How to grow in Faith (7) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 29-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

29th December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith) (7)

Text: John 7:48 →"Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?"

★ Romans 10:17 →"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

☆ Components of Effectively Hearing God's Word:

1. Listening

2. Agreement (assent)

→ The agreement must be a personal thing

* The word of God is something that you must believe personally.

→ Don't wait until someone in power or authority believes

3. Meditate on and Obey God's Word

→ It will be very difficult for a man to obey God's word if there is no meditation

→ Mediation entails thinking about something actively and deeply as it relates to you

★ Joshua 1:7-8 →''Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

* Much of the fear that Christians entertain comes as a result of a lack of meditation

* You should not waste your time meditating on discouraging news in the media that is being churned out everyday

★Psalm 119:78 →"Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts."

* If you want your faith to increase, you must be committed to meditating on God's Word everyday

* The word of God takes preeminence over everything

* You must not allow anyother thing to preoccupy your mind

How to grow in Faith (6) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 23-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

23rd December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith (6)

Text: Acts 14:8-10

* Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17), but you must listen with both ears

* As you listen to God's Word, faith is built up in you

★ Proverbs 8:34 →"Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors."

* You must listen to God's word to the point that you become deaf and dumb to every other voice

* The 2nd component of hearing (after listening) is acceptance of what you are hearing

★ 1 Thessalonians 2:13 →"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

* As long as you do not accept the Word of God, it will never be effective

* For faith to come, you must receive the word, accept it, welcome it, agree with it and embrace it, knowing that God's word does not fail, regardless of what happens (Mathew 5:18)

How to grow in Faith (5) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 22-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

22nd December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith (5)

Text: Romans 10:17 →"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." (NIV)

* The major way to Grow in faith is by hearing God's Word

☆ Hearing has three (3) main Components:

(a) Listening

* The object of hearing and listening is the Word of Christ

* listening entails giving your full concentration and rapt attention

☆ Psalm 62:11 →"God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God." (KJV)

* Luke 10:38-42 →"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

* Listening entails sitting at the feet of the master to learn what he has to say. Nothing else matters

* In this life, so many things can encumber your life and rob you of concentrating on listening to God's Word

* One of the problems that Christians have about listening, is that, when they are hearing the word of God, they have no passion

* Whenever you hear God's Word, you must drown in what you are hearing. Soak it in

* You must listen to God's word like your life depends on it. Indeed, it does

☆ Prayer:

Father I thank you that I have ears;

help me to utilize my ears in hearing you;

Grant me the grace to shut my ears to what the devil is saying;

Open the ears of my heart to listen to what you want me to hear from your Word

How to grow in Faith (4) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 21-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

21st December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith) (4)

Text: Mark 9:14 - 24

* When you develop your faith you will be able to withstand the challenges of life

* Unbelief is a major issue for many people, including Christians

* Unbelief can be defined as:

(a) Questioning the ability of Christ

→ this takes place subtly in the heart

(b) Questioning the ability and power of Christ in you

 ★ Luke 10:19

(c) Questioning the potency of your own faith

(d) Wondering if what you are believing God for is His will

→ This is the greatest sign of unbelief

→ God wants you to have that thing you are desiring

→ Every good and perfect gift comes from God

* Faith takes you to a realm where nothing is impossible

★ Luke 1:37 → ''Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God’s promises.”

★ Mark 9:23 → "If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes."

☆ Effects of Unbelief:

1. Unbelief hinders people from receiving God's promises and blessings that could be theirs

★ Jonah 2:8 → "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them."

2. Unbelief prevents people from becoming what God has destined them to be

→ Many people cannot accomplish what God created them for

★ Judges 6:12-15

3. Anyone afflicted by unbelief cannot please God

★ Hebrews 11:6

→ It takes faith to please God

How to grow in Faith) (3) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 16-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

16th December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith) (3)

Text: Matthew 17:14-21

* The power or potency of faith is not a function of its size

* The potency of faith depends on its genuineness, completeness and authenticity

→ It must not be tainted by fear or sin

* The very situation that men could not handle, Jesus can handle

* We need to make an honest self-examination of your self

* Unbelief is the greatest thing that undermines the potency of faith (verse 20)

* Except unbelief is dealt with, faith cannot grow

* You must get to the point that you can confidently say: "I know that my redeemer liveth." 

☆ What is Unbelief?

1. Unbelief is doubting the ability and the power of Christ to do what he said he will do

★ Isaiah 40:28 →"Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed."

* There is nothing that God cannot do

* Once you doubt the power of Christ to do anything, unbelief is at work

★ Matthew 9:22 →"When Jesus turned and saw her, he said, “Be courageous, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” And from that very hour the woman was well."

2. Unbelief is doubting the power of Christ within you, yourself

★ Luke 10:19 →''Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you."

* You must not diminish or downgrade the power of God which is invested in your life

* You must not live a powerless life

★Philippians 4:13 →"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

★ Psalm 27:1-3 →"The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom will I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom will I be afraid? When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors come near me to devour my flesh, they stumble and fall. If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear. If a war is launched against me, I will even trust in that situation."

★ Proverbs 18:10 →"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; a righteous person rushes to it and is lifted up above the danger."

How to grow in Faith) (2) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 15-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

15th December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith) (2)

Text: Luke 17:1-6

* It is your responsibility to grow by faith

* God expects you to keep growing in faith

* Take care about what you think, say and do so that you do not cause offense

* Many Christians do not want to be rebuked for any sin they commit

* It requires a high level of faith to forgive offences, especially repeated offences

★Proverbs 15:3 →"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

* There is no offence that anyone does to you that the Lord is not aware of

* Many will misconstrue your forgiveness be weakness

* NOTE: Forgiveness is an act of meekness

* It takes faith to remember that vengeance is God's prerogative

* The efficacy of faith is not dependent on the size of faith

→ You do not need a very big faith in order to do what God desires

* NOTE: As small as a mustard seed is, it is still a real & complete seed that, given the right conditions, it will become a fruitful and productive tree! 

* As long as your faith is genuine, true, complete, credible, active and real, it will overcome every challenge

★ Mark 4:35-40

* Because the Lord is in your boat, he expects that you activate your faith in the face of every storm instead if panicking 

How to grow in Faith) (1) (Pastor Ambrose Nwogu) 14-12-2015

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ NDIC/DMO Chapel,

Central Business District,

Garki - Abuja

14th December, 2015

Speaker: Pastor Ambrose Nwogu

Topic: Prevailing by faith (How to grow in Faith) (1)

Text: Luke 17:1-6

* The most important thing in our relationship with God is faith

* Every thing you do as a believer revolves around faith

* Anywhere man is found, sin is in abundance

→ Market, hospitals, hotels, Churches, etc

→ It is virtually impossible to run away from sin

* But woe onto the man by which the sin comes

* Jesus requires that despite the abundance of sin, you must always forgive

* NOTE: It takes faith to walk in perpetual victory and to live the Christian life  

☆ You need Faith to forgive:

1. Knowing that God indeed saw the offence

2. Knowing that God has already forgiven you also (Matthew 6:14)

3. Knowing that God holds exclusive monopoly of vengeance (Hebrews 10:30-31) 

→ Many people decide to revenge due to a lack of faith

* Prayer:

"God I thank you because you are a forgiving God and that no matter how heinous my sins are, you will always forgive me."