How God Calls us to Faith: Part 2

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In the first part of this series, we talked about how God calls us from one path to another. That’s not the only kind of calling. God also calls us to Him to learn from Him. We are called to learn from God, about God. All of His callings require us to live in faith over fear.

The disciples learn from Jesus

The Bulk of disciples time with Jesus was spent here in the Gospels.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7; various verses throughout Mark and Luke as well) was a primary teaching time where we  still get many of our lessons. 

Jesus begins by turning what they thought they knew on its head with the Beatitudes. In this teaching Jesus’s goal was to demonstrate what the kingdom of heaven looked like, and to establish it here on earth. Let’s review them:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled; blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God; blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)

Living the Beatitudes

I don’t know about you, but this list can strike fear in my heart! I’m sure it did for the disciples, too. This is quite a list. While some of the items like being poor in spirit and being persecuted certainly seem undesirable, others like being merciful all the time, a peacemaker, and being pure in heart seen unattainable.

It’s important to remember that Jesus’ teachings here and throughout Scripture were about bringing the kingdom of heaven to bear on earth. This isn’t a list of ‘must dos’ for salvation. That comes from believing in Jesus alone as our savior. 

There is only one imperative in the entire selection and that is to rejoice and be exceedingly glad when one experiences the blessing of God in the middle of persecution. 

We need to have faith that the blessings being discussed are in the present tense, so we can look for them NOW, having faith that the blessings will be part of our earthly life, not just blessings to come once we get to heaven.

Persecution

There is no need to fear persecution or being reviled. We can have faith that God will send his blessings to us, as promised. 

Is persecution real today? It seems that socially more and more Christians are being reviled and “canceled” for their Bible-based beliefs. 

If we stand up for Scripture, we WILL be persecuted and reviled. Yet, Jesus has overcome this world and its tribulations

Jesus says in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” In this case, tribulation means pressure, affliction, or distress. We can certainly relate to those experiences! When we are ‘of good cheer’ we are confident and courageous. What are we confident and courageous about? That God wins.

We can have faith that God has it all under control. We don’t need to be fearful when times of trials or distress come because we can be confident in the God we serve. Jesus tells us that in Him, when we abide with Him, we have peace (quietness, rest, oneness or wholeness with Him). I certainly want that peace and I know you do too! 

Fear & Faith from Jesus

Jesus  also specifically taught about fear and faith.

Matthew 10:28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him (God) who is able to destroy  both soul and body in hell.

Luke 12:32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 

Matthew 17:20 reminds us that If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

In response to the disciples asking Him to increase their faith Jesus said in Luke 17:5, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’ and it would obey you.” 

Jesus was saying to them that we aren’t to fear man and things of this world, but to trust God and all that He says in His word.

Jesus taught them what they needed to know from the Old Testament and what they needed to know about His kingdom, forming what we know as the New Testament. He wanted them to be new creations. He wanted them to understand His Father, God, better. 

They were given the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Jesus by following him where he went and learning directly from Him. 

Learning from God

We have the same opportunity!  When we take time to learn from God’s Word, we are obeying His call to learn from Him. 

When we take time to learn from God’s Word, we are obeying His call to learn from Him. 

Dr. Andrea Towers Scott

As we see from the following verses, God IS calling us to learn from him

John 6:45 citing Isaiah 54:13 “It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught by God”

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9 Paul says “But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.” 

Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”

God calls us to learn from Him, about Him.

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How to learn about God

One of the ways we can do This is to engage in Bible study. Find a Bible study near you. Many churches sponsor them.

Look online – lots of free.

You can also purchase Bible study books or look at your local library. My favorite Bible study authors are Jennie Allen and Priscilla Shirer. If you’re just getting started, Max Lucado has some great introductory studies as well as deeper topical studies. 

The important thing is to follow Jesus and learn from Him. Read your Scriptures. Ask God what He wants you to know each time before you read. You don’t really need others to tell you what the Bible means, you can learn it for yourself. 

Several methods that involve using Scripture to learn about Scripture are the Inductive Bible Study Method, the SOAP method, and the verse mapping method.

New Testament faith & fear

God inspired the entire Bible. New Testament writers also take time to teach us about fear and faith.

Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 – For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love a sound mind. We are not to be fearful or cowardly when confronted with the enemy. Rather, we borrow from the Holy Spirit’s power. The Spirit of love will carry us through opposition.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. One Bible scholar says that perfect  love is complete, and should be allowed to exert its proper influence on the soul. As far as it exists, perfect love’s tendency is to deliver the mind from fears. If perfect love should exist in any soul in an absolutely perfect state, that soul would be entirely free from all dread in regard to the future. 

I love Romans 8:15 – it says “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” So we clearly have a spirit of God, not fear.

These verses remind us not to fear and that such an emotion does not come from God. Rather, we are to look on God with awe for his mighty power. 

Faith

Romans 1:17 says “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Apart from faith the gospel means nothing. When we come to believe in God’s righteousness, we respond by being faithful to Him.

Ephesians 6:16 reminds us to take up our shield of faith with which to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. God is called our shield in several Psalms. So we are putting God up in front of us to protect us from the dangers the enemy throws at us.

Timothy reminds us to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and this is an ongoing battle

James 1:3 reminds us that faith produces patience. When we have faith in God, even when things aren’t going as we planned, we develop patience. If we give in to our fear when things aren’t going as planned, we tend to be short tempered. 

The author of Hebrews encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” We are to take that faith and run with it.

Life can provoke fear

This life can provoke many fears in us. Even studying the Bible can strike fear in some people.

Have faith to know you are called to study God’s word and that you CAN learn to study the Bible. You don’t have to be scared about not knowing the Bible well enough or not understanding what you read. Instead, have faith that God will show you. Don’t have to be fearful about what other people will think about your study because when the chips are down, it’s all about learning from Jesus. Let others take responsibility for their own learning. 

How do you learn from God, about God?

So how are you doing with learning from God? You obviously have the desire as you are here reading about it. So you’ve taken a good step! What’s the next step you need to take to obey God’s call to learn more about Him? How can you step out in faith and learn more about Him this week? I encourage you to take that next step.

As we learn about Christ in the Bible, we will likely find him as compelling as the disciples did and want to tell others about him, stepping out in faith over fear.

How do you like to learn about God? Share with us in the chat below.

With love,

🌸 Andrea

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