By Faith: Isaacs/Altars/Rams

This series is to help us trust God more and dare to step out in faith in every area of our lives:

We are called to live this life BY FAITH!

That means that we condition ourselves to take bold steps towards God and life based on our belief of who God is and what God has said!

[Example: If God tells us to not fear…we [by faith] dare to live a fear-less life. If God tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made....then [by faith] we live our lives as though that is truth — regardless of what we may think of ourselves. ]

One of the MARKS of a believer is A LIFE LIVED OUT BY FAITH!

The writer of Hebrews defines faith as:

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

We walk by faith

We live by faith

We are saved by grace THROUGH faith

We are justified by faith

ABRAHAM + SARAH + ISAAC

God tells Abraham and Sarah that they will have a child name Isaac

BY FAITH…they believe that what God said to them is TRUE!

They don’t understand it

They don’t see it.....YET

BUT IT COMES DOWN TO THIS VERSE:

Genesis 18:14 ESV

14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”

When we begin to FOLLOW God and venture into FAITH....this is the question we have to answer!

His vision for our life is bigger than us

God NEVER CHANGES!

God has a vision for all of us....and we’re the only ones holding us back from walking in it [our doubt and our laughter may be the only thing keeping us on the bench and not experiencing God’s best for us!]

Lastly, we have to be able to live our lives by faith

That means that we won’t always SEE the full, laid out plan of God, but we TRUST -as we follow- He’ll take care of us and show us our next steps!

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So, what happens when we take God at His word and walk/live by faith?

Even though Sarah and Abraham couldn’t see how this PROMISE from God would be happen or what effect he would have on the world....they stepped out into BELIEF!

The birth of Isaac reminds us that we serve a God who has vision, plans, and never breaks promises!

Genesis 21:1 ESV

1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.

What God said He was going to do..HE DID!

Sometimes all we have is what God has given us.

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So what can happen when we step out in faith?

We get the chance to see God bring forth an Isaac

That could be a vision to see people come to Jesus

That could be a vision to revolutionize a particular market

That could be a vision and desire to positively influence those at your school

That could be a vision or desire to see your marriage revitalized…your family recovered…etc.

Illustration with ElementChurch:

[picture of Library]

Our first ever large group setting happened on a Sunday Night February 6, 2011

At the Library

With about 25 ppl

All we had was a vision we believed God had given us to do “church” differently

We had no money

And some in our community were skeptical [I would’ve been too]

There is ONLY ONE 96sec video of the first message ever preached under the ElementChurch name

Every time you sit in a Community Group, or come on a Sunday, or watch us online, or get involved in a Community Outreach....you are experiencing something that was a vision/dream/desire.

ElementChurch was an Isaac

We didn’t know how God was going to do

We didn’t know what God was going to make it look like

But we stepped out....and He did it!

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WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

When we step out in faith and believe God [who He is and what He said] we get an opportunity to be used to bring Him glory!

Genesis 21:1–7 (ESV)

21 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

There’s a reason God waited until it was impossible for Abraham and Sarah to conceive....so that it would be UNDENIABLE that God DID THIS!

GOD NEVER CHANGES

God did the same with Mary [mother of Jesus]

God did wait until she was old but did it when she was young and a virgin......why? So that it would be undeniable that this was a GOD thing!

Hebrews 11:6b ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

If we ever wanted to make God smile....all we have to do is walk out our lives by FAITH!

Hebrews 11:11 ESV

11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.

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WHERE IS GOD MOVING IN YOUR LIFE?

You may say that you don’t hear God

He’s speaking in the bible

You may be on the verge of stepping out but you’re scared

Remember that God never leaves us or forsakes us

What God is calling you towards is worth taking a step of faith

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THE PROMISE HAS POWER AND POTENTIAL!

The story of Isaac isn’t just about two old people having a baby

Remember what God said, “I will establish my covenant with him as an EVERLASTING covenant for his offspring after him”[Gen 17:6]

Spoiler Alert!

God was establishing the bloodline of Jesus the MESSIAH!!!!!

God’s plans and vision for us is BIGGER than we can imagine....and it has the POTENTIAL AND POWER to build the Kingdom of Heaven!