Faith That Comes By Hearing God - Zac Poonen
This is the recording of the Sunday Church Service from Christian Fellowship Church, Bangalore on 9th February 2014.
Summary
The speaker emphasizes that the New Covenant, established at Pentecost, supersedes many practices of the Old Covenant, requiring believers to move beyond mere intellectual understanding. True understanding of the New Covenant comes not from study alone, but from being filled with the Holy Spirit, which changes one's life, attitude, and speech. Ultimately, the message stresses that faith must be heart-felt, trusting in the Lord rather than relying on one's own understanding or intelligence.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Trusting with the heart, not the mindThe New Testament emphasizes faith in the heart rather than just head knowledge, echoing Proverbs in telling us not to lean on our own understanding.Proverbs 3:5
Why God chooses the poor in faithRich people often depend on their wealth and lack a sense of need, whereas the poor learn to depend on God and grow rich in faith.James 2:5
The primary sin of unbeliefJesus taught that the Holy Spirit's primary conviction in the world is the sin of not believing in Him in our hearts.John 16:7–9
Connecting directly to God instead of leaning on manPreaching is secondary, and believers must let the word sink deep into their own hearts so they depend directly on God rather than a man.
The private tuition of trialsGod educates His children individually through various trials to test our faith and bring us to spiritual maturity.
The tongue and ear of a discipleTrue spiritual service flows from waking up each morning with an ear tuned to hear God so we can sustain weary souls.Isaiah 50:4
Faith comes by hearing God's wordFaith comes through hearing the living voice of Christ as we meditate on the New Testament, leading to heartfelt salvation.Romans 10:17
All sin is a failure of faithMurmuring and complaining stem from a failure to believe that God knows what is best and has planned our circumstances perfectly.
Controlling what we can while trusting God with the restWe must take responsibility for our small circle of personal action and trust God completely with the massive circle of circumstances beyond our control.Romans 8:28
Praying that faith does not fail at rock bottomJesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail after his denial, ensuring he could recover and strengthen others.
Abraham's unwavering faith in weaknessAbraham remained strong in faith, looking past his physical deadness to the promise and power of God.Romans 4:19–24
Going forward in the strength of the LordWhen facing weakness, sickness, or aging, the expression of true faith is declaring that we will walk in the strength of the Lord our God.
