Renew Your Faith

Renew Your Faith; NV 5/27/01 AM  [A & B 2 Corinthians 5:1-10]C

Prop: Renewal of your Christian life, and renewal of this church, comes through what you believe and how strong you believe it. Our belief governs our actions.

I.      D Renew your faith that God has made you for the purpose of living eternally with Him. (1-5)

A.        10 God was worried that Adam would frequently become lost in the garden because he would not ask for directions.
9. God knew that one day Adam would require someone to locate and hand him the remote.
8. God knew Adam would never go out and buy himself a new fig leaf when his wore out and would therefore need Eve to buy one for him.
6. God knew Adam would never remember which night to put the garbage on the curb.
1. When God finished the creation of Adam, He stepped back, scratched his head, and said, "I can do better than that."

B.        You are a “Special Edition” made especially for the glory of God.

                                  1.       The message of the bible is glory to God.

                                  2.       *Psalm 19 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

                                  3.       1 Corinthians 10 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

                                  4.       God will be glorified when you walk through those pearly gates, not you.

C.        To be a Christian is much more than a way of life, it is a relationship.

                                  1.       God the Creator of this universe seeks friendship with you.

                                  2.       God wants your companionship! He wants you near Him!

D.        Just think about all the trouble God went through to bring you to Him.

                                  1.       Creation of the world and you.

                                  2.       Giving of His Son.

                                  3.       Preparing a place for you.

TS] God made you for a purpose, and the ultimate end of that purpose is to bring Him glory and live eternally with Him.

II.    E Renew your faith that God is working in your life to bring you to heaven. (5)

A.       5oJ de; katergasavmeno" hJma'" eij" aujto; tou'to qeov", oJ dou;" hJmi'n to;n ajrrabw'na tou' pneuvmato".

                                  1.       First installment, deposit, down payment, pledge, that pays a part of the purchase price in advance, and so secures a legal claim to the article in question, or makes a contract valid; in any case, it is a payment which obligates the contracting party to make further payments. It is also used fig.

                                  2.       It is through the Holy Spirit that God the Father works in our lives to help us bring glory to Him through the fruit He bears through us.

                                  3.       Don’t ask me how, but I know He does because His Word says that He works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Phil 2:13).

B.        What kind of Father would God be if He just left you to fend for yourself?

                                  1.       Would it make any sense if God went to all that trouble we talked about earlier and then just left us to fend for ourselves?

                                  2.       God Himself would fail to be a good steward of His creation if that were the case.

TS] If we fail to talk about God and all He’s done for us in life, it may just be that we need a renewal of our faith. Who is responsible if not God? Do we have the audacity to claim responsibility for ourselves?

III.           F Renew your faith that Judgment will come. (6-10)

A.        It’s going to break the Lord’s heart to judge those not prepared.

                                  1.       Illu – “Guilty of Murder, and … sentenced to death”

B.        There are many ideas about how to go about becoming a Christian, being a Christian, and worshiping God. Let me tell you how I see it.

                                  1.       Every person is going to answer to God. (vs. 10)

                                  2.       Every person will be judged according to the book. *John 12 47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.  48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

                                  3.        In a sense this book, not God will condemn.

G God has everything to do with your existence:

Your beginning – God brought you specially here.

Your dash – God works in your life for you to will and to act according to His good purpose.

Your end – God, His Word, will judge how you lived the life that He gave you to live.

In other words, if God is not your life, you’ve missed the whole point somewhere along the line.