Communauté et discipulat

SPIRITUAL SIMPLICITY: Doing Less, Loving More

2013.11.10P. Chip Ingram

God's power breaks into impossible situations when people who have reached the end of themselves believe that God is good and step out in faith. Breakthrough is not waiting for God to act mysteriously but trusting the God who raises the dead to do what he has promised.

Breakthrough is God's power breaking into impossible situations

Breakthrough is an offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line, and it is a sudden advance in which change happens and lives are different. It is not something we wait for God to do mysteriously. It is the living God unleashing his supernatural power into impossible situations. Faith begins where man's power ends, as George Mueller said. Breakthrough often comes when we reach the end of ourselves, because there we turn to Christ alone and believe that God works.

Scripture shows a pattern of great need met by ordinary faith

Scripture shows a consistent pattern. Breakthrough almost always begins with a great need, which often results from sin and brings bondage. God's compassion then moves him to act, and he raises up a deliverer. That deliverer is usually an ordinary person, like Gideon, Deborah, or David, who dares to believe. From Genesis to Revelation, God chooses people who value faith over status. Jesus likewise chose mostly young, ordinary men to follow him, not the religious establishment.

Jesus announces good news and demonstrates it

Mark presents Jesus as the one who announces good news and then demonstrates it. Jesus casts out a demon in the synagogue, heals Peter's mother-in-law, touches a leper, and speaks to a man with a withered hand. The disciples watch as the storm is calmed, a demon-possessed man is set free, and Jairus's daughter is raised from the dead. Again and again Jesus calls for faith and says, do not be afraid, just believe. The message is that evil can be overcome and that the God we follow is good.

God expects us to do the impossible

Jesus sends the disciples out and then tells them, you give them something to eat. God expects us to do impossible things, and the idea that God helps those who help themselves is not true. The disciples have only five loaves and two fish, but when they bring what they have to Jesus, he feeds all 5,000, and twelve baskets are left over. Our task is not to say it is impossible or to wait for someone else, but to pray, plan, and bring our limited resources to him.

Breakthrough is for our day, so live for eternity

Breakthrough has happened before, as in the Reformation, when Martin Luther stood on what the Bible said against his culture and the Bible returned to ordinary people. Our day also shows great need, including abortion, trafficking, division, and moral relativism. The question is whether we live for the dot or for the line. C.S. Lewis's picture of eternity reminds us that our short life has eternal impact, and Jesus says whoever loses his life for his sake will save it.

The first step is to believe that God is good

The first step to breakthrough is simple: believe that God is good and that he is willing to do the impossible. Faith is not produced by trying harder to be a better person. It is born when we see God's greatness, goodness, and kindness and realize that we are the object of his love. Because we know the gospel, we give it away. Nothing is left to fear, and no storm, demonic power, sickness, or even death can separate us from him.

Apply to Life

  • Let us believe that God is good and that he is willing to do the impossible.
  • Let us write down our impossible situation and bring it to God in prayer.
  • Let us step out in faith rather than waiting for God to move mysteriously.
  • Let us bring what little we have to Jesus, trusting him to multiply it.
  • Let us announce the good news of forgiveness and life to those around us.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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