January 8 2017 Getting A Grip On Faith

GETTING A GRIP ON FAITH

Matthew 9:29 – According to your faith will it be done to you.

Hebrews 11:6 – Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Luke 17:5 – The apostles said, Lord, increase our faith.

I. How does God strengthen my faith? By testing it.

James 1:3 – The testing of your faith develops perseverance so that you may be mature and complete.

Job 7:17-18 – What is man that you make so much of him, and that you give him so much attention that you examine him every morning and test him every moment.

II. How does God test our faith?

1. God tests our faith through difficulties.

1 Peter 1:6-7 – For a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Isaiah 48:10 – I have refined you, though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

James 1:2-3 – Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

LESSON: To live by faith, I learn to: To live by faith.

2. God tests our faith through demands.

Exodus 16:4 – The people are to go out each day and gather enough manna for that day. In that way I will test them and see whether they will follow instructions.

Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed and went.

Hebrews 11:7 – By faith Noah built an ark.

LESSON: To live by faith I must learn to: Obey God quickly.

3. God tests our faith through delays.

Deuteronomy 8:2 – God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years to test you in order to know what was in your heart.

Isaiah 64:4 – God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

LESSON: To live by faith, I must learn to: Wait patiently.

October 30 2016 God's Plan For Financial Blessing

GOD’S PLAN FOR FINANCIAL BLESSING

TWO STATEMENTS FROM JESUS

Luke 12:15 – Jesus said, “Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 16:9-13 – “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain eternal friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.  So, if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?  No one can serve two masters.  You cannot serve both God and money.

Money is a tool and a test.

Managing money is a spiritual discipline.

SEVEN HABITS FOR FINANCIAL BLESSING

1. I must trust God as my source and supply.

Romans 11:36 – Everything comes from God; everything exists by His power; and everything is intended for His glory.

Deuteronomy 8:18 – Always remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

Proverbs 16:3 – Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.

2. I must do my work as an act of Worship.

Proverbs 21:5 – Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

Proverbs 10:4 – Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Proverbs 16:11 – The Lord demands fairness in every business deal; He sets the standard.

Proverbs 12:11 – Hard work brings prosperity; only fools waste time chasing fantasies.

Proverbs 13:11 – Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; but wealth from hard work grows.

3. I must keep good records.

Proverbs 27:23-24 – Be sure you know the conditions of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.  For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. 

Proverbs 23:23 – Get the facts at any price.

Proverbs 24:3-4 – Any enterprise becomes strong, through common sense and profits by keeping abreast of the facts.

Three Things To Know: Know what you own; Know what you earn: Know where it goes.

4. Plan your spending.

Proverbs 21:5 – The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as hast leads to poverty.

Proverbs 21;20 – The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.

Three things in a good budget: Mutual decision; Matter of prayer; Goals

5. Enjoy what you have.

Proverbs 15:16-17 – Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.  Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.

1 Timothy 6:6-8-But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and be content with that.

Hebrews 13:5 – Be content with what you have.

6. Share with others in need.

Proverbs 11:24-25 – One man gives freely, yet gains even more, another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.  A generous man will prosper, he who refreshed others will himself be refreshed.

Proverbs 19:17 – He who is kind to the poor leads to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has one.

Proverbs 22:19 – A generous man will himself be blessed.

Proverbs 28:27 – He who gives to the poor will lack nothing.

7. It’s called tithing.

Proverbs 3:9 – Honor the Lord with your wealth, and with the first fruits of all your crops.

Three Reasons To Tithe: It shows Our Gratitude; It’s a Reminder for the Present; It’s a Step of Faith for the Future.

Deuteronomy 14:23

Malachi 3:8-11

Matthew 6:33 – Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

November 4 2012 The Choice Of Purity

THE CHOICE OF PURITY

Matthew 5:8 - Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Pure in Heart:

Matthew 6:1 - Be careful not to parade your good deeds before others to attract their notice, or you will lose all reward for your Father in heaven.

How to Develop a Pure Heart (Matthew 6)

1. Remember God sees everything.
Vs. 4, 6, 18 - Your Father sees what is done in secret.

Hebrews 4:13 - Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

2. Review my motives.
Proverbs 24:21 - God knows and judges your motives. He keeps watch over you. He knows, and He will reward you according to what you do!

• Giving (vs. 2-4)
• Praying (vs. 5-15)
• Fasting (vs. 16-18)

1 Thessalonians 2:4 - We do not aim to please others, but to please God who knows us through and through.

3. Realign your priorities.
Exodus 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before Me.

Three Tests

• Look at my activities.
Matthew 6:19 - Don’t pile up treasures on earth, but keep your treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

• Look at my anxieties.
Matthew 6:25 - Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life.

• Look at my ambitions.
Matthew 6:31-33 - Don’t worry about (these things), this is what pagans are always looking for, your heavenly Father knows you need them. Instead, set your heart first on His Kingdom, and His goodness and all those things will come to you as a matter of course.

Psalm 51:10 - Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.

July 15 2012 Making The Most Of Your Problems

How To Make The Most Of Your Problems

James 1:2-6
Verse 2 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

I. Four facts of Life You Need to Know
Consider it pure joy because you know.

1. Problems are a certainty.
Verse 2 - Whenever you face trials

2. Problems are unpredictable.
Verse 2 - Whenever you face trials

3. Problems are variable.
Verse 2 - Trials of many kinds.

4. Problems have a purpose.
Verse 3 - Realize that they come to produce in you.

3 Purposes of Problems (vss. 3-4)

  • Problems purify my faith.

You know that the testing of your faith.

  • Problems fortify our patience.

The testing develops perseverance.

  • Problems develop my character.

So that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.


God’s Number One Purpose In My Life:
To Make Me Like Christ

II. How to Handle Your Problems

1. You need to rejoice.
Verse 1 - Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials.

2. Request or pray.
Verse 5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him.

3. Learn to relax.
Verse 6 - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt.

The Result

Verse 12 - Blessed is the man that perseveres under trial he will receive the crown of life.

January 9 2011 Building Your Faith

Building your Faith

(Matthew 9:29 - Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you")

(Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.)

(Luke 17:5 - The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!")

I. How Does God build my faith?

By testings

(James 1:3 - because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.)

(Job 7:17-18 - "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?")

II. How does God test our faith?

1. God tests our faith through difficulties

(1 Peter 1:6-7 - In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.)

(Isaiah 48:10 - See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.)

(James 1:2-3 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.)

LESSON: To live by faith, I must learn to rejoice

2. God tests our faith through demands

(Exodus 16:4 - Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.)

(Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.)

(Hebrews 11:7 - By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.)

LESSON: To live by faith, I must learn to obey God quickly.

3. God tests our faith through delay

(Deuteronomy 8:2 - Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.)

(Isaiah 64:4 - Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.)

LESSON: To live by faith, I must learn to wait patiently