Faith Troy Sermons

You can run from God, but you can't outrun God. When we run, God comes after us. God isn't all grace, He is all love. As Jonah discovers, God comes after us not to pay us back, but to bring us back. Jonah 2 v.1 In my distress I called to the Lord. v.2 I called for help and you listened to my cry. Your Heavenly Father listens to the desperate prayers of desperate people who are in desperate circumstances... even when they are of their own creation. v.6 But You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord, my God v.8 Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. When you are in despair, you do not cry out for the thing that you pursued when you ran from your Heavenly Father. In your despair when you call on the Lord, He hears you and He responds.

We're afraid that if we surrender to God, we are going to miss out on good things. The other big reason we run is we confuse life with God. Jonah 1:3-7 People who run from God often run to the strangest places. When we run from God, we run from the source of wisdom and truth. v.4 Then the Lord... When you run from God, you will eventually have "Then the Lord" moments in your life. Runners are often the last people to make the connection. v.17 But the Lord... When you run, God doesn't abandon you. You can run from God, but you can't outrun God. God goes after Jonah not to pay him back, but to win him back and to bring him back.

Can you identify with Jonah's strengths, weaknesses, and sins? Jonah's Mission: To preach against the people of Nineveh about their wickedness. For us, Nineveh is any group of people who are walking in darkness. Jonah's response to God was to go in the opposite direction. Are we like Jonah? Do we run away from what God wants us to do? What is motivating Jonah to behave this way? Jonah was prejudiced and wanted God's justice to fall on them and not his mercy. We are all prone to believing we deserve God's mercy more than others. What does the Lord do about it? He shows mercy. God planned. God prepared. God appointed.

Women get a bad definition of womanhood. Women get crushed by the expectations of that definition. God created women to help so that weakness doesn't win. Genesis 2:18-23 "I will make a helper suitable for him." The weak aren't the helpers... the helpers are strong. Weakness wins when no one asks for help. Weakness wins when no one is willing to help. Weakness wins when the wrong person helps.

"Be a man." There is a crisis in how we understand what it means to be a man. Faux-masculinity is superficial and ignores what goes on in the inside. There are two possible responses when it comes to this problem: 1. We can eliminate distinctions. 2. We can redefine masculinity the way God does. God created men with a responsibility to love with strength and sacrifice. "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 "Be watchful" Men know the importance and the stakes of their role. "Stand firm in the faith" Men don't trust manliness, circumstance, or ability... they trust Jesus. "Act like men, be strong" Men don't use their strength for power, but for sacrifice. Men don't use their strength for control, but for love. "That battle is the Lord's" 1 Samuel 17:47 Jesus goes to battle for us.

All of us have some Hopes and Dreams of what life in the future will look like. When a marriage becomes characterized by the feeling of "You owe me," we are no longer able to recognize love. How do we keep legitimate Hopes and Dreams from becoming expectations? "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21 This is what allows us to live in a debt-free relationship. 1 Peter 5:5-7 If we don't want to do what Peter suggests, our other options are to pretend, keep doing more, or find someone new. v.5 "All of you clothe yourself with humility toward one another." Biblical Humility is not about rank, wealth, or position. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

All of us carry around an invisible list of Hopes and Dreams. How are we going to treat each other? When I hand my hopes and dreams to my spouse it feels like expectations. When hopes and dreams give way to expectations we leave, we win, we conform, or we compromise. "A New command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34 The Apostle Paul applies Jesus' final command to all kinds of relationships including marriages. "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." In marriage we may have different roles and responsibilities, but we do not have different value. "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and give himself up for her." Women, Jesus argued for your dignity, your value, and your worth long before anyone else in the history of the world.

It is God's idea. Genesis 2 Matthew 19 Mark 10 Ephesians 5 It's God's gift. God uses it to continue the human race. It's the mystery of the "one flesh" union. It provides a unique illustration of our relationship with him.

Paul leads us in the last week of our Heaven Is Here sermon series with a message called, Hark The Herald

Matthew starts his account of Jesus' life with a genealogy. Jesus didn't come here to be right, He came here to save people who needed to be saved. Matthew understood the story of Jesus is a story about God drawing near to those who had drawn away from him.

When Jesus shows up, it makes an impact on everybody. John 1:1-14 "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." Jesus doesn't show up outside the camp, He pitches a tent inside the neighborhood. When Jesus shows up, He speaks. John 1:1-3 Colossians 1:16 Jesus brings light and life into the neighborhood. Life that can't be defeated by death. Light that can't be overcome by darkness. You only remove the darkness by turning on the light. The light chases it away. 1 John 1:7 John 12:46

Slogans, Mottos, Stump Speeches When Jesus was born on earth, a paradigm shift was birthed in the relationship between God and mankind. What was it like for God's people before Jesus? What was it like for God's people after Jesus? Mark 1 & John 1

Waiting reminds us of what we're not. Waiting reminds us of what we're waiting for. Galatians 4:4-5 400 years is a long time to wait. God's silence does not mean God's absence. God may take his time, but he always keeps his word. The Mission: Jesus is sent. Jesus is sent for redemption and adoption. Jesus' rescue of you doesn't depend on you. Redemption sets you free, adoption makes you family.

The presence of adversity in our lives does not equate to the absence of God. Why doesn't God do something about that? John 11:1-45 v.6 When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days. Jesus is talking about opportunity. v.15 And for your sake I am glad I was not there so that you may believe. Jesus created a that so we could understand what God is doing when God doesn't do that thing we think He should do. v.26 Do you believe this? Even though Jesus knew how this event would end, this shows us something in Jesus so that we could understand the heart of God. v.40 Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? v.45 Therefore many of the Jews had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in Him.

Gift giving can feel like a "fair trade". IT makes us feel like we must reciprocate. Man's ways of gift-giving are not God's ways. "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways... As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." God gives no strings attached.

The only way for God to remove our chief complaint about Him is to remove everybody asking the question. "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 Certain things should not be. The world is broken. Followers of Jesus have always believed that this version of the world wasn't the original version and it's not the ultimate version. Romans 8:18-21 There is no emotionally satisfying answer to the problem of pain because God is not satisfied with the problem of pain.

When we experience adversity in our lives, it does not mean that God is absent. One of the reasons Jesus came to Earth was to explain God. We will never get closer to understanding God than knowing Jesus. John 9:1-38 v.2 Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? Jesus says the question is wrong. Isn't it possible that God is bigger than we imagined Him to be? Jesus showed up to make it clear that nobody is outside of the bounds of God's mercy and God's grace. Our Heavenly Father takes a personal interest in individual people. One of the most powerful things about Jesus' ministry is that he chose to heal people one person at a time. v.35 When Jesus found him, he asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Fear thrives when we get focused on the pieces of the puzzle that are missing. When we shift our focus away from the things that we can't explain and onto the things that we can't deny, our faith grows.

When we experience a "Greater than" moment, it's easy for us to: 1. Get angry. 2. Run or leave. 3. Compare ourselves to everybody else. The presence of adversity doesn't equate to the absence of God. One of the hardest things in these moments is shame. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 v.7 To keep me from being conceited, because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh... The problem with the idea of "Problem-Free" Christianity is that it's not Christianity. v.9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness." Embracing your inability in a "Greater than" moment is a prerequisite for experiencing Jesus' ability. Your Heavenly Father cares about your circumstances. If He says no, it doesn't mean He doesn't care. It's in our trials and our weakness that God is most clearly visible.

At some point we all come to those places in life that we experience a "Greater than" moment. It's easy in these seasons of life to draw some really bad conclusions and believe some lies. We experience a crisis of faith. It's at this point that most of us come to the conclusion that there are only two options: The first is to deny the bad. The second is that God must not be real. There is a third option... We can lament to God. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 Matthew 11:2-6 John begins to have what we have when time goes by and nothing happens... He has doubts. The proof of how God feels about you is what happened on the cross. Your unanswered prayer doesn't mean God is is uninterested.

Matthew 28:19-20 isn't a "Great Suggestion" it's a "Great Commission" If we put the emphasis only on the GO, we think that we are doing something for Jesus. "Surely I am with you always" We don't go for Jesus, we go with Jesus. The Church is for Joining Jesus How prepared were the 12 disciples? When God uses people who join Him on His mission, He equips them to do His work in them. The Choluteca Bridge The river of culture has moved in the US Belong. Believe. Become. Acts 4