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.
- 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.”
- What are the benefits and dangers of living a life full
of doubt?
- 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?
- 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.
- 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)?
- 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?”
- 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).
- What would it look like
to have a faith that permeated every aspect of your life?
- 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?
- You are not meant to live on conversion faith. You
cannot live on initial faith
- How does faith grow?
What’s the difference between conversion faith and the faith that keeps
us going for the rest of our lives?
- 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.
- How do we know that our
gaze is resting fully on Christ and nothing else?
- 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?
- When you do fail…Cry out to Jesus!
- 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.