Enlarging Your Vision, Enlarging Your Faith - AnDina Wiley

So I want you to think back in your mind with

me to the 1980s Now some of our younger crowd

can't do that. They like my kids like to remind

me I was born in the 1900s. So it's often a topic

But the 1980s was a time when calls had to be

made from landlines Living room televisions were

these big bulky boxes on the floor and Children

knew when to come home when the streetlights

came on or at least in my neighborhood Our world

wasn't as connected as we are now We didn't learn

about world events on social media But waiting

for the nightly news or maybe a missionary traveling

through our church telling their own stories

of their travel to distant places So it was 1986

and my father was a preacher at a very small

church in a small town We woke up Oklahoma. You

may have heard of it. We had just moved there

not long before from Mississippi, and we were

still getting established as a family in this

small town. And one night, he decided to watch

an old movie based on a novel that was set in

the time period of Imperial Russia, the Russian

Revolution, and their civil war that followed.

And God used this movie to stir something in

my father's heart and change the trajectory of

his life. He began to study and learn about the

Russian people and at that time their oppression

under the communist rule. And in this time of

studying and praying, he felt God calling him

to do something, to help a people that he had

never met or a country he had never been to.

He didn't know how but he knew he was supposed

to serve in some way so he remember very small

Church pastor had no global connections. No networking,

but he began to research and seek out and he

found a Tour group that was for clergy that he

joined without knowing anyone and took his first

trip and then after that The passion stayed and

he worked diligently on the side when he wasn't

dealing with church work. And he took his first

group back in about two short years. And they

were smuggling Bibles written in the Russian

language. I remember stapling the little tracks

together myself. And he was asked to speak at

the First Baptist Church of Leningrad, the second

American pastor following Billy Graham. But that

trip was a catalyst that led him to stepping

out and developing an entire separate ministry

that led to facilitating orphanages in countries

and taking medical mission trips and countless

other outreach trips. That was a time he had

to stand on faith without any direction. And

I share that with you today. To explain to you

what informs my understanding of faith So we

are going to talk about faith today and how it

isn't just a belief that it is a spiritual practice

that we're invited to live out in our everyday

lives The everyday ordinary can be the catalyst

to enlarge your vision and enlarge your faith

Often we dismiss faith as a descriptor of our

religious views or why it outsources our part

in it. But faith, surprising to some, requires

action. It's not simply there to just be held

in our minds. It is a process of co -creation

with God. And that's what James is talking about

when he says faith without works is dead. So

depending on your background, maybe you've heard

a lot about faith growing up. Maybe you've heard

harmful teachings on faith. Or maybe your background

really didn't talk about faith beyond faith in

Jesus for afterlife salvation. But we're going

to look at ways that we can implement living

out the spiritual practice in our lives. Have

you ever encountered a time when you felt prompted

to maybe act in faith or make a decision without

what you knew would happen next? I have examples.

when I know that God was calling me to do something

and I stood in faith. A couple of those things

actually brought me to this position here. Because

this was not in my plan. Or at least in my plan

that I allowed the world to condition. When I

look back, I see moments where it was there.

Like when I was three and I would line all my

stuffed animals up and preach to them about Jonah

and the whale. Or in middle school, I would be

dissecting verses and my mom would comment, that

looks like sermon prep. But I had been around

church work my entire life and I thought, well,

I'm gonna take an easier route. And I enjoyed

children, so I went into education. And I quickly

realized I wasn't to stay there. I began searching

and found a job that allowed me to teach in different

avenues. And there I grew in organizational knowledge

and grant work. I went back and earned my masters.

And I had a boss that I loved who had created

a position specifically for me. And one year

into that position, I felt God tugging at my

heart, hey, check into opportunities at your

church. I was not excited to feel that. I tried

to ignore it. I tried to explain it away, but

after a couple of weeks of it not going away,

I made an appointment with Artie. And it's important

to note, I did not know Artie well at this time.

I had been a volunteer in his youth ministry,

but that was the extent of our connection. And

I remember it well. I came in, I sat down, said,

I really don't know why I'm here, except I'm

supposed to tell you I'd be interested in working

here somehow if it ever comes about. And here

we are 10 years later. So that was a time that

I had to listen and step out in complete faith.

No one could tell me what laid ahead because

they didn't know. I remember a conversation with

my dad when I was moving from teaching to my

former position and he was trying to encourage

me to stick it out because parents don't like

when their kids change careers one year after

college. And I said, Dad, I have no idea what's

to come, but I know it's going to be great. And

I didn't. Sometimes the people who are examples

of faith may not understand the path that God's

calling us to. That's why we cannot depend on

the opinions and the perceptions of others. That's

why we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, that

only God can see what we can't. So let's explore

this idea a little deeper that faith is not passive.

It's not just intention But that it is a practice

of that co -creation with God walking with him

listening responding Too often we treat it like

a wish. Oh, I have faith that I'll get a better

job But we don't do our part to grow ourselves

and prepare for that or we may say that we have

faith God will cover situation, but we don't

open our hands and our hearts with how we may

help with that provision. So, how are we working

with God to move in faith each day? Well, let's

begin with scripture. In the New Testament, we

see Jesus heal time and time again, and he says,

it is your faith that has healed you. Faith wasn't

something that they held privately. It moved

them to act, to reach out, to see beyond their

current circumstances. And there are only two

times in the Gospels where Jesus is described

as being astonished. Do we know? One time is

the centurion's faith in Jesus' authority to

heal from afar. The other time, is he's astonished

by his hometown's lack of faith in him. The people

who couldn't see beyond what they thought they

knew about him. So the question becomes, which

kind of faith astonishes Jesus in us today? Are

we living in ways that reflect a deep trust in

him, or staying safely in what we know? If you'll

turn to me, with me, If you have your Bibles

or your Bible app, to Hebrews 11 .1. And I'm

reading from the Passion Translation. It says,

now faith brings our hope into reality, our hopes,

and becomes the foundation needed to acquire

the things that we long for. It is all the evidence

required to prove what is still unseen. If you'll

turn to verse six. And without faith living within

us, it would be impossible to please him. For

we come to God in faith knowing that he is real

and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately

seek him. I decided to add one more. It's not

on the slides, but it's in Ephesians three. I

have this verse on my whiteboard in my office

and I look at it every day. It says, then by

constantly using your faith, the life of Christ

will be released deep inside of you and the resting

place of his love will become the very source

and root of your life. These verses remind us

that faith isn't just about eternity. It's about

now. So how do we begin to live out that kind

of faith? It starts with a vision. Faith begins

with a vision. Before we can step forward in

faith, we need to be able to see beyond what's

currently in front of us. In Proverbs 29, 18,

it says, where there is no vision, the people

perish. But vision, it doesn't mean having every

detail mapped out. It often begins with a spark,

a burden, a curiosity. When my father felt the

burden to serve people that he didn't know, he

didn't have a complete roadmap. He simply had

a small vision, and he held it with an open hand.

That posture of surrender, It allowed God to

fill in the gaps that only he could see from

above. Here at Christ Community, we talk often

about living in the kingdom of God now, not just

waiting for afterlife salvation. So ask yourself,

when we pray on earth as it is in heaven, do

you have a picture in your mind of what you envision

that to be? Maybe it looks like peace, peace

within yourself, with others at work. Maybe you

envision joy, a deep contentment radiating outwards.

Maybe when you hear those and pray those words,

you imagine justice and provision, ensuring that

everyone has everything that they need to survive

and thrive. Whatever your vision is when you

pray that prayer, Hold to it in your mind, see

it, and then do your part every day to live that

out. If you envision a more peaceful, interacting

world, start with peace within yourself and those

that you interact with. What do you long for?

Do you have a vision for your life? Scripture

speaks of the new self. We hear about this often.

Every day, Every day we are made new in Christ,

but do you believe that today sitting there?

Do we live as though that's true? Maybe there's

a habit or a mindset that you're trying to move

past First you have to begin to imagine and envision

what you would be like without that mindset or

habit Well, what does the new version of you

look like without that pattern And then you speak

that vision over yourself and see it, and then

take the daily steps towards it. Have faith that

you are becoming the new version, even when your

eyes see the fruit of the past, because you are

becoming. This is where the transformation happens.

It's not in the dramatic moments, it's in the

mundane. everyday choices where faith is quietly

formed. Our world is a world of resistance, but

it's in that resistance, the space of who we

are and who we're becoming is where faith is

working. It's that same tension between the brokenness

that we see in the world around us to the healing

that we hope for. Faith is the ability to see

restoration before there's evidence of it. And

Jesus modeled this for us. He saw people whole,

healed, set free before anyone else did. And

that's how he sees you today. Sometimes faith

isn't about big bold decisions. Sometimes it's...

Being present to see the extraordinary in the

ordinary. Maybe it's a simple conversation you

have, a book you read, a song you hear, maybe

a prompting at the store. When you feel that,

don't brush it off. Listen, respond. That is

faith at work. And in these moments when we feel

it and we feel kind of odd, And we kind of get

stuck and freeze. It's so important to remember

that our God is a God of abundance, not of scarcity.

When we get stuck in our scarcity mindset, we

forget that he sees enough, he is enough, and

he will provide. Romans 8 28 says, we know that

in all things, God works for the good for those

who love him. But do we live this out each day

in the everyday moments? It's really easy to

forget. So today we are going to compare the

process of faith to a seed. And in your notes,

there's a small comparison chart. Jesus gave

us agricultural metaphors in the New Testament

because it gives us such rich, relatable visuals.

Life reflects nature, and nothing in nature is

in a hurry or forces growth. Think about when

you plant a seed. You dig your hole, you put

the seed in, you cover it back up. You don't

come back every day to check if it's growing,

right? You trust that it will grow. You don't

dig it up to see are the roots forming. Somehow

we understand how to apply that to farming and

agriculture. But when it comes to less tangible

ideas like a dream, a new habit, we often lose

patience. We don't trust the process, as they

say. Mark 11, 24 says, believe you have received

it and it will be yours. But that kind of belief

means Seeing before it is there when the seed

is still in the soil So when you have a seed

Look into my it's been in a dormant state a resting

or a sleep state Now this represents the hidden

potentials within us maybe that we aren't even

aware of yet And then the seed with the right

conditions wakes up with oxygen and water and

warmth So that is when God stirs something within

us and wakes it up. The next step is when the

seed coat breaks. This is often a painful looking

process. But this is where the life happens,

the life from the brokenness, the letting go

of the old identity. To become the plant, it

can no longer be the seed. Then the root emerges.

It goes down into the soil, begins to absorb

the nutrients and anchor the plant to the ground.

This is the deep spiritual work that happens

within us in our private lives, in the times

in the dark where we don't feel like it's happening.

Our prayer life, our studying, it's the trust

in the dark. Then the shoot pushes through the

soil. We reach towards Christ. We continue to

pursue even through the resistance. And then

finally, leaves grow and the plant begins to

form. Now, I added the apple tree stages and

this was very interesting. I knew I was going

to talk about If we stop, maybe even at the green

cluster, if you were planting an apple tree thousands

of years ago, you're told this will give you

an apple tree, but you're told nothing about

timelines or anything else, and that happens,

what are you going to think? It's not working.

You gave me the wrong seed. If you stop at the

green cluster, and even with fruit trees, almost

every fruit tree blooms flowers first. Once again,

you're gonna think what in the world? This isn't

it Too often when we have a burden or an idea

and we start to work on it And then we stop at

one of the beginning stages and we give up When

God's saying it's not finished Keep working at

it patience and faith because then You get to

the fruit And this is not just for yourself.

An apple tree doesn't eat apples. It's to bless

others. So, we know we should work to live lives

of faith, but we also know it is so hard. So

we're gonna look at a few barriers to living

lives of faith. When we think about what gets

in the way of a life of faith doubt is obviously

a major one and it is real James 1 6 says When

you ask you must believe and not doubt or else

you're like the waves of the sea being tossed

and blown away But I want to look at some more

or less obvious but equally powerful barriers

to faith today one major barrier especially in

modern life, is over controlled lives. We know

our whole life's map. In fact, we have like our

career plans, our financial goals, you know,

retirement timeline, and these things obviously

are not bad. They are wise. But do we hold them

with an open hand? Do we allow room for the spirit

to interrupt our plans and say, Look over here.

Why don't you help in this situation? Take a

step there. Sometimes abundance can disguise

our need for faith. We think we have every angle

covered. We're tempted to rely only on ourselves

instead of walking in step with the Spirit. The

more that we've been given, the more important

it is for us to practice faith. because it's

easy to forget that we need it. Another barrier,

resistance to change. Even those of us who like

change find it hard when it's personal or uncomfortable

or uncertain. So if you have a personality that

craves predictability, it's even more important

that you listen and become aware when the spirit

nudges you towards something new. Growth always

requires change. And faith means trusting God

enough to step into that unfamiliar, even when

you don't have the full picture. And finally,

fear. Fear of disappointment, of the unknown,

of what others will think. Fear keeps us small

and from stepping out. But here's the thing.

Both fear and faith They ask us to believe in

something that we can't see. The difference is

what are we choosing to believe? What do we choose

each day? So how do we practice living lives

of faith? It starts with our identity. What do

you believe deep down about yourself? Do you

believe that you're accepted, that you're loved,

forgiven? what we focus on grows. And if we dwell

on our mistakes of the past and our failures,

we're more likely to keep repeating that pattern.

Why? Because our attention is here. What we resist

persists, because when you're resisting something,

you're giving it your attention. But instead,

you shift your focus. So my example is when you

change your diet, your way of eating. If you

think about all the foods that you're not allowing

yourself to have all day long, what do you think

about? Or what do you want? Those foods. Pop

in a piece of candy. But if you change your identity

to, I am someone who eats nourishing foods, I

am someone who moves regularly, you begin to

live out that identity because your focus and

energy changes. That old pattern? it falls away,

not because you're resisting it, you're no longer

giving it the attention. You are focused on who

you are becoming. So maybe a daily practice for

this might be daily remind yourself of who you

are in God's eyes through scripture and affirmation

and prayer. The next step is living a life of

surrender. If you've been in church long, you've

heard this term. So often it feels like it loses

its meaning. But what does it really mean to

surrender? It doesn't mean to sit back passively,

waiting for God to do something. It does mean

releasing control. It means relaxing in to hear

the present moment. Not striving, not forcing.

But walking in step with the spirit with open

hands and a willing heart Something you could

try daily is reflect what am I trying to control

today and then pray a prayer of surrender and

finally Authenticity living as the person God

created you to be uniquely without comparison

or apology. We all get caught up in trying to

fit into these other boxes that weren't made

for us. Living a life of faith, it isn't about

having all the answers, not struggling, but it

is about showing up fully known, fully surrendered,

and fully yourself. Maybe a way to practice that

is look for opportunities where you could act

honestly and really show What it is that maybe

that you feel about something or act in a way

that is true to you without being uncomfortable

So as the worship team comes forward I want us

to take a minute and think about An area that

maybe God is calling us to practice faith Maybe

for you, it's choosing to believe in His goodness

during a very difficult situation. Maybe you're

starting a new career path with uncertainty that

lies ahead. Maybe you have a situation with your

child that you need to surrender to God and have

faith that it will be okay. Lastly, how are we

practicing faith together as a community? What

does it look like to do this? We carry faith

for others in their seasons of trial. We speak

hope and vision and truth into each other. Our

words shape how we live and what we believe about

ourselves. So are your interactions speaking

life and truth into each other? As we come to

the communion portion of our service, if you're

visiting, you're welcome to partake with us.

We start at the front, we come down, and then

follow the line back to our seat. And during

this time, we remember, he had given thanks,

and he broke it and said, this is my body, which

is for you. Do this in remembrance of me in the

same way He took the cup after supper and said

this cup is the cup of the new covenant of my

blood Do it as often as you drink in remembrance

of me