It's Deeper Than You Think 7/22/2018

Fresh Faith Review

We are three weeks into our summer reading of Pastor Jim Cymbala’s book, “Fresh Faith - What happens when real faith Ignites God’s People”

I pray that you are reading with that title in mind so that we could all be praying for our church that:

Our faith would rise

that it would ignite our church on fire for Him

We went to and looked at the progression of how satan destroys a life.

He steals - our first love and our joy

He brings death to our purpose, our signficance and God’s significance to us and our giftings and abilities

which all brings destruction to our walk and life with Christ.

Then last week we looked at the opposite force of satans destruction - that being God’s restoration.

We looked at scriptures where God talked about what he would restore - that being everything.

So we said there is no state of the progression of destruction that God cannot restore from

We saw that we cannot be too far or distant from God for his restoration not to be effective.

That all God wants is for us to return to him

Turn our hearts towards him, rend out hearts toward him

Yes, there should be a heart change and brokenness on our part. And when God sees this, he does the rest.

We also looked at the fact that God doesn’t want his people to be ashamed.

And that means that we need to open ourselves up to him and his restoration so that he would be praised and lifted up in our lives instead of our lifestyles bringing reproach and shame against the power and might of our God.

He promises that a part of that restoration would be his baptizing us and filling us with the power of His Holy Spirit.

Let’s pick it up today from there.

I told you that faith is the answer.

Faith is our proclamation and our living in what we believe about God and His Word.

Faith is the key to stopping satan from stealing from us and killing what God has given us in our lives.

We said that a stable and secure and strong faith is going to be trusting in the whole Word of God.

Turn with me over to

1 Thessalonians 3 NKJV

Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you—therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica to encourage them. Notice what he wants to encourage them in - Their Faith?

Why was that so important to Paul? Verse 3 tells us that no one would be shaken by the afflictions that they were facing.

And to support everything that we’ve heard in the last two weeks, look at verse 5 -

1 Thessalonians 3:5 NKJV

For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.

lest by some means the tempter had tempted you.

If I’m reading that right with a good understanding of these words, he is saying, he should not have been able to tempt you. But just in case he did, I want to know

What would be the scale by which he judged if that had happened our not? their faith.

So we see here the support for what I said the last two weeks - It’s a lack of faith in our lives that gives the enemy an open door to attack us.

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

Let’s look at what faith has accomplished in peoples lives.

Faith and Two Sisters

You know the story well. Especially if you have attended any of my funerals, it’s become my go to scripture.

John 11:1–44 NKJV

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Now if we look at verse 4, we can get a little confused.

This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the son of God may be glorified through it.

Either Jesus is speaking out of turn about a situation that he doesn’t understand or He is speaking words of GREAT FAITH Here.

Because we know that Lazarus dies. But Jesus knows that he will live again and that this is all about the people who are standing at the grave side when he does.

So Jesus arrives, late, on purpose and Lazarus is dead.

Mary and Martha are a little upset. Both of them speak with him and tell them that if he had come when they had called for him, their brother would still be alive.

Now that is faith. - They knew that Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying

Evidently they knew of his healing power.

But is their faith complete? No - they don’t know about his power to resurrect.

Why would that be important? It’s not just about Lazarus, but about what would be happening very soon when Jesus’ own body would be thrown into a tomb.

I bet Mary and Martha probably didn’t have the problems believing what had happened to him when the body turns up missing - they had learned about Jesus being the resurrection.

But they come to him upset.

And we know the conversation

Jesus says, your brother will live again

Martha says, I know that he will in the resurrection of the saints

Jesus says, I am that resurrection. And whoever lives in me, he will die in me and he will live again.

And then Jesus asks a question. Do you believe this?

What’s he doing?

He’s checking their level of faith. We know that the Bible tells us that he went home to Nazareth one time and could do almost nothing there, because of the level of the people’s faith.

He’s trying to see what they believe about him

He’s trying to see what they can believe about him

He’s increasing their level of faith.

He’s raising the bar. Okay, so you believe that I could have healed him

You also believe that he will be raised up at the end as I’ve taught

Let’s see if we can get you one notch higher. Do you believe that it can happen now?

Verse 35 says Jesus Wept.

And the people all see that and say, wow, look how much he loved this guy.

But I don’t think it’s about that at all - For Jesus knows that he is going to see him again.

In one message I did, (funeral?) I said that Jesus might have been weeping because he knew that if he raised Lazarus up he would have to watch him die in the flesh again. Very Possible.

Let me present a new possibility this morning.

Might Jesus have wept, not about Lazarus at all, but at the level and condition of the faith of the people around him at that moment.

We know they didn’t get it

We know that they didnt’ believe.

But how many know that they soon would.

In fact, down in verse 40, Jesus says to Martha - after she speaks in her faith “Lord by this time he stinks”

Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?

Faith and the Two Disciples

Go over with me to

John 14:1–21 NKJV

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 14:

Look at the first verse. When does Jesus say that our hearts won’t be troubled? When we believe in God and what he has done through Christ.

He says, don’t worry guys, everything is going to be fine. Believe in God and believe in what I am about to do. I am going to prepare a place for you and though you might not understand this, you know what I am about to do and what it all means.

And they are like Huh? Thomas says, Lord we don’t know where you are going and we definitely don’t know the way

Jesus says, I am the way.

What he is saying there church is something that you and I need to understand as well.

If we know Christ - that is understand his heart and committment and promises to us - live by faith.

We do know these things and we will live in these things.

Faith makes these things happen.

And then Philip speaks. Lord show us the father. We don’t understand what you are talking about, but if we just can see him we know we will be okay.

And Jesus says, Philip, I have been with you these three years now. I have spoken what the Father has spoken. I do what the Father does. You have seen the Father everyday that you have spent with me.

But here is the deal. You need to believe that. Or again, you need to have faith.

Mary and Martha, it’s possible if you believe

Thomas, if you know who I am (live in that) you know where I am going and will be there with me

Philip, if you believe that I am what I am, then you have surely seen the father and been in his presence this whole time.

Applying Faith

Church it’s the same for each of us.

Just as Paul was concerned about the faith level of the Thessalonian church, because he knew that’s what would determine how far they went with Christ, or with the enemy, we need to look at our faith today.

It’s really not even about the level of faith, but the purity of our faith.

Who is it founded in - Mary and Martha needed theirs to be founded in the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. It’s not enough to know he heals. It’s not enough to know that he has things at the end.

What we need to know is that He has things NOW until the END!

I don’t want to have a faith to die. I want to have a faith that lives.

1 Peter 1:3–5 NKJV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

How deep it is anchored in

Faith should not shrink away because of the problem it’s facing. The problem should shrink because of the faith.

I want you to know that Christianity has become a very weak word. But it shouldn’t be.

It’s not a designation or a condition

It’s a life that is sold out and living out based on

Who God is

What God can do

and what His Word declares

Let’s Pray