WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: 2 Peter 1: Faith Publishing Date: 2025-01-12T05:04:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/2-peter-1-faith/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:28.000 Second Peter 1. Last week we did Second Peter 1.4 and we talked about promises of God. Second Peter 1.4 talked about the promises of God. Today we start with Second Peter 1.5. Hi Joey, everything OK? Everyone wants to be a preacher. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:54.000 Second Peter 1.5 and we will probably stay there for a while because today we just pick on one word, faith. So if you go to Second Peter 1, reading from verse 3 onwards, His divine power—Second Peter 1.3-5 for today, reading from the NIV—His divine power—oh, by the way, I forgot. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:04.000 This is Russell. I forgot to introduce him. Russell said he wanted to stay hidden. He was glad I didn't introduce him, but now I have. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:19.000 So Second Peter 1.3, His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:33.000 And then last week we talked about Second Peter 1.4. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:48.000 And today we do. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to goodness knowledge. So today we start with faith. If I read it from another version, it will say verse 5. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:58.000 So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character and spiritual understanding. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:11.000 So we are talking about basic faith. One of the best places to go for basic faith is Hebrews 11. Let's go 1 to 8 today. Hebrews 11, 1 to 8. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:23.000 So let's look at Hebrews 11, 1 to 8, because we're talking about basic faith. Hebrews 11, 1 to 8, reading from the NIV. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:33.000 Now faith is a confidence, or let me read from the ESV. Doesn't matter. Now faith is the assurance, now let's read from the NIV. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:47.000 Now faith is a confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:58.000 By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:12.000 By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:22.000 And by faith, Abel still speaks even though he is dead. By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:32.000 He could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:46.000 And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:56.000 By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear, built an ark to save him and his family. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:03.000 By his faith, he condemned the world and became an heir of righteousness that is in keeping with faith. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:17.000 We'll stop at verse 8. By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:31.000 So, basic faith. We start with the understanding that faith on one hand is oriented towards the future. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:42.000 Faith on one hand is oriented towards the future. Faith on one hand is oriented towards the future. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:56.000 And it's a hoped for reward that you're after. It's a hoped for reward that you're after because it's been promised by God. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:08.000 It's been promised by God and you expect it to be realized. So that's one side of faith. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:18.000 So it's oriented...what happened? All good, Brandon? 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:28.000 Okay. So faith is oriented towards the future. Faith is oriented towards the future. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:38.000 Faith is oriented towards the future and it has to have hoped for rewards. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:48.000 So whenever you say you are now standing in faith or showing faith, do you have a hoped for reward? What are you hoping for? 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:56.000 And if you don't have a hoped for reward, then it is not faith. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:14.000 And the hoped for reward has to be based on a promise of God that is either already in the Scriptures or comes from his nature or is based out of him speaking to you from Scriptures and his nature. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:21.000 Okay, let's go over that again. Faith is oriented towards the future. It's something...that's one part of faith. We'll talk about the second part. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:29.000 It's oriented towards the future. It is a hoped for reward. So you've got to have hoped that there's a reward waiting. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:35.000 If there is no such hope, then it's not faith. It has to be promised by God. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:47.000 The promise has to be from Scripture or from his nature or from what he has said to you directly that is in accord with his nature and Scriptures. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:07:01.000 And you must have an expectation that it will be realized. If those things are absent, it's not faith. It's wishing. It's kesara-sara. It is Hail Mary. But it's not faith. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.000 Any question? No? 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:11.000 So can you believe that it's a promise? 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:46.000 Or he may speak directly to you in here or through a prophetic word or something, but that also has to line up with Scriptures and with his nature. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:52.000 And then there must be the expectation that it will be realized. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.000 Without expectation, faith doesn't exist. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:09.000 So is that an expectation? Anything else? It's wishful thinking, throwing coins in a well, kesara-sara, or I don't remember the last one. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:13.000 So that's one side of faith. Faith is oriented towards the future. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:24.000 The next one is faith is also the unseen reality. Faith is also the unseen reality of God's power present now. 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:33.000 The unseen reality of God's goodness present now. The unseen reality of God's provision present now. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:41.000 The unseen reality of it. How confident or how expectant are you of that? 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:47.000 These are the two opening sentences of Hebrews chapter 11. This is how God defines faith. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:51.000 The unseen reality of his power present now. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:59.000 So sometimes it's annoying when Tooney in the middle of the song says, oh, freedom is here now, bondages will be broken. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:02.000 And you think to yourself, please, can I just stick to holy? I can handle that. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:08.000 But why is he saying freedom is here now, bondages can be broken, depression can lift? Why is he saying that? 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:18.000 Because the unseen reality of the power of God, the goodness of God, the presence of God, and the provision of God is part of living faith. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:24.000 And it doesn't have to happen in the context of a congregation. It can happen when you're walking alone. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:32.000 That is unseen reality. That is what the ancients were commended for, as in the ones who went before us were commended for. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:47.000 The unseen reality of his power. You realize what a huge gap now lies between his description of faith and our walk of faith. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:10:00.000 Huge gap. Am I walking in the unseen reality and the expectation of his power, of his goodness, and of his provision, and of his presence on a normal basis? 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:09.000 No. I might exert faith in a crisis or I might exert faith for you. But this is not my unseen reality. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.000 Is it yours? 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:17.000 Is that a yes or a no? Don't worry. Any questions? 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:26.000 Example of the unseen reality. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:32.000 Abraham. Let's pick on him. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:57.000 Abraham. Let's pick on him. He lived in the unseen reality that when God asks him to leave people and go because he's going to give him an inheritance, that his presence, his power, his goodness, and his provision will be with a man who is leaving clan, country, nation, family, and setting off on his own, led not even by the stars, but by a voice that none of his ancestors have ever heard of. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:22.000 His father was an idol worshiper. He has no prior history. But this unseen reality keeps him. And then every time he begins to get scared, God will turn up and say, I am your exceeding great reward and shield. And it reassures him again. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.000 But he walks in this continuously. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:30.000 And so is that how we go about our business? 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:46.000 And the reason we don't go about this way is because of the assault of the visible world on our thinking. The assault of the visible world upon our thinking. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:58.000 The assault of the visible world upon our thinking. And that's something we need to completely undo if we want to become heroes that get added to Hebrews 11, verse 42. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:08.000 Don't be modest and say, no, I don't want to be in Hebrews 11. We named ourselves Acts 29. You're stuck. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.000 Yep. 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:20.000 Yeah. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:39.000 A reward is something in the future that you may not even get. The strange thing is Abraham is walking in the unseen reality of God's goodness, provision, presence, and power. And yet he is walking towards a reward that he knows has not been built with human hands. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:49.000 It's a city that he knows he won't even get here on earth. But it keeps fueling him because he knows if he doesn't get his, get it, his descendants will get it. 00:12:49.000 --> 00:13:05.000 Faith is really not about answers for you. We are the ones who have made faith a means to get what we want. Faith is a means to bring to pass here on earth what heaven wants. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:17.000 And in the process, some of the things you want may be what heaven wants to, maybe what Christ died for too. But we got to shift and stop using faith as personal currency for personal goals. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:30.000 And shift first to faith is the way that I bring to pass on heaven, the things bring to pass on earth, the things that heaven wants. Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:47.000 And for that we need to reach back into the past and connect. This is what all the guys in Hebrews 11 did. You never find a guy in Hebrews 11 who got a job or got a raise. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:56.000 Or got a wife, a wife they did get. But, and getting a wife is a good thing. All you guys there. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:02.000 Happy birthday. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:12.000 Yeah, so this is the cool thing about faith that all the guys mentioned in Hebrews 11 were guys who got things that heaven was planning for us. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:19.000 And that's what we're going to do. We're going to get to know the world. We're going to get to know the world. 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:24.000 Where is he? There he is. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:33.000 Yeah, so this is the cool thing about faith that all the guys mentioned in Hebrews 11 were guys who got things that heaven was planning for us. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:42.000 But it required a man or a woman to stand. And the moment they stood, it was released. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:47.000 That is so cool about this thing called faith. In the process you get provided for and all that stuff. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:57.000 Remember guys always, all these things shall be added unto you so that you don't have to worry about it so that you can seek what is important. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:05.000 What's the great thing about not having a business but being an employee? You don't have to worry about earning. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:15.000 That guy who sits in the big office higher up, higher up on the building, he pays you this thing. You don't have to worry about it. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:28.000 Imagine if soldiers had also to work for their living. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:35.000 So on one hand faith is oriented towards the future where a hope for hoped for reward promised by God is realized. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:42.000 On the other hand, it's also the unseen reality of God's power, provision, presence in the present. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:56.000 So when we talk about things not seen, things not seen, things not seen, we're talking about things not seen. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:12.000 We are talking about the power of God available for His people in the present. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:18.000 Can you reorient your understanding of faith along those lines? 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:25.000 And then there's things hoped for, things hoped for. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:35.000 When we talk about things hoped for, we're talking about future reward. We're talking about future reward. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:54.000 But you live as if the things hoped for are real now. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:17:08.000 And if you look at Abraham's life, Abraham conducted his whole life on these assumptions. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:17.000 On these two assumptions. 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.000 So things not seen is the power of God actually. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Things not seen is not the same as things hoped for. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:35.000 Things not seen is, hey, I can't see it, but the invisible God who is present here is present here with power, with goodness, with absolute faithfulness. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.000 It's called loyal faithfulness. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:41.000 Here's the strange thing. It's a strange term. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:44.000 Loyal faithfulness. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.000 With provision and with goodness, He's present here now. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:53.000 Is that sufficient for me to trust that the words that I speak will become life and spirit? 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:58.000 As I speak right now, I'm speaking from my notes, I'm speaking from the point of view of a mere mortal. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:09.000 But is it possible for me to at this instant believe that as I speak, that the provision, the faithfulness, the presence and the power and the goodness of God will be sufficient 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:16.000 to take the words that I speak and make them John 6 63, where the words I speak to will be spirit and life and will not be flesh? 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:21.000 Can you imagine what that will do to all of us? Including me, because I'm hearing it too. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:29.000 This is being aware of the unseen reality of His power present among us. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.000 And then there is the future hope. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:43.000 But with future hope, with future rewards, can you begin to behave as if you already have it? 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.000 First John 5, 14 and 15. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:51.000 Can you believe it's your present possession, even though it is not yours yet? 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:55.000 Come to think of it, aren't you being foolish about salvation? 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.000 You believe you're already saved. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.000 And yet you're here on earth. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.000 Nothing changed since the day you said that prayer. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:05.000 You look the same. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:07.000 But it is living this way. 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:08.000 It's living. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:15.000 When it comes to salvation, we live that way. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:20.000 Any questions? 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:26.000 Any questions? 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.000 Okay. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:33.000 One of the things that's really required for faith based on the readings we just did is perseverance. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000 Perseverance. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:43.000 Most of these guys we read about, they excelled in this. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.000 Noah stuck around for many years before the rains came down and the ark became a reality. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:54.000 Abraham stuck around for many years until the son of promise, Isaac, was born. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:02.000 So these guys had this critical component of faith or requisite of faith called perseverance 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:11.000 because it's one way to guarantee the joy of receiving promises. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:19.000 It's one way to guarantee the joy of receiving promises. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:24.000 So be you young or old, and this is not an age thing because I've seen young people with great faith 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.000 and old people with little faith. 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:33.000 And so whatever age you are, this is a quality that you need to develop, perseverance, 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:38.000 when it comes to the things of God. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:47.000 It's to guarantee that the joy, it guarantees the joy of receiving promises. 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:53.000 And perseverance, since you want it so badly and I can see it on your face, 00:20:53.000 --> 00:21:03.000 perseverance is produced by the testing of faith. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:07.000 Ha ha, set you up and trap you. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:10.000 Perseverance is produced by the testing of faith. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:16.000 James 1.3 talks about it, that when my faith is tested, then I develop perseverance. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:23.000 So if you want to venture into faith, then know that it will be tested. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:27.000 And when you are tested, you then learn how to persevere. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:36.000 When you persevere, you come into teleos or maturity. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:44.000 So anybody who thinks that faith is an easy grab and go, name it, claim it stuff, 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:48.000 is just setting themselves up for a fall because it doesn't work like that. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.000 Faith will always be tested. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:54.000 And it's in the testing that perseverance develops. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:05.000 And it's in perseverance that you and I become mature, which is what God is after anyways. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:12.000 And so the testing of faith, I mean, if every child should just marvel and clap their hands with joy 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 when you tell them, hey, one day you're going to mature, you're going to stand, you're going to walk, 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.000 you're going to make your own decisions, children will enjoy it thoroughly. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:23.000 But strangely, they'll go through a whole period of testing before they get there, man. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:27.000 And it's the same with faith. Faith will be tested. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:37.000 How many volunteers? No way. I'm putting my hand up. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:43.000 I want to be tested because I want to increase in faith because if I increase in faith, 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:50.000 then God will get through me and through you to do things here on earth that heaven has always desired. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.000 That aside, I get to mature. And what does maturing look like? 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:59.000 I get to become and look more like Christ. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:04.000 And if that's what he's after, eh? 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.000 Any questions? 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:21.000 Yeah. So sometimes healing may happen instantaneously. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.000 If Jesus was around, most healings happen instantaneously. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:30.000 Some took a little more time. Nowadays, there are times when I've seen things happen immediately. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.000 Other times it takes time. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:38.000 When it comes to healing, I do not know all the reasons, but I know that perseverance still applies. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:42.000 Perseverance applies to any promise of God. It doesn't matter which area you take it in. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:50.000 You can take it about opening a nation and evangelizing a nation or opening a small sore on your knee and cauterizing that. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.000 It doesn't matter which way you go. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:24:07.000 Every promise requires perseverance if God does not make it happen immediately. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.000 Yeah. God owns my body. He loves healing it. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:15.000 See, the problem with a message like this is you can't take everything and put it in this message. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.000 I would love to, but you would have to be here till 2 a.m. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:28.000 But since you don't look that enthusiastic, we'll have to go with this thing that, yeah, 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:36.000 we want to aim for eternal things, but the fact still remains that he is my father. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:45.000 And which father in the process of expanding his kingdom will not look for his child who is hurting? 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:53.000 Him being king doesn't stop him from being predominantly father. He's always father. 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:59.000 I woke up in New York two days ago in the afternoon, fell off to sleep. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:05.000 And in this, I'm seeing a dream. And in the dream, I'm talking to you guys. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.000 And there are some other guys too who I didn't recognize. 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:14.000 And as I'm talking, I come to the end of the sermon. And we are nowhere there right now, okay? 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:23.000 I come to the end of the sermon. And I'm telling the church that, listen, God is always faithful. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:29.000 God is always full of goodness. God is always someone who will take care of you. 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:34.000 God is always, and as I'm preaching, I suddenly stop in the dream and I turn, I stop preaching, 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:40.000 and I look up and I start saying to him, Father, I've got a new name for you, always. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:45.000 That's his new name, always. And then I start talking and I start weeping and I tell him how much I love him. 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:50.000 And as I begin to tell him how much I love him, you guys join in and you start telling him how much you love him. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:58.000 Because he's always like this. He doesn't choose between personas. 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:05.000 So on one hand, he's able to heal this little thing that most hockey players live with for six months, 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:10.000 but I can't bear living with it for six days because I don't get paid six million. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:18.000 So there's that side of it. And then there's this thing of also huge things that have to happen. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:28.000 It's both. It's not one or the other. Yeah. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:37.000 Perseverance is impossible. Perseverance is impossible. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:42.000 Perseverance is impossible without drawing close to God. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:49.000 When you go over those eight verses we read, you'll see that they would persist on drawing near to God. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:55.000 Perseverance is impossible without drawing near to God. Without drawing near to God. 00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:09.000 Why? Because faith without trust, faith without trust is backbreaking. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:19.000 I think we talked about this last time. If this, this is how you need to view it. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:27.000 This is trust. This is faith. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:32.000 Faith without trust is backbreaking. You won't survive. It'll kill you. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:35.000 It'll disappoint you. It'll disillusion you. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:38.000 The first thing is to trust. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:44.000 Can I trust someone because I know their nature, because I know their heart towards me? 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:51.000 Can I trust a person? If I can trust a person, then what they say becomes so easy to believe. 00:27:51.000 --> 00:28:01.000 But if I don't trust a person, believing is so difficult because in the back of my mind it's always, will they be true? 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:07.000 And so without trust, faith is backbreaking. It's impossible. 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:20.000 So in any area where you're struggling with faith, go immediately, start rewinding and find out, in this area, do I trust his nature? 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:28.000 What's his nature predominantly? Father and then King. But do I trust him in this area? 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:36.000 Start there. And once you begin to trust his nature in that area, faith becomes easy. You don't even want to promise then. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:43.000 You don't even want to promise. I don't need a promise from Thunay saying, I'll turn up today for worship and lead worship. 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:52.000 I don't need a promise. I mean, we doubled his pay, but yeah. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:59.000 So I don't need a promise from him. I know he loves worship. I know he loves being here. 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:04.000 So he'll turn up. Once you know someone's nature, faith is easy. Any questions on that? 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:15.000 That's a critical element of this, see? Whenever you're finding it hard to exert faith, go back to him and look at him as a father 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:24.000 and begin to find out what about your father don't you trust? And then build it up from there and faith will flow again. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:39.000 Perseverance carries two things in it. 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:48.000 Immediacy and eventuality or patience. Perseverance carries two things in it. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:53.000 Christian perseverance. Christian perseverance is very different from normal perseverance. 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:59.000 Christian perseverance is there's an immediacy because God is alive, God is here, God is not in the past, present or the future. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:08.000 God is now, I am. There's an immediacy to what he says. But at the same time, there is also patience that's required. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:18.000 You see this in Hebrews 10, verse 36, where he says it's through patience and through faith that you inherit the promise. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:22.000 It's both. And the two must combine, eh? The two must combine. 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:38.000 And when they combine, that's when you have what you ask for while you wait for it. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:46.000 Beautifully, you have what you ask for while you wait for it. You have what you ask for while you wait for it. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:52.000 It's a story of every pregnant woman. You have what you ask for while you wait for it. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:31:01.000 It's a story of Abraham. He's changed his name to Abraham. He is going to be the father of a nation, but he waits for it. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:14.000 When I said earlier these words are spirit and life and that if God could take these words and make them spirit and life, 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:19.000 then the way you receive words of spirit and life is in here, not in here. This will never compute this. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:25.000 But in here you know it is true and then you try to process it, you may have some success with it. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:34.000 Any questions? 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:57.000 Okay. Faith also gives, faith also gives the world, this is so cool man, these things should make us so desirous for faith, eh? 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:09.000 Faith also gives the world proof of the reality of God. Faith also gives the world proof of the unseen reality of God. 00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:19.000 Faith also gives the world proof of the unseen reality of God. It thrills God, eh, when you show faith because every time you show faith, he'll demonstrate his power. 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:26.000 When that song goes, Yahweh will manifest himself, if you call him, if you seek him, he will manifest himself. 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:35.000 The intent is, hey, can you exert faith so I can give the world proof of the unseen reality of me? 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:52.000 And so when I don't live by faith, when I don't live by faith, I don't experience this power, the reality of this power. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:33:05.000 Psalm 40, verse 3, I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned and heard my cry, he lifted me up from the mighty pit, he set my feet on rocks to stay. 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:13.000 Now listen to verse 3, many will see and many will fear and put their trust in the Lord. 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:22.000 James put it this way, you say you have faith, show me your works. You say you have faith, show me your works. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:29.000 You say you have faith, show me your works. Because when the works are seen, and then Jesus goes and puts it this way, 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:36.000 If you don't believe me for the words I've spoken, then believe me for the works I do. 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:46.000 And so there's a call upon our lives to begin to show proof of the unseen reality of God through works of faith. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:51.000 But if you're afraid that we will fail, then we will never venture out. 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:58.000 It is the sluggard who sits in his home and says there's a lion out on the streets and therefore will not venture out. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:02.000 But it is in the venturing out that faith begins to happen. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:06.000 It's in the venturing out that faith begins to happen. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:12.000 Step by step, increment by increment, little by little, Joey went skating. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:18.000 I haven't done that yet because big men fall heavy. 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:25.000 But that little kid was scared but he went skating. Bit by bit he will learn. 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:43.000 The invitation is, hey, this week can you find something where you will need to trust his nature and enact faith? 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:48.000 Something, something small, something big. 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:53.000 Any questions? 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:01.000 Okay. Yeah. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:06.000 Say that again. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:13.000 What was the faith of Samson? Yeah. 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:20.000 He was a really funny guy. 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:33.000 And big. And so he has enough faith in the promise that God made to his parents that one, he'll deliver Israel, 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:42.000 two, that he has supernatural strength, and that three, he knew his strength was not in his hair, it comes from God. 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:49.000 And he was confident of that even after sleeping with a prostitute, that God would be faithful. 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:57.000 But the very eyes that he used to lust after women are the very eyes that are removed from his face. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:36:04.000 And the very man who was supposed to deliver Israel and judge them was the man who was judged by God and the Philistines 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:07.000 when everything fell upon the Philistines and he died too. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:10.000 So his end and the story is so tragic. 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:17.000 But he had enough faith in the promise that God made that as long as this boy does not drink anything 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:25.000 that is from the fruit of the vine and that he keeps his hair long, that I will use him as a deliverer and he'll have supernatural strength. 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:34.000 Guy would go to sleep, they would bar the gates, and those gates were like as high as that television and about as broad as the sound booth. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:38.000 And he goes and he rips them out because he knows he has the strength. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:43.000 He rips them out, puts it on his back, and then to prove that that wasn't enough, 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:47.000 when you actually look at it, the hill he went up was about 700 feet high. 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:50.000 Isn't it enough to put some gates on your back? 00:36:50.000 --> 00:37:01.000 No, he now puts the gates on his back and climbs up, ascends 700 feet just so guys can see that their gates have been ripped out as he walks towards Hebron. 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:07.000 He knew that with the jawbone of a donkey, he could slay people. 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:12.000 That guy was so full of faith, but he was so full of filth. 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:20.000 Faith and filth are, at the end of the day, faith and filth do not go together. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.000 Less so in the Old Testament, more so in the New Testament. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:30.000 The problem with the New Testament is we cannot behave like the citizens of Babylon and expect kingdom results. 00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:40.000 In the Old Testament, it was possible to sometimes dabble in Babylon and dabble in Israel, but in the New Testament, you cannot do both. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:42.000 It's exclusive. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:04.000 This is important. This is sometimes so what we desire to demonstrate, to demonstrate the power of God. 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:07.000 People see and they marvel. People see and they marvel. 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:17.000 I met a guy in St. Martin's who was talking about, one of the things we want to do in St. Martin's is to set up a training center. 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:30.000 And we saw, we met a guy who has this amazing house that we could use as a training center, and thank God Chava has decided to buy it for us. 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:32.000 Thank you, Samson. 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:44.000 It is an amazing place, eh? And his dad used to be the town drunk. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:55.000 And when this preacher used to come through St. Martin's, they would turn to the preacher and say, hey, you want to preach to us? Convert him first. 00:38:55.000 --> 00:39:01.000 That's what the standard line was. You want to preach to us? Convert the drunk first. 00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:06.000 And one day this preacher goes up to this drunk man, and he preaches to him, and he gets converted. 00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:12.000 And he goes from being drunk to being sober to becoming the governor of St. Martin's. 00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:20.000 And then he built this beautiful place that Chava's going to buy for us. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:24.000 So, thank you Chava. 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:27.000 It is... 00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:42.000 And the thing is, guys, in this man being converted, the entire island began to open its ears and heart to the gospel. 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:46.000 That guy later on became the governor of St. Martin's. 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:54.000 The demonstration of God's power is something he thrills. 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:55.000 He thrills, fills it. 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:58.000 Trufate gives you right standing with God. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:05.000 In all the scriptures we saw, the true faith gives you right standing with God. 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:10.000 Or righteousness with God, right standing with God. 00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:13.000 Trufate gives you right standing with God. 00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:16.000 Trufate gives you right standing with God. 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:20.000 You look at Abel, he was called righteous. 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:26.560 You look at Enoch, he was called righteous. You look at Noah, he was called righteous. 00:40:26.560 --> 00:40:29.760 I mean we read those scriptures, they were declared righteous because of their faith. 00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:35.840 Here's the crazy thing, when it came to Abraham, not only was he declared righteous, 00:40:35.840 --> 00:40:41.800 this should really tickle you, not only was he declared righteous, when you read James chapter 00:40:42.680 --> 00:40:50.520 223, he was declared righteous and then he was called the friend of God. Why? Because of 00:40:52.280 --> 00:40:59.000 faith. Crazy eh? It's impossible to please him without this. It's impossible to please him. 00:41:01.080 --> 00:41:07.080 Sometimes guys, we will have the privilege, not we can have the privilege. It's not some secret 00:41:07.080 --> 00:41:12.760 thing spoken in heaven. Sometimes when you walk in faith, God has the ability to convey to you 00:41:12.760 --> 00:41:18.520 directly or convey to you through others that listen, you're my friend. And when he says you're 00:41:18.520 --> 00:41:23.720 my friend, you don't puff up your chest, you just shake in your boots because you just heard God 00:41:23.720 --> 00:41:31.640 say, hey you're my friend, you pleased me, you actually trusted me, you trusted me for something 00:41:31.640 --> 00:41:39.640 that is impossible. One of the desires that the Holy Spirit yearns with is can I prove God 00:41:39.640 --> 00:41:44.760 trustworthy to you? But if I want to prove God trustworthy to you, can you take a step or two 00:41:44.760 --> 00:41:55.800 so I can prove it? You get to be called friend. 00:42:02.360 --> 00:42:08.280 And once you're a friend of God, you have access, you have approval, 00:42:08.280 --> 00:42:17.400 you gain places in God. You gain places in God. What do you mean gain places in God? Haven't you 00:42:17.400 --> 00:42:22.520 noticed at your work, there are guys who came in after you, came in before you, but they seem to 00:42:22.520 --> 00:42:29.080 have gained a place with the boss or with the company. They just have that favor, that acceptance, 00:42:29.080 --> 00:42:34.920 that approval, that access. Same thing. We are all the same before God. There's no bias, there's no 00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:44.040 partiality because God is impartial, but there is trust. Please understand, in function, we are not 00:42:44.040 --> 00:42:51.720 the same because God, when he trusts somebody, appoints to them more. Please understand that. 00:42:51.720 --> 00:42:56.840 There are rewards that differ. There are five cities, there are ten cities, there are no cities, 00:42:57.720 --> 00:43:00.520 and that is sometimes based on stuff like this. 00:43:00.680 --> 00:43:06.120 Being made right with God, not by the blood of Christ, which already takes care of all of us, 00:43:06.120 --> 00:43:15.800 but being made right through, finding him trustworthy. Any questions on that? 00:43:16.120 --> 00:43:25.560 Okay. If this is basic faith, what's the other faith like? I don't know. This is tough enough. 00:43:28.440 --> 00:43:35.160 The Holy Spirit yearns to help me by proving God's character, trustworthiness, 00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:35.800 tough enough. 00:43:38.760 --> 00:43:44.600 The Holy Spirit yearns to help me by proving God's character, 00:43:44.600 --> 00:43:48.600 trustworthiness. Hey, Jacob, can I show you again that he's really trustworthy so that next time 00:43:48.600 --> 00:43:55.800 it happens, you don't have to worry? The next thing they talk about is everything in the visible 00:43:55.800 --> 00:44:11.640 world, everything in the visible world. So money, mission, marriage. Let's throw in a word that 00:44:11.640 --> 00:44:27.800 doesn't start with an M. Babies, redemption, needs, shelter, future. All these things that 00:44:27.800 --> 00:44:33.400 exist in the visible world, all these things, everything in our visible world, everything that 00:44:33.400 --> 00:44:38.760 has to do with our daily experience, everything. Nothing is exempt, according to Hebrews 11. 00:44:39.320 --> 00:44:42.920 Everything, everything comes into being 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:50.040 through the invisible, 00:44:53.320 --> 00:45:01.400 comes into being through the invisible spoken word of God. 00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:11.560 It's foundational that I understand this, that everything, 00:45:17.080 --> 00:45:24.120 there's nothing that you see that hasn't been first formed but with the unseen, 00:45:24.120 --> 00:45:29.240 invisible spoken word of God. This is why it is critical in all your situations, in all your 00:45:29.240 --> 00:45:34.680 circumstances, in all your daily experiences to either have a knowledge of the word, knowing what 00:45:34.680 --> 00:45:41.320 God has spoken, or to have a Rhema word that you receive that you then begin to inject into your 00:45:41.320 --> 00:45:54.120 circumstance because everything changes through the unspoken word of God, everything. Any questions 00:45:54.120 --> 00:46:05.320 on that? This is why you prophesy over situations, over babies that are still in the womb, over 00:46:05.320 --> 00:46:10.440 people, over circumstances. What are we doing? We're doing the same thing that happened in Genesis 00:46:10.440 --> 00:46:16.040 chapter 1, verse 1 and 2. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word, 00:46:16.040 --> 00:46:23.880 no that's John 1. In the beginning there was nothing and then what happens? God begins to speak 00:46:24.760 --> 00:46:28.760 before he speaks what does the scripture say in Genesis 1, 2? That the spirit of God was 00:46:28.760 --> 00:46:33.960 hovering over everything and as God begins to speak things begin to happen, ex nihilio, which means 00:46:34.680 --> 00:46:36.040 everything created out of nothing. 00:46:43.320 --> 00:46:50.280 Which is why it is freeing when we have worship the way we do because everything that God wants 00:46:50.280 --> 00:46:56.120 to do has to be created with words that he provides. These songs are not just random songs 00:46:56.120 --> 00:47:01.480 that Tuni pulls out or I pull out or whoever's in charge pulls out. These are words that come 00:47:01.480 --> 00:47:04.280 with strength because God wants something done. 00:47:15.480 --> 00:47:19.560 Ask this question of us. Just pause for a second. Just forget everything we said 00:47:19.560 --> 00:47:24.680 till now and ask this question for ourselves. Why is it that you and only think of yourself, 00:47:24.680 --> 00:47:29.560 Rachel thinks of herself, George thinks of himself, Aaron thinks of himself. Why is it 00:47:29.560 --> 00:47:40.520 Nellie thinks of herself? Why is it that we find it so difficult to speak words 00:47:40.840 --> 00:47:53.640 as a people? Why is it that you find it so difficult to speak words as a people? Why? 00:47:55.880 --> 00:47:57.320 Yeah, answer this question 00:48:00.440 --> 00:48:02.280 because this requires an answer. 00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:07.420 Why? 00:48:10.680 --> 00:48:13.160 Let me take it a step further. 00:48:15.880 --> 00:48:26.360 If we don't get there, we will not experience the fullness of all that we have to because we do not speak. 00:48:26.360 --> 00:48:42.920 First Kings 18 verse 38, and Elijah asked them. The names I picked were random. I just saw them, 00:48:42.920 --> 00:48:47.320 so I picked them. It got nothing to do with them. So please don't think George and Nellie and others 00:48:47.320 --> 00:48:55.880 don't speak. First Kings 18 verse 38, and Elijah went and asked the people of Israel, 00:48:56.440 --> 00:49:04.200 tell me who will you follow, Baal or Yahweh? And the people said nothing. 00:49:06.520 --> 00:49:11.960 So answer this question. It's a hard question. I'm actually accusing you of something. 00:49:12.840 --> 00:49:19.480 Yeah, and so try to escape the condemnation, but please don't escape the piercing question 00:49:19.480 --> 00:49:26.440 right at your face. Why is it that after all these years you do not speak? 00:49:30.040 --> 00:49:33.240 You have to ask this question and answer it because it's going to stop us from going where 00:49:33.240 --> 00:49:34.040 we are supposed to go. 00:49:42.040 --> 00:49:52.040 Yeah, speak of different things you can speak about. One, speak of what God is suddenly doing inside you. 00:49:52.040 --> 00:49:57.560 I mean, the pavan is wearing a hockey jersey. I know what it is to go for a Canuck game. 00:49:58.120 --> 00:50:03.400 You don't know what happens inside of you. You see a guy tripping something, and you're like, 00:50:03.400 --> 00:50:08.840 oh, I'm going to go for a Canuck game. You don't know what happens inside of you. You see a guy 00:50:08.840 --> 00:50:16.200 tripping someone, and it's not calling. Yeah, referee sucks. These are the words that come out. 00:50:16.200 --> 00:50:19.560 Whether you're a believer or not, it just jumps out of you. And then you realize, oh shucks, 00:50:19.560 --> 00:50:27.000 you're a believer. What happens in Rogers stays in Rogers. So on one hand, it comes out immediately. 00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:35.080 And then other times, you're watching the puck goes, you're just waiting because everything in one, 00:50:35.800 --> 00:50:45.880 you want to leap and you either go, yay, or you go, ah. These are the two reactions. It's instant. 00:50:46.520 --> 00:50:53.560 Why is it that when it comes to things within the womb of a Christian, and all of you have spiritual 00:50:53.560 --> 00:51:01.880 wombs, if you're a believer, why is it that the things that are within, just do a quick bunny hop 00:51:01.880 --> 00:51:07.480 and it doesn't get further? I mean, I wish we had divine acid reflux, 00:51:11.960 --> 00:51:15.800 but it doesn't come out. So that's one thing. Okay? So that's one thing. The second thing 00:51:15.800 --> 00:51:21.320 with regard to speaking, what about the hurt you went through this week? What about the pain that 00:51:21.320 --> 00:51:26.840 you went through this week? What about the song, oh God, apart from you, I'll be undone. I need you. 00:51:27.640 --> 00:51:33.240 What if there were no songs with I need you? When will the I need you come out of you? It is 00:51:33.240 --> 00:51:40.440 normal for Christians to have lament, excitement, hurt, pain, crying out, supplication, prayer, 00:51:40.440 --> 00:51:47.080 moaning, groaning. And if in the Old Testament they had it in Romans 8 says that the Holy Spirit 00:51:47.080 --> 00:51:49.080 provides us groaning, where is it? 00:52:01.400 --> 00:52:07.160 No, I don't believe it'll be out of order because your pastor is always out of order. 00:52:10.200 --> 00:52:12.120 I mean, I'm setting the precedent, guys. 00:52:12.120 --> 00:52:19.640 I would say that sometimes it is our culture, 00:52:22.200 --> 00:52:28.520 our culture. And if we don't have a few that rise up to break it, it will not break. 00:52:29.720 --> 00:52:34.520 It will not break. I know we're going off topic, but it's important. 00:52:34.520 --> 00:52:38.920 If this culture, go ahead. 00:53:04.520 --> 00:53:10.920 I heard you say questions are a real culture or a church or things too shy or uncertain or lacking faith. 00:53:11.800 --> 00:53:15.240 Yeah. No, I'm not saying questions. I'm saying expressions. 00:53:16.440 --> 00:53:19.400 Not questions, expressions. Where are those expressions? 00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:27.240 I charge all the leaders in this church to begin to do this because we just need seven or eight 00:53:27.240 --> 00:53:32.200 people to do this. I'm not just saying leaders, anybody, seven or eight people to do this, 00:53:32.200 --> 00:53:36.920 and it will begin to change. Everything is contagious in the Holy Spirit. 00:53:37.560 --> 00:53:41.320 And let's say you go out of order, it will be well worth it. 00:53:45.640 --> 00:53:50.280 It cannot be limited to worship night, say, because that happens once every six weeks. 00:53:54.280 --> 00:53:55.800 Wow, Christmas all over again. 00:54:03.080 --> 00:54:07.880 Okay. A few other thoughts and then we'll stop. Faith does not help you. 00:54:07.880 --> 00:54:12.760 Faith does not always bypass. Faith does not always bypass. 00:54:15.800 --> 00:54:18.680 Faith does not always bypass difficult times. 00:54:23.480 --> 00:54:27.960 Faith does not always bypass difficult times. Abel went through a difficult time. 00:54:27.960 --> 00:54:35.560 Enoch didn't. Abel had no deliverance. He died. Faith does not always bypass difficult times, 00:54:36.200 --> 00:54:43.640 particularly when it is suffering for the sake of Christ. When it comes to suffering for the sake 00:54:43.640 --> 00:54:50.040 of Christ, faith will not always have you bypass difficult times. Sometimes you'll go through it. 00:54:50.040 --> 00:54:55.000 Other, and you'll watch while that fellow called Enoch, he hardly has as much faith as me, but that 00:54:55.000 --> 00:55:00.120 fellow gets like permanent deliverance. He leaves the earth while I'm stuck here and Cain's coming 00:55:00.120 --> 00:55:07.880 to knock my head off. And then you look at Moses. He had faith, but he is mistreated terribly by 00:55:07.880 --> 00:55:14.600 the largest empire in the world. But he also sees mighty deliverance. Abraham, 00:55:15.720 --> 00:55:18.920 he went through, I mean, he was a nomad for most of his life. 00:55:19.400 --> 00:55:23.800 Amazon couldn't deliver to him because there were no drones then. 00:55:25.640 --> 00:55:32.120 And so the guy never had an address and yet he was the father of faith. So at the end of the day, 00:55:32.120 --> 00:55:38.280 just understand that faith does not always mean that you will not have a difficult time. There 00:55:38.280 --> 00:55:44.120 will be phases in your life where despite your faith, you will have to stand up for God 00:55:44.120 --> 00:55:46.120 and endure what has to be endured. 00:55:51.960 --> 00:55:56.040 Stand up for God and endure what has to be endured. In the process, there'll be mocking, 00:55:56.040 --> 00:56:03.000 there'll be, look at him, there'll be scoffing, there'll be occasional persecution. 00:56:04.600 --> 00:56:08.520 And through all that, faith will not get you out. You stand in it. 00:56:08.520 --> 00:56:10.920 Any questions on that? 00:56:19.960 --> 00:56:26.440 Yeah. In some cases, the things that you desire to do, you will not be able to do, 00:56:26.440 --> 00:56:32.360 you will not be able to do, you will not be able to do, you will not be able to do, 00:56:32.600 --> 00:56:41.000 Yeah. In some cases, the things that you desire to see in this present life, you may not see in your 00:56:41.000 --> 00:56:47.960 lifetime, but it will happen. But I'm talking about sometimes enduring for long, where the reward that 00:56:47.960 --> 00:56:53.400 you're waiting for isn't happening even though you're exerting all the faith you can. It isn't 00:56:53.400 --> 00:56:58.920 happening. It's taking time. Some days you feel really bad, other days you're falling apart, 00:56:58.920 --> 00:57:03.080 the third day you rise up again, but you stand, you stand, you stand. People are saying stuff, 00:57:03.080 --> 00:57:07.800 it doesn't matter. You've gone once, you've gone twice, three times, four times, five times, 00:57:07.800 --> 00:57:12.680 and every time there's a door that shuts and you still don't know what, but something kicks in, 00:57:12.680 --> 00:57:17.480 you're saying, I'll still stand. Why? Because there's a hope for reward in the future 00:57:18.680 --> 00:57:24.920 that I will wait for. Some things I may not see in my lifetime, but the one I'm praying for will see it. 00:57:24.920 --> 00:57:36.360 It's well worth it, guys. You think you would not stand in faith for someone like Judah or for Brielle 00:57:36.360 --> 00:57:41.960 or for Phoebe or for Mia. You're not even their parents, but you would stand in faith if you knew 00:57:41.960 --> 00:57:48.040 there was a promise for one of them. Till you die, you would pray, oh God, let Judah become this, 00:57:48.040 --> 00:57:52.120 let Judah become this. I speak this upon Judah. Let Judah become this, let Brielle become this. 00:57:52.120 --> 00:57:58.280 You would, and you will pass on, but you know why the Iron Curtain fell? You know why the 00:57:59.240 --> 00:58:03.160 wall in Germany fell? It is because of thousands of years, not thousands, 00:58:03.800 --> 00:58:07.800 years and years of praying. You know how many blows it took to bring the wall down? 00:58:07.800 --> 00:58:13.800 800,000 blows, and then suddenly the wall cracked. 800,000 blows before the wall cracked. 00:58:13.800 --> 00:58:18.760 It is so worth it, guys, because we are no longer looking at faith as something that gives us rewards. 00:58:18.760 --> 00:58:23.080 We are looking at faith as something that brings heaven's desire on earth through our people who 00:58:23.080 --> 00:58:27.960 have decided that there is nothing that is more thrilling than standing up for a God who wants to 00:58:27.960 --> 00:58:32.920 bring things to pass here on earth. You think I don't get scoffed for this revival thing I've been 00:58:32.920 --> 00:58:40.440 talking about for three years? You think it's not going to happen? Gosh, man, it's not going to 00:58:41.240 --> 00:58:45.960 happen. You think it's not going to happen? Gosh, man, it's going to happen. 00:58:49.320 --> 00:58:55.160 Great. Thank you. Really, I didn't expect that, but thank you. This is what I meant. We don't have to 00:58:55.160 --> 00:59:07.000 go southern, we just have to go soft. Amen. Yeah. Wow, that was almost like a breeze. 00:59:10.520 --> 00:59:19.080 Thank you. I really somehow sincerely mean it. For the Holy Spirit to move in me, 00:59:21.080 --> 00:59:27.800 or for me to move in the Holy Spirit, one of the things important is I must hear with faith. 00:59:27.800 --> 00:59:32.440 I must hear with faith. All these guys we mentioned heard with faith. For the Holy Spirit, 00:59:32.520 --> 00:59:35.560 for the Holy Spirit to move in me, 00:59:40.040 --> 00:59:45.080 or for me to move in the Holy Spirit, 00:59:47.640 --> 00:59:56.520 I must hear with faith. I must hear with faith. What does that mean? Hearing with faith, HWF. 00:59:56.520 --> 01:00:14.760 Hearing with faith requires intentional engagement and conversations with God. 01:00:19.320 --> 01:00:25.880 Intentional engagement and conversations with God and confidence. That is what builds. Whenever you 01:00:25.880 --> 01:00:39.080 do that, it builds confidence in His nature. You know, when Thuney is leading worship or when 01:00:39.960 --> 01:00:44.360 anyone picks a song here, I'm listening. What am I listening for? I'm listening to see if there's 01:00:44.360 --> 01:00:50.920 anything in that song that I am supposed to take for this week. And then there'll be phrases, 01:00:50.920 --> 01:00:55.880 there'll be words that come out. And I'll realize, ah shucks, I can use that because something 01:00:55.880 --> 01:01:02.840 clicks inside. Hearing with faith. When Dilna went up to sing, I was wondering, which song is he 01:01:02.840 --> 01:01:08.040 going to sing? Which song is he going to sing? What does that mean to me? When I look at the 01:01:08.040 --> 01:01:12.760 order of songs, as one song follows the other, I think to myself, what are you trying to do today, 01:01:12.760 --> 01:01:17.000 oh God? What are you trying to do today? It's called hearing with faith. 01:01:17.000 --> 01:01:29.320 Hearing with faith. Any questions? And then one of the ways we hear in faith is by walking with 01:01:29.320 --> 01:01:33.960 somebody. Can two walk together except they be? Agreed. Amos chapter three, verse three. Walk with 01:01:33.960 --> 01:01:38.680 him. Spend time with him. And as you engage him in conversation about things that have nothing to do 01:01:38.680 --> 01:01:43.640 with any of your problems, as you engage him in conversation. I'll give you an example. I was in, 01:01:43.640 --> 01:01:49.320 I just flew in from New York last night and yesterday morning I felt a lot of going, go to 01:01:49.320 --> 01:01:56.920 the corner of a street called Pear Street, P-E-A-R. And when you go to the corner of Pear Street, 01:01:56.920 --> 01:02:02.840 just take your camera and take photographs. And so I went to the corner of Pear Street and I 01:02:02.840 --> 01:02:07.640 started taking photographs. And that was it. And then the Lord said, come home. And then we look 01:02:07.640 --> 01:02:13.240 at the photographs. And as I began to look at these photographs, it's the first keel stoke, K-I-E-H-L. 01:02:14.280 --> 01:02:20.920 Oh, I didn't know it either. So I took photographs and each of the photographs had something 01:02:20.920 --> 01:02:28.360 that had to do with either us or me. Engaging him in conversations, intentional conversations that 01:02:28.360 --> 01:02:36.440 gives you the confidence now to say, ah shucks, all I have to do is obey. And so what if I look 01:02:36.440 --> 01:02:42.360 foolish at the end of the day? What if I lose 25 US dollars on Uber? Big deal. Let it go. But at 01:02:42.360 --> 01:02:49.800 least you tried obedience, which brings us to the last point. Hearing with faith is critical, 01:02:49.800 --> 01:02:58.360 you guys. And then here's how the equation works. Hear with faith so that you can, 01:02:59.720 --> 01:03:08.120 to receive with faith, to receive with faith so that you can act with faith 01:03:08.520 --> 01:03:22.520 so that you can perfect, be perfect in obedience. That's how the equation works. Hear with faith 01:03:22.520 --> 01:03:28.280 so that you can receive with faith so that you can act with faith so that you can be perfect. 01:03:28.280 --> 01:03:30.760 There's an F missing. Perfect in obedience. 01:03:30.760 --> 01:03:33.320 Perfectness and F missing. Perfect in obedience. 01:03:39.880 --> 01:03:47.800 And the last bit is in Hebrews 118, the last verse we read. Hebrews 118. It says, let me read it. 01:03:48.760 --> 01:03:57.320 Hebrews 118. By faith Abraham went called to go to a place he would later receive as in as his 01:03:57.320 --> 01:04:03.240 inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. It shows us through 01:04:03.240 --> 01:04:13.400 Abraham the when, the how, the why of faith, even though it doesn't tell us where. Where? No. When? 01:04:13.400 --> 01:04:23.000 Yes. How? Yes. Why? Let's look at that and then we'll stop. So usually when you are stepping out 01:04:23.000 --> 01:04:36.440 in faith, you may have to break with your past ways of doing things. 01:04:40.520 --> 01:04:46.760 So Abraham had to break from his past before you set out. Before you set out, 01:04:48.040 --> 01:04:50.360 you may have to break from your past ways of doing things. 01:04:53.800 --> 01:04:59.640 Second, by faith 01:05:02.760 --> 01:05:04.440 is an internal response. 01:05:07.320 --> 01:05:11.960 By faith is your internal response to being called out. 01:05:16.840 --> 01:05:20.040 By faith is your internal response to being called out. When called, 01:05:21.000 --> 01:05:22.680 and what's the external response? 01:05:27.240 --> 01:05:36.120 He obeyed. How did he obey? Without hesitation or procrastination. 01:05:36.120 --> 01:05:45.800 Beautiful, eh? Just think of that for a second. 01:05:50.600 --> 01:05:56.040 All the promises of God are sealed till you open them with obedience. Hear me again. All the 01:05:56.040 --> 01:06:02.600 promises of God are sealed till you open them with obedience. What's the process? What's the how, 01:06:02.600 --> 01:06:06.920 the why, the when? God may not give you the where, but he does give you the how, why and when. 01:06:07.640 --> 01:06:11.640 What's the process? You may have to break with your past ways of doing things before you set out. 01:06:14.760 --> 01:06:18.680 You may have to break with your past ways of doing things before you set out. Because always 01:06:18.680 --> 01:06:28.520 remember this, that the faith for the next thing, you never... Your experience till yesterday 01:06:29.480 --> 01:06:34.200 does not prepare you for the faith you need for tomorrow. Tomorrow's experience is going to be 01:06:34.200 --> 01:06:44.760 brand new. You cannot use old faith for tomorrow's experience. You can only use the remembrance that 01:06:44.760 --> 01:06:53.000 God dealt with an eight-foot Goliath, so he must be able to deal with a nine-foot Goliath. But if you 01:06:53.000 --> 01:06:59.320 haven't faced a nine-foot Goliath in your life, tomorrow's experience you've never done before. 01:07:00.120 --> 01:07:03.880 Faith is never a repeat of something you've done. It's always new. 01:07:09.080 --> 01:07:16.840 That's the very nature of faith. The tomorrow's experience, oh my God, it is larger than I've 01:07:16.840 --> 01:07:22.920 ever experienced. Therefore, I've got to lean back and trust that the same God who delivered me 01:07:22.920 --> 01:07:29.320 from the lion and the bear will be able to deliver me from Goliath. Second thing is, by faith 01:07:30.520 --> 01:07:35.960 is your internal response to him calling, saying, Dhillna, I want you to go to Belarus. 01:07:35.960 --> 01:07:43.880 And so Dhillna now has just heard a call. He's supposed to go to Belarus. And now Dhillna has to, 01:07:43.880 --> 01:07:49.800 by faith, step out. And that's the internal response. What's the external response? 01:07:49.800 --> 01:07:57.240 I will obey. And what kind of obedience? Not when I retire, which is six months away. Not 01:08:02.680 --> 01:08:09.640 it is without procrastination or hesitation. We met a person who hasn't gone on a mission trip 01:08:09.640 --> 01:08:16.840 because he has a dog that cannot be left alone because it's 17 years old. And so I said, have 01:08:16.840 --> 01:08:22.040 you prayed? So he said, yes, but he just keeps getting stronger and stronger the more we pray. 01:08:22.760 --> 01:08:27.720 So they ain't going anywhere. And the dog is 17 and seems to be living quite happy. 01:08:29.000 --> 01:08:34.600 Yeah. So the second part is being, and the third part is without hesitation, without procrastination, 01:08:34.600 --> 01:08:39.320 you go forth. When you go forth, it'll be to a place 01:08:39.320 --> 01:09:01.800 that's part of your inheritance. It's a place that's part of your or your tribe or your people's inheritance. 01:09:09.320 --> 01:09:18.360 And once you step into that, God will give you permission and he'll give you provision 01:09:20.680 --> 01:09:26.520 for it. But it's always unlocked through obedience. Imagine this guy's what if, 01:09:29.320 --> 01:09:38.760 what if Judah, Mia, Phoebe, Yahya, these guys actually train people every second month 01:09:39.640 --> 01:09:52.040 in St. Martin's 20 years from now. I'll be 80. Hopefully if we have a private debt, I might still, 01:09:52.680 --> 01:10:00.120 I'm kidding. Private debt jokes are really bad, eh? The pastor never joke about stuff like that. 01:10:00.840 --> 01:10:10.600 Okay. But what if everything we are doing now is so that they get to do that? 01:10:12.120 --> 01:10:16.120 Come on, man. Aren't you living for something greater than yourself? 01:10:17.000 --> 01:10:24.120 What a pathetic thing to live for yourself. And then the inheritance that you have, 01:10:25.080 --> 01:10:32.440 what do people gather inheritances for? Why are Remy and Hamari amassing millions 01:10:32.440 --> 01:10:40.200 so that they can give it to Yahya and Judah? You amass an inheritance to give it away. 01:10:41.000 --> 01:10:44.200 And that's exactly what we're doing. And then comes permission and provision. 01:10:44.200 --> 01:10:50.600 So what if we have permission in St. Martin's and then along comes a man called Chava. 01:10:51.560 --> 01:10:58.440 This is God uses to bring us provision. And now the future generation has an inheritance. 01:10:58.440 --> 01:11:05.080 This is how it works. Let's pray. Have you ever heard a sermon end with your name Chava? 01:11:09.960 --> 01:11:17.720 So father, gosh, every time we think we've learned enough about faith, you open it up again and 01:11:17.720 --> 01:11:27.000 there's never an end to this. Holy Spirit, this is our desire as a church that we see faith as 01:11:27.000 --> 01:11:33.640 something that reaches back and connects heaven's desires through us to happen here on earth. 01:11:34.280 --> 01:11:41.240 And Holy Spirit, could you please help us by proving God's trustworthiness in our lives? 01:11:42.200 --> 01:11:49.080 Each individual life here, I want, I know you want to prove God's trustworthiness, 01:11:49.080 --> 01:11:52.440 but it won't happen except through 01:11:55.960 --> 01:12:03.240 having hoped for rewards in the future and practicing the reality of the unseen presence, 01:12:03.320 --> 01:12:09.960 power and goodness of God right now. And through the testing of faith. 01:12:13.880 --> 01:12:19.000 It is important for you that we mature. So I bring the entire church to you and I say, 01:12:19.000 --> 01:12:27.000 please make us mature. Please test our faith. You don't test us to fail. You test us so that we can 01:12:27.640 --> 01:12:33.080 pass. You must have your way. You must have a mature bride. 01:12:34.760 --> 01:12:40.920 This is what we ask for now in Jesus name. Amen. There'll be people here to pray with you. Feel 01:12:40.920 --> 01:12:45.720 free to come up for prayer. Say hi to Michelle's parents and to Russell.