Your Faith Can Move Mountains: Mark 11:22-24 (CEV)
Your Faith Can Move Mountains: Mark 11:22-24 (CEV)
Your Faith Can Move Mountains: Mark 11:22-24 (CEV)
Talk It Over
God wants you to focus on growing, Would you do that? Abraham was in
sowing, and going in faith. his retirement phase, just about to
First, God wants you to grow in faith. hang it up and settle down. Then God
He doesn’t want you to be a spiritual said, “No, dust yourself off, and get
baby. The Bible says in Colossians ready for the greatest journey of your
2:7: “Let your roots grow down into life.” When you live by faith, it involves
him, and let your lives be built on him. going, often to places you were never
Then your faith will grow strong in the planning to go.
truth you were taught, and you will
overflow with thankfulness” (NLT). Why is it so important for you to
develop your faith? The Bible explains
God also wants you to sow in faith. He it over and over again:
wants you to learn to become
generous—because you cannot “Without faith it is impossible to please
become like Christ without becoming God” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).
generous. The Bible
“Let it be done for you according to
says, “Remember this: Whoever sows
your faith” (Matthew 9:29 CSB).
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows generously will also “Anything that is not done in faith is
reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6 sin” (Romans 14:23 GW).
NIV).
Everything God does in your life is
This is the law of sowing and reaping, done by his grace and through your
and it’s true in every area of life. If you faith.
sow criticism, you’re going to reap
criticism. If you sow love, you’ll reap Talk It Over
love. If you sow kindness, you will
reap kindness. And you always reap How have you grown in your faith
more than you sow. When you plant in the last six months?
one corn kernel in the ground, you What would the people who are
don’t get one kernel back. You get a close to you say you are sowing
whole stalk. You always get back in your life?
more—positive or negative—of what Has God asked you to go
you put out in life. somewhere in faith? Did you
obey or not? What were the
Then, God wants you to go in faith. effects of your obedience or
disobedience?
Hebrews 11:8 says, “It was by faith
Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to
God Wants Whatever In John 6:5-6 Jesus asks, “‘Where
You’ve Got shall we buy bread for these people to
eat?’ He asked this only to test him,
BY RICK WARREN — JANUARY 4, 2021 for he already had in mind what he
was going to do” (NIV).
“‘Where shall we buy bread for
these people to eat?’ He asked this Jesus wasn’t worried about how to
only to test him, for he already had feed 5,000 people. He already had in
in mind what he was going to do.” mind what he was going to do. He
saw the need long before the disciples
John 6:5-6 (NIV) did. And he had a plan.
Do you remember the story of Jesus You need to understand this truth
feeding 5,000 people with only five today: God always has the answer
loaves of bread and two fish? I think before you even know the problem.
it’s amazing that, out of 5,000 people, God is not worried your unsolvable
only one person brought a lunch. problem. It’s not too late in the day for
Jesus. He saw your problem long
before you did. He knew it was
coming, and he already had a plan for
it. God knows the solution to your
problem before you even recognize
it’s a problem.
I’m thinking a lot of people were
hiding picnic baskets under their robes So why are you worrying? Just admit
because they didn’t want to share with you have an unsolvable problem, and
anybody else. then give God everything you have.
But one little boy offered the bread Watch him take your loaves and fish
and fish he packed for his lunch. He and turn them into a feast.
gave Jesus what little he had, and
God used it not to just feed a lot of
people but also to show them how
much he cares and how powerful he
is.
One day a very wealthy man came to Your Gifts and Talents
Jesus and asked him how to prepare Are Not Just for Your
for eternity in heaven. This man had Good
far more money than he needed or
BY RICK WARREN — JANUARY 9, 2021
could even enjoy. He wanted to know
how he could have eternal life.
“I always thank my God for you and
Jesus gave this man some investment for the gracious gifts he has given
advice: “Sell your possessions and you, now that you belong to
give to those in need. This will store
up treasure for you in heaven! And the
purses of heaven never get old or
develop holes. Your treasure will be
Christ Jesus. Now you have every
safe; no thief can steal it and no moth
spiritual gift you need as you
can destroy it” (Luke 12:33 NLT). In
eagerly wait for the return of our
other words, liquidate some of your
Lord Jesus Christ.”
assets here on earth and send them
on ahead to heaven, where your 1 Corinthians 1:4, 7 (NLT)
treasure will last forever.
When God thought you up, he created
What about you? Do you really need you with a number of different gifts,
everything you’ve got? Or is Jesus talents, abilities, and skills. There are
speaking to you through these verses certain ways you think and things you
—telling you to give some of what you do that you’re just naturally good at.
have to help people who have a lot Those gifts and abilities are how God
less? shaped you. But God did not shape
you uniquely for your benefit. Your
When you’re generous, it changes
gifts are not just for your own good.
your perspective on what you actually
Your gifts are for the benefit of
need. And, more importantly, every
everybody else. And that
time you choose generosity, you’re
means their gifts are for your benefit,
storing up treasure in heaven.
too.
Talk It Over
One of my gifts is teaching. I’ve put
Where do you invest most of your that gift to work for many years now
time, talent, and money right for the benefit of other people. In the
now? Do those investments
same way, your gifts can benefit the Don’t waste your God-given abilities.
people in your life. Use your gifts to serve God by serving
others.
You may already know what you’re
really good at. Why do you think God Talk It Over
made you good at those things? He
wants you to use those gifts for Have you wondered what your
others! purpose is? How do you think
your gifts and talents play into
How should you use those gifts or your purpose?
talents in the time left before Jesus What is one new way you can
comes back? Well, you should use use your talents and skills to help
them to reach others for Jesus. You someone this week?
should use them to be an ambassador If you knew Jesus was going to
of love in the world. In fact, if you’re return in three days, how would
not using those unique gifts the way you spend those three days?
God intended, then you’re really just How should that perspective
wasting them. change the way you spend your
time every day?
God didn’t give you gifts just to use
them for yourself. James 4:17 says it There Are
like this: “Remember, it is sin to know
what you ought to do and then not do
Consequences for
it” (NLT). Disobedience
BY RICK WARREN — JANUARY 10, 2021
If you know what you’re good at and
you know that many people in the “In the wilderness their desires ran
world probably need your help, what wild, testing God’s patience in that
are you going to do about it? Who are dry wasteland. So he gave them
you serving? Who are you going to what they asked for, but he sent a
help between now and when the story plague along with it.”
ends and eternity begins?
Psalm 106:14-15 (NLT)
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Talk It Over