WEBVTT

NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: When Faith Fails
Publishing Date: 2019-12-29T05:00:44-08:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/when-faith-fails/

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.360
I got a text message from someone at two o'clock last night and begged to go to sleep and answered

00:00:08.360 --> 00:00:10.640
the person and then begged to go to sleep.

00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:15.400
Then started thinking maybe I need to look at what I should teach today again.

00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:20.920
And so then stayed up till three, stayed up pretty late because I felt God saying teach

00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:22.520
a different message.

00:00:22.520 --> 00:00:26.360
So this was, this happened at three in the morning.

00:00:26.360 --> 00:00:31.280
And so you can blame it on whoever texted me.

00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:34.840
I don't know why it is important for us to go down this route because I wasn't planning

00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:36.200
to do this.

00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:45.400
But we need to talk about what happens when faith fails, when faith fails.

00:00:45.400 --> 00:00:51.000
And as soon as I say when faith fails, we immediately have to say God does not fail,

00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:55.960
but the quality of faith can fail and the outcomes can fail.

00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:02.080
Because the moment we say when faith fails, it would almost seem to insinuate that, oh

00:01:02.080 --> 00:01:03.520
well, God failed.

00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:12.040
No, when faith fails, it's not as if God fails, but outcomes do fail and the quality of faith

00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:13.720
can fail.

00:01:13.720 --> 00:01:20.600
And so for whatever reason, it is important to the Holy Spirit that we discuss this so

00:01:20.600 --> 00:01:26.440
that we know how to deal with things going forward into this amazing year that awaits

00:01:26.440 --> 00:01:32.960
us where the manner has stopped and a new kairos begins.

00:01:32.960 --> 00:01:35.560
So what does it look like when faith fails?

00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:38.680
What does it look like when faith fails?

00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:44.640
One of the things that happens when faith fails is just nothing seems to happen.

00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:48.640
You've been standing faithfully trusting God, nothing seems to happen.

00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:52.440
In fact, it takes longer.

00:01:52.440 --> 00:01:53.440
Nothing is happening.

00:01:53.440 --> 00:01:57.080
Months are going by, weeks are going by.

00:01:57.080 --> 00:01:59.000
You've trusted God and nothing is happening.

00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.640
That's the first thing that happens.

00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.680
Two, sometimes exactly the opposite begins to happen.

00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:10.960
What you're trusting for, it almost feels like exactly the opposite is beginning to

00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:11.960
happen.

00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:17.880
Three, you see that others who aren't standing in faith seem to get what you are standing

00:02:17.880 --> 00:02:22.360
in faith for very easily while you are struggling.

00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:26.160
And four, you stand in faith and you find that at the end of the day nothing worked

00:02:26.160 --> 00:02:31.400
out anyways and it died.

00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:35.400
That's what it looks like when faith fails.

00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:38.000
And it's happened to everybody in this room.

00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.200
There's nobody it hasn't happened to.

00:02:40.200 --> 00:02:42.440
It's unfortunately a common human experience.

00:02:48.440 --> 00:02:51.760
And why does it wreck you the way it wrecks you?

00:02:51.760 --> 00:02:57.280
Because one, we've been taught and we hear it almost every Sunday we hear it.

00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:00.560
Every time we read the word we hear that faith will be rewarded.

00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:05.540
And so it wrecks you that after standing in faith you haven't been rewarded.

00:03:05.540 --> 00:03:06.920
Why does it wreck you?

00:03:06.920 --> 00:03:09.680
Because you were so sure you heard God.

00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:14.160
You were so sure that the prophetic that was spoken was of God.

00:03:14.160 --> 00:03:19.960
You're so sure of it and yet it wrecks you because even though you were so sure that

00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:24.840
God said it, look at where you are at.

00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:26.040
Why does it wreck you?

00:03:26.040 --> 00:03:28.900
It wrecks you because you expected greater things.

00:03:28.900 --> 00:03:29.900
You prayed.

00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:30.900
You believed.

00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:32.040
You trusted.

00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:34.520
And then at the end of it all there's nothing to show for it.

00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:36.320
It wrecks you.

00:03:36.320 --> 00:03:37.320
Why does it wreck you?

00:03:37.320 --> 00:03:43.600
Because when he has the power to change situations, why doesn't he intervene?

00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:45.280
Isn't he a good father?

00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:47.920
Why isn't he intervening?

00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:50.920
And it wrecks you.

00:03:50.920 --> 00:03:51.920
Why does it wreck you?

00:03:51.920 --> 00:03:55.760
Because others are watching while you stand in faith and you've got nothing to show but

00:03:55.760 --> 00:03:57.840
an empty bag and it is embarrassing.

00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:02.800
It feels like you're on a fool's errand.

00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:06.200
And so it actually wrecks you.

00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:11.200
And there's nobody here who hasn't been through that experience either.

00:04:14.200 --> 00:04:17.720
I remember receiving a prophetic word from a guy who didn't know me.

00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:22.240
I was at a banquet hall in Surrey at a Full Gospel Businessmen's meeting and he comes

00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.760
up to me and he says, your father is ill, right?

00:04:24.760 --> 00:04:25.760
I said yes.

00:04:25.760 --> 00:04:27.920
He says, do not worry.

00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:30.440
God wants you to know that your father will live.

00:04:30.440 --> 00:04:36.960
And then 14 days later I'm with my dad as he dies and it wrecked me.

00:04:36.960 --> 00:04:40.960
There's nobody here who hasn't been through some degree of this experience.

00:04:49.760 --> 00:04:51.640
How do you respond?

00:04:51.640 --> 00:04:55.160
How do you respond when faith fails?

00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:56.160
How do you respond?

00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.440
And our response is pretty typical.

00:04:58.440 --> 00:05:04.640
It's strange how humans respond a certain way regardless of which church they go to,

00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:07.600
what their background might be.

00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:08.600
How do you respond?

00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:20.760
You usually respond by statements like, I can't trust God again.

00:05:20.760 --> 00:05:23.840
Or I can't trust God in a certain area.

00:05:23.840 --> 00:05:34.520
Two, you won't attempt faith or express faith in certain areas.

00:05:34.960 --> 00:05:37.840
That's something I want you to check on.

00:05:37.840 --> 00:05:41.600
As you look back at the last years, as you look back at the last few years, there are

00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:46.040
certain areas where you do not attempt faith because you have not seen results.

00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:49.120
And so you stopped attempting faith in those areas.

00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:53.320
It's fascinating, as I was thinking, I could think of one or two areas in my life where

00:05:53.320 --> 00:05:54.640
I'm scared to attempt faith.

00:05:54.640 --> 00:05:57.000
There are so many areas where I do brilliantly.

00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:00.520
Then there are a couple of areas I'm scared to attempt faith because I've seen failure

00:06:00.520 --> 00:06:04.040
in those areas for whatever reason, which we'll talk about.

00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:06.960
But then it scares me to attempt faith there because I don't want to fail.

00:06:06.960 --> 00:06:08.760
I want God to succeed.

00:06:08.760 --> 00:06:10.200
I want me to succeed.

00:06:10.200 --> 00:06:11.640
I want my hearing to be right.

00:06:11.640 --> 00:06:16.040
It gets so messy and complicated sometimes.

00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:24.160
Third, we begin to change our expectations.

00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:28.000
Change our expectations and confessions.

00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:36.200
What I mean by that is when you find that you feel like you've been burnt standing

00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:40.800
in faith, you begin to lower your expectations and you begin to change the way you speak

00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:42.920
about what you expect.

00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:51.720
In Genesis chapter 15, verse 2, you see Abraham in this conversation with God, where God had

00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.320
long ago promised him a son.

00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:58.240
By the time he gets to chapter 15, when God says, I'll make you a father, he says, thank

00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:05.240
you that you will help my servant Eliezer and his descendants to continue my heritage.

00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:06.240
Why?

00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.240
Because he had gotten to a point where it was difficult after years to still expect

00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.880
God to give him a son as he gets older.

00:07:12.880 --> 00:07:16.600
So he changes his expectations and he changes his confession.

00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:19.600
Your expectation determines your confession.

00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:24.520
As you lower your expectation, your words change.

00:07:24.520 --> 00:07:29.280
Your expectation, when it changes, it ends up in changing what you confess about what

00:07:29.280 --> 00:07:31.360
you expect to.

00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:36.640
You lower your expectations, it always changes your confession.

00:07:36.640 --> 00:07:39.240
So that's what happens to Abraham.

00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:44.840
You find many characters in the Bible who lower their expectations because of repeated

00:07:44.840 --> 00:07:47.280
failure sometimes.

00:07:47.280 --> 00:07:51.440
The other thing that happens is resentment against God.

00:07:51.440 --> 00:07:56.640
Resentment against God.

00:07:56.640 --> 00:07:59.040
Resentment against God.

00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.360
And it begins to express itself in public lament.

00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:09.600
It begins to express itself in public lament, as in you begin to say things about God that

00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:15.840
are not outright defiant, but sufficiently sarcastic with a tinge of humility so that

00:08:15.840 --> 00:08:21.960
you go and get zapped and you begin to say stuff.

00:08:21.960 --> 00:08:26.620
It'll be like, yeah, you know, God works in mysterious ways.

00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:31.720
What you really mean is, can't trust him, man, he works in mysterious ways.

00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.320
All kinds of stuff comes up.

00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:41.280
Jeremiah fell into this trap in Jeremiah 15, 18, where he says at one point, oh God, you're

00:08:41.280 --> 00:08:44.720
like a deceptive brook.

00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:46.480
You're like a deceptive brook.

00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:51.860
This is Jeremiah, the prophet, saying it.

00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:56.300
So we begin to resent God and the resentment shows up in public lament.

00:08:56.300 --> 00:08:59.120
And you can never hide resentment against God.

00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:05.360
It always shows.

00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.840
It'll show in prayer.

00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:14.840
When you listen to people's prayers, you can usually figure out where they are with God.

00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:19.360
I'm not talking about whether it's a great prayer or a not great prayer.

00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:26.440
I'm talking about relationship is expressed through words.

00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:31.320
Any questions on this?

00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:32.760
Any questions?

00:09:32.760 --> 00:09:33.760
When faith fails?

00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.360
I think we need to talk about this because everyone here has been affected by it at some

00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:43.680
level and we can't walk with that kind of mud on our shoes.

00:09:43.680 --> 00:09:53.080
We'll have to either, I would suggest get new shoes because it's very hard to walk with

00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:59.520
this kind of mud on our shoes because every time we step into some new area, we'll look

00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:05.960
behind and we'll see those muddy tracks and it just brings you to that same place.

00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:06.960
It's not going to work.

00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:11.720
Look.

00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:17.360
I wish I could sometimes pinpoint reasons why God wants a certain teaching done.

00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.360
But I don't know.

00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:22.040
But I know it will be, it is important to just follow orders.

00:10:22.040 --> 00:10:27.880
Any questions, guys?

00:10:27.880 --> 00:10:30.040
This is only my reality or is it yours also?

00:10:30.040 --> 00:10:32.220
Of course it's yours.

00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:37.080
If this isn't your reality, you must be dead.

00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:40.480
Yeah.

00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:44.760
Okay.

00:10:44.760 --> 00:10:55.800
Resentment against God, it takes a while till we get there.

00:10:55.800 --> 00:10:56.800
True.

00:10:56.800 --> 00:11:05.560
So let's change that word to another word that God actually uses of Jeremiah.

00:11:05.560 --> 00:11:13.080
Suspicion of his character.

00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.920
We begin to suspect his character.

00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:21.200
Resentment like Evan is saying is at the end of, I mean, further down the road, you've

00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:26.200
got to begin to suspect his character and then go down the road for a while before you

00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:27.880
begin to dislike and resent.

00:11:27.880 --> 00:11:30.440
But suspicion of his character, unfortunately, is common.

00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:36.560
At one point in the Amplified, it puts it this way in Jeremiah 15.19, that God is saying,

00:11:36.560 --> 00:11:39.420
I take offense at your suspicion of my character.

00:11:39.420 --> 00:11:44.640
If you do not separate the vile and the nonsensical from that which is pure, you cannot be my

00:11:44.640 --> 00:11:46.640
mouthpiece, Jeremiah.

00:11:46.640 --> 00:11:51.720
That's what God says in Jeremiah 15.19.

00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:54.720
Any other questions?

00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.720
Yeah.

00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:01.720
Yeah.

00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:12.840
Because the thing is, I can't repeat this history next year.

00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:15.520
I've got to be free of this.

00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:24.080
Because it's everything that God gives us given graciously and is acquired by faith.

00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.320
Is given graciously, salvation is given graciously, but how do we appropriate it?

00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.880
By faith and by our words.

00:12:31.880 --> 00:12:35.460
Everything is believed and spoken in the kingdom.

00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:37.240
Everything is believed and spoken.

00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:41.760
So if I do not believe it, even though grace is being poured out, I'm not able to receive

00:12:41.760 --> 00:12:46.080
it because the grace that is being given is given by an invisible person and it is invisible.

00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.160
I receive it by faith and then it becomes real in my life.

00:12:50.160 --> 00:12:52.080
And I believe and I speak.

00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:58.040
That's why speaking is so important.

00:12:58.040 --> 00:13:04.920
Salvation is not complete till you speak it.

00:13:04.920 --> 00:13:11.000
So if you cannot say, I have received Christ, Christ lives in me, I am born again, I live

00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:15.440
for him, then it doesn't matter that you may have raised your hand, you're not saved.

00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:20.000
One believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth.

00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:26.880
No one speaks about it.

00:13:26.880 --> 00:13:29.580
So why does this happen?

00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:38.920
Why does all this happen and what can we do to fix it?

00:13:38.920 --> 00:13:40.440
I just thought I'll put down 10.

00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:43.680
I got more but I thought I won't frighten you right off the bat.

00:13:43.680 --> 00:13:50.600
So after we have done 10, I'll put the next 20 down.

00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:52.200
So why does this happen?

00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.520
Why is it that faith fails?

00:13:54.520 --> 00:13:59.840
One of the things I suggest is that, and these are things we can work on then, is that if

00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:06.560
faith is only used during a crisis, then it's likely that it will fail.

00:14:06.560 --> 00:14:08.980
If faith is only used during a crisis.

00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:19.300
In Psalm 106 verse 7, it says, sorry, Psalm 107 verse 6, that whole Psalm is about people

00:14:19.300 --> 00:14:24.500
who found themselves in difficult situations and they cried out for help to God and God

00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:26.400
did rescue them.

00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:32.860
But in each situation in Psalm 107, it is people who were in a crisis who called out

00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:33.860
and God helped.

00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:34.860
Nothing wrong with that.

00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:37.260
God will help you in the times of crisis.

00:14:37.260 --> 00:14:43.060
The thing with that kind of faith, the thing with crisis faith, is that it's not your preferred

00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:45.380
lifestyle, it's not your default.

00:14:45.380 --> 00:14:50.820
So you got to muster up whatever faith you have in a crisis and God will help you once,

00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:52.740
twice, three, four times.

00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:58.660
When he begins to find you lazy, where faith is not a preference, where it's not your default,

00:14:58.660 --> 00:15:03.640
God will still in his mercy reach out for you but he would say, Jacob, I really want

00:15:03.640 --> 00:15:04.640
you to grow.

00:15:07.260 --> 00:15:28.260
May I suggest to you that every church has this, people who use faith in a crisis.

00:15:28.260 --> 00:15:34.580
It's not your preferred lifestyle yet, which is a very hard thing to prefer, eh?

00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:40.560
I mean, here's a question we're asking, do you prefer to live by faith?

00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:44.240
As in, do you prefer to trust God for everything?

00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.760
That's just nuts.

00:15:46.760 --> 00:15:51.440
That's how Jesus lived, so that becomes a standard.

00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.240
Second one is contractual faith.

00:15:54.240 --> 00:16:03.080
Contractual faith is when you feel that God has said something so he's covenantly bound

00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:09.820
to keep it and then that becomes the focus and the object and the measure of whether

00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:11.940
God is good or not.

00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:16.140
Contractual faith is transactional, it's not relational.

00:16:16.140 --> 00:16:24.360
You see contractual faith with Jacob at Bethel where he lies down on a stone, realizes that

00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:29.440
God is in the place, calls the place Bethel and then he makes a statement, if you bring

00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:35.180
me back here, I'll give you a tenth of the spoils.

00:16:35.180 --> 00:16:40.820
Contractual faith is when you know that God is faithful and you bind him to his covenant

00:16:40.820 --> 00:16:45.300
and say, you will do this for me because you said it.

00:16:45.300 --> 00:16:52.980
Contractual faith was the reason the faith movement collapsed.

00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:57.920
Contractual faith said, if I say it enough times I must get it because you said that

00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:01.220
whatsoever you say, you can receive it.

00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:06.020
Contractual faith is when it doesn't come out of father-son intimacies.

00:17:06.020 --> 00:17:09.700
It doesn't come out of a loving relationship.

00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.860
It comes out of, you said it, you gotta do it.

00:17:12.860 --> 00:17:15.540
You are faithful, you better do it.

00:17:15.540 --> 00:17:19.300
You said it, how can you go back on it?

00:17:19.300 --> 00:17:25.540
God then becomes someone who you bind to his covenant, not because he's your father but

00:17:25.800 --> 00:17:27.520
because he's a promise giver.

00:17:27.520 --> 00:17:31.720
It never works out well.

00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:37.840
And unfortunately churches are full of people who stand on contractual faith.

00:17:37.840 --> 00:17:42.880
When it should come out of father-son intimacies and it should come out of partnering with

00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:43.880
God.

00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:48.040
Remember guys, faith is something that God is already doing that you are entering into.

00:17:48.040 --> 00:17:50.080
Beautiful, eh?

00:17:50.080 --> 00:17:52.280
It's not me asking God to do something for me.

00:17:52.280 --> 00:17:54.720
It is me finding out what God is doing and entering into it.

00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:57.140
It is embracing what God is doing.

00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:01.660
Which is why in James chapter 1 it says, when you do not know what to do, ask for wisdom.

00:18:01.660 --> 00:18:02.660
What's he saying?

00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:07.220
Ask for how God is thinking so that you know what God is doing so that you can enter into

00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:11.220
it and let him do all the work while you trust him.

00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:12.220
Beautiful.

00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:15.740
Just hear that again.

00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:18.460
When you do not know what to do, ask for wisdom.

00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:19.460
Why?

00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:23.580
Because when you ask God for wisdom, he shows you what he's thinking and doing.

00:18:23.580 --> 00:18:24.580
Then?

00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.480
You enter into and embrace what he's thinking and doing.

00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:28.480
And then?

00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:29.480
Then you do nothing.

00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:35.560
You just rest as he goes and does all the work and you trust him and wait for the outcome.

00:18:35.560 --> 00:18:38.440
This is what kids do.

00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:40.240
This is why God said ask for wisdom.

00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:48.880
Because you can't figure it out anyways.

00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:51.360
These are the reasons why faith fails.

00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:55.820
Man, the people that have been disappointed by the faith movement.

00:18:55.820 --> 00:18:57.780
It had so many rich good things.

00:18:57.780 --> 00:19:01.540
But then came in this thing where it was, I'm standing on the word.

00:19:01.540 --> 00:19:07.700
Standing on the word is very different from trusting the Father.

00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:12.020
Standing on the word is standing on what someone says and you don't know the person well enough.

00:19:12.020 --> 00:19:14.780
All you know is that he is faithful and a promise keeper.

00:19:14.780 --> 00:19:16.340
But you don't know him.

00:19:16.340 --> 00:19:20.060
You got to now hang on to his word and hold him to his word.

00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:24.540
There are some children who hold their dads to their word.

00:19:24.540 --> 00:19:28.580
There are some children who don't have to care because they know from knowing their

00:19:28.580 --> 00:19:39.020
dads over a period of time that if my dad said it he'll come through.

00:19:39.020 --> 00:19:41.620
This one is a big one.

00:19:41.620 --> 00:19:47.380
Sometimes there are experiences in our life that affect us so deeply it becomes a stronghold.

00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:53.320
And now once it becomes a stronghold it becomes a hideout for lying spirits that tell us,

00:19:53.320 --> 00:19:55.840
in this area do not trust God.

00:19:55.840 --> 00:19:57.320
You've learned the hard way.

00:19:57.320 --> 00:20:00.480
Do not go there again.

00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:02.800
You see that with Israel so many times.

00:20:02.800 --> 00:20:07.560
When Israel came out of Egypt they had experienced 400 years of slavery.

00:20:07.560 --> 00:20:12.720
And so when God who performs miracle after miracle, 10 different plagues, 10 different

00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:17.620
miracles, take them through the Red Sea, poised at the conquest of the land and the slave

00:20:17.620 --> 00:20:22.620
mentality kicks in and they say, we were like grasshoppers, we will be bred for them.

00:20:22.620 --> 00:20:23.620
They are giants.

00:20:23.620 --> 00:20:26.900
The land may be good, God may have promised, but it is impossible to go in.

00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:28.820
It's a slave mentality.

00:20:28.820 --> 00:20:33.380
It was the same with Israel when David turns up at the forefront and Goliath turns up every

00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:37.980
morning and all the Israelites after their morning sacrifice go hide in their foxholes

00:20:38.120 --> 00:20:43.800
because they think that this giant is sufficient to beat them and that God doesn't matter.

00:20:43.800 --> 00:20:47.800
And then along comes this little boy who is not a warrior but a shepherd and he says,

00:20:47.800 --> 00:20:51.720
you uncircumcised Philistine, who do you think you're defying?

00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:56.800
Sometimes an experience can so affect me, so deeply affect me that it becomes impossible

00:20:56.800 --> 00:20:59.760
for me to trust him in that area.

00:20:59.760 --> 00:21:01.920
And that then becomes a stronghold.

00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:06.280
A stronghold is like, I've said this before, a stronghold is like a room that once was

00:21:06.300 --> 00:21:11.540
empty and then you started bringing cardboard boxes after cardboard boxes and cartons begin

00:21:11.540 --> 00:21:17.020
to collect in that room and as the cartons collect, snakes, little creepy crawlies, scorpions

00:21:17.020 --> 00:21:20.740
begin to come and hide because they know you will never be able to get them out till you

00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:27.540
get the boxes out.

00:21:27.540 --> 00:21:34.540
Strongholds get demonised because there is a lot of place to hide.

00:21:34.540 --> 00:21:38.080
There were areas in my life where I was super afraid because of one or two things that had

00:21:38.080 --> 00:21:42.760
happened to me repeatedly, I was so scared, man, so scared.

00:21:42.760 --> 00:21:46.520
My God, I had to confront it.

00:21:46.520 --> 00:21:50.320
Otherwise I would never fly.

00:21:50.320 --> 00:21:59.320
Can you imagine, had that been successful, you'd have had me every week of the year.

00:21:59.360 --> 00:22:00.360
Every week of the year.

00:22:00.360 --> 00:22:01.360
Don't.

00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:02.360
Two months.

00:22:02.360 --> 00:22:03.360
Probation.

00:22:03.360 --> 00:22:04.360
Wayne.

00:22:04.360 --> 00:22:11.360
But it had scared me so badly and may I suggest to you that you have these fears in your life.

00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:19.100
I can go down each row and identify some of your fears.

00:22:19.100 --> 00:22:21.740
The only ones who cannot see it are you.

00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:28.740
Everyone else knows those fears about you.

00:22:29.820 --> 00:22:33.780
The first thing I might have to do then is to identify it and begin to work on it.

00:22:33.780 --> 00:22:38.820
Everything begins with putting your finger on it and without justification put your finger

00:22:38.820 --> 00:22:40.780
on it and say, God, I've got a problem here.

00:22:40.780 --> 00:22:42.780
I am super scared.

00:22:42.780 --> 00:22:45.940
Hey, remember this, I was supposed to say this later.

00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:48.620
Ask these three questions always, they're brilliant questions.

00:22:48.620 --> 00:22:51.660
First one, what is a lie I'm believing?

00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:54.000
What is a lie I am believing?

00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:59.360
In areas where you're failing to trust God, in areas where you're anxious, in areas where

00:22:59.360 --> 00:23:06.200
you're scared, in areas where you're sad, in areas where there's a repeated habitual

00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:10.480
tendency to go a certain way, in areas where there are triggers that are always set off,

00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:11.960
ask this question.

00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:16.240
What is a lie I am believing?

00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:23.240
The second question, what is a truth about the Father's nature that I can lean back on

00:23:26.280 --> 00:23:27.880
in this area?

00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:29.040
What is a truth?

00:23:29.040 --> 00:23:36.040
What is a truth or what are two truths about the Father's nature that I can lean back on

00:23:36.560 --> 00:23:40.280
in this area?

00:23:40.280 --> 00:23:47.280
And then the third question, what is a scripture that I can learn and use to move from my feelings

00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:51.600
to the truth?

00:23:51.600 --> 00:23:58.600
What is a scripture that I can use to move from my feelings to the truth?

00:24:00.040 --> 00:24:03.200
So the first one is what is a lie I am believing?

00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:07.920
And in your particular area, I don't know if there's a single person here who does not

00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.860
have this happening in their lives right now.

00:24:10.860 --> 00:24:14.240
What is a lie that you're believing?

00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:18.280
Psychologists and psychiatrists probably ask different variations of these questions, but

00:24:18.280 --> 00:24:21.760
they don't have the...the first question they can ask, the second two questions they can't

00:24:21.760 --> 00:24:23.760
ask because they don't know.

00:24:23.760 --> 00:24:29.200
The second question is what truth or what two truths about the Father's nature can I

00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:31.320
lean back on in this area?

00:24:31.320 --> 00:24:34.720
What can I absolutely trust that this is who the Father is?

00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:37.000
I can lean back in this area.

00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:38.800
He will hold me.

00:24:38.800 --> 00:24:43.320
And the third one is what is a scripture that I can use to move from my feelings and how

00:24:43.320 --> 00:24:50.320
I feel to what is true?

00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:55.100
Over a period of time, if you can take these three questions and answer them, I cannot

00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:58.280
see how one will fail.

00:24:58.280 --> 00:25:05.280
I mean, you do press repeat, rewind, repeat, rewind, but you'll get there.

00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:15.920
Sometimes guys, when you pray in faith for things and there's someone else involved,

00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:17.760
remember there's someone else's will involved.

00:25:17.760 --> 00:25:22.320
So don't expect things to change just because you're praying with great faith.

00:25:22.320 --> 00:25:29.320
God does not...go ahead.

00:25:34.600 --> 00:25:36.360
Not necessarily.

00:25:36.360 --> 00:25:37.360
Contractual faith would be...

00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:43.760
Oh, two and three work in...yeah, yeah.

00:25:43.760 --> 00:25:47.600
They work together.

00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:52.080
Sometimes when you're praying for other people and their wills are involved, don't expect

00:25:52.080 --> 00:25:57.280
that things may work out easily, work out fast, work out at all, because God will not

00:25:57.280 --> 00:26:00.760
change someone else's will because you pray.

00:26:00.760 --> 00:26:05.200
If God could change people's will if you prayed, we could have had the entire world saved by

00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:05.960
now.

00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:12.960
I mean, we could do it before Feb 29th because there's an extra day thrown in.

00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:18.160
We could have finished it by Feb 29th.

00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:19.680
But that's not the way.

00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:24.120
Jesus, a man full of faith, could do nothing in Capernaum because there were other wills

00:26:24.120 --> 00:26:26.520
involved.

00:26:26.520 --> 00:26:29.880
So just remember that because sometimes you're praying for faith and you're asking God, why

00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:30.880
aren't you coming through?

00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:34.440
And God would love to say to you, because it's not your will, it's someone else's will

00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:36.000
and they're not willing to bend it yet.

00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:41.160
I'm doing everything in my power to help them change, but they're not yet willing to give

00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:42.080
in.

00:26:42.360 --> 00:26:46.840
When it comes to children, guys, and we'll have more children in the church over the

00:26:46.840 --> 00:26:53.840
next few months, when it comes to children, you may have to go ahead and do what you may

00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:00.600
not do for yourself, for your children, because you can't keep your child waiting until your

00:27:00.600 --> 00:27:03.200
faith works.

00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:05.480
Sometimes Christians do that where the child...

00:27:05.480 --> 00:27:11.880
I mean, I remember my sister, I've said this to some of you before, my nephew Caleb had

00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:15.560
an ear pain and my sister...

00:27:15.560 --> 00:27:19.600
He came to my sister and my sister said, okay, let's pray and she prayed.

00:27:19.600 --> 00:27:24.640
And after she prayed, she said, okay, now let's take some medicine.

00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:28.440
So he said, well, mama, you just prayed, give Jesus some time.

00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:34.480
So she decided, okay, she'll wait for a while.

00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:40.000
And in this situation, the pain left and it was an amazing story that Caleb remembers.

00:27:40.040 --> 00:27:44.080
There was another time when she prayed and the pain didn't leave.

00:27:44.080 --> 00:27:51.080
And now she was not going to wait till the pain leaves because the boy was in acute pain.

00:27:51.080 --> 00:27:57.200
At that time, you cannot use the child as your guinea pig to try out your faith, because

00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:01.200
if there is a reason your faith is failing, the child will go through pain.

00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:08.200
And God would rather that you go and do what is necessary than stand there for your child

00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.480
in faith.

00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:13.280
Yeah, just be careful of that always.

00:28:13.280 --> 00:28:18.040
Because sometimes parents begin to exert faith for their child and if things don't happen

00:28:18.040 --> 00:28:23.720
immediately, you are caught in this dilemma, am I not showing faith or am I showing faith?

00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:27.740
You are showing faith, God is pleased with your faith, but he has no problem with you

00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:31.720
taking away the pain of the child and then continue in faith.

00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:36.040
And it doesn't mean that next time you go back to the same default, you trust God again.

00:28:36.040 --> 00:28:38.520
It's just this one-off thing.

00:28:38.520 --> 00:28:41.640
Next time it happens, don't go running to what you did first.

00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:44.000
Stand again in faith.

00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:46.600
I love that Caleb responded that way.

00:28:46.600 --> 00:28:48.540
Mom, why are you giving me medicine?

00:28:48.540 --> 00:28:51.380
Give Jesus time to work.

00:28:51.380 --> 00:28:52.380
How did he get there?

00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:57.640
Because his parents, even though they have sufficient medicines at home, taught him that

00:28:57.640 --> 00:29:00.640
we first pray and that God heals.

00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:03.640
Craving.

00:29:03.760 --> 00:29:09.080
Sometimes faith fails because we crave like crazy.

00:29:09.080 --> 00:29:13.200
Crave is to get instant gratification.

00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:15.080
Craving is instant gratification.

00:29:15.080 --> 00:29:24.120
It's in Psalm 106 verse 15, Psalm 106 verse 15, which says that Israel craved, God gave

00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:28.400
them what they wanted, but sent leanness to their souls.

00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:33.600
God will give occasionally what you want and he may even afford you the leanness of souls

00:29:34.560 --> 00:29:38.720
for a while, but after some time he'll say, Jacob, I'm far more interested in your soul

00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:41.320
than satisfying your craving.

00:29:41.320 --> 00:29:43.960
Immediate gratification ain't going to happen now.

00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:50.080
And mature faith learns patience.

00:29:50.080 --> 00:29:52.880
Mature faith learns patience.

00:29:52.880 --> 00:30:00.240
Hebrews chapter 6 verse 12, those that inherit promises, inherit promises through faith and

00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.480
through patience.

00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:05.600
There is an immediacy to faith and there's an eventuality to faith.

00:30:05.600 --> 00:30:09.000
Immediacy is God has said it, he will do it.

00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.280
Eventuality is God has said it, it is taking time, he will do it.

00:30:12.280 --> 00:30:15.080
And both have to collide.

00:30:15.080 --> 00:30:19.840
There was an immediacy to what God said to Abraham.

00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:21.240
You will change your name.

00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:22.800
You will be called Abraham.

00:30:22.800 --> 00:30:27.420
There was an eventuality to what happened.

00:30:27.420 --> 00:30:31.620
You will be called a father of faith not because you got something immediately when

00:30:31.620 --> 00:30:32.620
you prayed.

00:30:32.620 --> 00:30:37.580
You will be called a father of faith because you trusted God as a friend and a father and

00:30:37.580 --> 00:30:43.540
walked with him as he brought to pass things in your life that glorify his name.

00:30:43.540 --> 00:30:54.460
Another pitfall or downfall of the faith movement was, name it, claim it.

00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:56.820
Immediate instant gratification.

00:30:56.820 --> 00:31:02.540
We grew a whole bunch of Christians who were namby-pamby, immature.

00:31:02.540 --> 00:31:04.060
Give it to me now, give it to me now.

00:31:04.060 --> 00:31:06.380
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine.

00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:10.180
It was a shame man.

00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:15.980
Sorry, say that again.

00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:18.220
Yeah, end from the beginning.

00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:20.900
It's so critical to see the end from the beginning.

00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:26.100
If I see the end from the beginning it becomes so much easier for me to walk through difficult

00:31:26.100 --> 00:31:27.100
times.

00:31:27.100 --> 00:31:29.500
If I don't see the end from the beginning, it's difficult.

00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:31.780
This is why faith cannot be contractual.

00:31:31.780 --> 00:31:33.100
It has to be transactional.

00:31:33.100 --> 00:31:35.940
It has to be relational.

00:31:35.940 --> 00:31:45.060
In relationship you know that this is who he is and how he'll be.

00:31:45.060 --> 00:31:49.380
Resentment.

00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:52.420
Resentment distorts God's face.

00:31:52.420 --> 00:31:54.460
Resentment distorts God's face.

00:31:54.460 --> 00:32:00.380
And once God's face is distorted, it's hard to trust him.

00:32:00.380 --> 00:32:02.940
Resentment distorts God's face.

00:32:02.940 --> 00:32:08.380
And once God's face is distorted, it is hard to trust him.

00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:12.260
How do you straighten out God's face once it's distorted in your head?

00:32:12.260 --> 00:32:15.900
You go back to the word and look at how he looks.

00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:18.060
Beautiful, eh?

00:32:18.060 --> 00:32:25.260
When your resentment has distorted God's face and everybody here has been through it,

00:32:25.260 --> 00:32:31.460
where God didn't turn out to be who he was and his face gets distorted, when the face

00:32:31.460 --> 00:32:35.900
of God is distorted, know this, that you will not be able to trust him.

00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:41.060
Why do you think children who grow up in foster homes find it so hard to then trust somebody?

00:32:41.060 --> 00:32:42.060
Why?

00:32:42.060 --> 00:32:45.280
Because who they thought was a father, who they thought was a mother treated them in

00:32:45.280 --> 00:32:49.640
a way that now just leaves such a horrible mark on them that they're never able to look

00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:53.540
at a father or mother even if they're loving and see anything in them that they would like

00:32:53.540 --> 00:32:54.720
to respond to.

00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:55.760
How do you correct it?

00:32:55.760 --> 00:32:59.840
You correct it by going back to the word and finding his face again.

00:32:59.840 --> 00:33:03.360
It's the only place you'll find his face in.

00:33:03.360 --> 00:33:12.320
You won't find it in a worship song.

00:33:12.800 --> 00:33:16.160
One of the scary things about present day worship songs is you can make the father look

00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:21.080
as beautiful as you want him to.

00:33:21.080 --> 00:33:26.440
I would rather go to the word and see a scribe to him, the beauty that comes from the word,

00:33:26.440 --> 00:33:39.720
than create my own imaginary Santa Claus without a red suit.

00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:42.480
Any questions before we go on?

00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:45.880
Hey, he's good, eh?

00:33:45.880 --> 00:33:47.960
And he's a rewarder of those that trust him.

00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:52.320
Guys, I've been through all of this and every time I go through stuff like this, I identify

00:33:52.320 --> 00:34:01.800
where I'm stuck and then I go and restart again.

00:34:01.800 --> 00:34:03.440
Another one is unforgiveness.

00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:05.720
These are reasons why faith fails.

00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:08.480
Another one is unforgiveness.

00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:25.680
Unforgiveness or discord clogs the release of the results of faith.

00:34:25.680 --> 00:34:29.320
Maybe some of us don't have a problem with unforgiveness, but there is this idea of discord

00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:30.320
too.

00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:36.680
You know, it's fascinating that James 5.16 says, confess your sins to one another.

00:34:36.680 --> 00:34:40.920
As the elders come to lay hands on you and pray for you, confess your sins to one another

00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:42.440
and the prayer of faith will heal you.

00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:50.800
There is this idea that, Jacob, keep your heart clean in terms of the bitterness that

00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:51.800
you may bear.

00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:55.040
I've said this to the old timers here before.

00:34:55.040 --> 00:35:03.720
One day when I was trying to come up with a message on unforgiveness, I asked God, why

00:35:03.720 --> 00:35:09.160
is it, oh God, that you are so hung up on bitterness?

00:35:09.160 --> 00:35:13.960
Why is it that you get so cheesed off by this whole idea of bitterness?

00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:14.960
His answer was fascinating.

00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:20.520
He said, Jacob, when you are bitter, there's nothing that you and I have in common.

00:35:20.520 --> 00:35:25.800
Everything that I was and I became on the cross and everything I've done since the beginning

00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:31.600
of time and since then has been the exact opposite of bitterness.

00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:37.000
When you are bitter, he showed this image of a husband and wife sitting in a car and

00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:40.840
they are sitting six inches apart, but there is a wall that is three feet thick between

00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:41.840
them.

00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:47.760
He says, that's how it is because you and I have nothing in common when you're bitter.

00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:54.160
That scared me that every time I'm bitter, it's not that he isn't there, but I'm not

00:35:54.160 --> 00:36:00.080
able to relate to him because there's nothing that he has in him that is bitter.

00:36:02.360 --> 00:36:07.040
And then with this idea, we should also add discord.

00:36:07.040 --> 00:36:13.280
Discord is what happens more amongst Christians than unforgiveness.

00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:18.280
Discord is when there is a fracture, there is a brokenness in relationship, there is

00:36:18.280 --> 00:36:20.480
sometimes a dishonouring of each other.

00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:25.200
In 1 Peter 3.17, he talks about husband and wife and actually goes to the point of saying,

00:36:25.200 --> 00:36:31.080
hey husband, if you don't treat your wife with honor, then know that your prayers will

00:36:31.080 --> 00:36:32.880
be hindered.

00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:35.200
That's one area that I won't have to deal with.

00:36:35.200 --> 00:36:36.800
Praise the Lord.

00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:40.520
There are some advantages.

00:36:40.520 --> 00:36:43.300
Here's another one.

00:36:43.300 --> 00:36:47.560
It is possible that you heard wrong.

00:36:47.560 --> 00:36:52.040
It is possible that you heard wrong and that for some of us, especially for some of us

00:36:52.040 --> 00:36:58.020
who've been hearing God for a while and think we are good at it, my God, to even imagine

00:36:58.020 --> 00:37:02.100
that we heard wrong is unhandleable.

00:37:02.100 --> 00:37:03.940
No, no, how can I hear wrong?

00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:04.940
I am Jacob.

00:37:04.940 --> 00:37:05.940
I hear right.

00:37:05.940 --> 00:37:11.140
No, you can hear wrong.

00:37:11.140 --> 00:37:18.140
And it's pride that prevents me from realigning or reexamining what I heard.

00:37:18.140 --> 00:37:26.540
You can hear wrong.

00:37:26.700 --> 00:37:39.700
If you're too proud to adjust or align to new orders, in Deuteronomy 1, verse 40 to

00:37:39.700 --> 00:37:44.420
44, God has just told Israel, hey Israel, I told you to go up and take the land.

00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:45.420
You decided not to.

00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:49.060
Now I want you to know that for the next 40 years, you'll be roaming in the desert, so

00:37:49.060 --> 00:37:50.060
don't go up.

00:37:50.060 --> 00:37:51.060
They said, no, no, no, no, no.

00:37:51.060 --> 00:37:53.120
We really are sorry about what we said.

00:37:53.120 --> 00:37:54.120
We take back everything we said.

00:37:54.120 --> 00:37:55.120
Erase, erase, erase.

00:37:55.120 --> 00:37:56.380
We're going up to take the land.

00:37:56.380 --> 00:37:57.380
Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

00:37:57.380 --> 00:38:01.460
And they get beaten like crazy and they come running back.

00:38:01.460 --> 00:38:10.060
So the point is that you have to realign and readjust when God changes his orders.

00:38:10.060 --> 00:38:12.380
Sometimes you hear wrong.

00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:16.060
I'm so scared that in some areas where I've seen God come through again and again and

00:38:16.060 --> 00:38:20.020
again that I will choose not to hear him if he were to change.

00:38:20.020 --> 00:38:25.620
I must always leave room for his sovereignty.

00:38:25.620 --> 00:38:31.040
I must always leave room for his sovereignty.

00:38:31.040 --> 00:38:37.340
Even when I don't understand.

00:38:37.340 --> 00:38:41.820
When I started this whole faith journey, this used to really trip me up because I would

00:38:41.820 --> 00:38:46.100
be so sure that I heard God and then it would be like, I can't back off now because I would

00:38:46.100 --> 00:38:49.880
go and announce it in church and now everybody is expecting it to happen and now God is saying

00:38:49.880 --> 00:38:54.100
something else and I'm saying that's the devil, but it's really God and I can't back up.

00:38:54.780 --> 00:39:00.940
Oh my God, it is so difficult.

00:39:00.940 --> 00:39:03.380
Next one, sin.

00:39:03.380 --> 00:39:10.280
I don't know why we are so scared of the fact that some things go wrong because of sin.

00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:15.780
Because the faith movement started saying that you are not getting what you're praying

00:39:15.780 --> 00:39:19.860
for because you're sinful, now we've gone to the other extreme where we don't want to say

00:39:19.860 --> 00:39:21.780
that sin could be a reason.

00:39:21.780 --> 00:39:28.460
Man, it is a very prominent reason and if it is, since you sin every day, deal with it.

00:39:32.460 --> 00:39:36.620
Why we bother that sin could have been the reason why faith failed?

00:39:36.620 --> 00:39:38.060
Step in and deal with it.

00:39:38.060 --> 00:39:40.220
Sin creates avenue for sabotage.

00:39:40.220 --> 00:39:43.100
Sin creates avenue for sabotage.

00:39:43.100 --> 00:39:47.100
Joshua chapter 6, or was it 7?

00:39:47.100 --> 00:39:49.860
Joshua chapter 7, verse 5 and 6.

00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:52.500
God says to Joshua, I've given Jericho into your hands.

00:39:52.500 --> 00:39:54.460
Joshua says, great.

00:39:54.460 --> 00:39:56.780
He takes Jericho and then he goes to the next city.

00:39:56.780 --> 00:39:59.460
When he goes to the next city, he's not able to take it.

00:39:59.460 --> 00:40:01.140
He sends 3,000 men out.

00:40:01.140 --> 00:40:04.140
They get beaten up by the Amorites and they come back.

00:40:04.140 --> 00:40:10.060
And he has his head in his hands and he's saying, oh God, you said you'd be with me

00:40:10.060 --> 00:40:11.140
like you were with Moses.

00:40:11.140 --> 00:40:13.580
How come I send my men out and they come back beaten?

00:40:13.580 --> 00:40:14.580
What am I going to do now?

00:40:14.580 --> 00:40:18.540
And that's when God says to Joshua, hey Joshua, I just want you to know that there's a guy

00:40:18.540 --> 00:40:21.060
in your camp called Achan.

00:40:21.060 --> 00:40:25.540
And Achan's stolen some Babylonian silk.

00:40:25.540 --> 00:40:33.940
You need to get rid of his sin before I can let you conquer.

00:40:33.940 --> 00:40:37.900
I love finding out sin in my life.

00:40:37.900 --> 00:40:40.540
As in, if there is something, find it out.

00:40:40.540 --> 00:40:42.540
Big deal.

00:40:42.540 --> 00:40:44.540
If you can't find out your sin, please come to me.

00:40:48.540 --> 00:40:52.940
I assure you, I'll help you.

00:40:52.940 --> 00:40:59.620
Pastors love doing stuff like that.

00:40:59.620 --> 00:41:02.060
Fear-filled faith.

00:41:02.060 --> 00:41:07.860
Sometimes what you think is faith is not faith, it is fear-filled faith.

00:41:07.860 --> 00:41:13.980
I love it when I think I'm walking in faith and then something small happens and I panic

00:41:14.980 --> 00:41:20.820
Gosh, that wasn't faith.

00:41:20.820 --> 00:41:21.820
Small things.

00:41:21.820 --> 00:41:24.300
I remember my car would get broken into.

00:41:24.300 --> 00:41:26.580
I was so afraid to leave my car anywhere, man.

00:41:26.580 --> 00:41:28.780
Father, I plead your blood over the car.

00:41:28.780 --> 00:41:29.780
I plead your blood over this.

00:41:29.780 --> 00:41:33.500
Please send your angels, your angels and those that camp around.

00:41:33.500 --> 00:41:38.300
Every scripture, Psalm 91, my entire, I would read all of Psalm 91 over my car.

00:41:38.300 --> 00:41:42.180
And then I realized, my God, I'm so scared.

00:41:42.180 --> 00:41:45.500
And so I remember once telling the Lord, Father, you know, as I leave my car here,

00:41:45.500 --> 00:41:47.700
I'm really afraid, so I'm not going to pray.

00:41:47.700 --> 00:41:48.700
So you just take care of it.

00:41:48.700 --> 00:41:55.740
And I walked away because my prayers were coming from such a scary place.

00:41:55.740 --> 00:41:58.740
Fear-filled faith.

00:41:58.740 --> 00:42:03.380
And then God, then we had a discussion and then God said, why don't you pray like this?

00:42:03.380 --> 00:42:06.260
Father, thank you for this car.

00:42:06.260 --> 00:42:07.260
It's yours.

00:42:07.260 --> 00:42:09.940
I'm just returning it to your stable right now, leaving it on the road.

00:42:09.940 --> 00:42:10.940
It's your responsibility.

00:42:10.940 --> 00:42:11.940
You're a good steward.

00:42:11.940 --> 00:42:12.940
It's yours.

00:42:12.940 --> 00:42:13.940
Please take care of it.

00:42:13.940 --> 00:42:15.820
I'll come back and use it later.

00:42:15.820 --> 00:42:18.220
It was so much easier.

00:42:18.220 --> 00:42:20.140
As long as it was mine, I could not protect it.

00:42:20.140 --> 00:42:23.740
As long when it became his, it was easy to protect.

00:42:23.740 --> 00:42:30.140
So many of this, I've met some of you and you have expressed things in faith and I know

00:42:30.140 --> 00:42:31.340
it is from a place of fear.

00:42:40.940 --> 00:42:53.740
My problem when I have fear-filled faith is I'm usually double-minded.

00:42:53.740 --> 00:42:56.180
Next one.

00:42:56.180 --> 00:42:58.220
Faith without works.

00:42:58.220 --> 00:43:00.140
Faith without works.

00:43:00.140 --> 00:43:06.020
If you have faith, it usually doesn't fail if your faith is already expressing itself

00:43:06.020 --> 00:43:11.980
in works.

00:43:11.980 --> 00:43:14.780
Faith without works usually fails.

00:43:14.780 --> 00:43:20.900
When it is scripture being quoted, when it is prayers being said, but there's absolutely

00:43:20.900 --> 00:43:28.940
nothing that you're doing that will cost you, then I would say, is it really faith?

00:43:28.940 --> 00:43:35.660
Is it really faith?

00:43:35.660 --> 00:43:38.140
Why does faith fail?

00:43:38.140 --> 00:43:43.420
Would it be faith if Rahab said her house will be saved if she didn't help the guys

00:43:43.420 --> 00:43:46.380
who came to Jericho?

00:43:46.380 --> 00:43:47.380
James talks about this.

00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:50.180
James says, hey, faith without works is dead.

00:43:50.180 --> 00:43:51.180
Show me your faith.

00:43:51.180 --> 00:43:52.820
I will show you my works.

00:43:52.820 --> 00:43:56.500
Didn't Rahab do the same thing when she decided that she would hide the spice?

00:43:56.500 --> 00:44:01.540
Hey, didn't Abraham do the same thing when he was willing to offer Isaac on the altar?

00:44:01.540 --> 00:44:03.900
You know what faith without works looks like?

00:44:03.900 --> 00:44:09.020
Faith without works looks like no plan B.

00:44:09.020 --> 00:44:12.780
Faith without works looks like no plan B.

00:44:12.780 --> 00:44:15.020
There is just absolutely no plan B.

00:44:15.020 --> 00:44:18.460
If you fail, you're going to look really foolish.

00:44:18.460 --> 00:44:19.960
There is no plan B.

00:44:19.960 --> 00:44:25.220
You're stepping out saying, I will show my works by stepping out of God trusting you,

00:44:25.220 --> 00:44:27.780
and I have no other backup plan.

00:44:27.780 --> 00:44:28.780
Go ahead, Diana.

00:44:29.260 --> 00:44:31.260
I'm thinking faith without works.

00:44:31.260 --> 00:44:37.260
You say faith without works is no plan B.

00:44:37.260 --> 00:44:40.660
Yeah, faith without works requires that I have no plan B.

00:44:40.660 --> 00:44:46.660
But you want faith with works, not without works.

00:44:46.660 --> 00:44:52.140
Yeah, when I say faith without works, it means your faith must have works.

00:44:52.140 --> 00:44:54.780
Faith without works does not work.

00:44:54.780 --> 00:44:56.780
Bible says faith without works is dead.

00:44:56.780 --> 00:44:58.780
So that's planning without a plan B, Diana.

00:44:58.780 --> 00:45:00.780
You have things like this.

00:45:00.780 --> 00:45:02.780
Let me rephrase the whole thing.

00:45:02.780 --> 00:45:04.780
So, yeah.

00:45:04.780 --> 00:45:06.780
Let me go to plan B.

00:45:06.780 --> 00:45:08.780
So here's plan B.

00:45:08.780 --> 00:45:10.780
Here's plan B.

00:45:10.780 --> 00:45:12.780
Here's plan B.

00:45:12.780 --> 00:45:24.780
One of the ways that you know someone is walking in faith is that they are not going to be

00:45:24.780 --> 00:45:26.780
safe.

00:45:26.780 --> 00:45:28.780
They are not going to be safe.

00:45:28.780 --> 00:45:30.780
They are not going to be safe.

00:45:30.780 --> 00:45:32.780
They are not going to be safe.

00:45:32.780 --> 00:45:40.780
So, what you know about someone is that he steps out without a safety net to show that

00:45:40.780 --> 00:45:44.780
what he believes is what he or she is going to do.

00:45:44.780 --> 00:45:50.780
The action is taken without any safety net.

00:45:50.780 --> 00:45:52.780
He's got no safety net.

00:45:52.780 --> 00:45:56.780
I love it when Peter steps out of the boat.

00:45:56.780 --> 00:45:58.780
He's got no safety net.

00:45:58.780 --> 00:46:02.780
I love it when Paul shakes off the serpent from his hand.

00:46:02.780 --> 00:46:04.780
He's got no safety net.

00:46:04.780 --> 00:46:20.780
Fomo and Mirdan.

00:46:20.780 --> 00:46:26.780
Faith fails when you don't have encouragers to help you.

00:46:26.780 --> 00:46:30.780
Faith fails sometimes when you don't have encouragers to help you.

00:46:30.780 --> 00:46:32.780
The absence of encouragers.

00:46:32.780 --> 00:46:34.780
Not WhatsAppers.

00:46:34.780 --> 00:46:36.780
Encouragers.

00:46:36.780 --> 00:46:38.780
WhatsApp is a whole different thing.

00:46:38.780 --> 00:46:42.780
You're going through a difficult time and you say, I'm going through a difficult time.

00:46:42.780 --> 00:46:46.780
And then you'll have, depending on how many people there are on your WhatsApp group,

00:46:46.780 --> 00:46:50.780
praying, praying, praying, praying.

00:46:50.780 --> 00:46:52.780
Amen.

00:46:52.780 --> 00:46:54.780
God will come through.

00:46:54.780 --> 00:46:56.780
I agree.

00:46:56.780 --> 00:46:58.780
Oh my God.

00:46:58.780 --> 00:47:02.780
So WhatsApp groups are not how you are encouraged.

00:47:02.780 --> 00:47:08.780
Encouragers are those who come beside you like Erin and her.

00:47:08.780 --> 00:47:12.780
And are able to stand with you while your muscles are collapsing

00:47:12.780 --> 00:47:15.780
because of the strain of what you are handling.

00:47:15.780 --> 00:47:18.780
And who are able to make it so much easier for you.

00:47:18.780 --> 00:47:20.780
And take your trouble away.

00:47:20.780 --> 00:47:23.780
Encouragers are not the ones who encourage you to stand under the load.

00:47:23.780 --> 00:47:25.780
Encouragers are those that take the load.

00:47:29.780 --> 00:47:33.780
Encouragers are those that take the load, not those that encourage you.

00:47:33.780 --> 00:47:35.780
Hey, you just stand. Yeah, yeah.

00:47:35.780 --> 00:47:37.780
You flex those muscles and stand.

00:47:37.780 --> 00:47:39.780
You got more muscles left now.

00:47:39.780 --> 00:47:41.780
No, no, no, that's not encouraging.

00:47:41.780 --> 00:47:43.780
That's like making sure your muscles ache.

00:47:43.780 --> 00:47:45.780
It is coming and taking the weight of things.

00:47:45.780 --> 00:47:47.780
WhatsApp is when you say, you stand.

00:47:47.780 --> 00:47:49.780
I agree. Amen.

00:47:49.780 --> 00:47:51.780
Praying.

00:47:51.780 --> 00:47:57.780
I'm unfortunately part of one WhatsApp group

00:47:57.780 --> 00:48:01.780
which has 40 people and when they start Merry Christmasing,

00:48:01.780 --> 00:48:04.780
my God, it's like 40 Merry Christmases in the middle of the night.

00:48:14.780 --> 00:48:16.780
Part of being encouraged when you're going through a tough struggle

00:48:16.780 --> 00:48:18.780
is to come to the leaders of the church.

00:48:18.780 --> 00:48:22.780
Really, Jacob, where does it say that James 5, verse 14 and 15?

00:48:22.780 --> 00:48:25.780
Are you sad? Are you sick? Are you troubled?

00:48:25.780 --> 00:48:27.780
Come to the leaders of the church.

00:48:27.780 --> 00:48:30.780
They'll pray a prayer of faith, anoint you with oil,

00:48:30.780 --> 00:48:32.780
and a prayer of faith will heal you.

00:48:32.780 --> 00:48:34.780
God will forgive your sins.

00:48:34.780 --> 00:48:36.780
Use scriptural models, eh?

00:48:36.780 --> 00:48:43.780
And if you don't, then what constitution are you working from?

00:48:43.780 --> 00:48:47.780
What preamble are you using to bring to pass things in your life?

00:48:47.780 --> 00:48:52.780
Next one.

00:48:52.780 --> 00:48:59.780
Guys, sometimes faith fails because I don't fight the battle and persevere.

00:48:59.780 --> 00:49:02.780
Sometimes I have to, once I stand in faith,

00:49:02.780 --> 00:49:07.780
remember there's someone who opposes what I'm trying to walk in faith for.

00:49:07.780 --> 00:49:09.780
There's someone who opposes it.

00:49:09.780 --> 00:49:12.780
I've got an active enemy who actually has fiery arrows

00:49:12.780 --> 00:49:15.780
that can penetrate and burn up your insides

00:49:15.780 --> 00:49:17.780
if it were not for the shield of faith.

00:49:17.780 --> 00:49:23.780
So as we go walking with God and mature over the years,

00:49:23.780 --> 00:49:26.780
you'll find that sometimes faith fails

00:49:26.780 --> 00:49:29.780
because I did exert faith but I did not persevere with it.

00:49:29.780 --> 00:49:33.780
Stand. I mean, Paul puts it so brilliantly.

00:49:33.780 --> 00:49:36.780
So don't think that, oh, Jacob, this is just too much.

00:49:36.780 --> 00:49:38.780
I can't handle it. Grow up. You can.

00:49:38.780 --> 00:49:40.780
Why? Because Jesus lives in you.

00:49:40.780 --> 00:49:42.780
Why else? Because the word of God says so.

00:49:42.780 --> 00:49:45.780
Why else? Because the Spirit of God is your help.

00:49:45.780 --> 00:49:49.780
Why else? Because this is the way God raises up mature people

00:49:49.780 --> 00:49:52.780
that can bring to pass on earth His will in heaven.

00:49:52.780 --> 00:49:56.780
We can't go saying this is too much.

00:49:56.780 --> 00:50:02.780
We can't, guys. I'm sorry that those excuses are unaffordable

00:50:02.780 --> 00:50:06.780
because God is powerful and good and loving and fatherly.

00:50:06.780 --> 00:50:11.780
That doesn't change.

00:50:11.780 --> 00:50:12.780
That doesn't change.

00:50:12.780 --> 00:50:15.780
So sometimes it requires that I persevere

00:50:15.780 --> 00:50:18.780
through something to see it happen.

00:50:18.780 --> 00:50:22.780
And when you can't persevere, my God,

00:50:22.780 --> 00:50:25.780
go get a bunch of solid encouragers

00:50:25.780 --> 00:50:28.780
who can persevere on your behalf while you take a break.

00:50:28.780 --> 00:50:32.780
Get them. They'll take on the weight.

00:50:32.780 --> 00:50:37.780
Oh, but I don't have good enough friends.

00:50:37.780 --> 00:50:38.780
Who's looking for friendship?

00:50:38.780 --> 00:50:40.780
Get encouragers who can take the weight.

00:50:40.780 --> 00:50:43.780
If I was carrying a weight that I can't carry,

00:50:43.780 --> 00:50:44.780
I don't care that I don't know you.

00:50:44.780 --> 00:50:48.780
I'll put it on your back if you're willing to carry it for me.

00:50:48.780 --> 00:51:03.780
I don't want your friendship first. I want your shoulders.

00:51:03.780 --> 00:51:08.780
Persevere, guys.

00:51:08.780 --> 00:51:11.780
David, what is that kind of thing that you had earlier on

00:51:11.780 --> 00:51:17.780
when you were talking about the fear of the great change?

00:51:17.780 --> 00:51:22.780
It doesn't tie up. It's like two separate standalone things.

00:51:22.780 --> 00:51:26.780
One is about persevering through fiery arrows.

00:51:26.780 --> 00:51:32.780
The other one is about hearing God if He wants to change anything around.

00:51:32.780 --> 00:51:34.780
It's like two standalones.

00:51:34.780 --> 00:51:39.780
So, when I've been in so many situations

00:51:39.780 --> 00:51:41.780
where I've stood for faith for very long and nothing would happen

00:51:41.780 --> 00:51:43.780
and I would either call people to help me,

00:51:43.780 --> 00:51:45.780
ask God to realign anything that I need to,

00:51:45.780 --> 00:51:48.780
and then persevere saying, this will come through.

00:51:48.780 --> 00:51:51.780
Man, you've heard so many of my stories where

00:51:51.780 --> 00:51:56.780
what opened the door was just joyful perseverance.

00:51:56.780 --> 00:51:59.780
Please, perseverance is not miserable.

00:51:59.780 --> 00:52:01.780
Perseverance can be joyful.

00:52:04.780 --> 00:52:11.780
Perseverance is not miserable.

00:52:11.780 --> 00:52:22.780
Joyful, why? Because you know the end from the beginning.

00:52:22.780 --> 00:52:24.780
David had to fight through things.

00:52:24.780 --> 00:52:26.780
Moses had to fight through things.

00:52:26.780 --> 00:52:30.780
Elijah had to fight through things.

00:52:30.780 --> 00:52:32.780
And if you don't persevere, then you only have two choices,

00:52:32.780 --> 00:52:35.780
quit or compromise.

00:52:35.780 --> 00:52:39.780
Either quit, as in forget this, it doesn't work, or compromise.

00:52:39.780 --> 00:52:43.780
Forget this, let's just go for a shmail.

00:52:43.780 --> 00:52:45.780
It's either one or the other.

00:52:45.780 --> 00:52:49.780
If Isaac is being promised and Isaac is taking time,

00:52:49.780 --> 00:52:51.780
then you only have two choices.

00:52:51.780 --> 00:52:53.780
Let's just quit this whole thing.

00:52:53.780 --> 00:52:56.780
Let's just forget it.

00:52:56.780 --> 00:52:59.780
Or, ah, this is taking too long.

00:52:59.780 --> 00:53:13.780
Let's spawn an ishmael.

00:53:13.780 --> 00:53:16.780
Faith fails when you're exhausted.

00:53:16.780 --> 00:53:19.780
Faith fails when you're exhausted.

00:53:19.780 --> 00:53:22.780
It is such a cool trick of the devil.

00:53:22.780 --> 00:53:25.780
Faith fails when you're exhausted.

00:53:25.780 --> 00:53:27.780
It's such a cool trick of the devil.

00:53:27.780 --> 00:53:31.780
What he does is he makes you think that you have to do all the exertion,

00:53:31.780 --> 00:53:33.780
all the work, all the coating of scripture,

00:53:33.780 --> 00:53:36.780
standing in front of the mirror, telling yourself who you are,

00:53:36.780 --> 00:53:41.780
speaking verse after verse, doing something crazy.

00:53:41.780 --> 00:53:44.780
And he just gets you so exhausted and the results are not coming

00:53:44.780 --> 00:53:46.780
and you think to yourself, forget it.

00:53:46.780 --> 00:53:50.780
One of the things we need to do when we exert faith is go into a place of rest.

00:53:50.780 --> 00:53:54.780
And that can only happen if faith is not contractual.

00:53:54.780 --> 00:53:57.780
Where you know that your dad has said so,

00:53:57.780 --> 00:54:01.780
so now you learn to rest in it instead of exert.

00:54:01.780 --> 00:54:09.780
What's the worst that can happen?

00:54:09.780 --> 00:54:12.780
I mean, let's assume that the guy who gave me the prophetic word

00:54:12.780 --> 00:54:16.780
that my dad would live was right and he lived.

00:54:16.780 --> 00:54:21.780
So he would be about 84 years old or something now.

00:54:21.780 --> 00:54:22.780
I'm not even calculating.

00:54:22.780 --> 00:54:24.780
Let's assume he would be 85 years old.

00:54:24.780 --> 00:54:26.780
And let's assume he died tomorrow.

00:54:26.780 --> 00:54:30.780
At the end of the day, guys, some of these things we are fighting for

00:54:30.780 --> 00:54:32.780
and for faith are really ridiculous stuff.

00:54:32.780 --> 00:54:35.780
Fight for greater things for faith.

00:54:35.780 --> 00:54:38.780
Hebrews 10, 35, 36 is what we should fight for.

00:54:38.780 --> 00:54:40.780
I mean, it's good to have money.

00:54:40.780 --> 00:54:41.780
It's good to have a job.

00:54:41.780 --> 00:54:42.780
It's good to have healing.

00:54:42.780 --> 00:54:43.780
All these things are really good.

00:54:43.780 --> 00:54:46.780
It makes life really happy and nothing wrong with it.

00:54:46.780 --> 00:54:47.780
Use faith for that.

00:54:47.780 --> 00:54:51.780
But use oodles of faith for Hebrews 10, verse 35 and 36.

00:54:51.780 --> 00:54:53.780
Sorry, Hebrews 11, 35 and 36.

00:54:53.780 --> 00:54:55.780
That's where faith should be used.

00:54:55.780 --> 00:55:03.780
Don't spend it all on getting a job.

00:55:03.780 --> 00:55:09.780
Job, money and all these things come through obedience, not through faith.

00:55:09.780 --> 00:55:12.780
Read the list somebody, Hebrews 11, 35 and 36.

00:55:12.780 --> 00:55:13.780
That list is crazy.

00:55:13.780 --> 00:55:18.780
That's a faith list.

00:55:18.780 --> 00:55:19.780
Don't read so loud.

00:55:19.780 --> 00:55:20.780
Don't read so loud.

00:55:20.780 --> 00:55:26.780
It's overpowering.

00:55:26.780 --> 00:55:31.780
Thereabouts.

00:55:31.780 --> 00:55:32.780
Yeah, here goes.

00:55:32.780 --> 00:55:34.780
I'll read it loud with my mic.

00:55:34.780 --> 00:55:36.780
And what more shall I say?

00:55:36.780 --> 00:55:42.780
I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah.

00:55:42.780 --> 00:55:44.780
I really don't have time, oh God.

00:55:44.780 --> 00:55:45.780
It's four o'clock.

00:55:45.780 --> 00:55:50.780
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets who through faith

00:55:50.780 --> 00:55:56.780
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised,

00:55:56.780 --> 00:56:00.780
shut the mouth of lions, quenched the fury of flames,

00:56:00.780 --> 00:56:05.780
escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength,

00:56:05.780 --> 00:56:08.780
who became powerful in battle, routed foreign armies.

00:56:08.780 --> 00:56:11.780
Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

00:56:11.780 --> 00:56:14.780
Others were tortured and refused to be released so that they may

00:56:14.780 --> 00:56:16.780
gain a better resurrection.

00:56:16.780 --> 00:56:20.780
Some faced years and flogging while others were chained and put in prison.

00:56:20.780 --> 00:56:23.780
They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword.

00:56:23.780 --> 00:56:27.780
They went about in sheepskin and goatskin, destitute, persecuted, mistreated.

00:56:27.780 --> 00:56:29.780
The world was not worthy of them.

00:56:29.780 --> 00:56:32.780
They wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

00:56:32.780 --> 00:56:35.780
These were all commended for their faith.

00:56:35.780 --> 00:56:38.780
Did none of them receive what was promised?

00:56:46.780 --> 00:56:48.780
That's crazy, eh?

00:56:48.780 --> 00:56:51.780
You do not receive what you are promised but you are commended for your faith.

00:56:55.780 --> 00:57:00.780
The things that we get disappointed about are really not in this list of things.

00:57:01.780 --> 00:57:07.780
If you are getting disappointed about not being able to chase foreign armies out and conquer kingdoms, great.

00:57:12.780 --> 00:57:20.780
I want to learn how not to strive in faith but to rest in faith.

00:57:20.780 --> 00:57:23.780
When you strive in faith you end up saying stuff like,

00:57:23.780 --> 00:57:27.780
I am the only one left who is saving your people, there is nobody else.

00:57:27.780 --> 00:57:31.780
Then God will have to say something like, Jacob there are 7000 others so stop mourning.

00:57:31.780 --> 00:57:34.780
When you strive in faith, when you have to exert it all,

00:57:34.780 --> 00:57:38.780
learn how to see the end from the beginning and rest in faith so that God does all the work.

00:57:38.780 --> 00:57:41.780
When you strive, here is what you are saying.

00:57:41.780 --> 00:57:45.780
When you strive, you are saying, God needs help with what he needs to do.

00:57:45.780 --> 00:57:50.780
When you rest, you are saying, God knows what he is doing, I don't need to tinker with it.

00:57:50.780 --> 00:58:00.780
Here are some things that you and I can correct based on this list.

00:58:00.780 --> 00:58:05.780
Get rid of your laziness.

00:58:10.780 --> 00:58:16.780
I was once told by a pastor older than me, when I preach, never say get rid of your laziness

00:58:16.780 --> 00:58:19.780
because that will make people feel like you are accusing them.

00:58:19.780 --> 00:58:26.780
Say, let us get rid of our laziness, may I suggest to you that we get rid of our laziness.

00:58:26.780 --> 00:58:29.780
No, get rid of your laziness.

00:58:33.780 --> 00:58:36.780
And if the hat fits, wear it. Get rid of your laziness.

00:58:36.780 --> 00:58:37.780
What do I mean by laziness?

00:58:37.780 --> 00:58:45.780
Guys, there is this thing of patient perseverance which requires, my God, work man.

00:58:45.780 --> 00:58:47.780
It requires work.

00:58:47.780 --> 00:58:50.780
Rest doesn't mean the absence of work.

00:58:50.780 --> 00:58:55.780
Rest means leaning back on God and accompanying him as he works.

00:58:55.780 --> 00:58:58.780
But you have got to keep pace with God.

00:58:58.780 --> 00:59:04.780
You can't be lazy about faith.

00:59:06.780 --> 00:59:13.780
Try taking a lazy walk through a battlefield and hope that fiery arrows miss you.

00:59:13.780 --> 00:59:14.780
What are you doing?

00:59:14.780 --> 00:59:17.780
Just going for a morning walk during the battle.

00:59:17.780 --> 00:59:20.780
No, eyes alert.

00:59:20.780 --> 00:59:22.780
Not even scooping up water like this.

00:59:22.780 --> 00:59:26.780
Going down to the river like a dog and lapping it up.

00:59:26.780 --> 00:59:28.780
Because you don't want to be caught unaware.

00:59:28.780 --> 00:59:34.780
Because your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a devouring lion seeing who he may.

00:59:34.780 --> 00:59:36.780
Gulp down.

00:59:36.780 --> 00:59:38.780
That's not exactly how it says it.

00:59:38.780 --> 00:59:43.780
But the point is this, that come on man, we got to not be lazy.

00:59:43.780 --> 00:59:50.780
So I say to you, arise, oh sleeper, awake from the dead and show me your faith in 2020.

00:59:53.780 --> 00:59:55.780
That was a nice response.

00:59:56.780 --> 00:59:58.780
Is that shallow?

01:00:01.780 --> 01:00:03.780
Restart without beating yourself up.

01:00:03.780 --> 01:00:10.780
When your faith is failing, don't spend two, three days beating yourself up saying, woe is me, woe is me.

01:00:10.780 --> 01:00:15.780
Say woe is me a couple of times and then get up and get going again.

01:00:15.780 --> 01:00:20.780
So you failed, you heard wrong, you sinned, you really messed up.

01:00:20.780 --> 01:00:22.780
Well then now get up and let's get going.

01:00:25.780 --> 01:00:26.780
Three, ask God for keys.

01:00:26.780 --> 01:00:27.780
Why am I failing, oh God?

01:00:27.780 --> 01:00:29.780
What is it that didn't make this happen?

01:00:29.780 --> 01:00:31.780
He's a God who loves giving keys.

01:00:31.780 --> 01:00:34.780
There's a famine in 1 Samuel 21.

01:00:34.780 --> 01:00:37.780
David is saying, oh God, I've done everything you've asked me to.

01:00:37.780 --> 01:00:39.780
Why is it that I still have a famine?

01:00:39.780 --> 01:00:42.780
I've walked in faith, I've done what you told me, I've worshipped you.

01:00:42.780 --> 01:00:43.780
Why am I still having a famine?

01:00:43.780 --> 01:00:45.780
1 Samuel 21, 1.

01:00:45.780 --> 01:00:50.780
Hey David, I just want you to know that your predecessor Saul was supposed to have established a treaty with the Gibeonites.

01:00:50.780 --> 01:00:56.780
He broke that treaty, killed a whole lot of Gibeonites, land is under a curse, it's struck with famine.

01:00:56.780 --> 01:00:57.780
Do you want to get rid of this famine?

01:00:57.780 --> 01:00:58.780
Here's how.

01:00:58.780 --> 01:00:59.780
Voila.

01:01:01.780 --> 01:01:02.780
Find keys.

01:01:09.780 --> 01:01:10.780
Read the word to dismiss doubt.

01:01:10.780 --> 01:01:12.780
Read the word to dismiss doubt.

01:01:12.780 --> 01:01:14.780
Read the word to dismiss doubt.

01:01:14.780 --> 01:01:16.780
If you're getting to doubt, there's only one way to get out of it.

01:01:16.780 --> 01:01:17.780
Go to the word.

01:01:17.780 --> 01:01:19.780
Read the word to dismiss doubt.

01:01:19.780 --> 01:01:20.780
Oh God, I doubt you here.

01:01:20.780 --> 01:01:22.780
Well son, let me show you where to go.

01:01:22.780 --> 01:01:24.780
Here, read this about me.

01:01:24.780 --> 01:01:25.780
How many times did you read it, Jacob?

01:01:25.780 --> 01:01:26.780
Once.

01:01:26.780 --> 01:01:27.780
Read it about 16 times.

01:01:27.780 --> 01:01:28.780
Really?

01:01:28.780 --> 01:01:29.780
Yeah.

01:01:29.780 --> 01:01:30.780
And what will happen?

01:01:30.780 --> 01:01:32.780
It'll renew your mind and the way you think about me.

01:01:39.780 --> 01:01:40.780
I'm done.

01:01:40.780 --> 01:01:46.780
Numbers 23 and 19.

01:01:46.780 --> 01:01:49.780
Is God a man that he should lie?

01:01:49.780 --> 01:01:53.780
Is he like the son of man that he should say something and then take it back?

01:01:53.780 --> 01:01:54.780
Nope.

01:01:54.780 --> 01:01:57.780
And then listen to this verse.

01:01:57.780 --> 01:01:59.780
Second Corinthians 1, 20.

01:01:59.780 --> 01:02:04.780
Every promise of God is yes and amen in Christ.

01:02:04.780 --> 01:02:06.780
Psalm 92, the last verse.

01:02:06.780 --> 01:02:09.780
He's my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him.

01:02:09.780 --> 01:02:14.780
Go ahead.

01:02:14.780 --> 01:02:17.780
Which one?

01:02:17.780 --> 01:02:18.780
Oh yeah, yeah.

01:02:18.780 --> 01:02:26.780
Guys, vision is impossible to walk in if there is no faith for it because it's beyond you.

01:02:26.780 --> 01:02:29.780
Hey, and by the way, I've met with some of you once.

01:02:29.780 --> 01:02:31.780
I've been to a church in New York.

01:02:32.780 --> 01:02:36.780
Hey, and by the way, I've met with some of you while you're doing this vision thing.

01:02:36.780 --> 01:02:40.780
What I'm noticing is you're writing down the things God wants you to do.

01:02:40.780 --> 01:02:44.780
You're not writing down the dream that God has for you.

01:02:44.780 --> 01:02:48.780
If you weren't here for the last two or three weeks, go listen to the sermon.

01:02:48.780 --> 01:02:50.780
It's a crackerjack sermon.

01:02:50.780 --> 01:02:52.780
And so listen to it.

01:02:52.780 --> 01:02:54.780
It's really good.

01:02:54.780 --> 01:02:57.780
Do they say wicked anymore?

01:02:57.780 --> 01:02:58.780
They do?

01:02:58.780 --> 01:02:59.780
They do?

01:02:59.780 --> 01:03:03.780
So, but I guess it's not a right word to use in the church.

01:03:03.780 --> 01:03:08.780
You can't say wicked sermon, yeah.

01:03:08.780 --> 01:03:09.780
Yeah.

01:03:09.780 --> 01:03:12.780
So guys, here's the thing.

01:03:12.780 --> 01:03:16.780
I'm noticing that when you come and talk to me about your vision, ah, great.

01:03:16.780 --> 01:03:18.780
You just came right at the ending of the sermon.

01:03:18.780 --> 01:03:20.780
Great.

01:03:20.780 --> 01:03:21.780
Here's the thing.

01:03:21.780 --> 01:03:28.780
When you write your vision down, I'm noticing that many of you are writing down the things that God wants you to do.

01:03:28.780 --> 01:03:31.780
I'm asking that you do that.

01:03:31.780 --> 01:03:34.780
I'm also asking that you write down his dream for you.

01:03:34.780 --> 01:03:38.780
What's he dreaming about you?

01:03:38.780 --> 01:03:43.780
If that's not real, when you write, ah, I know how.

01:03:43.780 --> 01:03:48.780
You can ask Sue, Betty, Nick about this later or anybody else who's been a teacher in the past.

01:03:48.780 --> 01:03:53.780
When you write down your report at the end of the year for your child, what are you writing?

01:03:53.780 --> 01:03:59.780
You're usually, I think, writing that this boy has these abilities.

01:03:59.780 --> 01:04:01.780
I see him doing this.

01:04:01.780 --> 01:04:03.780
This is what he is good at.

01:04:03.780 --> 01:04:05.780
This is what he can aspire for.

01:04:05.780 --> 01:04:06.780
This is what he can become.

01:04:06.780 --> 01:04:12.780
There is a future casting of a teacher's dream for the child that you want to convey to the parents.

01:04:12.780 --> 01:04:15.780
That is what God wants us to do first.

01:04:15.780 --> 01:04:20.780
Only after that does he want us to put down a list of the things we are doing.

01:04:20.780 --> 01:04:23.780
Make a difference of that.

01:04:23.780 --> 01:04:35.780
All righty, we are done.

01:04:35.780 --> 01:04:38.780
Yep.

01:04:38.780 --> 01:04:41.780
All this time is on Diana now.

01:04:41.780 --> 01:04:46.780
Yeah.

01:04:46.780 --> 01:04:47.780
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:04:47.780 --> 01:04:56.780
I was trying to give a longer explanation since we have time.

01:04:56.780 --> 01:05:02.780
You heard what was said five years ago that we are entering a new Kairos and by all that,

01:05:02.780 --> 01:05:07.780
Greek was the word, we are entering a new Kairos.

01:05:07.780 --> 01:05:12.780
We are entering a fluid time of God doing new things.

01:05:12.780 --> 01:05:16.780
We will not be able to eat manna anymore.

01:05:16.780 --> 01:05:21.780
We will have to work with our hands to harvest what God will have us plant.

01:05:21.780 --> 01:05:23.780
What in the world does that mean?

01:05:23.780 --> 01:05:25.780
Now we have got to go figure that out.

01:05:25.780 --> 01:05:29.780
After figuring it out, we will have to use faith to make it happen.

01:05:29.780 --> 01:05:34.780
We have got nothing except a word that a man spoke a few years ago.

01:05:34.780 --> 01:05:40.780
We have got nothing except a word that a man spoke five years ago that has come to pass.

01:05:40.780 --> 01:05:41.780
This is how it works.

01:05:41.780 --> 01:05:47.780
Where now with faith, you begin to shape what God has said.

01:05:47.780 --> 01:05:48.780
Beautiful, huh?

01:05:48.780 --> 01:05:52.780
Which other people get the opportunity to do this?

01:05:52.780 --> 01:05:54.780
Just imagine what you are doing.

01:05:54.780 --> 01:05:55.780
Imagine what you are doing.

01:05:55.780 --> 01:05:58.780
God speaks.

01:05:58.780 --> 01:06:01.780
Be it the Logos word or the Rhema word.

01:06:01.780 --> 01:06:02.780
God speaks.

01:06:02.780 --> 01:06:05.780
You take those words and what do you do?

01:06:05.780 --> 01:06:08.780
You mix it with faith.

01:06:08.780 --> 01:06:17.780
And the words that God speaks, you use the hands of faith to shape it into something that is actually real.

01:06:17.780 --> 01:06:21.780
Which other people in the world get to do this?

01:06:21.780 --> 01:06:31.780
Tony Robbins has been trying it for thousands of years and after all the books he has written, he still can't get the hang of it.

01:06:31.780 --> 01:06:35.780
He is a positive thinker who is older than me.

01:06:35.780 --> 01:06:50.780
But the point is this, guys, we have this, I can't even tell you how my heart thrills at thinking that the words God speaks, I can now use faith so that he can have his desire here on earth.

01:06:50.780 --> 01:06:52.780
So that he can have his desire here on earth.

01:06:52.780 --> 01:06:54.780
Mary had to express faith.

01:06:54.780 --> 01:06:57.780
Let it be done to me as you will.

01:06:57.780 --> 01:07:00.780
Zechariah did not.

01:07:00.780 --> 01:07:07.780
I would rather speak while God is working than be dumb while God is working.

01:07:07.780 --> 01:07:20.780
So please, I beg you, in the year ahead, look at how there are certain areas where you and I haven't done well and changed those areas so that our faith does not fail.

01:07:20.780 --> 01:07:22.780
Yeah?

01:07:22.780 --> 01:07:27.780
I'm going to ask Joan how she is.