Crisis of Belief

I Samuel 17:1-54 (PP)

Audio Tape of I Sam. 17:1-54
*2 Power Point Slides
Crisis of Belief (PP)
The word crisis comes from a word that means "decision". The crisis of belief is a turning point where you must make a decision. You must decide what you believe about God. (PP)
How you respond at this turning point will determine whether you go on to be involved with God in something God-sized that only He can do, or whether you will continue to go your own way and miss what God has purposed for your life.
This crisis of belief is not a one-time experience. It is a daily experience. How you live your live is a testimony of what you believe about God.
(PP)
An encounter with God requires faith.
Encounters with God are God-sized.
What you do in response to God’s revelation, His invitation to get involved with Him, reveals what you believe about God.
True faith requires action.
One of the most difficult things about serving the Lord is being on target with Him. (PP – Target) As a minister for over thirty-two years now, I have had the privilege and the burden of leading God’s people to accomplish God’s will in many situations.
I find myself continually searching my heart and seeking from the Lord His direction for my life and the life of the church. I spend hours each week in prayer, Bible study and meditation.
I am often faced with "Goliaths". I face situations that are bigger than I can possibly handle. I encounter problems in my life, the life of my family and the life of church members that loom far above me.
I have a crisis of belief almost every week and sometimes several different crisis of belief back to back … day to day.
(PP) What I do reveals what I believe about God, regardless of what I say. When God reveals what He has purposed to do, I face a crisis – a decision time. God and the world can tell what I really believe about God from my response to the "Goliaths" He sets before me.
When David arrived on the scene, Goliath (nine feet tall) challenged Israel to send one man to fight him. The losing nation would become the slaves of the winner.

Israel’s army was terrified. David asked in amazement, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (v.26). David faced a crisis of belief. He may have realized that God had brought him to the battlefield and had prepared him for this assignment.
Note verses 45-47 of I Samuel 17,

45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.
46 "This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands." NASB95

David’s statements indicate that he believed God was the living God and that He was the Deliverer. He said that God was Almighty and that God would defend Israel’s armies. David’s actions verify that he really did believe these things about God.

Many thought David was a foolish young boy, and even Goliath laughed at him. God delivered the Israelites, however. He gave a mighty victory through David, so that the whole world would know that there was a God in Israel.
Sarah Lacked Faith
God called Abram and promised to make his offspring as numerous as the stars. Abram questioned God about this promise, since he remained childless into his old age. God reaffirmed, "A son coming from your own body will be your heir… Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." (Gen. 15:4 & 6.)

Abraham’s wife Sarah was in her mid 70’s at this time. She knew she was past childbearing years, so she decided she would have to "build a family" in a different way. She gave here maid to Abram as a wife and asked for a child through her. Ishmael was born to Haggar a year later. Sarah’s actions indicated what she believed about God.

The result of their disobedience is still with us today. The enmity between the Jews and the Arabs is traced back to the enmity between Isaac and Ishmael. The Jews descend from Isaac and the Arabs descend from Ishmael.
Do you see how Sarah’s actions told what she really believed about God? She did not have the faith to believe that God could do the impossible and give her a child at 77 years of age. Her belief about God was limited by her own human reason.
This act of unbelief was very costly. Ishmael caused Abraham and Sarah grief in their old age. What you do in response to God’s revelation and invitation to do His will really does indicate what you believe about God.
Think with me about the following scenarios. (Page 121-122 – Experiencing God – Read paragraph and then show choices on Power Point.)
What Goliath are you facing today?

Our actions indicate what we believe
and do not believe about God. (PP)
When God invites you to join Him and you face a crisis of belief,
what you do next tells what you believe about God.
Your actions really do speak louder than words. (PP)


Read – Matthew 8:5-13 (PP)
5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him,
6 and saying, " Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented."
     7 Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
8 But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9 "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it."
     10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.
11 "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
     12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
     13 And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.

ANSWERS - Microphone
What did the centurion do to demonstrate his faith? (PP)
What do you think the centurion believed about Jesus’ authority and healing power? (PP)
Read – Matthew 8:23-27 (PP)
23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.
25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!"
26 He said to them, " Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
     27 The men were amazed, and said, " What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" NASB95

What did the disciples do to demonstrate their "little faith" in the middle of this storm? (PP)
Read – Matthew 9:20-22 (PP)
20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak;
21 for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."
22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.
     

What did the woman do to demonstrate her faith? (PP)
What do you think the woman believed about Jesus’ power to heal? (PP)
Read – Matthew 9:27-31 (PP)
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
     29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith."
     30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them:
"See that no one knows about this! "
     31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land. NASB95

What trait of God (Jesus) were these two blind men appealing to? (PP)
On what basis did Jesus heal these two men? (PP)
What each one of these people did indicated to Jesus
what kind of faith they had.

What Goliath are you facing today?
(Repeat) (PP) What I do reveals what I believe about God, regardless of what I say.
(Repeat) (PP) What I believe about God will determine what I do and how I live.
James 2:26 (PP)
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. NASB95

When you face a crisis of belief, what you do demonstrates
what you believe. Faith without action is dead! (PP)
(PP)
An encounter with God requires faith.
Encounters with God are God-sized.
What you do in response to God’s revelation, His invitation to get involved with Him, reveals what you believe about God.
True faith requires action.

Hebrews 11:6 (PP)
6 And 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 seek Him.
     

How is your faith today?
Are you ready and willing to encounter God?
Will you trusts Him to do great things in you and through you?
Will you act upon what He is telling you to do right now?