Practical Teaching

Five Things God Uses to Grow Our Faith

This morning we start a brand new series entitled – Five Things God Uses to Grow Our Faith. I have to be honest with you, I could not wait to start this series. I am excited about this series because I believe this five week series will radically, change people’s lives. I really believe there are people here today that don’t want to settle for the status quo. They don’t want to settle for something ordinary. I believe people here are seeking after something that has life changing impact for their life.

This morning, I am going to start out with a few questions for you this morning:

• How many of you are satisfied with your relationship with God? (Raise your hands really high)
• How many of you know someone that has a deep faith, loving, intimate relationship with God? If fact, if you could, you would want to trade places with that person?
• How many of you know how to increase your faith, and have a better relationship with God?

I know these questions were rigged. Over the years of being a Pastor, I believe we all want to have a closer, deeper, and loving relationship with God. I think deep down inside, everyone in this room wants God to love us more and we desire to love God more.

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August 30, 2015
Matthew 7:24-29, Practical Teaching
Pastor David Pranga, Brewster Baptist Church

Here is the problem that some of us face. We just are not sure how to really grow closer to God.   We are unsure how to grow our faith. But we really try. Here are some ways we try:

• Attending Church Regularly – We think that if God sees us in the pews every Sunday that He will be happy with us.
• Some of people think if they are good enough – What does that mean? If you do more good deeds than bad deeds in life. Then God will see how much I love him.
• Doctrine – If I believe just the right commands, laws, or other things, then that would be enough.
• For some of us… We have been taught that if we observe the sacraments – If you came from a Protestant Church this would be baptism and communion.   If you came from the Catholic background you would include five more sacraments. If you keep the sacraments then you will have a fantastic relationship with God.

Let me first tell you that all these things are good. They are all important…. But attendance is not enough, good deeds is not enough, keeping a list of laws and sacraments are all good things….But, if we really want to grow our faith, if we truly want a deeper and closer relationship with God. I believe that God uses 5 catalysts to grow our faith.

5 Things God Uses to Grow Our Faith

1. Practical Biblical teaching … The Bible shows us who we are and where we need to go (More on this later)
2. Providential Relationships… God brings someone (guy or gal) into our life and helps us to grow closer to Him. This could be in a mentor relationship. It could be in a small group bible study. It is through a relationship that our faith begins to grow, blossom, and deepen.
3. Personal Ministry… We begin to serve in a ministry and our faith deepens. We see by serving people that our faith grows. We experience God’s power in serving and making a difference in people’s lives.
4. Private Spiritual Disciplines… We begin to tune our hearts to God by having a quiet time (meeting with God daily), praying, and tithing). We learn to slow down and tune our hearts to God.
5. Pivotal Circumstances – There are times in our life when our faith is shaken. When commitment to Jesus may be questioned. Do we try it our way or do we trust God. It is during these circumstances, these life changing moments that our faith can grow the most.

This is what we are going to be talking about the next five weeks. I just want to start off by saying, there is nothing listed in the bible that says, these are the five things that grow our faith.

What I will say, when I have talked to Christians about their faith, and they begin to share their faith stories about how they grew and their faith was strengthen these five areas always come up. When I look at my own faith, I can see how God has continued to grow my faith. I just really believe that God uses these five catalysts over and over again to grow, strengthen, and deepen our faith in Him.

This series – Five Things God Uses to Grow Our Faith will change your life if you put it into practice. I promise you that if you come each week for the next 5 weeks, you will not be disappointed. Your faith in God will grow and increase. Not only will your faith increase, your relationship with God will begin to grow and deepen. You will know Him better.

This morning, we are going to tackle # 1 on the list – “Practical Biblical Teaching”. Here is what I have discovered when I talk to people (men and women, college students, and high school students) and hear stories of when they have grown in their faith. They have mentioned something like…

I have grown up going to Sunday School, or even going to church or they did not grow up attending any religious activities. Then one day, somebody invited me to a bible study. Or a friend of mine started a Bible Study at work. Or somebody invited me to check out this pastor at this church. Or I was invited to this youth group and the leader helped me.

Here is the key, somebody invited me to an environment and there was this guy or girl or this pastor that was up there teaching me the Bible. And it was like I never knew that stuff was even in there. For some reason, my eyes were wide -open and for the first time it just made sense.

For once, it was not more information or more head knowledge. The way the person taught was practical to my life. The leader presented it as if it had meaning for my life. The words just came alive for me for the very first time. One of the things that just grows our faith and gives us bigger faith is the first time we are exposed to practical biblical teaching.

My life: I had my own experience in this. I grew up going to church as a child and through my teen years. My parents taught me the importance of God and making decisions that would honor him. I was a good kid by all accounts from the world. Just don’t ask my parents. Yet, I can remember when I was a college freshman. I had freedom that I dreamed about for the very first time. I could do anything I wanted.

I can remember one night in the fall, after an intermural softball game in college. An upper classman guy invited me, a freshman, to his bible study. This was a secular campus. I respected this upperclassman, so I said “yes”. (PAUSE) Why? I really have no idea. I thought he was cool and he was the best player on the team. I just remember walking to my dorm room thinking… What did I just agree to do? A bible study, really?

Yet, when I started to attend this Bible Study that my friend led, we studied the book of Luke. For the first time in my life, the Bible just came alive. For the first time in my life, I wanted to learn the stories because it had relevance for my life. I started reading one chapter each day. At the time it seemed like a lot. Looking back it probably took 10 minutes every day to read. I was learning. I was trying to put Jesus’ words into action.

I can even remember going to church a few weeks later and the Pastor was preaching on a story, I just read about. And for some reason, I was amazed by it.  For the first time, I was understanding the bible not for facts or head knowledge, but for my own life and my faith in God just grew. The more I read of my bible, and the more I went to that bible study, and the more I went to church, my life was being transformed. My faith grew and got bigger, and bigger. I was open to hearing from God. For the first time in my life, I felt close to God, that he cared about me. He was not just up in the clouds looking to get me.

Here’s the problem with a lot of churches across America. I have heard this countless times from our New Membership Classes. Here is what people have told me…

• I have been going to church for ten plus years; but this is the first church where I am learning what the bible has to say for my life”.
• “There is something different about this church, there is energy where people really care for each other and the community.
• Or people have shared, “In my previous churches, I was told what not to do, or I had to keep these laws or commandments but this church is different. I am motivated and want to do the right thing.”
• People are full of joy; they want to help out and serve others. They care about the Bible and how it has impacted their life.

What I have found interesting about BBC, as I mentioned I have been here for 1 year, I would say 40% of our church comes from a Catholic background, 40% from a Methodist background, and only 10% from a Baptist background and 10% from either another denomination or had no church background.

What is significant about BBC is that we want to help you grow in your faith. We want to help you to understand the bible. We have classes and small groups that will help you. You will hear more about these groups starting next week. We look at the bible as something each person can read, understand, and apply to their life. We believe the bible speaks on topics such as relationships, how to love one another, finances, marriage, social justice, and love.

Yet, there are some of us that come weekly, hearing the message and walking out the door with little influence into our lives.

For some of us, we need to find our Bible. We may have to search the house. We need to get that Bible off the shelf. Blow the dust off of it and begin to read one chapter a day.

This is what I do know. The Bible has meaning for each person here. I love that God describes His word as “sweet honey”. When we begin to read God’s words; our spirit and soul opens up to Him.

Many of you will recognize this familiar story which we call a parable. A parable is a story that was told by Jesus to teach people a spiritual lesson. This morning, I want you turn to Matthew 7:24-29.

In fact, many of you have sung this song in children’s church or Vacation Bible School. I promise you that I won’t sing it. But you will know it when I read the first verse.

Read Matthew 7:24-29    “Build Your House on the Rock”

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” ²⁸ And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹ for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.  

I want you to think about a person in your mind that exhibits great faith. If you had a problem or needed encouragement, you would want to talk to this person. Does everyone have one person in their mind? It could be your spouse, mom, dad, grandparent, uncle, or aunt. Maybe it is a friend or teacher.

What number one quality does this person have? For most of us, if we think about the quality that stands out it was their “FAITH” in God. Whether this person was a dad, mom, grandparent their faith stood out. They had something that you could not explain. Maybe they had a love that came from someone else. This person had wisdom, patience, kindness, and gentleness. They had a heart that was giving and caring. They had a faith that trusted in God.

When bad things happened they trusted God would be there for them. When they did not have very much, they trusted God would provide. When something bad happened that could not be explained, they trusted God would work out these things. This person you were thinking about had a strong faith and foundation in God.

Let’s go back to the passage

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Jesus is talking to the group of people listening to him that their life needs to be different. The Pharisees, the Rabbis, and Teachers of the Law taught laws and rules that you needed to obey, many that were man made, in order to please God.

But, here you have Jesus, saying, if you want to see a difference in your life, if you want to increase your faith, then hear my words and do it. Put my words into action. If you want to see God show up, then you have to do these things.

What are these things Jesus is talking about?

There are many of us in this room that rates our relationship with God based upon if we attended church. We say to ourselves, God you must do this for me because I attended church last week, or we remind God that we have attended church for the past five weeks and have not asked for anything. I don’t think Jesus looks at our consistency in church and then decides if we are worthy for our prayers to be answered. I don’t think God works that way.

I don’t think Jesus is thinking to himself, that if David attended church last week then that would make the difference in answering his prayers. Yet, isn’t that how we sometimes think to ourselves.

Jesus says, “No”, you can come; hear all my speeches and all my talks on the boat. You can write them all down, recite my words, even memorize them but if you don’t do any of this stuff, it is not going to make any difference. What is Jesus telling us from these verse?

To be a wise man and exhibit great faith in God, we need to not only to hear the words of Jesus but we need to do it. We need to put it into action. We need to do something about it.

This is why when you have people share their faith story, they will always include an element of “You know when I started going to this church. And this guy or this woman started teaching, for the first time I understood what the Bible meant and I understood what I was supposed to do. And then I just went out and did it. For the first time in my life, I just tried it and it worked.

I began to actually apply the scriptures to my life. I never knew you could apply the bible to my marriage, my family, to work life, to the person I was having a problem with, to my money, and to my future. And when I began to apply the scriptures in this way, something happened in my relationship with God. It was deepened. God came alive in my life. I just started doing it.

I started to follow God because I wanted to follow Him. I was looking for someone to lead my life. I began to realize that I needed Him. I began applying these principles that I was reading in my Bible to my life, and it was like I saw God at work in my life for the very first time.

That is the story of the “wise man”. The wise man heard the words and then put them into practice. What do we call this? Obedience. It is following God. Which is simply an act of faith. It is saying to God, I believe you, so I am going to do it. God, I believe, so I’m not going to question it. I am just going to do it. It is that simple. The wise man “Hears it and then Does It”

When your faith intersects with God’s faithfulness that is when you put feet to your theology and begin to do some of the things the Bible says. Let me tell you, God honors your faith in him. God honors your obedience to him. Our faith grows when we put God first.

We say to God, “I’m going to do what you asked me to do, not because it makes sense, not because I’ve seen anybody else do it, not because it goes along with what I see in society, not because I think it will work, not because I think it will make a difference in my life. I am going to do this simply because you said it.” You start applying the principles from the Bible to your life.

I want you to think about “nutrition”.   Everyone believes in the importance of nutrition. Yet, it’s another thing to eat healthy. Right? You can believe in nutrition and what it does for you.

You can read books about the important benefits. You can even go to a seminar, watch you tube videos, or even buy a book. Yet it does not do any good until you apply it.

The same goes with exercise. We can all read the benefits of exercise. We go out, buy a video, join a gym, and meet with a trainer. We can do all these things and more. We can even become an expert in exercise. We can do all these things, but if we fail to do it, then it is worthless for us. It won’t do me any good knowing everything about exercising but not be willing to do it. I need to be a doer. To actually get on a treadmill or to get on a bike and exercise.

This is what Jesus is saying, “Look if you want your faith to increase, if you want your faith to explode, you must go out and do it.” And this is why. One of the things that pumps up your faith and grows your faith is when you expose yourself to the Bible and put yourself in the environment where people teach the Word of God. Not just in the terms of knowledge but also in application. You need to understand how you can apply this to your life.

Remember the wise man – hears the words and puts them into practice.

What does the foolish man do?

Matthew 7:26

²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

The foolish man hears the word of God just like the wise man. He may attend church or mass. He may show up at the Sunday school classes or small groups. He may even read the book on the subject. His attendance may be 100%, yet he is a fool in God eyes.

I know some of you don’t want to hear this. Some of you may even think I am way off base on this one. But check out what the Bible says…

Perfect attendance is not the issue. Attendance does not make a difference. Acquiring knowledge is not the issue. The issue Jesus is talking about is simply our “obedience” to God. Are we willing to follow Him? Are we willing to take the step of faith and put what we read into action and do it.

If you want to be like a foolish man: hear the words – walk away….

If you want to be like a wise man: hear the words – do it…..

Let’s go back to verse 25

²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

Here is why it is so important to hear God’s words and put them into practice. It all about verse 25. There will be storms in our life. We will all experience storms. Some of these storms will be like a passing shower. Hitting us but not doing much damage. Then there will be storms that are big, huge, ugly, and violent like a hurricane. At one time or another, we will all experience storms in our lives.

What are the storms of life? Maybe it is the storm of illness or sickness. Maybe it’s a storm of job loss. It could be a financial situation or some sort of strife in a relationship. Maybe it is problems with a child. Maybe it’s a death of a loved one.

Storms can take on a lot of different forms but they all share a common tendency. They will come. They will come to both the wise man and the foolish man. Trouble comes simply because we live in a fallen world, filled with tribulation.

In a storm the foolish man will start questioning God. He may even believe to himself that God is out there to punish him. It is during these storms that his faith crumbles. The foolish man then begins to follow the world. He follows his ways, because he thinks he knows everything and thinks what has God really done for him.   The foolish man keeps trying in his own power.

For the wise man, he turns to God and his faith holds him up. I really believe it is during these storms where our faith gets tested. We tend to grow deeper when these storms hit us. We turn to God. We seek after Him. We begin to pray for guidance. We read the scripture and then we do it. Eventually, we come out on the other side. Our faith grows. These storms produce deeper faith and a deeper relationship with God than what we previously had.

Remember when I asked you to think of a spiritual person that exhibited great faith. You ask them about the storms they went through. The storms that grew their faith.

They will tell you of the storms in their lives and how God showed up! How God provided for them. How God brought comfort. How God cared for them. How God simply loved them.

Let me simply say…The solid foundation that the man built his house on was on the Rock. That Rock was trusting in Jesus Christ and putting the Scriptures (the Bible) into practice. It is when we listen to the word and then do what it says, and obey the things that Jesus taught that we have a deep foundation when storms hit us.

In closing let me offer you a challenge this morning…

• Be like the wise man – when you hear God’s word – Start doing it! Don’t think maybe or I probably should do this or not. Just do it!
• Go to a Bible believing church – Go to a church or keep coming to BBC the Bible is taught. Don’t take it for granted. Last summer, I had the good or not so good fortune of visiting other churches. I was amazed at how many I went to that did not teach God’s word. Find a good church that teaches the Bible.
• Join a small group – You are going to hear more about this next week. There will be a small group sign up in the next two weeks. We have groups almost every day, where people come together to learn and apply God’s word to their life.
• Lastly, find a Bible and read it… Make a commitment to one chapter a day, 10 minutes of reading and then apply what you read.