March 13 2016 Daring To Go In Faith

DARING TO GO IN FAITH

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 9

Two of the words that summarize Jesus’ message are: come & go

Matthew 11:28-30 (CEV) Jesus: “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, COME TO ME and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.” 

Luke 7:50 Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you. NOW GO!”

Memory Verse: James 2:17 “Any faith that doesn’t lead us to GO INTO ACTON with good deeds is worthless, dead and useless!”

DARING FAITH IS ABOUT A PARTY THAT WILL LAST FOREVER:

Luke 14:16-20"A very powerful and generous man prepared a great banquet and invited many prominent guests. When it was ready he sent his servant to GO AND TELL those invited to ‘COME, for everything is now ready!’ But they all began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I’ve just bought a field, and I must go see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I’ve just acquired five pair of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ When the servant reported this, the Owner of the Estate became angry and told his servant, ‘GO QUICKLY into the streets and alleys of our city and BRING IN the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame as my guests!’ The servant said, ‘Master, we’ve already done this, but there is STILL ROOM FOR MORE in your banquet!’ The Master said, ‘Then now GO OUT OF OUR CITY to the roads and country lane, GO EVERYWHERE and INVITE EVERYONE TO COME so that my house will be full! I promise you this: not one of those people who ignored my invitation will ever get to taste what I had prepared for them!’" 

I must GO. . .to obey GOd. . . to do GOod. . . to live the GOspel. . .to become GOdly. . . to reach my GOals . . . to share the GOod News!

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

1. WE ARE GOING TO  GO TO GOD FOR HELP

1 Chronicles 16:11 (TEV) “GO TO THE LORD for help, and worship him continually.” 

Psalm 34:10 (ICB) “Those who GO TO THE LORD for help will have every good thing.” 

Psalm 37:40 (TEV) “God helps them and rescues them and saves them from the wicked, because they

2. WE ARE GOING TO GO TOGETHER FOR SUPPORT

Acts 14:22“(Paul & Barnabas) strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to remain true to the faith, reminding them that we must GO THROUGH many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." 

Philippians 1:27 - 2:2 (NLT) “ . . . I want to hear that you are working together and that you are struggling side by side to get others to believe the good news . . . Don’t be intimidated by those who oppose you . . .You have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this fight TOGETHER . . . (so keep on) loving one another, and working together with one

3. WE ARE GOING TO GO ON TO MATURITY

Hebrews 6:1 (NIV) “Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and GO ON TO MATURITY . . .”

2 Peter 1:8 (LB) “The more you GO ON in this way, the more you will GROW STRONG spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus.”

2 Peter 1:9 (LB) “Anyone who fails to GO AFTER these additions to faith is blind, or very shortsighted and has forgotten that God delivered us from the old life of sin so that now we can live a strong, good life

4. WE ARE GOING TO TO GO TELL THE GOOD NEWS 

Romans 10:13-15 (ICB) "Anyone who asks the Lord for help will be saved. But before people can trust in the Lord, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in him, they must hear about him. And to hear about him someone must GO AND TELL them! And before someone can go and tell them, he must be sent. It is written, ‘How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.’ " 

Acts 1:8 “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you’ll be given my power, and you are to GO AND BE MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 

Luke 9:60 Jesus said, "Let people who are dead bury the dead. Your job is to GO AND TELL OTHERS about God’s kingdom.”

MY DARING FAITH COVENANT

In gratitude for all that Christ has done for me, and out of a deep desire to grow in my faith, and in obedience to Christ’s command that I “store up treasure in Heaven,” I make a covenant today with my brothers and sisters of Great Plains Church to use the next 2 years growing, sowing, and going in daring faith. ...I commit to showing and sharing God’s love with those closest to me and serving God by serving others in our community. Also, because I want someone to be in Heaven because I cared, I am asking God to give me the privilege of bringing ONE person to Jesus in the next 2 years and see them be baptized and become a part of the fellowship of our church family. I know I cannot do this on my own power but I will trust God in daring faith to see it happen.

March 6 2016 Daring To Wait On God

DARING TO WAIT ON GOD

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 9

“God does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is

WHAT TO REMEMBER WHILE WAITING ON GOD

1. REMEMBER THERE’S A NATURAL DELAY BETWEEN PLANTING & HARVESTING!

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven . . . A time to plant and a time to harvest . . . a time to scatter and a time to gather . . .” 

2. REMEMBER THERE’S AN UNSEEN BATTLE GOING ON.

“We are not struggling and fighting against human beings but against evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm—the rulers, authorities, and powers of darkness.” 

3. REMEMBER GOD IS PREPARING ME FOR HIS BLESSING

“There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These troubles test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure, just as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.” 

“Waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We don’t see what is enlarging us, but the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Meanwhile, when we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He prays in us and for us . . .He knows us far better than we know ourselves, and knows our pregnant condition . . . That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:24-28

4. REMEMBER I’M IN GOOD COMPANY WHEN WAITING ON GOD

 “People who lived in the past became famous because of their faith.”

5. REMEMBER GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES!

God says, “At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting—it will happen!” Habakkuk 2:3 (CEV) 

WHAT TO DO WHILE WAITING ON God

1. WRITE DOWN THE LESSONS I’M LEARNING

“At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress.” Numbers 33:2a (NLT)

“Remember what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with him.” Deuteronomy 11:2a (TEV) 

2. ACT AS THOUGH I ALREADY HAVE IT

Jesus said, “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 (NIV) 

3. IMITATE THE HABITS THAT GROW STRONG FAITH

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to IMITATE those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12 (NIV) 

Paul: “KEEP ON putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing.”  Philippians 4:9a (NLT) 

DON’T put my life on hold.

• KEEP ON  PRAYING

“Keep on asking, and you WILL be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you WILL find. Keep on knocking, and the door WILL be opened!” Matthew 7:7 (NLT) 

• KEEP ON SERVING

“Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.”  Romans 12:11 (NLT)

• KEEP ON GOING TO CHURCH

“Don’t give up your habit of meeting with other believers. Instead keep on encouraging each other!” Hebrews 10:25 

• KEEP ON SOWING

“Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which ones will grow—perhaps they all will!” Ecclesiastes 11:6 (LB)

• KEEP ON BELIEVING

“You must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true . . .” 2 Timothy 3:14 (LB)

TRUST GOD INSTEAD OF PANICKING

“Even when I am afraid, I keep on trusting you.” Psalm 56:3 (CEV)

February 21 2016 Daring To Grow A Deep Soul

DARING TO GROW A DEEP SOUL

Daring Faith: The Key to Miracles – Part 7

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

Spiritual growth is a process in which GOD AND I EACH HAVE A PART.

1. GOD’S PART: HE INVITES

MY PART: I RESPOND

Ephesians 1:4 (NLT) "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes."

James 1:21b (NJB) "Humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls."

2. GOD’S PART: HE IS FOUND.

MY PART: I SEEK HIM.

Jeremiah 29:13­14a (NIV) "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord . .

Psalm 27:8 (NIV) "My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek."

3. GOD’S PART: HE TEACHES ME.

MY PART: I LEARN.

John 16:13a (ESV) "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth."

Hebrews 5:11­14 (NLT) There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is dif icult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the dif erence between right and wrong

4. GOD’S PART: HE BRINGS GOOD OUT OF EVIL.

MY PART: TO ENDURE.

Romans 8:28 (NJB) "We are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good."

Colossians 1:11 (Msg) "We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory­strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy."

Jeremiah 17:7­8 (NLT) "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord, and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing

Philippians 1:11 (Msg) ". . . bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and

GOD’S GUARANTEE: GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE HAS STARTED.

Philippians 1:6 (Amp) "And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ (right up to the time of His return), developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."

February 7 2016 Daring To Plant In Faith

DARING TO PLANT IN FAITH

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 5

Genesis 8:22 (NIV) God: “As long as the earth endures, there will be seedtime and harvest. . .”

Galatians 6:7a (Mes)“Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. Whatever a person plants, he WILL harvest."

GOD’S LAWS OF PLANTING AND HARVESTING

1. EVERYTHING STARTS WITH A SEED

Genesis 1:11God said, “Let the land have seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their varieties.”

A “SEED” IS ANYTHING VALUABLE that I give away

2. NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL UNTIL THE SEED IS PLANTED

John 12:24 Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, it cannot reproduce. But if it dies, it will produce much fruit.”

Mark 4:26-27 (NCV) Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows.”

3. WHEN I HAVE A NEED I SHOULD PLANT A SEED

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (TEV) “Do your planting in the morning and in the evening, too! You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one planting will do better than the other.” 

4. WHATEVER I PLANT IS WHAT I WILL REAP.

Galatians 6:7b (TEV) “You will reap exactly what you plant.”

Galatians 6:7b-8 (Mes)“The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others, and ignoring God, harvests a crop of weeds. That’s all he’ll have to show for his life! BUT the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life!”

5. I’M NOT THE ONLY SOWER.

John 4:38 “I sent you to reap where you didn’t plant; others had already done work before you, and you will gather the harvest.” 

6. I ALWAYS REAP IN A DIFFERENT SEASON THAN I SOW.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. . . A time to plant and a time to harvest. . . a time to scatter and a time to gather. . .” 

7. I MUST BE PATIENT AND NOT GIVE UP

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.” 

8. I ALWAYS REAP MORE THAN I SOW.

Mark 4:8 Some seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, MULTIPLYING thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times.” 

9. I INCREASE MY HARVEST PLANTING MORE SEED.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each one should give what he’s decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Proverb 11:24 (Mes) “The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.” 

10. I PLANT BY FAITH, NOT FEELINGS

Psalm 126:5-6 (NLT) “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, BUT they sing as they return with the harvest.” 

11. THE BEST TIME TO PLANT IS NOW

Ecclesiastes 11:4“Those who wait for perfect weather will never plant seeds; and those who look at every cloud will never reap a harvest.”

January 31 2016 Daring To Give God My Best

DARING TO GIVE GOD MY BEST

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 5

2 Peter 1:5­8 (CEV) "DO YOUR BEST to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self­control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love. If you keep growing in this way, it will show that . . . Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful."

Proverbs 3:9-­10 "Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the BEST part of everything. If you do this, your barns will fill with grain and your barrels will overflow with wine."

HOW DO I GIVE MY BEST TO GOD?

2 Timothy 2:3­7 – A Soldier, An Athlete, A Farmer

"Endure hardship with us like a GOOD SOLDIER of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets tied up in civilian af airs—he wants to please his commanding of icer. Similarly, if anyone competes as AN ATHLETE, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. And the HARDWORKING FARMER should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Think about these three illustrations, and the Lord will help you to understand how they apply to you." 2 Timothy 2:3­7 (NIV/LB)

LESSONS FROM THE MILITARY

LIKE AN EFFECTIVE SOLDIER, I MUST . . .

1. I MUST DEFINE WHAT I’D DIE FOR

John 15:13 (LB) "The greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life

2. I MUST SACRIFICE MY COMFORT

2 Timothy 2:3 "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 5:2 "Live a life of sacrificial love just like Christ loved us and gave himself as an of ering and sacrifice for us."

3. I MUST ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS

2 Timothy 2:4 (NIV/NLT)"As Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become entangled in the af airs of this life, wasting time, for then you can’t please your commanding of icer who enlisted you in his army."

LESSONS FROM SPORTS

1 Corinthians 9:24-­27 (LB/NCV) "In a race everyone runs, but only one person wins the prize. So run your race to win. TO WIN the contest YOU MUST DENY YOURSELVES many things that would keep you from DOING YOUR BEST.

An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a ribbon or medal that won’t last, but we do it for an eternal reward that will last forever! So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I’m not just shadow­boxing or playing around. Like an athlete I discipline myself, making sacrifices and training my body to do what it should, not what it wants to do. Otherwise I fear I might be disqualified from the race."

TO WIN THE PRIZE, I MUST . . .

1. I MUST INTEND TO WIN

1 Corinthians 9:24 (LB) "In a race everyone runs, but only one person wins the prize. So run your race to win!"

1 Timothy 6:12 (TEV)"Run YOUR BEST in the RACE OF FAITH, and win eternal life for yourself; for this is the life that God called you to when you professed your faith before many witnesses."

2. I MUST DISCIPLINE MYSELF

Hebrews 12:2 (Mes)"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that joyful finish with God in heaven —he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God."

2 Timothy 2:5 (NAS) "If anyone competes as an athlete, he cannot receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules."

1 Corinthians 9:25+27 (LB/NLT)"To win the contest you must deny yourself many things that would keep you from DOING YOUR BEST. An athlete goes into strict training just to win a ribbon or medal that won’t last, but we do it for an eternal reward that will last forever! . . . So I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should."

3. I MUST STAY FOCUSED ON THE REWARD

1 Corinthians 9:26 (LB )"I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step! I fight to win. I’m not just shadow­boxing or playing around."

Matthew 13:24 (NLT) Jesus: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field."

LESSONS FROM FARMING

2 Corinthians 9:6­-13 (NLT) "Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. Then God will generously provide all you need, and you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others . . . For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you! Yes, you will be enriched SO THAT you can give even more generously! . . . You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts, AND your generosity will prove you are obedient to the Good News of Christ!"

TO REAP A GREAT HARVEST, I MUST . . .PLANT GENEROUSLY IN FAITH

_______________________________

2 PROMISES OF JESUS

Luke 6:38 (ICB) "Give, and it will be given back to you. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you."

Mark 10:29-­30 Jesus said, "I guarantee you this: Anyone who gives up anything for my sake and the Good News—whether a home or a family member or property—will get MORE THAN THAT BACK, multiplied a HUNDREDFOLD, and in the world to come they will be given life forever!"