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PROP: God uses human relationships to help grow our faith in him.
Good evening church!
Welcome to part three of our teaching series, 5 Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith.
This teaching series is designed to look at five ways God helps our faith grow; as your faith grows, your relationship with God grows.
Two weeks ago, we started off by addressing the most important part of growing our faith: We need to make space for God.
What are the things that need to be removed from your busy life?
Social media, extra work, entertainment, or relationships.
The promise is that as we make space for God in our lives, He will fill it.
Last Saturday we talked about the first one: Practical Teaching.
Practical Teaching, the explanation and application of God’s Word in your life, builds trust in Jesus.
As you build trust in Jesus your faith Grows.
Hopefully all of you were able to read through The Sermon on the Mount this last week.
In it you not only received information, but also the opportunity to live it out.
If you make space for God, he will fill that space with a steady diet of practical teaching.
This evening we are going to focus in a the second way God helps grow our faith: Providential Relationships.
Providential relationships means that God is involved in bringing people into our lives that can have a meaningful impact in helping our faith grow.
I want everyone here to take a few seconds and think of one person who has had a big, influential impact on our lives…aside from a family member.
Go ahead, take about 10 seconds here and think of someone who had an influential impact on your life.
(10 seconds) Okay, by a show of hands, how many of you thought of a teacher or coach?
How many of you thought of someone in your church?
How about a boss, manager or colleague?
How about a close friend, neighbor, or classmate?
Here is an interesting one, anyone influenced by a random stranger or someone you don’t know?
Very cool, thanks for sharing!
Every single one of us here has been influenced by another person.
You are who you are primarily by the relationships you have had over the years.
Some of you here are followers of Jesus simply because a person influenced you.
So is it true that God is providentially involved in our lives?
Is he actively involved in that way?
If you get a chance to read in the New Testament portion of your Bible, pay attention to the word “called.”
It literally shows up everywhere.
I many of those instances it is referring to how God is actively calling people into a relationship with him, inviting people to put their faith in him.
How does God “call” people?
There are actually a lot of different ways, in fact, I would say that when it comes to God, nothing is off limits.
Whether it’s creation, a beautiful sunset, a billion stars or a roaring ocean…all of creation calls us to look for a Creator.
God also calls to us through the Bible.
This amazing collection of books is miracle in an of itself.
Just the fact that it exists is amazing, and that there is no other document like it in all of antiquity is a miracle, and to think that it contains God’s story, his purpose, plan and how we can be a part of it.
God for sure calls us out to us through the Bible.
God calls out to us through events.
The historical event of the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection are two events which, by themselves are convicting enough to compel people to put their faith in Jesus.
Historical, or everyday events are ways God calls out to us.
The one we want to focus in on this morning is people: God calls out to us through people.
Here is an example of what I’m talking about.
One of Jesus followers, a man we refer to as the apostle Paul, on one of his missionary journeys, came to the city of Thessalonica and started a church there.
Later he writes this letter back to the church, there are actually two letters, first and second Thessalonians.
Here is a small excerpt from the second letter.
Paul states that God was at work in directing their journey, to come to the city and meet up with the people who lived there.
God called out to them through Paul and his companions as they shared the Good News about Jesus.
God called out to these people in this city through Paul and his companions, going and building relationships.
God calls out to people, to us through people through relationships.
Listen, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you have done, or where you are from, God is completely invested in reaching out to you to help grow your faith and to do that, he will probably use a person.
So, what does that look like?
Well, when we need an example of how God works through people to grow our faith, probably the best place to look is…the Bible.
It probably comes as no surprise that there are quite a few examples of God working through people to share or grow faith.
I want to take you to one in particular.
I’ll be referencing the events that take place in Acts 10.
One of the big barriers that the book of Acts addresses is people groups.
Jesus started with his people, people who were Jewish.
But the plan is that this Good News is to go to all people of all nations.
In Acts 10 we see how God providentially directed two people to meet so that both of them would grow in their faith.
Because of time, we won’t read every word of the account, but you are invited to take some time today and read it through.
The two individuals in this account are one of Jesus closest friends and apostles, Peter and a Roman Centurion with the Italian Regiment named Cornelius.
There could not have been two more different people!
A Jewish, Galilean fisherman and a Gentile, Roman, soldier.
God however is directing these two men into a relationship that will growth both of their faiths.
Here is how it happens.
Cornelius is in the city of Caesarea, and he has a vision from God to send servants to go the city of Joppa and invite this guy named Peter to come be his guest.
So Cornelius sends off his servants.
While they are traveling, Peter is in Joppa and his goes to the roof of the house he is staying at and has a vision about food.
The problem is that it’s all unclean food, food that a good Jew would never even touch.
But three times God tells Peter to have the bacon, eat the pepperoni, enjoy the bratwurst…and poor Peter keeps telling him no.
God keeps telling him that he has made these foods clean.
The tension is real in Peter’s life.
God is trying to grow his faith.
Just as the dream was ending, Cornelius’s servants arrive and invite Peter to come with them to Caesarea to meet with the Gentile, Roman soldier.
This is a big step!
I can’t imagine the awkwardness that Peter felt as he walked up to the front door of Cornelius’s house!
Jews didn’t even dare to go into a Gentile’s home for fear of becoming unclean.
Peter pushes through the awkwardness and enters in.
After the introductions, and Cornelius falling at Peter’s feet, and Peter telling him that he doesn’t need to do that because they are both men and the some footing, Peter says this:
Will you say this phrase with me? “God does not show favoritism.”
Go ahead, say that.
I think we all needed to say that.
Some of you really needed to hear that.
You have felt like God is against your or that he is at least not for you.
He’s only for the good people.
Peter says it very clearly, God does not show favoritism…he is reaching out to all people.
Peter then goes on to tell them about Jesus, his death and resurrection and how he was a witness to all of those events.
Then he says this:
As Peter says this, the Holy Spirit shows up.
One of God’s markers of showing his work and favor in the book of Acts is the speaking in tongues.
When people praise God by speaking in other languages, languages they do not know.
This is God specifically giving his stamp of approval on this barrier that has been torn down!
It was a glorious day for Peter, for Cornelius and for us.
That was a game changing day!
Peter than says, these people believe in Jesus, let’s baptize them in his name, and a huge baptism service took place!
Providential relationships!
God uses people to help grow our faith in him.
What do we learn from this?
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