Dr. Stanley explains how, if a person is to grow in his or her faith, dependence upon God is critical. He also demonstrates ten important ways faith matures. You, too, can have the presence, power, and wisdom of almighty God to help you through anything you must face in life.
Sermon Outline
Trusting the Lord for guidance can be challenging, but when we do, our faith is strengthened. In this sermon, Dr. Stanley discusses the meaning of faith and how we can progress in it.
Key Passage: Matthew 14:22-33
Walking with God is an ongoing experience, one in which we keep growing and changing over the course of our life.
►“While salvation is a one-time experience, our walk with Christ is continuous.”
As we walk with Jesus, we will…
Get to know Him in an intimate, personal way.
Discover His will and purpose for our life.
Learn to listen to and obey Him.
Experience His presence, power, and wisdom.
Understand that the Christian life is truly a walk of faith.
Realize that the journey with Him is ongoing.
►“Faith is not a feeling. It is a confident conviction that God will do what He promised.”
Peter is a good example of what it looks like to advance in faith:
His faith failed, but some failure is normal. In fact, we all experience such moments.
Because Peter was willing to set foot on the water, he succeeded. A step of trusting obedience is the Lord’s will for all of us.
Some believers stay in the boat, where it’s safe. Others remain on shore and merely talk about trusting God.
Faith is more than trusting Jesus for salvation and eternal life. We must trust Him for the smaller things, too—provision, healing, daily needs.
►“You have to jump into the arms of God and watch what He does in your life.”
To grow in faith, we must…
Face and overcome obstacles, tests, and trials. God grows our faith through challenges.
Understand the nature of God. Faith grows only when we comprehend His wisdom, mercy, power, and love.
Meditate on the Word of God. Scripture is where we learn God’s viewpoint.
Apply the principles of God’s Word. When we do, God honors our faithful attempts and works accordingly in our life.
Observe the ways of God. He uses various situations, including times of suffering and waiting.
Observe God’s work in the lives of others. Both biblical and personal stories give us hope and inspiration.
Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. Obedience pleases God; He never overlooks it.
Experience answered prayer. We must pray with expectation, boldness, and assurance.
Worship. Elements like hymns and praise songs are professions of faith we can learn from.
Confess faith failures. God will give us another opportunity to trust Him. He won’t cut us off.
►“Don’t just say, ‘Well, my faith has gotten me this far.’ How far could you go? You’ll never know unless you say, ‘Lord, here am I.’”
God wants to…
Bless you and use you to the maximum of your potential to bring Himself glory.
Do good in your life according to His knowledge of end results.
Demonstrate to others, through you, who He is and how much they need Him.
After Watching
Consider these thoughts and questions in response to the sermon:
Where are you in your faith at this moment—standing on shore, sitting in the boat, walking toward Jesus, or getting distracted by the wind? Pray and ask the Lord to help you trust Him more.
What past trial or challenge has increased your trust in the Lord? Take a moment to recall His faithfulness, and give Him thanks.
