Highway Robbery

Fresh Faith

We are starting our new summer series based on the book by Pastor Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

Last year - Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire - What happens when God’s Spirit invades the hearts of his people.

It’s set us on a prayer and a mission to do what we can do to foster an atmosphere in our services and our lives where the true power of God’s Holy Spirit can be set free.

It’s been a focus of our prayer meetings

It’s been a focus of our teachings.

And I believe that it is happening and going to continue to happen.

This book asks the question of what happens when Real Faith ignites God’s people.

When we talk about faith, we talk about the center of our Christian life.

There is nothing that we can do to please God without faith.

So my prayer this summer is that you are sitting on the beach, or on a boat, or in a car or airplane, or just in your back yard and you are faithful to read this book, that the Holy Spirit would enlarge your faith for bigger and better things.

Do you know why I pray that for you? Because if it happens in your life personally, imagine what happens in this place when all of that faith from each person is released in the corporate service - Miracles will happen here.

ce when all of that faith from each person is released in the corporate service - Miracles will happen here.

Lives will be healed and changed

Families will be restored

The harvest will be brought in.

PRAISE GOD!

John 10:1–10 NKJV

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

The Steps to Destruction

We have an enemy that has one thing on his mind - the total destruction of God’s people.

The thing is that is against what God tells us about his plans for our lives. - God’s plan is to make us fruitful. To give us abundant lives through his son Jesus Christ.

God says, he will never forsake us

He will never walk away from us.

So the Bible makes it very clear that it is very hard for the Believer in Christ to be destroyed. And yet we have seen it happen, haven’t we?

So what’s the deal?

The deal is that the enemy must be subtle about his destruction in our lives.

And that’s what this verse says here. I missed it until I saw it brought out in the reading. But it’s true.

The enemy’s destruction of a life has to be a progression. He cannot just appear on the scene and bring utter destruction. He has to do a couple of things.

He has to get us to believe that it’s possible

He hast to get us to a place where we buy in to his plan

A place where we open up our lives to him

A place where we don’t trust God the way that we should

A place where we are divided and separated from the larger family of God - the church.

How does he get us there?

First Step - Theft

First he steals from us.

The Bible says here and in other scriptures that satan is a thief.

We see here in verse 1, that he never comes in through the door. He sneaks in over the wall and through some window.

How many know that a person sneaking over the wall and through the window, doesn’t have the best intentions for you?

His stealing is where the gradual breakdown begins.

His goal is to steal from us to the point that he robs us of our relationship with God.

He Steals our Love For Christ

So he steals our first love. - this is always done through the enticement of the things of this world.

He is coy in taking our devotion and our worship from God onto inanimate things.

Revelation 2:2–5 NKJV

“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

This portion of scripture is very important when it comes down to recognizing the ploys of the enemy, because we see here that many get robbed from without even knowing it.

We have a church who is doing the work of the Kingdom

They are operating in patience and love.

They are speaking out against evil

They are not falling for strange teachings or teaching strange things themselves - They are people of the Word.

They have stood strong amidst the persecution that is coming against them

But Jesus says, you are doing it all in the wrong spirit and for the wrong reasons.

You have lost your first love. In other words - Your fulfilling the letter of the law, but don’t have the spirit of it.

The law was given to lead us to a savior - to THE savior.

But their hearts are not there.

And here is the thing - he doesn’t say it here, but it can definitely be surmised by the things that are listed here.

It may have even been their ministry that took the place of Jesus in their hearts.

But no matter what you are doing - It’s the love for Jesus that matters. And this would cause them to be discounted in heaven - their light, lampstand (Spirit of God would be extinguished.

That’s sad.

But the truth is that it’s true of just too many believers today. Those who are even doing great things for Jesus.

The enemy has stolen their first love.

And when that happens, our hearts grow cold. We get cynical in our faith and about life.

We buy into other compromises with the World

So check your heart brothers and sisters.

If you are not on fire for Jesus. If you are lackadaisical about your walk with him. If your faith in him doesn’t excite you, you have lost your first love.

He Steals Our Joy

He steals our joy.

When we don’t have the love that we should have for Jesus. When he is not our first priority, the joy of serving him will leave as well.

Luke 10:17–20 NKJV

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

The seventy disciples return from their missions trip excited about what they saw and experienced

But Jesus says something to them that we need to be careful about as well. Make sure that your joy is founded in the right things.

It’s not about what you can do

It’s not about what even I am doing through you - yes those things should make you joyful

When we see peoples lives changed, there should be joy

When we see healings and miracles and the power of God moving we should be joyful

When we experience the power of God moving in our lives, we should be joyful

But that’s now where joy comes from.

Joy comes from the fact that our names are written in the lambs book of life.

There is nothing that the enemy can do to steal that.

He can steal the feeling

He can steal the experience

He can steal the joy founded on those things

But He cannot change what is written in heaven.

My joy is in Christ, because He is the one who died and resurrected again to save me

Whom the son sets free is free indeed

That’s a joy that isn’t related to how I feel or what I’m going through

It’s a joy based on the surety of the effect of the blood of Jesus.

Every believer should have this joy.

Every believer should be being effected by this joy

It’s the joy that passes all understanding

It’s the joy of the Lord so it is our strength

Be careful that the enemy has not stolen you joy today.

When the Joy goes, the killing begins.

2nd Step - He Kills

When there is no joy in serving God, there is no joy in ourselves.

That doesn’t mean that we won’t or can’t laugh at something.

What it means is that the whole meaning in living for Christ is gone.

Satan Kills Our Calling

Satan kills our calling

Satan kills our calling

We all have a spiritual calling.

A calling to:

make disciples

minister the gospel

be Jesus wherever we may find ourselves

Everyone of us was created with a need for a purpose.

Most people are lost in life without one.

When we don’t feel like we have a purpose:

We roam through life aimlessly - Me with my jobs before Bible School

We do things half heartedly

We don’t feel like we matter

Depression

Discouragement

Sorrow and guilt

yes, we have jobs, and that job may even be part of our calling (should be a huge part of our calling) but we are still missing something important

That’s because our purpose was meant to be and can only be found in a life relationship with Jesus Christ.

I have a destiny - song

And that brings great joy to our hearts to know that we have a purpose

But satan is trying to steal that joy. So along with that goes our spiritual calling

Which then affects our spiritual significance

Satan Kills our Significance

We don’t feel as important to God as we used to.

Now that’s an “us” problem - because every human heart wants to know that they matter.

But at the root of that is the problem that God begins to lose his importance to us. - and that’s dangerous.

When spiritual significance is lost:

morality is lost - We try to replace what was once important with what we feel can make us feel that way again.

And so todays’ society has terms like: hooking up, shagging, shacking up, booty call and here’s a great one ladies - Taking her out for a test drive.

And it doesn’t matter what happens during that time or what is used because now they can take the morning after drug and nobody is affected.

Drug and alcohol addiction rises - If there is no significance to my life, than I’ll just have to find a way to escape mine.

Life is cheapened. If God is not significant anymore, than neither is his creation.

And we are seeing this every day in our news. People continuing to kill people. shooting people for sometimes no rhyme or reason.

They go them mad. They cut them off. They just wanted something that they had.

So we see here that spiritual significance is lacking in our society today.

And with that goes our spiritual giftings.

Satan Kills our Spiritual Giftings

There are things that every believer is supposed to bring to the table.

Paul says that when we have a meeting like this - when the body comes together - everyone brings

Romans 12:6–8 NKJV

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

But when the calling and the significance of God’s presence are gone

And when we don’t feel imporatnt to anyone anymore

What’s the chances of these things taking place?

You don’t even see most people weekly in church anymore. So how can their spiritual gift affect the church when they aren’t there? IT CANT

And then we wonder, why the church is dead. And why people don’t want to come to church with us.

And it’s all because this enemy has been stealing from us the whole time

We no longer have what we should have and we don’t even know it.

Something is dead within us.

We don’t know

And that brings us to our destruction.

3rd Step - Destruction

So he steals our love for Christ. He steals our joy

That in turn brings death to our calling, importance and gifts in the kingdom of God

And the destruction (and most never see it coming) is in our relationship with God.

Which destroys something or somethings in our lives

Which affects other lives around us

Which affects the church.

Which hinders the Work of the Kingdom of Heaven on this earth

And the premise of this book that we are about to get into for the summer is that it all comes down to faith.

Now we know that Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen

In other words it’s what enables us to stand in expectation of that which, in any other way, would be impossilbe to achieve or receive

I watched this weekend and New Jersey Boy, Mike Trizano won the Ultimate Fighter in the UFC.

His Words really spoke to me. I visualized this since day one. Visiualization is the key to being successful. Anyone out there, if you have a dream, you have visualize it first and it will happen.

That’s faith.

Pastor Cymbala defines faith as The total dependence upon God that becomes supernatural in it’s working

How many know if we are going to win this battle against the spiritual thief today, it’s going to take supernatural power

It’s going to take faith.

If our faith is missing - we have nothing to stand against him with. And we will be destroyed.

We have no walk - because it is a walk of faith

We have no salvation - because we accept that Jesus did on the cross by faith

and we have no prayer life - because prayer is done in faith.

So as you read this book and study God’s word this summer, My faith arise in each of our hearts.

May we see satan’s plan of theft, death and destruction brought down to nothing

May we be a church that is moving, and taking ground and our community by faith.

Let’s Pray