Upside-down & Backwards Part 2
Isaiah 55:6-9 (NLT)
6 Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your
ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
The kingdom of God is upside-down and backwards, God’s kingdom operates from a spiritual system which is the opposite of this worlds system. God invites us to live life at a higher level. In order to operate in the kingdom of God we have to repent, literally change the way we think and come into alignment with the Spirit of God who lives within us.
The kingdom of God is upside-down and backwards; God’s kingdom operates by
Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
So then faith [comes] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
By faith - we obtain a good
Hebrews 11:2
2 For by faith the elders obtained a [good] testimony.
Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)
16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
1 Peter 2:12 (NLT)
12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
By faith - we
Hebrews 11:3
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Genesis 1:1-3 (NLT)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
By faith - we offer God our
Hebrews 11:4
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
Genesis 4:3-7 (NLT)
3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD.
4 Abel also brought a gift–the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift,
5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
6 “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected?
7 You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
By faith - we
Hebrews 11:5-6
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [Him,] for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and [that] He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Genesis 5:24 (NKJV)
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he [was] not, for God took him.
By faith - we
Hebrews 11:7
7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
2 Peter 2:5 (NLT)
5 And God did not spare the ancient world–except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world (a preacher of righteousness) of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.
By faith - we
Hebrews 11:8
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Genesis 12:1-4 (NLT)
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
By faith - we dwell in the land. Faith stays where God has placed us even when we know there is more to come.
Hebrews11:9-10
9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as [in] a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God.
By faith - we
Hebrews 11:11
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
Faith in
1 John 5:4-5 (NKJV)
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?