God

1
(No Transcript)
2
Trusting
God
3
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
Where is your faith?
Never before have I seen faith like this!
If you have faith like a mustard seed, you can
say to this mountain, get up and move!
4
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
When Jesus spoke with people who were seeking
Him, he encouraged faith and commended faith
but never commanded it. For the seeker, we do
choose faith but not simply as an act of will.
Faith is not an ability to be exercised, but an
attitude to to be learned, received and practised.
5
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
( For the man or woman who has already chosen to
follow Jesus, there does then come an exercise of
will where we choose to act based on what we have
already learned about trusting Jesus, rather than
other philosophies or belief systems)
6
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
What (daft) people sometimes say to
those seeking faith
Just have faith
All you have to do is believe
Your faith isnt strong enough
7
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
Faith believing something you know isnt true
The cynics definition
8
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
The constipation concept
strain hard enough, youll produce something!
9
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
Faith or believing are simply
trusting God
this is much more than an intellectual judgement!
10
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
Trust is inevitably based on our experience
Faith
putting our whole weight upon
11
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
Believing that abseiling is safe is different
at the top of the tower!
12
Ideas about faith
Trusting God
Believing that parasailing is safe is different
in the air!
13
Trusting means risking
Trusting God
Faith is spelled R-I-S-K
If you never do it, you never get to see it
John Wimber
Faith Believing Trust Risk
14
Trusting means risking
Trusting God

• betrayal?
• broken confidence?
• vulnerable to pain
• what will people think?
• can I take this risk?

Some people leap into relationships others take
their time!
15
Evaluating the risk
Trusting God
Rational evaluation

• is this credible?
• is this coherent?

• does it work for other people?
• does it answer a need that I have?

Note Bible documents are faith documents they
were not written as science or history!
16
Evaluating the risk
Trusting God
Experiential evaluation

• how do I feel?
• why do I feel like that?
  (e.g. peace, sorrow, fear, security, anger,
  isolation)
  
• what other explanations could there be for these
  feelings?
  

In evolutionary terms, why should I enjoy a
sunset or be touched by music?
17
Experimental trusting
Trusting God

• intellectually honest
  experimental prayer
  
• intellectually honest
  experimental bible reading
  
• experimentally being prayed for
  (at a distance, or hands on!)

18
The language of intimate trust
Trusting God
This is a good woman, so I will pursue a formal
legal contract for her to be my mate
19
The language of intimate trust
Trusting God
Stretching language an attempt to describe
experience
My love is like a red, red rose
20
The language of intimate trust
Trusting God
Stretching language an attempt to describe
experience
God our Father
The Son of God
The Trinity
Born again
21
The language of intimate trust
Trusting God
Jean-Francois Gravelet 1824-1897 (Blondini)
at Niagara Falls
22
(No Transcript)