Does the Voice Call You to Trust God?

Summary

We humans have an unfortunate tendency to only trust in that which we can see right before our eyes. Those are things that are safe, things without as much risk and uncertainty. Maybe trusting in these things seems wise; after all, as the saying goes, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” But consider… these are also paths that don’t require much faith. If we can do it all on our own, what need have we for God? On the other hand, sometimes taking the road that seems to have an infinite number of unknowns – the road blocked by thorny hedges and landmines (as it were) – is not exercising godly faith in choosing a path that requires us to lean on God, but is instead exercising foolishness in picking a path that is obviously the wrong one. Yet… knowing the one from the other requires spiritual growth. See a pattern in these lessons? Spiritual growth – as accomplished by consistently reading our Bibles and listening to our Bible teachers – is basically the answer to all problems, if we would just deign to do it as we ought.

In this week’s teaching, we went over how God’s voice will challenge us to trust Him. There is no growth without stretching those faith muscles, and that usually means that we will somehow have to trust God and put it all in His hands rather than relying on our own abilities. This life for us Christians is in truth all about faith and how far we are willing to push it, and we would do well to remember that truth when the road forks before us. The world will insist that the path of career success, material prosperity, financial stability, “keeping up with the Jones’s,” and so on is certainly the one that we ought to take – even earning it with our own hands, according to the great American dream. But if we are only willing to trust in our own hands, then how can God work great things through us according to His power? He can only work fully through those who submit themselves to Him and trust in Him, not themselves.

So voices that don’t demand faith of us probably aren’t from God, because it is only through exercising faith – that is, through leaning on God’s power not our own – that Christians can really do most of what we are actually called to do.

This week’s lesson starts on page 79 of the workbook, and was what we went through on 02/05/2023.

Faith Is Not Irrational

Summary

In this week of our study, the Workbook used Hebrews 11:1-6 and Hebrews 11:13-16 in its discussion of how another variable in determining if a voice is of God is if it calls us to trust God, to exercise faith.

Hebrews 11 starts off with a definition of faith: “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This page will examine this statement, especially as it relates to the idea that having faith is not somehow illogical, despite not having “proof” in the sense that science-focused skeptics want.


Drawing Inspiration from the Faith of Others

Summary

The passage that our workbook quoted from this week, Hebrews 11, describes some of the “heroes of the faith”—believers of the past who are specially commended for their actions of faith.

Although there is much to say concerning these people specifically, on this page we will be examining the general concept of drawing inspiration from the faith of others, and how we might do that in our personal lives, alongside drawing inspiration from exemplary believers mentioned in scripture.


What We Believe Will Always Become a Reality… If and Only If We Target Our Faith Properly

Summary

This week, our Workbook made several points:

Quote

Our faith gives us assurance that what we believe will become a reality. When we know the character and power of God, and we believe what God has promised, then we can be assured that God will do what He has said He will do.

In the Bible, faith is always God-centered. The writer of Hebrews does not encourage us to have faith in ourselves or in our own desires, but in God. We cannot always make our own dreams successful, regardless of how hard we work to that end. But faith in God is always rewarded. It is not the power of positive thinking, for we are limited in how much we can make our thoughts become a reality. God, however, can bring every one of His purposes to reality in our lives. When we place our faith in Him, we can be absolutely confident that He will do what He has said.

On this page, we will be examining the idea that our faith leads to certain outcomes if and only if said outcomes are in the Will of God. In other words, we do not get to twist God’s promises into whatever we might want them to be.


Why Was Abel’s Sacrifice Acceptable, Even Praised, but Not Cain’s?

Summary

Hebrews 11:4 says that by faith Abel was approved as a righteous man on account of the sacrifice that he gave to God, and that his sacrifice was better than Cain’s.

People have an easy time understanding why Cain was punished after he murdered his brother. But why was Abel’s sacrifice pleasing to God to begin with, but not Cain’s? That is the question that this page will set out to answer.