Imagine how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that God was in all of it and He was planning to leverage it for good. In other words, imagine what it would be like to have FAITH that is FULL.
People whose faith is full, trust God in spite of their circumstances and are the deepest people you’ll ever meet. In this series, you will discover five catalysts that God can use to fuel your faith in a world on empty and how to build an enduring, go-the-distance faith that will give you the confidence to keep believing and the courage to keep going no matter what you face in life.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
-Hebrews 11:1 NIV
(1) keep believing: Sunday, june 6th
We’ve all heard stories of people—or we know people—who have what appears to be unshakable faith. They have a confidence in God that informs what they do. Where does faith like that come from? Faith that gives you the confidence to keep believing and the courage to keep going is not faith in life’s circumstances; it’s faith in God’s character.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
-Hebrews 11:6 NIV
(2) keep fighting: Sunday, june 13TH
In a moment of desperation, when you feel like there is no hope, will you give up or will you cry out to God for help? Our fears try to convince us to give up before we’ve even started. These fears can cause us to run away from our conflicts, promises, relationships and responsibilities before the race has begun.
There came a moment in Jacob’s life where he stopped running from his fears and fought through the night. He didn’t give up, he didn’t flee, and a wrestling match changed everything, even his name.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” -Genesis 32:28 NIV
(3) keep perspective: Sunday, june 20th
There are times in life where we lose perspective and are tempted to give up. Someone you trusted takes advantage of you. Someone you love stops loving you in return. A good plan goes off the rails. Unanticipated physical or financial hardships arrive unexpectedly. When in the midst of adversity we can think things are worse than they really are. We lose perspective and feel like quitting.
In moments like these we need to keep perspective, have faith in God, and most important never give up! The writer of Hebrews points us to a “cloud of witnesses,” people who faced enormous challenges yet found faith to keep believing, that can give us perspective in our struggles.
”As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds.”
-Hebrews 12:1a TPT
Keep Perspective Message Notes
(4) unhindered by anxiety: Sunday, june 27th
Anxiety can be a crippling force in our lives. Symptoms of anxiety include fears, nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness, and feeling overwhelmed. It can cause breathing difficulties, chest pain, concentration problems, digestive issues, memory loss, headaches, and muscle tension. There are countless side effects to anxiety, but they all can lead to one significant outcome: giving up.
Wherever you are at on the anxiety spectrum, God wants to take away the weight you’ve been carrying. If you can learn how to hand it over to Him, it will change the way you run your race in life. You will feel loose and free rather than straining under a heavy burden.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Unhindered by Anxiety Message Notes
(5) unchained from religion: SUNDAY, july 4TH
Religious people load people up with excessive rules and regulations. Religion does that. It crushes people under the weight of trying hard enough to be good enough, and it does nothing to ease the burden. Jesus got that point across whenever he confronted religious leaders. The Apostle Paul planted churches and wrote letters to make sure this point was clear.
The religious law got one thing done: it demonstrated the futility of our trying to please God by fully obeying it. But Jesus offers us his perfect work of obedience as our own. He fulfilled the law, removed its burden and now offers us something brand new.
“By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and his people, God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust.” -Hebrews 8:13 MSG
Unchained from Religion Message Notes
(6) unleashed from lies: SUNDAY, july 11th
Most of us believe lies. We don’t know they’re lies. If we knew they were lies, we wouldn’t believe them. Believing lies can have such debilitating and destructive power in our lives that our enemy, Satan, has chosen it as his way to “steal and kill and destroy” lives (John 10:10). Jesus called Satan “the father of lies” (John 8:44).
The alternative to believing lies is to be unleashed by truth. Jesus said, “I am …the truth” (John 14:6). He wants to expose the lies that we are believing and replace them with truth in our lives.
“For if you embrace the truth (reality), it will release true freedom in your lives.”
-John 8:32 TPT
Unleashed From Lies Message Notes
(7) untangled from unbelief: SUNDAY, july 18th
Sin separates us from God, then we blame God for the separation. It builds the wall that cuts us off, then we blame God for the wall. The writer of Hebrews talks about “the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1). The sin – not sin in general, but a particular sin, the sin of unbelief, can entangle our lives much like a spiders web.
The next time you feel caught in the web of sin, realize you don’t need to be there. Jesus, the great untangler, came to set you free. Don’t give up. He has freed you from the weight of sin and shame.
“… let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
-Hebrews 12:1b NIV
Untangled From Unbelief Message Notes
(8) obstacle course: SUNDAY, july 25th
The word race, in the Greek, is agon. It’s where we get our word agony. This word indicates to us that the race marked out for us is no “fun run.” The race is difficult and demanding, a challenging race with significant and surprising obstacles.
Some Christians expect following Jesus to be a fun run simply because they have agreed to sign up. After all, the whole point in signing up for some of us was to avoid life’s obstacles. As you read through Scripture, you’ll find that those who faithfully ran the race God marked out for them had to deal with many obstacles. The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 is about these faith heroes who ran into obstacle courses in their lives.
”There were others who were tortured, … Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; … destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. … These were all commended for their faith, …” -Hebrews 11:35b – 39a NIV
(9) one step at a time: SUNDAY, august 1st
The marathon is not a distance you can sprint. It is a distance of 26.2 miles that you must run.The finish line is too far away to see, so you must focus one step at a time. And for most of us with an average stride of 30 inches, the marathon equates to a total of 55,334 steps. Focusing on these 55,334 steps when you’re tired and hurting would make finishing a marathon race seem impossible. That is why we need to focus on something other than a finish line that we cannot see, and take one step at a time.
”And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” –Hebrews 12:1a-2a NIV
One Step At a Time Message Notes
(10) keep your confidence: SUNDAY, august 8th
The message of the book of Hebrews is actually very simple: don’t give up; take courage. That same challenge echoes through page after page of the Bible. People in every kind of situation are told to take courage and resist fear. But how? Where is courage found?
Courage must be based in a confidence that is well constructed not by simply telling ourselves things that aren’t true or getting hyped up on a workout playlist. The word, confidence appears repeatedly in Hebrews chapters 10 – 13. The message is that our confidence is found in Christ alone. These Jewish believers had started their race with both courage and resolve, but in order to finish the race, they needed to hold on to the source of their confidence – faith in Jesus Christ.
“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, … So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” -Hebrews 10:32a & 35 NIV
Keep Your Confidence Message Notes
(11) the finish line: SUNDAY, august 15th
It is not how you start the race but how you finish. The difference between finishing and not finishing is found in one word – perseverance. What is the it that separates success from failure in athletics, in business, in marriage and in life? The most important “it factor” of all is perseverance. Enduring to the finish line with a refusal to be overwhelmed by the obstacles faced on the way. The confidence to keep believing and a courage to keep going and never give up.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
-2 Timothy 4:7 NIV
(12) celebration: SUNDAY, august 22nd
Real celebration usually follows a season of struggle. In fact, the level of our celebration often corresponds to the degree of the challenges that we have faced along the way. You wanted to give up and quit, but you didn’t. You are able to celebrate because you kept going. We all may have moments of celebration in life, but the ultimate celebration won’t come until the end of our lives where our hope lies.
The Apostle Paul tells Timothy, his son in the faith, that he has fought the good fight and finished the race. He states that it had been a difficult struggle, but that a crown now awaits him – a “crown of righteousness,” as he describes it. Jesus will be there to fit it on his head, as he awards him and now awaits to award us.
“… let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, …” -Hebrews 12:1a NIV
