Dale McDonald: Welcome once again to Atlin Family Church, Engaged Faith. Hello, I'm Pastor Dale. Today I'm starting on a really exciting five-part series, and it's going to be touching on the five core practices of a Christian that you know, whether you're a new Christian or a very mature, been walking the walk for a while, we always need to go back to these five core practices. aspects. especially if we feel, in our walk, somehow we've missed it, somehow we've gotten off. always go back to the basics. It's like how I see it as an athlete. Every season they need to focus on the basics and develop those skills and discipline to be the best version they can be. walking the Christian walk is no different. We can get in excitement, we can get in our flesh, we can move ahead of God or not keep up to, the pace that he would have for us. All not good. It throws our individual game off. It throws our team off. you know, in the sports example there. So very important, and I wanna go through this fairly slowly. So like I said, it's going to be at least a five part series, but we'll see. how much Holy Spirit speaks as I'm teaching today and through the series. it's always a good thing when God changes your direction. I had a different title for this. and I'll touch on it later on, but just the other day God says, you know what, you're s you what you're teaching on is more like Christian boot camp. So that's what I'm going with. You know, whenever God gives you his thoughts on it, it's always a good idea to run with that. And so there's your first teaching of the of the day, I guess, is if God speaks, listen. so I'm gonna start with a question. I do this quite often. so have you ever wondered if God is happy with you? I have. here's the next one. It's a little closer to home though. Have you ever asked the question if you're ready for God to work through you? Now that one's a little harder to pinpoint. I mean, we can always hope, but that's not where where it should be. As a Christian, we need to know. Because if we don't know for sure, we're not gonna have the confidence or the level of faith to step out in what He's told us to do. There's always going to be a hesitancy there that, is this God? can I do this? And and we start to look at ourselves and doubt what He's put inside of us. So very important that we know that we're in a place that God can work through us and develop our ministry and develop our walk with him. I believe we've all asked those or similar questions, if we're honest. First, we love God and we want to be loved by Him, right? But second, we want God to work through us, to share His treasure that we've been given and the relationship that we have found, right? I mean, it's the same with anything. If you found something you really love and it's dear to your heart, you want to tell people. And that's what Christianity is all about is Sharing the good news the gift that God has given us to share with the world. He works through people. We gotta keep telling ourselves God is sovereign, but He works through people. So it's up to us, you and me, to share the good news, to share the gospel of Christ. it's such an awesome privilege to have God work through us. And it's a blessing two ways. We get blessed and those that we minister to are blessed. So to jump into the teaching we're going with the boot camp. So just as a military boot camp begins to prepare a soldier for battle, as born again Christians, really we enter into a boot camp to prepare our life for service to God first and to those around us as a Christian. So quite a few similarities there. I can see why God changed my message title. Let's jump into the word as well. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 3 through 5, we read, We are human, but we don't wait wage war as humans do. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts. And teach them to obey Christ. So within that scripture, I see military strategy. You know, that's part of what we're called to do is to help people, you know, removing things that keeps people from knowing God. we use God's weapons, it says earlier on there. And, any stronghold of human reasoning we need to destroy those false arguments and replace them with the truth of the word. So much military strategy there. we're we're in a battle between the enemy of all born again Christians and really humanity as a whole is active. His job title is to kill, steal and destroy. our purpose is to share the good news, to give people the tools that they need to live a victorious life. And the scripture is full of promises that God has for us. So it's really important that we develop the basics and that we have this the basic training. Let's keep going with that, to go back to when we feel that you know something is amiss, something isn't quite right. we can always go back and start to develop the five I call them five elements of the Christian walk basically. And really what we'll find As we develop these five elements or aspects, we'll actually discover what our ministry is, because it'll draw us closer to the Lord. It'll create that relationship, that communication where He can download, if I can use that term, all that He wants us to have. So it's like ground zero of being positioned as a Christian. for everything that he would have for us and through us. it's so much that he wants for us that we can't even comprehend. if you're born again, you have a ministry. Don't put it off you know just to the those that go to church or those that really know things of God. You have a ministry. And God expects you to develop that and to move forward step by step. Where he takes you with that, that's between you and the Lord. But keep it in mind, He has a purpose for you. He has a plan for you. And it's a in Jeremiah it says, my plan is to give you a future and a hope. we can't comprehend what he has for us in store, but we'll never experience it unless we take that first step. unless we position ourselves to be able to hear him and to develop our faith. so important as a Christian to keep moving forward, never be apathetic. I've probably said that too many times, but and I'll probably touch on it more in in this message, but you know, God expects his children to grow, just like a a natural father. We're expected to mature in the things of God. The more we grow, the more effective we are in whatever ministry he calls us to. Let's look at Ephesians chapter four, verses one through six. Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, I beg you to Lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other. Make an allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body, one spirit, and just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future, there is one Lord, one faith. One baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and through all. So you can see it there. He's over, the entire world, but he's also in each one of us as a born again Christian, and he's living through us as a born again Christian. So we need to find out what that means, what that looks like, how that works, what do we expect. it's not just a matter of getting born again and that's the end of the story. No, he expects so much more of us and it's not at a cost. The more we open ourselves up for God to work through us, the more blessing comes to us and flows through us. So if you haven't experienced it, you're missing it. and if you've been walking for a while and maybe back slidden I really want to remind you of your first love, as the word says, to come back to the basics, to really hear what God's doing in your life today. He can make up for lost time. however long it's been. And if you're in your walk and you're excited, great. We're with ya. We're rooting you on. but I try to reach both ends of the scale and then anybody in the middle, God desires to work through us to accomplish his perfect will for our life and to continue this is where it's really important, to continue the ministry of Christ The the ministry of Christ didn't stop with the early church or the apostles. It continued throughout history. It continues today through you and me. And that is so exciting. like somebody said, if that doesn't get you on fire, then your wood is wet. Sorry, I can't remember who said that, but it's good. So I believe really it boils down to five critical elements or aspects, as I mentioned, that we really need to develop in order to be effective in our Christian walk. And then we need to develop a strong discipline in these areas that will position us as a Christian It's like, taking our position, getting back to the military example, the strategy of the soldiers is to get the best position for the battle in front of them. And it's no different for us as a Christian. God has given us all unique ministries and we need to know what position that is, what our tools are, what our our weapons are I should say. And if we don't, we're just gonna walk blindly into the enemy's camp and then we start looking for, what weapon do I have? What's the best position I should be? we're gonna get wiped out, right? You know, that's not how you fight an effect of war. that's what boot camp is really all about, to give you the the basic strategy and to warn you of what you're gonna face on the front lines, and then give you the actual weapons to defend yourself and the rest of the team that's around you the rest of the soldiers, right? So that's no different with the Christian walk. We're not alone. We're never alone. the body of Christ works together, but we have individual assignments, individual giftings that God expects each one of us to walk in so that as a whole we're all more powerful. We can do more together than we can individually. And we're a more lethal force together against the enemy. So can't say it enough. We gotta get this. And like I'd mentioned, developing the discipline, developing the positioning, it all works together for an effective ministry and Christian life. That's when it gets exciting. When we make this like our YouTube channel, Engaged Faith. Having faith is the initial step, but when we engage it, that's when it gets exciting. That's when we start to see miracles happen. We start to see strongholds come down, we start to see the life that God wants for us, and we can start to be the shining light for our neighbors. as we lay hands on the sick and they recover, they're going to look to God and say, Thank you, Lord. I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't for Pastor Dale. I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't for I'm pointing at you, speaking to me. and the bonus of us getting to the positioning ourselves, really working the basics of Christianity is gaining confidence. very few soldiers come out of boot camp the same way they went in. Have you noticed that? They they go in, maybe cocky. But they come out bold and confident in their training, in the weapons, how to use them, the authority they have, who's behind them, which you know, country they happen to be fighting for. They gain so much and they gain discipline. They gain trust for their commander. Well, God is our ultimate commander. We need to know the weapons He's provided for us and and come out Not as we went in as an unbeliever, come out as a confident believer in the Lord and Him working through us, then we'll see change in the world that we live. So he's he's got a position for you to take and it's unique to you. My position is unique to me. we're called to Pastor Atlin Family Church and we accepted the call. We came to Atlin. we didn't know at first the the whole plan. Often that's how it works is God'll give you a step. We did we took the step and then it started to unfold and so glad that we did. When you're in the perfect plan of God, you're fulfilled. You have peace. you may not have all the answers. That's okay. In time. so what are the five elements of Christian discipline? The five aspects that I'd mentioned? Well, one is faith. I've touched on it. Two is prayer. Three is hearing God, four is obedience, and five, righteousness and holiness. So as we move forward, I will break down each aspect and provide scriptural references, of course, to help us locate any areas that you may be weak in. Like I'd mentioned, you maybe have walked the walk for a while, but maybe you've slipped back. We're human, that happens. and maybe you're on the other end of the scale, you're just brand new, born again. then you can start to develop these tools. Or the discipline that we need as a Christian to fully walk out the walk that God has before us. So, to begin with, let's look at faith. It's one of my favorite topics. We teach on it, or we will be teaching on it a lot, and we have a lot in the past, but it took faith to become born again, right? you had to believe that God exists and you had to make that quality decision to ask Him into your heart, into your life, and then you became born again. it's really the very, very first step of any believer is to exercise their faith that God has given each of us. Faith is foundational to our spiritual walk with God. The level of our faith completely determines where we are in our walk, how much God can trust us, how much we trust Him. So faith is the key. It's really everything that we receive from God and that God does through us is based on our level of faith. So basic but so vital and so critical in our Christian walk. Let's look at James two nineteen through twenty. And and so it reads, You say you have faith, for you believe there is one God. Good for you. Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish. Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? that scripture really locates way too many people in the body of Christ. And so many people they read it, I believe, and they just Yeah, okay, whatever, and they move on and I'm okay and you know, because they haven't developed their faith to a level that has got the determination to do all that God's called them to do and to keep moving forward in the ministry. And so this scripture right there, like I said, locates so many people that you know, where it says, So you believe there's one God? Good for you. And here it is. Even the demons believe this, but what do they do? They tremble in terror. What are you doing with it? I know I'm being to the point, but we gotta get this. That faith is so much more than just the church you go to, just believing that God exists and that he's in heaven. I want this so much for you to get what God is saying for the body of Christ today that we have to develop our faith. We have to grow in it so that we can be all that He has asked us to be scriptures like this are really a test to locate where we're at on our individual walk. let's not read and just move past them because okay, that doesn't really apply to me. Every scripture applies to you and me. So we need to know, what's the purpose of the scripture, what's God saying to me? as we can see clearly here if we slow it down, that it's foolish to just believe God exists. And that's the end of the story. that's the beginning point of this message. Our faith is much, much more than just believing God exists. The scripture says that's foolish if that's where we stop. So let's read in Hebrews chapter eleven, verse six. It isn't possible to please God without faith. So, you know, if you ever want to know if you're pleasing God, are you using your faith? There's scripture to back it. You you can know God's heart. If we're developing our faith and walking in it and using it and it's creating fruit, then we know it's we're pleasing. So it goes on to read anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists, kind of referring to the last scripture, And that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. So again, speaking of the benefits of walking in our faith, developing that faith, he's gonna bring the rewards. Are you ready for rewards? I certainly am. And as I sincerely seek him, I expect his word to come to pass. So again, faith, I'm not referring to the church we attend, like I go to this denominational church, I've heard some people say that when you ask them about their faith. Yeah, I go over to this, that's my faith. No, that's that may be a membership, but it's not your faith. God doesn't care about denominations. he didn't develop man did. but he did develop and ask us to use our faith. Our faith is tangible. It grows as we see in the word as we feed it. It's determined by what we believe from the word and what promises we act on. Like for instance, if our body will be healed or not. If we don't have the faith for it, what's gonna happen? or if we receive the power to prosper that God promises throughout His Word. He has it for every believer. But if you don't have the faith for prosperity, You're not going to see it. You're not going to walk in it. God won't force prosperity into your life, even though you may have a ministry of giving, of supporting a local church or supporting a local ministry, but if you don't have the faith to receive it, see how it can affect others? God can't get the the prosperity to you or through you, then it starts affecting those that he was wanting to bless through you. Let's read Hebrews eleven one. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not seen. it's tangible. I'd mentioned that before. It's got substance. And it's things that we have hope for, our desires, our inner dreams, those are all put in by God. And so our faith becomes the evidence of those things that He has put inside of us. Does that make sense? Like it's it's a real growing entity within us. If we follow the word of God and renew our mind and listen to the word, we see this in Romans chapter ten, verse seventeen. faith comes from hearing. That is hearing the good news about Christ. if you'd wonder, well how do I grow my faith? You read the word. Faith comes from hearing. That is hearing the good news about Christ. The more we know about Christ through Scripture, which is the truth, the more knowledge we'll have, the more confidence we'll have, and we'll renew our mind as well at this in the same process the end result is our faith will grow. Every step in our Christian walk, every promise from God to us is determined by our level of faith. I touched on that before. Faith matters and it affects every aspect of our lives and his plan for our lives. I want everything that he wants for me. I want his plan to be fully completed as I walk, as he wants me to walk. the scripture says as we walk into heaven, basically, well done, good and faithful servant. That's my desire. and I hope it is yours as well. We may have a desire to walk out his plan for our lives, but if we're apathetic, we're lazy, not gonna happen. We have to engage our faith. Here's a plug for the YouTube channel. but it it's so true. his grace and mercy is there for us absolutely when we miss it. As long as our our heart and our desire is to move forward in him, His grace and mercy covers that when we do. I'm so thankful for that that it's there for any stage of our walk, whether it's in the beginning or you know as we mature. But we can't rely on that. We shouldn't rely on that. That's not his best for us. I've touched on that before, but he expects us all to grow our faith by hearing his word. As we read scripture, we can place ourselves in it. We can see God's heart for us, his personality, what he expects for us. and by faith, we grab it. We were to receive it and expect it and walk in it. And then, we get to know God's will and how he sees us. And we can experience a deeper relationship with him then. And with a deeper relationship. We can begin to feel his emotions. I remember when I first started feeling God's emotions. Wow. Like what a a new level of experience in the Lord. I felt when he's been excited, it's just like it you can't contain it. It's like woo woo woo, you know. And then I've ex I felt when he's expressing his love for me. when he's being ABBA father to me, daddy. and to be real, I've also felt his spirit when he's not happy with me. That's when he's being Father God. You know, and here's the reality. We all need correction. We all need direction when we miss it, right? that's part of boot camp. we need to renew our mind. We need to have the worldly junk taken out and our focus refocused. So I love it. I personally love it when God does correct me and when I hear his voice clearly. No, Daley've missed it. I I'm I'm not happy with this. Thank you, Lord. I mean it hurts because I I always want to please God, but when I'm corrected, it's still God showing his love for me. And you might think, Well, that's strange. You're you're not really getting the whole thing, Dale. But it is. I mean, a a loving father wants the best for his children. So if if I see one of my children doing some things that's going to harm them, I I need to warn them. I need to say, you know, that's not right. That's not my heart for you. And God's the same way. He always wants the very best for you and me. So when we miss it And he corrects us. if we're sensitive to his voice and we really wanna please him, then we'll quickly adjust. We'll pivot to what he wants us to do. So, again, Christian faith is believing God and his word. whether spoken or written, like when he's correcting me, that's his spoken word and the war or when I see it in in the the scripture, that's the written word. We need to apply our faith to either the spoken or the written and act on it. Whether that's correction, direction or or encouragement. So, an effective Christian must build our faith by hearing God's word, studying God's Word, and meditating on the scripture. That's how we we get it inside as we we slow down. We look at it, read it over and over, maybe make notes as to what we believe God's saying through that scripture. That's an effective way to get it more planted inside. And in the process, as we renew our mind, our faith will grow. Our knowledge of God's word will grow. and then you know what? We're not gonna be deceived by the world or the enemy. That's part of boot camp is when we have the information then if we see something or hear something that's contrary to the truth, we'll know it right away. It's like, uh-uh, not going there. You know, you can't fool me this time. And like I'd mentioned, the second element of Christian discipline is prayer. You know, we once we're make that decision to develop our faith and we're starting to read the word, it then, we want to pray with God. We want to develop that prayer life and that relationship with Him. That's His heart. Jesus came to earth to reconcile man to Himself. And he died on the cross for you and me. He did all of that to develop the relationship, to open that door to communicate directly with him. And so we can never take that lightly. we can't comprehend what all was accomplished on the cross, but we can certainly start to comprehend it. can certainly start to develop that relationship. So some people try to make prayer complicated. Let's keep it simple. It's simply communication with God. Our part is to express our desires, to ask the questions, ask for wisdom, and then the next part is was listening to God, if you remember the list. But we'll talk about prayer in the next message. It is such a privilege that we can communicate with God and really he expects his children to talk to him. So we need to develop that process. We need to know what prayer is and and more importantly what prayer isn't. I look forward to having you join me in the next message. If you're in Atlin remember we meet every Sunday at ten AM Pacific time for a quick message. and again also we've started a Bible study Every Wednesday at six thirty PM Pacific time, you're most welcome to to join us as well. very informal, both Sunday and Wednesday night. We just talk about the love of the Lord and develop our faith by reading scripture and discussing it. So by all means stop in. And we look forward to seeing you next time. Have a blessed week. Bye bye.