Beam Me Up Scotty!

Glorious Life Church you have energized me! You have increased my faith. Two weeks ago, you decided with me to take a step of faith and order our new parking lot knowing that we didn’t have all the money for it. That’s crazy and so is faith. Real faith is that radical. This is just the beginning of many things that we will radically believe for as we advance the kingdom. Seeing God answer this expression of our faith is only going to wet our appetite for more. Your faith is awesome! We will see God provide for our ministry in many ways but the real impact is going to be experienced on a personal level. We are moving from faith to faith! I am so excited that I can’t stand it! You and I will begin to take greater steps of faith in our personal lives and see God do the miraculous just because we trusted Him.

God honors and responds to our faith in Him. Listen to a few of these faith statements from the Word of God:

• “Go and be it done unto you as you believe”
• “If you believe without doubt in your heart, you shall receive what you believe”
• “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed , you shall say to this mountain be removed and cast into the sea and it shall be done”
• “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”
• “I believe therefore I speak”
• “Faith without works is dead”
• “That your faith should not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”

To God be the glory! Faith is rising. If we can believe for the material things that it takes for our ministry then we can believe for even greater things. We believe that lives will be changed, souls saved, bodies healed, and the possessed and oppressed set free. We believe that God’s transforming us to be a different church with a different sound of worship and a different message. A holy church with a powerful praise that attracts the presence of God. A bold church that preaches an uncompromising message of repentance, redemption and hope. A loving church that extends grace to all men regardless of their race, class, background or past. Get ready to be energized with this new explosion of faith! GLC it’s time to believe!

Faith Must Be Seen

Faith is more than claiming to be an adherent to a certain set of beliefs. It is more than a stated or written creed. Our faith may certainly be claimed, written and stated but that alone is not enough. Faith may be expressed in words and heard. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”. Speaking and hearing the Word of God increases our faith. Why does faith need to be increased? It needs to be increased to move us from a faith that is only verbal to a faith that is seen. If our faith never moves into a faith that others can see, it will remain empty words.

Faith requires action. Action that can be seen and experienced by others. In Matthew 9:1-2, “Jesus saw their faith”. These men who brought this man to Jesus to be healed did something that was an expression of faith. It was an expression beyond words or statements. It was a belief that moved them to action. It was an action that backed up what they believed. It was not a verbal declaration that made their faith obvious but a physical action. James 2:17 tells us “that faith without works is dead.” Dead, inactive, immobile, infertile, unfruitful, barren, and lifeless. Dead! Dead! Dead! Let’s not beat a dead horse. It’s just dead.

Faith comes to life as it is acted upon. I must do what I say I believe. I must live by what I believe.Did you catch that? My beliefs must show up in the way I live. Others must be able to see my faith in action. My actions are the evidence of my faith.There is many things we Christians claim to believe. We believe that Jesus is coming back soon, but do we live like it? We believe in tithing but do we give? We believe that serving others is important, but do we do it? We believe in the Holy Spirit, but do we pray to be filled by Him? We believe that God can heal, but do we ask Him to heal us? We believe that we should be Christ-like, but are we?

So, where is the real proof of what we believe? It’s found in what we practice. If we don’t believe in something enough to practice it, then we don’t believe it. Let’s put our beliefs into practice so that our faith may be evidenced by all men. It’s not our words that will change lives but our godly behavior that is driven by what we believe. People don’t buy into our words, they buy into our lives. It’s what they see.

God Must Be Busy

I was upset the first time that I heard this new song by country music artists Brooks and Dunn. My concern was and still is the potential message that it could communicate. The message that maybe God doesn’t care about us, which is absolutely not true. God does care about me and you. Even though the message could be misunderstood, I’m not upset anymore. I find it hard to be upset with people for feeling the same way that I may feel at times. I don’t believe that the overtones of this song are angrily sarcastic or an attempt to dissuade others from believing in God.

However, I do sense the hopelessness, despair and the lack of understanding as to why we don’t always get the answers to prayers that we’re looking for; especially when the requests seem to be unselfish and noble. We may pray for healing, protection, blessing, provision and peace believing that these are certainly in the will of God.

Have you ever wondered why God didn’t do what you ask Him? I have. Have you ever gotten to the point where you felt hopeless? I mean the barely hanging on kind of hopeless? I have. Have you ever been in a situation where your only way out was a miracle and your miracle never came? Or at least not the way you prayed? I have. Have you ever had times when your faith was weak and seemingly non- existent? Times when mustering up a mustard seed of faith was too hard? I have.

Brooks and Dunn went from singing about a faith in God that gets you through some of life’s toughest times in their song “Believe” to wondering if God even cares in “God must be busy”. The song isn’t completely one of desperation because a kidnapped little girl is found alive and the singers do declare their belief that they know He does answer prayers. It isn’t unusual for us to have great moments of faith followed by moments of despair. I Kings Chapter 19 illustrate this perfectly.

Elijah, the great prophet of Israel has just received a great manifestation of God’s presence, killed 450 prophets of Baal, declared a drought ending rain and out ran King Ahab’s chariot. He truly was walking in a great faith with great results only to find himself a day later wanting to give up and die. Yes, give up and die! He prayed for God to take his own life. Thankfully, God doesn’t answer all of our prayers the way we pray them. God raised Elijah out of his despair and he went on to fulfill his purposes in God.

On this journey of faith there are highs and lows. This is normal. If we hang on and don’t give up God will see us through. God does care about you!

When are We Going to Get Serious?

I recently had a conversation with and old friend who has a son who is twenty-something. This young man was raised in a good Christian home with parents who have always been involved in some form of ministry. He went off to bible college after high school and a couple of years later came back home. Since coming back home he has been attending a large Pentecostal type church. After some time there, he has become slightly disillusioned with church. Hopefully, not God. Just the other day, he told his dad that nothing seems real anymore. There must be more.

How can a young man that has been exposed to God and spiritual things his entire life come to this? Is he backslidden? Deceived? Or just making excuses? I don’t think so. I believe that we as the church are primarily responsible for what people are experiencing with us. People are hurting, seeking and from the depths of their pain, crying out for more. What is it that we offer them? Nice facilities, good music, great programs and opportunities for self development? These things are good but it takes more; especially for lives to be changed. Real transformation requires power.

The power of God that was operating in Jesus and the early church is same power that is available to us today. I say, that it’s time to get serious enough to seek God to change us first. We need to repent! We need to walk in humility, love and holiness. Hebrews 12:14 tells us, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” We won’t see Him and others won’t see Him in us. God is real. His power is real. The emptiness of people is real. It’s been said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the soul of every man.” It is a vacuum that only God can fill. When people come looking to us they should be able to find that very real God they are looking for. It’s time to get serious.