Feeding your Spirit man

Feeding your Spirit man

Theme:  Increasing Faith

Topics: Belief vs. Faith; increasing faith; Consistency

Intro

Last week I talked to you about some concerns I had in Forerunner.  I am still concerned.  Forerunner is a ministry, it is a spiritual thing.  If the spiritual aspect is ignored then everything else will cease.  It is time to do some serious self-examination.  You may think that what you do doesn’t matter, it doesn’t affect the whole of Forerunner, but we are a body.  We are connected, what affects one, affects all.  I have a dire prognosis for our body…we have cancer.  It’s not fatal if treated right away.  But we have allowed spiritual dry rot to creep into our bones.  (Jesus Jam?) Unless each one of us is awakened once again to God’s Presence, unless we get hungry for Him, unless we seek His face Forerunner will cease to exist.  All the plans, and all the work on the new youth room will be for nothing.  Forerunner for many has become something to do on a Wednesday instead of time of meeting together with the Living God in passionate extravagant worship, a time to introduce the lost people around you everyday to the One who is the answer to every unspoken question, the fulfillment of every longing.  Some would say that because you are teens and young adults that you can’t do anything substantial for God, but I have seen it!  I know that teens can live passionate lives of devotion to the Lord.  Teens can impact the world when they have faith and live by it.  I believe in you, but more importantly Jesus believes in you. 

Belief vs. Faith

Belief – a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed

Faith – (Heb 11:1) the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things unseen.  It is a living thing, an active thing

There is a very key difference between the two.  The reason we are looking at them is because many of you believe in God believe in His Word…  But few are living by FAITH!

It is an easy thing to slip into a pattern of walking by belief rather than faith.  We begin following the principles of Christianity rather than Jesus Himself.  We focus on being a “good Christian” rather than dieing to ourselves, taking up our crosses and actively following where Jesus leads us.  We make our own choices based solely upon “wisdom”  When we do that we crucify the Lord all over again.  We say to Him that we do not need Him in our lives, all we need are some moral principles to help steer us, and a comfortably distant God who won’t interfere in the business of our lives, except when we get into some trouble. 

It is the most despicable form of religion…it is Christianity without Christ!

We get comfortable in knowledge of Him, our roles regarding Him (worship team, sound board, powerpoint, etc.) but after a while we find that we have an emptiness and begin to turn away from those things thinking that they are the cause of our emptiness.  (loss of leaders…)

“Increase our Faith!”

The disciples cried after some of the teachings of Jesus.  Some of the things Jesus says to us can be hard to swallow, but they knew that they must have faith because the Word tells us in

Hebrews 11:6(NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

So how do we increase our faith, how do we begin again to walk by faith?  We have to feed our spirits.

Romans 10:17(NKJV) "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

The Word of God is both the message that is spoken (like right now), as well as reading the Bible since Heb 4:12 tells us that the Word is living and Active!  But you have to LISTEN!  And obey!

What has God spoken to you?  What part of a message was preached and you knew it was aimed at you by the Holy Spirit yet you chose to ignore it?  What area of your life have you stopped listening to God about, thinking that you know better?  You are dead!  The life has drained out of you.

Romans 8:14(NKJV) "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."

Consistency

Many of you have had brief periods of life by faith but turn aside after a short time.  Tell me, those things that attract you, do they truly make you happy?  Do they fulfill your life?  Wouldn’t you rather have a life of consistent growth and get off the roller coaster faith you have been living?

The choice to live by faith is made every day when you drag it out of bed, every hour when you are going about the business of life, every second when faced with choices and opportunities

Feeding your spirit man, enabling your faith and anointing, lifts you to the place where your head is above water.

Ill.  Test drive boat recently…results isn’t about how fast the propellers spin…you have to get the boat up onto it’s planes…then it’s like your flying.  Propellers aren’t spinning harder, its’ just that you’ve found the place where the boat can cruise.  Maybe you have tried in the past, but never stuck with it enough to lift you up above the “drag” of life. 

Can’t stay on the planes if you keep turning crazy all the time…have to stay a straight course if you want to fly!

Summary/Altar

Repent!

Let God speak to you specifically this week.

Begin stepping out in faith, putting it on the line.