INVINCIBLE CHURCH 1-5-25

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
1/6/2025
Family of Faith – John 14:1-4
John 14:1-4 NIV – “Do Not Let your Hearts be Troubled ... You Believe in God … Believe Also in Me! … 2 My Father’s House has many Rooms … If That were Not So … Would I have Told you that I Am Going there to Prepare a Place for you? … 3 And if I Go and Prepare a Place for you … I will Come Back and Take you to Be with Me … That you Also May be where I Am! … 4 You Know The Way to The Place where I Am Going!”
3 Principles for a “Family of Faith”
1] God Works through The “Family of Faith” to Accomplish His Plans!
The FOUNDATION” of GOD’s PLAN is BASED on RELATIONSHIP’s. First and FOREMOST, Our RELATIONSHIP with JESUS in GOD’s FAMILY. Then our FAMILY, Then The CHURCH FAMILY. In that ORDER! When we GET GOD’s “RELATIONSHIP HIERARCHY” OUT of ORDER We will have way MORE “PROBLEMS and STRUGGLES” in our LIFE on EARTH!
“The FRAMEWORK” of GOD’s PLAN is BASED on The “FAMILY of FAITH”! So, a huge part of GOD’s PLAN for US [HIS CHILDREN] HERE on EARTH is to :> - LIVE – FUNCTION – and OPERATE as a “FAMILY UNIT”!
The definition of FAMILY is a group of INDIVIDUALS LIVING under ONE ROOF [The PLACE) with a COMMON GOAL [BELIEF] and USUALLY under ONE “HEAD of HOUSEHOLD” [The FATHER] all FOCUSED on LIVING a LIFE of “FAITH”!
Hebrews 11:6 NIV – 6 And without Faith it is Impossible to Please God … Because Anyone who Comes to Him must Believe that He Exists … And that He Rewards those who Earnestly Seek Him! … But …
There is MORE to becoming a “FAMILY of FAITH” than JUST EXPLAINING how IT is supposed to WORK! IT REQUIRES “DEDICATION and DEVOTION” to The PROCESS that GOD’s DESIGNED for US to “FUNCTION and OPERATE” as a “FAMILY of FAITH”! So we have to’ LOVE “GOD’s DESIGN” for HIS “FAMILY of FAITH”! And-
If we are going to LEARN to LOVE IT. Then we have to PRAY about IT :> - SPECIFICALLY – STRATEGICALLY – and CONTINUALLY! And BECAUSE becoming a “FAMILY of FAITH” is a PROCESS. We have to be THANKFUL for EVERYTHING No MATTER what The CURRENT “SITUATION or OUTCOME” happens to BE!
Then, we have to MAKE our “TOP PRIORITY” :> - TEACHING IT - LIVING IT - DEMONSTRATING IT - and STANDING UP for IT! We have to be COMPLETELY DEVOTED to The FAITH! Which MEANS our FOCUS has to BE on JESUS And “The PROCESS” of FOLLOWING HIM! So, we have to GUARD against BEING DISTRACTED by The :> - FOOLISH – CHILDISH – SELF CENTERED “THINGS” of The WORLD!
Most PEOPLE, including THOSE who PROFESS to FOLLOW JESUS put “WAY MORE” EMPHASIS on PLAYING OUT their WORLDLY LIFE than they DO on “LIVING OUT” a LIFE of OBEDIENCE to JESUS! And, OBEDIENCE isn’t JUST AVOIDING “The DON’T’s” IT’s MORE about BEING “DEDICATED and DEVOTED” to DOING “The DO’s”!
John 14:12-14 NIV – 12 Very truly I tell you … Whoever Believes in Me will Do The Works I have been Doing … And they will Do Even Greater Things than These … Because I Am Going to The Father! ... 13 And I will Do Whatever you Ask in My Name … So that The Father may Be Glorified in The Son! ... 14 You May Ask Me for Anything in My Name … And I will Do It!
The REALITY is Most PEOPLE have NO PROBLEM “WORKING and PRACTICING” HARD to be BETTER at “PLAYING” something But WHEN IT COMES to SPENDING more TIME “TRAINING” to BE an EFFECTIVE :> - AMBASSADOR – WARRIOR – SERVANT - and SAINT for JESUS IT SEEMS like a HUGE BURDEN for them!
MOST people “PUT” The BEST of their :> - TIME – EFFORT – ENERGY - and RESOURCES into their PREFERRED “ENTERTAINMENT and HOBBIES”! then they JUST kind of’ “SQUEEZE JESUS IN” WHEN IT’s “CONVENIENT” OR when IT “FITS into their SCHEDULE”! IT’s The TRUTH! and we know that’s NOT GOD’s PLAN!
We KNOW because GOD’s PLAN “CALLS FOR” us to START LEARNING how to “LIVE by FAITH” as a CHILD! and HIS DESIGN for The FAMILY “PUTS” The RESPONSIBILITY on “PARENTS and ADULTS” to PRIORITIZE :> - RAISING - TEACHING – and TRAINING their CHILDREN to be OBEDIENT in The FAITH!
Luke 2:47-52 NIV – 47 Everyone who Heard Him was Amazed at His Understanding and His Answers! ... 48 When His Parents Saw Him … They were Astonished! ... His Mother said to Him … “Son … Why have You Treated us Like This? … Your father and I have Been Anxiously Searching for you!” … 49 “Why were you Searching for Me?” He Asked ... “Didn’t you Know I had to Be in My Father’s House?” … 50 But they Did Not Understand what He was Saying to Them! ... 51 Then He went Down to Nazareth with Them and Was Obedient to Them! ... But His Mother Treasured All these Things in her Heart! ... 52 And Jesus Grew in Wisdom and Stature … And in Favor with God and man!
JESUS was JUST 12 yrs OLD when all this HAPPENED and HE was considered a TYPICAL BOY for The TIME. But, HIS FAMILY had BEEN DEVOTED to RAISING HIM in “The FAITH” Which MEANS PREPARING HIM to GLORIFY GOD :> - INTELLECTUALLY - PHYSICALLY – SOCIALLY – and most importantly SPIRITUALLY! So, even as a YOUNG BOY, he was PREPARED by HIS PARENTS to DO “HARD THINGS”!
But NO MATTER how OLD we are, even if we “FEEL LIKE” we haven’t BEEN “PROPERLY PREPARED” to DO “HARD THINGS” GOD will USE us IN our WEAKNESSES to DEMONSTRATE HIS STRENGTH! I’ve had PEOPLE tell me “My Spiritual Gift is Service, Not Evangelism. So, I am going to be obedient by just doing Acts of Service”! This “WAY of THINKING” doesn’t “LINE UP” with The instructions that JESUS GAVE us!
John 14:15 NIV – 15 “If you Love Me … Keep My Commands!
HIS COMMANDS are :> - LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY – PRAY CONTINUALLY – Be THANKFUL for EVERYTHING! GO SPEAK The TRUTH – “MAKE / MOLD / MENTOR” DISCIPLES – And TEACH them to be OBEDIENT! ASK for OPPORTUNITIES – Always SEEK GOD FIRST – And always KNOCK on The DOORS of OPPORTUNITY HE GIVES!
So that’s WHAT we DO if we LOVE JESUS! and we DO have STRENGTHS that are either GIFTED to US by GOD or we have to JUST NATURALLY DEVELOPED over TIME because of our “UNIQUE PERSONALITY” and “LIFE ``EXPERIENCES”! And GOD will CERTAINLY use US in our STRENGTHS TOO! But whether GOD’s WORKING through US from our “WEAKNESSES” OR “STRENGTHS” The ENEMY is ALWAYS going to TRY to DECEIVE us!
SATAN wants US to THINK that GOD only USES The “BEST and BRIGHTEST” in CERTAIN AREAS! He TRIES to CREATE DOUBT by MAKING us THINK that SINCE there’s PROBABLY somebody ELSE that’s BETTER at SOMETHING than we are. Then GOD WILL just USE them to DO whatever WANTS to GET DONE! OR
GOD will ONLY USE us to DO SOMETHING when we HAVE all The RESOURCES we THINK we NEED to GET whatever IT IS DONE! OR We FEEL like The CHANCES of us FAILING are TOO HIGH And we will LOOK like a FOOL! Which MEANS we THINK we CAN ONLY BRING GLORY to GOD if we BRING GLORY to ourselves first!
All of THIS is The ENEMY TRYING to GET “IN our HEAD” and CAUSE “DOUBT or FEAR”! But, we KNOW we HAVE The POWER of The Holy Spirit in US. So, we CAN APPROACH everything GOD CALLS us to DO with “COURAGE and CONFIDENCE”! The BIBLE tells US that IF GOD is “FOR US” Who CAN be against US? Which LEADS us to The 2ND PRINCIPLE …
2] It Takes Courage to Be a “Family of Faith”!
COURAGE is NOT The absence of FEAR! FEAR is a “LEGITIMATE EMOTION”! GOD GAVE us the ability to FEEL FEAR so we KNOW when THERE’s a “CLEAR and PRESENT” DANGER! But FEAR is also ONE of The BIGGEST “HINDRANCES” that KEEPS us STUCK in our COMFORT ZONES!
The PROBLEM is We MISS The OPPORTUNITY to BRING GLORY to GOD’s NAME by ACCOMPLISHING what HE has for US to DO in The SITUATION if we JUST :> - “SIT and WAIT” - “SIT and WAIT” - “SIT and WAIT” Hoping The DANGER that’s CAUSING our FEAR will LEAVE before we EVER have to “TAKE ACTION”!
The REALITY is IF GOD tells US to GO But we WAIT until “OUR FEAR” and “FEELINGS of INADEQUACY” GO AWAY We’ll NEVER TAKE “STEPS of FAITH” OUTSIDE of our COMFORT ZONES! And IF we aren’t TAKING STEPS of FAITH Then GOD’s NOT GUIDING our PATH And we STAY STUCK in our OWN PATH!
So IN SPITE of our “OUR FEAR” and “FEELINGS of INADEQUACY” We have to’ TAKE “STEPS of FAITH” OR We will NEVER be able to “DO HARD THINGS” for The KINGDOM of GOD! Which MAKES IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to DEVELOP into a STRONG “FAMILY of FAITH”! And FEAR “SHOWS UP” in a lot of different ways!
Some PARENTS are AFRAID of their KIDS And DON’T even KNOW IT! They “GIVE IN” to their KIDS PREFERENCES Just because IT’s EASIER Even WHEN they KNOW IT’s NOT The “RIGHT THING” to DO! Then THINGS GET “OUT of alignment” in GOD’s HIERARCHY for The FAMILY! The BIBLE says in …
James 4:17 NIV – 17 If anyone … Then … Knows The Good they Ought to Do and Doesn’t Do It … It is Sin for them! … NOW …
IT CAN be especially HARD for SOME ADULTS to PARENT CHILDREN through PUBERTY! By GOD’s DESIGN, PUBERTY is The SEASON of LIFE when CHILDREN START to “PHYSICALLY and PSYCHOLOGICALLY” DEVELOP into ADULTS capable of reproducing. In BIBLE TIMES PUBERTY was SEEN as The BEGINNING of ADULTHOOD!
And NOTHING should have CHANGED how we VIEW this PROCESS Because PUBERTY is STILL The TIME when a PERSON’s :> - REASONING ABILITIES get DEEPER - WISDOM STARTS DEVELOPING - And LIFE SKILLS are MASTERED. Which all HELPS The PERSON who’s BECOMING an adult be SUCCESSFUL in LIFE!
As PARENTS, we have to REMEMBER that YOUNG PEOPLE in PUBERTY can’t CONTROL how QUICKLY their BODIES PHYSICALLY “CHANGE and DEVELOP” But, They CAN be TAUGHT how to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their own “SPIRITUAL and EMOTIONAL” MATURITY! And it is our job and responsibility as a true follower of Jesus to DEMONSTRATE The DEVOTION we HAVE to “TEACHING and TRAINING” them HOW!
1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV – 11 When I was a child … I Talked like a Child … I thought Like a Child … I Reasoned like a Child! ... When I became a Man … I Put The Ways of Childhood Behind Me! … 12 YRS OLD!!!!
So, PUBERTY is GOD’s DESIGN for a CHILD to TRANSITION into an ADULT! Since IT’s GOD’s DESIGN, the ENEMY HATES IT and WANTS to STOP IT OR DISRUPT IT! And if he’s ABLE to DO IT he will DISRUPT us IN GOD’s PROCESS for DEVELOPING “FAMILIES of FAITH”!
The CLEAREST and MOST OBVIOUS EXAMPLE we have SEEN of this LATELY is The “PAGAN” use of something that’s TOTALLY “UNNECESSARY and EVIL” CALLED “PUBERTY BLOCKERS”! It is a “DIRECT but DEVIOUS” ATTACK on The FAMILY at a TIME when CHILDREN are The MOST VULNERABLE! And IT TAKES STRONG PARENTS to FIGHT this “SPIRITUAL ATTACK”! We will COVER MORE of this IN other messges Back to TODAY
“PROCREATING / REPRODUCTION” of GOD’s “HUMAN CREATION” is ONE of The GREATEST :> - HONORS - PRIVILEGES – and RESPONSIBILITIES that GOD has GIVEN us! So for a true follower of Jesus it is our BODY! Our IDENTITY is IN HIM! We BELONG to HIM! HE PURCHASED us AT a “HIGH PRICE” PRICE!
It was The HIGHEST PRICE of ALL! HE PAID The PRICE with HIS SACRIFICIAL DEATH on The CROSS to “BUY us BACK” from :> - SIN – OURSELVES – and SATAN! So, it is NOT our BODY, it is HIS! But it is ALWAYS our CHOICE! And if we LOVE JESUS then we will ALWAYS CHOOSE LIFE Because in …
John 14:6 NIV – 6 Jesus Answered … “I Am The Way and The Truth and The Life! … No One Comes to The Father Except through Me! … And for The “LOST PERSON” …
It is NOT their BODY either but for a DIFFERENT REASON! NO MATTER how The CONCEPTION for “PROCREATION and REPRODUCTION” happened to TAKE PLACE IT is The BODY of GOD’s CREATION! The IDEA of CONCEPTION for PROCREATION in ORDER to FURTHER MANKIND was CREATED by GOD!
That BABY’s BODY BELONGED to GOD before The CONCEPTION was EVER even :> - CONSIDERED – INITIATED – or ACCIDENTLY ORIGINATED! And The PEOPLE who ORIGINATE The CONCEPTION wouldn’t EVEN EXIST w/o GOD! So The TRUTH is The BODY always BELONGS to GOD And JESUS is always “The LIFE” PERIOD!
The LAST PRINCIPLE for TODAY is …
3] Being a Successful “Family of Faith” Requires Taking Risks [Which Include Risking Failure]!
NOTICE that IT IS NOT FAILURE that’s REQUIRED for SUCCESS! IT IS The “RISK of FAILURE” Because The “RISK of FAILURE” also STRENGTHENS our FAITH Which PLEASES GOD! And FAILURE doesn’t ALWAYS have to HAPPEN But IF IT DOES Then we have to KEEP a POSITIVE ATTITUDE and ENDURE IT!
And The PREPARATION to ENDURE FAILURE goes BACK to FOCUSING on “TRAINING HARD” to EQUIP for “SPIRITUAL BATTLES” INSTEAD of PRACTICING to be GOOD at PLAYING in The :> - FOOLISH – CHILDISH – SELF CENTERED “THINGS” of The WORLD!
SATAN is a SUPERNATURAL ENEMY of GOD and all True Followers of Jesus. He WANTS us to FAIL at EVERYTHING GOD has DESIGNED for US to DO! IF he CAN GET our ATTENTION on “TRIVIAL WORLDLY” THINGS instead of GOD’s “PLAN and PROCESS” for our LIFE on EARTH Then he WINS a LOT of The BATTLES we FIGHT with him!
We NEED to KNOW our ENEMY and EXACTLY what he’s capable of. We also NEED to KNOW what GOD GIVES us to DEFEAT our ENEMIES! The BIBLE tells us SATAN’S CHARACTERISTICS Which he USES to TRY and GET us to FAIL And also TELLS us WHAT GOD makes AVAILABLE to US for SPIRITUAL BATTLES!
1) Satan has power enough to oppose even the angels (Jude 9; Daniel 10:12-13).
2) Satan seeks to deceive by masquerading as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
3) As “the god of this world,” Satan has dominion over those who live without Christ in the world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
4) Satan’s power is limited by God’s will (Job 1:10-12; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
5) God has provided us the means for defending ourselves against Satan’s attacks (Ephesians 6:11-12).
When we understand The SUPERNATURAL DYNAMIC of all THIS and START TRUSTING in The POWER of The Holy Spirit to TAKE STEPS of FAITH GOD will ALLOW us to TANGIBLY REALIZE that HE IS WORKING through US to accomplish “GREAT THINGS” for HIS KINGDOM, REGARDLESS of our “SELF PROCLAIMED” INEXPERIENCE!
And WHEN we TAKE The ACTION we’ve DISCERNED from GOD, IN SPITE of our “FEAR of FAILING” OR “LOOKING FOOLISH” HE WILL OPEN The “FLOODGATES of OPPORTUNITIES” for US to BE USED by HIM to advance His kingdom and BRING GLORY to HIS NAME. Which is an indescribable BLESSING!
The BIBLE tells US that ANYBODY without JESUS CHRIST is UNDER The CONDEMNATION of DEATH! Which MEANS that BEFORE we are SAVED thru FAITH in JESUS we are in BONDAGE to :> - SIN – SELFISHNESS – and SATAN … And DESTINED to be SEPARATED from GOD for ETERNITY!
But because of GOD’s INCREDIBLE “GRACE and MERCY” PRAISE JESUS, we have a NEW KING and through The POWER of The HOLY SPIRIT. He has SET us FREE to DILIGENTLY WORK The PROCESS of BECOMING The “FAMILY of FAITH” that GOD has DESIGNED us to BE!