Josh McGuire - To Be Faithful | Austin CFC | 2024-01-28
Summary
The speaker cautions against being deceived by counterfeit faith, emphasizing that true biblical faith must be tested and rooted in scripture and love. He urges the congregation to approach their own spiritual lives with humility, recognizing that even apparent certainty can be mere presumption rather than genuine trust in God.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Will the Son of man find faith on the earth?Jesus asks a penetrating question in Luke about whether He will find faith when He returns, prompting believers to examine their own hearts humbly like the disciples.
What is real biblical faith?Relying solely on a basic definition of faith as mental assurance leaves believers open to self-deception and worldly presumption.
Fixing your eyes on Jesus instead of yourselfLooking inward creates anxiety and reveals fleshly corruption, so true faith requires fixing the eyes on Jesus and the cross rather than on human self-confidence.
Faith joined with action, love, prayer, and obedienceGenuine biblical faith is never isolated; it is consistently joined with action, love, persistent prayer, and simple obedience to the words of Jesus.
Being full of faith means being faithfulSomeone who possesses genuine faith will live a life of faithfulness, much like an individual who is completely faithful within a marriage.
Avoiding spiritual adultery with the worldJames uses strong language to warn against unfaithfulness to Christ through friendship with the spirit of the world.
Resisting the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and prideBelievers must guard against indulging fleshly attitudes, covetousness of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.
Can Jesus count on your dependability?Just as reliable geysers or faithful soldiers demonstrate steadfastness, believers are called to be dependable servants whom the Lord can trust completely.
Hope through the faithful example of JesusThough overcoming fleshly lusts is impossible on our own, Jesus faced the exact same struggles and remained faithful to His Father, providing us with a living example.
Saying no to self-confidence and yes to His wordTrue faith means dropping our own reasoning and self-confidence, obeying Christ's commands simply because He is the one who speaks.
Faithfulness powered by God's grace and resourcesWe are able to be faithful not because of our own inherent goodness, but because God has poured out His grace, Holy Spirit, and divine power to help us.2 Peter 1:3
Quick repentance when we failWhen believers inevitably stumble, the correct response is immediate repentance and turning back to the Lord who never gives up on us.1 John 1:9
