DIY: things we must do to maintain our faith

Hey Guys, Welcome back to Harvest Students. My name is..... if this is your first time, i really appreciate you being here, i pray you feel God’s love here more than anything else. I Am very excited about today. but b4 we get to that. wanted to give a couple updates:

Adventure week attenders appreciation

HS Kick off appreciation

plans for the year/semester - Outings, Christmas drama, savings towards adventure week/camp harvest

So today we begin our new series called “DIY: things we must do to maintain our faith”.

Intro

Our relationship with Christ should be the most important of all, the one we make a priority, maintain and energize. This is not something God Can do for us, we must do It ourselves. We tend to like it when ppl serve us and give us things, when we attend something it needs to meet our requirements, everything must bend to our desires; e.g. phones must be of a certain type and price, our allowances must be of a certain amount, food prepared at home must be of a certain quantity, school work must not be too much, teachers has to have certain attitudes, it has become so bad that this same attitude towards others doing stuff for us and to our liking, has entered the Church, it almost seem like someone must be a Christian on your behalf!

But that’s not the way life works, there are gonna be some things we must do for ourselves! Our parents, siblings, student leader, friends can’t do it for us.

So throughout this series there are a number of things we are gonna be urging you to “do it yourself”

I think as a Church we’ve established the fact that none of us can save ourselves from Sin and its consequences, and God’s judgement on persons who have not repented of their sins and turn to Christ. So we’ve established that God does the saving and the cleaning, the only difference is that the Saving is done for you, the cleaning is done through you.

And over the next several weeks we will see what that looks like, why it’s important, and how it’s done.

So let’s begin by setting this up, , now for some context is what is commonly called the faith chapter, because it gives the meaning of faith, and also countless examples of persons in history that exercised faith; Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David etc. So this is coming right after these staggering examples of ppl who had faith.

Read

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight (things stopping progress) , and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (nothing has yet caused you any physical harm)

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

Hebrews 12:1–14 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Sam hears week after week the challenges put forward by the student leader. But he delays the inevitable because he thinks of everything he would have to stop doing, rather than all the things he will be gaining.

Vs 11 is God’s goal -