behavior
Showing posts with label behavior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label behavior. Show all posts

Jesus Knows

Take your bibles, turn to Matthew 11.  Give [our praise team] a big hand, one more time, that sounded amazing.  So good to be back with you.  I know a number of you had been praying for my family last week.  My brother came in from West Texas and we had a chance to go to Houston and spend a little time with my aunts and cousins.  Many of you know that my brother lost his wife about six months ago very, very suddenly; she was 45 years old and lost her to an aneurysm.  With the recovery process and that, it was such a good weekend just to spend time with my flesh and blood brother and get to go down there.  So thank you for your prayers.  I know James did a great job while I was gone, but I missed ya!  It's good to be back here today.  How many of you are glad you're in church today?  Say Amen.

I can tell that school is cranking back up because Monday and Tuesday, when I went to my gym, it was completely full.  Every single machine, every rack, somebody in it.  I've learned you can literally set your calendar by certain seasons where that gym fills up.  In January, beginning of a brand new year, new years resolutions like "this year I'm gonna doing it, I'm gonna drop that weight, I'm going to get in shape, I'm going to stick with it" and that gym will be packed in January.  In September, we're getting back in the roll of things.  We're getting the kids back in school.  Going to get that budget working finally. That gym will be full.  Here's the good news though (it's probably not very nice), I know that in about a month, it'll be back to normal again.  I was thinking what a microcosm, what a smaller picture of life that is.  How very often, our attempts to make positive change in our life, a change for the better, wind up being painfully temporary, incredibly frustration.  Next Sunday, God willing, I'm starting a brand new series and we have something special tonight as well.  Tonight Dr. Brady Blevins from the Watchmen Fellowship in Arlington is going to be here.  We're moving all our services to the auditorium and he's going to be speaking on understanding Islam.  With all that we have in the news about radical Islam, what they believe, and what the Quran teaches, and all of that.  There will be handouts, it's going to be incredibly informative to understand what this religion teaches and more than that, to understand if you have Muslim neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, how you can be a positive light in their life and how you can share the beauty of Jesus with them.  So tonight we'll all be [in the auditorium].  Next Sunday, we'll be starting a new series entitled Change your Life For Good.  If you've ever been on that hamster wheel of "this time it'll be better, I'm gonna work harder, I'm gonna do it, I know we gotta get the money straight. I know we need to spend more quality time with the kids and I know take your bibles, turn to Matthew 11.  Give [our praise team] a big hand, one more time, that sounded amazing.  So good to be back with you.  I know a number of you had been praying for my family last week.  My brother came in from West Texas and we had a chance to go to Houston and spend a little time with my aunts and cousins.  Many of you know that my brother lost his wife about six months ago very, very suddenly; she was 45 years old and lost her to an aneurysm.  With the recovery process and that, it was such a good weekend just to spend time with my flesh and blood brother and get to go down there.  So thank you for your prayers.  I know James did a great job while I was gone, but I missed ya!  It's good to be back here today.  How many of you are glad you're in church today?  Say Amen.

I can tell that school is cranking back up because Monday and Tuesday, when I went to my gym, it was completely full.  Every single machine, every rack, somebody in it.  I've learned you can literally set your calendar by certain seasons where that gym fills up.  In January, beginning of a brand new year, New Year’s resolutions like "this year I'm going to doing it, I'm going to drop that weight, I'm going to get in shape, and I’m going to stick with it" and that gym will be packed in January.  In September, we're getting back in the roll of things.  We're getting the kids back in school.  Going to get that budget working finally. That gym will be full.  Here's the good news though (it's probably not very nice); I know that in about a month, it'll be back to normal again.  I was thinking what a microcosm, what a smaller picture of life that is.  How very often, our attempts to make positive change in our life, a change for the better, wind up being painfully temporary, incredibly frustration.  Next Sunday, God willing, I'm starting a brand new series and we have something special tonight as well.  Tonight Dr. Brady Blevins from the Watchmen Fellowship in Arlington is going to be here.  We're moving all our services to the auditorium and he's going to be speaking on understanding Islam.  With all that we have in the news about radical Islam, what they believe, and what the Quran teaches, and all of that.  There will be handouts; it's going to be incredibly informative to understand what this religion teaches and more than that, to understand if you have Muslim neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, how you can be a positive light in their life and how you can share the beauty of Jesus with them.  So tonight we'll all be [in the auditorium].  Next Sunday, we'll be starting a new series entitled Change your Life for Good.  If you've ever been on that hamster wheel of "this time it'll be better. I'm going to work harder. I'm going to do it. I know we have got to get the money straight. I've got to get this habit under control.” But it never lasts and that's not my topic today.

Today, I just want to ask you a question, and I don't want you to answer it out loud, I just want to ask you the question “how are you?” Honestly, I’m finding out increasingly the value of this.   I wish that I could sit down, one-on-one with every single person in this auditorium, and just take a minute and look you right in the eye and say “tell me how you're doing”. We ask that question casually to each other, right? “How are you?” “I’m good.” But when somebody really asks us that, I can't tell you how many times that I’ve been in that scenario. Where I look somebody in the eye and said “tell me how you're doing” or frankly a close friend or somebody I love reached over to me and said “Brian tell me how you're doing”. I can't tell you how often the individual being asked that question immediately breaks down in tears. Some of you right as I’m speaking feel moved by that question. “How are you?” In the text were about to read, Jesus Christ is standing in front of this Incredibly diverse crowd, much like I am this morning - all different ages, all different backgrounds, all different life settings. There were dedicated followers of His. There were religious leaders that were frankly skeptical if not outright hostile. There were curious spectators, people who just weren't sure who He was or what he was doing, but wanted to find out. And there were just plain miracle seekers. They were just there because they thought “Maybe He's going to do something spectacular. Maybe we'll get a meal out of it. Maybe we'll get a miracle out of it.”

But here's the thing, Jesus who doesn't see people in photographs, didn't see like we see in exterior He sees in x-rays. He sees right down to your heart, right down to your motives, right down to what you really feel, and what you really believe.  Listen Jesus is standing in front of that crowd, sees and knows exactly how they're doing, body and soul. And the One who sees and the One who knows says this in our text, 

Matthew 11:28 [I’ve preached and taught this text a lot of times I’m still not over it] 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Father, we come before you this morning knowing that we’re always before you. You're here. You see. You know. And yet seeing and knowing everything, You invite. You tell us to come to You. And today Lord I felt so strongly as I’m studying for this other series (and that's on my mind) and all the possibilities of how we human beings really change, and yet God today this was the message, and the songs Brandon picked, and all of it syncs up. Lord I just know today this is what you have. So Spirit fill it, use it for Your glory and our good.  It’s in Christ's name I pray, Amen.

Two things in this text that jump immediately off the page: Jesus... who sees, Jesus... who knows exactly where they are, exactly where you are, first of all describes their true condition and secondly He makes them an offer. He says, I know this is where you really are.  Not what you tell people, not the appearance you try to put on to make yourself more palatable for public distribution, but the real you.  I know exactly your true condition and I’ve got something for you, right in the middle of where you really are.

First of all their condition described...
There are a few terms that I would use to describe their condition that may be yours today The first one is a powerful word RESTLESS. Restless - that lonely, unsettled feeling that there's something missing, something undone, something incomplete. I'm telling you, for most of my life, this has been a tremendous struggle that I didn't even understand. It’s in quiet times, times where I wasn't out doing something, I wasn't occupied with some pursuit, times when I’m on the couch, times with the family, times where the TV is off.  I get this feeling, this “hair-shirted” discomfort, this restlessness like something's off, something is not done.  I’ve told you I'm a believer in counseling; in this last year, going through all that stuff, the depression, then ultimately an eating disorder and all that stuff.  Finding out from this counselor, he said “let’s examine those. Let’s find out what is that thing when you feel that restlessness.” And in talking about it, what he came down to is this: that is based in performance. You feel like, “I got to do something more to be okay with me. I got to do something more to be acceptable to people.” Jesus described this as a restlessness of soul. You want your soul is? It's the real you beyond the merely physical. Your mind, will, and emotions.  Your personality - that thing that makes you, you. Jesus said, the Creator of life said, that [thing] can be incredibly restless something’s off and I don't know what it is. Somebody listen, that's why when you get in the car, and it's quiet, you're by yourself, you will immediately reach for that radio knob.  That's why some of you are always, always, always on twitter, always on Facebook, always on social media.  If there's a moment's pause in the action, that discomfort, the restlessness starts bubbling to the surface and it's so miserable you’ll do almost anything to head that off at the pass. They were restless.

Here's the second thing...
They had bought into the saving power of more. They bought into the saving power of more.  Man alive, is this not 2016? If you're restless, if everything's not right in your life, if something's missing here's what you need. You need to have more money. You need to have more status. You need to have more possessions; you need to have a better body. You need to have more sex appeal. You need to have more education. You need to have more status. Maybe you need to do more. Maybe you need to do more hobbies.  Do more vacations, do more drugs, drink more alcohol, have more partners. You need to be more, you need to be more educated, be more athletic, be more qualified, be more loving, be more moral, be more religious, be more spiritual. Whatever it is, if I could just be, have, do that I wouldn't feel like this. That's exactly where they were 2,000 years ago y'all. I know sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking like, “man if only I lived 2,000 years ago, things would have been so much easier.” Really? I don't know about you, but I love having running water and like a toilet. That’s a really good thing to me, right? I love that we're not living like in Roman occupation. There are a lot of good things about living in America in 2016. And here's the deal, humans have always been humans. We've always wrestled with this same garbage. They were wrestling with it then; we're wrestling with it now. They were restless and they, like us, had bought into the saving power of more.

Here's the third way Jesus described them.  They were restless, chasing after something more, and the pursuit had left them unbearably burdened; BURDENED. Kathe Koja wrote this:
Everyone is cored by that existential void, the deep hole in the heart that cries for radiance; our entire consumer culture is [built] on the belief that, if you stuff enough things down that hole, you can finally satisfy it into silence. [But] that has never been the case. [Paraphrased] Creativity won't do it, sex won't do it, art won't do it, and even love can't fill that hole.

So here's what happens, at the end of all that “more”, they find they are not only now still restless, still lonely, still “hair-shirted discomfort”; now they are weighed down by a thousand and one obligations, addictions, expectations. Now I got my kids plugged into 75 things a week and I’ve got to take them to all of them. I’m running myself ragged to the point of exhaustion but I can't stop. Now I’m working so many hours I’m flat exhausted. I’m still in debt but now I’m stressed as well. Whatever the burden might be, it's on your heart, it's on your shoulder, that’s on your life.  I want to ask you this morning... Man, I know this is personal. Oh, this is personal. It’s personal for me too. Some of you as I’m talking (and don't you dare think it's the words) the Spirit of God is moving your heart you’re like, “that's exactly where I’m at! That's exactly where I’m at, and preacher I know you're going to have like some solution that's all hyper-spiritual and I ain’t that spiritual. I wish I was. I don't know how to get off that hamster wheel. I don't know how to climb off that treadmill and but that's so much a part of the fiber of my life. Wearing the right thing, and saying the right thing, and impressing people... I don't know how to stop. So please don't give me something so high that I can't reach it. That I can't do it. That I can't go there.”

Are you restless this morning? If you are, I want to ask you this question. Nobody needs to answer out loud: What's your functional Jesus? What's your functional savior? I'm not asking you who your savior is because nine-tenths of you would say Jesus Christ is my savior. I'm asking who or what you turn to when you're restless. That's your functional savior. Is it food? Has been for me for a lot of years, man. You know what? A lot of us use that like other people use cocaine or alcohol to numb away the pain. Is it work?  Is it sex?  Pornography? Trying to wear the right thing, to do the right thing, attain the right thing? Who are you turning to, to fill that hole in the middle of your soul? And can I ask you that old Dr. Phil question (though I’m not a huge Dr. Phil fan): How's that working for you? Because I got to tell you for me, hadn't worked very well at all.

Thank God, thank Jesus He knows exactly where they are. He knows exactly where you are. The title of this sermon, listen to me, is Jesus Knows. Jesus knows.  And instead of crossing His arms, and instead of clenching His fists, He opens up his Hand and here's what He says, (gets me every time)

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

What is He saying when He says “come to me..”? You know what He's saying first of all? Listen to me. He's saying come as you are. Come as you are. Some of your like, “Man I wish I could be this, but I can't.” He's saying forget about trying to be that. Come as you are! He didn't say come to Me when you're better. He didn't say come to Me when you're more. He said come to Me when you're less, come to Me when you're less than you ever thought you were. When you're restless, when you're busted up, when you fail for the hundred and fifteenth time, come to Me when you're hurt, come to Me when you're drowning in obligations. Don't try to clean it up, don't let your pride banish you, and don't let your shame keep you away! Come to Me. I've got rest and I can give it to you!

Listen, you know what the real problem is y’all?  It's not that Jesus won't take us, it's that we banish ourselves through either pride “I'm not going to do it; I’m going to try my way, that's boring, that's hard, that's legalistic, that's puritanical. I don't believe really in my heart that Jesus is all that good so I’m just going to keep doing this. It ain’t really working and it's not really great, but it's better than that. Pride or shame, “you don't know what I’ve done, Preacher. You don't know how far I’ve gone. Jesus couldn't possibly use this. I’m not good enough. I’m not right enough. I’m not smart enough.”  Either one will banish you when all the while the Son of God is saying, Come on, I’ll take you like you are. Come on.

It means come as you are. You know what else it means?  Come to a person, not a system. Man alive, if you're still in here with me say Amen. Come to a person not a system. A whole lot of us, when we hear “come to me” here's what we think: Well I really do need to read my bible more. Well I really do need to pray more. I do need to be in church more often. There’s this whole list of additional obligations, and frankly that doesn’t give you any hope because you're like “I’ve already got obligations that are drowning me. Adding five more, it's going to sink me!”

Friend, I want to tell you something, listen to me: your salvation is not found in religion. Your salvation is not found in a system. Your salvation isn’t found in a list of do's and don'ts. Your salvation is found in a person, Jesus Christ the Son of God and the bible is a means of chasing Him. Coming together with believers, all of whom are just as banged up as you (and if you're in here and you think you're not banged up you may be more banged up than the rest of us). Let me say that again... *speaks deeply into the microphone* If you're here and you think you're not banged up you may be more banged up than the rest of us.  *laughter* I can't do that with my lapel mics, I’m going to utilize this for all it's worth.

The truth is,  all of those things that if we're not careful we make ends in and of themselves: scripture, prayer, worship, community, church.  Those are pathways to a living Savior.  I want to know Him, I want to chase Him, and I’m going to feel Him.  I want to walk with Him.  Listen don't make any of that stuff an end in and of itself; that's exhausting. Make it a means of getting to Jesus.  I was talking with somebody recently and somebody had shared this with me and it blessed my heart...

If I am digging for buried treasure, I'm going to need some implements. I’m going to need a pick, I’m going to need a shovel to get down to the treasure, but you know what? It would be foolhardy of me to make a treasure out of the shovel. It would be stupid of me to make the goal of my life the pickaxe. But I tell you what; I’m never going to get to the treasure without that stuff.  The word, prayer, community, are our ways to get down to the treasure that is Jesus Christ.

An offer extended, “come to me” and He says take my yoke upon you and learn of me”  Now, we have a vague understanding when we hear “yoke”.  That's that wooden instrument placed around the neck of two oxen to pull a plow, to pull load of some sort, and I think I’ve heard preachers and commentators talk about, Ok Jesus is saying I’m the one pulling, its My energy, it's My work, just link up with Me and let Me do the pulling.  I don't think that's bad, but I think we do need to understand that in Jesus’ day and culture, the most impressive calling that a person could have was to be a Rabbi; to be a teacher of the Hebrew scriptures. I mean in that culture, that was the tops. And interestingly enough a Rabbis thinking, his philosophy, his particular interpretation of scripture, guess what it was referred to as: His yoke. So whenever a Rabbi chooses an apprentice they call them their “Talmudine”, a disciple. It was a tremendous honor. 

He would ask this young pupil “come take my yoke, my teaching, my thinking, my way upon you, become my disciple. This is an honor, I'm choosing you, come walk with me, take my yoke on you.” The boy would then leave everything.  He’d leave his home, leave his mom, leave his dad, leave the synagogue, he’d leave the community, he would devote his entire life to being with, and like, that Rabbi.  He followed his teacher so closely that one of the Jewish sages was quoted as saying this “may you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi. “ You're walking so close with them that the dust of their feet is covering you.  Jesus said I want you to be My disciple. I want you to take My way, My learning, My teaching on you. I want you to leave behind thinking that your job is your identity. You're not a lawyer, you're not a teacher, you're not an athlete, you're not student, you are mine. Those things are secondary. I'm calling you with the highest calling there is; not to do, but to be. Come be with Me. Come walk so close with Me that My dust gets all over you. Can you imagine? Listen that was the highest of callings. That's what we think, “Well yeah, for that gifted one, for that beautiful one, for that holy one; God would call them to that.” No, listen, what Jesus said a couple of verses earlier in

Matthew 11:25-26

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Listen to me, He wants you. He's calling you. That restlessness you feel, and do almost anything to get away from, is the greatest gift God could ever give you. It will save your life if you let it; because He's calling you finally to come on. You're not going to do it perfectly. You're going to mess it up all along the way, that's alright. He knows. Jesus knows.  “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek [approachable, gentle, calm, unspeakably powerful but that power is controlled] and lowly in heart [I’m not too good to be around you]: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

One author paraphrased these verses and I want to close this: Come to me and I will give you rest, all of you who works so hard beneath a heavy load. Come wear my yoke, it fits perfectly.

 

"Jesus Knows" Brian Loveless Sermon on August 21, 2016 at Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Prairie, Texas.
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What is faith?

That was gorgeous on so many levels.  I feel like the Holy Spirit took those words this morning.  Somebody out there; that was just what you needed.  I want you to to know that God was speaking that to you.

The past number of weeks, God’s had this one thing on my heart night and day, when it comes to my life, when it comes to the life of this church.  It’s this phrase: TAKE A STEP OF FAITH.

I’ve been asking this question, what is it in your life that God is challenging you to trust Him in?  What relationship is it in your life?  Maybe busted like the song was talking about.  Maybe your marriage, kids, a grandchild who’s in trouble and God is telling you, “I want you to trust Me.  I want you to step out.  Stop manipulating.  Stop talking.  Stop fretting.  Come and bring it to me. Trust me.”

There’s a relationship you need to end, but it’s hard.  There’s a lot of emotional attachment there.  God’s called you to take a step of faith and trust Him.  Do that hard thing, believing that the Lord will be with you.  I don’t know what it is.  It could be a habit, an addiction, and God wants it in 2016 to go.  He is calling you up higher.  It is time.  God is saying for you to “come seek Me in My word.  I want you to read the Word. I want you to get hungry like you haven’t been hungry in a long time.  I want you to get humble like you haven’t been in a long time.  It’s time.  I want you to see me.  Want you on  your face in prayer.  Come after Me. Take that step of faith.  Stop being satisfied with being dissatisfied.”

Take a step of faith.  I don’t know what it is for you, but this morning I want to pose a terribly important question.  If faith is this critical thing in the scriptures...
Can I say? It is! From Genesis to Revelation.

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please (God)…

Without these steps of faith, it doesn’t matter what your spiritual resume looks life.  You can’t please Him.

Hebrews 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith…

It’s supposed to be the life blood of your spiritual walk.  Somebody wrote this:

“Faith is all important in the life of the soul.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Faith will get me anything, take me anywhere in the Kingdom of God, but without faith there can be no approach to God, no forgiveness, no deliverance, no salvation, no communion, no spiritual life at all.”

I can promise you this, every single breathing soul in this auditorium, up in the balcony, back in our children’s wing; God is calling you to take some step of faith.  But that begs a very important question:

WHAT IS FAITH?
I know we call have notions about what faith is, especially if you’ve been in church for a while.

  • Is faith simply a feeling in your gut like anger, or attraction, or indigestion?  I feel like this thing is going to happen, so I must have faith.  Or if you don’t feel something is going to happen, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I guess I just don’t have faith.

  • If you ask the Biblicist “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.”  (What does that mean?)

How do I take a step of faith?  What does that look like?  Should I feel nothing?  Should I feel something?  Do I do nothing?  Do I do something?  How do I know where God is calling me to step out in faith and Preacher, what would it look like if I did. 

We are going to look to an appropriate place to find our answer this morning.  We’re going to look to what has been called the “Faith Chapter” in the Bible (Hebrews 11) and go further than that and look at the specific illustration of a man who was referred to as the “Father of the Faithful” to find out exactly what faith is. 

Hebrews 11:8-11  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed (to have a baby), and was delivered of a child when she was past (baby havin’) age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

We’re going to take Abraham, the father of the faithful, and we’re going to go back to Genesis and unpack this.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t deal with “vagueries”, with just concept.  I need it simpler, plainer than that.  If faith is this important God, and if You’re calling me to do it, Lord please tell me what it is! We’re going to see precisely what it is this morning in the life of Abraham (Genesis 11).  So turn, click, flip, power up, rainman it, whatever. 

Before we start looking at particular instances let me tell you this; faith is always three things. 
Faith is:
Knowledge – Belief – Subsequent Behavior
(Head – Heart – Hand)

Genesis 11:27-31  Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram (who became Abraham), Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees (that’s a city). 29And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren; she had no child.  31And Terah (Abraham’s Daddy) took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Not overly fascinating at first glance.  It really just looks like Terrah living in a city called Ur of the Chaldees, which is modern-day Iraq.  By the way, they have found all sorts of remnant of this place and it’s a fascinating study if you want to look up Ur and a ruler named Ur-Nammu and the ziggurat he built.  This is an incredibly advanced city; it was like the mecca of modern civilization back in that day.  Had advancements that other cities couldn’t dream of – it was the place to be!  Terrah had his family there, raising them in Ur of the Chaldees.  At some point, the bible says he gets stirred up by something to go to the Canaan.  He only makes it as far as a city called Haran; so he moves his family there and he stays there.  That doesn’t tell us a whole lot about Abraham, it simply tells us Abraham went with his daddy.  He takes his wife Sarah, who the Bible makes a very important parenthetical note to tell us she can’t have children.  So at first glance, maybe Terrah got a better job. Maybe Terrah was like “I’m tired of the fast-paced city life. I want to move a little out of here.”  Get to and maybe “I don’t want to be in Canaan, maybe we’ll stop short.”  What I want to tell you is there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

Do you remember in the first message of this year, I preached a message on Stephen. This man of God and he stands up in front of the Sanhedrin in the book of Acts and he preaches this gorgeous sermon.  The bible says his face was glowing like an angel and he is filled with the Holy Spirit.  Stephen in Acts 7 tells this same story, but gives us details Genesis didn’t give us.  This is what Stephen tells us: 

Acts 7:2-3  2And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran (HARAN) (God appeared to Abraham when he was in Ur of the Chaldees, BEFORE they ever moved),3And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred (your family), and come into the land which I shall shew thee. 

Abraham in Ur, God speaks to him and says, “Abraham, I want you to leave your Daddy. I want you to leave what you know and what you’ve grown up with. I want you to leave the land...” which to the people of that day was everything.  “I want you to leave behind what you know and come out to a place you don’t know.  I want you to take a step of faith and trust Me.” They make it as far as Haran, but they don’t make it all the way to where God called them.  OK?  We’re going to come back to that. 

·         Knowledge
What we are seeing is God calling this, what will one day be the Father of the Faithful.  Calling him to his first steps of faith and it starts with Knowledge.  Here’s what I mean:

Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith always starts with God telling you “this is what I want you to do.  This is how I want you to live.  This is how I want you to treat your wife or husband.  This is how I want you to raise your kids.  This is how I want you to interact with your schoolmates and the citizens around you.  This is how I want you to worship me and relate to me.  These are the things I want you to avoid and these are the things I want you to do.”  God says to Abraham, “I want you to trust Me and leave it all behind. Take a step of faith, leave your Daddy behind, and come on out.”  It starts with the word of God and knowing what He says.  Here’s the thing friends, this book is filled with instruction on how God wants us to conduct our marriage.  How God wants us to raise our kids.  What our values should be in this pagan land around us.  Where He wants us to invest our time, money, abilities.  There are all these things God calls us to.  All these things that He tells us, “This is My will for you”.  There are also times when God takes a passage, and I’ll tell you He’s done this with me, that wasn’t originally written for you; it may have been written to Abraham or written to Moses, but God illuminates that thing and it shines on your heart and the Lord says, “I want you to do that. I want you to follow Me like that.”  You say, “how will I know if that’s coming from God?”  Because it will be consistent with [the bible].  God will NEVER tell you to do something He told you not to do in the Word.  God will never lead you in a way that He wouldn’t lead you through this book.  It starts with the Word from God.  Let me ask you this, before we go any further, how important is it that we gather together in the House of God to find out what He said?  How important is it that we gather in Sunday School classes to break this book down a little bit?  How important is it that we spend time each day in the Word and say, “God, you invented life.  Tell me how to live it.  You invented this beating heart, breathing lungs, firing neurons. God show me how to live.” Faith starts with KNOWLEDGE of what God said about your life.

You know I like three points, so here’s the first one:

THOUGHT #1:  The Word of God will most often contradict your perception, understanding, and intuition.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 13  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good report.  3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.  Here’s what he’s saying, God tells you life, the world, and He work in way that you can’t physically perceive. When He created the universe... you know what evolution is?  It’s man’s lame attempt to try to figure out how we all got here.  There must be some linear “this” must’ve crashed into “this” and this explode... instead of saying “You know what, maybe there’s a God in Heaven who’s so big and vast beyond my comprehension that He just spoke it into existence.”

Faith, most often, is not you go with your gut.  Faith, most often, is not you projecting out in the future; “you know, I wouldn’t mind marrying them.  I think they’d make me happy.  I think that line of work would be the one that I ought to follow, that seems like it would make me money and give me a good life.  I think if someone does this to me, my natural response should be to do this to them.” 

You know what?  Faith is God telling you your natural response will be wrong about 99% of the time.  Faith is God saying “Listen, I am asking you to step out on things that you wouldn’t naturally do.”  We’ve been studying the beatitudes in Sunday Schoool: love your enemies, bless those who persecute you, love those that hate you?  Who comes up with that on their own?  What’s natural is, “if you’re nice to me, I’ll be so sweet to you but the moment you cross me, I will break you.”
“You want to talk about me, if I hear about it, you’re going to know about it.” 
“You want to hurt me, want to hurt my family, I’ll crush you.” 
That’s natural. 

Jesus said, we are so warped by sin that what we think is natural, is unnatural.  We have it so flipped upside down, when Jesus said love you enemies, it seemed upside down to us that He said that. 

What is faith?  It is going with God’s version of how your life should be lived and saying, “Lord, you know what?  I hear you.  I’m going to trust you. “

Here’s Abraham, and he knows God’s called him to do it, but it goes against everything in his gut.  “I’m going to leave behind my kindred, my family?  I’m going to leave this city that has a lot going for it and go out in the boonies with dangerous people and not know what’s going to happen to me?”  And he’s just a human being, not a superhero.  He struggles with that. 

So here’s the next piece of this puzzle.  Faith starts with Knowledge of God’s Word.  In a particular area of your life, no matter how you feel, what you think, what your gut tells you, God says “this is the way I want you to do it.  This is what I want you to believe.  That’s what I want to do.” He knows it but here’s the next step.


·         Belief & Behavior

Faith is Knowledge, Belief, and Behavior.  You know I like three points, but I can’t separate belief and behavior.  They go together – INSEPARABLY.  In other words, if you don’t act on it, you don’t really believe it yet.

James 2:19-20  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20But wilt thou know, O vain (FOOLISH) man, that faith without works is dead? 

You say, “God I believe Jesus.  I believe you’re the one and only Savior.  I know it and I BELIEVE in Jesus.”  But Jesus says, “listen, if it doesn’t go past there to actually expressing itself through your life, you don’t really believe it.”

That’s not faith if it’s dormant somewhere in the regions of your academic understanding.  You know what Tony Evans said one time and I’ve never forgotten it, he said “if you want to know about your faith, don’t check your feelings, check your feet.  That’s what you really believe.”  Some of us are like “Oh man, I’m in trouble”  Well, I guess so was Abraham.  Now there’s a little conjecture here on my park, OK, but I believe (and I think it’s justifiable to the text) Abraham gets this word from God, “Abraham, I want you to trust me.  I want you to step out. I want you to leave your family.  I want you to come on out of that land and go with me.” And Abraham’s like, Lord, you know I want to follow you, I want to do the right thing, but maybe I can leave some of the family... Some of those cousins I’m not crazy about, a brother in law about there like I’ll leave that dude behind  but I can’t leave my Daddy.  And Lord, you know, Canaan is pretty scary and I don’t know.  I’ll talk Daddy into coming with me to Haran.  It hadn’t made it to his hand or behavior yet.  Listen, this is where a bunch of us are living, 99% obedience.

I’ll give you a little bit God but I’m also going to put a toe in the water, but keep the rest of me out so if you don’t keep your promise I can bail out of this thing.  You know something?  I read in the AA book, which has a lot of good stuff by the way, these alcoholics said we have learned that half measures availed us nothing.  Abraham doesn’t trust God enough yet, he doesn’t have enough faith to do what the Lord said to do.  Look what happens,

Genesis 11:31-32   And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Before we go to far here, you can easily read into this, oh Abraham wouldn’t obey God so God killed his Daddy.  I don’t believe that’s the way to frame that at all but I will tell you this:

THOUGHT #2:  God will use your pain to strengthen your faith.

When his Dad died, I think it shook Abraham hard.  It jolted him and now some of the stuff he used to love so much, he didn’t love as much anymore.  Some of the stuff that captivated him and kept him a little bit scared a little bit cautious didn’t seem to matter anymore.  He shook off some stuff .  Some of the stuff that he believed about life when his Daddy died, changed his view.  Changed his beliefs. God let Abraham get shaken hard. 

This may be a sermon later so I don’t go too far, but even that section where Jesus tells Peter the devil (some translations say) has demanded to have you that he may sift you like wheat, but I’ve prayed for you that your faith will not fail.  FAITHFUL.  And when you get turned around again, strengthen your brothers.  Satan has demanded to have you that he may sift you like wheat. 

You know how wheat gets sifted?  They put those wheat kernels in with all the stuff.  You really want the wheat between all the stuff.  They shake it.  Shake it hard and the stuff falls through, but the wheat is left. God says, you know what?  Job-style, the devil thinks, Peter, if you get shaken hard your faith will fall through. He thinks you’ve only been serving me for what you can get.  He thinks you’ve only been following me because I’ll bless you. But, Peter I’ve prayed for you.  I know there’s more than that.  I know there’s faith there.  Peter gets shaken hard in his faith doesn’t fall through, thank God.  Do you know what falls through? His self-confidence, pride, arrogance, and his belief that he can do it.  Some of you are being shaken hard and it’s not because God’s forgotten about you or hates you.  He is going to shake out some stuff.  He’s going to shake off some old beliefs that enable you to trust Him to take this step.  Some of you, I love you, are dwelling in the same old land you’ve been in forever; half-hearted steps, half-hearted commitment.  I’ll be here, I won’t be here.  I’ll follow you, I won’t follow you.  I live in sin, I’ll be back.  I’m telling you, I love you, if you’re His, he’s going to shake you hard.

You know what?  After it, you’re going to trust him.  I gotta move on... God will use your pain to strengthen your faith.  Here’s Abraham.  God gave him a Word, “Abraham trust me.  Step out.  Leave the land, leave your daddy...” 

“God, I’m not quite ready.  I’ll do this....” Life hits him hard.

Genesis 12:1-7  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:  2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:  3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

That is a promise to Abraham the father of the Jewish people.  That is still a promise to the Jewish people.  Can I say?  When you bless the Jewish people, God blesses you.  When you curse the Jewish people, God will curse you.  Sometimes I pray that our country and our President could re-remember that.

4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Do you see that? 

THOUGHT #3:  When you take a step of faith – God will show Himself to you.

I have a little boy, Vance, he comes up with the funniest things.  He’s like his Mom; that’s one of the things I love about Jenny, she is razor quick.  Vance has got that same thing.  He got up the other morning, I’m trying to have a little time with the Lord, and he gets up so early.  I’m like, “hey bud, don’t you want to go back to sleep for a little bit?”  He goes, “Dad, once I’m awake, it’s over.”  He told me the other day, I was barbecuing some chicken and he came out there.  We’re having some guy time: daddy, son, BBQ, meat, smoke time and he asked me, if he could flip them and we were talking.  There was a real beautiful red sky, some of you saw that red sky that night.  He said, “you know Dad, sometimes I see that, clouds like that, the red sky, and I think about when Jesus comes back.”  And I was like, “Oh yeah, me too son.  I think the same thing sometimes.” I love his honesty, he said, “I sure hope that when I die and Jesus comes back that I go with him and I get to go to heaven because you know you really can’t know...”  [laughing]  I love his honesty, he’s like “I haven’t been to heaven, I haven’t seen it.”  You know what I told him?  And I don’t know if he got his yet, told him, “Son here’s the thing, Jesus is real and you can’t see Him with your eyes and hear Him with your ears, but when you see Him and you take a step of faith, when you do what He told you to do, He will show himself very real to you.  You will know that you’re his.   You know what he said, “is the chicken ready?  Can I turn the chicken?”  I was like “well I got that one second there Lord, I’ll take it!” 

CONCLUSION:  
Knowledge – Belief – Behavior(Head – Heart – Hand)

What is the step of faith God is calling you to take? If you don’t know, can I promise you, He wants to tell you.  Some of you are here and the truth is, just like Vance, you can say with honesty, “I don’t know.”  Like we were singing and playing about, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done.  Your little efforts of coming to God on your own will only get in the way.  Like somebody drowning, trying to help the lifeguard.  Jesus will save you by His sacrifice and His sacrifice alone.  He can forgive all your sins.  He can give you His righteousness.  You know what, your one part in that thing is?  I believe that I’m a sinner.  I believe Jesus that you have the power to save me.  I believe that the bible says you’re real and you’re true.  Jesus, today I’m asking you to be my Lord and Savior and forgive my sins and come into my heart. My friend, he’ll do it today! Can I get an amen from those who know him?  He’ll do it today!  For the rest of us, somebody in here, you know what’s getting in your way? You’re ashamed of yourself.  You feel like He couldn’t take somebody like you.  I want to tell you something, He can and He will.  Take a step of faith.  Ask Him to increase your faith.  Trust Him in the little things.  You know, the statement for our church is we’re here to help people become wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ.  I’m not sure that’s not too big for people. I think people get freaked out when they hear that.  You know what our mission is, to help people take a step of faith.  That’s it.  Not jump over tall buildings in a single bound.  Take a step of faith today. 

We’re going to have a verse of invitation.  If you need to come talk to God this morning, if He stood you up and maybe your first step needs to be this morning right down to an alter saying “Lord, I’m serious about this.”  There’s no magical power to this part, but sometimes you feel the need to physically step out and do something.  If you need to come and pray, amen.  If you need to come talk to a counselor, take me by the hand and I’ll have Ron or one of our folks talk to you at length on whatever you need to talk about.  Set up something for this week if you need longer.  But all over this place, can we take this truth we just heard personally?  May God just do what only He can do.  I leave it at that.  Let God do whatever He wants to do this morning.  If you need to come right now, we’ve prayed, we’ve talked, I invite you, God invites you.  Whatever it is, whatever you need to bring to him, whatever step of faith you need to take, let’s step out right now all over this place while Brandon leads us.
 

"What Is Faith?" Brian Loveless Sermon on January 24, 2016 at Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Prairie, Texas.
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