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Posts Tagged ‘live by faith’

SURROUNDED!

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

FAITH SPEAKS  #4AMFaith speaks WEB

Ever felt like you’re surrounded by the enemy? Ever felt like the odds are stacked against you? How do you handle it? Do you throw a tantrum? Do you sulk? Do you go into depression? Do you seek comfort in substances?

  • Maybe your boss just called you into his office and gave you the spiel, “I hate to do this but I have you let you go”
  • Maybe that lump you thought was nothing turns out to be cancer.
  • Maybe you find a packet of Crystal-Meth in your teenager’s bedroom.
  • Or maybe you are hit with the tsunami of negative situations when all three of these type of things hit you at once!

Life overwhelms us all at times. You face big problems or you face a problem for a very long time. King David spoke about these times when he said, “When my heart is overwhelmed, I go to the rock that is higher than I.” If you don’t have Jesus then you go to anywhere you can find comfort, some go to booze, some go to the pokies, some go to porn, some go to medication; but Jesus says, “Come to me, I will give you rest.” He says, “Roll your cares upon Me, for I care for you.”

Faith speaks! What comes out of your mouth will help you or hinder you. If you are a person of faith, this is what will happen to you. Bad news arrives. You react as any human would through disbelief, shock, panic, fear and disappointment. Then after a short period of time you get into gear and you say, “God is able! He will help me. I believe that the Lord is on my side!” Your situation will turn around after some time. It may be a short time or a long time. Through the experience you will be a better stronger person.

When you are not a person of faith this is what will happen to you. You get bad news. You react like any other human would through disbelief, shock, panic, fear and disappointment. You then spiral down wards into the blame game, whose fault is this anyway? Or you may throw a tantrum and let anger take over hurting people with your words or fists, or punching walls or other defenceless objects. Then you may seek to justify your problems by giving yourself permission to act outside your own values by gambling, drinking or taking substances. Your end position is less than your starting point.

Bible stories are great. They make for great reading, but also we can learn from them. God placed them in the bible for us. They are true stories and they are written down to help us, to teach us how to live and how God works with people. 1 Corinthians 10:11(AMP)

11 Now these things befell them by way of a figure [as an example and warning to us]; they were written to admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction, we in whose days the ages have reached their climax (their consummation and concluding period).

Let’s take a look at this great story. 2 Chronicles 20: 1-6; 15-24

2 Chronicles 20:1-6  (NLT)

20 After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. 2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar.” (This was another name for En-gedi.)

3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.

5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. 6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!

15-24 15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”

18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.

20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”

22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

Think about King Jehoshaphat in this story. He is surrounded! He is hopelessly outnumbered. In verse 3 it says he is terrified! Three armies surround him and his nation of Judah.

It’s not fair!

He has a go at God here. He says in verse 10-11, Hey God you didn’t let us invade these nations when Israel journeyed through their lands, now they have come back to attack us. It’s not fair!! In life we are very often in the situation where it doesn’t seem fair. Strangely it doesn’t seem to make any difference to anyone or anything that we point that out!!

The King’s reaction

The king reacts really well. He goes straight to God in prayer. He says it’s time to fast and seek God. He reminds God of His promises.

The man of God speaks.

In verse 14-15 the prophet stands up to speak. It’s OK he says, God is with us! Don’t be afraid. The battle is the Lord’s. Go down to them. That’s fine for you to say but we could get killed!! How do you react to the words of the man of God?

The King’s reaction again.

King Jehoshaphat bows down, the people fell down and worshipped, the Levites (priesthood) praised the Lord. That’s a faith response. What is your response to the words from the man of God? Don’t go asking the unbelievers for advice. They have no idea how God can work in a situation. They will take you down the pub, that’s no answer.

When the man of God speaks you have a choice. Will you believe? The King gives some great advice. 2 Chron 20:20 (NLT) Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

So here’s the plan, the army marches out and the singers go in the front. Anyone feeling vulnerable? This is what they sang, Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever! That is faith speaking right there! The result was the Lord set ambushments against the three invading armies.

It matters what comes out of your mouth. This is not conventional warfare. Faith speaks! What does faith say?

  1. Thanks God!
  2. God is good!
  3. He is able!

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, what is coming out of your mouth?

We all face tough times, but God is with us and how we respond to troubles will block or enable faith to make a way for God to help us. God reacts to faith, not to complaining. Our task this year is to grow in faith so that means we will need to learn how to respond in faith. That is why we need to learn that FAITH SPEAKS!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Describe the feeling of being overwhelmed.

2. How does God feel when you are overwhelmed?

3. When circumstances are against you what usually come out of your mouth?

4. How does a person of faith respond to troubled times?

5. Do you need to feel faith to start speaking words of faith?

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THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF FAITH

Posted in Equip the Saints, FAITH, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH #4AM Hebrews-11-1-web

Have you ever been in a situation where something happened and you said, “I knew that would happen!” If something’s not likely to go well, it’s easy to predict the failure, but does it make a difference what you’re expecting?

Let’s say I’m fixing an old car and I need a part. So I call up the manufacturers service centre and I ask for spare parts. While I’m waiting on the phone for the parts person to pick up, what am I thinking? This part will be hard to get, the car is old, it’s probably out of stock, I wonder how many calls I will have to make to find a part. It could take me days, weeks to locate this part.

OR

I could be thinking, they will have this part for sure. It’s a part that wears out often and they will have plenty of spares. That’s how these guys make money, on spare parts. I should have it all done in a couple of hours and then we can go out for dinner.

What’s the difference? – Your expectation! What you’re expecting makes a difference. Why do you think people so often refer to others as “cup half empty” or a “cup half full” kind of person? There’s two ways to view most situations. One way is expecting the worst, that’s being a pessimist. The other way is expecting the best. That’s an optimist. If you’re going to be a person of faith you cannot be a pessimist. You must decide that you are going to be an optimist! It’s not about the abundance of evidence, we are always making up our mind to believe something without the luxury of all the facts. You just can’t get all the facts all the time, you need to make decisions based on your best judgement. That’s where wisdom comes in. The more optimistic you are the more your faith is in action creating the future you desire to see come to pass.

You’re going to have an outdoors BBQ next weekend. What’s the weather going to be like? One thing we all know is, don’t bother checking the weather forecast. They get it wrong often and it can change. What are you expecting?

What you’re expecting makes a difference. It’s not just being positive or negative, it’s creating the future for you. Look at this verse: Proverbs 24:14(AMP)

14 So shall you know skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

God says your expectation will not be cut off. It has power, so let’s understand how this fits in with faith because we know that faith can move mountains right?

Here’s a story.

Acts 3:3-8 (AMP)

3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (three o’clock in the afternoon),

2 [When] a certain man crippled from his birth was being carried along, who was laid each day at that gate of the temple [which is] called Beautiful, so that he might beg for charitable gifts from those who entered the temple.

3 So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them to give him a gift.

4 And Peter directed his gaze intently at him, and so did John, and said, Look at us!

5 And [the man] paid attention to them, expecting that he was going to get something from them.

6 But Peter said, Silver and gold (money) I do not have; but what I do have, that I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!

7 Then he took hold of the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankle bones became strong and steady,

8 And leaping forth he stood and began to walk, and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

In this story, a crippled man is expecting some money, but it puts his heart and mind in the right place of expecting to receive, and Peter James and John deliver something better than money – a miracle healing! This man’s position of looking up and expecting to receive opened him up to receive the biggest miracle of his life.

So often our frame of mind is to expect the worst. Many people even voice all their negative expectations. It’s almost a sport to see who can be the most negative and so create a joke about it. But all jokes aside, what you’re really expecting makes a difference.

Let’s go back to the definition of faith:

Hebrews 11:1(AMP)

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Faith is being sure in our heart, that what we hope for, is already ours. Faith means that we have taken possession of the thing that we hope for. Now hope in the bible is a very strong and positive word, not like the way we use hope in the modern vernacular. Bible hope is a strong and confident expectation.

The bible links hope with faith. It says faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

What are you hoping for? Ladies, when you hope to buy a new dress or top, don’t you have something in mind that you want? Haven’t you pictured the desired article in your mind’s eye?  Guys, is there something you hope for? A new car perhaps? What man hoping for a new car has not pictured the exact model and colour he desires? It’s in his mind’s eye.

Faith is the assurance of what you hope for. Faith is the confidence that you have in your possession the very thing you are hoping for. Faith reaches out and takes hold of what you are hoping for and brings it into reality. It’s almost like faith has a hold on one end of the rope and the other end is what you are hoping for. Faith just pulls it in!

All this will start to make sense when I tell you that the word for hope and the word for expectation are the same words in the original languages of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Not only that but the word for hope and expectation in the Old Testament means literally a cord or a rope.

Now does it make sense that the bible says your expectation shall not be cut off!

The nuts and bolts of faith. Now let me put it all together for you. You can change your expectations. Your future and what you want to see happen is what you are hoping for. That hope is a confidence and strong sense of what you desire to receive and see take place. Now because it is your hope, you can visualize that outcome. Your hope or confidence is like a rope or cord. You have hold of one end and the other end is the expected outcome. Now don’t let go! Don’t give up! Don’t think up all the reasons why it won’t happen. Expect the best. Expect that you will have the outcome you desire. Now faith is the assurance of things you hope for. Faith is the supernatural ability to lay hold of that hope, if you like, one end of the rope and receive or bring into reality the things you hope for and expect.

So there is usually an element of time involved. It takes time to pray and believe and work through any doubts and get more and more confident that what you are believing for will come to pass.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is a typical negative expectation that you often have?

2. Do you find that you expect the best generally or do you often expect the worst?

3. Do you believe that you can change your expectation?

4. What things are you expecting for this year?

5. If your mind constantly goes to the negative, how could you change that?

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BORN TO BELIEVE

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH # 2 amFaith-440x330

Assumptions

  1. All scripture is divinely inspired and without error. Please see our teaching on this at this podcast.
  2. James 1:22 Amplified Bible (AMP) 22 But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].

Understanding Faith is the great journey of the Christian life. From the very beginning of the journey to know God, the Christian uses faith to obtain the very first promise of receiving forgiveness and obtaining eternal life. Then the new life lived with God in relationship requires that faith is active and growing throughout the whole of the Christian life.

Four times in the scriptures God says “The just shall live by faith.” To live by faith means that faith is the primary ingredient in our walk with God. The essential nature of faith comes evident when we discover that as created beings God made man to have faith and use faith to participate in His world through relationship with God.

In Habakkuk where we find the first mention of the just shall live by faith there is an interesting footnote by a biblical commentator:

“Habakkuk 2:4 – There is a curious passage in the Talmud [the body of Jewish civil and religious law] which says that Moses gave six hundred injunctions to the Israelites. As these commands might prove too numerous to commit to memory, David brought them down to eleven in Psalm 15. Isaiah reduced these eleven to six in [his] chapter 33:15. Micah (6:8) further reduced them to three; and Isaiah (56:1) once more brought them down to two. These two Amos (5:4) reduced to one. However, lest it might be supposed from this that God could be found only in the fulfilment of the law, Habakkuk (2:4 kjv) said, “The just shall live by his faith”” (William H. Saulez, The Romance of the Hebrew Language).

What does it mean to live by faith?

It means that your success in life in which you meet and know God and conduct a supernatural relationship with Him is made possible only by having and using faith. The verse has the understanding that one’s life comes out of and proceeds from faith. How else might someone live? By human knowledge, by the senses, by making every decision and choice about life through the natural man’s resources of the five senses.

2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervour; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.(AMP)

For example, do you trust in God’s provision? Each and every day we make choices after considering the information concerning our resources. Do I have enough money? Will my decisions and my feelings be regulated by what I see in my bank account? Or will they be regulated by what God has promised to me and every believer? A promise such as Phil 4:19 – “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory” can bring confidence and hope to your outlook. Faith is the knowledge that the promise is trustworthy and you can count on it. It carries more weight than the 5 senses information of what’s in the bank.

Each and every day, as a Christian believer, God has designed that we live by faith. It’s normal and natural for this “animal” to live by faith. Like a fish breaths water and a mammal breaths air, a Christian uses faith to exist and prosper in this supernatural life we have. We are not created to live life attached to the umbilical cord of sense knowledge alone. We are created to function and prosper by using faith to know God’s word and His will and function accordingly. It’s by nature a life lived supernaturally.

Just imagine you wake up tomorrow morning and you have a tummy ache. What’s your first thought? This is uncomfortable! I don’t want this pain and discomfort! Now what’s your next thought? (This will be the test of live by faith or live by natural knowledge.) I imagine that a majority of Christians reach for the medication bottle first, and to be honest, I would probably do that many times, unless it’s severe and then I make the faith step of talking to God about it. Asking in prayer for divine intervention is the first step in living by faith. But listen to this: if you’re living vitally connected to Jesus and filled with His word you will know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and no plague can come near your dwelling. What’s more, nothing shall by any means hurt you. So the first reaction to a tummy ache from a man or woman of faith is: “Get off me pain!! You have no right or place in me!!” And then get on with your day whether the pain goes immediately or after several hours the mind is rested and content in God’s activity being set in motion and His will has been accomplished. All is set right and from now on I am not dictated to by feelings or what I see but I am resting in the promise and kindness of God.

All day every day you and I make decisions and experience feelings that spring from knowledge. Is that knowledge mere sense knowledge, or are we making decisions and experiencing feelings that spring from supernatural knowledge of Gods’ promises and provision? That latter experience is living by faith and my main thought that I want to get across today is that God created and designed you to operate in this faith life, not to be hamstrung and hobbled by living entirely out of the 5 senses and experiencing only natural knowledge.

God has faith.  Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.(NLT) God created all things by faith. God created something from nothing and fashioned it not by skilful hands but by His words. God operates exclusively by faith.

We are created in His likeness. Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” (NLT)

Human beings are created in the likeness of God. We are created to be like God, that is, to have a spirit and be in union with God knowing and understanding His will and His way. Listen to how Jesus describes this… John 15:4-8  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. (NLT)

Hebrews 11:6 Amplified Bible (AMP)  But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. When we meet Jesus and receive this new life in Christ, of course we want to please Him, Right?

Living this life with God is glorious and exciting. It’s filled with challenges and God is interested in seeing you grow in faith because then you are becoming closer and closer to the intended design. Live by faith not by sight.

So how shall we respond to this message? Choose to live by faith. Get into God’s word and think deeply on it. When making any decision, consider first – “what do I know about what God says to me about this?” Make faith decisions. Consider the promise first before the sense knowledge dictates the outcome. Use faith for all the little things so that your faith grows and when the big things come along you are prepared.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What kind of information comes to us through our five senses? give some examples.

2. What kind of information comes to us by faith from God?

3. What do you think Paul is trying to say in 2 Cor 5:7?

4. Is it hard to make decisions out of faith rather than what we see by our own five senses?

5. How would you build your reliance on faith?

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