Living by Faith - May 31, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jumping into the Father’s Hands When You Can’t See the Bottom

A child stands at the pool’s edge, toes curled over concrete, staring at water obscuring the depth below. Faith begins when we leap into the unseen, trusting the Father’s voice over our fear of sinking. Like the child in the sermon’s story, every believer faces moments where obedience requires abandoning visible safety for invisible assurance. This isn’t blind optimism but conviction rooted in God’s proven character. The Jordan River didn’t part until feet touched water, proving faith acts before clarity comes. What step is God asking you to take while the outcome still looks murky? [10:33]

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1, ESV)

Reflection: What specific situation in your life right now feels like standing on the pool’s edge? How might trusting God’s character over your calculations change your next move?

Day 2: Silencing the Serpent’s Voice in a Garden of Noise

Adam and Eve’s downfall began with listening to the wrong voice. Today’s “serpents” hum through screens, relationships, and cultural narratives that distort God’s nature. Faith requires discernment: not every compelling idea aligns with Scripture. Just as hearing aids amplify specific frequencies, spiritual disciplines like fasting and Scripture study tune our ears to God’s frequency. What voices have you allowed to define your identity, purpose, or worth apart from Christ’s declaration? [15:08]

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
(James 1:22, ESV)

Reflection: Which voice—social media, a critical friend, or past shame—most often drowns out God’s truth about you? What one habit could help mute it this week?

Day 3: Amplifying God’s Whisper in a World of Shouts

Hearing aids don’t create sound—they amplify what’s already present. Similarly, fasting, Scripture memorization, and prayer don’t manufacture God’s voice but clarify it amid life’s static. The first church thrived by prioritizing “the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42), filtering every decision through God’s Word. Yet many Christians starve spiritually, snacking only on Sunday sermons. What daily practice could turn your ear toward heaven’s frequency? [16:53]

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
(Romans 10:17, ESV)

Reflection: What distraction most often muffles God’s voice in your daily routine? How could you create 10 minutes of “signal boost” for Scripture today?

Day 4: Stepping into the Jordan Before the Waters Part

Israel’s priests didn’t wait for dry ground to appear—they stepped into raging waters, sandals sinking into riverbed sludge. Walking by faith often feels like moving forward while circumstances still scream “impossible.” This isn’t recklessness but obedience fueled by past faithfulness: the God who rescued from Egypt could surely conquer a river. Where is God calling you to plant your foot while outcomes remain uncertain? [21:05]

“And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off.”
(Joshua 3:13, ESV)

Reflection: What “Jordan River” decision have you been postponing until conditions improve? What first step could you take this week while the waters still flow?

Day 5: When Your Tongue Holds the Power of Life or Death

Words create worlds. God spoke light into chaos; our speech either echoes His life-giving truth or the enemy’s destructive lies. The sermon’s “shut your pie hole” challenge isn’t about silence but stewardship: every complaint about your job, gossip about a leader, or cynical joke about marriage shapes reality. What if your conversations this week became faith declarations that “God is able” rather than rehearsals of why “this won’t work”? [29:44]

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
(Proverbs 18:21, ESV)

Reflection: What phrase or attitude have you casually repeated that contradicts God’s promises? How could you reframe it as a faith-filled declaration today?

Sermon Summary

Acts 2 sets the frame: the first church tasted power and practiced daily devotion, and faith is the invisible ingredient that binds those together. Hebrews 4 says the same word can land with different results because it is or is not united by faith. Faith becomes the difference between information and transformation, between dead religion and knowing God. Romans 1:17 pulls the threads tight: the righteous shall live by faith. So faith is not a one-time doorway but a lifelong way. Hebrews 11:1 defines it as assurance and conviction of the unseen, and a working summary lands here: faith trusts what God says more than what sight reports. Hebrews 11:6 adds God’s heart: without faith it is impossible to please Him, which also means with faith He is pleased, like a good Father cheering His kids before outcomes are visible.

Faith then moves in a three-step progression: it starts by hearing, continues by walking, and culminates in speaking. Hearing comes by the Word and the Spirit. Galatians 3:2 reminds the church that life in the Spirit began by hearing with faith, not by self-effort, and Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing Christ’s word. Competing voices warp that hearing. Genesis 3 shows a ruinous turn when another voice lied about God and was believed. So disciples need “spiritual hearing aids” that amplify God’s voice: fasting and prayer, deep study and memorization, godly counsel. The condition of the heart sets the volume.

Walking by faith refuses the stall-out of sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 calls for steps of obedience before explanations, convenience, or guarantees. Joshua 3 pictures it: the Jordan did not part when they stared at it, it parted when priests set their feet in it. Sometimes God is not waiting to move until the prayer is perfect, He is waiting until the step is taken.

Speaking faith is the overflow of a heart full of God’s word. God Himself spoke creation into being, and the spirit of faith believes and therefore speaks. That is not New Age “manifestation,” which centers the self; biblical speech agrees with what God has authored. Life and death sit in the power of the tongue, so disciples refuse silence about the gospel and refuse to speak death about identity, marriage, purity, money, or the church. At times the wisest move is to “shut the pie hole,” because written and spoken words can defile. The church is not a pile of disconnected individuals; it is a pond of lily pads with roots intertwined. When a people hear by faith, walk by faith, and speak faith, families, campuses, and cities change. The picture holds: the child hears the Father say jump, trusts, and then calls a sibling to jump too.

Key Takeaways

1. Faith unites power and practices Faith is the live wire that makes the same Bible and the same church produce different outcomes. When the word is united with faith, information turns into transformation and God is pleased. Without faith, even good inputs stall out as dead religion. The righteous do not start by faith and switch to sight; they live by faith. [01:09]
2. Hear God with spiritual hearing aids Hearing with faith starts and sustains life in the Spirit, and the Word of Christ builds that hearing. Fasting, deep study, memorization, and godly counsel amplify God’s voice without replacing it. Since the heart’s condition is the volume knob, consecration matters as much as consumption. [16:53]
3. Step into the Jordan first Walking by faith means obeying before outcomes are visible or comfortable. In Joshua 3, the waters moved when the priests moved, not before, and that order often holds. If a disciple is waiting on God, it may be that God is waiting on the disciple’s next obedient step. [21:05]
4. Speak life, not self-made manifestation Biblical faith speaks what God has spoken, not what the self demands from the universe. Creation itself answers to God’s voiced word, and the spirit of faith believes and therefore speaks. Words shape souls and communities, so agreement with Scripture is life, and agreement with lies is death. [26:05]
5. Close the pie hole to stop decay Silence about the gospel is not virtue, and speech that tears down defiles the speaker and the body. Gossip, grumbling, and online combat leak death into shared roots, while truth spoken in love plants life. Sometimes wisdom is to stop talking until the heart is aligned with the Word. [29:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[17:00] - Power and practices of Acts 2
[35:00] - The invisible ingredient of faith
[69:00] - Why the same word yields different results
[148:00] - Scripture’s chorus on living by faith
[347:00] - What faith is not
[392:00] - Hebrews 11:1 and a working definition
[475:00] - God’s pleasure in trusting children
[510:00] - Hear, walk, speak - the progression
[699:00] - Hearing with faith, not effort
[749:00] - The living, active, inspired Word
[908:00] - Competing voices and the Genesis 3 trap
[1013:00] - Spiritual hearing aids for clarity
[1142:00] - Walking by faith vs walking by sight
[1223:00] - Step into the Jordan and watch God move
[1447:00] - Speaking faith in step with God’s Word
[1565:00] - Why manifestation is not biblical faith
[1784:00] - Shut the pie hole - guard the tongue
[2082:00] - Lily pads and a shared root system
[2177:00] - Back to the pool - hear, jump, invite
[2265:00] - Ask, seek, knock in the present tense
[2436:00] - A purity story that made others hungry
[2525:00] - Lily-pad prayer and a call to trust
[2747:00] - Summer rhythm, next steps, and baptisms

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Hebrews 11:1, 6 (ESV)
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
6 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.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Joshua 3:13-14 (ESV)
13 And 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. 14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people...

Observation questions

According to Hebrews 11:1, what two things define faith?
In Joshua 3:13-14, what specific action triggered the parting of the Jordan River?
What three-step progression of faith was described in the sermon (hearing, walking, speaking)? [08:30]
How does the sermon contrast biblical "speaking faith" with the concept of "manifestation"? [26:05]

Interpretation questions

Why might hearing be the foundational step in the progression of faith (Hebrews 11:1, Romans 10:17)?
What does the Jordan River story reveal about the relationship between human obedience and God’s miraculous intervention?
How does the analogy of "spiritual hearing aids" (like fasting or memorizing Scripture) address the problem of competing voices in our lives? [16:53]
Why is silence about the gospel described as "godless" rather than neutral? [26:41]

Application questions

What “spiritual hearing aid” (fasting, Scripture memorization, etc.) could you prioritize this week to better discern God’s voice? [16:53]
Is there a specific “Jordan River” moment in your life where God is asking you to step forward in obedience before seeing the outcome? What would taking that step look like practically?
Identify one area (identity, relationships, finances, etc.) where you’ve been tempted to speak negativity or lies. How could you replace those words with Scripture-based declarations this week? [29:44]
Who in your life needs to hear your story of trusting God? What specific step will you take to share it with them in the next seven days? [10:33]
When have you seen the interconnectedness of the church (like lily pads) play out in your own spiritual growth? How could you intentionally strengthen those connections this summer? [34:42]
What habit of “walking by sight” (delayed obedience, conditional generosity, etc.) do you need to repent of and replace with faith-fueled action?

Sermon Clips

33s

“It was fast. It was deep. It was dangerous. But look at what God told them in Joshua three thirteen. God said, as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord set foot in the Jordan, the waters flowing downstream will be cut off. Here's the deal. The river didn't split when they prayed. The that split when they stepped. When they stepped. Let's read it again. God said as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord set foot in the Jordan, the waters flowing downstream will be cut off.”

22s

“If you're staying silent about what God's done in your life, your silence isn't golden, it's godless. Think about it. God spoke and so should we. Let me make this practical. Romans ten fourteen says, how will they hear, it's talking about the gospel, without a preacher? In other words, if Christians don't speak, people won't hear the gospel.”

34s

“faith is not wishful thinking or the power of positive thinking. Thinking. In other words, just because we wish or think something will happen doesn't mean we have faith and it doesn't mean it's gonna happen. Next, faith is not mental ascent. In other words, just because we acknowledge something intellectually doesn't mean we're putting our faith in it. Just like you can believe a chair could hold your weight, but if you never sin in it, you don't really believe it could hold your weight. And that's the same thing if someone says they believe in God, but they've never put their trust in Jesus. That's not faith. It's just mental ascent.”

39s

“And when I say speaking faith or speaking life, I'm not talking about the new age trend of manifestation. People say things like manifest your reality, speak it into existence, put it out there into the universe and here's why this is so deceptive. Manifestation sounds spiritual but it is not biblical. You see the foundation of manifestation is self but the foundation of speaking faith is God's word. Hebrews twelve two says that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, which means we're not we are not the author and perfecter of our destiny. Did you hear that?”

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Living by Faith - May 31, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jumping into the Father’s Hands When You Can’t See the Bottom

Day 2: Silencing the Serpent’s Voice in a Garden of Noise

Day 3: Amplifying God’s Whisper in a World of Shouts

Day 4: Stepping into the Jordan Before the Waters Part

Day 5: When Your Tongue Holds the Power of Life or Death

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Living by Faith - May 31, 2026

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