Men would come at this time The Lord's Supper should be a time of celebration in which Christians focus upon Jesus Christ 4 looks

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1 Cross Creek Community Church, Pastor Dave Martin, Feb 15, 2015 igrow - Building a Life of Faith Building a Great Life series, part 2, Heb 11 Welcome Next two week assignment, read the first three chapters of Ephesians I m so glad God loves me, Jesus redeemed me and I have God s peace and assurance of being forgiven! Amen Slide 2- Jesus - Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. Are you saved? Slide 3 REMEMBER Take your Bibles and turn to 1Co 11:23-32 (Page 812 in chair Bible) The Old Covenant was ratified repeatedly by the blood of animals offered by men; but the New Covenant has been ratified once and for all by the blood of Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:28), which God Himself has offered To remember is to go back in your mind and recapture as much of the reality and significance of an event or experience as you possibly can. To remember Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross is to relive with Him His life, agony, suffering, and death as much as is humanly possible The reality of the Lord's death, and the certainty of His return until He comes Christ s suffering atoned only for the sins of those who believe in him The Lord s Supper is for believers To examine ourselves is to privately test and approve ourselves It is only in the preparation for the Lord's Supper that individuals must turn their attention inward To come unworthily to the Lord's Table is to become guilty of the body and blood of the Lord weak, sickly and some sleep/die Serious matter Men would come at this time The Lord's Supper should be a time of celebration in which Christians focus upon Jesus Christ 4 looks SLIDE 4-1 Corinthians 11: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." Once we experience salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, the next step is to grow more like Him igrow What does it take to please God? What would you say? Some people think the way to please God is to... Perform rituals... chant certain prayers... repeat certain prayers over & over... light some incense / candles That is not what the Bible says... Some people say you please God by a set of rules or regulations... A to do list or a not to do list. That s not what the Bible says... Some think you please God through religion Through observance of holy days or a bunch of religious experiences, or maybe by observing communion. God isn t interested in rituals or rules or regulations or religion. BUT IN A RELATIONSHIP with you. He wants you to learn to trust Him... It s impossible to please Him unless you have ONE THING FAITH Heb. 11:6"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." The foundation of a great life is faith. Are you interested in pleasing God? You re at church, you must be. Faith is like a multi-faceted diamond... many different aspects to faith... let s look at six, to build a life that pleases God. Heb 11 is God s Hall of Fame, His Hall of Faith people who did it right... people of faith. FAITH IS...

2 1. BELIEVING when I don t see it. Heb. 11:1"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Faith is visualizing the future in the present, seeing it in advance, its being certain of what we do not see. We say, I ll believe it when I see it God says NO you have it backwards... believe it in order to see it. Architect planning a building, an artist creating a sculpture, Olympic athlete trying to break a world s record or a scientist trying to send a man to the moon you have to believe it BEFORE you can see it. You have to believe it s possible in ADVANCE, long before it will ever be possible... this is called FAITH. Warner von Braun, the father of the space age, who built the atlas rocket and the saturn rockets that sent men to the moon, once said, "There has never been any significant achievement in human history that was not accompanied by faith." It all started out that somebody believed it was possible, believed it in advance. You have to believe it before it happens. Faith turns dreams into reality. It s believing before I see it. But it's far more than that 2. OBEYING when I don t understand it. Two examples, Noah & Abraham Noah, think about his doubts... Lord told him, he s going to wipe out the earth with a global flood... Heb. 11:7 "It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about something that had never happened before." nlt Circle the words faith & obey. Faith is obeying when I don t understand it. Noah had many questions... Before the flood it never rained... mist. Atmosphere was different than today a canopy effect The need for a big boat, because a flood s coming, what s a flood? What s rain? What s a boat? Didn t make sense. 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. Abraham now 75 years old living in Ur of the Chaldees (Iraq)... ready to hang it up and retire... God called him to go on an adventure at age 75, this is called social insecurity... I m going to turn you into the father of a great nation... Go to a new country I m sure he was filled with all kinds of questions... where are we going? How far is it? BUT He OBEYED, he got up and went Faith always involves risking. Some people want a guarantee of success before they obey God... OK God, once you guarantee it s going to work, then I ll do it... No, that doesn t require faith. God lays on our hearts His vision for His people even here at Cross Creek. Things may not make sense to us But we must be obedient as the Lord leads us Stepping out in faith can be scary As the Spirit of God leads us we must obey Him. There are 1,050 commands of God in the New Testament. Every time God tells you to do something, it s a test... to believe God or to believe my gut / my feelings. God always knows what s best for you and His church... Commands are for our benefit... God knows best. God s Word is His owners manual for life... ignore the Bible to your detriment... obey it to your good. As you learn to do whatever God tells you (even when it does not make sense) and God will bless you. I asked Cathy, Can you think of a time when you obeyed God when He told you to do something and it didn't make sense?" She said, "Sure. When He told me to marry you." Faith is believing when I don't see it, obeying when I don't understand it. And the Bible tells us Faith is also...

3 3. GIVING when I don t have it. Giving and faith goes together. God uses finances to grow and test our faith Have you ever had to decide between tithing and paying a bill? This is a test. Who are you going to trust? God or Gut? First guy listed in Heb 11 is Abel... he did nothing great, no great accomplishment or achievements The only thing he did was he gave an offering. It was not how much he gave but how he gave it. Heb. 11:4"It was faith that made Abel's offering to God a better sacrifice than Cain's. Through his faith... God approved of his giving." Circle faith, offering and giving. It wasn t the amount, but the attitude God looks at. There are two ways you can give: Give by faith OR give by fear. Give by Reason or by Revelation. One way you don t get any credit for it, but the other way God is pleased with it. First, I can give by reason. When I give by reason I look at my bank account and my check stubs and how much I've got and I figure out what can I afford. And I give a reasonable amount based on what I can afford. That doesn't require any faith. An atheist can give by reason. You don't have to believe in God for that. The other way to give is to give by revelation. Revelation is when you pray, and you ask God and you say, "God, what do You want me to give? God, how much do You want me to trust You for this time?" It's giving by faith that God approves of and blesses. 2 Cor. 8:2-3 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, Give an Illustration on tithing... Special love offering March 22 Pick up banks for your children / family You cannot out give God... the more you give, the more God gives back to you Law of sowing & reaping Some people say, God give to me and then I ll give back to you... that s not faith Anybody can give when things are going good... anyone can believe when the cash sits in front of you. It s when it doesn t feel like it and it doesn t make sense that s stepping out in faith. 2 Cor. 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Faith is Believing Obeying Giving when I don't have it. But it's even more than that Faith is 4. PERSISTING when I don t feel like it. That s opposite of our culture. Our culture says, do everything based on your feelings Feels good = do it. If it doesn t feel good, don t do it. Do whatever feels good... live by your emotions... But realize this results in being manipulated by our feelings and mood swings Mature people live by their commitments, not their emotions. Emotions come and go... they can t be trusted. Last week I told you to expect battles Attacks by the enemy When you are attacked, what do you do? Feelings come and go Sometimes I don t feel like reading my Bible or studying or praying Hard work If you only read your Bible or pray when you feel like it... the devil will make sure that I never feel like it. Faith is to keep on doing it, persisting in spite of how I feel. That s the secret of success! Successful people are simply ordinary people who do what the average person doesn t feel like doing! Professional athletes? Master musicians? Pilots? Hours & hours of persistence even when don t feel like it. How do you develop persistence? Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

4 You know the story of Moses, slavery for 400 years, God delivered them through Moses, wilderness, Red Sea 40 years later into the Promised Land. How do you be that persistent? He saw Him who is invisible The key to persistence is KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE LORD. Some here may be on the edge of quitting. Throwing in the towel Giving up on your marriage... Or college is just too hard... Or your career or dream... Or the hope of ever getting married is fleeting away Finances seem hopeless... Unrelenting health issues that keep you down... God brought you here this morning so He could say to you... Hang in there! Don t give up! Keep Trusting! Faith is Believing when I don t see it Faith is obeying even when you don t understand, Faith is giving even when you don t have it, Faith is persisting even when you don t feel like it and Faith is: 5. THANKING before I receive it. Heb. 11:30"By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days." 40 years after Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt they went into the Promised Land to Jericho Fortified city, no way is a bunch of ex-slaves going to take it over. It was considered impenetrable. Israelites marched around it for seven days. First in silence then later in thanking God in praise... Thanking God in advance... then on the 7 th day with a shout of praise... the walls came tumbling down! Faith is NOT believing God can do something (whether you believe it or not) He can do it... that s hope... BUT Faith believes God IS doing something right now, even though I don t see it... God IS working behind the scenes... The answer is already on its way... He s moving the pieces into place even as we speak... thanking in advance! Start thanking Him Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Believe you will receive it and then you will get it. Do I have to believe I ve got it in order to get it? YES That s called faith... faith is thanking God in advance. Let s say I ve got a gift for you and I write you a check for $5000. Would you wait until after you cashed it to thank me? No, you would thank me on the spot even though the cash is not in your hands yet... you believe my checks are good... God s checks are better than mine! If God tells you to go fishing for Moby Dick in a row boat... you better take along the tartar sauce! 6. TRUSTING if I don t get it. God will never give you something that is bad for you He knows what s perfect and best for you Does a parent give a child everything the child asks for? NO WAY Likewise God is not going to give you everything you ask for... He will meet ALL YOUR NEEDS not your ALL YOUR GREEDS a big difference. False teachers say name it & claim it Like a big vending machine in the sky You will never have any problems, never be sick... Have all the money you want... BALONEY that s not in the Bible. God more interested in your CHARACTER than He is in your comfort. igrow like Jesus! Be holy God knows holiness is the way to genuine happiness... Faith is trusting if I don t get it. God hears and answers EVERY PRAYER you pray, BUT He doesn t always answers the way you want. Sometimes He answers YES, sometimes NO, sometimes WAIT, sometimes, I ve got a BETTER IDEA. All four are equally valid answers to prayer. Faith is trusting God even when I don t get answer I expect Heb. 11:39-40"They were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better..." Living by faith does not exempt you from problems... look at the persecution happening around the world.

5 Sometimes we pray, Lord remove this problem... instead He keeps the problem there and gives you strength thru the trial This strengthens you... igow, building spiritual muscles... Becoming like Christ If God took all your problems out of the way... You would become a spoiled brat, a weak & immature baby. God wants you to become men & women of character and strength and maturity so He allows problems. Anybody can trust God when things are going great... anybody can give money when they have extra... Anybody can persist when they see a close deadline... Anybody can believe when it s in front of them... REAL FAITH is built in the VALLEYS of life... Sometimes its trusting God when I don t understand or get it. Some of you may say, I d really like to grow in faith, I d like to build my faith Hang around here for the next few weeks... and watch your faith stretch and be strengthen. You ll become a spiritual Schwarzenegger! Hang on! Stay faithful! HOW DOES GOD BUILDS MY FAITH: There are two ways God builds your faith: 1. Through His Word, the Bible So important to have Bible intake Rom. 10:17"Faith comes from hearing the Word of God..." (1Thes 2:13, 1Pet 1:23-25, 1Pet 2:2, Heb 4:12) More you get into His Word, the more your faith will grow. God s spiritual food to grow spiritual muscles. Praise the Lord, many are reading thru Bible Doing our daily Bible reading! 2. Through Trials and Testings So important to keep right perspective/attitude 1 Peter 1:7"These trials are only to test your faith... and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold... it will bring you much praise and honor on the day of his return." (James 1:2-4, Ps 66:10-12) God will use difficulties to test your faith... He will use demands on your time to test & grow your faith. God will use dollars... your financial giving to test and grow your faith... God uses delays to test your faith Some of you are going through tough times right now and you re about to give up... Don t I want to say, HANG ON! God will make a way if you will trust Him Walk by faith If you will work on these six areas in your life... GOD WILL MAKE A WAY and bring you to greater heights. Faith is believing Obeying Giving Persisting Thanking Trusting Let s Pray Ryrie Study Bible, Moody press Saddleback Church, Rick Warren Holman New Testament Commentary Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord & Zuck MacArthur New Testament Commentary, John MacArthur