Key Life Network

Steve Brown: How do you get faith? Let's talk about that on Key Life.

Matthew: This is Key Life with our host, author and seminary professor Steve Brown. He's nobody's guru. He's just one beggar telling other beggars where he found bread. If you're hungry for God, the real God behind all the lies, you come to the right place.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. Uh We're talking about faith, supernatural faith, and supernatural things. You know, the truth is, and this is true of people like me who are reformed and Presbyterian, probably true of you too. Uh but we we really don't expect God to do much. You know, after you live long enough, you see enough people die and get sick and bad things happen, and a lot of bad things do happen. We get to the point of and I do, too. We get to the point of not expecting God to do anything. And when we don't expect him to do anything, he generally goes to somebody who does expect him to do something.

And and we forget about the supernatural nature of the faith. And uh it is a gift. And you got to ask for it. And Jesus gives it to the people he loves. Um and the most important gift is the assurance that everything about this Christian faith is true. One minute we're thinking this can't be true, and the other minute we're saying, but of course, it's true. What happened? It was him. That's what happened. You know what I used to do when I was younger? I used to go to Christian bookstores with a Bible and point out the inconsistencies of it to the people in the bookstore.

And then something happened, and they weren't inconsistent anymore. And everything fit, and everything came together. Well, what did you do for that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Holy Spirit gave me the gift of knowing it was true. I told you yesterday about our daughter Jennifer. When she said that God didn't speak to her, and I said to her, what about that little girl in your class that you said was lonely and you were going to spend time with her? Who told you to do that? And she said, oh that's him. If you're a believer, you ought to be able to say a lot.

And I'm talking to myself, oh that's him. Jesus said, and these are his words, these things I've spoken to you while I'm still with you. And here it comes, but the Helper the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I give to you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. And that's John 14:25-27. There is a supernatural process at work in which the truths of Jesus are applied to a believer's heart and mind, truths that define who we are.

I'm forgiven. I know it. It's a fact. And if you don't believe it, you go to somebody else and leave me alone. How can I be so sure? I don't know. I just am. I'm accepted and loved and cherished. And I'm ugly, and my mother dresses me funny. So that shouldn't be true, and you don't believe it's true. Well, go to somebody else because I know it's true. How do I know it's true? I don't know. I just do. I'm going to live forever. I am old and cramming for finals. And I'm just getting started.

You're dreaming, you say. No, I'm not dreaming. It's a fact. It's an absolute fact. How do I know? I don't know how I know. Uh and that truth is what he gives us, the faith to believe. I didn't make that up. Nobody would make up something like that. And if they did, nobody would believe it. But miracle of miracles, you know it's true and I do, too. So now quit obsessing over the lies and go out and have a milkshake. Jesus uh uh and Billy Cunningham are right. God is great. Beer is good. People are crazy.

I love that title. I'm a teetotaler, so I'm not sure about beer, but I'm really sure that people are crazy, and I am, too. And I know beyond a shadow of of a doubt that God is great. Uh not only is belief a supernatural gift of faith uh which is also a supernatural gift but listen to me. You have friends in high places, the three persons of the Trinity. They have given you permission to ask that your mountains be moved. Jesus said, and I don't believe he said this. Matthew 7:7, ask and it will be given you.

Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. Not only that Jesus that was Matthew 7:7. Not only that, Jesus comes alongside and creates belief. He did that with doubting Thomas, who wanted to believe that Christ had risen, but just couldn't accept the belief that dead people got out of graves. And Jesus showed, and Thomas was never the same. John 20:24 through 29. Jesus did that with a man whose son was demon-possessed and who wanted to believe that Jesus could heal heal heal sorry, it's a microphone could heal his son. I believe, he said, help my unbelief.

And Jesus said, watch this. And heal the man's son. Mark 9:23-25. Jesus took Martha's doubts and put faith in the right place when Jesus raised her brother from the dead. John 11:17-44. He still does that for his friends. My friend Brant Hansen is one of my favorite authors. We not too long ago interviewed him on our talk show about his latest book. And by the way, you can go to keylife.org and get some links to that show. It's called Steve Brown Etc. And uh it's on YouTube and with thousands of subscribers and it's on a couple of hundred or so radio stations over the weekend.

And you can get information by going to keylife.org. Uh at any rate, we interviewed Brant uh on his book Life Is Hard God Is Good Let's Dance Experiencing Real Joy and a World Gone Mad. Uh Actually, that might not be his latest book. As I write this, there may be another one. Every time Brant burps, they publish it. In the interview and in his book, I told him about the life-changing uh uh life-changing childhood experience or he told us about that experience. When Brant was a child and living uh horribly destructive and toxic religious family, he was lonely.

His parents had divorced, and his mother and his siblings lived in a tiny house where his mother slept on the couch. Brant is and was on the autistic spectrum. He has a facial thing that makes him shake his head negatively, leading people to think he disagrees with him when he doesn't. He was a nerd, he said. Though he wasn't very good at baseball, he delighted in memorizing baseball statistics. At that time, Brant didn't have a single friend. One night, he prayed telling God he was lonely and he asked God to give him a friend. The very next day, a new kid came to school, and Brant discovered that the kid's parents were divorced and that he was a nerd who loved baseball cards and statistics.

They bonded and became best friends, and they still are. In fact, Brant told us in that interview that the friend had just sent him a text before he went on the air. Coincidence? Are you crazy? It was a clear and supernatural answer to a little boy's lonely prayer. Uh Uh God still does for needy, lonely, weak, scared sinners like us. All you got to do is to ask him. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Matthew: How do you get faith? Well, now you know. Thanks, Steve. If you're just joining us, we're in a special series about confronting the lies of guilt, shame, fear, and regret. It's based on Steve's new book called God's Not Mad at You, available now at keylife.org/notmadbook and on Amazon. So you've heard us talk about Steve's new book, but maybe you're a try-before-you-buy kind of person. Hey, I can respect that. That's why you'll want to check out a brand new free booklet we've just released. It features excerpts from God's Not Mad at You, and it will give you a deeper understanding of the sanctification process and why it takes so long.

We'll send you that brochure for free. Just call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at keylife.org to get that booklet or go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada. Again, just ask for the free booklet called God's Not Mad at You. Last thing, if you believe in the work of Key Life, would you give today to help us continue that work? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or you can simply text Key Life to 28950.

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