January 24 2016 Daring To Imagine

DARING TO IMAGINE

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 3

Three Categories in the Bible

Some things we shouldn’t imagine

Some things we can’t imagine

Some things we should imagine

WHY DREAM?

1. My imagination shapes my life.

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)" . . . For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is."

Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)"Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts."

Genesis 11:6 (Amp) The Lord said, "Now that they are one people speaking one language, this is only the beginning of what they will do. Now nothing they have IMAGINED they can do will be impossible for them!"

2. Imagining is essential to living by faith.

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NCV)"We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever."

3. Great lives are built around great dreams.

Ephesians 1:18 (NJB) "May God enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope that his calling holds for you."

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)"Where there is no vision, the people perish . . ."

4. God’s dream for my life is bigger than my dream.

Ephesians 3:20 (Mes)"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever IMAGINE or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by his Spirit working deeply and gently within us." 

Let the size of my God, determine the size of my goals

5. Doubt is the enemy of imagination.

James 1:5­7 "If you need wisdom, just ask God for it, because He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. But when you ask God, you must believe in faith and not doubt. For a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven back and forth, and tossed about by the wind. Such doubters cannot decide about anything they do, so they should not imagine receiving anything from the Lord."

Mark 9:22­24 (NLT) "The man said, ‘Please heal my son if you can.’ Jesus replied, ‘What do you mean, "If I can?" Anything is possible IF a person believes.’ The father replied, ‘I do believe, but help me not to doubt!’"

6. Growing my character will clarify my vision.

2 Peter 1:5­9 (NCV) "To your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self­control; and to your self­control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love for everyone. IF all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you to BE USEFUL AND PRODUCTIVE in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But anyone who does not have these things CANNOT SEE CLEARLY."

7. If a dream is from God, it will be connected somehow to to His Church & Plan for the World

"If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life." Mark 8:35 (NLT)

September 28 2014 Understanding My World

Understanding My World

Where Have All the Values Gone?

  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Religion

I.  THE REASON:

THREE DESTRUCTIVE PHILOSOPHIES:

1. Individualism.

Judges 21:25 - “In those days Israel had no (authority) so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”

2. Secularism.

Romans 1:25 - “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped created things rather than the Creator.”

3. Relativism.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.”

“There are no absolute truths.”

Ephesians 4:17-19 - “They are hopelessly confused.  Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God.  They don’t care anymore about     right and wrong.”

II. THE RESULT: Our culture is collapsing.

Proverbs 29:18 - “Where there is ignorance of God, crime runs wild.”

Isaiah 5:20 - Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark.”

Proverbs 29:18 - “A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order.”

Psalm 11:3 - “When the foundations of life are     undermined, what can good people do?”

III. THE REMEDY: We must start with God.

Proverbs 2:9 - God shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time.”

2 Timothy 3:16 - “All Scripture is inspired by 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     teaches us to do what is right.”

Psalm 119:105 - “God’s Word is a flashlight to light the path ahead of me and keep me from stumbling.”

Proverbs 16:20 - “Those who listen to God’s instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be happy.”