Takes a licking, and comes out kicking
The bible is one big beautiful portrait of the Love and mercy of God Almighty. The entire Old Testament, is a pre-cursor, of Jesus Christ the son of God who was to come. There is nothing in the bible that is there for no reason, everything has a purpose, and every story a deeper meaning, and spiritual life application.
The bible tells us, that ”all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. For instruction in righteousness. “
It is not just a good book, as some would say, it is the eternal, everlasting, full truth, Holy living word of God.
Isaiah said, “the flower may fade, and the grass will wither, but the word of the Lord shall stand forever.”
What an awesome God we serve! He left us with an inspired collection of 66 books, that when put together, form the greatest culmination of writings ever assembled. Every word has meaning. Every conversation that is written has divine importance. Every trial, and tribulation that is talked about, has a deeper meaning that what we read in black and white.
The entire O.T. is a picture of the soon coming king, and the N.t. gives us hope and direction in life.
Hebrews 10:35Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
We spoke last night on the importance of praising during your waiting process, how when we praise God, we are showing our humility, and humbleness towards him.
When you can praise God in spite of your circumstances, it moves God, and creates an atmosphere where he can dwell. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is released, when we begin to give God the glory.
Throughout all of scripture, we find one thing that truly moves God. Its not doing things in the proper liturgical order. Its not the religious rituals, Its not how we dress when we come into the church, Its not sticking to a program or running the aisles when a good song comes on. God is moved by one thing ”FAITH”.
God is not a respector of people, but he is a respecter of your faith.
When we look through the scriptures at the lives of key leaders, we tend to see a lot of things that they have in common. One thing for sure is Faith.
In the 11th ch. Of Hebrews, we see a list of people, who have been come to be known as the hall of faith. These people listed here are not any different than you and I. The only difference is that they lived in a different era.
God does not respect man for who or what he is, but he is moved by our faith.
Heb. 11:1 Gives the simplest definition of what Faith is. Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.
NIV-Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Faith is simple taking God at his word, and acting upon it. Living like the bible is true.
Its not enough to say that you have faith, if you are not going to act upon it.
Pastor-I’m just crazy enough to believe it.
James 2: 19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Heb. 11:6 But without faith, it is impossible to please him, for he that comes to God, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Faith is to be followed by actions. That’s why v.6 says he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Not the ones who half-way seek him, but diligently seek him. It was James who said, a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways, let not that man think that he should receive anything from God.
Your faith is to be followed by actions. In Heb. 11 take a look sometime at the men and women of faith who are listed. They are not there just because they believed God, but because they believed him, and acted upon it.
Abel-offered, Enoch was translated, Noah-prepared an ark, Abraham-went out, sojourned, looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker was God. Sara-judged him faithful, Isaac-blessed Jacob, Jacob-blessed his sons, Moses-was hidden, forsook Egypt.
These men and women of faith walked in their faith. People do not want to just hear what you are talking, they want to see what you are walking.
They subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of Lions, quenched the violence of the fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight. They remained faithful through the hard times as well as the good times.
They had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, bonds and imprisonments. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they were destitute, afflicted, and tormented.
Of all of the things that they endured, they remained faithful to God. Their faith was put to the test, just as ours will be at some time or another.
Remember last night the Lord revealed that we spend most of our time in the waiting process. We do not spend a lot of our time achieving things, but most of the time is in the waiting. And it is what you do during the waiting process, that shows God your level of faithfulness.
V.27 By faith Moses forsook Egypt, and did not fear the wrath of the king, for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. He endured!!!
Having faith, and being faithful are 2 different things. Remaining faithful is a lot tougher thing to do, especially when your whole world is caving in around you. When you endure trials, and tribulations, and remain faithful to God, it is then that he can reward you.
Your faith will be tried on some level nearly every day of you life.
V.38 Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no plwasure in him. 39 but we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
NIV says – but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
The thing that separates us from the rest of the world, is that we do not shrink back in the face of adversity, nor are we destroyed by the tests in life, but we are of the faith of God.
You will be tempted, and tried. James said 1:2-3 my bretheren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
James said count it all joy. Count is as joy, because it is happening for a reason. To strengthen you, to build you up, to empower you to be a more effective witness for the kingdom of God.
The 8th Ch. Of the book of Romans says ”all things work together for good………”
How you react under the tests, and trials will determine what God can trust you with.
He will not put more on you than you can handle. He created you to be strong. The trials that you have been through would have driven someone else over the edge. Someone else would have lost their mind, but God created you for such a time as this.
See your test may be believing God for healing, while someone else may be believeing God for a miracle in their finance’s. Others may be trusting him for peace, while others for their lost loved one to be saved. What ever your test or trial, the thing that is being tested is your faith. We are all being tested on the same thing.
But like Moses in V.27, we have to endure the test. Quitters never win. No runner ever won a race when he fell down and stayed down. No boxer ever won a fight by getting knocked down and staying there.
Ecclesiates 9:11 says this that the race is not given to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them.
Jesus said he that endureth to the end the same shall be saved
We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed.
You’ve come too far to quit now! Faith without works is dead. Saying you believe God, and not acting upon his word is dead.
There are people here who are coming through a test right now, and your just about to give up. Do not quit now! The devil is a liar! How dare you even think about quitting after all that God has brought you through. You cant quit!
Just because you fall down, does not mean that you have to stay there. All of these people did not quit. They may have wanted to at times, but they kept pressing on. If God delivered them, he will deliver you, he is no respecter of people.
Pr. 24:16
For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by a calamity.
The righteous man falls seven times………but he gets back up again. The only difference between the righteous man, and the unrighteous, is that when the righteous man falls, he gets back up again.
Elijah the prophet had just called down fire from heaven………ended up asking God to take his life. Oh I just can’t go on anymore.
The angel said arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. And there appeared a cake of bread, and a bottle of water.
The journey is too great for you and I. We must eat of the bread, and drink of the water, in order to have the strength to go on.
A trick of the enemy is to try and deceive you to make you think that what you are going through, is your final destination. But I’m here to tell you do not confuse what you are going through, with where you are going to.
I may be down, but I’m not out. I’m coming out of this.
Fear is the enemy of faith, and the assassination of greatness. The enemy wants to keep you down and out, Jn. 10:10
Its important that we read on. That we look ahead. We walk by faith and not by sight. Faith sees beyond the circumstances. If we do not read on, then we will get stuck.
In this world you will have tribulation……………..but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, ………but the lord will deliver them out of them all.
A thousand may fall at my left hand, and ten-thousand at my right, ……..but it shall not come near me.
Keep on the firing line. I may have been a worthless sinner,……..but the Lord jesus saved me. I may have slipped up, but I have grace…..I may have been down, but I’m not out.
Do not quit now, you’ve come to far. If God delivered the men in the bible, he will deliver you. The woman with the issue of blood.
She had tried everything that modern medicine had to offer. She had spent all that she had trying to get better, but only grew worse. Then she heard of Jesus of Nazareth. In the midst of the crowd, she pressed her way through. She was tired of living in the condition that she had been in, but knew that quitting was not an answer.
So she pressed. She endured the hostility of the crowds, in order to press her way through to the master. And she said within herself. (She repeated over and over again) If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I will be made whole. She spoke it over and over and convinced herself. I’ve tried everything else, and I got nothing to lose.
You can’t give up now, you are to close to receiving the greatest miracle of your life. Your almost there, keep pressing.
He may not come when you want him, but he’ll be there right on time. The bible says those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Heb. 12:3 says let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Run with patience!!!
Still moving forward. Not stopped off on the side of the road, but still moving forward, patiently. Slow down once in a while and listen for the voice of God to tell you to move.
Always moving forward, and never moving back. Persistence pays off. We have to endure the fights, and the battles, and the valleys, and the storms. If God brought them through, he’ll bring you to. He is not a respecter of people, but of Faith.
We will press on through, no matter what the opposition may look like. We will keep on pressing.
Hab. 2:2-3 The Lord answered to me, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that reads it, for the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie, though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
The vision is for now. If all that you see your self as is beat down and defeated, that’s all that you will be. Your time is now. The bibe says where there is no vision my people perish. We are not of them that draw back, Paul said of them that believe in the saving of souls.
Bow your heads: You are just outside the city of Jerusalem, and your eyes strain to see what is ahead in the morning fog.The hazy image looks more like an animal than a man. His hair is matted, and soaked in blood, his eyes are swollen, slowly he lifts his head as he strains to see through the blood and sweat on his way to the flogging post. He stumbles and falls again and again under the weight of the cross. You hear the hiss and the whip of the cat of nine tails as it whistles through the air, and with its claws it reaches and tear the flesh from off of his back. He was doing this for you. His flesh hangs like ribbons around his legs. he is walking the path called the way of sorrows up to Golgotha. The ringing of the hammer is heard as nails part the sinews and flesh. His muscles jerk in spasms of horror. You turn your head away, but turn back, as you hear him speaking to the thief hanging on the cross next to him. Today you will be with me in paradise. Tears well up in your eyes as you witness the power of love in action. Eli Eli lama sabachtani, My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me. Jesus cries out. The story doesn’t end here, when the veil was split in the temple, his love gave us each access to be intimate with the father, God almighty. Three days later Jesus arose from the grave, and was seen by more than 500 witnesses. His entire life was God’s attempt to get to have a relationship with you. He has brought you here today for a reason, not to just occupy a seat, but to be a partaker of his divine nature.
