4-21-13 Sermon

You can listen to today's sermon here. The transcript appears below to follow along with or read alone. Blessings!

BUILDING A LIFE OF SERVICE

Building a Great Life  -  Part 3 of 8

Matthew 20:26 (GWT), Mark 10:45 (NLT)

04-21-13 Sermon

"Whoever wants to become great must be a servant to others." Matt. 20:26 (GWT)

Jesus: "For even I didn't come to be served but to serve others

and give my life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45 (NLT)

WHY USE MY LIFE TO SERVE OTHERS?

1.  I WAS ______________________________ FOR SERVICE.

       "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph. 2:10 (NIV)

2.  I AM ______________________________ FOR SERVICE.

            "It is God who saved us and chose us for his holy work..." 2 Tim. 1:9 (LB)

3.  I'VE BEEN ______________________________ TO SERVICE.

       "God, in his grace, chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him."  Gal. 1:15 (GN)

            "Live a life worthy of the calling you have received."  Eph. 4:1 (NIV)

4.  I'VE BEEN ______________________________ FOR SERVICE.

       "God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other..."  1 Peter 4:10 (LB)

5.  I AM ______________________________ TO SERVE OTHERS.

       (Jesus) "Your attitude must be like my own, for I did not come to be served, but to serve..."  Matt. 20:28 (LB)

6.  IT PROVES ______________________________.

       "... you are part of the Body of Christ and you belong to him ... in order that we might be useful in the service of God."  Rom. 7:4 (GN)

7.  MY CHURCH FAMILY ______________________________ MY SERVICE.

       "All of you together are the one body of Christ and each of you is a separate and necessary part of it."  1 Cor. 12:27 (LB)

8.  SERVING OTHERS IS THE WAY TO ______________________________ .

       "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men... It is the Lord Christ you are serving."  Col. 3:23-24 (NIV)

9.  BECAUSE I OWE ______________________________.

       "Because of God's great mercy to us... Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service..."  Rom. 12:1 (GN)

10.  BECAUSE SERVICE MAKES LIFE ______________________________.

       "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)

       "Keep busy in your work for the Lord since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever without value." 1 Cor. 15:58 (GN)

11.  I WILL BE HELD ______________________________ FOR MY SERVICE.

            "Each of us will have to give a personal account to God." Rom 14;12

12.  BECAUSE I WILL BE _______________ FOR ETERNITY.

            Jesus said, "My Father will honor anyone who serves me." John 12:26 (NCV)

       "Well done, good and faithful servant!  You've been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"  Matt. 25:23 (NIV)

MY RESPONSE

"Teach me to serve you with complete devotion."  Ps. 86:11 (GN)

"Serve the Lord with gladness!"  Ps. 100:2 (KJV)

BUILDING A LIFE OF SERVICE

Building a Great Life  -  Part 3 of 8

Matthew 20:26 (GWT), Mark 10:45 (NLT)

04-21-13 Sermon

Some might say the secret of greatness is connections and influence.  If you went to Wall Street and asked people there, "What's the secret of greatness?"  They'd say financial clout and a big portfolio. 

But God says, "My definition is very different."  God says none of those things last.  You're not going to remember them.  God says what's going to last is service.  God says the secret of a great life is you're never going to be great, until you learn to serve.

Matthew 20:26 "Whoever wants to become great must be a servant of others."  Circle "great" and "servant".  The Bible says those go together.  We all know that great teachers serve their students. We know that great salespeople serve their customers.  We know that the key to being a great leader is to serve your followers. The key to being great at anything -- a great manager serves the workers or the employees. 

God says the way to Up is Down.  The more you serve the greater you are.  If I were to ask you, "What two words best define the Christian life?"  Summarize all of Christianity in two words, I would pick the words "give" and "serve".  That's what Jesus did.

Jesus said, "For even I didn't come to be served but to serve others and to give my life as a ransom for many."  Circle "serve others" and "give my life" -- That summarizes the Christian life. Unless I learn how to serve others and unless I learn how to give my life away, I will never be like Jesus Christ.  I may claim to be a Christian.  I may have doctrine or thoughts or ideas in my mind, but I'm not really a true believer unless I learn how to serve and I learn how to give. 

The Bible says in the book of James, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only."  God says "I don't just want you to listen to what I say, I want you to act on it, apply it.  I want you to work it out in your life."

I want to clarify the reasons why the Bible says that you should give your life in service to God and to other people, why that should be the number one priority over your career, over your hobbies, over everything else in your life.  God says the top priority in your life after loving God and getting to know Him should be serving other people.  Why does He say that?

I have a dozen reasons.  I promise you that since I have 12 points in this message that next Sunday my sermon will be pointless.

TWELVE REASONS WHY I SHOULD GIVE MY LIFE TO SERVING GOD AND OTHERS.

1.  I WAS CREATED FOR SERVICE

God made me for that purpose.  I was designed for it.  The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created [circle "created"] in Jesus Christ to do good works [that's called ministry, service] which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

God designed everything on this earth for a purpose.  He made dogs to be dogs.  He made cows to do cowly kind of things.  Bees have a function that they're supposed to do.  I am not sure of the function of mosquitoes, but I am sure they have one too!  The Bible says you were put on this earth for a reason. Human beings are here to serve.  Human beings are here to help each other.  Human beings are here to help make the world a better place.  And God says, "I created you for ministry, for service."

Did you ever go looking for a flashlight and you tried to turn it on and it wouldn't work.  You hadn't used it in a long time.  When you opened it up the batteries had gotten corroded and had leaked all over and not only were the batteries ruined but the flashlight was ruined.  Why?  Batteries are made to be used.

Human beings are made for service.  And when we're not used in serving other people, we get corroded, ruined on the inside.  God says I was made, I was created for service.

2.  I AM SAVED FOR SERVICE.

2 Timothy 1:9 "It is God who saved us and chose us for His holy work."  What is a holy work?  The Bible word for it is called ministry.  Another word for that is service.  Anytime you see the word service in the Bible, it's the same word as ministry. Anytime you see the word ministry in the Bible, it's the same word for service.  When you see the word servant, it's the same word for minister.  When you see the word minister, it's the same word for servant.  The two are identical.

The Bible says you were saved to serve.  God didn't just put you on this earth to take up space, to set around, watch TV, eat Pringles, have a good old time, and just die.  Have you ever thought why, the moment we become Christians, God doesn't just zap us and we go instantly to heaven?  Why did God leave you here on earth the moment you became a Christian?  You know where you're going eventually so why did He leave you here?  He has something for you to do.  Part of that involves your ministry, your service.  You're left here for a reason.

A talk show had some body builders on.  One guy all buffed up was asked, "What do you use those muscles for?"  The guy positioned himself and posed, the crowd went wild, clapping, showing all his muscles but the talk show host said, "That's great, but what do you use those muscles for?" So the guy took another pose and the people went wild again and the talk show guy kept saying, "Yes, but what do you use those muscles for?"  The guy was bewildered.  The fact was he had no use for those muscles.  He had muscles just for the sake of muscles.  They were just

Let me ask you:  Why do you build spiritual muscle?  Why do you come to church?  Why do you read the Bible?  Why do you go to Bible studies?  Why do you pray?  Why do you develop spiritual muscle?  Hopefully not just to say, "I got it!  Look at my Bible biceps!" 

The Bible teaches very clearly that maturity is for ministry. Maturity is never an end in itself.  You say, "I want to be a mature Christian."  You'll never be a mature Christian until you start ministering.  Maturity is for ministry.  Muscles have a purpose.

3.  I'VE BEEN CALLED BY GOD TO SERVICE.

I'm not only created for it, I'm not only saved for it, but I've been called by God for service.  This phrase, "God's call", some people think it is some kind of special thing for special people like missionaries were called or priests were called of God or pastors or nuns had the call, that it was some kind of special thing. You're walking down the street one day and you're zapped and you are all of the sudden "called by God -- from now on I must serve Him with all my life." 

But the fact is, the Bible says every Christian is called.  The Bible says the call to salvation and the call to service are identical.  The moment you signed up and said, "Yes, I want to go to heaven and I want to have my sins forgiven" you also said, "And I'm willing to serve You the rest of my life."  They're not indistinguishable.  If you are a Christian, you are called to ministry.  The Bible says every Christian is called to serve, every member of God's family is a minister.  That’s why we say in our bulletin each Sunday that the ministers here at Forest Grove are all the members of the congregation.  Not everybody's a pastor.  But everyone’s a minister.  What's a minister?  A servant.  What's a servant?  Somebody who serves.  Anytime you use your abilities to help other people in the name of Jesus, you're ministering to them.  We ought to print up little business cards for everybody here: Your name/Minister of Jesus Christ.  That's what you are.  The Bible says I've been called to serve.  Every Christian is called to serve.

4.  I'VE BEEN GIFTED FOR SERVICE.

God did not give you your talents just to spend on yourself and retire and die.  But He gave you those abilities to help other people. 

1 Peter 4:10 "God has given each of you some special abilities. Be sure to use them to ... " make a lot of money (Reviled Substandard Perversion) It doesn't say that.  "Be sure to use your abilities to feather your nest egg."  No it says "Be sure to use your abilities to help each other."  That's called ministry. That's called service.  If you have given your life to Christ, the Bible says God gave you those abilities for you to use in helping other people.  This verse is our building block verse. It's our key chain verse for the week.  1 Peter 4:10 (New Century Version) "Each of you have received a gift to use to serve others." 

5.  I AM COMMANDED TO SERVE OTHERS.

That's good enough reason alone if that's the only one if God says do it.  Matthew 20:28 Jesus said, "Your attitude must be like my own, for I did not come to be served, but to serve." Circle "must".  It is not an option.  Service for a Christian is not optional.  A non ministering Christian is a contradiction. To call myself a Christian and not be involved in ministry, God says is silly.  It's a contradiction.  It can't be.  To be a Christian means to have the attitude of Christ.  And He said, "I came to serve."

Human nature does not want to serve other people.  I want to be served.  Human nature says, "Always focus on who is going to serve me."  When I look at life from my own viewpoint I say, "Who's going to meet my needs?  Who's going to help me?  Who's going to help my hurts?  Who's going to help me?"  Me!  Me!  Me!

But the Christian changes that around.  The Christian says, "Whose needs can I meet?  Who can I help?  Who can I serve?"  If you're still in the "Who's going to meet my needs?" stage, you haven't grown up yet.  You're spiritually immature.  The mature Christian says, "Whose needs can I meet?" because they realize the more I give my life away, the more God blesses my life.  When I worry about the needs of other people, God takes care of mine.

A mature Christian is interested in service.  An immature Christian is interested in serve-us.  And there's a big difference.  God says I'm commanded to serve others.  If I have no desire to help anybody else, I should doubt whether I'm really a Christian or not. 

6.  IT PROVES THAT I BELONG TO CHRIST

Romans 7:4 says, "You are part of the body of Christ and you belong to Him in order that we might be useful in the service of God."  Circle "body".  In the New Testament church, when they would welcome new members into the body of Christ, the family of God, they would say, "Welcome, Jesus Christ now has a new pair of eyes to see with... Jesus Christ now has a new pair of ears with which to listen to the hurts of others... Jesus Christ has a new pair of hands with which to help others... Jesus Christ now has a new heart to love others with."  Why? Because you're part of the body. 

Ministry, not attendance, is evidence that Christ is in you.  The Bible says that one of the purposes of pastors is to help you get ready for your ministry in life, that God put you here on earth for. 

7.  MY CHURCH FAMILY NEEDS MY SERVICE

It's needed and necessary.  1 Corinthians 12:27 "All of you together are the one body of Christ and each of you is a separate and necessary part of it."  Circle "necessary".  You are necessary.  You're a part of the body of Christ, the family of God. 

What happens in your life when one part of your body stops functioning?  You get sick and you may die if one part of your body doesn't function. 

If you're a Christian that means you're part of the body of Christ.  If you're not functioning it makes the rest of us sick. It makes an unhealthy body.  What if one day you got a phone call from your liver?  And your liver said, "I don't feel like functioning this year.  I just want to be fed."  You'd say, "What kind of liver are you?  Get back to work!"  What if your heart called up or your gall bladder or spleen and said, "I don't feel like functioning in the body this year.  I just want to be fed." You'd say, "You get back to work!"  A non functioning body part is not doing its job, not pulling its weight, not serving its function. 

You say, "Maybe we don't need that body part."  God says we're all needed, we're all necessary.  We're all needed in the body of Christ.  The strength of any church is not the pastor or pastors of the church.  It's the lay ministers who serve in the different ministries of the church.  That's the heartbeat of the church.

8.  SERVING OTHERS IS THE WAY TO SERVE GOD.

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for me.  It's the Lord you're serving."  Jesus said, "Whatever you do for others, you're doing for Me.  Even a cup of cold water given in my name it's like being done to Me."  If I'm not serving others, I'm not serving God. 

9.  BECAUSE I OWE EVERYTHING TO CHRIST.

Romans 12:1 "Because of God's great mercy to us offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service."  Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for me.  And even if He never did anything else, I owe Him my life.

I don't serve God out of duty.  I don't serve God out of fear.  I don't serve God out of some kind of guilt.  I don't serve God out of anger.  I serve God out of gratitude.  I owe Him my life.  He saved my life.  I'm going to live forever in eternity.  All my sins are forgiven.  He gives me purpose and power right now in the present. Because of that I want to serve Him out of gratitude, out of joy, not out of duty.  I owe Him my life.

10.  BECAUSE SERVICE MAKES LIFE MEANINGFUL.

Jesus said it like this, "If you try to keep your life for yourself, you're going to 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."  You're going to give your life away for something. Some people give their life away for a career and you get a gold watch at the end -- big deal!  Some people give their life away to get a big bank account.  Some people give their whole life to get some kind of thrill or some kind of pleasure out of life or to attain some level of status or to get their name or picture in some magazine or to accomplish some kind of human achievement. You're going to give your life for something.  The question is are you going to give your life for the right thing?  How much is it going to matter in eternity?  How much is it going to matter forever?  When you die is it going to matter at all?

Lots of people are trying to figure out how to live longer. That's not the real issue.  It's not how long you live that matters, it's how you live that matters.  It's not the duration of your life, it's the donation of your life.  If you're not going to use your life in service, why should God even let you live next week.  God does not owe you another single minute of life.  If you're not going to use it for His plan doing what He created you for, why in the world should He let you live?  Just to use up resources? 

It's not the duration -- it's not how long -- but it's how you live.  If you're going to use it in serving God and others, you're going to use it to fulfill His plan, He's not through with you.  When people live for themselves, they eventually get bored and they feel unfulfilled.  On the other hand, when you know God's plan for your life, and you start by saying, "God, I don't know it all yet, but I'm going to start serving You in a simple way, just giving back something of my life" it brings fulfillment, satisfaction and significance. 

"Keep busy in your work for the Lord since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever without value."  Can you say that about everything else you're doing?  No.  A lot of what you and I do is of no value in the long term.  But nothing you do in the Lord's work is ever without value. 

11.  I WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MY SERVICE.

One day God is going to have me stand before Him and He's going to say, "What did you do with what I gave you?  That talent? That ability?  Did you use it to help anybody else?  Were you ever unselfish?  Did you ever give anything back or were you just a taker in life?  Were you ever a giver where you did something totally unselfish that you got no personal benefit from?  You just did it unselfishly?  What did you do with what I gave you?"

And suppose I say, "I'm sorry, God.  I was kind of busy.  I had some plans and some goals that I thought would be really cool for me and I never got time to get in on Your plan.  I was just too busy to have a ministry."

God's going to say, "What?  Hello?  What were you thinking?  Do you think I put you on earth to live for yourself?  Of course not!  The real happiness and joy I intended for your life is found in giving your life away.  You missed it!  Wrong answer. What were you thinking?"

I will be accountable one day.  I can imagine getting to heaven and Jesus saying, "When I went to earth, My purpose on earth was to give and to serve.  By the way, what was your purpose?" 

There's one more reason.  I need to make giving my life away in service to others the number one priority of my life after knowing God ...

12.  BECAUSE I WILL BE REWARDED FOR ETERNITY.

John 12:26 Jesus says, "My Father will honor anyone who serves me."  God is planning a party in heaven for eternity.  It's going to last a long time.  This reward is going to last forever. 

One of the rewards you're going to get in heaven for your service on earth is that you will be trusted with greater responsibility. "Well done, good and faithful servant!  You've been faithful with a few things; I will now put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master's happiness." 

Just for affect, I want us to read these twelve reasons aloud -- together.  If someone were to say to you, "Why in the world should you put your ministry of serving other people and serving God by serving others right at the top of your To Do list?"  Why would you say that's important?

I was created for service.

                  I am saved for service.

                  I have been called by God to service.

                  I have been gifted for service.

                  I am commanded to serve others.

                  It proves I belong to Christ.

                  My church family needs my service.

                  Serving others is the way to serve God.

                  Because I owe everything to Christ.

                  Because service makes life meaningful.

                  I will be held accountable for my service.

                  Because it will be rewarded for eternity.

The question is this:  What are you going to do about it?  In light of this, knowing that you were made for this, you were saved for this, you were gifted for this, and all these things we just looked at, we're not talking about some side issue here. We're talking about the most important thing in your Christian life -- following God's plan.  What are you going to do?  Are you going to be a hearer of God's word today?  Or are you going to be a doer?  Are you going to get up off your blessed assurance and do something?  Or are you going to sit around and sit, soak and sour till Jesus comes back?  You've got two options.  One, you can walk out of here, go get in your car, say, "We're getting out early today!  Great!" and you can drive off and have lunch and do zip! 

Or you can do something about it knowing this is the very thing God put you on earth for. 

Prayer:

      Father, this is exciting.  You set the model of giving and serving and we want to be like You.  We realize that we were created and saved and called and gifted and commanded to serve.  We also realize that serving in a ministry proves that we belong to You and it makes life meaningful and one day we will be rewarded.  Help us all to live our lives in light of eternity and help us to remember that one day we will give an account to You.  Thank You for the privilege of serving You by serving others. 

      Why don't you pray this prayer:  "Dear God, I know it's easy to get so busy and wrapped up in my own plans that I don't have time or energy for the important things.  Jesus, I want to be like You.  I want to live a great life.  I want my life to count.  Help me to find a place of service and ministry where I can be unselfish, develop my gifts, and express my love and gratitude for all You've done for me. Today I commit to serving You for the rest of my life from this day forward.  And I do it in love and with joy.  In Your name I pray.  Amen."

4-14-13 Sermon

To listen to today's sermon, click here. The manuscript is below if you'd like to read it or just follow along while listening.

BUILDING A LIFE OF FAITH

Building a Great Life  -  Part 2 of 8

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

04-14-13 Sermon

"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."  Heb. 11:6 (NIV)

"Build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith." Jude 1:20

           

FAITH IS ...

1.             ______________________________ WHEN I DON'T SEE IT.

       "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Heb. 11:1 (NIV)

2.             ______________________________WHEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.

       "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."  Heb. 11:7 (NLT)

       "It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him and go out to a country God had promised to him.  He left his own country without knowing where he was going."  Heb. 11:8 (GN)

3.             ______________________________WHEN I DON'T HAVE IT.

       "It was faith that made Abel's offering to God a better sacrifice than Cain's.  Through his faith... God approved of his giving."  Heb. 11:4 (GN)

       "Because of their great joy... They gave even more than they could afford."  2 Cor. 8:2-3 (ICB)

       "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will reap generously... And God will generously provide all you need.  Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others."  2 Cor. 9:6+8 (NIV/NLT)

4.             ______________________________ WHEN I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT.

       "It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the King's anger.  He held to his purpose like a man who could see the invisible."  Heb. 11:27 (JB)

5.             ______________________________BEFORE I RECEIVE IT.

       "By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days."  Heb. 11:30 (NIV)

       "When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it and you will be given what you ask for."  Mark 11:24 (GN)

6.            ______________________________ IF I DON'T GET IT.

       "They were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised.  God had planned something better..."  Heb. 11:39-40 (NIV)

HOW GOD BUILDS MY FAITH:

"Faith comes from hearing the Word of God..."  Rom. 10:17 (NIV)

"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."  1 Peter 1:7 (LB)

BUILDING A LIFE OF FAITH

Building a Great Life  -  Part 2 of 8

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

04-14-13 Sermon

What does it take to please God?  What would you say?  Some people think that the way you please God is through ritual, that you chant certain prayers, you pray certain rituals over and over, you light some incense or you light some candles and you do some ritualistic things -- to please God.  But that's not what the Bible says. 

Some people think the way you please God is by obeying rules and regulations, that you make a list of all the things you're supposed to do and all the things you're not supposed to do.  If you do all the things on the "Do" list and don't do all the things on the "Don't Do" list then God says you're ok.  But that's not what the Bible says. 

Some people think that the way you please God is through religion, that if you observe certain holy days or go to a bunch of religious experiences or maybe go to worship services, take communion,  join a church and you're a religious enough person then God says "You're on my A list!"  But that's not what the Bible says.

The Bible says God isn't interested in ritual or rules or regulations or religion.  He's interested in a relationship with you.  He wants you to learn to trust Him.  The Bible says that it is impossible to please God unless you have one thing.

Hebrews 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." 

This morning we're working on a new series of messages called, "Building a Great Life".  It's built on the verse of Jude 1:20 which says, "Build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith."  The foundation of a great life is faith.  So we're going to look at how do you build faith.

What is faith anyway?  I'm interested in pleasing God, obviously you must be interested in pleasing God -- you're at church this morning.  If God says "It's impossible to please Me unless you live by faith" it's pretty important to know what faith is.  So what is faith?

Faith is like a multi-faceted diamond.  There are many different aspects to faith.  This morning I want us to look at six different aspects of faith, of how to live the kind of life that pleases God.

If you want to look at faith, you have to go to the Bible and the book of Hebrews, chapter 11.  Chapter 11 of Hebrews is God's Hall of Fame -- actually God's Hall of Faith.  It's the list of some of the great men and women in the Bible of whom God says, "These people, they done good!"  They had faith.  They did it right.  They were men and women of faith.  Let's look at six aspects of how do you build a great life by learning to live by faith.

1.  FAITH IS FIRST BELIEVING WHEN I DON'T SEE IT. 

Hebrews 11:1 says "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, it's seeing it in advance, it's being certain of what we do not yet see. 

As human beings we often say things like, "I'll believe it when I see it."  And God says, "No, you've got it all backwards.  With some things you have to believe it, in order to see it."  Whether you're an architect planning a building, or whether you're an artist creating a sculpture, or whether you're an Olympic athlete trying to break a world's record, or whether you're a scientist trying to send a man to the moon, you have to believe it before you can see it.  All of those things require faith.  You have to believe it's possible in advance, long before it will ever be possible.  That's what the Bible says faith is -- believing when I don't see it.

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 when somebody believed it was possible, believed it in advance.  You have to believe it before it happens. 

In the late 1800’s a group of people said we are going to build a Methodist Church  in Joelton.  They didn’t even have a regular pastor, but they believed it would happen.  And you are sitting in that church today

Faith turns dreams into reality.  It is believing before I see it.  But it's far more than that.

2.  FAITH IS OBEYING WHEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. 

God gives us a couple exhibits.  Exhibit A is a man named Noah. Just think of the doubts that Noah might have had.  Can you imagine if God came to you one day and said, "I'm going to wipe out the whole world and start over with you."  Would you have any doubts, by chance?  Would you wonder what you ate last night and maybe this is just something ruminating in your stomach? 

The Bible says in Hebrews 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." Circle "faith" and "obey" and draw a line between them.  Faith, the Bible says, is obeying when I don't understand it.  It didn't make sense.  He had all kinds of questions and doubts because it had never happened before.  The Bible says that, before the flood, it had never rained.  The earth was watered by a mist that came up from the ground like dew in the morning, condensation. It was a different kind of atmosphere.  That may have been one of the reasons that people lived longer in those days -- of course they didn't have food additives then either.  But the atmosphere evidently changed.  It had never rained. 

When God said, "Noah, I want you to build this big boat because it's going to flood."  Noah said, "What's a flood?"  God said, "It's when you get a lot of rain."  And Noah said, "What's rain?" "Like when I take a lake and pour it down from the sky on you." Would you believe that, if you'd never seen it? 

But Noah, because he had faith, obeyed even though it didn't make sense.  God said, "I want you to build this boat here in the middle of the desert, not out at the ocean, and I'll bring the water to you."  I'm so glad that Noah obeyed when it didn't make sense.  I'm glad he obeyed when he didn't understand it. 

Exhibit number two is a guy named Abraham.  v. 8 "It was by faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country God has promised to him.  He left his own country without knowing where he was going."  Here's Abraham, 75 years old and he lived in a place in modern day Iraq that is called Ur of the Chaldees. Just about the time he's ready to take social security, hang it up, retire, God says, "Oh, no.  I don't want you to hang it up and retire.  I want you to get it down, dust it off.  You're getting ready to go on the adventure of your life at age 75.  You're getting ready for social insecurity.  I'm going to take you and turn you into the father of a brand new nation, so we're going to go to a new country."

I'm sure Abraham had all of his doubts and all kinds of questions.  He said, "Where are we going?"  God said, "You never heard of this place."  Abraham said, "How long is it going to take to get there."  God said, "Don't worry!"  Abraham said, "How will I know when I'm there?"  God said, "I'll tell you." 

Would you do it?  But because Abraham obeyed when he didn't understand it, he became the father of a nation called Israel. Many people were blessed because he obeyed even when it didn't make sense. 

Faith always involves risking.  Some people want a guarantee of success before they obey God.  They read something in the Bible and God tells them to do something and they say, "Ok, God, once You guarantee it's going to work, then I'll do it."  God says, "That doesn't require any faith.  I want you to believe when you don't see it and I want you to obey when you don't understand it." 

Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents would tell you to do something that made no sense at all to you as a kid? You thought, "What do my parents know!  They're old fogies!  They don't know anything."  Looking back, can you see the wisdom of what they were telling you to do and can you see that some of those things they told you to do, they were telling you out of love and for your own benefit? 

God's wiser than your parents.  When you ignore what He tells you to do, you're a fool.  It's foolish.  He is the creator.  The Bible is the owner's manual for life.  If I ignore it, who am I going to hurt?  Not God.  I'm just going to hurt me. 

There's a lot of times it doesn't make sense.  For instance, God says, When people hurt you and abuse you and misuse you, forgive them.  Does that sound like the right thing to do?  No.  The natural thing is to get even.  Retaliate.  God says don't be resentful because resentment always hurts you more than somebody else.  Just forgive them for your own sake so you can get on with your life.  Because if you hold on to the hurt and bitterness you're only hurting yourself.  It doesn't seem right, it may not even feel right but it is right because God says to do it. 

Here's the point:  If you learn to do whatever God tells you to do even when it seems absurd, then God can bless your life. You're going to build a life of faith and that's the foundation of building a great life. 

Faith is believing when I don't see it, obeying when I don't understand it.  And the Bible tells us also...

3.  FAITH IS GIVING WHEN I DON'T HAVE IT. 

Giving and faith go together.  God uses finances to test our faith.  Have you ever had to decide between tithing and paying a bill?  This is a test!  God's saying, "Who are you going to trust?  My promises to take care of you if you put Me first or yourself?" 

In Hebrews 11, this Hall of Fame, the first guy who gets listed is a man named Abel.  Abel gets listed not because he did something great.  He didn't.  He had no great accomplishment.  No great achievement to his name.  The only thing he did was he gave an offering.  And God put him in the Hall of Fame.  Why?  It wasn't how much he gave, it wasn't what he gave.  It was how he gave.

Hebrews 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" and connect them all together because the Bible here is talking about giving in faith.  He said it wasn't what he gave that pleased God but how he gave it.  It wasn't the amount, but the attitude.  God doesn't care about the amount.  He worries about the attitude by which you give. 

You need to understand that there are two ways to give.  You can give by faith or you can give by fear.  You can give by reason or you can give by revelation.  One of these ways you don't get any credit for.  The other way pleases God. 

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's the kind of giving that God blesses.

Almost 38 years ago when Peg and I got married one of the first things we decided on as a couple was God was always going to be first in our finances.  We said we're going to practice tithing which is the Biblical concept of the first ten percent of everything we make we give back to God in gratitude for what He's done in the past and as an example of faith saying, We know You're going to provide for us in the future.  We said no matter if nobody else gets paid, God gets paid first.  And for almost 38 years we've always done that.  The first check we would write off of each income was right back to God, that ten percent back to Him.  There have been times in our lives when it was financially tight.  But we've never missed a meal and God has provided for us all the time and God has seen us through.  God says, "When you put Me first in any area of your life, I will bless that area of your life."  So we did.

Some people want to say, "God, You give to me and then I'll give."  But that's not faith.  It's like, "God, You bring in this big windfall and when it arrives then I'll give some of it back to You."  God says that may be gratitude but that certainly isn't faith.  Giving is when you can't even afford it, when you give in advance -- like you're planting the seed in advance. 

2 Corinthians 8:3 "Because of their great joy, they gave even more than they could afford."  Anybody can give when you've got excess funds flowing over, anybody can believe when it's sitting there in front of you, anybody can obey when you already see the results.  It's when it doesn't feel like it and it doesn't make sense, that you're stepping out in faith.  God says, "I want to bless your life but you have to trust Me first. 

2 Corinthians 9 "Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will reap generously.  And God will generously provide all you need.  Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others."  God says, "You cannot out give Me."

Faith is giving when I don't have it.  But it's even more than that.

4.  FAITH IS PERSISTING WHEN I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT.

That's the opposite of our culture.  Our culture says, "Do everything based on your feelings."  If it feels good, do it.  If it doesn't feel good, don't do it.  Do whatever feels good.  Live by your emotions.  As a result, we end up being manipulated by our moods.  Mature people live by their commitments, not their emotions.  Emotions come and go. 

I don't always feel like being nice to people.  Do you? Sometimes I want to be selfish, grumpy, grouchy.  And I want everybody to serve me.  This may shock you, but sometimes, even as a pastor, I don't feel like reading the Bible.  Sometimes I don't feel like praying.  I've discovered that when I don't feel like it, that's usually when I need to pray and read the Bible the most.  In fact, I've discovered if the only time I pray and read the Bible is when I feel like it, the devil will make sure I never feel like it.  So I have to keep on doing it, persisting in spite of how I feel.  That is the secret of success.  Successful people are simply ordinary people who do what the average person doesn't feel like doing.  And that's why they're successful. 

How do you get to be an Olympic or professional athlete?  Hours and hours of exercising.  Ask an Olympic athlete, "Do you always feel like working out six or eight hours a day?"  Of course not. Ask a master musician, "Do you always feel like practicing hours a day to be an expert at your instrument?"  Of course not.  How does a super salesman become a super salesman?  He or she continues to make the calls after everybody's gone home because they don't feel like making any more calls and that's how he/she become so successful.  The godly man or the godly woman becomes that way not by accident, but because they choose to do things and to develop habits that develop their spiritual life whether they feel like it or not. 

Faith is being persistent.  Faith is refusing to give up.  Faith is doing the right thing, even when you're tired, even when you're moody. 

How do you develop persistence?  The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:27 .  It gives us an example of a guy named Moses.  "It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the King's anger.  [He's talking about Pharaoh.]  He held to his purpose like a man who could see the invisible."  You know the story of Moses.  He led an entire nation that had been in slavery for four hundred years out across the wilderness, through the Red Sea, out on to the Sinai peninsula and they traveled around in circles for forty years, waiting for God to get the people ready to go into the Promised Land.  A forty year wait is a long time to wait in a desert. 

How do you be that persistent?  The Bible tells us -- the last phrase.  It says, "He held to his purpose like a man who could see the invisible."  The key is, Keep your eyes on God.  That's what Moses did.  When you keep your eyes on God, it keeps you persistent. 

Some of you today may be at the quitting point.  You feel like you're ready to give up on something.  And God brought you here this morning so He could say this to you, "Hang in there!  Don't give up.  Keep believing when you don't see it, obeying when you don't understand it, giving, when you don't have it, and keep persisting when you don't feel like it."  Keep your eyes on God. If you look at your problem you're going to be overwhelmed.  If you look at the world you'll be distressed, if you look within you'll be depressed, if you look at God, you'll be at rest.  It's all about what you have your eyes on. 

Having faith in God is having trust through the messes in life, knowing that He has a vision that's best for me.  Don't give up.  Keep on trusting.  God will bless your faith.

There's two other things you need to know about faith.

5.  FAITH IS THANKING GOD BEFORE I RECEIVE IT.

A good example of this is the story of Joshua.  Hebrews 11:30 "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after the people had marched around them for seven days."  After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt from Pharaoh, into the Promised Land, they went to take over the country and the capital was Jericho.  It was the most fortified city in the world.  There was no chance a bunch of ex-slaves were going to take it over.  It was considered impenetrable.  But the people of God marched around the city perimeter -- the walls of it -- for seven days.  First in silence, then later thanking God in praise.  The whole time they were thanking God in advance that God had already delivered the city into their hands.  On the seventh day, after thanking God in advance in faith, the walls came tumbling down. 

That's what the Bible says faith is.  Faith is not believing God can do something.  Because God can do it whether you believe it or not.  His ability is not dependent upon your thinking He can do it.  Faith is not believing God can do something.  And faith is not believing God will do something.  That's hope.  You hope He will.

Faith is believing God is doing something right now, even though I don't see it, that He's working behind the scenes, that the answer is already on its way, that He's moving the pieces into place even as we speak.  It's thanking God in advance. 

Mark 11 "When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it [past tense] and you will given what you ask for [present tense]."  Believe you'll receive it and then you'll get it.  Am I saying I have to believe I've got it in order to get it?  Yes.  That's called faith.  Faith is thanking God in advance.  If I were to say to you, "Come up after the service. I've got a gift for you."  And I give you a check for $5000, would you wait until after you cashed it to thank me?  No.  You'd thank me right on the spot.  You haven't cashed it yet.  The money's not in your hands, but you'd thank me in advance because you knew you could count on it.  My checks are good.  And so are God's by the way!  So it's thanking God in advance. 

If you wait until after a prayer has been answered to thank God for it, is that faith?  No, that's gratitude.  Gratitude is saying, "Thank You, God, for what You did."  Faith is thanking God in advance of what He did. 

When you pray, how do you pray?  You tell Him, "God, here's what I need" and then you go back and keep on begging, "I need it!  I need it.  Hello!  Anybody home, God?"  Like you're trying to wear God down.  "Please, pretty please with sugar on it..."  And finally God says, "OK!"  And He gives it to you.  Is that the way God is?  No. 

God is a loving Father that you don't wear down by nagging until He finally gives in.  But the Bible does say be persistent in prayer.  So what do you do?  You ask Him once and then you keep on thanking Him.  Say, "God, this is what I need.  You know I need this in my life.  It's a legitimate honest need."  Then the next time you pray you say, "God, I thank You that the answer is on its way.  I haven't seen it yet, but I thank You that the answer's on its way.  God, I thank You in advance."  And you keep on thanking, keep on thanking, keep on praising, keep on thanking.  And in God's timing, the answer comes. 

I'm saying faith is thanking God in advance, believing the answer's already happened.  You're just waiting to see it.  That means that if God tells you to go after Moby Dick in a row boat, you take along the tartar sauce. 

6.  FAITH IS TRUSTING EVEN IF I DON'T GET IT.

Some people try to make God like a vending machine that God automatically will give you anything you want, but that's not true.  God is not a vending machine.  Vending machines will give you things that you don't need.  Vending machines will give you things that can kill you.  God will never give you something that's bad for you.  Does a parent give a child everything the child asks for?  Of course not.  Not if the parent is sensible and loving.  And God's not going to give you everything you ask for.  He said, "I will meet all your needs".  He doesn't say, "I'll meet all your greeds."  Big difference. 

So God is not some kind of vending machine where you put in a prayer and you automatically get everything you want.  Some people today teach the idea that if you have enough faith you'll always be well, you'll never have any problems, you'll never be sick, everything will be going great.  Baloney!  It's not in the Bible.  The Bible doesn't teach that.  God's more interested in your character than He is in your comfort.  God's more interested in making you holy than He is in making you happy.  He knows holiness is the way to genuine happiness.  So God's not going to give you just whatever you ask for. 

The Bible says that faith is trusting even if I don't get it.  Here's the truth:  God hears and answers every prayer you pray.  Fact number two, He doesn't always answer the way you want Him to.  In fact, sometimes when you pray, God says, Yes.  And sometimes when you pray, God says, No.  And sometimes when you pray, God says, Not yet.  And sometimes God says, "I've got a better idea.  I've got something different.  I know you're going to like this better."  All four of those are equally valid answers to prayer. And faith is trusting God even when I don't get the answer I expected or wanted. 

Notice this verse talking about some of the other Hall of Fame‑ ers in God's Hall of Fame. "These 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.  Sometimes we pray for God to remove a problem and instead He keeps the problem there and gives you the strength to go through it.  And you end up being stronger.  If He took all the problems out of your way, you'd be a brat!  You'd be weak.  But God wants you to have character and strength and maturity so He lets you go through some problems instead of removing them and He gives you the ability to handle it. 

Anybody can trust God when things are going great.  Anybody can give when they've got extra money.  Anybody can persist when they see the deadline is only a couple inches away.  Anybody can believe when it's right there in front of them.  But real faith is built in the valleys of life.  Sometimes it's trusting God when I don't get it.

Which of these aspects do you need to work on?  How much faith do you have?  How do you rate your faith?  If you're going to be pleasing to God, you need to work on these.  Which one do you need to work on?

Do you need to work on believing when you don't see it?  Do you need to work on obeying when you don't understand it?  Do you need to work on giving when you don't have it?  Or persisting when you don't feel like it?  Some of you may need to work on thanking before you receive it.  And you may need to work on trusting even if you don't get it.  That's what it's all about.

How does God build your faith?  Let's wrap it up with these two things.  There are two ways God builds your faith.  First, through hearing from God.  The Bible says in Romans 10:17 "Faith comes from hearing the word of God."  That’s hearing what God says to you when you read the Bible and what he says directly to you as you listen for him to speak to you.

The other way that God builds your faith is through trials and testings.  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." God will use difficulties to test your faith.  God will use demands on your time to test your faith.  God will use dollars, finances, and giving to test your faith.  God will use delays to test your faith.  Some of you are going through a tough time right now and you're about ready to give up.  I want to say to you, Hang on!  God will make a way if you will trust Him.  If you will work on these six areas of faith in your life God will make a way and bring you through this time. 

Prayer:

      Would you pray this prayer as we close?  "Dear God, help me to be like Noah and Abraham and obey You even when I don't understand it.  Help me to be like Moses, and to trust You and to persist even when I don't feel like it.  Help me to be like Abel and to give even when I don't have it.  Help me to be like Joshua to thank You before I receive it.  Teach me to trust in You."  If you've never invited Christ into your life, say "Jesus, help me to trust You.  I want to get to know You.  And I want You to become the manager of my life and teach me how to live by faith in You."  In Your name I pray.  Amen.