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Walking Faith…FULLY

SPELLED OUT AS AN ACROSTIC, FAITH MEANS “FORSAKING ALL I TRUST HIM.” 

FAITH MUST BE OUR LIFE IF WE ARE TO KNOW THE LIFE OF FAITH.  NOT ONLY ARE WE SAVED BY FAITH, BUT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE PRE-EMINENTLY IS A LIFE OF FAITH FROM BEGINNING TO END. 

IN II COR. 1:24 WE ARE TOLD TO STAND BY FAITH. 

II COR. 5:7 TELLS US TO WALK BY FAITH.

GAL. 3:11 TELLS US TO LIVE BY FAITH.

HEBREWS 11:6 TELLS US WITHOUT FAITH, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD.

THE BIBLE ALSO SPEAKS OF GREAT FAITH:

LUKE 7:9 - JESUS SAID, I HAVE NOT FOUND SO GREAT FAITH, NO NOT IN ISRAEL.

THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF FULLNESS OF FAITH:

ACTS 11:24 - BARNABAS WAS FULL OF THE HOLY GHOST AND OF FAITH.

THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF STEADFAST FAITH:

COL. 2:5 - THE STEADFASTNESS OF YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST.

FAITH IS A PRODUCT OF GOD. FAITH IS A DIVINE ENERGY, AS REAL TO THE SPIRIT WORLD AS ELECTRICITY IS TO THE NATURAL WORLD.  FAITH IS A POWER, A PRODUCING FORCE.  IT IS LITERAL.  IT’S NOT AN ATTITUDE, A CONCEPT OR MERELY A DOCTRINE, IT IS A FORCE.

WHEN FAITH IS FUNCTIONING, THINGS HAPPEN.

FAITH’S SOURCE IS JESUS CHRIST.  JESUS IS THE OBJECT OF OUR FAITH.  HE CHANGES OUR FEAR TO FAITH.

FAITH IS UNQUESTIONABLY THE MOST ESSENTIAL IMPARTATION FROM GOD TO MAN, BECAUSE FAITH IS THE SOURCE OF OUR CHANNEL FOR OUR ACCESS TO GRACE, HEALING, THE INDWELLING OF CHRIST, JUSTIFICATION, LIFE, THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT, PROTECTION, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SALVATION, SANCTIFICATION, STANDING, STRENGTH, STEADFASTNESS, UNDERSTANDING AND WALK.

THE LIFE OF FAITH IS NOT OPTIONAL.  IT IS OBLIGATORY. 

WALK FAITHFULLY AND YOU WILL SEE THAT GOD NEVER FAILS US. 

FINDING YOUR DESTINY

Webster says “destiny is the purpose or end to which any person or thing is appointed.”

Spiritual destiny means living according to God’s plan for your life.

God has destined each of us for great things — not just a mundane, average, ordinary life.

The Bible gives many stories of those who had a destiny, but never lived it:

• Adam and Eve were destined to rule all mankind and the earth, but they forfeited that assigned destiny.
• Esau was to have inherited the birthright from Isaac but sold it out when he was hungry.  His destiny was lost.

Because of sin (Adam and Eve), neglect (Esau), lethargy (Terah), and many have lost their destiny.

To find and live your destiny you must not fear the dangers of stepping out and doing God’s will.

Destiny is realized when you can say with Paul,
          I have fought a good fight,
          I have finished my course,
          I have kept the faith.

If you persevere and never give up on God you will live your destiny.  

What Abraham accomplished, his father failed to accomplish.

Nothing — including sin, disobedience, neglect, lethargy — can stop you from living your God assigned destiny, provided you persevere to the end.

Psalm 139:16:  Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.

Jeremiah 29:11:  For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

Sowing Power!

If you sow a thought, you will reap a feeling.  Sow a feeling and you will reap an act.  Sow an act and you will reap a habit.  Sow a habit and you will reap character.  Sow character and you will reap destiny.

From the beginning God taught us the importance of sowing and reaping.  He Himself sowed the Word of Creation and our universe was born.

He sowed His son Jesus into the earth and is still reaping a harvest of souls which no one can number.

Today Jesus continually sows the seed of the Word of His Kingdom into our hearts so that we can understand and live by His laws.

His purpose in sowing His Word into our hearts is to recreate the Garden of Eden within us.

The concept of His abundance is found everywhere in His creation.

A spiritual Garden of Eden within will cause us to live life from His principles within rather than living life in the external senses.

In order to accomplish this, our faith and worship life cannot be just another compartment of our highly compartmentalized life.

There is absolute abundance in the Kingdom of God.  It is possible to have total favor with the Ruler of that abundance.

God is never diminished by circumstances.  He can cause our plans to succeed. He can cause people to like us.  He can cause us to be preferred and chosen above others of equal talent.  He can protect us and guard us.  He gives His angels charge concerning us.

When His Word is spoken into our hearts, we can then speak that Word into a situation and it will perform His purpose.

If you missed this weekend at TheChurch on Strayer 10.17.11

From the beginning of humanity, God intended the family to be the premier institution of life.  Love, faithfulness, and truth are the highest virtues of the human mind.  None is possible without the faithfulness of God. 

To have a faithful family, we must understand that “preparation always precedes production.”

Building a faithful family involves at least three steps:

1.  The pre-requisite of discipleship.

The term implies all that belongs to the completion of a home, a family ─ the idea, the dream, the plan, the construction, the furnishings and most importantly, the filling of the home with the living community. What’s the foundation you have laid for your family?

2.  The process of discipleship.

Teach fitting and sound doctrine which provides right living.  What types of activities and habits are you displaying in your home?  Are you using sound doctrine to teach your family?  Each of us is to be an example of good deeds.  We are to model, show a pattern of Godly living within the home.

3.  The product of discipleship.

The way we live in front of each other should be a deposit of a precious treasure into their lives.  Our lives should be sound, fit, wholesome, above reproach, giving no one an opportunity (a reason) to speak evil of us. As we pass on our “family experience” to our children, we have a sober responsibility to “fully obey what we know as His Truth.”  What we do and teach our children and family will have an everlasting effect on them when they leave the home.

If you missed this past weekend at TheChurch on Strayer…

Past generations were able to maintain hope through difficult times because they had three anchors of stability in all of their societies:

          1) Faith in God
          2) Stability in the family
          3) Pride in one’s country

Without a foundation of Biblical principles, husbands and wives have difficulty understanding each other because the male and female role differences are blurred by our addictive society.

Individuals without God become as god to themselves.  Each determines what is right for himself.  No absolutes.

In order to be a functional family, it must begin in the marriage of the husband and wife.  The marriage must be built on trust, loyalty, monogamy, and commitment. The Ten Commandments also show God’s priority on the foundation of all human relationships – the family.

Here are the ten characteristics of the Functional Family.  Assess these characteristics.  Which do you need to focus on, work on, and develop in your family?  Be assured, when you concentrate on these characteristics and make them a priority in your family, you’ll see a functional family.

1)       Positive─  living in a non-judgmental, encouraging environment.

2)       Caring─ showing concern, kindness for one another

3)       Accepting─ appreciating and celebrating uniqueness and differences

4)        Affirming─ adding value to one another.

5)       Loving─ exhibiting genuineness, intimacy

6)       Nurturing─ helping each other become who God created them to be.

7)       Sharing─ communicating freely and openly.

8)       Becoming─ growing into their role in the family

9)       Laughing─ allowing lighthearted moments of just letting go

10)    Harmonizing─  working individually while being team-oriented.

The Gratitude Attitude

Gratitude is the world’s best attitude.  Gratitude is the world’s best medicine.  Gratitude causes us to focus on what we have – not on what we lack.  Gratitude is the expression of the heart’s memory.

We are never more fully alive than when we are grateful for our blessings.

In the midst of these challenging times we are faced with a critical spiritual choice –   Will we live by fear or by faith?  Will we choose His truth or the world’s lies?

Who do we believe is in charge – God or man?

Often we are tempted to be discouraged, despondent, to focus on what is not right in our lives, to complain of our circumstances, our lack.

Often our mouths are filled with criticism, bitterness, resentment, disrespect, sarcasm, and flippant, trivial speech.

But God has given us a remedy – ThanksLiving.

Philippians 4:6-7 - ⁶Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

⁷And God’s peace [shall be yours…] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have.

Focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t do.

Focus on what is right in your life, not on what is wrong.

Focus on who you are, not on who you are not.

Focus on what you can make happen for others, not on what you want them to make happen for you.

We must do four things to achieve a ThanksLiving lifestyle.

          1) Walk in Him.
          2) Become rooted in Him.
          3) Be built up in Him.
          4) Be established in the faith.

This daily walk is done in gratitude for all Jesus has given to us.

While circumstance may change, Jesus never does.  Walk in the beauty, the fruit, the treasures, the liberty of Christ. Be Thank-FULL for Him today.

Seeking After the No Limit’s Life

How to stay optimistic and excited as you continue to seek the “No Limits” Life:

            1.  Follow a godly mentor
            2.  Hold fast when persecuted
            3.  Stay in the Word
            4.  Let God equip you

Is your life at this very moment reflecting a life of No Limits?  Are you being challenged or limited?

The fact that you are still being challenged or limited is powerful evidence that there is yet within you great unreleased potential.

Unless your faith takes you beyond your understanding, you will never grow into your full potential.

Knowledge is required for faith to come.  You will never understand that which you do not believe.

In the Bible understanding is the ability to look to the heart of an issue and to discern the differences at stake in the choices being weighed.  It is penetrating insight, the skill of dissecting an issue into its component parts and seeing right to the heart of the matter.

Ephesians 1:17-18 (MSG)

 ^15-19That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

You’re on your way… don’t lose sight!

Join us this weekend for our “Seeing What You Believe”:  Week 2 of “No Limits”!