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Season 1, Episode 93
For Wednesday, May 20, 2015
“All In: Living by Faith in Him”
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Episode Transcript:
Welcome to The New You, where we focus on maintaining and accentuating the new that Christ has created in you. I’m Robert Hatfield, and here is today’s scripture:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
We’re talking this week about being “all in” for the Lord. I want to fully please Him and to be His true disciple. We’ve already seen that being “all in” means that we will love Him first and we will suffer for Him. Today, let’s notice that being “all in” means that I am living by faith in Him.
You know that faith and belief are synonymous terms. Now I believe what I believe because I have credible evidence to believe those things. In other words, my faith isn’t a “blind leap in the dark,” nor is it something mysterious that I just feel in my heart. The faith that we have comes from the Word of God (Rom. 10:17) and it resides in our hearts (Rom. 10:9-10). It is described in the Bible as being the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). We cannot please God without having faith (Heb. 11:6). And, as you know, true faith, is active faith – that is, it prompts our obedience to God’s will (James 2:24, 26).
So faith is an integral part of my life. In fact, my faith has a profound impact on my life. That’s why Paul says that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Here, as in many passages in the New Testament, Paul uses the term “walk” to refer to the way we live.
Here are two ways that faith has a big impact on my life.
1. Faith impacts my FOCUS.
I see life differently through the lens of faith. I have a goal. I have purpose. That makes me see life differently. Life is about more than just the time between my birth and my death. Life is about preparing for after this life. It’s about eternity! That’s why Paul says that our physical bodies are declining, perishing, but the inward man, the soul, is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). We can endure “light afflictions” because of the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” that is prepared for us! Which leads us to the next point.
2. Faith impacts my FUTURE.
Living by faith means that I’m living for heaven! Remember that faith is the substance of that for which we hope (Heb. 11:1). My hope is in Christ! I can go to heaven because of what He has done for me! Remember that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). It is our faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:14)!
Let’s wrap it up: Being “all in” means living by faith. I trust God to do what is best in my life. That means obeying His commands in the Bible, because they are what is best for me. That means praying in faith, trusting that His answers are in my best interest. And that means focusing on heaven and the spiritual things “which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).
Memory Verse: This week’s verse is Philippians 3:8. It’s an “all-in” verse if I ever heard one!
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Thanks for listening to The New You. For more information about this show and the other work that we do on The Light Network, visit thelightnetwork.tv. You can follow me on Twitter by going to twitter.com/roberthatfield. For more information about the North Charleston church of Christ, just go to northcharlestonchurchofchrist.com.
We want to hear from you! Would you do us a favor and go take our Season 1 listener survey? It’s super fast, and it’s a great way for you to tell us what you like, and how we can improve The Light Network. Access the survey in our show notes, or by going to thelightnetwork.tv/survey.
On the next episode, we’ll look at how being “all in” means that I will hold nothing back from the Lord. That’s tomorrow on The New You.
