The Test of Faith Part 3
God’s Way Bible Study
The Test of Faith Part 3
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Part 3
The Problem with Young Faith
There is nothing wrong with young faith, per se. It is the starting point in our walk with God.
Faith like a little child.
Matthew 18:3-5 (NKJV) 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
Mark 10:15 (NKJV) “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
Luke 18:17 (NLT) I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
What we fail to understand is that what Jesus was describing in these verses is how to get started. We are to start as little children. But healthy children grow. If a child is not growing, good parents are concerned. Christ did leave us without provisions for our growth.
Ephesians 4:11-15 (NLT) 11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Most of us grow to the next stage, the adolescent stage. The young stage and adolescent stage are just two steps in entry level faith. They both still require external evidence for the confidence in God.
The problem begins when we fail to grow and remain at that entry-level point, after years of walking with God. We may have grown some, in faith, but we have not grown much in the knowledge of God. Those who remain at young/intermediate faith run the risk of turning back when the going gets tough.
Mature faith keeps us steady, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor for the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Young faith trusts God’s power.
Adolescent faith trusts God’s power and care.
Mature faith trusts God’s power and care but also His character.
When things do not go as expected, young faith throws tantrums, adolescent faith pouts, mature faith trusts God enough to joyfully accept whatever God brings its way.
Whatever, my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Daniel had mature faith. He found himself in Babylon as a captive, due to fault of his own. He did not have any attitude nor did he turn his back on God. He was faithful to the Lord and sought the Lord with all his heart. He believed in God’s faithfulness and trusted with his whole heart even when in the lions’ den.
Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he did not know how or even if God was going to rescue him.
He demonstrated mature faith by holding on to what he knew about God’s character, even when he did not know the outcome of his predicaments. Mature faith doesn’t need to know the outcome, it is satisfied with knowing God's character.
Mature faith serves God, not for favorable outcomes but because it deems God worthy.
The more you know God, the less attached you will be to specific outcomes. You will be most committed to God getting the glory. Yet, God’s greatest power and authority flows from this level of faith. This level of faith shows the greatest trust in God, so God also entrusts it with His best.
Daniel 3:16-18
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
18. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
This is one of the benefits of having a time of devotion, with God before starting our day. When we meet with God, we are reminded of His greatness. Every challenge we face through the day will look small after that fresh vision of God.
Esther displayed mature faith in God. A mark of mature faith is moving forward with courage even when the outcome is unknown.
Esther 4:15-16
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16 “ Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”
Jesus demonstrated mature faith. He did not change towards the Father, even when the Father said “No.”
Hebrews 5:7
Luke 23:46
Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my Spirit into Your hands!” And with those words, He breathed his last.
This was Jesus’ last action on earth, not only a demonstration of faith but His final lesson to us. He seemed to be saying, “This is what faith in the Father looks like.”
It is in stark contrast to many who curse God and turn back from Him because they prayed and God did not give them their desired answer.
We should not be too concerned with growing our faith.
Rather, we should seek to grow in our knowledge of God. Great faith is a result of great knowledge of God. As we grow in our knowledge of God, our faith will also grow.
The focus must always be on God, and not on faith, because we are not required to have faith in faith, but to have faith in God.
Daniel 11:32 Those who know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
Job 19:25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last.
All through the scriptures, great emphasis is placed on the knowledge of God.
Genesis 5:24 NKJV And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Genesis 6:8-9 NKJV But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
Joshua 4:20-24 (NLT) 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.
21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’
22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
23 For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over.
24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NLT) 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Hosea 4:6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know Me.
Since you priests refuse to know Me, Irefuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.
Hosea 6:3 (NLT) Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”
Habakkuk 2:14 (NKJV) For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
Malachi 2:7 (NLT) “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Matthew 16:13-20 (NLT) 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
John 4:22-24 (NKJV) 22 “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 “God [is] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 14:8-11 (NLT) 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.
11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
Acts 17:22-31 (NLT) 22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,
23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
Ephesians 4:13-15 (NLT) 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Philippians 3:10 (NKJV) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
As your knowledge of God grows, so will your faith.
2 Peter 1:2 & 5 (NLT) 2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
Are you seeking to grow daily in the knowledge of God?
Judges 2:10-11 (NKJV) 10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.
11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals;
It is not profitable to worship God without knowing Him.
Matthew 15:7-9 (NLT) 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
John 4:22-24 (NLT) 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming--indeed it’s here now--when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
It is dangerous to get close to the things of God, to serve the Lord, without knowing Him.
1 Samuel 2:12 (NKJV) Now the sons of Eli [were] corrupt; they did not know the LORD.
Hosea 4:6 (NLT) My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.
Proximity does not guarantee intimacy. Lucifer was close to God, yet he sinned against God because he did not know God.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NKJV) 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom] which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Knowledge of God is our surest defense against deception. Eve and Adam fell to the lies of the serpent because they did not know God.
Daniel 11:32 (NLT) He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.
