Why do we do what we do here at FUEL? We don’t look like other bodies of “Believers”, do we? Why is that? Is it because I as the leader I am wired differently than other pastors? Well, that is part of it, for sure. But the main reason that we don’t look and act like other churches is because we have specific goals that go beyond just gathering a large group of people in a building on Sunday morning for an hour. Each part of the body of Christ has a role to play. That goes for individuals inside of a local church, as well as a local church inside of a region. During war the air force has a different role to play than the army within a battle...But they both share the goal of winning the war, so they must each do their job as requested by the president. What would happen if if a guy who was an army private, jumped in a fighter jet and tried to fly it, just because he saw how effective the jet was at destroying the enemy? FUEL, as a part of the body in the Simpsonville/Greenville region has a specific role. And we will carry out the plans that have been given to us by our King. Our plans look different because our mission is different. That’s why we don’t just do a “regular” church service, like others. It’s also why I don’t reply “OK” when people say: FUEL should do ministry “this way”, because it worked so well in a church I was in before.
Today we will begin to discover our role within God’s master plan for advancing the kingdom and His will. Our goal here at FUEL is to Expand the Kingdom of God. Our strategy for doing that is to make Believers into Disciples and Disciples into Leaders. You may be saying: Aren’t believers and disciples the same thing? And the answer is: No, they are not. Churches all across the country are mostly full of believers. The problem is that Jesus gave the church a mandate to make disciples, not just believers. So, what’s the difference? The difference is action. Believing is static, but being a disciple requires action. Action is the result of FAITH. As I’ve said before, our target audience is people who have been in church for a long time, but can’t remember the last time that read the bible. They believe, but they don’t have any actions to show that they have faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Here we see that our salvation has been given to us by grace, which means that we have been given something we didn’t deserve. And it’s through Faith, which means we will see action following the gift. In verse 9 we see clearly that our works do not bring salvation, but they show that we have placed our faith in Jesus.
Action is the evidence of FAITH that moves someone from the category of being a believer to being a disciple. Believing is easy, but taking action requires trust. Believing is just step one... it’s important, but you can’t stop there if you want to move into faith. Today, we’ll begin to discover what faith is, what faith is not, why it is necessary and how we can have more of it. James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” People will say, “I believe in Jesus”. And to that, I say, congratulations, you’ve reached the same conclusion as the demons...and it will do you the same amount of good that it does them. None. I know that sounds harsh, so let me explain what I mean. Faith is not just believing in something. You can believe in something and still not have faith in it. Having faith means that you are fully convinced. There is no doubt left about it. Faith is not sight. People say, “I’ll believe it when I see it”...but that is not faith. According to the Bible, sight is the opposite of faith. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says “For we walk by faith, not by sight” Why shouldn’t we walk according to what we can see? Because as we all know “Seeing is Believing”...But again, believing is not the same as faith. Faith requires something that is beyond just belief.
For example, I don’t need to have faith for these lights to come on when I flip that switch, because I’ve seen it work hundreds of times. I believe the lights will come on because I’ve seen it. You may have seen someone’s life change dramatically when they accepted Jesus. It was like a light switch was flipped on and they became a different person. So, based on what you saw, you can believe that Jesus is real. But just believing Jesus is real doesn’t help you, until you get to step two. Remember, even the demons believe. Your believing has to turn into faith before you can benefit from it. Faith comes into play when we deal with things we can’t see. OK, faith isn’t seeing or just believing, so what is faith? Well let’s see what the Bible says: Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This concept can be hard to wrap your head around, because “substance” is physical, but Faith is spiritual. “Evidence” is is visible, but “things not seen” are just that...not seen. So how do we reconcile these two seemingly opposite things? This is the concept that derails so many Christians when it comes to understanding faith. The only way we can understand how physical visible things relate to spiritual invisible things is by digging further into God’s Word. James 2:17 “In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.”
The physical visible “evidence” of faith operating in your life, is the action that you take. This is the heart of the matter and how we go from belief which is step one, into faith. We have to take action. Faith requires more than just words. You can say that you believe something, but if you don’t act on it, do you really believe it? That is how you put your faith to the test...are you acting on it or just talking about it? It’s certainly true that your faith begins with speaking, but must move into action to become fully alive. Faith equals Belief + Action. Here is a Kingdom Key: Action is the evidence that faith has come to life. Why is faith so important? Because we are saved through faith Romans 10:9-10 “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Your salvation begins with a belief and then is followed by speaking what you believe...in faith. Faith requires us to be fully persuaded that we can trust God, because trust is the only thing that will motivate us into action. True faith creates trust, and trust allows us to take action.
Why is it that people have such a hard time bringing tithes and offerings to God through a church? It’s because of a lack of faith. If we were fully persuaded that we could trust God to provide for us, then we would gladly bring Him what He has requested of us financially. Trust allows us to take action, but doubt says that we better keep that money in “our” account, just in case the Bible isn’t truthful that God will provide for my needs. James 2:14-16 “14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” This verse teaches that when we see a physical need in our family, we are supposed to do more than just say, “I’ll pray for you”. As a church we acted in faith when we gave to support a need in our body last week. We did more than just believe that verse, we took action in faith that God would provide for our needs. Philippians 4:14-20 “14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Christians really love to quote verse 19, but somehow leave out the first part where Paul talks about what they had done first.
These verses are literally talking about God supplying for all you need, as you supply the needs of others. You probably believe that...but have you been fully persuaded? In other words, has your belief been turned into faith, as evidenced by your actions? James 2:18 “18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” The bible lists what we call the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. It’s a list of people who showed their faith by their action. Hebrews 11:4-34 “4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain,” 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death,7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
It wraps it up like this. Hebrews 11: 32-34 “32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” All of the people listed here in the Hall of Faith took action on their belief, and that action became the proof that they were truly operating in faith. Are you operating in faith or do you still just believe? What actions are you taking that show the evidence of your faith? Faith is vital to the life of a believer. We are here to please God by doing what He has called us to do. We can’t please God without faith. Hebrews 11:6 But 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. Diligently seeking is active not passive In God’s Kingdom we are called to believe and have faith (take action) first, and then we will “receive” from Him. Those people in the hall of faith had something common. They acted in faith when they were in a situation that needed a solution that only God could provide. Laura and I have been there.
I’ve told you about how God provided miracles in order for us to move to California and how God intervened to get us back. I’ve talked about how God sent us to go see a pastor friend who set us on the kingdom path. I’ve told you about when Laura was healed of lymphoma. I’ve talked about how God told me to start FUEL. Each one of this situations needed a God sized solution. I’m now going to tell you about what we did in faith during those seasons of our life. We brought an offering. I’m not talking about dropping $20 in the offering plate. I’m talking about radical offerings. We needed a radical answer from God so we brought a radical offering. Now before I go any farther, let me say clearly...I’m not talking about buying a miracle or bribing God to do something for me. That is not possible. God is not motivated by money. But God is motivated by radical faith. The kind of faith that says, “I have no other gods before You.” “I’m not putting my trust in anything but You.” “I’m no longer depending on my bank account to take care of me, I’m fully depending on God.” Is that not what Abraham had when he walked up the mountain fully prepared to sacrifice Isaac? He was ready to release the thing that meant the most to him. Isaac was a miracle gift from God, so Abraham was willing to bring him back to God in faith. We brought offerings of thousands when we had thousands and hundreds when we had hundreds. You see it doesn't take faith to give $10,000 if you have a million dollars in the bank. But it
does take faith to give $500 when you only have $1,000 in the bank. And that is what we personally did this week. We have developed a lifestyle of radical giving. One principal that I lived by when I had employees, was that I never asked them to do anything I wasn’t willing to do myself. I still hold to that principal. When I left my job to start FUEL, my salary dropped by 75%. And despite that Laura and I brought offerings of over $14,000 last year. I don’t know where that money came from, but I know where it belonged. One of the clearest signs to God, that you are ready to walk in faith and be fully convinced that He is your source, is to be radical in your giving. Has your bank account been your idol? The one thing you’ve worshipped above God. The thing you’ve protected at all costs. You cannot worship God and money. To which one will you be loyal and put your trust? Are you dealing with a situation that needs a radical solution? Have you done all you know to do? Are you willing to show God radical faith? Are you ready to move beyond being a believer and moving into being a disciple, by exercising your Faith? What action is God asking you to do in order to show that you are operating in faith?
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