Parkway Mobile Community Abril 20, 2013

Alabanza, Adoracion, Palabra y Alimentos.

Ministerio “Spanish Nation”

Iglesia Compañerismo de las Naciones. (FOTN)

INTRODUCTION

TODAY I AM TALKING TO YOU AND ABOUT YOUR FAITH!
What about you? Do you lack faith to know that God is with you?
To overcome sin and guilt? To be healed of disease?
To believe all things in His Word? Do you lack faith that “all things [will] work together for good” if you love God (Rom. 8:28)?
To believe God will work out injustices you have received?
To believe God will provide for you?
To believe that you can endure severe trials and persecution? Or that God will deliver you from them?
Do you lack faith to see the soon-coming kingdom of God more clearly and that you can be in it?

–LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION
–James 2:14 NIV
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”

WHAT GOOD IS IT TO SAY YOU BELIEVE IN GOD, OR HAVE FAITH IN HIM, YET YOU DON’T KNOW HIM PERSONALLY, OR KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM, OR LET HIM CHANGE ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE?
ATTEND CHURCH? NO, I NEED MY SLEEP..
TITHE? OF COURSE NOT! THATS MY MONEY…
TALK TO YOUR FAMILY OR FRIENDS ABOUT JESUS? NO WAY! LET THEM BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT TO BELIEVE, IT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS.
READ YOUR BIBLE? OH, LORD JESUS, AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.

YOU MAY HAVE SOME FAITH, BUT IS IT ENOUGH TO GET YOU TO HEAVEN?

— I. TRUE BELIEVERS VISUALIZE THE OBJECT OF THEIR FAITH.

— Hebrews 11:1 NIV
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

— A. WE BELIEVE IN THE THINGS WE HOPE FOR.
For a year and a half we had faith that God would give us the land on Hwy 90.

Lisa’s healing of asthma for 17 years.

DONT BE MOVED BY WHAT YOU SEE, BUT STAND ON WHO YOU KNOW I AM!

—B. WE BELIEVE IN THINGS WE CANNOT SEE.

—2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV
“For we live by faith, not by sight.”

ILLUSTRATION
Faith in what we cannot see. Electricity, car brakes, NATIONS BIBLE INSTITUTE IN TEN COUNTRIES, the Invisible God.

—Colossians 1:15 NIV
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”. JESUS

—1 Timothy 1:17 NIV
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

—Romans 1:20 NIV
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

—I I. PRODUCTIVE BELIEVERS EXERCISE AND LIVE OUT THEIR FAITH.

—A. DOES YOUR TRANSFORMED LIFE EQUAL A TRANSFORMED LIFESTYLE?

—James 2:15-17 NIV
“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

—B. DOES YOUR BELIEF IN GOD EXCEED THE BELIEFS OF DEMONS?

—James 2:18-19
“But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

DEMONS BELIEVE IN GOD BECAUSE THEY HAVE SEEN HIM AND WERE ONCE ANGELS WHO GOT KICKED OUT OF HEAVEN, THEY BELIEVE HE EXIST, BUT WILL NOT BE OBEDIENT TO HIM NOR LET HIM BE LORD OVER THEIR LIVES. NON BELIEVERS ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN DEMONS WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR ETERNAL DESTINY.

— C. DOES YOUR FAITH AND ACTIONS PRODUCE FRUIT?

—Matthew 7:18 NIV
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”

—Matthew 12:33 NIV
““Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”

—Matthew 7:16 NIV
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”

—D. WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE OF YOUR FAITH AND WORKS? LEAVE A LEGACY!

FAITH AND ACTIONS WORKING TOGETHER
–JAMES 2:20-26
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

LEAVE A LEGACY
—v. 22-26 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

WHEN YOUR LIFE IS OVER, WHAT WILL THEY SAY ABOUT YOU AND YOUR LIFE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT WOULD BE ETERNAL WORKS OF FAITH?

1, You can’t take your toys with you. I’ve never seen a U-haul behind a hearse.
2. You can’t take your money with you, no matter how much you earn or save.
3. You can take your family and friends with you, if you have taken the time to tell them about Jesus and they choose to be saved.

FAITH WITHOUT ACTION IS DEAD, BUT FAITH WITH ACTION PRODUCES SOULS FOR ETERNITY.

LIVING ABOVE FAVORITISM

INTRODUCTION-   DYLAN HAS PICS OF THESE PEOPLE!

We all deal with FAVORITISM
1. Who would you rather go to dinner with?  MR &MRS SMITH OR HONEY BOOBOO
2. Who would you rather go on vacation with? KARDASHIANS OR DUCK DYNASTY BOYS
3.  Who would you rather sit by in church? PRINCE WILLIAM OR NACHO LIBRE
4.  Who would you rather have in your Care Group? LEONARDO DECAPRIO OR A HOMELESS MAN, JA LO OR BAG LADY
5. Who would you rather have taking up the offering? DENZEL OR SNOOP DOG

James 2:1 -4
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.”
“Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

DEFINITION:
fa·vor·it·ism  [fey-ver-i-tiz-uhm, feyv-ri-]
the favoring of one person or group over others with equal claims; partiality: to show favoritism toward the youngest child. Grk.  ”see the face”

I.  FAVORITISM IS A SIN

Romans 2:11 NIV
“For God does not show favoritism.”

A. IT DEGRADES CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST AND MAKES THEM APPEAR LESS VALUABLE THAN OTHERS.
We are all created equal and this is a serious sin in GOD’S eyes.

B. THE CHURCH THAT PRACTICES FAVORITISM  CANNOT ENJOY THE BLESSING OF GOD.

It hinders the work of the church, the growth of the church and the testimony of the church.

ACTS 6:7
“So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

C.  WE ARE TO BE ONE IN THE SPIRIT.
Certain Jews were trying to get the non- Jews to follow Jewish customs, like circumcision, to be righteous.

ACTS 15:7-9
“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by their faith.”

I I.  APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING.

A.  JESUS’ FOLLOWERS WERE TAX COLLECTORS,  PROSTITUTES, POLITICAL EXTREMISTS,  SOCIALLY DISENFRANCHISED, THE POOR AND THE LAME.

B. JESUS  PARABLES MADE HEROES OUT OF PEOPLE WE NEVER EXPECTED.
Good Samaritan, woman at the well, Prodigal son, beggar Lazarus,

C.  IN GOD’S ECONOMY APPEARANCES ARE DECEIVING

LAST WILL BE FIRST
POOR WOULD BE BLESSED
SERVANTS WOULD BE LEADERS
SIMPLE WOULD BE WISE
THE WEAK BECOME STRONG

ITS AN UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM.

D. OUTWARD APPEARANCES CAN MAKE US MISS GODS WILL

SAMUEL AND DAVID
I SAMUEL 16:6-7
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

E. LOOK WHAT GOD IS DOING IN PEOPLES LIVES AT FOTN.

Maybe not much education, but now full of wisdom.
Maybe not much money, but now extremely generous and giving of their time, talent, and treasure.

ILLUSTRATION
MOTHER TERESA IN CALCUTTA
” IF WE DON’T ACCEPT JESUS IN ONE ANOTHER, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE HIM TO OTHERS.”
She died the same week that Princess Diana was killed, the icon of pop culture. DIANA was beautiful, sophisticated, famous and wealthy, but was living in immorality. Mother Teresa was an old, shriveled up, celibate nun whose life was enormous and her contribution to the world was incalculable, who got her hands dirty washing the festering sores of lepers. She had a heart as big as the sky and displayed the unconditional love of God that made others want God in their lives. She would have been out of place in London’s night clubs with Princess Di, but very much at home in a leper colony and in the kingdom of God.  APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING.

I I I. FAVORITISM IS SIN BECAUSE GOD OPPOSES THE PROUD.

I Peter 5:5
“In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.””

Romans 12:3
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

A. WHO ARE THE PROUD?
When you think you are better than someone else, GOD OPPOSES YOU.
When you think you are more worthy of people’s attention, GOD OPPOSES YOU.
When you think that what you say should carry more weight, GOD OPPOSES YOU.
When you think you are better than others because you are intelligent, good looking, or a good athlete,
GOD OPPOSES YOU!

B. JESUS SENDS OUT 72

HE DIDN’T SEND OUT THE RELIGIOUS, EDUCATED, PHARISEES FROM THE JERUSALEM SEMINARY….
Luke 10:21
“At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

C  THE NUMBER ONE QUALITY TO BE USED BY GOD IS A HUMBLE, TEACHABLE SPIRIT.

ILLUSTRATION

APOSTLE PETER
Even after spending 3 years with Jesus, even after the Resurrection, Pentecost, he still thought God preferred the people of his race. His pride and prejudice kept him from fully being a part of God’s work in the world.

Acts 10:11-15, 22, 28, 34, 35 NIV
“He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

CONCLUSION
Church in the 1970′s. and the hippie and the old, respected deacon.