~Open in Prayer~

Icebreaker
● What is your favorite bible verse in the bible and why?
● What is one of your favorite sermons by Pastor Ron?
● What is the best piece of spiritual advice you’ve ever received?

MESSAGE REVIEW
Increasing Our Faith: Luke 17:5-6
Faith and Duty: Why has God given us faith?

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

The word of God is the seed, and every seed that is planted must be received by faith. The parable of the mustard seed also describes if God’s word is hidden in our hearts the seed/word can grow in the life of each believer. When a person begins to speak God’s word things will begin to move in our lives and line up with the will of God. For example, David said in 1 Samuel 17 to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut o ff your head. ” David seed was planted in his heart and he spoke God’s word victory into existence. David Knew His Position!!!!

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT!

•Read Hebrew 4:16-17 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and fi nd grace to help in time of need.” The word tells us to approach God’s throne with confidence, we must have complete trust, assured, faith in God. Faith is the belief that the things disclosed and promised in the Word of God are true, even though it is unseeable, it gives the believer a hope that what we expect in faith, will come to pass.

•Ephesians 4:7 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” One might ask, ` What is the difference between grace and mercy? Pastor Ron is teaching us that Grace is found and Mercy is obtained. Meaning, Grace it’s not asked for nor deserved, but is freely given from God. Believers are saved by grace. Mercy is empathy given to us when we deserve to be punished. It is an act of compassion relieving someone of their repercussions. God’s mercy is new every morning and his grace is sufficient in our lives. He knows exactly what we need and how to meet that need. This grace is given at varying levels according to God’s will and plan for our lives. What an awesome God we serve! An omniscient God who knows the distance between who you are and who you can be.

•Read Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. ” Jacob was a man who suffered from fear and anxiety. Jacob had to flee his family due his behavior. While Fleeing Jacob, had an experience , wrestling with God. Jacob wrestled throughout the night. At which point the angelic host dislocated Jacob’s hip. It was then that Jacob realized what had happened: “I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared” ( Genesis 32:30 ). God sees what we don’t see for ourselves in the heavenly realm. In the process, Jacob the imposter received a new name and new identity, Israel, which means: “’Fighter of God’” In addition, the most important occurred at the end of the scuffle. Go d “blessed him there” ( Genesis 32:29 ). Jacob had enough faith to declare a blessing; he declared something different than his current circumstances.

•Read Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Pastor Ron taught on the visible and invisible. The physical (visible) and the spiritual (invisible). Invisible means our eyes cannot perceive the image; it does not mean the image is not there. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Heaven is the parent [invisible] realm, and everything we will need has already been provided for us in this realm.
Just believe…..

How important is faith in your life?
What are some unseen things in your life that you have faith for?
What are some of the challenges you are experiencing in your faith walk?
How do you stay encouraged in the faith?
Who are some of your faith heroes?

PRAYER FOCUS & REQUESTS
Ask your members if they have any prayer requests or praise reports. Encourage one another to look at areas in their lives where they are battling and to seek the illumination of God’s Word to roll back the darkness!
Turn that defeated mindset into a VICTORY!!