Promises: Crazy Faith - 2 Timothy 2:13

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Crazy Faith!
“I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18b-19 ESV)  Have you ever experienced the conflict expressed in this well known verse? (If you say “No” we need to discuss a river in Egypt- “DENIAL”.) Paul is describing the believer who has lost sight of the promises and, is therefore, walking by sight rather than faith.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)
It has been said, “Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.” – Dr. J. Oswald Sanders. How many of us live in assurance of things hoped for? When was the last time you made a decision with the future in plain sight? Is that what people mean when they tell me “you just need more faith?” How do I know how much faith I have?

There are so many questions Satan uses to try to paralyze our ability to trust and obey God. But, God made those who follow Jesus a promise. - if we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13 ESV) God remains faithful to His promises even if we fail. That is CRAZY FAITH!

For by it [the faith of verse 1] the people of old received their commendation. (Hebrews 11:2 ESV) One of those “people of old” is Abraham, “the father of believing.” His example set the stage for the “trust and obey” relationship of God’s perfect love. Abraham believed God enough to act when He said, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3 ESV)

There were so many things Abraham didn’t know when it came time for God to show Abraham more details:

He didn’t know where - By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV)

He didn’t know how - By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. (Hebrews 11:11-12 ESV)

He didn’t know when - These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV)

And he didn’t know why - By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

God is worthy of great faith because He is ever faithful to those who believe in Him; today, through Jesus His Son. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 ESV)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23 ESV)

How do our human relationships affect our ability to “hold fast to our hope?”

For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. (Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. (Isaiah 25:1 ESV)

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Promises Kept: In our humanness it is very difficult to relate to God in a different way than we relate to everyone else. People fail us all the time. Even people we love and commit our lives to come up short and damage our ability to trust them. We fail people we really love and experience the effects of their diminished faith in our relationship. Ideally we would never measure our love for another based on performance, but we do. If we are going to grow in our ability to love people deeply we have to let God love through us. We shouldn’t apply human qualities to our divine relationship, that’s CRAZY. We must learn to “trust and obey.” By faith, let us all celebrate the sound of a loud “Yes Lord!”

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV)

Pull Up Yo Dross

Church in the home has its challenges. One of those, for some, is the challenge of involving and engaging the children. I personally see the teaching of the faith to my children as primarily my responsibility as their parent. Sure, I welcome the help of others who share our faith, but most of my children's religious education should and will come from me. So, house church works well for us since I am their primary source of teaching about the faith anyway.

This leads to what I'm about to tell you. The joys of involving children, in my opinion, far outweigh the challenges. Case in point was last Wednesday at our church:

We are still learning the hymn "How Firm a Foundation." We were discussin the verse text: "The flames shall not hurt thee, I only design/Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."

So I ask the children: "Do you know what 'dross' is?"
Levi replies: "Yeah! You mean like 'draws' right?" (gesturing to his pants.)

I then realize he is referring to "drawers," often pronounced in our city "drawwws" as in "Pull up yo' drawws, baby."

Of course, I cracked up!! We all did!! After which I high-fived my Levi. He's awesome!

I LOVE these moments! This experience (especially with my children) is priceless.

And yes, I did eventually explain the REAL definition of "dross."

Promises: Fear - 1 John 4:18

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

(Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: The two faces of fear
Most of the time we think of fear as an unpleasant emotion tied to something dangerous. Thankfully, fear has another side; the expression of awe or reverence. Surprisingly, both the Hebrews (yare) and the Greeks (eulabeomai) used just one word to communicate both definitions.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9 ESV)

Does the absence of fear mean we are not in danger?

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 24:37-39 NLT)

They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:27 ESV)

This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! (Genesis 6:9-13 NLT)

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7 ESV)

What does reverent fear look like today?

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31 ESV)

How will we encourage each other to live in this balance; walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit?
The new covenant gift of the constant presence of the Holy Spirit is a blessing beyond measure. Can you imagine what it might have been like to carry out some of the incredible acts of faith in Noah’s life under the old covenant? Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. (Genesis 6:22 ESV)

God’s promises also speak to the dark features of fear.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:14-15 NLT)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

If it is not in us as believers, why do we fear?
Could it be that we choose to live outside God’s promises in a prideful world of our own making?

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:26-27 ESV)

“Not as the world gives do I give to you” - 

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

   God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. (1 John 4:13-19 NLT)

Promises Kept: The very depth of God’s power over fear is His perfect love. When you live in God, in relationship and through His promises, this love will grow more perfect. Paul prayed this for all the saints, of which you are one, if you believe in Christ.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  (Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV)

What else is there to say?

Wednesday during our discussion on guilt, we continued with a hymn we are currently learning, "How Firm A Foundation." The first verse is:

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said?
To you who, for refuge, to Jesus have fled."

I found the words appropriate to our topic, particularly "What more can He say than to you He hath said?"

Often when wrestling with feelings of guilt (this is an activity I engage in often) I allow myself to be overwhelmed with a sense of guilt over something that wasn't my fault, was out of my control, or that has already been forgiven by Jesus. As the words to that hymn echoed through my living room, I realized: God has already said everything I need Him to say. In His Word I know He has loved me, forgiven me, and accepted me. He has borne my guilt for me. It's done. Enough said.

So I call for an end, in my own heart, to the wrestling matches with guilt. No more analyzing, agonizing, over-thinking and obsessing. What a waste of time and energy. He has already made His statement about my guilt. He needs not say any more. And I need not continue to question, especially since He has already answered.

In the kids corner: It was interesting to attempt to explain guilt to Levi (8) and Cameron (6). Some words we used to help them understand: "Sometimes we feel bad about something bad we've done. And sometimes we feel bad about something that's not our fault, but we feel like it's our fault anyway. How do you tell when a feeling of guilt is God trying to tell you He doesn't want you to continue to do a bad thing, and when it's just us feeling bad for something even though we can't help that thing or it really isn't our fault?" Again, we pointed to the hymn. Our foundation is laid in His excellent Word, which the boys enthusiastically knew was "the Bible!" So we talked about looking in the Bible to know if what we are doing is right or wrong, and we talked about not letting ourselves feel guilty for things that aren't our fault. We even talked a little about Hurricane Katrina and how we felt guilty to only lose part of our things when some of our neighbors lost all of theirs. We discussed how this type of guilt over something we couldn't help is not what God wants for us.

Levi had this story to tell: "It's like when you see someone fall down at school and it looks like they hurt themselves but you have to keep staying in line with your class and so you feel bad."
I'm still pondering on this one... That kid always makes me think.

Promises: Guilt - 1 John 3:20

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

(Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Guilt (feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy)
Guilt is an especially damaging feeling. Guilt and pride have caused more Christ followers to stumble than any other human weakness.

When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters.  Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him. (Genesis 5:21-24 NLT)

Other than genealogies there are only a couple more mentions of Enoch in the Bible.

Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:14-15 NLT)

It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:5-6 NLT)

Based on this letter from Jude we know that Enoch was an early prophet. Enoch was included on a short list of men and women in Hebrews 11 called the Hall of Faith. Each member of this noted society earned their place by exhibiting faith in God. In a wicked age, Enoch lived a dedicated life; he did this by trusting God’s Word. He believed that God would reward him for his faith, and God did so by taking him to heaven so that he did not die.

How do you know if God is pleased with you? – How do you do something “by faith?”

Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:20 NLT)

For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him. (2 Chronicles 30:9b)

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant . . . I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31, 34b ESV)

“God is bigger than our feelings.” For 300 years Enoch “walked in close fellowship with God.” It is impossible to think that he always felt like it. It is inconceivable to believe he never felt inadequate. As the ancient world watched he took it one step at a time, always striving to walk that much closer, until one day he was lifted up to a greater promise than this world can hold.

Promises Kept: Imagine a child, your child, running toward you across the lawn. Suddenly, your kid stumbles over a stick in the grass. When they get up, brush themselves off, and finish the charge into your arms, you are pleased. What if, they laid there in the turf whining and crying at the stick, then became resentful and angry at the stick. You wait with open arms, but they’re stuck at the stick. Are you pleased? – I don’t know? Do you still love them with all your heart? – Absolutely!

For many of us there are just too many times when we miss out on the rewards God has promised us because we are stuck in the feelings of guilt and inadequacy we have created for ourselves. Is it time for you to get up, brush yourself off, and finish the charge?

Promises: Patience - Hebrews 6:12

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Patience (bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint)

Why are some people more patient than others? What situations really test your patience?

There is a long standing warning from mature Christians about praying for patience. They will tell you that when you pray for patience God will shower you in trials to prove to you how much patience you already have in Him. That kind of fear, that something negative could result from prayer, contradicts God’s very nature.
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. (James 1:17 NLT)

However . . . 
The Greek word that Paul, James, Peter, and the writer(s) of Hebrews used, was most commonly translated as longsuffering until the 1970’s
makroqumia – makrothumia (mak-roth-oo-mee'-ah)
King James Word Usage - Total: 14 - longsuffering (12), patience (2) 1769 – the latest KJV
New American Standard Word Usage – Total 14 – patience (14) 1971
We must have lost our appetite for suffering.

Did your parents teach you to suffer well? Have you taught your children to suffer well?

To live in the promises is to suffer well.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:11-12 NASB)

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
(James 1:2-4 NLT)

For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. (1 Peter 2:19-20 NLT)

Promises Kept:
Day by day the followers of Christ are tested by the brokenness of this world. In China and Pakistan believers fear death. In the United States we fear the loss of our impact on a society that is becoming more human with each generation. As the Body of Christ we must help one another “suffer well.”

Promises: The Word of God is trustworthy and true. - Revelation 1:3

In this new message series we will explore some of the many promises God has made to man. If we are to grow closer to God through His promises, we must first place our faith in the source of these promises; the Word of God. Listen to what John passed down to us in his final inspiration from the island of Patmos.

God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NLT)

There’s the promise, God blesses those who read, listen, and obey. How has God blessed you through the reading of His Word?

In this Hebrew acrostic poem the writer eloquently composes his blessings from this promise.

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
      and a light for my path.
I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
      I will obey your righteous regulations.
I have suffered much, O Lord;
      restore my life again as you promised.
Lord, accept my offering of praise,
      and teach me your regulations.
My life constantly hangs in the balance,
      but I will not stop obeying your instructions. (Psalms 119:105-109 NLT)

Can you imagine praising God for regulations? Can you do that in your life?

Putting our faith in anything requires action on our part. Biblical promises are no different. James, the half brother of Jesus, made it clear to the earliest followers of Christ that they must trust and obey.

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:21-25 NLT)

Promises Kept: God’s promises to us call for our belief in His Word. When we live according to the “word God has planted in our hearts,” we are living the way we were created to live by our loving and perfect Creator.

Lottie Moon's Advice to Origins

Follow this link to a great article from Ed Stetzer. It contains a quote from Lottie Moon, a legendary woman of faith, who has some sound advice for Originators.

Lottie Moon and House Churches