Faith Requires Imagination

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Daring Faith

Faith Requires Imagination By Rick Warren — Jan 7, 2016 “We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT, second edition) When you can’t see something physically, you have to imagine it in your mind. Imagination is essential to living by faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (NLT, second edition). Faith is when we hope for something, and we know it’s going to happen. In order to hope for something, you have to picture it in your mind. Hebrews 11 is God’s Hall of Fame. When you read through the heroes of faith, you realize that every one of them became heroes of faith because they used their imagination. For instance, God said to Abraham, “You’re 90 years old, and you have no kids. But I’m going to change your name from Abram to Abraham, which means ‘father of a great nation.’” He told Abraham to go outside at night and count the stars — that’s how many grandchildren and great grandchildren he would have in his family tree — the nation of Israel! What is God doing when he tells Abraham to go count stars? He is activating his imagination. He’s saying, “I want you to visualize what I’m going to do in your life.” The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” You can’t see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but they’re going to last for eternity. You can’t see your own soul, but it’s going to last for eternity. The Bible says you need to focus on the things that will last — the things you can’t actually see with your eyes. So how do you focus on things you can’t see? You use your imagination. Imagination shapes your life because it is essential to living by faith. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over How does your imagination help you understand and remember Scripture? Is it difficult for you to use your imagination when it comes to faith? Why do you think this is so? Describe some of the pictures in your mind of elements of your faith, like the Holy Spirit, Heaven, or God’s will. What shapes the pictures we create? Our Gift: Daring Faith Study Kit Do you want God to do miracles in your life? In this series, Pastor Rick shares why faith is the key to miracles and challenges you to grow and be stretched in your faith so that you can experience God’s blessing, spiritual maturity, answered prayers, and even miracles. LEARN MORE Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes all complete sermons from the Rick Warren Daring Faith teaching series. LEARN MORE Series Summary Message 1: What Happens When You Have Faith Message 2: ​​​​​How to Get Ready for a Miracle Message 3: Daring to Believe Message 4: Daring to Imagine Message 5: Daring to Give God My Best Message 6: Daring to Plant in Faith Message 7: Daring to Commit Message 8: Daring to Be Generous Message 9: Daring to Wait on God Message 10: Daring to Go In Faith PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at rickwarren.org. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2015 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe