Moving Past Vending Machine Theology
WELCOME to Issue #286 of The Seedhead from Alex and Hannah at Dandelion Resourcing
- a weekly confidence booster to help you step into naturally supernatural discipleship and mission!
Why we weaponize faith and healing
We see Jesus link faith and healing throughout the Gospels. Yet, in our modern experience, this connection often feels like a heavy burden. We struggle with the weight of "not enough faith" or the frustration of a God who does not act like a vending machine. If faith is a requirement for healing, why does it often feel like a weapon used against the hurting?
In this video, we explore how to reclaim a healthy, biblical understanding of faith. We look at why faith is a response to Jesus rather than a coin we insert to get what we want. We also discuss how to handle the tension of the "not yet" of the Kingdom while maintaining a high expectancy for God to move.
Here are some of the ideas highlighted in the video:
The Jesus Correlation - Jesus ties faith to healing with the woman in Mark 5, the Centurion, and Bartimaeus in Mark 10.
The Vending Machine Trap - We must avoid the mistake of treating faith as a currency that forces God to act.
The True Nature of Faith - Faith is a response to what Jesus is already offering.
The Four Sources of Faith - Faith can come from the person needing healing, their friends, the person praying, or the corporate church body.
The Power of Persistence - Jesus teaches us to grow our faith and to persevere when breakthrough does not happen immediately.
The Water Table Metaphor - A community with high faith makes it easier for the vulnerable to encounter God.
Next Steps
Check your theology - Repent of any vending machine theology.
Commit to the second prayer - If you pray for someone and nothing happens, do not stop. Practice persistence by praying two or three times in that moment, just as we see in the ministry of Jesus.
Lift the corporate weight - Identify one person in your community who is too exhausted to "drill down" for their own faith, and commit to pray consistently for them this week.
With love,
Alex + Hannah
ALEX AND HANNAH ABSALOM
