Trips as Steps of Faith Toward Multiplication

Devotional

Day 1: Stepping Into the River Before the Waters Part

The Jordan River didn’t stop flowing until the priests’ feet touched the water. Faith requires movement before clarity comes. Like the Israelites facing an impassable barrier, we’re called to act on trust rather than wait for guarantees. This pattern repeats throughout Scripture and life: God provides direction only after we begin walking. What looks like risk becomes sacred ground for divine intervention. [04:28]

So the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people. And when the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water…the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap…and all Israel was passing over on dry ground. (Joshua 3:14–17, ESV)

Reflection: Where is God inviting you to take a first step of obedience today, even if the outcome seems uncertain? Name one practical action that requires trusting God more than your own security.

Day 2: A Lunchbox and a Miracle

A boy surrendered five barley loaves and two fish—not because he saw a plan, but because he held nothing back. Jesus multiplies what we release, not what we strategize. The disciples saw scarcity; the child saw an opportunity. True abundance begins when we offer our “not enough” without conditions. [05:20]

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”…Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. (John 6:9–11, ESV)

Reflection: What “small offering” in your life—time, skill, or resource—have you been withholding because it feels inadequate? How might releasing it today open space for God’s multiplication?

Day 3: The Staff in Your Hand

Mobs argued with God about his calling, listing deficiencies instead of holding up his provision. A shepherd’s staff became a snake, a river-splitter, and a victory banner. God uses ordinary tools in willing hands. Our focus shifts from “I don’t have” to “Here’s what I’m holding” when we trust the Giver over the gift. [17:29]

The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent… (Exodus 4:2–3, ESV)

Reflection: What ordinary “staff” has God already placed in your hand—relationships, experiences, or abilities—that you’ve undervalued? How might he want to transform it for his purposes?

Day 4: 100% Return on Investment

The parable of the talents reveals God’s expectation: double what you’ve been given. This isn’t about financial gain but radical stewardship of grace, time, and influence. Fearful preservation insults the Giver; faithful risk honors him. Our ROI measures courage, not spreadsheets. [19:51]

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:21, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been “burying” your gifts to avoid failure? What would it look like to invest them boldly this week, trusting God with the yield?

Day 5: Navigating Fog with Trail Markers

Fog obscures distant peaks but reveals the next cairn. Like hikers in the White Mountains, disciples walk by proximate guidance—Scripture, community, and prayer—when grand visions fade. Faith isn’t blindness but focus: we follow the path beneath our feet, not the horizon beyond our sight. [12:55]

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV)

Reflection: What “next cairn” (clear next step) has God placed in your life right now? How will you actively acknowledge his guidance as you move toward it?

Sermon Summary

The call to follow Jesus begins with a first step before all the proof shows up. God does not always lay out the whole Rand McNally road atlas and say, “This is where you’re going.” God often gives only the next step or two, and faith trusts enough to move.

The journey of faith gets tested when familiar faith runs into real questions. A trip to Denmark exposed the difference between a state church on paper and living belief in practice, and those school party questions, “Why do you believe in God? Why do you go to church?” would not go away. The prayer became, “God, prove yourself to me and then faith will come,” but the Spirit answered with something stranger: “You will see me once you take the first step.”

God works that way all over Scripture. The Jordan River did not stop until the priests put their feet into fast, deep water. The hungry crowd was not fed until a little boy handed over the lunch his mom had packed. Augustine’s old line says it well: without God, human beings can’t; without human beings, God won’t.

The call to follow Jesus also becomes a call to become fishers of people. The problem is that the fishing part can feel foggy. Church can keep happening week after week, yet the transformation seen in the Gospels and Acts can seem thin. The old paths that used to work, Sunday school, youth groups, choirs, full programs, clear ridgelines ahead, no longer work the same way because the world changed.

The fog does not mean God has stopped leading. The church may not see three mountain peaks ahead, but God can show the next five or six steps. The mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world still stands, and flourishing is still possible right now.

The story of Moses pushes back against the constant complaint, “There isn’t enough.” God told Moses to look at what was already in his hand, and that shepherd’s staff became enough for the call of God in that moment. The parable of the talents presses even harder, because God is not looking for safe burial but faithful investment. God is a God of multiplication, not subtraction, and the resources already entrusted to the church are meant to be doubled, shared, and used for new life.

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Key Takeaways

1. Faith steps before sight [03:59] Faith does not wait until every question is settled and every sign is nailed down. God often reveals himself on the far side of obedience, not as a prize for intellectual control. The first step does not manufacture God’s presence, but it places the disciple where God has promised to meet human trust. [03:59]
2. God uses what is in hand [17:56] Moses did not need a better résumé, a younger body, or a more impressive tool. God pointed to the staff already in his hand and made that enough for the assignment. The call of God exposes how often “not enough” is really fear dressed up as realism. [17:56]
3. Fog still allows faithful movement [14:28] The church may no longer see the whole trail across the ridge like it once thought it could. The fog does not cancel the mission, but it does humble the need for control. Prayerful faith learns to honor the next few steps without pretending to own the whole map. [14:28]
4. God expects multiplication, not storage [21:00] The parable of the talents is not a sweet reminder to be careful with blessings. The master expected increase, and safety became disobedience when it buried what was meant to grow. God entrusts resources so that faithful risk can become fruit for others. [21:00]
5. Fishing means real transformation [12:55] Following Jesus is not meant to stop at private devotion or church routine. The “fishers of people” part asks whether lives and communities are actually being changed. The mission remains foggy until discipleship becomes movement toward others, not just maintenance of what already exists.

## [12:55]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:47] - Summer Trips and a Denmark Story
[02:20] - Hard Questions About Belief
[03:59] - Seeing God After the First Step
[04:28] - Israel, the Jordan, and Trust
[05:20] - The Boy Who Gave His Lunch
[06:18] - Come, Follow Me
[07:05] - Church Without Much Transformation
[12:55] - Following Jesus in the Fog
[14:28] - When the Old Paths Changed
[15:56] - Flourishing Is Still Possible
[17:29] - Moses and the Staff in Hand
[19:29] - The Talents and Faithful Investment
[21:21] - A God of Multiplication
[22:48] - No Road Atlas, Just Next Steps

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Joshua 3:13-17 (ESV): “When the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” […] And the people passed over opposite Jericho.”
- John 6:8-13 (ESV): “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?’ […] So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”
- Matthew 25:14-18 (ESV): “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. […] He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.”

Observation Questions

In Joshua 3:13-17, what specific action did the priests have to take before the Jordan River stopped flowing? How does this mirror the idea of “faith steps before sight” mentioned in the sermon?
What did the boy in John 6:8-13 offer, and how did Jesus use it? How does this relate to the sermon’s point about God using “what is in hand” ([17:56])?
In Matthew 25:14-18, what did the first two servants do differently from the third? How does this contrast align with the sermon’s emphasis on multiplication versus storage ([21:00])?
The sermon mentions Moses’ staff as a symbol of trusting God’s provision ([17:56]). What did God ask Moses to do with the staff in Exodus 4:1-5, and what happened as a result?

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think God required the priests to step into the Jordan River before stopping the waters (Joshua 3:13-17)? What does this reveal about the relationship between faith and obedience?
The boy in John 6:8-13 gave his small lunch willingly. What might this story teach about how God views our willingness to offer limited resources, even when the outcome seems uncertain?
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-18) describes a master who rewards risk-taking. How does this challenge the idea of playing it safe with our gifts or resources?
The sermon compares the church’s mission to walking in fog ([14:28]). How might uncertainty about the future actually deepen reliance on God rather than human plans?

Application Questions

What is one “next step” you sense God asking you to take in faith before seeing the full picture? How could you act on that this week?
The sermon highlights Moses’ staff as a symbol of trusting God’s provision ([17:56]). What “staff” (skills, relationships, resources) do you already hold in your hand that God might be asking you to use for others?
Where in your life or community do you feel stuck in a “fog” of uncertainty ([14:28])? What practical step could you take to move forward in trust, even without full clarity?
The parable of the talents calls for faithful investment, not safe storage. What is one area where you’ve been “burying” your gifts or resources out of fear? How could you start investing them instead?
The sermon mentions a prayer for God to “prove himself” before stepping out ([03:32]). When have you hesitated to act until you had more certainty? How might you shift your prayers to focus on obedience rather than proof?
The Danish friends in the sermon asked, “Why do you believe in God?” ([02:20]). How would you answer that question today, and how could your answer inspire others to explore faith?

Sermon Clips

65s

#FaithRoadmap

“``Some of us remember those old Rand McNally road atlases. You're laughing. I mean, I used to have the highlighter that we would mark the roads we were on in there. Don't you kind of wish that was what faith was like? Where God gives you a Rand McNally Road atlas and says, this is where you're going? Wouldn't that be lovely? But then it's not called faith. Right? We are here, and through prayer, we get to see the next step or two. Through faith, we get to trust that the resources we have are enough for God's call in our lives today. We have people, we have a building, we have financial resources, we get to be the next group of believers who step out in faith. We get to go fishing for people right here, right now. I look forward to stepping out with you. Amen.”

55s

#GodGivesEnough

“``God said, that's all you need. You don't need anything else. Now, God used that staff to turn it into a snake to show Pharaoh who really is God. God used that staff when Moses held it up so they won that battle. Now, Moses did have to have some friends holding his arms up, so that the staff didn't droop. That church, that is so successful and is still always falling back on, we don't have enough? They're like, no, we are living into the story of Moses. We have everything we need right now to do what God is calling us to do. God has given us everything we need for this moment. It's maybe not for the moment a year from now or ten years from now, but for right now, you have everything you need from God.”

68s

#TakeTheFirstStep

“``While I'm at college, I am struggling with these questions that my friends had been asking me. And I'd be walking around campus and I'd be thinking about this because I just couldn't, you know, figure it all out. basically, my conversation with God was, so God, prove yourself to me and then I'll believe in you. That really wasn't working. And one day, I was walking across campus, and I was just like, man, I've prayed for a sign, some proof that I can look at and say, yep, that's God, I believe. And I heard a voice in my head. Not one of those big booming voices, it was more like that nudge, that idea that just pops in from who knows where. I've come to realize that's the holy spirit talking. But I'm walking across campus and all of sudden comes to me, you will see me once you take the first step.”

49s

#FaithROI

“``Now, I had heard this story a lot growing up. What I'd never thought about I have an accounting degree, I have some finance background, what I'd never thought about was the return on on investment, that ROI that finance people are always talking about. You know, when we look to our four zero one k's, we're pretty happy if we get 6%, I mean, in a great year, we might get 12% return on the stock market. In this story, God is looking for a 100% return. 100%. God expects us to double what God has given us.”

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Trips as Steps of Faith Toward Multiplication

Devotional

Day 1: Stepping Into the River Before the Waters Part

Day 2: A Lunchbox and a Miracle

Day 3: The Staff in Your Hand

Day 4: 100% Return on Investment

Day 5: Navigating Fog with Trail Markers

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Trips as Steps of Faith Toward Multiplication

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