The Six Phases of Faith
1. Dream - God has a purpose for every single person on Earth. Sometimes we discover this purpose through life experiences, Bible study and service, while other times it comes from a direct message the Lord. In the case of Abraham God gave him a set of instructions and a promise that he would be the father of a great nation even though he was of an advanced age and at the time childless.
Genesis 12:1-3
1. The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2. “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3. I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
2. Decision - When our purpose is revealed we still have the free will to choose whether or not to act on it. In the case of Abraham he did as the Lord commanded. Despite all the odds being against him, Abraham trusted God and through faith believed that He would deliver on His promise.
Genesis 12:4
4. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.5. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
"A dream without a decision is worthless" - Pastor Rick Warren
3. Delay - Dreams, callings and prophecies are never fulfilled instantaneously. I don't think anyone has ever prayed for something and had it magically appear in front of them or had a life situation change in split second. All things take time. Sometimes that time can be relatively short while in other situations it may take months or even years for things to happen.
This is when many believers doubt the promise and detour away from faith.
What most people don't understand is that this is the time that God has set aside to grow your faith while you are waiting.
4. Difficulty - Being a Christian doesn't make us immune to problems. Going through trials gives us an opportunity to grow and mature spiritually. This is God's way of building our character.
5. Dead End - This is the phase where everything comes to a grinding halt and the dream seemingly dies. This seems like a strange event especially after going through the phase of difficult times. This is when most people feel hopeless and regularly feel tempted to doubt God's word and their purpose.
This is the ultimate test of faith and the phase that builds the strongest faith in believers. Think of it as your final exam. This is the pass or fail moment. You have a choice to either hold on to what God has promised you or simply turn away. This is when most people miss out on the miracle.
Honestly this should be the phase of true excitement instead of depression because the next step is ...
6. Deliverance. This is the pay off and the reason for going through the first five phases. This is when God delivers on His promise and we reap the rewards. The dream comes to fruition.
This is when we discover that the greater the difficulties and the longer we have to wait leads to a greater reward. The harder we had to sacrifice actually opened the door for greater blessings.
It just goes to prove that hard work and sacrifice pays off in the end.
If we look at the story of Abraham we see that God called upon him to endure the ultimate test of faith. As we read earlier God had promised that Abraham would someday become the father of a great nation despite his advanced age. As the Lord said Abraham and his wife Sarai did indeed produce a son named Isaac. Now God has instructed Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as an offering.
Can you imagine God instructing you to literally kill your only child, the same child that God Himself promised that He would bless you with?
I think it's safe to say that Abraham had a faith in God stronger than just about anyone in history because he actually trusted in what God had instructed him to do despite the fact that it was completely contradictory to what was prophesied.
Let's see how this played out in Genesis 22:
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Abraham was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, to give up his only son, and because of that trust in God he was ultimately rewarded and the prophecy was fulfilled.
Tips:
1. Remember that God can do anything and everything. Anything is possible if you have faith. What is impossible for man is possible in God.
2. Rely on God's promises. When hope is dead keep believing. Rely on faith not feelings.
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
3. Recognize the facts in faith
a. Faith does not ignore reality
b. Faith does act like there is no difficulty
c. Faith is not to be discouraged because you have eyes on Jesus.
d. God is not through with your life.
4. Rejoice in anticipation. Be happy even though things don't go as planned because you know God will deliver on His promises.
Deliverance
1. Circumstantial = God changes your circumstances
2. Personal = God changes your character.
3. Ultimate - Comes when we reap the reward of Heaven.
- Notes from a sermon by Pastor Rick Warren
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