything about our situation?

Shortly after Jesus proclaimed the great faith of the Centurion, we see the opposite end of the spectrum with His own disciples…

Matt 8   23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Look at the difference in the disciples reaction and the Centurion’s.  The Centurion was confident, believing that the situation could be changed. The disciples were in fear, knowing that the worst was about to happen, then surprised when Jesus did something about it. Their fear, their unbelief, their surprise that God was able, was described as “little faith”.  They did not base their actions on God’s power or God’s ability, but upon their own circumstances, maybe upon their own past experiences as fishermen. Before you begin to excuse them as just being in a panic, in a tight spot, this was Jesus’ assessment of their faith. He has judged that they lacked faith. If we only discern the level of our faith in easy situations, then we all would probably have great faith, the problem is little of life is left to easy situations.

If we have great faith, then we live in expectation of what God can do, we look for it, long for it and pray believing it. If we have little faith, then we live from moment to moment based on our opinions, our experiences, our past, our pessimism and fail to take into account what God can do and could do at any moment.  The Centurion believed what Jesus could do, even though I am sure he had never seen anyone healed that way. The disciples didn’t believe probably because they had heard of a lot of people drowning at sea in storms.

When we look at the things we are going through, we will have times of doubt, of wonderment, of frustration, but our attention has to return to God, to His ability to handle a situation, to His unending love for us and care for us.  Great faith is more than just believing something about God, it overlaying that knowledge on top of our life and basing our decisions and actions upon that belief.  Life if full of decisions, large and small, it is full of actions and interactions with people. How we live these things out– in fear or in faith, in distress or in confidence– measures our faith.

For those who struggle with faith, to believe that you can or to believe that things will change, turn your attention God-ward.  Look at the example of the Centurion, and express your belief in what God can do.  Maybe you have never seen a situation like yours turn around or be solved, but God is the specialist in the “never before seen”.  That is the essence of faith, believing in what has not been seen (see Hebrews 11:1). That is not crazy, it is not mere wishful thinking, it is the expectation that God has for our faith.

While we struggle with “little faith” at times, let us aspire to “great faith” believing in a great God.