Growing a Big God

What do you do when you experience something amazing? Do you cheer, do you clap, do you go tell others, do you smile? The disciples experienced something beyond amazing, it was absolutely incredible, unbelievable, not of this world. What did they do? They worshipped.

Worship – a term we Christians hear a lot. Worship – ‘to bow down’, to prostrate oneself before’. A concept and action frequently demonstrated before kings and queens. It is a persons’ heart and life postured in surrender and allegiance. The text says the disciples worshipped Jesus and said to Him, ‘truly you are the Son of God’.- a declaration of the kingship of Jesus and by implication their surrender-ship to Him.

Do you worship Jesus? What prompts you to worship Him? Would you say your actions and attitude declare Jesus’ kingship in your life and that you surrender to him? If yes, what in your life and actions affirm that?

Pastor Charlie

Matthew 14:22-33; Isaiah 40

Some Reasons We Need to Worship God

• We need to worship because without it, we can forget that we have a big God and end up living in fear.
• We need to worship because without it, we can forget God’s calling and begin to live in a spirit of self-preoccupation.
• We need to worship because without it we lose a sense of wonder and gratitude and plod through life with blinders on.
• We need to worship because our natural tendency is toward self-reliance and stubborn independence.

The True Size of Your God

• God Is All-Powerful, So He Really Can Take Care of You.
• God Is All-Knowing, So He Really Does Know All About You and Your Needs.
• God Has All Authority In The Universe, So He Really Is In Control.

Actively Waiting

Somewhere in my growing-up experience, I developed an aversion to waiting. Waiting was a waste of time, it was boring, it kept me from doing what I wanted to do. In college I would jump through whatever hoops I could to avoid lines at the cafeteria, book store, library or any where else. In some ways I guess I am the product of our microwave culture.

So when the Bible tells me that waiting is a valuable exercise for spiritual growth, I squirm a little. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;…” Psalm 37:7 (NIV) . That does not come easy for me. Maybe that is true for you as well. But waiting is a key activity in God’s world. I think because what God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for.

But biblical waiting is not the stand-in-line, bored-to-tears kind of waiting. It is in reality a very active waiting. We must learn both the value of active waiting and how to best exercise it in our lives.

In Isaiah 40, verse thirty-one, we read, “those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.” I invite you to join me in learning more about how best to exercise this valuable spiritual quality of waiting upon the Lord.

Pastor Charlie

Matthew 14:22-33

Notes:

• What God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for.
• Waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes painful clinging to God.
• Biblical waiting is a daily decision that says, “I will trust You, and I will obey You. Even though the circumstances of my life are not turning out the way I want them to, and may never turn out the way I would choose. I am betting everything on You. I have no plan B.”

How To Actively Wait On The Lord:

• Wait by Exercising Patient Trust.
• Wait by Exercising Confident Humility.
• Wait by Exercising Expectant Hope.

Fear, Failure, Focus

Our theme this year is “Each Person Passionately Pursuing Spiritual Growth in Christ.” It has been my personal experience and observation of others that as we spiritually grow in Christ, our desire to serve Him grows as well. The part of us that loves Jesus yearns to fulfill His purposes for our lives. As Jesus becomes more and more the center of our lives, we deeply desire Him to perform great miracles in us and through us for His glory--miracles such as walking on water or changing our hearts so that we are much more like Him.

But for miracles to occur, we must deal with Fear, Failure and Focus. We need to learn to confront all three of these and overcome them as we walk toward Jesus. Both fear and failure cause paralysis and disobedience in our lives. Jesus tells us to come; we stay in the boat. Jesus begins to perform a miracle; we run scared. Jesus asks us to trust him; we lose sight of Him looking elsewhere for power and answers.

• So which of these three would you say are currently preventing you from walking with Jesus?
• Which of these is causing paralysis of faith in your life?
• If Jesus is a secondary figure in your life, if you are not in love with Jesus, if taking a faith risk is foreign to you, why?
• Which of these is the main culprit that is preventing you from pursuing Jesus?

Pastor Charlie

Matthew 14:25-31

The Principles of Fear:

• Fear Causes a Loss of Confidence.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Fulfillment of God’s Potential in You.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Joy.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Authentic Relationships.
• Fear Causes a Loss of Availability To God.

The Principle of Failure:

• You Must Be Willing To Fail.

The Principles of Focus:

• You Are What You Think.
• Your Mind Will Think Most About What You Are Most Exposed To

Facing the Storms

It was a complete white out. The snow and the wind combined to make it impossible to see more than 5 feet. I could barely see the front end of my car let alone the cars in front of me. I found myself, my wife and a friend in the middle of a huge dangerous snow storm that we neither caused nor realized was coming. Eventually we were able to drive through the storm and arrive safely at home, but there were moments when the lack of visibility and knowledge of the roads direction made me wonder if we were going to make it.

This Sunday I want us to learn some valuable insights from Joseph’s life about dealing with life’s storms. His insights and responses to God and others can teach us a great deal. The way Joseph responded to his brothers after they had treated him with such disdain and had sold him into slavery is incredible. When he could have punished them for what they had done, instead he told them that God had used their evil towards him for God’s greater plan. Joseph’s surrender to God’s plan and control in his life is a lesson we all need.

• What are the current storms in your life?
• What role does God have in those storms?
• How much are you believing in and trusting God in the midst of your storms?

I invite you to bring your storms with you this Sunday and learn some principles that can truly help you deal effectively with those storms and with your life in the midst of those storms.

Pastor Charlie

Genesis 37-45: The Life of Joseph

• You successfully face the storm when you exercise control rather than passively resign.

1. You exercise control by staying in the presence of God with your heart devoted to God in spite of the storm.
2. You exercise control by experiencing the blessing of God in the midst of the storm.

• You successfully face the storms when you remain committed to God’s values when tempted to compromise.
• You successfully face the storms when you find meaning and purpose in the storms.

1. You find meaning and purpose in your storms by reaching out and caring for others.
2. You find meaning and purpose in your storms when you truly believe God is in charge and has a wonderful plan for your life.

The Principle of the First Step

I remember when each of my three children took their first steps. I remember how important it was for me that they accomplish this feat. Karen and I would stand them up, holding their hands and then gently step back and invite them to come to us. At first they would immediately sit down and crawl. We never scolded them for that. We simply kept repeating the process until one day they finally took their first steps.

Why was this process and its eventual success so important to us as parents? Because we knew without any reservation that unless they learned to walk, they would never be able to live their life and accomplish all that we hoped for them and taking their first steps was critical to that goal.

This Sunday we are going to look at this first step concept in our relationship with God and His goals for us. Whether we have known Jesus for years or just recently invited Him into our lives, the first-step concept continues to apply as we pursue following Him. Peter had to take that first step out of the boat in order to have any hope of obeying Jesus and walking on water.

A great example of the first step principle is found in Mark 9:22-24. A father’s son is possessed by an evil spirit. The father says to Jesus, "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." Jesus responds, "If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes." The father immediately responds, ‘I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief." Maybe that is your struggle with taking your first steps? Maybe you feel your faith is not strong enough yet. Maybe you have doubts and worries. The good news is that our first steps do not require high levels of clarity and certainty. We can be successful with taking first steps in the midst of our doubts and fear. As we step out of our boats, we can ask God to help us with our unbelief.

What hinders you from taking your first steps? In what areas of your life do you need to take those first steps?

Pastor Charlie

Matthew 8 – Jesus calms the storm
Deuteronomy 31 –God says be strong and courageous
Joshua 3 – God requires a first step


The First Step Principle Says:

• If You Want To Walk On Water, You Need To Be Willing To First Get Your Feet Wet.
• If You Want To Walk On Water You Need To Expand Your Spiritual Comfort Zone.

Indicators of Where to Take Your First Step

• Where you are afraid,
• Where you are frustrated,
• Where you are compassionate,
• Where you are burdened to pray.

Matthew 14:22-33

Discerning God’s voice over all the other voices

When Peter and the other disciples heard Jesus call out to them, they were not sure it was Jesus, so impulsive Peter gives this unknown person a test of sorts. Like the disciples, we too struggle with discerning God’s voice over all the other voices in our life.

Years ago a small booklet was printed to help people share the gospel. It was called the Four Spiritual Laws. It started off by saying, ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life’. Of course that is still true, but there is another reality that makes it very important that we are able to hear God’s voice. That principle says, ‘God loves you and everyone else has a plan for your life’.

This Sunday, along with worshipping God through communion, we will be looking at ways to be able to pick out God’s voice among all the noise in our lives. After all, God is talking to each of us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2 “But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets” (v.10).

• Are you hearing him?
• Are you able to effectively wade through all the noise and other voices to discern his voice?

Pastor Charlie

Discerning
Believe That God Is Talking To You.
Recognize And Seek Out God’s Voice Among The Many.

• Self & Others: the problem is accuracy.
• Satan: the problem is deception.

Test The Voice To See If It Is From God.

Test Questions
Does it agree with God’s written word, the Bible?
Does it help me become more like Jesus?
Does it fit with whom God has made me to be?
Does God’s peace come to my heart and mind?

Matthew 14:22-33
1 Samuel 3:1-10



P.S. If you are on our Old Testament reading program you would be finished with Genesis and in the early parts of Exodus. What has God taught you? He speaks most often through his written word? Are you listening? What have you heard?

Water Walkers or Boat Potatoes?

So what does it mean to step out of my boat? What can we do to not be boat potatoes? A parable that Jesus told in Matthew 25:14-30 gives us some insight into this. It is a story of three servants whose master went away and left them with funds to invest while he was gone. He returned to find that two of them had followed his instructions and one had not. The point is that Jesus has given each of us talents and resources to use for his kingdom purposes. The question is are we following his instructions or not? Are we using what we have been given to build His kingdom?

I am sure that some of you feel like you have very little to offer. The beauty of this parable is that what we have to offer is not the point, it is whether or not we are offering it to Jesus by using it to build his kingdom. In fact the comparison with one another of what we have to offer blocks our effectiveness in using what God has given us.

Pastor Charlie

• God Is The Lord Of Gifts.
• God Is The Lord Of Accountability.
• God Is The Lord Of Rewards.

Reasons We Might Bury Our Gifts
(Or Stay In Our Boats)

• Comparison Can Cause Us To Bury Our Gifts.
• Fear Can Cause Us To Bury Our Gifts.
• Laziness Can Cause Us To Bury Our Gifts.
• Comfort Can Cause Us To Bury Our Gifts.

Water Walker, Part 2

Have you ever experienced fear? Of course you have. We all have. In fact, psychologists tell us that fear is a primal emotion of every person. What Peter feared at the moment was the realistic danger of drowning. It is very likely that Peter had known fishermen who had drowned. So his fear was not unreasonable. What do you fear? What hurt in your past causes you to fear in the present? Probably some of your fears are also very reasonable.

The problem is that whether our fears are reasonable or not, they still block our faith from growing. They distract us from focusing and believing in Jesus. They keep us from continuing to experience God’s amazing power working in our lives.

So I ask you, what fears in your life are causing you to sink? After Jesus rescued Peter He asked him, "where is your faith?" Peter's fear told Jesus his faith was weak right then. In what areas of your life is your faith weak today? I encourage you to bring those fears before God's throne right now, asking God to help you overcome those fears; to rescue you from them like He did Peter from the water. Like the father of a demon-possessed son who said to Jesus, "I believe, help my unbelief;" you can say to God, I have faith, help me with my fear.

Pastor Charlie

Matthew 14: 22-33

• Water-Walkers Expect Problems.
• Water-Walkers Accept Fear As The Price Of Growth.
• Water-Walkers Manage Their Failures.
• Water-Walkers See Failure As An Opportunity To Grow.
• Water-Walkers Learn To Wait On The Lord.
• Water-Walking Brings A Deeper Connection With God.

Water Walker, Part1

Matthew 14: 22-33

• Water-Walkers Recognize God’s Presence.
• Water-Walkers Discern Between Faith And Foolishness.
• Water-Walkers Get Out Of The Boat.

What is your boat?

• Your boat is whatever represents safety and security to you apart from God.
• Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you do not want to give it up, even if it keeps you from joining Jesus on the waves.
• Your boat is whatever pulls you away from extreme discipleship and into lukewarm discipleship.

Pastor Charlie

Walking with God – A Miracle

If you have read the Bible much or been around church some, you probably have had the feeling from time to time that living this Christian life is very difficult if not impossible. Looking at Jesus with his fantastic personality and character and then trying to live like that can be very discouraging and defeating at times.

Maybe that is why for many of us, we often slip into what I call the maintenance mode. You know, attend church services regularly, put some money in the offering when you remember, and attend a Sunday School class or small group. But in the midst of all that, we sense a disconnect with God and rarely if ever experience His presence and work in our lives. Nothing really changes much, including ourselves.

In this sermon series I want us to learn from an amazing experience the disciples had with Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33). I want us to be encouraged to take some spiritual risk, to seek miracles from God and to move out of our maintenance mode of faith to a fresh and new living faith. I am going to challenge you to test God, to believe in God and to refuse to live a mediocre faith.

This year, 2009, is the year for each of us to pursue our walk with God in new and fresh ways or levels of intensity. Wherever you are at right now in your journey with God, my prayer is that you will take it to the next level.

Peter walked on water – I hope you do too in 2009.

Pastor Charlie

A Five-Step Process

• There Is a Call
• There Is Fear
• There Is Reassurance
• There Is a Decision
• There Is a Change in the Life