Introduction to Faith

Check it out, we’re almost there!  Almost where, you say?  We’re almost to that grand section in the bible that heralds the great hero’s of the faith!  Great men and women such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, David, Samuel.  Men and women who…

“…through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. 

(Heb 11:33-35)

But before we tackle these accounts, there is a matter that must be settled:  “If it was by faith in Christ through which I was saved, why do I need to keep having faith? Is it really important in my daily Christian walk?”

It is important, because without holding fast in faith we could never subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, out of weakness be made strong, become valiant in battle, and turn to flight the armies of the aliens!

See guys, getting saved was the beginning of our journey, not the end!  We entered into a new identity, a new relationship, a new standing, and a new reality – but that does not mean that our road will be easy.  As a matter of fact, our journey will likely be harder.  Jesus told us in John 16:33 “In the world you will have tribulation.”

We live in a world that is in direct opposition to God, and the ruler of this world (the devil) will use everything at his disposal in an effort to shut us down, to try and cause us to turn around and run back to our old lives. That is exactly where faith comes in!  When the trials and tribulation of life come, and they will come, that is when we will need to draw on the resource of faith to keep on living for Christ. That is exactly why the writer of Hebrews encourages us over and over to press forward, to not turn back!

One glance at the news and we can see that turmoil is increasing everywhere.  Our country is experiencing a financial crisis, which is leading us into a political crisis.  Protests are mounting in many states as governments start cutting budgets.  The Mid-east is in flames – upheaval is happening in country after country. No one knows what group will emerge as the new power in those countries, which incidentally provide a significant amount of the energy our economy depends on. 

But it is in these times when the words of the writer of Hebrews jump forth from the page…

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 

(Heb 10:23-25)

The bible tells us - the world will not get better, but will get worse. Jesus said in Matthew 24:

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  (Matt 24:6-7)

Jesus is coming!  But until then we have a purpose and a calling, to reach the world for Christ.  It won't be easy, but Jesus promised He would be with us to the end, and that He would empower us through the Holy Spirit, and we will live by faith.  

Join us Sunday as we delve into the introduction of faith.

Pastor Clay

Time to Live...

I don’t know if you have noticed, but we have spent a considerable amount of time in our study of Hebrews looking at the superiority of Jesus Christ.  He is superior to the law, superior to the patriarchs, superior to the tabernacle, and superior to the Levitical priesthood.

Add to that the promise of the New Covenant that was given to Abraham (through your seed all nations will be blessed), and how we are assured “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.”  The promise of the New Covenant, spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah, “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,” that was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

All of these points were brought home in the last two messages that focused on how Jesus is our superior sacrifice, made in a more perfect tabernacle, offering His blood on the mercy seat in the heavenly tabernacle.  The New Covenant in Jesus blood is not only a game-changer, it’s a world-changer! Brought into reality through Jesus’ more perfect sacrifice, we have been given a new inheritance, a new reality for our lives: 

• A new heart - “I will put My laws into their hearts”
• A new identity - “I will be their God, and they shall be My people”
• A new relationship - “for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them”
• A new standing before God - “their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more”

 And then in chapter 10, verse 19, we come to the word “therefore.”  The positioning of this word, to me, gives the sense of launching pad.  In other words, now that we have been given these promises, these assurances, this new realty…. WHAT NOW?  GO AND LIVE!!!

Hebrews 10:19 is a turning point, where our attention will be shifted from who Jesus Christ is, and what we have been given, to now propel us forward -  how we are to live.  Receiving a new reality isn’t meaningful if it doesn’t change how we live our lives.  Now that we know who we are, and what we have been given, let us move on into living our lives in accordance with our new reality!

Join us Sunday, as we are encouraged to go forward -  its time to Live!

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:19-25)

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Family Study Update

For those attending the Wed Night Family Study
-------------------------
Hi all – so I have already gotten some feedback about chapter 2 being REALLY long (yes, we men need it!), and some concern that we may have trouble getting through it all in one week. So I suggest that we cover 1/2 of the chapter.  If you work through “Conditional Love” and stop at page 21, we’ll pick up at “Sacrificial Love” for NEXT WEEK.

This will push out the study by one week.  I’m thinking we may need to do the same with chapter 3.

So this week we will work and discuss up through page 21 – stop at “Sacrificial Love”.

For those still waiting for books – something got messed up with the order and the books did not come in.  BUMMER!  We will have copies of chapter 1 for you, so swing by the INFO desk tomorrow and pick up the copies.  The books should be here, Lord willing, this week.

See you all Wed night!

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

The Lord's Supper

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Heb 9:24-28)

This coming Sunday we will finish up chapter 9 of Hebrews, which is a perfect segue in to The Lords Supper. Last week we talked about the reality of what Jesus did:  In the physical realm He went to the cross, died, and rose again.  However in the spiritual realm Jesus entered heaven and went into the real tabernacle, into the real Most Holy Place, in the presence of God, and He sprinkled His blood on the real Mercy Seat!  When God looked upon that sacrifice, He declared that our sin, all of our sin, had been atoned for.  Paid in full.  For that reason we can claim the promise in Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!”

So when we celebrate communion, we are not simply practicing a ritual; we are coming together, with the Spirit of God and the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and partaking of a physical activity that has implications in the spiritual realm. We are…

Proclaiming our unity with Him

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread (1 Cor 10:16-18)

Identifying with the new life we have been given

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor 5:7-8)

Proclaiming His death

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor 11:26)

Participating in the fellowship of believers

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42)

So we see The Lords Supper is a special time, a holy time, and we should treat it as such.  We are celebrating the New Covenant!  We should come with hearts that are ready to worship the Lord and proclaim that He is our Lord, and we are His people! 

This Sunday I look forward to taking communion with you all, as we come together in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Pastor Clay

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor 11:23-26)

... to serve the Living God

 Last week we looked at the four provisions of the New Covenant: a new heart, a new identity, a new relationship, and a new standing with God… basically – a NEW REALITY!

As we move further into Hebrews, we are being drawn by the writer into the importance of looking past the patina of the physical world, and through faith seeing into the realm of the spiritual world. The writer is building us up towards the important topic of FAITH.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
(Heb 11:1) 

 and...

(because) …without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6)

Remember we talked last week that there are three levels to our world:  Physical / Mind / Spirit.  Faith and belief  are needed to take us beyond the physical reality, so that with our mind we can believe, and through faith (being able to see the unseen) we can begin to experience the eternal spiritual world. 

Yes we currently operate in the physical world, but if we operate based only on the perspective that this is all there is, we will operate by sight. When we operate with the perspective that there is an eternal realm that we will one day inhabit, it changes how we live our lives!

Join us Sunday as we dive into Hebrews chapter 9, “…to serve the Living God.”

Pastor Clay

When the church prays...

No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it.  ~Guy H. King

Let me tell you a story.  For the past few months we have been putting together the new study we just started this past Wednesday (The House that God Builds).  Tammy and I both  felt led by the Lord to roll this out to the families in our church, and that God was going to work in a great way through the time we spend coming together to study God’s plan for family.

But this past week has been a little rough (yes I am minimizing).  Things going wrong, issues coming up, division, distortion.  It was as if the whole world were coming against us all at once!  So what did we do?  Simple.  WE PRAYED.  We sought the Lord, we pressed in, and you know what happened?  You guessed it:  The problems that were pressing in, they were solved.  The issues that were cropping up, they were resolved in a super-blessed way.  The fog division and distortion lifted like when the sun breaks through the fog on a San Francisco summer morning (you’d have to see it to understand, but it is a cool thing to witness!). And the result was that our first family bible study was an incredible success! 

We were so encouraged to watch what God was doing!  The devil wanted to sabotage what God was going to do, but God was victorious – and the victory was won IN PRAYER!  I felt like Joshua when he was fighting the Amalekites, and Moses was on the hill with his staff held high, and the power of God gave the Israelites victory over the enemies of God’s people! As Guy H. King said it, the devil suffered from our prayers.

What’s the point?  The point is that PRAYER WORKS! Church, if we will seek His face, call upon His name, God will do mighty things in and through us.  Our part is not to make it happen, but to pray, step out, and watch it happen!

All of this is a lead-in to another thing that God has put on our heart:  A time for our church to come together and pray.  Once a month, on the third Saturday at 9 am, we will come together as a church in prayer.  Our leaders will be there.  We invite you to join us. The first one will be:

Saturday February 19^th, at 9 – 10 am

Go to our facebook event page and let us know you coming!

…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14