As we serve God we often times cannot see where He is due to being so crowded with life. But if we can learn to be persistent and desperate enough to be moved by our faith we too can see miracles come into our lives!
Sermon Notes: https://www.heartofgraceministries.com/blog/after-the-fact/power-persistence/
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
Matthew 9:19-22
19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
36-37 – It was crowded and difficult to maneuver around to see Jesus. Unless you were going to be strong enough to get to Jesus you were pushed out of the way
43-44 – We find a point of desperation; how desperate was this woman after she had suffered for 12 years with something she could not explain? How desperate was to find a solution after she has spent everything she had? This desperation was finally enough to use faith to push through when she could not see Jesus…to get where He was.
45-48 – Now the woman knew she had touched Jesus. Jesus wanted the woman to know that He knew she had touched him. As she testifies the witness of her miracle stirred all whom heard her speak.
As we serve God we often times cannot see where He is due to being so crowded with life. But if we can learn to be persistent and desperate enough to be moved by our faith we too can see miracles come into our lives
Learn about the fire of God and all of the things that it wants to be as a part of your life!
Enjoy the video!
Sermon Notes: https://www.heartofgraceministries.com/blog/after-the-fact/fire-god/#.VdvF_CVVhHw
God is the beauty and hope in unlikely times and unlikely places
Song of Solomon 2:1-3
2 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The rose of Sharon is a large hibiscus shrub. It grows about 12 feet tall, has large three-lobed leaves, and a lovely rose, purple, white or blue flower. The uniqueness of the rose of Sharon lies in the fact that it blooms at an unlikely time and in unlikely places. The rose blossoms in the fall, when few other shrubs are in bloom. It grows well in unfavorable conditions and does not seem to be partial to the city or the country.
Unfavorable growing conditions? In our honest moments we sometimes marvel that the soil of our lives could produce anything beautiful. It is full of the stones of selfishness, the weeds of deceitfulness, and the acidity of our pride. Yet the Rose of Sharon persists, blooms, and grows, even when other plants are dormant.
The lily is a very noble plant in the East; it grows to a considerable height, but has a weak stem. The church is weak in herself, yet is strong in Him that supports her
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
If we never endure the valleys we will not learn to hope when we are struggling to survive.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
One of the next challenges of our faith is to learn how to keep our humbleness in balance with what we do not understand.
Matthew 23:12 – And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Why is humbleness important? (Defined as having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.) Humbleness as it is related to our faith is what keeps us grounded to the central point of focus. Without being humble we stray from the very ideal that God is able to perform our petition and that we cannot. And the further we go away from humbleness the more opposite of the outlook we obtain: instead of “I can do all things through Christ” we start thinking “I can do it on my own” Having no humbleness in your heart to strengthen you is like going to the pool and wanting to swim but the pool has no water. It is like trying to take a drink of water from an empty bottle. So it is like we try to do something by faith but we do not satisfaction while we are doing it.
1 Kings 17:14-24
Neither one of them blames God for their tragedy. Neither one of them tries to explain it away with easy answers. And neither one concludes that with the right amount of faith, there will never be any more pain in the widow’s life. They simply go to God, asking him for help, appealing to his mercy. They have what we would call a humble faith. It’s humble because they recognize that God often does things they don’t understand. But it’s faith because they never cease believing in the goodness of God.
A lot of people attempt to have faith without being humble. In order to believe, they demand that God do exactly what they think he should. If he doesn’t, then they lose their faith. In order for them to obey God’s moral instructions, for instance, they have to agree with them. But if God doesn’t say things that offend you or do things that confuse you, then you aren’t dealing with the true God; you’re dealing with a figment of your own imagination. A god who conforms to your mind is usually only a projection of your mind. One of the ways we know that God is a living God—and not just a projection of preconceived notions—is that he leaves us with so many unanswered questions. If I invented a god, he would always take care of the people I like and would never surprise me. But God is confusing. He is surprising. He is constantly doing things that make me say, “What?” A humble faith is willing to live with unanswered questions, yet is confident in God’s goodness.
So how do we stay humble?
Presented at 13th Street Church of God, LaFollette, TN
Enjoy the video!
Presented at 13th Street Church of God, LaFollette, TN
Enjoy the video!
Sermon Note: https://www.heartofgraceministries.com/blog/after-the-fact/dont-works/
Presented at 13th Street Church of God, LaFollette, TN
Enjoy the video!
There was a season in my life recently where I was beginning to desire things to really move to the next chapter of what I was desiring to happen (new home, updated job, an ease in some stresses, etc.). As I began to pray God spoke to me through many sermons about the things in my life that must learn to be guided by faith and not by sight. Not too long after I began a serious pursuit for change in prayer I walked outside of my house at the time and beheld this:
At first glance this appears to be a normal beautiful day. Most days I would have probably looked over this and marched right in the car and went on…but something was different this time. What makes this picture different is that the clouds were covering the mountainside entirely and were taking the shape of the mountain in its entirety. IMMEDIATELY my spirit was quickened within me and I heard the words: “see the mountain by faith and not by sight”. What a mighty blessing this was to me!
I cannot hardly put into words this experience that I had but what it helped me to realize is that faith helps us shape what does not appear to be what we want into what we are desiring. Faith simply reveals what our sight is covering. My prayer has been since this experience: “God help me to see the things that I cannot see with my own understanding. Help me to see things by faith and not simply but what my perception tells me” Since this experience God has blessed me many times over what I ever expected to happen. However my friends I must say that the biggest life changer for me that goes beyond the materials things was the lesson I learned that day about faith. Faith helps me move mountains by seeing beyond the fact that I cannot see it move. Faith helps me believe in the things that would seem impossible. And without faith our purpose is dead. Live to grow your faith to see Christ and the wonder of His love for your life. Be faithful to receive the goal of your faith. I close with this passage:
Mark 4:35-41
[35] And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
[36] And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
[37] And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
[38] And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
[39] And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
[40] And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
[41] And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Here we begin at our lord’s long day of preaching.
The crowd was so great he had to teach from a boat
Topics were:
He closes the day’s end with his disciples in an adventure they would never forget
The promise at evening 35 – let us pass over to the other side
The Christian life is like this journey
The Peril of the storm (v. 37)
Lessons we can learn from the disciples:
Storms come to us all!
The purpose of the storm (v. 38-41)
The storm enabled them to measure their faith
There are different storms for different purposes
This storm was to build their faith
Don’t judge the purpose of another’s storm