Faith or Despair?
God is aware of the evil and suffering that we are going through, and He cares.
“You {God} listen to the longings of those who suffer. You offer them hope, and You pay attention to their cries for help” -Psalm 10:17
The Hope that God offers is the promise that He will bring Justice.
“Then the Lord All-powerful said: You people are precious to Me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child.” - Malachi 3:17
Why Doesn’t God bring justice now?
God said “At the time I have decided, My words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting—it will happen!” - Habakkuk 2:3
How are we to respond?
“With all my heart, I am waiting, Lord, for you!" I trust your promises.” - Psalm 130:5
The 4 Steps of Faith
the initial steps to a simple faith in God!
Step 1 - Know and trust who God is:
“God is love” - 1 John 4:8
“Love is more important than anything else” - Colossians 3:14
“Love is patient and kind, never jealous boastful, proud, or rude. Love isint selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-6
“You are a kind and merciful God, and You are very patient. You always show love, and You don’t like to punish anyone” -Jonah 4:2
Step 2 - Know what God ultimately wants:
“God wants us to have faith in His Son Jesus Christ and to love each other” - 1 john 3:32
“God wants everyone to be saved” - 1 Timothy 2:4
Step 3 - Know the hope that god has promised
“Everywhere on earth i saw violence and injustice instead of fairness and justice” - Ecclesiastes 3:16
“But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to this!”- 2 Peter 3:13
step 4 - know how to endure hardships in life
“My dear friends, God loves you, and we know He has chosen you to be his people” - 1 Thessalonians 1:4
“Stand firm and be deeply rooted in His{God’s} love.” - Ephesians 3:17
“We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. After all, we can trust the One {God} who made the agreement with us” - Hebrews 10:23
“We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again” - 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
How do we keep our faith simple?
our foundation of faith MUST be what the bible considers to be most important, which is love (Colossians 3:14, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Matthew 22:37-39)
When it comes to understanding the Bible, we MUST prioritize bible verses that harmonize with love. We do NOT allow the bible verses that seem to contradict love to distract, discourage or confuse us!
We MUST reject any thought,feeling,understanding, interpretation or doctrine that contradicts the 4 steps of faith.
We MUST onot allow anyone(christian, atheist) to influence us to compromise, abandon, or complicate our faith.
We MUST realize that God doesn’t want us to force ourselves to do a lot to honor Him. God would rather us do a little to to honor him but with a Genuine heart(Matthew 25:21)
We MUST know that Jesus wants our faith to be simple! (Matthew 11:28-30)
test your faith
How do the 4 Steps of Faith refute each statement below?
1.”God is evil because He allows people to suffer”
Hint: Did God tell us that He will stop us from suffering in this world, or did God tell us He will be with us through our suffering?
2.”I feel overwhelmed with all the rules Im supposed to follow as a Christian”
Hint: Is it possible for a Christian to complicate their faith?
3.”I think God has abandoned me because I don’t feel his presence”
Hint: Do we base our faith on trusting our feelings, or do we base our faith on trusting God’s word?
4.”I feel like giving up because I keep falling to the same sin”
Hint: Does God expect us to be perfect, or does God expect us to never give up?
5.”God chose some people to go to hell without any hope of being saved because their suffering will bring God more glory”
Hint:Is it evil and selfish to create people to suffer in hell without hope of being saved for your own pleasure?
6.”God created hell to be a place of endless torture”
Hint:Is it merciful to torture someone for eternity?
7.”To be a christian, you must go to Church”
Hint:Are we saved by having faith in Jesus and loving others, or are we saved by going to church?
8.”I won’t believe in God unless i have irrefutable proof of His existence”
Hint: Does God want us to have faith, or does God want us to have irrefutable proof?
9.”I cannot be saved because I committed the unforgivable sin”
Hint:Is the unforgivable sin a one-time choice, or is the sin an ongoing choice?
10. “God doesn’t want me because I’m a part of the LGBTQIA+ community”
Hint: Does God only want heterosexuals who identify as their biological gender at birth to turn to Him and be saved, or does God want EVERYONE to turn to Him and be saved?
11. “To be a Christian, you must accept everything in the bible as True”
Hint: Are we saved by having faith in Jesus and loving others, or are we saved by accepting everything in the bible as true?
12.”Having Hope that God will bring justice is just wishful thinking, Evil, injustice, suffering and death sucks, but we have to accept life as it is”
Hint: If we truly love others, would we completely oppose evil, injustice, suffering and death? or would we accept these as just part of life?
13.”Being a christian means I will have a good,prosperous life in this world”
Hint: Does God want us to be prepared for a good prosperous life in this world, or does God want us to be prepared for the hardships in this world?
14. “Holiness and glory are most important to God”
Hint: Since the Bible is God’s Word. Does that mean what the Bible considers to be most important is what God considers to be most important?
Thanks folks, see you next time!