The Good Life: Keepin' it Real (Authentic Faith)

Three men sat silently on a park bench. They had worked together for 9 years. The first man looked at the others, and said “I can’t believe that they did that. No warning. How am I supposed to support my family now?” The second said, “I hear you… I don’t get it. I thought that we’d be there for another 10 years at least. I’ve poured my sweat and sacrificed time so that our company would succeed. Looking back, I don’t know why I did it. Clearly it wasn’t valued.” The third said nothing. Instead, he leaned back, stretched his arms across the back of the bench, crossed his left leg over his right, allowed his head to fall backwards, and took in a long relaxing breath. After a few more moments of silence, he spoke. “I’ve got a God who loves me unconditionally*, I’ve been learning to see this world the way that He sees it*, I’ve got a wife who I am fully committed to*, I’ve got good friends who speak the truth*, I’ve been learning to make wise choices*, I genuinely care about other people*, and the same God who loves me unconditionally is in control*. So I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve got a good life despite this.

Good morning. My name is John Barnett. I want to thank you for allowing me to come and be with you for the next 4 weeks to talk to you about the good life. This 4 part series will touch on 7 different principles for living the good life. These principles are called, The Seven Checkpoints, as titled by the book written by Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall. As a youth pastor, these principles have been invaluable to me while working with both teens and their parents. As a believer in Christ, understanding and applying these principles to my own life has significantly challenged the way that I think and even act. Romans 12:1 instructs us to not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed through the renewing of our minds. Often times, God’s perspective on life is in direct contradiction to the logic and philosophy of this world’s system. God says, “Change your mind”. Our minds need to be transformed from the patterns or thinking of this world, and transformed to His perspective. When I see the world the way that God, the Maker, sees the world, then I will do what He says to do. It will impact my life, and the lives of those around me.

Jesus words are recorded in John 10:10: I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly. My paraphrase is simple – “I have come that you might have a good life.”

I want to be careful to not be misunderstood. Jesus is not talking about a life of health, wealth and stability. Typically, our definition of the good life would naturally include those things. However, God is not natural. He’s supernatural. His definition of the good life is a bit different. When we look at people who have what we would consider ‘the good life’ they have comfortable living situations and disposable income. Perhaps there’s more to their story than what you see. Perhaps while they have what appears to be a good life, their hearts are wandering from one baseless hope to the next looking for the answer that will complete them.

The good life is far more meaningful and rewarding than any amount of money or security could offer. The good life is a life lived the way that it was intended to be lived. God, the Maker, created us with purpose. When we live our lives the way that we were made to live, the way that it was intended; we experience the good life. (4 ½ minutes)

The first message in this series is titled, The Good Life: Keepin’ it Real. Today we will examine the first principle, Authentic Faith.

*Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Little Jimmy was laying about on a hill in the middle of a meadow on a warm spring day. Puffy white clouds rolled by and he pondered their shape. Soon, he began to think about God.
"God? Are you really there?" Jimmy said out loud.
To his astonishment a voice came from the clouds. "Yes, Jimmy. What can I do for you?"
Seizing the opportunity, Jimmy asked, "God? What is a million years like to you?"
Knowing that Jimmy could not understand the concept of infinity, God responded in a manner to which Jimmy could relate. "A million years to me, Jimmy, is like a minute."
"Oh," said Jimmy. "Well, then, what's a million dollars like to you?"
"A million dollars to me, Jimmy, is like a penny."
"Wow!" remarked Jimmy, getting an idea. "You're so generous...can I have one of your pennies?"
God replied, "Sure thing, Jimmy! Just a minute."

A little boy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100. When the Post Office received the letter addressed to God, they decided to send it to the president. The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill. The President thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.
The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 and sat down to write a thank you note to God, which read:
Dear God,
Thank you very much for sending the money, however, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington D.C. and, as usual, those crooks deducted $95.00.

I like these jokes, because they give a glimpse into what the faith of a child might look like. God just is. He doesn’t need any detailed theological discertation to prove His existence or His intentions. The word that seems to best describe a child’s faith is trust.

I don’t know that there is such a thing as different levels of trust. Either you trust or you don’t.

An authentic Faith knows that God can be trusted. He will do all He has promised to do. That’s the principle. God can be trusted; He will do all He has promised to do.
The critical question is Am I trusting God with the critical areas of my life?
Faith Abandoned
The 2 primary reasons that people abandon their faith or experience the shattering of their faith are poor choices and unexplained tragedy. Let me explain poor choices. A person who has placed their faith in Christ is not immune to sin. Sin is still very much a reality. Let’s talk about slander. That Bible says very clearly that it is wrong to slander another person. If I slander someone; I am making a conscious choice to sin. Because I believe that the Bible is truly God’s word, and that God is the ultimate authority, and that as the ultimate authority, God says it’s wrong. There will be a point of conviction that will no doubt be accompanied by some amount of guilt. I will make a decision at that point of conviction. I will either admit that I was wrong or I will alter my worldview to accommodate my sin, and remove my guilt. If I don’t believe that what the Bible says is accurate anymore, then I will cease to feel guilty in that area.

The second situation is unexplained tragedy. Please watch this video with me…

I don’t show that video to emotionally coerce you into acceptance, but rather to get your heart’s attention. The Mooney family had an authentic faith in God. This video is presented as a testimony to the reality of a humble and submissive heart that has jumped into a trusting relationship with God and has experienced the mercy and grace required at a moment of unbelievable suffering.

When we experience unexplained tragedy in our personal lives or are exposed to the tragedy of those around us, a fragile faith will find us at a critical crossroad. Is God really who He says He is, and will He really do all that He has promised to do?

In both situations, we are saying “What’s happening now. What I’m feeling now. Determines what I believe for now.” It may be described as a bandwagon faith.

‘As long as my faith is grounded in what I see and experience, my faith will always be fragile. It will never be more than circumstantial faith – totally dependent upon my ability (or inability) to interpret the events and circumstances around me.’

That doesn’t sound like the direction in Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Faith Understood (Authentic faith is not a force, power, or wishful thinking)
The difficulty with authentic faith is that it takes me out of the driver’s seat of my own life. I’m not comfortable with that. I want (no I need) to be in control of my life. Unfortunately, it is impossible for me to control everything in my life. I can’t control tragedy. I cannot control whether or not I’m going to get a raise. I can’t control how much the raise will be. I won’t be able to stop my children from making foolish choices as they grow. There are elements of my life that I will never be in control of. I can significantly influence them, but I cannot control them. I want to have as much control of the outcome as I possibly can, because I think I know what is best for my life. So now, I want to control God. I have a connection to a very powerful force, and maybe I can get Him to do my bidding. So I try to find a gimmick in a time of desperation (God if you do this, then I’ll do that). We try and cut a deal. Authentic faith is not a force or a power. It is not a tool that we use to get something from God. Authentic faith is not just wishful thinking either. Wishful thinking describes our wants and desires, but there are no guarantees.

Hebrews 11:1 says that Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

It is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t see. There is a difference between wishful thinking and authentic faith. Wishful thinking is absent a promise. Faith is rooted in a promise. Authentic Faith is rooted in the absolute promises and unchanging character of God.

Read from the book: pg 35:
In Hebrews 11, the author gives dozens of illustrations of people who showed authentic biblical faith. In every case that faith was grounded in a promise or a revelation from God. Noah spent 140 years building an ark because God promised that it was going to rain. Abraham left his home and set out without a destination in mind because God promised to lead him to a new home. Gideon charged in an enemy camp totally outnumbered because God promised victory. Moses went back to Egypt and confronted Pharaoh because God promised to deliver Israel through him. Joshua marched around Jericho until the walls fell down because God promised success.

While we consciously relinquish control, biblical faith puts God firmly in control of our lives. It leaves God with the option to say no. Only when we come to terms with the true nature of faith will we be able to surrender our will to God’s will. As long as we are trying to get something FROM God, we will have a difficult time surrendering our lives TO God.

The true nature of faith is trusting God with all of my heart, with all of me. I can do that because I know that God is safe. God is a safe place for me. I can completely trust Him to take care of me. I can trust that when tragedy strikes, He is still in control. In Matthew 7:11 Gods says, look at this way – If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him. God can be trusted. He will do all that He has promised.

Authentic Faith requires the active surrender of our lives and wills to the care and commitment of a holy, just and deserving God.

Faith Promises (Authentic Faith holds to God’s mercy and grace)
If we live our lives with the expectation that no ill will befall us, then we will be disappointed. That is a faulty expectation. There is a difference between God’s promises and our expectations. While God doesn’t promise us a hurt free life, He does promise us that we will receive mercy and grace from Him.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

You and I can have full confidence that God will always give us the 2 things that are most critical in our time of need: Mercy and Grace.

While God has not promised to deliver us from our circumstances; He has promised to deliver us through them.

The necessity of Authentic Faith is primarily focused on your and my ability to successfully navigate life. The grounding of our faith plays a significant role in our determining whether or not we will be obedient to God’s direction. Will we follow or say no. If I authentically trust God, then I will follow. If my thinking is faulty, then I will allow it to be corrected. An authentic faith in Jesus Christ will result in our willingness to obey. An authentic faith will also get us through those difficult times (whether they are explainable or not). An authentic faith in the all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing creator who describes Himself as and proves Himself to be the perfect Father who knows how to give good gifts to His children will weather the storm. An Authentic Faith is a faith that wholly trusts, and is grounded in truth. It does not put false expectations on God. An Authentic Faith is the foundation of these seven checkpoints. Without it, the others will never be.

If I trust in the Lord with all of my heart (complete trust = complete obedience), and don’t lean on my own understanding, but in all of my ways acknowledge Him, then He WILL make my paths straight.

Am I trusting God with the critical areas in my life?

In response to my trust, God will make my paths, my direction, clear and obvious. I can count on it.