Growing your faith

Once you get on a path to Jesus - stay on the path and keep walking.

The life of faith must never stand still, for if your feet are going, your faith is growing. Warren W. Wiersbe

English Standard Version Acts (Chapter 2)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This is how Church’s came to be

Today, we are going to talk about growing your faith. Next week, we will finish up what we don’t get to this week.

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Growing your faith can be associated with walking on a path to Jesus. Sometimes, the path is rocky or steep, slippery or smooth.‌

Sometimes you get knocked down. Your friend or your child dies or has a hospital visit. Lose your job or marriage. These things happen to nearly everyone; the trick is to keep walking. If you are equally yoked to another believer, you will have someone at your side.

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New Living Translation (2 Peter Chapter 1:5-8)‌ In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

‌Also, could you expect a plant to grow without air and water as you expect your heart to grow without prayer and faith? Charles Spurgeon

‌I prayed for Faith and thought that someday Faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But Faith did not seem to come. One day, I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, “Now Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” I had closed my Bible and prayed for Faith. I now opened my Bible and began to study, and Faith has been growing ever since. Dwight L. Moody

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Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. Max Lucado

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But faith is a relationship of trust in God, and like all relationships, it is a living, dynamic, growing thing. John Stott

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So, you accepted Jesus and asked for forgiveness. You have started listening to praise music and maybe some sermons. Maybe you even started praying.

‌You are thinking, ‘Wow! I’ve come a long way!’ Let’s see what Matthew/Jesus has to say:‌

NLT Mathew (Chapter 5:22)‌

But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

‌I don’t curse anyone, you say. Good no fire then.He goes on to say in verse 5:44 48 NLT

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. ( Stop right here for a moment. Do you think of yourself as a TRUE Child of God?) For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

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What? Do you say be kind to my enemies? I don’t even like them.

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New Living Translation (Psalms 4:14 - 16)‌

Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers. Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.‌

Turn away and keep moving.‌

Evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deeds for the day and can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.

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New Living Translation (Psalms 4:17 - 18)‌

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,‌which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.‌

But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.‌They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

‌In March, Pastor Brian mentioned that we cannot be too busy to grow as Christians. A distracted Christian is less effective in the kingdom of God.

‌Bob Marcaurelle, Journeying through Joshua, vol. 11

‌Christians have spiritual LIFE (Jn. 3:15, 16), which comes from spiritual BIRTH (Jn. 3:3), and therefore, we will GROW, but the strange fact is, we are also COMMANDED to grow. Peter says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of … Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 3:18) and “like newborn babies desire pure spiritual milk so you will grow up in your salvation.” (1 Pet. 2:2). You don’t tell a cow to grow, it grows naturally. You don’t say to a baby to grow; it grows naturally. Why, then, tell a Christian to grow? Because just as we had a part in our salvation by being willing to be saved, so do we have a part in the amount of our growth by being willing to grow. It’s terrible to see Third World children with swollen heads and protruding bones, too weak to brush the flies from their faces because they are deprived of food. It’s an ugly sight. But we see it every week in churches where people, all dressed up in their Sunday best, are stunted and weak and ugly spiritually.

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I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude, Revelation

The artist who is satisfied with his transcript of his ideal will not grow any more. There is a touching story told of a modern sculptor who was found standing in front of his masterpiece, sunk in sad reverie, and when they asked him why he was so sad, “Because,” he answered, “I am satisfied with it.” “I have embodied,” he would say, “all that I think and feel. There it is. And because there is no discord between what I dream and what I can do, I feel that the limit of my growth is reached.”—A Maclaren, D.D.‌

Romans 8:14 NCV

The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them.‌

To hear many of us talk, you’d think we didn’t believe that verse. You’d think we didn’t believe in the Trinity. We talk about the Father and study the Son - but when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we are confused at best and frightened at worst. Confused because we’ve never been taught. Frightened because we’ve been taught to be afraid.‌

May I simplify things a bit? The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our lives, carrying on the work of Jesus. The holy spirit helps us in three directions - Inwardly( by granting us the fruits of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:24) Upwardly, (by praying for us (Romans 8:26) and outwardly (by pouring God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5) Max Lucado Grace for the Moment devotional March 8th.

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To tell you the truth, the way I see it, you have two choices.

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1. Become a Christian Fossil. That would be someone who just wants to exist. They believe, and heck, they just finished a 3-day Bible plan last week, or was it the week before? Give them credit: They show up for Church most of the time but don’t tithe. But they are still saved. They will be the ones in Heaven, sitting by themselves, playing tic-tac-toe.

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2. Walk along your path, helping those you see over the hard parts. You love your church and tithe to receive all the blessings they can from the Lord. They are on a year-long Bible plan or read their Bible every day when they arrange the time in their schedule. They are driven to know Jesus better.

Fathers Day

Fathers Day

The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.

John Adams

‌Father’s Day.

For many years, while I was young, I was not close to my father. My mother stayed home with me, and my father worked, went to reserve meetings, and night school. He graduated from law school in 1961. (show cup) Then, he took my brother and sister to swimming lessons on Wednesday nights for a couple of years. As much as I can go on and complain about my pompous father, I know that there may be people here, but there certainly are people around here who had no father or a very poor one.

They would gladly have a father like mine. The Lord pointed that out to me a couple of weeks ago.

There is one story that is more about me than him, but in 1969 the local public high school had fallen on hard times since my brother graduated in ’66. My folks sent me to Grace High School (now Totino-Grace), a Catholic school, twenty-five minutes north. I know what a financial burden that was since my son graduated there too. I rewarded my father by finishing third from the bottom of the 1973 class of 174 students. I was going into the Army to get away anyway. For me, I was very happy that my son even graduated. For many years, while I was young, I was not close to my father.

But… today. I am so much closer to my Heavenly Father. I talk to Him every day. He cares about my everyday life. He loves me. He gives me grace when I error and freedom from guilt and shame. Overall, He gave me the gift of peace in 2015.

As much as we try, we cannot avoid living life on this earth without some regrets and without the need for forgiveness.

Happy Father's Day!

Day Two

Last week We talked over saying on the path toward God and helping others on the way.

This is where I am going to talk about Money

2 Timothy 3:2

…Because people will love themselves, love money, brag, and be proud. They will say evil things against others.

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You better leave now if you are sensitive to money talk and don’t want to hear about faith and sharing treasure. I’ll wait.‌

Money is neutral—neither good nor bad. However, anything we love more than God becomes an idol, and money has enormous potential to distract us from God by becoming the “hero” in our lives.

‌Staying on a path toward God includes trusting God. You need to trust God with your finances, too. He wants only some of your money - just 10%. That little bit will show you trust Him, and He will bless you for that.

‌Should I figure that on the gross or the net? Yes

‌Start with the net and see how it goes. I take home $350 every other week. I should then give $35 to God every other week if I take home $2000 twice a month and $200 twice a month.

‌Where did that Idea of tithing come from? The Bible.‌

New Century Version Deuteronomy 14:22, Written by Moses in 1406 BC

‌22 Be sure to save one-tenth of all your crops each year.

‌In Genesis. It was also written by Moses earlier in 1446 BC.

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Abraham (born 2165 BC) (In 2085 BC) had been blessed by God in recovering Lot and the others who had been taken captive. So Abram gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek. This is the first mention of the practice of tithing—giving a tenth of our increase to God—in the Bible. Genesis 14:18-20

‌Tithing began in 2085 BC, nearly 4,100 years ago. This is not new-age thinking. How about all the Mafia movies you have seen, a tribute to the Godfather? Just not God our Father.

You may have read about a festival called ‘First Fruits.’ This festival was a Jewish feast held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest. It was observed on Nissan 16, which was the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This year that day is April 24th. First fruits was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision. Leviticus 23:9-14 institutes the firstfruits offering. The people were to bring a sheaf of grain to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord. A burnt offering, a meal offering, and a drink offering were also required at that time. Deuteronomy 26:1-10 gives even more detail on the procedure of firstfruits. No grain was to be harvested at all until the firstfruits offering was brought to the Lord (Leviticus 23:14). The offering was made in remembrance of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, the Lord’s deliverance from slavery, and their possession of “a land that floweth with milk and honey.” The day of the firstfruits offering was also used to calculate the proper time of the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-16). In the New Testament, the firstfruits offering is mentioned seven times, always symbolically. Paul calls Epaenetus and the household of Stephanas “the firstfruits of Achaia” (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15). His meaning is that, just as the firstfruits offering was the first portion of a larger harvest, these individuals were the first of many converts in that region. James calls believers “a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). Just like the sheaf of grain was set apart for the Lord, so are believers set apart for God’s glory. The firstfruits offering found its fulfillment in Jesus. “

‌What this boils down to is ‘trust.’

Are you trustworthy?‌

Is God trustworthy?

After all, all God has done for you is create you, love you, and miss that accident last week.

‌Let me tell you a story. About 40 years ago, or so, I was driving home over a big railway bridge. I got home 10 minutes later, fooled around a bit, turned on the TV, and a train went off the rails and took out the main support of the bridge I had just driven over. I was a Catholic then, but I still thanked God.

‌During this time, I used to love music - really love music. I was in a marching band in 4th grade until High School band after that, 8 years. Then in a rock band in 2012. I own 10,000 songs on my computer and have about 1500 albums. Music was my life. Not much room for God

‌This is the same God I railed against in 2007 when my son was killed.

‌This is the same God that I met in 2015 when he saved me from a TBI and gave me a new life.

‌I had to learn to trust God. I did not get on this path until 2018, after I was completely healed and had been here for six months. In 2019, the Lord told me to learn more about the bible. I started at ‘CLI‘ Christian Leaders Institute. He hasn’t told me to stop, so I haven’t.

‌Trusting God. I trust that God will bless my finances if I tithe, and he has. I try not to miss a chance to get a blessing from God.

‌Trust is a big hurdle to jump as a Christian. It is a lifelong process. I trust God to watch over my family and friends, but do I trust God enough to cast out a demon? Even one of our own demons? Or heal? Will I ever?

That’s trust again.‌

As we walk along our path toward God, helping all we come across, let’s work on trust with God. ‌

Start with a little thing. Give 5% of your treasure or 2% and see how it goes. If you don’t miss it like I don’t, bump it up a little. ‌While talking to Pastor Brian, he mentioned he never envisioned a large income from this parish and knew that hard times would happen. I have no idea of the income here but if everyone helped, it would be enough.

It isn’t like we need a new carpet here. I can tell you we had trouble affording a $243 bill to make postcards for our Surround USA that I have been trying to get going since Sept 23. That program is a perfect fit for those who want to grow their faith without talking with anyone, just passing out literature. I can’t pay for it because I paid for the plant sale and felt the roof was more critical.

‌It's just the small things that keep our church life going. Without them, all the Kleenex, paper towels, coffee, heat, get-together s or meals that you can imagine wouldn’t happen.

‌We all need to grow our faith, put on adult clothing, and get moving. There will be trouble ahead; plan for it.

‌Another skill for growing people is Memorizing verses. I found this hard, but then I heard of singing verses. Singing verses, you say? Yes. Surely, you know at least the first verse of Amazing Grace. How about the National Anthem?

find a verse to memorize

The Holy Spirit will go to work when you voice Scripture. This arms the Spirit with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesian 6:17

What verses should we recite? If it is urgent , then a powerful one like:

‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Lk 3:4–6.

Clear the road for him! The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth. And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.

Ephesian goes on to say in verse 18) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Pray for everyone? I described a technique last summer called the ‘praying hand.’ That won't cover everyone, but it covers most people. I did a handout. You can search pastor Google for a description.

Hello everyone . This is the continuation of the ‘how to Grow your Faith’ sermon.

Christianity is kinda a different faith. Believe, eat with others, work hard, rest, wait for second coming. follow the Ten Commandments, love your neighbors. No hoops to jump through, no pitfalls to jump over.

Sabath. The Lord mentioned this for mankind. He also indicated that the day was made for us, we weren’t made for it. (Mark 2:27 “Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” )

So this is a STRONG suggestion. Something Pastors really try to do. You should try as well. God expects you to work hard six days a week and then take a day off to read your bible, water the flowers, take the family to a movie or other non work things. The important thing is like, Brian was saying, build in some margin in your life. Start with one day.

The only way that this will glorify God, is if YOU glorify God with your time. Singing ( in my case humming) and praying can be done while you are doing something else.

Try to pray more often. the Bible says “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Eph 6:18.

Last week I talked of two types of Christians. I was wrong. There are four types of Christians

NLT Mark (Chapter 4:3 - 8)

Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed (1)fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed (2) fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed (3) fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds (4) fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed (1) that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed (2) on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed (3) that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed (4) that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” NLT Mark (Chapter 4:13 - 20)

The four types of Christians can be called:

Explorers, New beginners, Close to God, God centered.

Satan stealing the word of God from you. How do we stop that? Satan steals, chokes and twists the word of God.

Psalm 119:11 (NLT)

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

How do we hide the word in our hearts? By meditating on the word of God every day. Meditating = Memorizing.

Birds in the Bible equal Satan. The beasts are Satan too.

Revelation 18:2 (ESV) Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons,a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

While we are deciphering the bible, there is a passage in the OT that bears looking at.

NLT Isaiah (Chapter 4:1) written ~700 BC

In that day so few men will be left that seven women will fight for each man, saying, “Let us all marry you! We will provide our own food and clothing. Only let us take your name so we won’t be mocked as old maids.”

This is not a story of one guy marrying seven women.

NLT Revelation (Chapter 2:1) written 95 AD 800 years later “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

In verse 6 it goes on: “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

This is the 7 Church’s warning. They are using there own Faith material (provide our own food) assume their own faith ( and clothing) and still want to be called Christians.