Application Guide: “What Are You Looking At?”

 

            Jan. 16th, 2005: Kimber Kauffman, Senior Pastor of College Park, gave an encouraging message about faith based on the story when Peter walked on the water toward Jesus (Mt. 14:22-36). Pastor challenged us to grow in our understanding of faith and how it ought to guide every aspect of our lives. He provided several helpful applicational principles.

 

  1. Kimber pointed out that Jesus’ words to Peter were “O ye of little faith,” not, “O ye of no faith.”  He read a quotation by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones – “Doubts are not incompatible with faith…it may be a weak faith, but not no faith.”
    1. What are the benefits and dangers of living a life full of doubt?
    2. What doubts do you often struggle with, and how does your faith in Christ and the Gospel play a role in helping you amidst these doubts?

 

  1. The life of faith we are called to is flimsy and open to quick change. The life we live is constantly changing, fluctuating between happiness and sorry, peace and trial. Life was not perfect for the saints who have gone before us (cf. Heb 11), and it will not be for us.
    1. How does/can your faith in Christ anchor or focus point amidst a world where nothing else seems to be remain stable (cf. Heb. 6:18-20; 10:19-25)?
    2. Can you think of a time in your life when you felt like crying out with the Psalmist, “God, where are you?!” (cf. Ps. 22:1-2; 55:1)? How did you deal with these times in your life when you felt like you were going through “the dark night of the soul?”

 

  1. True faith is an activity. It ought to be applied to every aspect of our lives. It is a life of faith that pleases God (cf. Heb. 12:1-3).
    1. What would it look like to have a faith that permeated every aspect of your life?
    2. If you were to take notes of your thoughts and actions on a typical weekday, during how much of your activity do you actually include God and His wisdom? What are ways we, as Christians, behave like atheists throughout the week?

 

  1. You are not meant to live on conversion faith. You cannot live on initial faith
    1. How does faith grow? What’s the difference between conversion faith and the faith that keeps us going for the rest of our lives?

 

  1. What are you looking at? Often we look to the church or other people to fix all our needs and problems. But because the church is made up of sinners like you, it is bound to fail.
    1. How do we know that our gaze is resting fully on Christ and nothing else?
    2. Though the church does fail, it is called to be the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12ff). In what ways have you failed to be an active, love-filled part of Christ’s body? How have you caused others to be disenchanted about church or Christianity?

 

  1. When you do fail…Cry out to Jesus!
    1. When you fail (sin, lose hope), what do you normally do? Forget about it like its no big deal? Beat yourself over the head for weeks and feel sorry for yourself? Accept God’s grace through repentance? What is the proper response?

 

            Recommended Reading:

            Guinness, Os. God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith Beyond a Shadow of Doubt.

            Piper, John. Don’t Waste Your Life.