Five Things God Uses to Grow Your FaithSample

PRAYER:

God, help me to listen to your Word and to put it into practice. Show me how to apply what the Bible says in my everyday life. 

READING:

Practical Teaching

It seems there are five things that show up in everybody’s story that God uses to build their big faith. One of the things that grows our faith is when we are exposed to practical, biblical teaching that we are able to apply to our lives.

When Jesus taught, it was about application, not simply knowledge. Toward the end of Matthew 7, Jesus had just finished the Sermon on the Mount, which was mostly about what to do. The reason Jesus taught in a very applicable way was because he knew that simply knowing things doesn’t make any difference. It’s what you do with that knowledge that makes the difference. The message of the Sermon on the Mount was essentially all about application, “If you really had big faith in God, here’s what you would do. If you had perfect faith in God, here’s how you would act.” And then at the end of his sermon, here’s his conclusion:

“‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock’” (Matthew 7:24–25).

One of the things that pumps up your faith is when you put yourself in environments where people teach the Word of God, not just in terms of “here’s something else to know,” but within the context of application.

Jesus said the reason the house in this parable didn’t fall is not because they knew about the storm and how to build the house. This is because they did the right thing; they actually built on rock, and that’s what it means to listen and to obey the things Jesus taught. You acquire information, but then you must do something with the information. If you want your life to be like a person who built a house on a solid foundation, you’ve got to do this stuff. You can’t just believe it. You have to do it. Doing is what makes the difference. And we’re not talking about where you go when you die. We’re talking about what happens in this life as you live. 

So, one of the things that grows your faith is to be consistently exposed to teaching that is application-oriented. 

Lane Jones, one of our executive team pastors, said it this way, “Unapplied truth is like unapplied paint. It doesn’t do anybody any good. The value of paint is in the application.” You have to be in an environment where somebody is teaching God’s Word in an applicable way, because everyone who hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice is like a wise person who builds their house on a rock.

REFLECTION:

When was the last time you learned some truth from God’s word and then put it into practice in your life? Make a list of the times in your life when you can specifically remember practical teaching leading you toward growth in your faith.