July 20 2014 Determining Your Faith During Discouragement

DETERMINING YOUR FAITH DURING DISCOURAGEMENT

Mark 2:1-5

I. The first step to determining your faith during discouragement: Commitment.

Verse 3 – Some men came bringing to Him a paralytic.

How to Make Commitments:

1. Set a goal.

Philippians 3:13 – One thing I do.

2. Reveal your decision to God.

Psalm 37:5 – Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will.

3. Invest your life.

2 Corinthians 12:15 – I am glad to give you myself and all I have for your spiritual good.

II. Courage.

Verse 4 – Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralytic man was lying on.

How to Establish Courage:

1. Perserverance.

Examples:

• Thomas Edison
• Abraham Lincoln

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken; we are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit.

Verse 9 – We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up and keep on going.

III. Also we need to add cooperation.

We cannot overlook the fact that four men carried the paralytic.

Examples of Team Work:

• Mark 6:7
• Nehemiah 4

How to Build a Team:

1. Learn to trust others.

2. Express your appreciation.

3. Communicate your needs.

Philippians 1:3 – I thank my God every time I remember you, because of your partnership.

IV. Finally, there must be complete surrender.

Verse 4 – They lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.

Verse 5 – When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Steps to Complete Surrender:

1. Give God first place in your life.

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

2. Give God the benefit of the doubt.

Examples:

• Matthew 7:11
• Caleb

You Can Determine Your Faith During Discouragement

June 29 2014 Finding Courage Over Fear

God On FIlm: Finding Courage Over Fear

Memory Verse: “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The LORD your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6

Gideon Faces His Fear with Courage
(Judges 6-7)

Judges 6:1-6 Again the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites fled to the mountains, where they made hiding places for themselves in caves and dens. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their cattle and tents as thick as locusts, arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help.”

*What is the greatest fear I am facing right now?

HOW DO I FIND COURAGE IN THE FACE OF FEAR?
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• ADMIT my insecurities.

Judges 6:11-16 Gideon son of Joash had been threshing wheat at the bottom of a wine press to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!’ ‘Sir,’ Gideon replied, ‘if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?...But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.’ Then the LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!’ ‘But Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!’ The LORD said to him, ‘I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.’”*What insecurity is keeping me from moving forward with courage? 
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• CONFIRM God is With you BEFORE MOVING FORWARD.

Judges 6:36 -40 Then Gideon said to God, ‘If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put some wool on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.’ And it happened just that way. When Gideon got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, ‘Please don't be angry with me, but let me make one more request. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.’ So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.”
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• PLACE YOUR Trust in God OVER PEOPLE AND THINGS.

Judges 7:2 -7 The LORD said to Gideon, ‘You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, “Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home.”’ Twenty two thousand of them went home, leaving only ten thousand who were willing to fight. But the LORD told Gideon, ‘There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will sort out who will go with you and who will not.’ When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the LORD told him, ‘Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.’ Only three hundred of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. The LORD told Gideon, ‘With these three hundred men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.’”
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• OBEY God Completely AND MOVE FORWARD in Faith

Judges 7:16, 19 - 22 He divided the three hundred men into three groups and gave each man a ram's horn and a clay jar with a torch in it...It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the one hundred men with him reached the outer edge of the Midianite camp... Then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands and shouted, ‘A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’ Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran. When the three hundred Israelites blew their horns, the LORD caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled.”

May 11 2014 Livin' Forgiven

Livin' Forgiven 

“God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.” – Colossians 1:14

MEMORY VERSE: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” – 1 John 1:9

• MY GUILT WITH peace.

“My guilt overwhelms me – it is a burden too heavy to bear.” – Psalm 38:4

“Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God.” – Acts 13:39

• MY GRUDGES WITH freedom.

“You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” – Colossians 3:13

• MY REGRET WITH hope.

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.” – Romans 4:7

• MY FEAR WITH courage.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.” – Hebrews 12:1

Prayer: God, today I receive your forgiveness into my life. As you have forgiven me, help me to forgive others. From this day forward, I want to live forgiven. Thank you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

March 23 2014 Learning To Live The Good Life

Learning To Live The Good Life 

Galatians 5:22 – The Fruit of the Spirit is Goodness.

Thoughts about the good life:

• Looking good.
• Feeling good.
• Having the goods.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works.

Six Steps To Goodness:

1. You must receive the gift of God.

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Regeneration means: To receive new life.

Romans 6:23 – The Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. You must master your Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16 – The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives, it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.

3. You must learn to control your thought life.

Matthew 6:22 – The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

Verse 23 – But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness.

Philippians 4:8 – If you want to do good, think about good, positive and uplifting things, things that are true, honest, pure and of good report.

4. You must develop some convictions.

Matthew 6:22 & 23 – The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light, if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires you are in deep spiritual darkness.

Opinion is something you hold.

Conviction is something that holds you.

Romans 12:9 – Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.

2 Peter 2:19-20 – It’s better to suffer for doing good than doing evil.

2 Timothy 3:1-3 – There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves.

5. You must have the courage to be different from your culture.

3 John 11 – Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

Romans 15:14 – You are full of goodness.

6. You must develop the habit of meeting with other believers.

Hebrews 10:24 – Consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, let us not give up meeting together, but let us encourage one another.

John 17:15 – My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.

Galatians 6:9 – Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

January 26 2014 The Truth About Change

The Truth About Change 

MYTH: "I should be able to change overnight. "

I. THE PROCESS GOD USES TO CHANGE US

Phase 1: CONCERN

Job 30:27 (LB)"My heart is troubled and restless. "

Deuteronomy 32:11 "like an eagle that stirs up its nest .... "

How you feel: UNCOMFORTABLE

Phase 2: CRISIS

2 Corinthians 7:10 (LB)"God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin .... "

How you feel: INTENSE PAIN

Phase 3: CHOICE

Job 34:3-4 (LB)"We choose the sounds we want to listen to; we choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right. "

How you feel: SCARED

Phase 4: COMPREHENSION

Romans 12:2 (NCV)"... be changed within by a new way of thinking .... "

John 8:32 (LB)". . . the truth will set you free. "

How you feel: CAUTIOUSLY HOPEFUL

Phase 5: CONDUCT

James 2:17 "Faith, if it is not accompanied by ACTION, is dead."

How you feel: FRUSTRATED

Phase 6: COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE.

How you feel: DISCOURAGEMENT

II. HOW TO COOPERATE WITH GOD'S PROCESS

Phase 1: Be Alert To God's Voice

Job 33:13-19"For God does speak -- now one way, now another -- though man may not perceive it. In a dream . . . as they slumber . . . (or) he may speak in their ears . . . with warnings . . . Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress .... "

Phase 2: Accept God’s Comfort

Isaiah 42:3 "God will encourage the fainthearted, those tempted to despair. "

Psalm 31:7 (LB) "You (God) have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul. "

Jonah 2:7 (LB) " When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. "

Phase 3: Ask God For Courage

Isaiah 43:2" When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown! When you walk through the fi re of oppression, you will not be burned up .... "

Phase 4: Apply God’s Word

2 Timothy 3:16 (LB)"The whole Bible . . . is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. "

James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Phase 5: Anticipate God's Help

Psalm 37:5 (LB)"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it. and he will. "

Phase 6: Adhere To God’s Plan

Galatians 6:9 (LB)"Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don 't get discouraged and give up. "

Philippians 1:6 "Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. "