Wow what an awesome weekend we had with Ray’s family!!! Ray’s brother and his wife invited us to go with them to a conference. The guest speaker was Dr. David P. Murry. He was an awesome speaker. I enjoyed it very much.
“Evidence of Faith”
Friday evening’s message
Notes taken from message:
-Call to faith is a divine call
-He sends out servants to call his chosen
-First servant he sends out is creation
-He sends out the call to faith through our conscience
-One of the servants is providence
-God’s voice goes out throughout the world calling people to himself
-Another way his call comes is through his Word … the Bible
-God does the calling … not the pastors or other people
-However God does the calling THROUGH the pastors and sometimes uses other people as well
-His call is a very well timed call
-When he calls us he is completely ready for us. He does not need to prepare anything. We will not be kept waiting
-If there is any lack of readiness … it is on our part not God’s
-When God calls us, it is a very personal and intimate call/invitation to the wedding feast of the bridegroom Jesus Christ
-We will only hear it and come if we have an attraction/desire to Christ in the first place … only God can give us this desire
-Even though it is an event, we are not called to the event but rather to the person at the event and that person is Jesus Christ
-We must believe the truths about Jesus, that is what faith is and is the basis of true faith
-God’s call is a generous call and we would be foolish to refuse such an awesome offer/invitation/call!!!
-The son of God is the reason and at the center of the invite
-Faith, however, does not save
-Faith has never saved anyone
-It is who we have faith in that makes the difference and will save us
-Sincere faith does not save, many have sincere faith but there faith is in the wrong things of people
-We are to put our faith only in God’s son and his name is Jesus Christ
-Everything our souls long for is offered to us by God himself at the wedding feast of his son
-His call is a gracious call
-God calls us in his grace even when we don’t deserve it
-He invites us whether we are good or bad
-He invites the successful in life and homeless alike
-There is no limit on the amount of people God can and will call
-Some people say that they would accept his call if they knew for a fact that they were one of the elect
-The question is not are we one of the elect … no where in the Bible will you find that the invite to Christ is only for the elect … therefore we ought to accept his invite and not worry about whether we are of the elect or not
-It is very important to remember that God’s call is a genuine and sincere call
-Even if we initially refuse his invite … he will keep calling/inviting us over and over again and hopes that we will accept him and his offer and be ready to come to his son’s wedding feast
-God gives his all to get us to come!!! He even willingly died on the cross for us
-God is persistent
-We must decide whether we will come or reject his invite
-There is no lack of desire or willingness on the part of God when it comes to our salvation
-The lack of desire is on our part
-Sometimes we just choose to be deaf to his call or just simply ignore it when it does come
-God passionately desires us to accept and come to his wedding feast for his son
-He comes to us again and again, hoping we will allow him to change our hearts
-God’s perseverance is amazing
-He is also extremely patient with us
-The most patient people are the most powerful people in the world
-NEVER mistaken God’s patience with being weakness
-God makes the invitation simple so that all people of all nations and age can understand it without difficulty.
-People make God’s call way to complicated. Many times they do that so that they can feel like they are the only ones that can explain God and his truths to normal people. This is not how God operates
-God does speak through pastors and other people to convey his message to people but this does not mean that we cannot hear from God through the reading of his word the Bible
-We need to come back to the simple gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
-God’s call is a solemn call
-His call is done in earnest, it is humourless, it is a formal call, it is an awe-inspiring wonder, it is reverent and full of joy, peace and love.
-The people who were invited in the text he read killed and hurt many of the messengers God sent to them, this made God angry
-We too have mocked, criticized and hurt many of the “messengers” God sends to us. But he still gives us more chances to accept him and his call on our lives
-There are extremely severe consequences for those who refuse and/or reject God’s call
-We ought to ask ourselves … what will we do with his call?
-There are 5 different responses we have to God’s call
1) Apathy
2) Amusement
3) Activity
4) Aggression
5) “Act”
-Apathy: when we hear the Gospel call and nothing then that is our decision
-We can say we have not made up our minds about accepting God’s call but we delude ourselves into thinking that because if we do nothing … that is a decision and the decision is rejection of God’s call
-Amusement: sometimes we make light of God’s call
-We downright mock and make crude jokes of his loving invitation … it is amazing that he doesn’t strike us dead!!!!
-Activity: sometimes we deliberately make ourselves too busy
-We seem to be experts at finding things to do that keep us away from God
-The devil leads and even drags many people to hell by keeping them extremely busy
-We may have all the best intentions with what we do but the road to hell is paved with good intentions
-We seem to have no difficulty finding things to do … even things that are important … things that are important can keep us too busy to answer God’s call
-The bad thing is that one day it will be too late
-One day we will no longer have time left to accept his call
-How horrible it will be then to fall into the hands of a living God!!!
-There is no greater killer of souls than busyness
-Aggression: outright hostility towards God’s call - physically, emotionally and verbally
-Physically we will fight or even kill people when they try and help us to know the Lord
-Emotionally we will manipulate and hurt people who point out to us things that we need to change or where we are not right
-Verbally we often bash people over the head so hard with words that it hurts more than if we had been beaten physically half to death
-We make excuses not to accept God’s call but one day when we stand in God’s court then none of our excuses will hold water
-"Act": when we walk through the banquet hall doors we are given a robe to wear
-Some people as they walk through the doors refuse to take and put on the robe because they think they are good enough … that what they are “wearing” is good enough for this wedding feast
-They are confident in their own abilities and preparation
-Many don’t feel like they need to rely on God and what he did for them on the cross
-But when God enters he will see the people who are not wearing the robes he has provided and will have his servants throw them out into the darkness where there will be gnashing of teeth and torment
-Doing all the right things is not good enough … it will not be accepted by God
-Our good deeds and works are not the same thing as accepting God’s call on our lives.
-Many are called but few are chosen
-Have we heard God calling us?
-Have we accepted his call on our lives?
-Are we walking in faith?
-If we cannot answer yes to these questions then we need to stop what we are doing and take time for God, take time to listen to his call, and once we hear it then accept it immediately
-Nothing in life is more important or urgent than that we answer these questions of faith
“Coming to Faith”
Saturday morning
Notes taken from message:
-What is coming to faith?
-How does one come to faith?
-What is involved in faith?
-The Bible helps us to truly understand and answer these questions
-Believing is involved in faith
-Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved
-We should be careful of our mindsets and not be cynics or the devils advocated
-Doubting is the opposite of faith
-There is repentance in faith
-To have real faith we take God’s word on faith, we take God at his Word
-We choose to believe
-When we are weary we are to “come” to Jesus Christ and have rest
-When we doubt we try to hide from God
-We try to put obstacles between us and God
-There cannot be faith without repentance
-We play hide and seek with God
-When we truly come to faith we repent of all our games that we play with God
-Through prayer and fasting we should move with the desire towards Jesus Christ
-We are fearers and tremblers but we are to be trusters in God
-God is our instructor in life
-When we trust our “instructor” (God) we will then become trusters and also confident
-God calls us to see
-We tend to blindfold ourselves
-We are blinded by unbelief
-God is the greatest wonder of all
-We choose to be blind and live in darkness
-Faith in God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to his truths
-True faith is seeing
-When we open our eyes in faith, we can then see the full beauty of his awesome salvation
-The more we learn to see God’s Holy beauty … the more we want to see
-When we are not trusting and believing God then we are not resters and he wants us to rest in him
-When faith comes the worker starts resting
-Why do we go and try to do all the work when God has already done it all for us? There is nothing left for us to do! Therefore we are to accept his gift of love and just rest in faith in him
-When we reject the Gospel of Christ it is a grievous sin!
-It is not a mistake!!
-The core of Christian faith is keep coming and resting under his wings
-Whoever receives God through Christ Jesus becomes a child of God and a joint heir with Jesus
-In true faith we need to receive everything from God and get rid of our “counterfeit” faith
-Believing versus unbelieving
-Believing = call from God
-Unbelieving = no call from God
-Faith is the thing that makes the difference
-When God calls us we are to accept his call and to confess all our sins
-Sometimes we don’t like what God has to tell us
-Sometimes we downright hate what he has to tell us but we must open our hearts and hear what he is saying to us
-When we don’t want to hear what God has to say to us … we will wander away from him but by God’s grace we can always come back to God
-God is always waiting with open arms ready to receive us back
-We are to turn to Jesus away from our sins
-We do this in faith
-Only when we do this in humble faith will it be true repentance
-God is our GPS
-When we have taken a wrong turn we must go to our “GPS” and find our where we are and where we are to go from there to get where we are to go
-God will keep us from going wrong if we trust him to lead us
-Faith in God turns us around 180 degrees when we are travelling the wrong direction
-We rebel against God’s commands
-We also rebel against God’s supplies
-He supplies us with all we need to walk by faith
-Rejecting God’s call carries severe consequences
-We are to part-take of Jesus Christ at all times … this is another picture of faith
-By part-taking of Christ we are renewed in the spirit
-Do we choose to eat “junk food” or even “poison” instead of the healthy food of God’s word of truth?
-God is a God of hope
-When we eat and drink of God’s word we get filled with hope
-We are to delight in the beautiful truths of God’s word
-God uses many word pictures (parables) to help us understand him and his truth
-Of our own we cannot do anything
-We cannot have faith of our own … it is a gift from God
-We ought to admit to God that we find it difficult to maintain faith
-He knows we do so we might as well be honest with him and with ourselves
-When we are honest with God and ourselves, God knows that we are at a place where he can use us
-We are no use to him as long as we live in denial
-If we are not heavenly right then we are no earthly good to God
-God desires to turn unbelievers to believers
-God sees us hiding from him and he calls us to come our of our hiding places
-He knows where we are hiding … but just like with Adam he asks us where we are … not that he doesn’t know where we are but to make us face ourselves and be accountable to him and to ourselves
-He wants to find us and wants us to let him find us
-Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved
“Living by Faith”
Saturday afternoon
Notes taken from message:
-We are not to walk by sight
-We are to walk by faith
-If we walk by sight instead of faith then we won’t think much of God
-We won’t even have a fleeting thought of him throughout our days
-When we get up in the night, do we think of God or our Facebook status etc.
-Ask the Lord to help you to fill your mind with thoughts of him
-Ask him for help to make him a part of your every thought and action all day long
-Ask God to help you make him a part of your work life
-Sight versus faith
-Sight = materialism
-If we walk by sight we will be consumed by materialism
-God does not even enter the equation of a person who walks by sight
-People that walk by sight push God out at all cost
-One day God’s judgement will consume them for all eternity. This is the way the life will end for those who walk by sight
-Don’t let your life be one that walks by sight
-Faith = spiritual
-If we walk by faith God will be the first thing we think of and the first person we go to in everything
-God is the equation of a person who walks by faith
-People who walk by faith will put God in the center of their universe
-These people will know and experience God’s love, joy and peace for all eternity in his presence. This is going to be only the beginning of those who love and have faith in the God of heaven and earth
-Let your life be one that walks by faith
-When we don’t make God a part of our everyday life then when we are on our death bed we won’t five him a second thought either
-Majority of people do not give the God who sustains us all a second thought
-God should be our all consuming
-Faith brightens and ministers to us
-We are to walk by the spirit
-Walk by faith
-We walk by flesh or faith
-Walking by faith or walking by flesh … these two are apposed to each other
-They cannot be compatible
-The flesh is at work in the life of a person who walks by sight
-The spirit is dead in the person
-The flesh is fully alive by God in the body of the person who walks by faith
-God helps us keep a perfect balance between the flesh and faith
-We cannot do this perfectly
-God will teach us to do this perfectly through his strength if we put our faith in him
-What does a believers life look like?
-A person walking by faith
-As a believer wakes or goes wakes in the morning or goes to bed at night, -God is at the core of all they are and all their thoughts
-A person walking by faith pauses often to make time for God
-Trusts God with their whole heart soul and mind
-What does the unbelievers life look like?
-A person who walks by sight
-From the time an unbeliever awakens to the time he goes to sleep he does not give God a second of his life
-A person walking only by flesh is constantly worried and consumed about physical things
-They trust in earthly things and have no time to think of heavenly things
-When the flesh attacks a believer he will try to get us away from studying God’s word and from spending time with God in prayer
-Faith is reasonable
-Flesh will try to discourage us
-Flesh will condemn us for even the tiniest mistake we may make
-Faith in God is like ripples on the lake … they will grow and grow until they touch everything and every area in our lives
-They may spread slowly … but over time as we look back over our lives we will see how much our faith has grown
-The believer sees everything in his life, including his job, as a calling
-It is an opportunity to serve God and to grow in faith
-The believers work is not a job or career to him, it is a divine calling and he takes it seriously
-A believer does everything as unto the Lord, as though it were Jesus personally that he were serving
-To the unbeliever his work is just a job or career. Often it is just a necessary evil. Even when he likes his job … that is all it is to him, a job or a career. He does not believe it is a special calling from God
-Our highest calling is the one that God calls us to
-Are we doing things from, for and with the Lord?
-We ought to be ambitious for the Lord
-We are not to fulfil the work of the flesh but rather the work of the Lord
-We need to watch out for all things through the spirit
-The spirit of flesh will try to discourage us, in every area of our lives
-When we focus on Christ the flesh loses its power to discourage us
-The flesh wants to destroy our witness
-We need to ask God for his help and listening for it
-Do things in the power and strength of God instead of our own strength
-If we let him, God will conquer, he will win
-We need to be fasting and feasting
-Fasting
-Fasting from things that are earthly so we can have more time for God
-Fasting from things like food or electronics etc
-Spending less time on Facebook and other sites so that we can spend more time focusing on God and his word
-Feasting
-Feast on the water and food of God’s word as though our life depends on it, like we would with water and food
-Taking extra time for God
-Spending time in his word and prayer
-Fasting can be from food but it can also be from other things
-If we chose to fast from electronically devices … it is not good enough to fast from using the electronically stuff physically when we are still allowing it to consume our thoughts
-Fasting from it means to not even allow one moment of it into our thoughts throughout the time set of our fast from it
-Fasting can be from food but it can also be from other things
-We must not just fast … we must also feast
-We must make sure we are feasting on the right things too
-We must feast on things that will grow our faith in God and build us up in him as well
-Let us all learn to walk more by faith everyday
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