The ultimate purpose for reading the Bible is to come into a place of worship. Like other things in life, things that amaze us today in the Bible become common over time. We lose our wonder. Being on guard for this is the first step to avoiding it. God doesn't need our worship, but it is how we encounter Him and how He imparts to us. Without Scripture, we can't know God. It is His greatest gift to us - Himself and the ability to worship Him. Worship is one of the only things we get to do here on earth that we will also do in Heaven! By reading our Bibles with faith and expectation, worshiping Him for His supreme worth and beauty, we will become more like Him, drawing more people into the family of God.

We often face challenges and think "if only Jesus were here". The reality is that we are to be the ones to be His hands and feet in the world! John 14:12 reminds us that we will do greater works than Jesus did. So many Christians today pray small, weak prayers and churches limit them with small ideas about who God is and what He does. God is looking for people to redefine what is possible in the kingdom. God is with us (that's what Emmanuel, one of the names of Jesus, means), so we are called to do the same works as Jesus did. God's grace is sufficient for us. It is huge, overwhelming, and all-encompassing. Let's move forward and leave the poverty mentality behind! Ephesians 4:11-15 calls us to serve - as pastors, apostles, teachers, evangelists, and prophets. This is how Sandbox will serve in God's kingdom. Challenge yourself to think about where you are and whether you are doing what God has for you to do.

There is a force that wants to keep us from spending time in God's Word. It is very easy for us to miss experiencing the fullness of God's Word when we don't realize what we have in our hands. John 1:1 tells us "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." If we think about that - when we hold the Bible in our hands, we are holding God - it will change how we read. No more will we just be reading another book or performing a task to check off our list of how to be a Christian. Instead, we will have the chance to encounter God every time we pick up our Bibles. We will come in faith, with ready hearts to receive, and with the Holy Spirit to guide us. Our hunger for God will lead us to be fed and deepen our relationship with Him.

In 1 Chronicles 11:22-24, we learn about Benaiah. He was a doer of great deeds as listed in these verses. When we are gone, what will people say about us? He battled the best men of Moab and a mighty Egyptian, even killed a lion - going after the lion to do so. Why would he pursue the lion?! The lion was a danger to his people. If he didn't do something about it, someone would be hurt. This is a special message for fathers: Whatever you don't conquer in your own life will visit itself on your family, especially your children. They will have to deal with the lions you don't fight. We sometimes forget that we have access to unlimited power to do battle and we find excuses why we "can't" conquer our trials. Moses and Gideon had excuses why they couldn't do what the Lord was telling them to do. Fortunately, He didn't accept them. What excuses are we making for why we don't step out and do what God calls us to do? What are we passing on to others in our lives? We can be either the ceiling that holds people in or the propulsion to spur others to victory.

In 2 Samuel 6:16-23, we see the story of David coming into the City of David with the ark and his undignified dancing in praise to the Lord. We witness Michal, his wife, despising him in her heart and when he returns home after the celebration, voicing her displeasure with him. David rebukes her and says he will celebrate this way and even more and then we see that Michal dies a barren woman. This is a picture of the state of her heart - angry and bitter at God for her lack of a child and she takes it out on her husband. It also shows us a snapshot of the ugly side of Christianity - where people of different denominations mock and ridicule others for laying on of hands, dancing, or praying in tongues to name a few. This is wrapped up in pride, religiosity, and anger. The Bible clearly talks about all of these things, so if it is in scripture, why wouldn't we do it and let it penetrate our hearts? So many things can be our personal lions - insecurity, feeling ashamed of our bodies, feeling inadequate in our jobs - and we can pass these things along to our families if we don't deal with them. We can become jealous of what others have - a child, a nicer car, a better job - and become self-righteous about it, thinking we are holier because we are not as well off as they are. This is not right! Poverty is not a symbol of holiness and neither is richness. The sign of holiness is contentment no matter what we have.

Psalm 149: 3-4 encourages us to praise His name with dancing and make music to the Lord, for He delights in it. What if dancing isn't about what we like, but rather what God likes and what blesses Him? The devil wants us to be insecure and afraid to really praise God. Psalm 150 tells us to praise, Praise, PRAISE! Praise is biblical. We are called to do it with all our hearts. Parents love to do things for their kids that their kids love and they love it when their kids do things for them too. Our Father is no different! He loves when we do things for Him - like dance. Just like we don't want to have friends over to a house that is not prepared to receive them, we need to receive people into a place of freedom at Sandbox, so let's act out that freedom and dance to the Lord!

Amen!

Heb 11:1 defines faith: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb 11:6 tells us without faith, it is impossible to please God and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Romans 4:3 reminds us that Abraham believed God (had faith) and it was credited to him as righteousness. Back in Hebrews 11, often called the Hall of Fame of Faith, we see that the phrase “by faith” is used twenty times. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son as God called him to do, because he trusted that God could raise him from the dead. We may ask ourselves, when people talk of me, will they say “By Faith, (your name here) did ______.”?

Living by faith is awkward, uncomfortable, and often downright scary. God cares more about our maturing and growing as a Christian than about our comfort. Most people focus on wanting good relationships, good health, good job, security through our finances, etc., but God calls us to walk by faith, and not to focus on these things.

Many of these heroes of the faith made lots of mistakes and sinned, but that isn't what God focuses on. We can take comfort that when we meet Jesus, our sins, poor choices, and failures will not be talked about, but the things we accomplished through faith will be. Heroes of the faith were ordinary people, not especially talented or royalty, but they stepped out in faith. To recap, walking in faith: 1) Pleases God; 2) Is credited to us as righteousness:, and 3) Has an impact for God’s Kingdom.

If God calls you to step outside your comfort zone, consider this, “God may go with me.”, as Jonathan says in 1 Samuel 14:6. Whether it be sharing the gospel, starting a business, starting a ministry, do not focus on what you think you can do, but rather “God may go with me.”

Another result of walking by faith is it can lead to an extraordinary life. We can experience miracles in our regular lives - getting money to travel to a new country, getting through school against tough odds, healing at just the right time, or even “finding” front row rodeo seats unoccupied in the midst of a sold out arena.

Ask yourself, “How often do I really give God an opportunity to move?” Do we truly look at God as the answer to every problem we face? Also, when someone we know steps out in this kind of faith, do we truly support them? Are we like Jonathan’s armor-bearer who stepped up and said, “I will go with you.”? Let's be those kind of people!

Amen!

All of us know that Brent pushes us to do things we don't want to do. Sometimes we all need a little push to do things (spiritual) that make us uncomfortable in order to grow. We hear great sermons, but if we don't receive them in faith and act on them, they are just a good talk. We should feel spiritually awkward about fear, anxiety, worry - all the things that Jesus says we shouldn't have in our lives. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us God does not give us a spirit of fear, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. We don't overcome fear by prayer alone: it must be attached to action and stepping out in faith to do the things that cause us fear. Prayer empowers us to take action!

Fear of public speaking is the #1 fear in America. Moses was called to deliver a nation, but his fear of speaking was holding him back. Lucky for Moses, God wouldn't accept his excuses. The phrase "do not fear" is repeated over 80 times in the Bible. We must remember that God is bigger than our mistakes. He can still use us in our faith if we respect, honor, and obey Him. God doesn't have favorites. The people we see doing great things were just normal people who were obedient to God's call on their lives.

We see in Matthew 15:22-29, the story of the Canaanite woman seeking healing for her child. First, Jesus ignores her. Then he tells her what he has isn't for her, but she doesn't accept it. She presses him, believing in faith that he has healing for her daughter, and he gives it to her because she asks. We have to ask! In Matthew 5:16 - Your light can only shine if you take action. Daniel 3:16-20 tells the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednigo defying Nebuchadnezzar's order to worship his statue. They didn't know if God would rescue them from the furnace, but they were willing to fail (and die) for their faith. Are we willing to fail for our faith? God is looking for our obedience, not perfection. Only God can give freedom, but it can be up to us to press people to step out to be who God has for them to be. We get too comfortable and don't want to leave what is familiar so we don't reach where we want to be.

In Mark 10:46-48, we see blind Bartimaeus calling out to Jesus. The people tell him to be quiet. He persists and then Jesus calls him. Those same people who were telling him to be quiet are now the ones telling him to go to Jesus. He threw off his cloak - his most prized possession - knowing he had healing and wouldn't need it anymore when he was done. He wouldn't be silenced and he received healing. What will it take to silence us from what God has called us? As we go out this week, let's remember that it takes faith to live a life of laying treasures in Heaven, but it doesn't take faith to lay them here on Earth. Amen!

As Christians, we believe that God created the Earth. We don't worry about whether the earth will keep spinning on its axis or the sun will come up tomorrow because we have faith and believe in what God created. So why do we struggle with having faith that God will take care of our next job, or our relationship, or anything else that we worry about? The members of the hall of faith have story after story about what God can do - if we could only hear the voices of those who have gone before us reassuring us that He can. If we aren't excited about what God is doing, we might be submitting to the world. Jesus said all things are possible to him who believes. We have to accept the empowerment behind those words. When we are bogged down by the things that enslave us, sometimes we have to preach the truth to ourselves if there is no one else around to encourage us and repent from believing the lies of the enemy. Lest we be too hard on ourselves, though, it's good to realize that even the disciples would not always have been in the hall of faith. Look at Matthew 8:23-26 - the story of the disciples in the boat in the storm. Jesus rebuked them for having little faith because they could have quieted the storm themselves. He wanted to show them about having great faith. What are we afraid of? When God rebukes us, it is a kindness, but we can easily react in the flesh. If we do, then we are still being ruled by sin. God's correction is a sign that He loves us. When Jesus rebukes us, we have to learn not to be offended. This often happens in churches - people get offended over little things. Don't take the bait of the enemy.

At some point, we have to take steps of faith to do what He has called us to do. The fear of man lives in each of us. We need to resolve that we will be rejected and accept it. However, faith from above wants to run in our veins, so we should listen to scripture and let the truth bring freedom. Matthew 10:22, 24-25. Resolve that you are accepted by God. If you are liked by everyone, you should be concerned. Luke 6:26 We need to repent of being more concerned about being accepted than being true to God. As a faithful follower of Jesus, we should respond as in Luke 6:22-23. Rejoice and praise God when the little stuff happens and we will be prepared for the bigger things when they come. Amen!

We all need someone to push us. Who is pushing you? Yourself? God? John 10:10 says the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy; Jesus comes that we may have life and have it to the full. Do we believe who the enemy says we are or do we believe who God says we are? Our identity is formed when we are young - from our parents. Our identity is never what we believe about ourselves that defines us. It is our Father's opinion of us that defines us. Our opinion of ourselves only defines the experience we will have in this life. Do we like the person God says we are or the person that we have created? When we are in the valley, instead of getting anxious and fearful, we should see all things as Kingdom opportunities. Our identity can block us from letting the Holy Spirit do his work. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says we are a new creation, but we don't necessarily feel new every day. We wake up with our old mindset or react to things the way we used to and can question if we are really new. We have to ask God how He defines us and go back to the Word to see it. Constantly ask - God, how do you define me? The old is gone. Let it go! Hang on to what God says. Go to the Word. Galatians 2:20 says I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. John 1:12-13 reminds us we are Children of God, born of God. John 15:15 tells us we are no longer slaves, but He has called us friends. Whenever you are struggling or questioning your identity, the right question to ask is always: Father, how do you define me?

Can you have real faith without passion? Where are all the passionate people? Do we get more excited about our football team than about the Savior of our souls? Mark 12:28-30 talks about the greatest commandment. It starts with loving the Lord your God with all your heart, then soul, mind, and strength. The heart has to come first - for there to be passion, not just Bible knowledge. Genuine faith will impact every area of our lives. Matthew 12:33-34 tells us that out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak. Whatever words are prevalent in our conversation will show what is really in our hearts. If it is mainly negative, this shows we have a heart problem that we need to address. It's a sobering thought to realize that if we do not live by faith, there will be consequences in our lives and the lives of others. In 2 Kings 13, we see the story about some of the many kings of Israel who did evil in the eyes of the Lord and caused the people to sin. In the case of Jehoash, he asked Elisha for help against the Syrians, but he had little faith and had only a small breakthrough instead of great victory, leading Israel to remain in bondage. If we don't exercise our faith, there are people in our lives who may not come to know Jesus.

A half-hearted response for God's commands will yield less fruit and have less impact than it should have. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. We can expect that the opposite is also true: if we sow generously, we will reap generously. Hebrews 11:6 tells us it is impossible to please God without faith. When we are giving and we don't give generously because we don't trust that God will provide, this is a sign of a lack of faith. In Mark 2, we see the story of the paralytic whose friends bring him to see Jesus to be healed, but it is so crowded they can't get inside. His friends cut a hole in the roof to let him down. They had such faith that he would be healed that they did whatever it took to get him to Jesus. Our belief has to be big enough that God has to be in it for it to happen. Our faith will be contagious when it is passionate and authentic!

We have a bible jammed packed with stories and events of normal men and women whose lives were anything but normal? But for the most part, that is not what we see today, Christians are very normal people, living very normal lives… Why? I am convinced that we are suppose to see far more amazing works of God in our lives. Our lives should be the evidence to the existence of God and a witness that what the Bible says is true. In the Bible, those who believed and trusted in God compared to those who didn’t, there was clear, tangible distinction, old testament and new. Let’s answer this question through the question of Gideon.