What Happens When You Stop Asking and Start Believing? | Bobby Schuller | Podcast Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

What Happens When You Stop Asking and Start Believing?

Shepherd's Grove • Aug 7, 2025 • 21 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this teaching, Pastor Bobby Schuller explores how true divine encounters and breakthroughs happen when believers shift from passive begging to active faith. Whether facing financial strain or severe physical illness, trusting God's promises and acting in obedience—such as tithing faithfully and standing on His Word—releases His supernatural provision and healing. Believers are encouraged to conquer financial fear with sacrificial generosity and to anchor their expectations firmly in the power of God's Word.

Themes

Active FaithTithing and StewardshipDivine HealingOvercoming Financial FearTrusting God's Word

Key Points

1.
God does not respond to begging or emotional despair, but to active faith anchored in His written Word.
2.
Honoring God with tithes and offerings breaks the spirit of financial fear and invites God's abundant provision into your life.
3.
Choosing to give sacrificially during times of financial strain demonstrates true reliance on God and opens the door for breakthrough.
4.
When we seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness first, He promises to supply all of our practical needs like food, clothing, and shelter.
5.
The primary idol that competes with God in modern culture is often the number in a person's bank account.
6.
Tithing is a spiritual discipline that declares you refuse to allow financial fear to rule your decisions and trust.
7.
True physical healing comes as believers hold fast to God's Word rather than letting past disappointments or human sympathy dictate their expectations.
8.
Standing firm for righteousness and honoring God's standards in business decisions brings God's reward and divine provision beyond what was lost.

Sermon Moments

“God doesn't respond to begging. He responds to faith.”

“Generosity commands abundance. There's like a rule written in the sky that I think the number one most tempted idol that people have is the number in the bank account.”

“If you're afraid of it, it's your god. Tithing is a way of saying, 'I feel fear, but I'm refusing to allow it to rule me.'”

“They don't need empathy. They need a miracle. Everything in the caretaker says it's not possible, but God doesn't respond to begging. He responds to faith.”

“It's the word that heals us, not the prayer. It's the word of God that heals.”

This Week

Transition from begging God in prayer to standing with active faith on His promises.

Commit to tithing faithfully as a direct act of faith to break financial fear.

Practice sacrificial giving during difficult times to open doors for divine provision and breakthrough.

Replace passive acceptance of sickness with persistent prayer based on God's healing Word.

Identify financial anxieties and surrender your trust from bank account numbers to God.

Encourage caregivers and sick loved ones to anchor their expectations in biblical hope and divine miracles.

Prioritize God's Kingdom and standards above professional compromises or temporal gain.

Remember This

God does not move in response to human begging or despair, but responds directly to active faith anchored in His Word.

A Challenge for You

I just want to encourage you if you're that caretaker: try not to allow the pain of being a caretaker to cause you to say, 'God doesn't do that anymore,' but recognize that it is possible for God to heal the worst disease. The word heals and gives biblical hope that God is going to do a good work in you.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.