Taking Next Steps in Bold Faith

Devotional

Day 1: Forty Miles on Frozen Feet

The disciples huddled behind locked doors, fear choking their courage. Jesus appeared unannounced, flesh-and-bone resurrected, eating broiled fish to prove He wasn’t a ghost. His scars became proof of victory, not defeat. Like the pastor’s 45-mile walk through bitter cold, faith often demands steps before clarity comes. [35:04]

Bold faith obeys before understanding. Jesus didn’t chide the disciples for hiding—He showed them His wounds and commissioned them anyway. Trust grows when we move despite confusion, letting His presence anchor us more than our perceptions.

What step have you avoided because you’re waiting for a guarantee? Where is Jesus asking you to walk before the fog lifts?

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
(Hebrews 11:1, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to highlight one unresolved area where He wants your obedience before answers.
Challenge: Write down one practical step of faith you’ll take this week—then text a friend to hold you accountable.

Day 2: Grasshoppers and Angel Armies

Elisha’s servant saw enemy chariots encircling the city and panicked. But when Elisha prayed, God ripped open the spiritual realm—horses and chariots of fire dwarfed the threat. Fear shrinks our vision; faith expands it. [51:07]

God’s reality outnumbers every visible struggle. The Israelites fixated on giants, forgetting the God who drowned Pharaoh’s army. Our battles aren’t against flesh but against lies that magnify obstacles and minimize Christ’s power.

What problem dominates your gaze today? What would change if you saw it through Heaven’s lens?

“Don’t be afraid,” Elisha answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
(2 Kings 6:16, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one fear aloud, then declare God’s sovereignty over it three times.
Challenge: Draw two columns: list three fears on the left, then write God’s promises to counter each on the right.

Day 3: Grapes and Giants

Twelve spies returned from Canaan—ten saw fortified cities and looming giants. Two clutched grape clusters, declaring, “We can certainly take it!” Fear exaggerates obstacles; faith weighs God’s track record. [53:46]

The majority’s report bred despair, but Caleb and Joshua clung to God’s promise. Fear spreads like contagion, but bold faith inoculates communities. Every “giant” you face has already been measured against Christ’s victory.

Where have you absorbed others’ fears instead of standing on God’s word?

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’”
(Numbers 13:30, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for three past victories as fuel for current battles.
Challenge: Identify one “giant” you’ve avoided—then research a Scripture to declare over it daily.

Day 4: Mercy in the Muddle

A woman wept through eight years of infertility until a stranger’s reckless prayer declared life. She dared to believe despite crushed hopes. Faith isn’t presumption—it’s leaning into God’s character when outcomes seem impossible. [01:00:21]

Jesus invites us to ask boldly, not because we deserve answers, but because He delights in giving mercy and grace. The pastor’s awkward prayer didn’t heal—God’s faithfulness did. Our role is to knock; His role is to open.

What dead dream have you stopped bringing to Jesus?

“Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16, NIV)

Prayer: Name one buried hope and ask Jesus to resurrect it or redirect your heart.
Challenge: Set a phone reminder to pray for this need daily at 3:16 PM for one week.

Day 5: Dreams and Dead Ends

The Israelites begged to return to Egypt’s slavery rather than face Canaan’s unknowns. Fear prefers familiar bondage over faith’s adventure. God’s dreams often disrupt ours, exchanging small plans for eternal purposes. [46:28]

Jesus redirected Peter from fishing nets to soul-winning. Surrendering our agendas doesn’t mean abandoning desire—it means letting God purify and amplify it. His path always leads deeper into His heart.

What personal dream have you clutched so tightly that it overshadows God’s whisper?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)

Prayer: Hold open your hands physically as you pray, symbolizing release of your plans to God.
Challenge: Spend 10 minutes in silence today, asking Jesus: “What dream do You want to plant in me?”

Sermon Summary

“This is the way” names a code, and a code names a culture. The value of walking in bold faith lands inside that code as a system that creates outcomes - behavior becomes habit, and habit delivers fruit. The call refuses a gap between what a person says they value and what anyone could accuse them of being. The value presses for activated hearts, not bystanders, because the kingdom is forcefully advancing and God is inviting people off the sidelines and into the unknown.

The good news, as Romans 1 announces, is that God makes people right with God through Jesus - start to finish by faith. Saving faith matters, but the New Testament keeps tying faith to action. Hebrews 11 stacks the stories - Abel gives, Noah builds and waits, Enoch walks with God, Sarah judges God faithful. James then questions any faith that never takes a step. Hebrews 11:6 raises the stakes - without faith it is impossible to please God - and folds in the proximity principle: drawing near feeds faith. Proverbs 3 sketches the next-step life - trust the Lord, stop leaning on one’s own understanding, seek His will, and God shows the path that is meant to be walked, not admired.

The contrast between God’s dream and personal dreams cuts sharp. The invitation is not to nicer circumstances but to God’s direction, which includes headaches, heartache, and hardships. Faith, then, is not blind jump but sight for the unseen. 2 Corinthians 5:7 and Hebrews 11:1 insist that unseen realities outlast what eyes can scan. Elisha’s prayer - “Lord, open his eyes” - becomes the refrain: angel armies still outnumber visible threats.

Numbers 13-14 exposes fear’s playbook. Fear exaggerates giants, shrinks saints into grasshoppers, spirals into discouragement and grumbling, then quits early and blames God. The tragedy sits in the mismatch between what God actually promised and what people decided He had to do. Forty years later Jericho confesses it was terrified the whole time. God can be trusted, but He will not be scripted.

Faith shrinks problems by enlarging God. Faith opens doors for God’s interventions, not as name-it-claim-it, but as trust that unlocks God’s own promises. At the center sits a living promise: mercy and grace at the throne. Hebrews 4 invites confident approach to Jesus for timely help. Bold faith keeps stepping, keeps drawing near, and keeps asking for mercy and grace until the unseen breaks in.

Key Takeaways

1. Bold faith moves, not admires. Bold faith ties belief to steps. The New Testament will not let faith stay in the head while the feet stand still. When trust shifts from self to God, the path comes into view and asks to be walked. The pleasure of God meets those steps, not passive agreement. [37:53]
2. Systems quietly deliver spiritual outcomes. A life system becomes a behavior, a behavior becomes a habit, and habits carry outcomes. Desire alone cannot outpace a poor system, so faith builds small, repeatable first moves that lead to God-first fruit. A prayer at daybreak beats an intention at bedtime. The code a person lives by writes tomorrow’s testimony. [32:17]
3. Fear rewrites reality and quits. Fear inflates the problem, shrinks identity, gathers grumblers, and then blames God for a story He never promised to tell. The spies saw giants and forgot whose they were, then chose Egypt over promise before taking a single step. Faith reads the same facts under a bigger God and keeps moving. Forty years later, even the enemy admits it was afraid all along. [56:21]
4. God can be trusted, not scripted. Trust does not erase tornadoes, fires, or tears, but it anchors in the God who raises dead things. Disappointment often grows from promises God never made, not from promises He failed to keep. Scripture offers more than enough real promises to lean on without inventing new ones. Faith clings to what God said, not to what hearts demanded. [48:20]
5. Eyes of faith outsee what scares. The unseen is more solid than the seen, so faith asks for different eyes. Elisha’s prayer still fits - “Lord, open their eyes” - because angel armies still stand where fear swears there is only defeat. When the heart’s eyes open, the visible no longer gets the last word. Courage rises as reality widens beyond the horizon line. [51:07]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:17] - This Is The Way - our code
[31:46] - Systems that drive outcomes
[33:24] - Core values roll call
[34:52] - Walk to Ottumwa - obedience story
[37:23] - Saving faith vs walking faith
[39:59] - The good news that saves
[42:26] - Hebrews 11 - faith acts
[44:42] - Without faith it is impossible
[45:44] - Trust in the Lord - next steps
[48:20] - Trust God, not scripted outcomes
[51:07] - Eyes of faith, not fear
[53:22] - Spies, giants, and grasshoppers
[58:16] - Faith that opens miracles
[61:31] - Mercy and grace at the throne

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Hebrews 11:1-6 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain... By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death... And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Observation Questions

According to Hebrews 11, what specific actions did faith lead Abel, Noah, and Enoch to take?
In Numbers 13-14, how did fear distort the Israelites’ perception of their circumstances and identity?
What does Proverbs 3:5-6 say about the relationship between trusting God and relying on personal understanding? [45:44]

Interpretation Questions

Why does the New Testament repeatedly tie faith to action (e.g., Hebrews 11, James 2:17)? How does this challenge a passive view of belief?
How does fear “rewrite reality” (as seen in Numbers 13-14), and why does this lead to discouragement or blaming God? [56:21]
What does it mean to “walk in bold faith” as a system of habits rather than a one-time decision? How do small, daily choices build spiritual outcomes? [32:17]

Application Questions

What is one area of your life where you’ve been “admiring the path” instead of walking it (e.g., prayer, generosity, serving)? What specific step could you take this week to move from intention to action? [37:53]
Fear often exaggerates problems and shrinks our sense of God’s power. What current challenge feels like a “giant” to you? How could focusing on God’s faithfulness (instead of the problem) shift your perspective? [54:57]
Identify a daily habit (e.g., morning prayer, Scripture reading) that could help you “draw near to God” consistently. How might this habit strengthen your faith over time? [45:44]
When have you blamed God for a disappointment rooted in a promise He never made? How can clinging to His actual promises (e.g., Hebrews 4:16) anchor you during unmet expectations? [48:20]
What would it look like to pray “Lord, open my eyes” (like Elisha) in a situation where fear or doubt feels overwhelming? Share a practical way to practice this prayer daily. [51:07]

Sermon Clips

31s

“We this is what they did. They why is the Lord taking us this country only to have us die in battle? That was not his plan. That was not his plan. In fact, forty years fast forward forty years, they get to Jericho, and the word in Jericho is we have been waiting forty years for you to conquer us because we've heard the stories of your God. They thought they were gonna go die. The enemy was petrified.”

45s

“Application. Is there something in your life that fear is triumphing over faith? And can I tell you, God can be trusted? So few application things to put more faith in your life. Faith has the ability to shrink my problems. How? If my faith is in a big God, my problems become smaller. But if my problems are bigger than my God, my faith will become diminished, small. Dial in. How big is your God?”

21s

“He who is in us is greater than who is in the world. And so oftentimes when difficulties come, we forget whose we are, and we let fear dominate us. And so we even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers. The literal translation is, we're just little bugs compared to them. I mean, you're not, though.”

18s

“Taken another way, I believe even when things end poorly, even when things end bad, that my god's still a god that can raise dead things back to life. And I might not ever see what I want to have happen, but I can trust him that he's gonna make all things new someday and so his way is better than whatever I'm dreaming about.”

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Taking Next Steps in Bold Faith

Devotional

Day 1: Forty Miles on Frozen Feet

Day 2: Grasshoppers and Angel Armies

Day 3: Grapes and Giants

Day 4: Mercy in the Muddle

Day 5: Dreams and Dead Ends

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Taking Next Steps in Bold Faith

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