The Eye Test | Kick The Habit
Main Verse:
John 6: 5-9
5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”
8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
Main Points:
As people of God, we should be optimistic that change can happen.
- This does not mean to be delusional or live in denial. It means we know the truth, yet we believe in the power of God to do something amazing and bring change.
Philippians 1:6 - And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Luke 10:27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The five areas of our life we need to develop healthy habits:
Heart - emotional | Soul - spiritual | Mind - mental | Body - physical | Neighbor - relational
Jesus tested Philip in John 6.
God does not tempt us, but He does test us.
- One who tempts us wants us to fail.
- One who tests us wants us to succeed.
- The test is there to see if we can handle this today so we don't fail with something more tomorrow.
- God tests us because He loves us.
James 1:13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
The proper response for Philip or Andrew in John 6 would have to ask Jesus, "What do you see?"
We need to develop the habit to see with eyes of faith. This affects our assignment in God's Kingdom.
It does not affect God's love for us, it does affect what role we play in His plan.
THE HABIT: The ability to see more than what is right in front of you.
Action Steps
• Ask God to show you what He sees regarding the problem in front of you.
• Look for what God is doing every day to develop eyes of faith
Discussion Questions
• When was a time you saw God do something greater than you thought was possible?
• What is the problem you see that seems insurmountable?
• What are some practical ways we can develop the habit of eyes of faith?
• What question is God asking you right now? What is the eyes of faith answer?
• How many times do you think God will test us to help us prepare for what He wants to do next?
• How does God's love relate to what we do or don't do, say or don't say?
• What are some habits we need to work to develop in our faith lives?
• What are some habits we need to kick out of our faith lives?
• What is the difference between delusion or denial and optimistic faith?