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May 1-2, 2004 FAITH QUEST! Ecclesiastes 3:11; Romans 4:17-20 FAITH NEVER, NEVER GIVES UP! *** Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God…does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what he is doing.” [New Century Version] *** Romans 4:17-20 WE CAN HAVE FAITH WHILE WE WAIT ON GOD BY: 1. UNDERSTANDING THE SIX PHASES OF FAITH! PHASE 1: A DREAM! (Gen. 12:1-4) *** Gen. 12:1-3 “The Lord told Abram, "I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you." [NLT]
PHASE 2: A DECISION! (Gen. 12:4) *** Genesis 12:4 “So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed him….” [NLT]
PHASE 3: A DELAY! (Gen. 16:1) ! GOD IS INTERESTED IN FULFILLING THE PROMISE AND BUILDING THE PROMISED!*** Genesis 16:1 “But Sarai, Abram's wife, had no children….” [NLT]
PHASE 4: A DIFFICULTY! (Gen. 17-18) *** Genesis 17:1-7, 17 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations!” Then Abraham laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of one hundred?" he wondered. "Besides, Sarah is ninety; how could she have a baby?" [NLT]
PHASE 5: A DEAD END! (Gen. 21:1-6; 22:1-12) WHY ME…WHY THIS…WHY NOW!
PHASE: 6: A DELIVERANCE! (Gen. 22:12-14) 2. BY REMEMBERING WHAT GOD CAN DO! *** Romans 4:17 “Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who brings into existence what didn't exist before.” [NLT] ! FAITH WORKS WHEN THINGS ARE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL– MOST OF LIFE IS OUT OF YOUR CONTROL! *** Genesis 18:13-14 “Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? About a year from now, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." [NLT] 3. BY RELYING ON GOD’S PROMISES! *** Romans 4:18 “Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith…. He relied on the word of God….” [JB Phillips Translation] *** Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” [New International Version] *** Hebrews 11:17 “While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice….” [Living Bible] *** Hebrews 11:19 “He believed that if Isaac died God would bring him back to life again….” [LB] *** Romans 4:18 “When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do.” [The Message] 4. BY RECOGNIZING FACTS IN FAITH! *** Romans 4:19-20 “Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though he knew that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred and that Sarah, his wife, had never been able to have children. Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.” [NLT] ! FAITH IS TRUSTING THAT SOMEHOW – GOD’S PROMISE WILL BE FULFILLED!5. BY REJOICING IN ANTICIPATION! *** Romans 4:20-21 “Abraham never doubted. He believed God, for his faith and trust grew ever stronger, and he praised God for this blessing even before it happened. He was completely sure that God was well able to do anything he promised.” [LB] THREE WAYS GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISES: A. SOMETIMES HE CHANGES THE SITUATION! *** Galatians 3:5 “Does God…work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?” {NIV] B. SOMETIMES HE CHANGES THE PERSON! *** Psalm 40:4 “Happy is the person who trusts the Lord….” [NCV] C. SOMETIMES HE CHANGES THE LOCATION! *** Hebrews 4:3 “Only people who have faith will enter the place of rest.” [Contemporary English Version] “And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and if we don’t give up.” --- Galatians 6:9 (LB) |