2018.12.2 Faith and Feelings Series: Living By Faith Part 5

Intro

This time of year can be hard

One survey by the American Psychological Association uncovered some interesting data about the holiday blues:

While the majority of people in the survey reported feelings of happiness, love, and high spirits over the holidays, those emotions were often accompanied by feelings of fatigue, stress, irritability, bloating, and sadness.

38 percent of people surveyed said their stress level increased during the holiday season. Participants listed the top stressors: lack of time, lack of money, commercialism, the pressures of gift-giving, and family gatherings.

Surprisingly, 56 percent of respondents reported they experienced the most amount of stress at work.

Transition: The Holiday blues trump the Holiday spirit because of how people feel. Stressors that come in and take your eyes off (cliche and maybe corny) Jesus is the reason for the season.

I want to take this away from potentially sterile clinical stats. Think with me...

How do you feel about your faith goals?

where is your excitement for what you started off building?

are you ready to simply get into 2019?!

when you survey 2018, when did you get off track? what took you off track? why did you stay off track?

Transition: If we continued pushing, we could start to pull out emotions to go along with our answers.

Fatalistic, abismal, depressed,

John Piper suggest The lion as idenfied in , isn’t after your sinews, bones, muscle tissue, he’s after your faith.

This could for some be THE most important series of the year. This sermon could be THE most important single sermon in the series.

Resolve: Your feelings will cancel out your faith.

Ill: Mike Harper at the gym, after he’d gotten off work. The meeting went long. I say “I hope you’re not like me and still go in to the gym after you’ve had a long call in the parking lot.” They said “I’m already at the light.”

I’m already at the light.”

Pt: They had faith enough to know that consistency at the gym produces results. But because the rhytm of going to the gym was broken. Because excitement left. Because they sat in their car a little too long, their feelings trumped their faith.

Is this not what happened to Peter?

I want to talk to...

Revelation 22:1–15 NKJV

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. 6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. 7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” 8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Matt 14:22-33

Is this not what happened to Peter? he walked

I want to make it crystal clear what Faith is

Faith Is: Seeing Something, Doing Something, Knowing Something, Believing Something

Faith Is: Seeing Something

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Your heart has an eye. That’s why when God speaks to your heart, you start seeing things differently.

Ephesians 1:18 ESV

18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Your eyes and ears are connected.

Proverbs 20:12 NKJV

12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both.

Ill: The black church was/is known for using words to paint picture. Pt. you need to be able to hear and see what God’s saying

“Now”

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 1161. δέ dé

1161. δέ dé; a particle standing after one or two words in a clause, strictly adversative, but more frequently denoting transition or conversion, and serving to introduce something else, whether opposed to what precedes or simply continuative or explanatory. Generally it has the meaning of but, and, or also, namely.

Faith Is: Seeing Something

There is an option

Hebrews 10:39 NKJV

39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

destruction (act) n. — the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists.

App: You can either move in the supernatural OR be pulled back into what was self destructing!!!

Faith Is: Doing Something

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Q: What’s the “Doing?” Keeping your hope

The relationship between faith and hope can be illustrated in the joy a child feels when his father tells him they are going to an amusement park tomorrow. The child believes that he will go to the amusement park, based on his father’s word—that is faith. At the same time, that belief within the child kindles an irrepressible joy—that is hope.

The kid got ready. Cleaned up his room. Matched up his clothes. God needs you to keep believing what He’s told you at the top of the year

The relationship between Hope and Faith

Titus 1:1–3 NKJV

1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;

Your destiny begins to become clearer when you hear the preached Word.

Romans 10:14 NKJV

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Pt: All God wants you to do is to stay out of your feelings and in faith!!!!

If you can believe Him to save you, why not pay the bill…fix your health…straighten out your marriage?

Faith Is: Knowing Something

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

OJ Evidence

convicting evidence n. — evidence that makes someone fully agree, understand, and realize the truth or validity of something; especially based on argument or discussion.

Hebrews 11:3 NKJV

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

What more do you need than the Word?

What are you dealing with that’s larger than the creation process?

2-What are you dealing with that’s larger than the creation process?

How much more evidence do you need?

Why does your situation look the same?

convicting evidence n. — evidence that makes someone fully agree, understand, and realize the truth or validity of something; especially based on argument or discussion.

Overwhelming Evidence

Illustration: Jay Z and Solange in the elevator

OJ Evidence

If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit

Faith Is: Believing Something

Faith requires you live in the unseen realm of possibilities.

without instruction you have to figure it out

Believe in the process

https://youtu.be/BMFYKxVHe94

the only feeling that’s legitimate is feeling inline with what faith will produce

Hab 2

Close

Altar call, “I choose to legitimize my feelings but apply energy to my faith.”