August 18, 2019 - The Importance of Faith (Jonah 2:1-10) (Message by Pastor Stephen Puett)
(If it's not Sunday then listen online at www.crosswindschicago.org and take notes here...)
Faith is being controlled by the promises of God, instead of your own impressions.
Three Stages of Faith Renewal…
- Call
Faith starts when we start doubting our doubts and ourselves enough to call on God.
Matthew 7:7-8 - “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
John 5:44 - “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
Acts 17:27 - that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Jeremiah 29:13 - Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
2. Remember
The law of God is an outline of God’s character that calls us to build our lives upon.
Propitiation literally means to turn aside the wrath of someone through a payment.
Romans 3:23-25 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, beause in his divine forbearance he has passed over former sins.
Hebrews 12:1 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Matthew 5:17 - “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Psalm 42:5 - Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Faith is talking to your heart and telling it the truth. Doubt is listening to your heart and accepting it as truth.
3. Commit
Two Steps to Faith Growth…
- Know God’s word
B. Commit to follow God’s word
You stop acting in faith when you forget the facts and just react.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Question for Followers…
- What doubts do you need to doubt today?
- What steps do you need to take to grow in your faith?
- How will you hear, read, study, memorize and meditate on God’s word this week?
- What commitments do you need to make in surrender to God’s word?