Promise of Life Church Podcast: "The Rest of Faith"
Pastor Craig Field – June 9, 2024

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and insightful message, Pastor Craig Field dives deep into the biblical concept of "the rest of faith." He shares recent personal experiences, teachings gleaned from spiritual mentors, and a scriptural exploration, guiding listeners to reevaluate the meaning of spiritual warfare, the fight of faith, and most importantly, how true faith should always lead to a state of rest, peace, and ease in God. Pastor Craig unpacks how faith is not about striving against the enemy, but about positioning oneself, through diligent spiritual effort, into God's sustaining rest—where His power goes to work for us.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Honoring Divine Connections & Spiritual Growth

• Pastor Craig begins by emphasizing the importance of honoring spiritual mentors, specifically highlighting Pastor Nancy Dufresne’s impact (00:00–08:00).
• He encourages the congregation to value teachings imparted through such divine connections, noting that the favor and impartations he receives have implications for the whole church.

"I'm asking you... to pay more attention to your role with my divine connection. Because it comes down." (07:50)

2. The Principle of Rest in Hebrews 4

• Craig breaks down Hebrews 4, explaining the double meaning of the "rest" offered in scripture—not just for ancient Israelites, but for believers today (08:00–19:30).
• He identifies four key points from the text:
  • Rest is available, but many don’t enter it (11:20)
  • Entering rest requires faith (13:10)
  • Unbelief keeps people out of rest (14:00)
  • Labor is needed to enter rest, but not the kind commonly assumed (15:40)

"Faith... is a qualification to enter into rest. So, remember that rest and faith, they go together." (12:30)

3. Faith as the Diligent Effort to Rest

• Quoting Pastor Nancy, he emphasizes her statement:

"Faith is the diligent effort to rest in God." (17:20)

• He elaborates that laboring or "fighting" in the faith context means striving to remain in trusting God, not wrestling directly with the devil.

4. Re-examining ‘The Fight of Faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12)

• Pastor Craig unpacks the word "fight" from the Greek, clarifying it's about competition or diligent effort (like sports), not hand-to-hand warfare (19:45–36:00).
• He warns against a chronic "warfare mentality," where life is always a battle against the devil, arguing it is neither healthy nor fully scriptural.
• The fight is mostly about competing thoughts, life circumstances, and resisting the urge to doubt, not direct conflict with Satan.

"If you're always thinking that you have to fight the devil, you're insulting what Jesus did. Jesus is the only and the greatest warrior of all, and he completely... destroyed him." (34:00)

5. Rest as the Fruit of Real Faith

• True faith's goal is rest, not perpetual struggle (36:10–45:00).
• He points to Matthew 11:28–30, connecting Jesus' promise of "rest for your souls" with the concept of lightness and ease; when faith is genuine, there is an inward peace.

"If it's not light and easy, I'm not in rest. If I'm not in rest, I'm not in faith." (41:50)

• Peace and joy are the marks of being in God's flow (Romans 14:17).

6. Practical Analogy: Catching the Wave of God’s Power

• Pastor Craig uses two illustrations:
  • Pastor Nancy’s Floating Story (48:30): the water (God’s power) upholds you—symbolizing being sustained in rest.
  • Pastor Craig’s Body-Surfing Story (50:10): Struggling against the ocean tide is futile, but positioning yourself (through diligent spiritual effort) lets you catch the wave (God’s power), which then effortlessly carries you forward.

"The pressure is against us. Your struggle is not going to get you anywhere. You've got to ride the wave." (52:30)

• Spiritual rest is portrayed as the position in which God’s power works most effectively. The effort (faith) is in positioning yourself to rest, not in the struggle itself.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On striving for rest:

  "Faith is the diligent effort to rest in God."
  (17:20 – wisdom from Pastor Nancy, repeated and emphasized)

• On the nature of spiritual fight:

  "The fight is not really with the devil. The fight is against these competitors to stay in the arena of faith."
  (30:00)

• On spiritual maturity:

  "The more you get older in God... the more peaceful, the more light and easy, the more restful you'll be. Because true faith... lies back."
  (44:35)

• Analogy of catching the wave:

  "Faith is the swim. It positions you for rest. It positions you to catch the wave of power, to accelerate you into your future. So don't not do faith, but make sure you rest. Because without it, you can't catch the power of God."
  (1:01:15)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–08:00 | Honoring mentors and the impact of divine connections
• 08:00–19:30 | Hebrews 4 and unpacking the promise of rest
• 17:20 | Quote: "Faith is the diligent effort to rest in God."
• 19:45–36:00 | "Fight the good fight" — understanding spiritual struggle
• 41:50 | Quote: "If it's not light and easy, I'm not in rest..."
• 44:35 | Jerry Savelle story on seasoned rest and peace
• 48:30–50:10 | Pastor Nancy's "Float" story and transition to body-surfing analogy
• 50:10–1:05:00 | Body-surfing story: Learning to position for rest
• 1:01:15 | Quote: "Faith is the swim. It positions you for rest..."

Flow and Practical Takeaways

• The episode’s tone is pastoral and candid—Pastor Craig blends humor, vulnerability, and scriptural depth.
• Listeners are challenged to:
  • Discover if their spiritual "fight" is leading to rest, or just more striving.
  • Evaluate if their walk of faith is characterized by lightness and peace, or burdens and anxiety.
  • Practice using faith as the diligent effort to position themselves in rest so God’s power can propel them forward.
  • Let go of a warfare/struggle mentality and instead focus on entering and maintaining God’s rest as the truest fruit of faith.

Conclusion

Pastor Craig concludes with a powerful prayer, asking God to help his congregation remember that the true goal of faith is rest—a restful, peaceful confidence that invites the power of God to act. He asks that, as church members face pressures and challenges, they will choose to exercise faith specifically to enter into rest, and that they’ll experience God’s provision, favor, and deliverance as they do.

Summary Statement:
Faith’s greatest work is to position you for God’s rest—where striving ceases, peace reigns, and His power carries you into victory.