Key to Abraham

Posted on by pastordavidturner

As we continue in our series out of Genesis, the book of beginnings, we journey with Abraham to see see how God transformed him and how God can restart our faith and transform us too.

I love how real and how raw Abraham was.  I love how God worked through his imperfections.  And despite Abraham’s flaws, there was something that set him apart; something that moved the heart of God, attracted favor, and released the miraculous.

What was it!?  What is the key to Abraham’s life?  As you listen to this message may you see how you can imitate Abraham and position yourself for deeper friendship with God and supernatural intervention from Him in your life.

Enjoy!

Transformation of Abraham

Posted on by pastordavidturner

What do you do when your phone starts glitching or your computer freezes?  RESTART!  

Sometimes our device get overloaded or the power runs down or a code messes a program up and it just needs a reboot.  Sometimes we glitch and need a reboot too–we get weary, loose our way, start believing lies.

Genesis, the book of beginnings, is not only about creation; it is about God’s original intent, about real people learning to walk with the real God in genuine faith.  The Lord has been teaching me about faith and walking with Him through this raw book of beginnings.  I have been inspired by the messiness of Genesis and the beauty of God’s intervention.  Through this book, God is calling us back to the beginning; He is restarting our faith and walk with Him.

This audio message is about the transformation of Abraham.  I had never seen this before: how God took Abraham from being a person of compromise to a person of complete surrender, from hesitant fear to unwavering faith.

I hope the journey of Abraham and the journey I have been on will bless you as you listen to these messages about God’s transformation in the lives of people like Abraham, Sarah, Judah, and Joseph.  I hope you will see how God can RESTART your faith and draw you deeper into walking with Him in intimate friendship that radically transforms your life and those around you.

Enjoy!

Dignity

Posted on by pastordavidturner

When you don’t know who you are, the enemy can lie to you. When you don’t know what you have, the enemy can steal from you.  In this series of messages, God has been speaking to us about our inheritance-what we have in Christ as His blood bought children.  We need to know who we are and what we have in Christ so we can walk in confidence into all God has for us.

In this message, we explore our inheritance of financial dignity.  Though this truth entails more than finances, there is a dignity we have as children of God who have promises from God.  That dignity can free us from the easy traps of envy and fear and empower us to be extravagant givers, wise investors, and content enjoyers of life.

Enjoy!

Undiluted

Posted on by pastordavidturner

You gotta know who you are!  You gotta know what God has given you in Christ!  God says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge”.  I have found that when we don’t know, we are vulnerable to insecurities, fears, and even sin.  But when we know, the truth frees us, fills us with confidence, brings rest, and motivates and empowers us to live a life that pleases God.

Do you know who you are?  Do you know you have an inheritance in Christ?  In this message, you will see that you have an undiluted inheritance in Christ.  The same power, authority, blessings, and promises we read in the bible are your inheritance.  But if you don’t know, you won’t appropriate them to your life.  I pray you will blessed by this message as you see what is yours.  And I pray you would become solid in Christ as you come to Him with faith.

Enjoy!

Faith Reasons

Posted on by pastordavidturner

I’ve heard many people say, “I think too much. That is my problem.” Thinking too much is never the problem. It’s what you are thinking about that is the problem. 
Unbelief reasons. Fear reasons. Pride reasons. So many people reason according to misinformation or even lies. Many people reason according to what is right in their own eyes. This is what leads to bad decisions.

But did you know faith also reasons? Faith simply believes God and accepts the truths of His Word. This shapes the way we think which in turn leads to the right decisions.

Consider how people of faith reason…



DAVID reasoned that since God was on his side he could defeated a man many times stronger and more skilled than him. He simply concluded that God was stronger than a man. He declared, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 17). 

Isn’t that the most logical conclusion: God+me=unstoppable?

ABRAHAM reasoned that if God had made a promise He would keep it. This led him to trust and obey God. Romans 4 says of him, “being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” When asked to sacrifice Isaac, the son given by the promise, Abraham reasoned in faith that God would raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). He simply calculated His decision based on God’s character. 

He factored God’s faithfulness into the equation.


PETER reasoned that if Jesus could walk on water that he could also walk on water. His faith reasoned something like: “Well Jesus can do it, and I am a follower of Jesus, so if He says I can do it, then I can do it because He gives me power to do what He does.” Peter had already experienced miraculous provision and healing when he obeyed Jesus and depend on His power. And so walking on water was more of the same. His faith reasoned, he asked Jesus, “Tell me to come to you.” Jesus said, “Come”. Peter walked on water. 

Simple math for believers: Jesus says I can do it = I can do it.   

This is how faith reasons. What seems illogical to unbelief is logical to a person of faith. The person of faith is not being illogical, they are simply reasoning from faith rather than from unbelief. A person of faith comes to a conclusion based on the information they’ve received from God. The truth changes their perspective. 

So use your mind to trust God. Think like a believer. Reason in faith.  Think too much about His word rather than about, well, whatever else you have been thinking about. Reason in faith.

Here is a good place to start: 

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

If your mind believes what it hears, then hear God’s word. We need our minds renewed. When our mind is renewed our character and choices and life are transformed (Romans 12:1-2). Listen to faith filled preaching and read the bible.  

Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

Think about and speak out loud God’s word–His way of thinking. Let His mind change your mind. 

Return To Where You Began

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Have you received a promise and rejoiced?  and then after the promise came hardship and delay?  Did you struggled in faith?  Well, you are not alone.   And just like Abraham, the father of our faith, you can return to where you began.

Abraham was called by God to leave his family, his comfort zone, and his financial safety net. He left everything because he heard God and trusted in His promises (Check out Genesis 12 and Hebrews 11 for more of the story).

When Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan he heard God say, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar as an act of worship to God. This altar was a symbol of his faith—of his joy, his gratitude, his confidence, his resolve to follow God.

This altar was a symbol of his faith—of his joy, his gratitude, his confidence, his resolve to follow God.

But then Abraham was confronted with an economic crisis, a drought and famine. After the promise came hardships and delay.  Abraham struggled in his faith. His character was tested. Abraham went down to Egypt where it was safe. He lied, putting his wife in danger, to save his own skin.  Hint: don’t follow that example. 

But after his failure came restoration. Genesis 13 describes Abraham’s return: he came out of Egypt and returned “to the place where his tent had been at the BEGINNING, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at FIRST. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 13:3-4).”

“…to the place of the altar which he had made there at FIRST.” -Genesis 13:4

Did you see that!? He returned to where he BEGAN. He returned to the place he had FIRST built an altar. He went back to the place God had spoken, to the place he believed God, to the place of joy, of confidence, of resolve, of thankfulness. He returned to faith.

Do you need to return to faith? Do you need to remember what God has promised you? Do you need to remember joy, confidence and thankfulness? Do you need to return, rebuild an altar of faith, worship and call on God’s name?  Well, you can. Just like Abraham you can return to where you began.  God’s mercy is new today. He is waiting for you to turn to Him, and cry out for His help.

And here is a good place to begin: like Abraham, be “strengthened in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).” Worship.  Boast about God.  Praise Him.  Find His promises in the bible and shout, “Thank you!”