Give Thanks to the Lord...

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

Lord’s Supper is a Time of...  Remembrance, Examination, Thanksgiving, Celebration

Would the men come at this time...

There is nothing greater than being in the center of God’s will on your journey through life.

“Our Awesome Faith Journey!”

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

Hebrews 11:1, 3 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see... By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

For an Awesome Faith Journey...

1.  See the Invisible!

*** Cell phone illustration – call Dan ***

Hebrews 11:24-27 ²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

2Co 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.

We’re Saved by Faith (Eph 2:8-9) and...

·         By Faith we Grow v24a

o        The text speaks of Moses growing older, as a believer as we grow older we should grow spiritually also

·         By Faith we Stand v24b

o        Moses refuse to be known as the son of pharaoh’s daughter... he took a stand, went against the tide

·         By Faith we Choose vs25-26a

o        Moses chose to be mistreated with God’s people rather than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season

·         By Faith we Envision v26b

o        Moses was looking ahead for his reward. Looking forward to all eternity with God. Seeing eternity...the

·         By Faith we Live v27a

o        By faith Moses left Egypt. Everything we engage in should be by faith. We live by faith.

·         By Faith we Will See God! v27b

o        Moses persevered because he saw him who is invisible... Moses walked by faith trusting in God.

o        We also see the Lord when this life is over and we step into eternity (2Co 5:8)

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

God’s Calling You!

·         God tells us to fix our eyes on what is unseen, on the eternal. Not on the temporary, seasonal, short lived.

·         See the invisible as an individual, as a church we too must walk by faith trusting are God to do great things

·         We see his creation around us, we feel his presence, we see him working in our hearts, we see changed lives

·         We must grow, stand, choose, envision, live, we must see our invisible God by faith

·         We minister, we preach, we serve, we reach out – why? Because we see him who is invisible and believe!

2.  Dream the Incredible!

Proverbs 29:18a Where there is no vision, the people perish...

·         God tells us in proverbs, where there is no vision the people perish.

·         Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint. We must dream the incredible! 

·         What are your dreams? What are your hopes? Your desires? Vision for life, your family, church?

Hebrews 11:6 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.

·         You can never separate the dream from the person who has the dream, the vision, call, the burden

·         When God lays the vision on you, you wear like clothes... it becomes you, your passion, your drive

·         The dream of CrossCreek is incredible. It’s beyond you and me. God is up to something!

Your Dream...

·         Must be God Size!

o        If your dream is something you can do it’s possibly not from God. He works in the realm of the impossible... dreams that are bigger than your life... dream the incredible... don’t perish.

o        God says without faith it is impossible to please him. I want to please God, I must exercise faith

o        I’ve been told by various local pastors that this area is so cold and hard spiritually God is not able to do great things here in northeastern Pennsylvania.

o        Doctor Carl Bates says, “ if God were to take the holy spirit out of power our midst today, about 95% of what we are going in our churches would go on as usual and no one would know the difference”

o        I believe with all my heart God is an able to do great things today! Have a God size dream!

God’s Calling You!

·         Must be God Aligned!

o        God normally works in alignment with your past. Sometimes called spiritual markers (past)

o        In other words, if you haven’t been faithful to him he probably hasn’t called you to preach

o        Your dream must be aligned with God’s word... spend time with him... Get to know him better

o        Why can’t God build a great Church in northeastern Pennsylvania? He can and he is!

o        God never changes. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever!

o        God is still concern about lost souls... Jesus said I will build my church... and he is!

·         Must be God Blessed!

o        As your dream materializes, you will see God’s fingerprints all over your dream.

o        Where God leads God provides... who he calls he equips... he’s the Potter we’re the clay!

o        God uses time to develop his plan and to allow our dream to materialize!

o        God has blessed us so much... this is only the beginning if we stay faithful to him!

o        I envision many things for CrossCreek. My heart is to plant new churches, to see a new building, new classrooms, new office space, new fellowship hall, larger parking area...

o        But beyond the physical my dream is to see thousands of people in a new relationship with Christ... lives being touched for an eternity... our community turned upside down for Christ!

o        That my friend is the blessing of God... to have the presence of God upon our services... From our praise, worship and celebration to the anointing of His Word as it is taught and preached... Oh to be blessed by God... as Jabez prayed, bless me, enlarge my territory that others may know truth... and the truth shall set you free... free from the bondage of Sin... having the blessing of God by seeing changed lives – not only changed today but for all eternity... a new heart, a new purpose, a new lifestyle, a new destiny, because what Christ did at Calvary!

o        We must see the invisible, we must dream the incredible... with Christ we can do the impossible!

3.  Do the Impossible!

Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

·         More we have our focus upon God who we cannot see, the more the impossible becomes possible

·         We’re given a measure of faith and all it takes is a small amount of faith -size of a mustard seed.

·         God’s calling you to step out in faith. It may be in your family, career, finances, decisions, whatever it is... God is able and he is waiting for you to trust him in what he’s calling you to do.

·         As a church... With so many new people attending that six years ago in 1999, God laid CrossCreek on my heart... since then we have grown an average 42% each year, a few weeks ago we had a record of 362 people on a regular Sunday!  People are getting saved, lives are being touched, each person represents a precious soul before God... By faith in 2001 and in God’s perfect timing 19 members voted unanimous to buy this building, house and three acres for $240,000.00... since than we have completely remodeled it with... 51 new windows replaced... new insulation roof... new carpeting/tile throughout... new kitchen... air conditioning... new electrical panel and service entrance, emergency lighting... sound loft with lots of A/V equipment... new bathrooms downstairs... new roof on the youth center... much fill and grading out front... all the new gravel parking lots...

·         By faith we purchased UGI property and recently purchased “Mary’s place” with six acres... Presently we’re doing a land survey for a minor subdivision (Kingston Township) for a “land swap” with Harvest Assembly Church next door... going through the hurdles of new construction... What an incredible journey we’re on – We’ve recently voted unanimous to build (seating 600), to borrow, to Do the impossible!

How was this accomplished?  Because of some wealthy donor?  NO – it was because of YOU!

Ø       God works through Ordinary People

·         Throughout scripture we see God using ordinary people. Not the super jocks, not the powerful...

·         Not the wealthy, not the politically connected, God uses ordinary people like you and me.

·         We see in the Bible God using people like David an ordinary shepherd boy who killed giants... We see a stuttering Moses who God trained for 40 years to become a great leader of the nation of Israel...We see a fisherman named Peter who preached the first sermon to the church... with 3000 people saved!

Fishermen, tax collectors, farmers, shepherds, carpenters

            Electricians, Nurses, Factory workers, Mechanics, Business owners, Housewives, Students...