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.”

December 21 2014 What Difference Does Christmas Make?

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES CHRISTMAS MAKE?

John 3:16 (LB)  "For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son..."

Because Jesus came at Christmas ...

1.  MY PAST CAN BE FORGIVEN

Romans 3:23-24 (LB)"All of us have sinned... yet now God declares us `not guilty' of offending him IF we trust in Jesus Christ who freely takes away our sins."

2 Corinthians 5:17 (Ph)"If anyone is in Christ, he becomes a new person altogether; the past is finished and gone, everything becomes fresh and new."

2.  MY PRESENT PROBLEMS CAN BE MANAGED

Philippians 4:13 (GN)"I have the strength to face all conditions by the power Christ gives me."

Romans 8:32 (Ph)"... God gave us his own son - can we not trust such a God to give us ... everything else that we need?"

3.  MY FUTURE CAN BE GUARANTEED

Hebrews 2:14-15 (GN) "... Jesus became like us ... (to) set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death."

Three Christmas Gifts to you from God

  1. Ephesians 1:4-7 (GN)"Let us praise God for the FREE GIFT he gave us in his Son... we are set free, our sins are forgiven."  
  2. John 14:27 (LB) (Jesus) "I am leaving you with a GIFT; peace of mind and heart... so don't be troubled or afraid."  
  3. Romans 6:23 "... the GIFT of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

Have you accepted these gifts?

December 7 2015 God's Christmas Gift To You

God's Christmas Gift To You

1. God’s first Christmas gift is celebration.

Luke 2:8-10 – There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE?

GOD LOVES US!

John 3:16 – God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

GOD IS WITH US!

Hebrews 13:5 – God says, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.’

GOD IS FOR US!

John 3:17 – God didn’t send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

2. God’s second Christmas gift is salvation.

WHAT IS SALVATION?

SAVED FROM MY SIN

Matthew 1:21 – Give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

Romans 7:24-25 – I’ve tried everything and nothing helps.  I’m at the end of my rope.  Is there no one who can do anything for me?  The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.

SAVED FOR A PURPOSE

II Timothy 1:9 – He saved us and called us to be His own people, not because of what we have done, but because of His own purpose and grace.

3. God’s third Christmas gift is reconciliation.

Luke 2:13-14 – Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.

WHAT KIND OF PEACE DOES JESUS GIVE?

PEACE WITH GOD

Romans 5:1 – Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

PEACE OF GOD

Philippians 4:6-7 – Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

PEACE WITH EACH OTHER

Matthew 5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.

Acts 10:35 – It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from, if you want God and are ready to as He says, the door is open.