Journey to Life part three
Journey to Life
Part Three
we started a journey of how to live abundantly in both tough times and good times
The journey to a life
We said the journey to life was a life of faith
Romans 1:17 (NLT)
17 … “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
A righteous person or
A person who is in a right relation with God”
has life through faith
complete trust and reliance in God
a person who is connected to Jesus through faith and trust
finds He is always there
He won’t always do what you want
He will always do what is best
Trust him
Rely on Him
Have faith in Him
What helps to grow in faith?
Some things to know
1. God is actively involved and cares about every detail of your lives
2. God doesn’t work in straight lines
We have a problem
We think we know what the solution is
We want our straight line solution
Man I know had cerebral palsy when he was a child
Lived in a wheel chair at home with his mom
His mom got too old to look after him
Help him get out of bed in the morning etc
His mom needed to move into a home
He fought that
Meant he would need to move into a nursing home
He fought that to the nth degree
You can imagine what his prayers were
God didn’t answer his prayers the way he wanted him to
In the end he had to move into the home
No other choice
Found it to be far better than it was at home
People to visit with
Could help the nurse’s with stuff
Was far better for him
God didn’t do what he wanted God to do
God did something better
Brings me to 3
To grow in faith
3. Accept course corrections
What do I mean?
The man I just told you about had a course correction
He wanted something from God
It was not God’s best for Him
God wanted him to change his course
Don’t fight course corrections
You will find Jesus on the other side of what you want
When you surrender to him and his way
You will find
He is there
There is a sense of peace you can’t even imagine
Before I go on let me give you a warnings
Don’t think every hardship is a course correction
We like I said last week though need to be able to stand in faith through tough times
Ephesians 6:10 (ESV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil
We as Christians need to learn to stand in faith
Trusting believing God
1. Against the schemes of the enemy
Thoughts
Temptations
lies
Not quit when the going gets tough
2. Live disciplined lives
Learn to stand and not quit
Not give in to our own wants or desires
But what if we are standing for the wrong thing or for something at the wrong time
Again the man who wanted to live with his mom
I have also seen many people hang on to something
Not accept a course correction
Suffer for it
For years sometimes
Be mad at God
God didn’t give them what they want
look at some examples from the bible
Apostle Paul is out preaching
Everywhere he goes the door seems to be shut
Acts 16:6-10 (ESV)
6 And they went through the region of Phrygia (frig-ia) and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Paul didn’t try to force the issue
He accepted course corrections
Because of him going to Macedonia
The gospel spread through Europe
Is why we live in a country with a Christian heritage
Look at Paul’s attitude in another situation
the apostle Paul is in jail
facing court
might be martyred
now if you were in jail what would you want?
Pretty obvious
people are praying for his release
Look what Paul says about the issue
Philippians 1:19-24 (ESV)
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account
Paul says because you are praying and because Jesus answers prayers
I expect to be set free
Then he goes on to say however it turns out though I will win
If they set me free and I can come and talk to you I win
If they never set me free and I am martyred I win
I get to go be with God
Do you see his attitude
He expects to be set free
Wants to be set free
But if it doesn’t happen he still wins
And is satisfied and will continue to bring God glory
We see the same attitude with
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
Their life is threatened because they won’t worship the king
They say they will only worship God
The king says if you won’t bow down to my image and worship it
I will throw you into a blazing furnace
Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)
16 replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Expect to be saved supernaturally by God
Believe they will
Even if they aren’t it’s okay but they still won’t worship other Gods
This my friends is faith
we get so tied up with what we want
Demand to have things turn out the way we want them
We are on dangerous ground
We need to let God have the final say
Let go of the control
When we do we find God
Oh what peace
accept course corrections and to grow in faith
4. Learn to be a giving person
Learning to be a giving person helps us to grow in faith
Having the attitude of giving
Giving by being willing to share the gospel
Giving by tithing
Giving by blessing others, being generous to others
Having the attitude
Mark 4:24-25 (NKJV)
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
When you find this to be true
Your faith increases
God what you say is true
Wow
God blesses people who are givers
This is a principal of scripture that is shown time and again
Let me show you another passage
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV)
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Incredible promise
again
Let me show you another passage
Malachi 3:8-15 (ESV)
8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
Here God is very stern with these people
Tells them they are robbing God
They are withholding their tithes and things are not going well for them
in another case God tells people who are just spending their money on themselves
God tells them this
Haggai 1:2-11 (ESV)
6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
Then they decide to do what God has asked them
Stop just spending on themselves God says this
Haggai 2:15-19 (ESV)
19 …. But from this day on I will bless you.”
God blesses us when we give
Faith is demonstrated through giving
When we understand this
Our faith grows
Let me give you some good balanced advice
You start to make less money
Don’t stop tithing
Am not saying maintain the same level of giving
If you are making a thousand dolls a month
Your tithe is 100
But if your income goes down to 100
Don’t try to keep giving 100
Just be obedient to what God says to us
God even says test me in this
Watch him in return bless you
Because he loves you
Giving increases our faith
It says God even though I don’t have much
I trust you because you have asked I be a giving person
Giving increases our faith by seeing how God blesses a giving person
Romans 1:17 (NLT)
17 … “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Oh what a beautiful thing
I am promising you a beautiful thing
A life of faith
Thinking people are worthwhile sharing with
Tithes etc
If times get tough the best thing to do is tithe
And have a attitude of giving
Faith is shown by giving
"Every day you either live by priorities or you live by pressures. You either decide what is important in your life or else you let other people tell you what is most important in your life." - Rick Warren
Job 42:6 (NLT)
6 I take back everything I said,
and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
Job 42:10 (ESV)
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Luke 12:32-34 (ESV)
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
So how do we get there
I could sat just believe
Just have faith and I would be right
But their also is a road to go down which makes this easier
Doubts are dreary things in times of sorrow. Like wasps they sting the soul!
Who is a righteous person
Promise is not for perfect people
You have to believe God is interested and at work in the details of life.
Faith is demonstrated through giving
Thinking people are worthwhile sharing with
Tithes etc
Mark 4:21-25 (NKJV)
21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
Romans 1:16 (NKJV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Romans 15:13 Romans 15:13 (NKJV)
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes it is tempting to read these verses and think
Ok I can get what I want by simply believing it to be true
I want my $1000 in the TSX to be $1500 next year
And if I have enough faith that it will be it will
I am going to say it is so
Until it is
Nothing the matter with asking God to make it $1500 either by the way
I have a better way
Romans 1:17 (NLT)
17 … “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”