IONVINCIBLE CHURCH 3-9-25

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
3/9/2025
Holy :> - Faith / Prophecy / Signs – Matthew 6:19-34
The Bible says that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we don’t see! Some people say that if a person has doubts about what they profess to believe, they don’t really have faith. But that’s not true!
The Bible says that a person can have faith—a high degree of trust and commitment—while at the same time having a level of uncertainty about the thing or person they’ve committed themselves to. The reality is that doubt can be seen as faith seeking more understanding.
Even Jesus in the garden…
Whether people realize it or not, everybody is looking for a spiritual connection to something because God created us. He hardwired us with that ability and desire inside of us so we could naturally pursue a relationship with Him. It has to be spiritual because He’s a spiritual being!
It’s why, without faith, it’s impossible to please God. It’s only by faith that we can enter a relationship with Jesus. Once we make the decision to become a true follower of Jesus, we’re supposed to live by holy faith. It’s only by holy faith that we live out God’s plan for our lives.
In other words, from the instant we submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of sin and salvation, we sense that there’s a deeper spiritual connection we’re seeking with Him. We sense that it can’t be obtained, sustained, or maintained by any other means than through faith in Jesus. We can’t work our way to heaven because nothing we could ever do would be enough!
People who believe they can earn eternal life in heaven by keeping ceremonies, rituals, and rules—or by following a list of do’s and don’ts—aren’t fully living out what the Bible clearly teaches about salvation for eternal life.
Galatians 3:11 (NIV)– Clearly, no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”
Even before God inspired Paul to write this, Jesus told the Pharisees that all their righteous deeds were worthless and that only faith in the Messiah could save them from their sins for salvation and eternal life with God. But they had their own ideas about forgiveness and salvation, so they hated Jesus and rejected Him as their Messiah.
If salvation from sin only comes by a Spirit-led transformation of our heart, mind, and soul through Jesus, then it stands to reason that if our life as a true follower of Jesus is going to be productive, we have to live by Spirit-led holy faith.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us where to start, how to be consistent in following Him on a day-to-day basis, and how to be productive while doing it. Today, we’re going to look at part of that sermon and identify:
9 Keys for Spirit-Led Holy Faith
Matthew 6:19-34 (NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(Verses 19-21) tell us we’re supposed to invest our time, talents, treasure, and energy in preparing ourselves and helping others prepare for eternity in God’s kingdom, where we’ll receive our heavenly reward. We get rewarded in heaven for the kingdom work we’ve done here!
(Verse 24) says being consistent in following Jesus through holy faith requires us to be deeply committed in our love relationship with God. (Verses 25-32) tell us the things we should avoid, and (Verses 33-34) tell us how. We have to fully devote ourselves to seeking God and His kingdom first above everything else and in everything we do.
So, #1 is:
1] Work Hard to Follow the Instructions of Jesus
Love unconditionally, pray continually, and be thankful for everything. Go into the world, make (mold/mentor) disciples, and teach them to be obedient. Ask God for opportunities and guidance, seek Him first, and knock on the doors He provides.
In Romans 1, Paul says that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power that saves us. The gospel is the good news that anybody who believes in Jesus and submits to Him as Lord and Savior will be saved from their sins and have eternal life in heaven.
Also, the good news is that when we become a true follower of Jesus by faith alone, in Christ alone, our holy faith will grow as we work hard to know more and more about the God who saved us. The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the Holy Spirit, who reveals God to us and gives us the ability to grow closer to Him every day.
Romans 1:17 (NIV)– “For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”
Jesus has done His part, and if we love Him, we’ll do our part. So, the first key to living a Spirit-led life of holy faith is being willing to work hard to follow the instructions of Jesus and accomplish the kingdom purposes that God has designed specifically for us.
2] Seek God First for Discernment in All Decision-Making
God’s plan for us hasn’t, doesn’t, and will never change because, by His very nature, He is consistent, constant, and true. But we can only know the heart of God if we truly seek Him. He doesn’t hide, and He doesn’t change.
Malachi 3:6 (NIV)– “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
James 1:17 (NIV) – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
God wants us to know the plans He has for us, but He wants us to want to know. He doesn’t force Himself or His work on us. So, we have to discern His will for things by passing the test of faithful prayerfulness for ourselves and for the church leaders who are working diligently to prepare and equip us.
Hebrews 13:18 (NIV) – “Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.”
God is perfectly consistent, so His purposes and plans for His creation—including us—will never change. We can’t always depend on the plans of mankind because the hearts and minds of people are subject to change, but God’s heart never changes.
Psalm 33:11 (NIV)– “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”
As a true follower of Jesus, we are His representatives on earth, but mankind can’t give God anything He doesn’t already have, and our disobedience doesn’t change who He is. All anybody has to do to comprehend this is to simply observe God’s creation, like it says in:
Job 35:5 (NIV)– “Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.”
Furthermore, it has been proven time and time again that God’s word is always true.
Numbers 23:19 (NIV)– “God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”
1 Samuel 15:29 (NIV) – “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a human being, that He should change His mind.”
God’s word is always trustworthy.
Psalm 145:13 (NIV) – “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does.”
God’s word is always eternal.
Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)– “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
Psalm 119:89 (NIV) – “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”
God’s plan of redemption remains constant throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. That’s why the entire Bible is all about Jesus. God is great, and He wants His creation to be great, but when we sin, we fail Him. However, God is perfect, so He is going to keep His promises, just like His promise to Abram in…
Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)– 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Abram (Abraham) and his wife Sarah were impatient and didn’t practice holy faith in God. They sinned and failed Him! But that didn’t mean God’s plan failed. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, Savior, and Redeemer for God’s plan and promises—once and for all time!
John 1:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
So, God’s plan, purposes, and promises are unchangeable! He guarantees His promises by swearing an oath, and Jesus is the holy fulfillment of that oath. Jesus is our guaranteed hope and confident expectation that God will fulfill His promises.
Hebrews 6:17-18 (NIV)– 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.
18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
That’s why Paul said in:
Galatians 3:8 (NIV)–8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
So we know…
God’s Faithful Love Endures Forever!
Psalm 89:2 (NIV)–2 I will declare that Your love stands firm forever, that You have established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.
Psalm 136:1-26 (NIV)– [Read This Week]
2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV)–13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.
God is consistent, reliable, and dependable in everything. He calls all true followers of Jesus to demonstrate consistency in their faith, service, and witness.
1 Peter 1:15 (NIV)– 15 But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. (That’s holy faith!)
Paul constantly encouraged believers to live a life of holy faith, as seen in:
Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)– 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
And he also said in:
Philippians 1:27 (NIV)–27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.
Which leads to the third key:
3] Faithfully and Expediently Confess and Repent of Sin!
In the Old Testament, God’s people had to approach Him through the priests, who acted as mediators between God and His people. The priests would then offer sacrifices for sin on behalf of the people.
When Jesus became the ultimate, perfect sacrifice for sin, the Old Testament system of sacrifices was no longer needed! From that point forward, all true followers of Jesus can approach God’s throne with confidence and boldness because Jesus is our Great High Priest!
He is the only mediator between God and us!
This means the concept of confessing sins to a priest no longer applies! The New Testament teaches that all believers are priests, and it refers to us as: Holy Priesthood, Royal Priesthood, and Kingdom of Priests to describe us.
The Bible also makes it clear that church leadership consists of: Pastors, Elders, and Deacons
But NOT priests!
4] Work Hard to Develop the Fruit of the Spirit
The Fruit of the Spirit is what God desires to see in our lives as a witness to others. Thankfully, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do it!
Galatians 5:22 (NIV)–22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…
To truly develop this, we must cultivate a life of holy faith!
How Do We Develop Holy Faith?
• We must read and study God’s Word diligently.
• We must pray for understanding and wisdom about God.
• All of this must be done through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Dying to Self to Live for Christ
Living a life of holy faith requires us to die to self, as seen in:
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)–20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Being crucified with Christ means that we understand our old nature has been nailed to the cross with Jesus, and we choose to live in the new nature with Him. He loves us and died for us, and when we submit to Him as Lord and Savior, He lives in us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)–17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
The Holy Spirit: God's Promise to Us
All true followers of Jesus are sealed with the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is a gift from God (Luke 11), but we must: Ask, Seek, and Knock to access the gift!
There is a process to walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit!
5] Regularly Participate in Worship & Fellowship with Fellow Believers
We gather to encourage each other, hold each other accountable, and "hold up arms" when others can’t.
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)–25 Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Acts 2:46 (NIV)–46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.
We are called to dedicate ourselves to: God’s Word, Prayer, and Fellowship with the body of Christ (which is all believers!)
Acts 2:42 (NIV)–42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Stay Tuned for Keys 6-9 Next Week!