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Are you at a good place in your life? Do you feel like you are accomplishing everything that you set out to? Are you happy with your circumstances, or even your relationship with God? Greater is possible. No matter where you stand or where you think you are going, greater is possible.
Hello everyone! My name is Chris Fluitt and I want to welcome everyone to Redemption Church. Hello to all the good-looking people in the room. Hello to all the suave and sophisticated people tuning in online. We love you all and we are excited to share the Word of God with you today!
Today we are starting a brand-new series called – Greater Reward.
Greater Reward
I need you to correct me if I am wrong…
You get up early and put on workout clothes and go to gym to do awkward workouts in front of strangers and lifting heavier and heavier weights… and you do this all to have a flabbier and weaker body.
No! You do it to have a greater reward – health and strength.
You cut up credit cards, limit your spending, and save money… you actually have learned that your car can drive through a Starbucks without buying a 5-dollar coffee… you have learned to tell yourself “no” when the latest iPhone comes out… you do all of this so that your financial outlook will be bleaker, more depressing and poorer.
No! You do it to have a greater financial reward of peace and margin.
You tell your spouse, “I think we need to talk,” and then you proceed to have an uncomfortable talk about owning mistakes, creating change, and loving at a deeper level. You sit across from each other and take turns crying and watching each other cry. You put yourself through this agony so that your marriage will slowly die the same death over 50% of marriages experience – divorce.
No! You are willing to go through these difficult conversations because you believe there is a greater reward of a long happy loving life together.
And why did you come to church today? Why did you get dressed and come out this evening and worship, receive the word, and pray? Why do you live out this Christian life during the week? You do it so that you will grow further and further from God.
No! You came tonight because you believe there is a greater reward in His presence. You believe that there is an answer on the other side of your prayer. You believe you can draw closer to God and that He will draw closer to you! (James 4:8)
Because there is a greater reward, we are willing to struggle and even fail.
…willing to try again.
…willing to say ‘no’ to good things so that we can ‘yes’ to greater things.
…willing to discipline ourselves.
…willing to look into the Word of God and change.
…willing to face hardship.
ALL BECAUSE WE BELIEVE SOMETHING GREATER IS POSSIBLE.
GREATER IS POSSIBLE
Over the next few weeks in this series, we are going to be talking about how to receive a greater reward for your effort, but tonight my message is simple. GREATER IS POSSIBLE!
To the person who does not like how they look in the mirror and how they feel in their body. Greater is possible.
To the person who is not sure a good marriage is possible because of your experiences and so many bad examples around you. Greater is possible.
To the person who is struggling emotionally, financially, spiritually. Lift up your head! Greater is possible.
Child of God greater is possible.
Redemption Church greater is possible.
We live in a world where greater may not seem possible.
When we think about government corruption, it feels like we are powerless to change it.
When we think about sexual abuse, drug abuse and the evils committed, we feel like things are only getting worse.
When we see marriages suffering, health failing, finances falling, and churches closing, it feels like maybe the good days are gone forever.
I have come to declare by faith; greater is still possible.
You do not have to resign yourself to lesser, weaker, or poorer. Greater is possible.
Quiz time.
Where in your Bible is the defining scripture for faith? (Hebrews 11:1)
How does this scripture define ‘Faith’?
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
It is good to be able to quote verses like this one, but you also need to be able to understand and explain verses like this one.
Stare at this verse for a little bit. Understand this verse. Put it in your own words. You in our live stream, go ahead and leave a comment that puts this verse in your own words.
I took time this week to reduce this verse down to it’s simplest sentence possible. Here is what I came up with…
Faith is hope (for greater)
“Faith is hope” is the simplest way to describe faith.
If you have lost hope, then you are not operating in faith.
A hopeless world is a faithless world.
It is not a hope for something worse, but a hope for something greater.
Is there a hopeless area in your life?
Is there an area of your life you can’t imagine getting any better?
If so, faith in God needs to flow into that area of your life.
It is great when you have a faith that simply knows. A confident and certain faith is great. But if you will allow me to be honest… I don’t always have a confident certain faith. Sometimes I operate on hope, and this is still faith.
When you lifted your hands to the Lord in worship, did you know what you were going to feel? I didn’t know, but I hoped I would feel God’s presence.
When I pray for people do I know with certainty what God is going to do? I don’t know, but I certainly hope that God is going to move.
Sometimes we treat hope as if it were hopeless and we treat faith as if it were 100% certainty. This is wrong.
You have heard the phrase “seeing is believing.” One of my good friends, Bruce Fane, told me a testimony of the moment he came to faith. Bruce was struggling as a believer and was sitting on his couch going around the dial on his tv looking for something to watch. Then he ran across one of those church programs where a preacher said these words…
“If you see and you don’t believe, there is something wrong with you. Believing is when you can’t see and that requires faith.”
That day Bruce decided he would believe by faith in a God he could not see.
Romans 8:24-25(NIV) hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Faith is not knowing.
Faith is not seeing.
Hope is not knowing.
Hope is not seeing.
Faith is hope (for greater)
Does anyone have hope for greater today?
Eve was kicked out of the garden and then she lost both of her sons Cain & Able, yet she hoped for something greater. She hoped in the promise of God that He would bring a Messiah through her seed. (Gen 3:15)
Hope for greater!
The world became worse and in Genesis 6 it says, “that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Although everything is getting worse, a man named Noah hears the voice of God and IN HOPE builds an ark of safety.
Hope for greater!
The biggest, ‘baddest’ giant named Goliath, stood out in the field and defied the army of Israel. None of the men went to meet this giant in battle, but a young shepherd boy named David walked out into that field and said, “Giant you come against me with a sword and a shield, BUT I HOPE IN SOMETHING GREATER! I come to you in the name of the Lord!” (1 Samuel 17:45)
Hope for greater!
God’s own son came to Earth and healed the sick and raised the dead. Jesus revealed to us who God is and how He loves us. Then this Lamb of God was brutally killed on the cross. He was laid in a tomb.
It appeared all hope was lost, but the message in your Bible is to Hope, far greater!
Jesus rose from the grave and He is alive forevermore.
Because Jesus is alive forever – HOPE IS ALIVE FOREVER!
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Faith is hope for greater! Do you have hope for greater today? Greater is possible.
How great are we talking?
Are we talking a slight improvement?
Greater compared to what?
John 14:12-14(NIV) 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Himself says that those that believe… those who have faith in Him… those who HOPE IN HIM… will do even greater things than Jesus.
Greater is possible
Not only is greater possible, greater is promised.
Greater is Promised
Jesus Christ, the TRUTH Himself, tells us… promises us… that we will do even greater.
The same Jesus who healed the blind man, promises you can do greater.
The same Jesus who fed the multitude, promises you can do greater.
This Jesus promised you the Holy Spirit. When His Spirit is living in you, then greater is available for you.
Does this give you hope? Faith is the hope for greater. I pray that your hope and faith rise right now.
We live in a broken world that is filled with worse news, but you have been promised greater.
A greater calling and gifting.
A greater marriage.
A greater career.
A greater future.
Jesus promised you greater! Speak to the hopeless part of your life and prophesy – Greater is coming!
Musician
In a few moments I am going to invite you to come talk to Jesus and receive the greater He has for you, but first I want to tell you…
You must make the greater choice
In Luke 10 Jesus is at the house of Lazarus and his 2 sisters Mary & Martha. Martha is running around cleaning and preparing a meal and she was becoming frustrated. Martha called for her sister Mary to help her.
Luke 10:38-42(NIV) 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus told Martha, few things are needed, indeed only one thing is needed… Mary has chosen what was better/greater.
You must make the greater choice
Greater is available, but have you been choosing the greater reward.
Is Jesus greater? Choose Him today.
“Mary has chosen what is greater and it will not be taken away from her.” You can choose something greater today that will not ever be taken away from you. Jesus is greater.
To many of us I would say, if you are continuing doing the things you have always done, you will continue to receive the same rewards, whether happiness and fulfillment or difficulty and struggle. But, if you dig a little deeper, dedicate more, obey the Word of God more fully, you will reap rewards far greater.