X-Mas: What's Missing? (2)
Notes
Transcript
And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
What is faith?
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It would be safe to say that most of us in here have at some point placed our faith in Jesus Christ to save us.
Yet most of us in here have a hard time placing faith in Christ to do anything else.
Faith is more than just saving faith, though that is the most important kind of faith.
Faith comes in all kinds of sizes,
Every time you get into your car and turn the ignition, you have faith that the engine will start, and when it doesn’t your faith is shattered
every time you get out on the highways and drive down the road you are putting your faith in the other drivers that they will stay in their lane and when they dont, our faith is shattered.
How about our health, when our health is good, man our faith could move mountains, but when our health is in decline, our faith declines with it.
Why?
Why is it, we have enough faith to place it in Christ to save us, but yet our faith is so microscopic when it comes to everything else?
I think we need to find faith this Christmas season.
If you are here lost, you need to come to Jesus in faith and be born again
for those of us that are born again, we need to find that faith that says God can and will.
In our text we read about a woman that I would say had faith to believe that God could and that God would do as He says.
But look with me in Luke 1:34
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Do you see that?
Mary says, Ok, I believe God can make Him great and he will be called the Son of the Highest and he will have the throne but this cant happen without me.
Sounds a lot like us dosnt it?
I believe God can, if I .....
I believe God can, but.....
Saying you believe God can and putting anything after it is not faith, at least in what God can do.
Its faith in yourself
So the first thing we want to convey this morning is
Are you missing Faith that believes God Can
Are you missing Faith that believes God Can
In our text we see two sides to Mary, the first side we see a person that believes that God could if only I
v34
Go with me to Heb. 11 and I want to contrast the kind of response Mary gave with the examples of faith from the Word of God. ( Heros of the faith)
Now none of these folks believed God could if only they did something
They believed God could because He said it
Faith says God can
You say God can but...
Faith says God can use me.
You Say God can but I know better
Faith says God can use me at His pleasure
You Say God can use me at my pleasure
Faith says God Can because He has promised
You Say God cant but I can
All of these men and women in Heb.11 believed that God could as long as they stayed out of the way.
Each time they decided to take over the situation turned from successful to dreadful
Are you missing the kind of faith that says I can’t but God can?
Are you missing the kind of faith that believes God can?
Abel’s Faith
Abel’s Faith
Abel was told what he had to do to please God and he did it.
Cain was told too, but Cain had the faith that said, God can but I know better.
Enoch’s Faith
Enoch’s Faith
In a world that was full of apostasy and had little regard if any for the things of God, Enoch walked with God.
Enoch’s faith said I know God can keep on the right path regardless of the world around me
Noah’s Faith
Noah’s Faith
When there was no evidence to support the need for an Ark, Noah still built it.
Not because he saw the need, but because heard the need
God said build it
Noah said how high
Noah didnt say God can but I think this way is better
No he said God can supp;y everything I need to build this Ark the way it wants it built
Abraham’s Faith
Abraham’s Faith
A pagan moon worshipper steps out in faith because God said to.
he did not know where he was headed, God said go, he went.
faith that believes God can
All of these men had one thing in common, they believed that God could do what He said regardless of what they did.
That is the kind of faith I am talking about this morning. Believing that God can do what He says regardless of our input.
We all have faith this morning, but we are missing the kind of faith that says I cant but God can!
Next we want to ask,
Are you missing the Faith that believes God Will
Are you missing the Faith that believes God Will
Believing God can and you cant is a great start, but I can believe God can do the impossible but if I never put feet to that belief it is nothing but empty words.
all of those saints in Heb. 11. Put feet to their faith. When they did this it went from God can to God will.
Mary in verse 34 believed God could do what He said only if Mary did what she knew would make things happen
In verse 37 we see the other side of Mary. Here in verse 37 we see Mary went from believing God could with her help to believing that God would regardless of what she did.
She put feet to her faith.
So lets take that and contrast it to your life today.
Save You if you Ask Him
Save You if you Ask Him
Maybe you are here today and you just cant believe that God would save someone like you.
You believe God can but you have never put feet to your faith and said those simple words, “ Lord, save me.”
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Guide You if you Follow Him
Guide You if you Follow Him
Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
Carry You if You Let Him
Carry You if You Let Him
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
now having a faith that believes God Can is faith but having a Faith that believes God will is faith in action.
You see all those charters in Heb. 11, they not only had faith that believed God could do what He said, they had a faith that said I know God will. It was that faith that put them into motion.
If we always go around and say I know God can, our faith will always remain small and never amount to anything.
Jason, come up here.
Step up on the platform
turn around
Good, now you trust me right?
Good, now fall
Fall Jason.
Why are you not falling, I thought you trusted me?
You are not falling because you dont think I can catch you.
YOu would be right to believe that, I would try but we both might get hurt.
Now Jason if chad was here and I called him up here and had him stand next to me and rick came up here and jeff, do you think us four could catch you?
ok, would you still fall backwards?
No why?
Because you dont think we would
Now Sadie or Taylor, come here
Jason you come where I am and Sadie you go where your dad was. now Sadie, turn around face the wall, do you believe your dad can catch you?
Do you believe your dad will catch you?
Ok Fall.
You see folks, there is a difference between believing God can and believing God will.
Believing God can is great but it will never get you over that hurdle you are standing in front of this morning, believing God will, will cause you to take that step that has been holding you back.
Mary put feet on her faith by saying, behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me accourding to thy word.
From that moment, I believe she walked by faith.
Maybe there is somehere this morning that needs to come to the foot of the cross and say, not my will but thine be done.
Maybe there is someone here that needs to come to Christ in faith and be saved today.
What a great Christmas present that would be!
Lets all be honest with ourselves this morning, because God already knows, we all could say we are missing the faith that believes God will. We might have believed God would save us that day he did, but since then we cant get past God can.
Wont you come this morning and meet Him at the foot of the cross and say God I know you will.
Mary could have believed all she wanted that God could but until she stepped out in Faith and said God will it was not active faith
As the pianist plays wont you come this morning and do business with God!