015 – Calibrate Belief: Expanding the Borders of Your Faith

by | May 4, 2017 | Podcast Episodes, Spiritual Life | 2 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

You cannot be coached or led beyond the borders of your faith. If you don’t believe, you cannot step into your desired and directed future. So, how do we enlarge the borders of our faith? Through experience, inspiration, revelation, and trust, spiritual leadership can calibrate belief and develop the courage to step into God’s design for their lives.

Continue reading for detailed and time stamped notes.

Calibrate Belief: Stepping Beyond the Borders of Your Faith

You can’t lead someone else beyond the borders of their faith, and neither can you go beyond the borders of your belief. How do we lead ourselves and people beyond the borders of their faith and belief.

[1:20] Standing at the boundaries of your faith and being unable to take the next step.

[2:10] How do we expand the borders of our faith so we can step into God’s promise, mission, and vision.

[2:16]  (Quick Overview)  I cannot go beyond the borders of my belief, my faith. If I am to go beyond my present faith, I must first increase or expand my belief.

  • Faith Expansion is Incremental and Connected to Experience
  • Faith Expansion is Encouraged and can be Inspired
  • Faith Expansion is Spiritual and Connected to Revelation
  • Faith Expansion Involves Risk and is Connected to Trust

[3:00] Pursuing the calling and promise of God.

I cannot accomplish them unless I believe,

  • unless I believe in God
  • unless I believe they are directives from God
  • unless I believe in my ability to follow God / God in me

at some point I have to believe God can, and that I can, before I will embrace the promise.

I cannot cross the border of my faith to embrace a promise, I just can’t.

So, what do we do about restrictive faith borders?

We will carry some dreams to the grave, almost every one of us, because we established a border, a line, a barrier that we could not cross in our minds, in our soul, or in our spirit.

So, how do we step into the promise (promised land) / how do we expand the border of our faith so it encompasses God’s purposes?

[3:30]  The story of 12 Influencers (Spies)…

Ten influencers influenced negatively because their faith could not transcend the challenge. Two of the influencers, Joshua and Caleb, had a strong faith and positively influenced the people to step into their purpose and promise. Numbers Chapters 13 & 14. 

The observation of the 10 negative influencers: “Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”” Numbers 14.3 ESV

[8:20]  The negative influencers were dissuaded by these obstacles:

  • Saturation (there’s no room for me)
  • Competition
  • Impossibility
  • Comparison

[12:25]  The negative influencers wanted to go back to Egypt and slavery because it was their comfort zone, more so that the fear they felt in stepping into their promise.

[shareable]We have a tendency to go back to the thing we know when the unknown is scary.[/shareable]

The declaration of the positive influencers:  “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.” Numbers 14.7-10 ESV

There are always giants in the land and grasshoppers are no match for giants.

If we go back to “Egypt”, we will…

  • Go back to what we know
  • Retreat to the comfort zone
  • Retreat to the sure thing

#1 Expanding the Borders of our Faith is Incremental According to our Experience [13:00]

Our experiences teach us the attributes, the character, and the nature of God. The experiences of how God has walked with us and helped us expand the borders of our faith. We gain these experiences incrementally over a long period of time. We move from faith to faith as our experience with God solidifies and expands our belief.

#2 Expanding the Borders of our Faith is Encouraged through Inspiration  [15:36]

When we coach we inspire. When we preach we inspire. Encouragement forward is about inspiration. What is inspiration?

To inspire is “to breathe into.” God’s Spirit inspires us, encourages us, and cheers us on to step into the promise. We inspire others, we encourage them to see possibilities and expand in directions they’ve not before considered.

Inspiration expands the borders of our faith.

#3 Expanding the Borders of our Faith is Spiritual and Connected to Revelation   [19:10]

Revelation from God is what he shows us, what God shows us. Revelation is about seeing things in the spiritual realm. Revelation is also about gaining new information, knowledge, and insight. Again, revelation gives us a “truth” perspective and from such reality we expand the borders of our faith, enabling us to step into the promise.

We must see something before we can pursue it. Problem is, what we are pursuing is unseen. It is perceived by faith. It is experienced in the realm of the unseen. It is a faith thing.

Referenced Scripture:  “He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6.16-17 ESV

#4  Expanding the Borders of our Faith Involves Risk and is Connected to Trust  [22:34]

Trust is the culmination of experience, inspiration, and revelation. It all comes down to trust. We have to trust God and we have to trust ourselves in the discernment that God has placed within us.

[24:54]  The outcomes are not my responsibility. We have to leave success and failure to God; whether we “succeed” or we “fail”, the point is trusting and moving forward at God’s directives. We do not understand everything, in fact we don’t understand much in the scope of vast knowledge, and so we are in a position where the expansion of our faith is dependent upon trust.

Calibration Tools: Lifting Those You Love and Lead   [25:30] 

#1 Be willing to let go. [26:00]

A bird in the hand is NOT worth two in the bush. The unseen thing that God has prepared for us is of vastly more value than the thing we hold in our hands that we are bid to release.

Is this promise so important that you are willing to risk. Hey, if it isn’t important to you… for goodness sakes, go back to Egypt because measure of faith will not sustain the promise.

#2 Allow yourself to consider the possibilities. [32:10]

Expanding and considering new possibilities is always essential. We consider all of the things that could go wrong, and that is important, but what about all of the things that could go right.

The two positive influencers (spies) focused on the possibilities, The ten negative influencers focused on the obstacles. Look at what happens when influencers focus on the obstacles… negative inspiration.

Influencers have to influence realistically and their inspiration must paint a picture of the possibilities.

#3 Define your path. [33:04]

The two positive influencers said, yes this is tough stuff (reality), but this is the culmination of centuries. Reflect upon where we’ve been (experience), reflect upon the possibilities (inspiration), reflect upon the revelation, and anchor in the trust.

The two positive influencers focused upon the divine plan and divine empowerment. This is the path of God. We have to trust that.

So…

We must expand the borders of our faith (belief) before we can move forward.

Admittedly, I am often beckoned beyond my faith, and faith increases as I walk, that’s where trust comes in.

How…

I cannot go beyond the borders of my belief, my faith. If I am to go beyond my present faith, I must first increase or expand my belief.

  • Faith Expansion is Incremental and Connected to Experience
  • Faith Expansion is Encouraged and can be Inspired
  • Faith Expansion is Spiritual and Connected to Revelation
  • Faith Expansion Involves Risk and is Connected to Trust