Mailing Address: PO Box 797 Molalla, OR 97038
Phone: 503-829-5101 Fax: 503-829-9502
Pastor Dale Satrum
Growing Our Faith “Faith Enough To Sacrifice” (Part 2) Intro: Have you noticed that when we really believe in something, we’re willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve it? Faith and sacrifice go together. We sacrifice for the sake of marriage / as parents / for an education / for a career / some of you sacrifice time in rush hour / The reason we can sacrifice is because we have the faith that it’s worth it. This is the type of faith God wants us to have with Him. A Faith that’s willing to sacrifice. So, to better understand this characteristic of faith, we’re going to look at Abraham today. Heb. 11:17-19 “It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who received God’s promise, was ready to sacrifice his own son Isaac, though God had promised him, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.’ Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again…” (NLT) Summarize the story of Abraham through Gen. 22 • Why is sacrifice so essential when it comes to our faith? I. Sacrifice Tests Our Faith Gen. 22:1 “Later on, God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience…” (NLT) A. Sacrifice determines whether or not we really believe God 1. Abraham believed what God said about his son Isaac being the promised Son, that even if he died, God would bring him back to life again! Abraham believed in resurrection! 2. He believed that nothing could alter what God had promised…not even the death of his son! Death wasn’t bigger then God’s promises. That’s faith! 3. Sacrifice always pushes the issue of what we really believe. Does God really know what’s best? Does God really know what He’s talking about? Is His way really the best way? Can I really trust Him? 4. God will give us “faith tests” along the way so that He can grow our faith. He gives us opportunities to trust Him, and based upon our response, our faith grows or diminishes. Sacrifice tests our faith like nothing else! 5. The purchase of this building is a corporate faith test. WHY? Because it will be impossible to achieve unless we believe God enough to sacrifice. Page 1 “Building Lives With Purpose Through His POWER” Prayer / Outreach / Worship / Edification / Relationships Copyright © Foothills Community Church; Molalla, Oregon. All rights reserved.
6. Before Foothills began, I was in the darkest days of my life. (I had to sacrifice my dreams – Lord, I’ll do whatever you want.) B. Faith tests lead to a sacrificial faith 1. This is the type of faith that God wants us to have. It is a faith that is willing to sacrifice for God’s purposes. God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice for no point. He always has a plan that He wants us to participate in. We sacrifice for His agenda in us and through us. 2. What most Christians today want is a convenient faith. They want is low carb, less filling version. They want faith on their terms not God’s terms. 3. God can’t use believers much until they have a sacrificial faith. WHY? Because until you have a sacrificial faith you have a selfish faith. You think your faith is all about you. You think your faith is all about God just meeting your needs. Your not being used by God you’re using God! 4. To see God’s agenda fulfilled in you and to have God use you, it will always require sacrifice. God will always use sacrifice to test and grow our faith. • Sacrificial faith is essential for the journey because… II.
Sacrificial Faith Determines Our Priorities Gen. 22:3 “The next morning, Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac…and set out to the place God had told them to go.” (NLT) A. Sacrificial faith requires a change in direction 1. Abraham stopped doing what he was involved in at the time (flocks / herds / livestock / etc…) Yet, now because of his faith, he stopped what he was doing in order to fulfill what God asked him to do. He had a change in priorities. 2. He didn’t tell God he was too busy / or see if he could work it into his schedule / or wait until things weren’t so busy. The Bible says, “The next morning…” He obeyed immediately. His faith determined his priorities. • Explain the journey / how many miles / it took 3 days travel one way. 3. Faith will always determine our priorities. Faith will always require us to change directions at some point. This means that we are willing to sacrifice what we are currently doing in order to follow God’s direction, even if it’s inconvenient. (Can’t have your cake and eat it too!) 4. In order to follow God, this may mean a change in direction financially / this may mean a change in how you invest our time / may mean that you put some goals on hold. But it will require a change in direction. B. Faith must determine our priorities not circumstances 1. Most people are controlled by the circumstances of life instead of being Page 2
“Building Lives With Purpose Through His POWER” Prayer / Outreach / Worship / Edification / Relationships Copyright © Foothills Community Church; Molalla, Oregon. All rights reserved.
directed by their faith. Most people set their priorities based upon the situation and then sacrifice their faith. They don’t have sacrificial faith…they have situational faith. Faith determined by the situation. • Which do you have? (Sacrificial or Situational?) • When the situation is tight financially what do we do? / When the situation is making me too busy for God’s priorities / When the situation is that someone hurt me – forgive and reconcile OR harbor bitterness. 2. Because I believe what God says in His word, I am willing to rearrange my life in order to follow it. That’s a sacrificial faith. 3. I am willing to rearrange my time / my finances / my relationships / my goals / so they reflect His priorities. I stop trying to fit my faith into my agenda! I alter my agenda to fit my faith! III.
Sacrificial Faith Grows Our Love Gen. 22:12 “…for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from Me.” (NLT) A. Sacrifice demonstrates what we love • Every parent understands this: I love my daughters so I’m willing to sacrifice for them (they drive my truck / I drive the neon / • We make sacrifices every day based on what we love. I see people sacrificing their families / marriages / kids on the alter of work – possessions – success. This demonstrates you love these things! 1. What God gave Abraham was not just a faith test, but it was a love test. Do you love me more than you beloved son? Will you put your relationship with Me over the relationship with your son? 2. God doesn’t want us more in love with His promises then we are with Him. (Isaac was the promise, yet God didn’t want Abraham more in love with his son…didn’t want Abraham more loyal to his son then Him. 3. Sacrificial faith demonstrates and grows our love for God. It proves that we really do love God more then anything else 4. The greatest command is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength. God will give us love tests in order to grow this into us. 5. 4 years ago Lisa and I were looking to move out of town. Been in town for 9 years and just wanted more privacy and space (explain – nothing worked) So, we just gave it up and told the Lord that it’s his deal! 2 months later… • Our willingness to give it up resulted in growing in our love for God. B. Sacrificial faith protects us from idolatry 1. What do you mean by idolatry? I’m no idol worshipper! God told the Israelites that they are to never have any other God before Him. In fact, of the 10 Commandments…this is #1! Page 3
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IV.
2. Anytime, we love something more than God / anytime we are more loyal to something more than God / anything that has more control or influence over us more than God…that is idolatry! 3. Sacrificial faith helps me keep God in His rightful place in my life…#1! If I’m not willing to sacrifice my time / my resources / my priorities / for Him, then He’s not #1 in my life. I don’t love Him most! 4. This is why Jesus connects how we handle finances with our heart. “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” How we use our money reveals what we love. How we use our time also reveals what we love. Deut. 14:23 “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.” (LB) This is the point of a sacrificial faith. Sacrificial Faith Reveals Our Character James 2:23 “Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous. He was even called, ‘the friend of God.” (NLT) • James is talking about Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac as an example of the kind of faith that God desires in us. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice spoke volumes about who this guy was. (Righteous / Friend of God!!!) A. Sacrifice reveals core issues about a person • Example of the man who threw his body on a grenade in Iraq (share) What does his sacrifice reveal about this man? • Mother Teresa ministering in Calcutta in a garbage dump till her death. • Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross 1. Unfortunately, we don’t value sacrifice in our culture…we value selfishness. Yet God calls us to live in such a way where we believe in what He calls us to is so significant, that it is worth the sacrifice to participate in it. 2. When it comes to sacrifice, everyone asks the same question…”Is it worth it?” Why should I sacrifice? Life is hard enough! You’ll never be able to sacrifice until you answer those questions. This is where some of you are stuck. 3. Is sacrifice worth it in order to see people come to Christ? Is sacrifice worth it to see marriages healed / people off drugs and alcohol / to give people hope / to experience God’s presence / to see God’s power / to see a community transformed. Is God’s vision worth sacrificing for it? 4. Because I believe in these things, I am willing to sacrifice for them! The greater good outweighs my own personal desires! God’s greater good is more influential then my own selfishness…and believe me, I have some and I battle it like all the rest of you. • But I don’t want to be remembered for my selfishness! B. Sacrifice shapes our character 1. The path to godly character is through sacrifice. It is impossible to become the man or woman that God desires you to be without embracing sacrifice. Page 4
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Jesus said that we should count the cost before following Him! 2. God gives us the opportunity to grow our character all the time. Usually, it is an opportunity to sacrifice for something God wants to do OR it is a chance for us to ignore it and pursue our own selfish agenda. 3. It comes down to a choice of agendas. God’s agenda will always require a sacrifice to pursue it. If we obey, we grow in character / experience renewed presence / we see results / If we don’t, we remain unchanged! 4. The purchase of this complex is not an opportunity to grow in size as much as it is an opportunity for us to grow in character as people. God is wanting to shape the character of His church and this will require sacrifice! V.
Sacrificial Faith Results In God’s Provision and Blessing Gen. 22:13-14 “The Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it…Abraham named the place, The Lord Will Provide…” (NLT) Gen. 22:16-18 “…Because you have obeyed Me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I will swear by My own Self that I will bless you richly…(NLT) A. We must be people who experience God’s provision 1. What we must experience as God’s people is that to embrace a sacrificial faith doesn’t bankrupt us. Instead, it opens our live up to receive the provision of God! We open our lives up to experience God more fully. 2. I believe so many believers just aren’t excited about their faith because God is not real to them. They have never seen Him provide in tangible ways / visible ways. He’s not Jehovah Jireh = God My Provider. 3. Some people wonder where all my passion comes from. Some of it comes from this…From years of experiencing God providing over and over again. 4. But we will never experience God’s provision until we are willing to sacrifice the very things that are hindering God coming through for us. Phil. 4:19 “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (NLT) B. We must be people who experience God’s blessing • Notice what God says, “Because you have obeyed Me, I will bless you.” 1. I want our church to be the living example of this Biblical principal to Molalla and every other believer around…THAT OBEDIENCE = BLESSING!!! 2. The blessing of God upon His people is a tremendous testimony to the world. God told Abraham that all the world would be blessed through him. For that to be a reality, Abraham had to experience God’s blessing upon himself first. Only then, could he be a blessing to others. Page 5
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3. We believe God wants us to bless this community. We believe that it is by the blessing of the upright a city is exalted. Before we have the ability to be a blessing, we must be people who are experiencing the blessing of God. 4. And the only way to experience the blessing and abundance from God is to have a sacrificial faith. This is what God is calling us to! Sacrifice Tests our Faith Sacrificial Faith Determines Our Priorities Sacrificial Faith Grows Our Love Sacrificial Faith Reveals Our Character Sacrificial Faith Results in God’s Provision and Blessing ** How is God trying to grow your faith? What is God calling you to sacrifice in order to experience His provision and blessing?
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