THE MUSCLE IS GROWING BACK… HOW IS YOUR FAITH MUSCLE?
Faith Baptist of Zephyrhills
Nov. 10th, 2021
Hi Church!
How is your muscle tone?
It is not uncommon to break a bone, tear a ligament or a tendon. It happens often. You have probably done one or more of those things. I have never broken a bone, but my last major surgery was to repair my ruptured achilles tendon. Not fun. That is a really painful injury that requires nearly a year to recover from. But what about a severely cut muscle, like mine? That is a very different thing. It is very uncommon to cut nearly 4 inches of muscle and tendons.
I did some research to find out how my body would heal itself and what I should and should not do. It is just amazing how God created the human body to repair itself. The best way to describe it, your muscle literally builds “scaffolding” from one side to the other side of the muscle. And then it builds off that, like you would with block or timber, instead it is fiber by fiber. Just amazing! A cut like mine can take from 3-6 months to fully heal depending on how you deal with it. It is a fine line of using it, but not overusing it. The surgeon said I can expect to recover 100% of my strength if I do it right. I am definitely well on my way, praise God!
Faith is like a muscle. If you use it, you demonstrate faith in God and it will grow. Why? Because God is always asking us to exercise faith in our obedience to him. The Bible says that “without faith, it is impossible to please him”. You can not please God unless you are exercising faith. And it is a daily thing! Every time we do what He asks, regardless of how we “feel” or how we “see” things; he honors our faith. Some say I will believe it when I see it. Faith says, I believe it before I see it. And as a result our faith grows in him. Our faith muscle gets bigger and bigger! The best way to gauge your spiritual health today is whether or not you are thanking, praising, serving, and trusting him, regardless of how things “appear”.
People often ask me how I had the faith to move to Florida with a wife and 3 older teens and seek to revive a dying church. The baptismal tub was rusting from lack of use. The median age of the membership was 75 and the offerings were way down. One word, my friends: Faith. Faith in a God who has always kept his promises to me. I had Faith in my Father who said, “go and I will be with you!” Put me first, and I will take care of you, your family and everything else! And He has. It hasn’t been easy, but it is the best decision I ever made! God has honored our faith in our marriage, children, church, work and home.
RIght now, the “faith” at Faith is growing! The muscle is taking shape! We are a body and we are “getting in shape” from the exercise of our faith. It is awesome to see God growing my and your faith! Here are some things to be thanking God for and praying for:
1. We have a big wedding coming up! Travis and Shelby have exercised salvation, baptism and family faith in 2021! wow! Brings tears to my eyes. That is what it is all about!
2. We have 3-4 adults who are planning to be baptized on 12/5. They are taking a step of faith in obedience to God. Pray for Laura, Meagan, J.J. and another individual still needing to decide.
3. We will be making a big decision on solar panels on the same day. If we all show some faith and do as God is telling us, I believe we can do this!
4. We are preparing to take our missions to a new and greater level by implementing a policy that gives us vision and direction.
5. And there are several other areas where God is at work growing our faith.
These are exciting days at Faith Baptist Church!
As you pray for one another, please keep one another in your prayers! Here are some new requests and updates:
Me, as I share the gospel with my family at my grandmother’s memorial service on Saturday.
James, nephew of Richard Muller. Very ill.
Verin, brother-in-law of Kim Adams. Not doing well.
Stephen Simpson, our guest speaker on Sunday.
In His Gracious Grip,
Pastor Mike