Day 92 - The power of faith

God indeed is awesome!

This morning as I was walking to the church from the parking lot, I was telling my friend that I haven't been touched by a sunday sermon in a long time. Every Sunday, I find myself drifting off into space, with periodic touch-downs on earth only to see if the sermon is over yet and then floating off again. It's been a while since I've had the type of sermons that just go POW and leaves you dazed and convicted.

I think God heard me this morning because I felt today's sermon directed straight at me. Last week, I was going through a lot of inner struggles and God comforted me and spoke to me during worship. Of course, the sermon was so off-base for me that I don't even remember what the speaker said. I just remember watching a 15min clip of "Braveheart". But today's sermon sent me flying to write down everything the pastor said. It was a total confirmation of what God taught me last week but this time, it was more indepth and with scriptural backing!

Here are my sermon notes. The pastor spoke faster than I could write so I missed a lot of stuff.

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The Power of Faith ~ Pastor Allan Low

(Mark6:30-44; Luke9:10-17; John6:1-15; Matthew14:13-21)

Pure faith is a powerful faith. When we simply take God at His word and step out in faith to respond to His call, we see God's power at work. Faith can stand firm when all else fails because it is founded on God's Word alone. A shallow faith sees the self at work. Only a supernatural faith strengthened by His Spirit sees the power of God at work.

1. A shallow faith limits God's Power. Never assess a difficulty in the light of your own faith or your own resources or in the things you can see.
- In the story of "Jesus feeds the five thousand", Jesus told the disciples to feed the large crowd but they thought it impossible because all they had were 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish given by a young boy. "Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (john 6:7).
- sometimes we think that God wants us to do something because no one else is able to. We think that we're the only one to do it. But God doesn't need us!
- Jesus already knew what he was going to do and he knew the disciples could not do it on their own but he wanted them to see that for themselves.
- He wants us to get to a point where we can look to nothing else but to look up! He wants to humble us.
- God simply gives us opportunities to be obedient, to be humble so that we will look to him and not to ourselves.

2. A supernatural faith witnesses God's Power. (2 Cor. 5:7)
- A situation that seems impossible with human resources is simply an opportunity for God.
- when God wants us to do something, He will provide the resources.
- God works through us not because of us.
- Little is much when God is in it.
- Spiritual maturity is not more knowledge. Spiritual maturity is spiritual depth.
- many of us are spiritually empty because we are not filled with the WORD of God
- Are we going to have a Shallow Faith or Supernatural Faith?

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I've always felt that the things I do, I have to do because I'm the only one able to. I look to myself and the resources around me, to get things done. When the resources aren't available, I stress and doubt. But that's a totally twisted idea because I'm not able to do it and I'm not the only one able to do it, I can do the things I do because God has provided me with all the resources that I need and he can do that for everyone else! With the little resources that I have, God is able to multiply that beyond comprehension to satisfy and have leftovers.