Facing Your Fears Through Faith

Anything worthwhile involves some level of risk. That's where a life of faith comes in, especially as we seek to stand firm as followers of Jesus Christ. Being a Christian may appear to be risky at times, but we must not let fear flatten our faith!

Unfortunately, there are times when the fear factor will cause us to melt at the first sign of adversity rather than believing that God is for us so, "...who can be against us?" Romans 8:31. How many times have we had the opportunity to stand up for Who and what we believe in? Yet when someone louder, bigger, more important, or someone that's perceived as smarter than we are speaks up, we shut up instead of speaking up. And what is it about our hurts, habits, or hang-ups that keep us hiding them in the dark rather than bringing them into the light where we can have victory over them?

This weekend we're going to examine a portion of The Exodus (14:1-31) and discover how God's people fell prey to the same weaknesses, frustrations, and shortsightedness as we do. They thought God had led them into an impossible situation; they were right on both counts! God had indeed led them and at least from their point of view, it was an impossible situation. (See Exodus 13:18 & 14:13-14) You might say it was something that only God could do; and you'd be right!

So how do we learn to trust in God and overcome fear? As our series summary statement teaches us... Trusting God in what we can't see by what we can see!

See you this weekend!

Overboard: Stepping Out Into a Life of Faith

Here's our working definition of faith for this month:
Trusting in what you can't see because of what you can see.

What does it mean to have faith? Is it just a church word that really doesn't make a difference in who you are or how you live? Can a person live by faith yet deny the foundations of it? In this series we will go Overboard with facts about faith and the difference having or not having it makes in your everyday life.

Week 1 When Faith Changes Your Life

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 Who wouldn't say, "I'd like to have more faith in my life!" this first week will look at: What is faith? What are the benefits? What will it do for me? What difference can it make in my life?

Week 2 Facing Your Fears Through Faith

"The Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians and they were terrified and they cried out to the Lord." Exodus 14:10 What is it that has you terrified, or as we would say it today, scared to death? There's always the lurking 'what ifs' in life when we just don't know what to do next. Maybe, just maybe, God's setting you up for a miracle!

Week 3 Believing Through the Life of Christ

Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you". Matthew 9:29 What are you expecting from God? Do you really believe He can and will deliver or is just a pipe dream and something He would do for others but not for you? We will discover that God's best is realized through a life lived through faith in Christ.

Week 4 When Faith's Foundations Crumble

"But those who listen and don't obey are like a man who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it crumbles into a heap of ruins." Luke 6:49 We will take an in depth look at God and Country during this Independence Day message. Are we still "one nation under God"? What would that look like in our culture today? Don't miss this powerful conclusion to this series as we encourage the people of God to return to the values God prescribed for us long ago.

Could It Be...

That the reason the 21st Century church isn't experiencing the power of the First Church of Jerusalem is because we refuse to have the same level of commitment? Randy Frazee in his Book The Connecting Church, points out that the problem with the lack of power in the church today could be our lack of connectedness. Randy says this:

"There's a powerful passage in Acts 2:43 that says, They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

"If you read the next several verses, you'll see the outcome of their community devotion: Miracles took place, people's lives were being changed, the believers cared deeply and sacrificially for each other, new people were coming to know Christ - and as a result their group grew rapidly. The Bible says they even enjoyed a spectacular reputation in the surrounding community. But there is one aspect of their fellowship most modern-day believers overlook - how often they got together: "Every day they continued to meet together.""

Our 'community' at TVCC is Life Groups. How are you connected and how are you caring for 'one another' within your group? I think Randy just might be on to something here!

RADICAL INCLUSIVENESS

This message of forgiveness - what's it all about and how far does it reach? Can just anyone be saved? What about those groups we mentioned in the sermon "Finding Faith in Troubled Homes" (May 10th)? Are they included too? What is the FAITH that will repair and rebuild fractured homes?

Too many times we have the tendency to classify sins, i.e. the bad ones vs. the good ones. The best I can read, there aren't any good ones! We may give them degrees or rank and order, but we don't make the rules, God does! Too many times, we relish in the list that we exclude ourselves from such as Romans 1 where Paul says:

That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:26-27 (NLT)

But that passage has been prefaced by verse 18 which says:

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Romans 1:18 (NLT)

Then we have to realize that, "All sinful, wicked people" includes:

"Lives... full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
Romans 1:29-31 (NLT)

Hopefully we're involved less and less in this list of 'good sins' which at times, point directly to all of our hearts. You see, the Gospel is RADICALLY INCLUSIVE! For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)

Here's the bad news: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, (here's the Good News) but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (ESV)

And...

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)

Radical? YES! Inclusive? YES! We all have sinned and our best efforts fall short of the perfection we must have in order to receive God's forgiveness. But Jesus Christ radically saves everyone who comes to Him in repentance so that we may find mercy and grace and eternal salvation. What an AWESOME, ALL INCLUSIVE GOD we serve!

Mission Impossible

S Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

O To be on mission with God through our own provision of good deeds and great efforts is impossible; it will never bring salvation. Only God, who established the way back home has the remedy through Christ.

A Since only Jesus can fulfill the mission of redemption for us, then we have nothing to bring to the dance except faith that what is impossible for us, is possible with God. Christ was good and He completed the mission for us.

P Lord Jesus - thank you for making the way to your house so very clear; you marked it well! May we leave a clear path as well. AMEN!