WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:06.080 Well, I'm excited about today because we're continuing our discussion on the journey of faith. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:12.400 You know, we've talked about the fact that faith is not just a one-time event, it's a journey. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:22.320 And it's both in our, you know, in our Christian walk, it's something that all of us are, I should say all of us have the opportunity to do. 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:28.480 And that's what we're going to talk about today, because just because we say we're a Christian doesn't mean we're on a journey of faith. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:33.359 So we need to make sure that we kickstart that, get it started, get it going. 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:37.840 The first part of it, what we talked about last time, is salvation. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:47.280 We hear the good news, we believe it, we act on it, we call on God, say, God, come into my life, come in, you know, come into my heart right now. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:55.759 And that is our first act of what we do after believing the word of the good news, and then that yields to salvation. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:02.719 And salvation is our is the start of us on our journey, or the opportunity to start on our journey. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:10.000 And we we talked about last time that the rest of our journey works exactly the same way. 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:13.519 We hear, we believe, and then we act. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:20.079 The first act of obedience is calling on the name of the Lord in response to hearing the good news. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:27.040 Now, in part two, we're going to focus on something that can actually hinder us on our journey, unbelief. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.640 How can a born-again Christian experience unbelief? 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:35.840 And the answer is every day. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:38.400 It comes into play all the time. 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:47.680 In the New Testament, there are two different words for the for um two different words in the Greek language for believe and faith. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:54.239 They're not, they're they're sometimes used interchangeably, but they really do have a difference. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:02:00.239 You know, and Hebrews talks about the fact that we need to rightly divide the word of God. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.159 We need to rightly look at it. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:04.000 And we're gonna that's kind of what we're gonna do. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:15.919 We're gonna kind of get into there with a sharper knife and start dividing in what are what are what are what is what is the scripture talking about when it says believe versus when it says we need to have faith. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:26.000 Um the word believe is you know, don't need to write this down, but it's pistuo, it's the Greek word pistuo, whereas the word faith is pistis. 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:29.919 So again, very similar origin of words. 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:37.759 Believe, though, has more the connotation of to think to be true, a mere acknowledgement of a fact or event. 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:41.360 In other words, yeah, I believe today is Sunday. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:48.719 You know, I believe that tomorrow is gonna be, you know, sunny and 62, because that's what the weatherman said. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:50.639 Now, do I say I have faith in that? 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:51.120 No. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:03:01.120 It's not, you know, because I'll all it's not, I'm not super con I'm not as 100% confident that the weatherman's gonna be 100% true, because they never are. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:09.520 They're doing their best guess, best effort, but I believe enough to maybe dress differently or act accordingly. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:14.159 Faith, though, is really more of a conviction of the truth. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:20.159 It is a, it is, there's the the ideas, the connotations are the word trust and confidence. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.439 You know, do I have confidence that I'll be going to work tomorrow? 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:23.919 Yeah. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.479 Do I, you know, do I have confidence that tomorrow's Monday? 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:27.680 Very much so. 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:33.039 Um, but so there's belief is it there's a need for belief. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:35.039 There's a need for believing. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:38.560 But that's kind of like that initial first step. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.439 Faith is something that can actually grow. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:48.319 Um so, and here's some verses that kind of differentiate, or at least use both words at the same time. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:59.199 Uh Galatians 2, 16, it says, Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Christ Jesus, not by obeying the law. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:12.719 And we have believed in Jesus Christ, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law, for no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:17.120 The key part of their second sentence, and we have believed in Jesus Christ. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:21.199 We kind of, okay, we believe that what he's saying is true. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:25.920 Now, the next step, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith. 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:33.279 So we, there's an initial kind of believing, and then as our the faith kind of gives us that more and more confidence. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:47.600 Also in Galatians 3.22, New King James says, but the scripture has confined all under sin that the promise by faith in Christ Jesus might be given to those who believe. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:05:02.800 So there's a promise by faith, it's a promise that's going to come down, you know, keep coming as we continue to have that confidence and that trust, but it comes from starting from believing, that starting point of believing. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:09.759 So the way I thought I started thinking about it is belief starts the car, but faith is the accelerator. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:11.360 Faith is the gas pedal. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:15.839 Because I can start the car and leave it in the driveway, and I ain't on a journey. 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:26.480 I'm sitting in my car, I'm in something that can get me places, but until I start putting it in drive and pressing the gas pedal, I'm not doing anything. 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.199 But it starts with belief. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:33.279 Because I can press the gas pedal all I want, I can put it in drive all I want. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:42.160 But if the car isn't started, or I guess I should use a you know, these these days, we we don't we don't turn keys hardly anymore, it's a push button. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.439 Um or you know, remote. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:49.519 But you know, well, so then the car I can't go anywhere without the car being started. 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:54.959 So I can't even start talking about faith until at least I've said I believe. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:00.800 Belief opens the door, faith explores the house. 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.040 Belief puts I'll say these again. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.720 Belief puts your foot on the next step. 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:18.000 Okay, I believe, I believe this step is here, but it's faith that's the muscle that actually propels me up and gets me higher. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:23.279 So belief says, okay, I believe I think there's something, some, I think there's a new place I can go. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:37.680 But faith is like, do I have the exercise, do I have the energy, do I have the the the will to actually propel myself up through that by by believing, by putting my full weight in there? 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.279 Believing is a switch. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:42.160 Off and on. 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:43.279 Chick-chick. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:47.120 Coding language, boolean, you know, it's it's either yes or no. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:49.439 It's it's it's it's only two choices. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:53.040 Binary, right. 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:59.279 It's not, I, you know, your your belief doesn't grow. 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:00.800 Your faith does. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:02.560 So belief is a switch. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:04.000 Faith is organic. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:06.079 Faith has to grow like a muscle. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.360 That's why I use that example of muscles all the time with it. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:11.600 Um and like a gas pedal. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:20.560 I can I can barely push my gas pedal and I can go 10 miles an hour, or I can go, hey, let's see what this thing can do, and push it down and go, now we're going. 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:22.399 Now we're getting somewhere. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:27.920 Now, please hear me, I'm not diminishing belief. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:34.800 I mean, we're we're we're looking at both of these as very important because according to the Bible, even believing is super powerful. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:43.519 Jesus said in Mark 9, 23, if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:48.319 And I in studying this, I never really started looking at the differences in this. 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:54.399 It didn't say you need to have really great faith to have all things possible for you. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:56.639 He said, you just need to believe. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:58.480 Flip that switch on. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:08.240 You don't need to have big muscles, you don't need to have a fast car, you don't need to have, you don't need to have all that experience and time to get your faith built up. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:13.199 Just that belief will get you all things as possible all things are possible. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:21.120 And immediately, this is when that father, you know, immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, said, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:23.279 He was flipping that switch off and on. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:26.800 He's like, I think I believe, I'm not sure if I believe. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:29.040 I think I believe, I'm not sure if I believe. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:37.039 I mean, that kind of he was at that point where he was just about to say, okay, I think I'm ready to keep this thing on. 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.919 And of course, he got his result. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.000 So I'll go through going through those differences again. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:54.000 Belief starts the car, faith is the gas pedal, belief opens the door, faith explores the house. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:59.279 Belief puts your foot on the next step, faith is a muscle that propels you up. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:02.879 Believing is a switch, but faith is organic. 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:14.159 If you look at the church worldwide, church global, I hear people refer to it as the Capital C church, the body of believers. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:22.720 Sadly, there's a lot of Christians out there who started the car and are just sitting in the driveway. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.039 They they have said, I'm saved. 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:32.559 And if you ask them, can God do this for you? 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:34.240 Well, yes, he's able. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:38.879 Well, knowing he's able is just like me saying, Yeah, there's a step there. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:41.840 But is that the step for me to go on? 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.879 Or does God not want that step for me? 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:46.320 I don't know yet. 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:50.720 They've got that belief off for something for them. 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:53.840 They believe fully that they're going to heaven. 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:55.919 They believe fully that they're saved. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.519 They've got that first step, and yes, they are going to heaven. 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:07.440 But the journey of faith, the Christian walk, is much more than just getting into the door, just much more than starting the car. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:23.840 When we hear a truth in the word, that God can save you, that God can heal you, that God can deliver, that God can protect, we do have a first, the first choice is do I flip that switch on? 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.879 And I think of it as like a panel of switches. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:28.559 I've got the faith of salvation. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:31.120 I got I believe I believe in salvation. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:38.639 Do I really believe in the deliverance and the meeting my needs and the and the providing healing for me? 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:41.200 I know God can. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:43.360 I know he's able to. 00:10:44.639 --> 00:11:00.320 But the believing that we're talking about, the believing that the Bible says, and the believing that Jesus referred to in this verse, that all things are all things are possible to him who believes, is the one who says, I believe that for me. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.480 A lot of people can say that. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.120 They know God, they've seen his power. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:20.320 But the devils aren't getting healed, the devils aren't getting saved. 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:28.480 So the believing we're talking about, the flipping the switch on, is me saying, okay, there's a step here. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.720 God wants to provide for all of my needs according to his riches. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:38.559 Okay, I'm gonna start believing that. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:40.240 I'm gonna believe that for me. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:49.519 But the for until we actually start taking that step fully and put our weight on it, that's when we have the faith for it. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:56.480 And that's when we are saying, Lord, I'm putting my confidence in you, I'm putting my full trust in you that you're gonna do it. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:03.679 We've got to do that first step, but we also have to start putting our weight on the step, otherwise we don't get anywhere. 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:12.480 So I want to talking about the journey of faith, I'm gonna talk, I'm gonna use a really good example in the Bible, and that's the the children of Israel. 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:24.000 But we're gonna read kind of a condensed summary of their journey in Hebrews, because we we do have to read pretty much all of Exodus and Numbers to get through their entire journey. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:28.000 It's a lot of back and forth, as many of us know. 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:30.799 So we're gonna read from Hebrews 3. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:33.039 I'll start with verse 5. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:34.960 This is New Living. 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:40.320 Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant. 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:44.720 His work was an illustration of the truths that God would reveal later. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:56.480 But Christ as the Son is in charge of God's entire house, and we are God's house if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:07.360 That is why the Holy Spirit says, Today, when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts, as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:15.279 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:20.639 So I was angry with them, and I said, Their hearts always turn away from me. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.519 They refused to do what I tell them. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:28.559 In my anger I took an oath, they will never enter my place of rest. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:38.960 Be careful, then, dear brothers and sisters, make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:48.559 You must warn each other every day, while it is still called today, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:59.759 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:09.039 Remember what it says, today when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:15.840 Even when you read that passage, you see some, he repeats it, harden your heart. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:17.200 Israel rebelled. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:19.600 They had an opportunity. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:25.919 And that kind of summarizes the 40 years of the children of Israel in the wilderness. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:40.639 God prophesied to Abraham back in Genesis 15, I think it is, when God told Abraham he was going to have many kids, and Abraham would say, Well, how will I know this is true? 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.639 Basically, you know, what's how will I know this will come to pass? 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:47.279 You know the sign that God told him? 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:55.519 He said, Your descendants will live in slavery for 400 years, and then they'll be redeemed. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.639 That was God's saying, This is how you'll know. 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:02.000 I mean, so Abraham never got to see that sign. 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:06.000 But that was what the Lord said in response to him, how will I know? 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:13.279 He said, Your descendants are going to live in being taken, they'll be slaves for 400 years. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.120 That's exactly how many years they were slaves in Egypt. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:23.360 And then God delivered, you know, God brought Moses in, brought him out with a mighty hand, brought him out. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:27.360 The Bible says they spoiled the Egyptians, they took the wealth of Egypt with them. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:34.720 God gave them favor, they literally took their riches and their possessions with them into a desert where they couldn't spend it. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:37.200 You know, so they had all this stuff. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:43.200 And immediately within a few days, they're like, You brought us out here to kill us, Moses. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.440 Let's go back. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:50.559 Or they you know, they hit the they hit the Red Sea and they're like, You're all gonna die here. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:54.960 And they said that, and we talked about this in Bible study uh Wednesday night too. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:59.759 They said that so many times that we're gonna die out here in the wilderness, we're gonna die out here in the wilderness. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:08.799 Finally, the Lord said, Okay, what you have what you say, you're gonna die out here in the wilderness. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:27.519 Because he tried to work and work, and they were seeing literal miracles, a cloud of, I mean, daily, a cloud by day that protected them from the sun in the desert, a fire at night that kept them warm, water coming out of rocks, a sea parting and going across on dry ground. 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:37.200 I mean, you would think the kind of things that you know people are always asking for signs, they saw signs daily, and yet still like, I don't know. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:39.039 I I don't know about this God. 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:41.279 I'm not sure about, I don't know. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:42.879 Let's in fact, you know what? 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:47.919 Let's go ahead and make a little golden calf, and let's that that's the God who brought us out of Egypt. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.720 This little thing we just made with our the gold we just brought out of Egypt. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:54.639 Let's make a little idol. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:00.799 It doesn't, you know, man is so ignorant when we turn away from God. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:05.359 It's so idiotic that it doesn't make sense. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:11.599 They had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to trust God, and they didn't do it. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:18.799 And God says, summarizing here in Hebrews, every time they did that, their heart was getting a little bit harder. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:29.759 It was starting to calcify and starting to really get to the point where God's like, okay, there's you're you're you can't you're not gonna change. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.119 And he knew their heart, not they're not at that point, they're not gonna change. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:38.559 He's like, okay, so anybody 20 years and up, you got what you said. 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:40.720 My word's still gonna come true. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:46.480 I'm still gonna bring the children of Israel, the people of Israel, into the promised land, like I said I would. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:49.359 But this whole population won't be a part of it. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:59.279 So when he's saying it to us here in Hebrews, he's saying, make sure, remind each other daily, do it while it's called today. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:00.480 When is it called today? 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:02.160 Today, every day. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:03.920 Do this regularly. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:06.240 Remind yourself, don't harden your heart. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:09.920 Don't ignore the word of the Lord. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:17.359 Don't just go, I'm seeing, I think there's a God who can deliver us, but I'm not sure if I believe that. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:21.119 That's where it connects to what we're talking about today. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:27.440 They were seeing literal signs of God doing things in their lives, and yet they still did not believe. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:45.279 How much more do we need to force, you know, really push ourselves and push each other, encourage each other when we don't have a fire warming us at night and a cloud, you know, an angel of God has a cloud by day and manna showing up every morning on our doorsteps. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:53.119 We still have to believe that God moves, God acts, and not just that he can, but that he will. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:56.640 And as we do that, then we start believing. 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:02.640 And every time we say we believe, we're softening our heart. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:04.640 We're not hardening our heart. 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.680 We're keeping our heart tender toward God, as the Bible says. 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:09.920 We're keeping an honest heart, as the Bible says. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:12.079 The Bible talks a lot about a heart. 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:13.759 This is the heart we don't want. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:15.519 We don't want a hardened heart. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:19.440 We want a heart that's that's always for God. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:36.000 You know, there's a number of examples, this is one of them, where there were people in the Bible who had an op who messed up and had an opportunity to repent and turn around, and they didn't, and they kept defending themselves. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:41.759 There's one of them, I didn't plan on talking about this too long, but Saul did that. 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:48.720 Saul was the first king of Israel, appointed by God, but and prayed, you know, Samuel came and anointed him. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:54.720 But it came to a certain point where he was given something to do. 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:58.000 He didn't do it all. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:59.759 Samuel came and confronted him. 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:02.480 And he kept defending himself. 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:04.319 He kept saying, blaming other people. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:07.680 He kept trying to excuse himself rather than repent. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:12.319 All he had to do was repent, and he would have been right back into favor with God. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:15.599 But he kept, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.599 I'm gonna get my I'm I'm right, I'm doing my way, I'm doing my way. 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:22.640 And he kept getting further and further, hardening, hardening, hardening his heart. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.319 And finally God said, Man, I'm I'm I repent. 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:30.720 The King James says that I made him king, because his heart's not after me. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:36.720 And he said, I'm gonna I'm gonna appoint, anoint somebody whose heart is after me. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.079 It's literally what he said. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:42.559 So he said, I'm gonna I'm gonna appoint the next king, it's gonna have a different heart. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:44.160 And it was David. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:54.799 God wants our heart, and our heart stays soft and tender because we continually go, Lord, I believe. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:56.559 I flipped that switch. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:05.599 I believe you can heal me, I believe you can you can protect my kids, I believe you can deliver me in this situation. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:12.720 I believe that you have salvation for my life and my family's life and my work life everywhere, every way. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:26.960 And we when we start keeping those keeping those steps, keeping that switch turned on of believing, the further we walk, the more our faith starts growing because we see God move, the more we see, and the more we can believe for. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:31.759 Okay, Lord, you met my need for a$10 need. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:39.519 You know, now it's a$100 need, now it's a$1,000 need, now it's a$10,000 need. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:47.279 Now, you know, and we so it's not just a believing that God can provide, it's that God can provide that next level, that next step. 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.240 And that's where the that's why it's a journey. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:56.400 And that's why we can't just stay in the driveway because there's so much more that God wants to do for you. 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:57.839 Just like the children of Israel. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:03.440 He's like, I've got all this prepared for you, I've got this land, but you gotta believe me. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:08.319 And they were and they, you know, twice they needed water. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:20.079 The first time God brought it from a rock through Moses, the second time they had the same complaint, not even going, oh whoa, yeah, okay, God did this last time, we know he'll do it again. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.640 They're like, no, we're gonna die again. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:32.480 And you know, Jesus had the same problem with the disciples because they he rebuked them many times for their unbelief. 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:42.160 And if you think about the disciples, here are a group of people who are literally touching shoulders with the Son of God. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:53.759 I mean, if we said, we we always say, you know, I'd love to, Lord, I'd love to, you know, to see a vision of you, to meet you in person, and we think that would answer all of our unbelief problems. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.960 It doesn't. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:59.839 They were literally touching him, eating bread with him, walking the streets with him. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:07.440 And yet when things happened in their life, just like it does in ours, they're like, we're gonna die, you know, just in the boat. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.160 Like, don't you care that we're gonna perish, Lord? 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:15.440 You know, people were, and he said, Where's your where's your faith? 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:19.200 Where why can't you believe why aren't you believing? 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:38.079 So for us to continue to keep our hearts softened, for us to keep taking that next step of believing, first of all, we have to just make that choice that I'm gonna believe that God can do this because he said he would. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:44.880 And then we do it for the small things, it starts getting better and better and bigger and bigger as we go. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:53.599 There's other examples. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:24:09.920 I I didn't want to get spend the time on these, but there's there's other examples even in the New Testament where they were following God and then somehow got their hard heart hardened to a point where even God Paul Paul has some examples. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:12.640 Um, actually, no, I do have this verse in here. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:15.920 Um look at 1 Timothy. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.440 This is 1 Timothy 1 19. 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:25.599 Cling to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:33.119 For some people have deliberately violated their consciences, as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:34.799 What does that mean? 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:42.400 Okay, I've switched on my my switch of believing for salvation. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:49.279 And I hear in the word that God can God can provide for my needs. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:57.359 You know, my kids need daycare, my my my rent bill is due, my house payments due, I need a new car. 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:01.599 But uh, you know what? 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.640 I don't I just don't know if I can believe that for me right now. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:05.920 I'm just not at that place. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:08.799 So I'm gonna start, I'm just gonna go and do what I need to do. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:22.799 I'm gonna get that extra job, I'm gonna go start uh you know doing other things in the flesh to try to get that to happen, to try to get that to come to pass, because I'm not sure, I mean I I hear it, but I'm not sure I can believe that God can do that for me. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:25.359 That just seems too impossible. 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:36.640 And we it's it's violating our conscience because our conscience is saying, this is this is right. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:38.799 What God is saying is true. 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:41.359 Read the word, look, you know, I've seen this happen. 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:47.200 Our conscience is saying, trust God, our conscience being our spirit within us. 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:50.559 And we're going, I just can't right now. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.599 I'm not at that place. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:54.000 I'm gonna have to do this on my own. 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:55.680 And we've we've all done it. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:59.519 We've all done the the Abraham and Ishmael. 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:05.279 You know, let's go ahead and get, let's go ahead and, you know, God's giving me a word, it's not really happening as fast as I thought it would. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:06.960 I'm not really sure this is gonna happen. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:11.920 So I'm just gonna step out and start trying to produce this result myself. 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:14.640 That's what Paul is saying here. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:24.160 Cling, keep that faith, keep that, keep your faith in Christ with a good grasp on it, but keep your conscience clear. 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:31.119 And he says in verse 20 here, he named two people, Himanius and Alexander, are two examples. 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:36.079 I threw them out, handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:49.440 I'm not gonna get into all that, throw out the Satan part, but he's giving an example of two people who violated their conscience so much that he basically had to say, out of the church. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:27:01.359 You've hardened your heart to the point that we can't work with you, that either Satan's gonna have to take you, or there's gonna have to be a repentance. 00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:02.720 He did the same thing. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:04.079 Paul said the same words. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:10.799 I've given him over to Satan with the person in Corinthians who was in adultery. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:24.240 You know, he in 1 Corinthians he he's like, hey, you guys got somebody who's sleeping with his mother-in-law, uh uh stepmom, um, and you're not even doing anything about it. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:29.519 Throw him out, get rid of, you know, get him out of the church because it's affecting you. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:37.519 Don't, you know, don't put your arms around them, don't pray for him, kick him out, give them over to Satan is what he said, same words. 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:46.559 2 Corinthians, the guy repents, comes back, and now Paul's telling him, love him, embrace him as a brother, because he repented. 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:48.000 He softened his heart. 00:27:48.240 --> 00:28:04.559 Now we don't know what happened to Hymeneus and Alexander here, but the point is, people can get to a point, Saul, these two examples, children of Israel, that their heart gets hardened over time, and God says, I can't do anything more with you. 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:14.160 And either it's the shock of God saying, Okay, you're done, that hopefully repentance comes eventually, like the man in Corinthians. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:18.559 But more examples in the word are that never happens. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:23.839 Saul became so hardened against God that he started trying to kill David. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:27.359 He tried to come against the men of God. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:30.160 He never spoke to Samuel again after that moment. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:32.079 He never had a relationship with him anymore. 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:37.119 He never had his priest, his prophet available to him anymore. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:39.519 And he started seeing witches, literally. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:47.440 And those kind of actions and activities happened because time after time he hardened his heart against God. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:49.440 He didn't believe the word. 00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:53.039 That's how important belief is. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:57.119 That's how important it is to keep unbelief out of our lives. 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:02.000 Because we can say that we're a Christian and yes, we're going to heaven. 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:06.640 But if we get to heaven and God said, I had all these other things planned for you. 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:08.880 I could have helped you there, helped you there. 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:11.200 Why didn't you let me? 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.200 And we're like, that was me stopping that? 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:17.519 Not you not wanting to do it. 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.079 We don't want to be in that position. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:28.079 We don't want to be in the spot that we look back and go, oh, that was my fault. 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:36.720 Um when we're talking about the journey of faith, we God has given us so much grace. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:38.799 He's done so much for us. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:41.519 And yes, he can do anything. 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:44.160 He has he has he is a great big God. 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:49.440 But any anything is possible to him who believes. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:57.279 Anything is possible to him who flips that switch and says, Thank you, Lord, that you can heal me. 00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:59.680 Thank you, Lord, that you can deliver me. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:18.880 Thank you, Lord, that in a situation that seems impossible at work, and I've had a few of them in the past year, that it felt like it was an impossible situation with a person who felt it seemed like it was just a person resisting something that was going on. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:26.319 And I finally stopped focusing on the person and went to God about it. 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:33.440 And one, the situation cleared up back in the fall, and now that person's not even there at the company. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:41.519 And it's a C-suite level, meaning it was not it, it was only God that could do things. 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:43.759 But I went to God about it. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:45.680 I said, God, I need deliverance. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:49.279 This, you know, this project that we're on needs deliverance. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.599 And God came through. 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:59.839 And at first I had to turn that switch on because I was just so used to not, you know, going my own route and going the you know, the whatever route. 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:04.480 You know, first of all, the worry route, which never really solves anything. 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:13.519 The second of all is the flesh route of, okay, I'm gonna try to build relationships and communicate and do all the buzzwords that we have at work. 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:16.160 That only goes so far. 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:19.759 But then I flipped on the belief switch. 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:25.680 Lord, I believe you can deliver me from deliver, it wasn't just me, it delivered this situation. 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:29.119 I'm a part of it, but I believe you can deliver this situation. 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:32.559 And as soon as I did, things started happening. 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:35.359 Something that only God can do. 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:38.319 And he can do that for us every day. 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:46.240 So when we heard and you know, for the word for 2025, don't fear like they fear, don't put your trust in God, fear God. 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:51.519 That's why, because there's so much that we couldn't do anyway. 00:31:51.839 --> 00:32:00.960 So why not believe God and keep our hearts soft toward Him and keep our conscience clear. 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:01.920 Amen? 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:11.200 Now, you know, I say this, and some people might go, well, am I getting close to being kicked out and handed over to Satan? 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:11.759 No. 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:18.000 Because I see the hearts of the people that are part of our church. 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:21.119 We have hearts that are that are toward God. 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.880 You can you can tell when there's a heart. 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:44.480 I've seen it in the past, and not here in this state, but I've seen it happen with people and seen the result of somebody that I knew in the church whose heart got so hardened that they just they started doing whack-a-doodle things, out, you know, left the church or were kicked out, and then just like they were never a Christian in the first place. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:50.160 I've seen it happen, but none of us are close. 00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:54.400 But that doesn't mean we need to watch out for the line. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:58.000 You know, if the line's over there, don't even get close to it. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:01.039 You know, it's not it's like our kids getting close to the highway. 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:09.119 It's like, yeah, the curb's right here, but I don't want you standing on the curb and you know, watching a car buzz by you at you know two feet away. 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:10.640 Stay away from the line. 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:16.960 In fact, get further from the line, soften your heart, soften your heart, soften your heart toward God. 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:25.200 So, how do we prevent it from happening to us? 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:28.640 One, we do what Hebrews says, watch out for unbelief. 00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:42.720 And when you when your mind and your flesh wants to say, I don't know if I can believe that yet, let that be the little warning bulb and say, No, I need to, I need to, I need to make effort to believe this. 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:45.920 And then two, put action to your faith. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:47.200 Put action to your belief. 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:54.240 Yeah, flip that switch on once you once you have decided, I'm going to believe that, God will tell you to do something. 00:33:55.279 --> 00:33:57.359 He'll give you a word, he'll give you an action. 00:33:57.599 --> 00:34:01.599 Faith, and this is this is really where faith comes into play. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:04.000 Faith always has an action. 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:05.920 There's always an action. 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:13.840 So faith isn't just a ethereal thing that we can say we have or not. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:16.880 Faith always has an action. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:22.719 The book of James puts it this way, and this is this is the amplified, which I don't have on the screen. 00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:31.840 So the amplified says, but someone will say to you then, You say you have faith, and I have good works. 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:41.760 Now you show me your alleged faith apart from any good works, if you can, and I, by good works of obedience, will show you my faith. 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:51.360 Love the way it kind of fleshes out that that fra that sentence, because King James is just faith without works is dead, or I'll show you my faith by my works. 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:59.679 You show me your alleged faith apart from any good works, because how can you have faith if you're not doing anything about it? 00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:06.239 If you can, and I, by my good works of obedience, will show you my faith. 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:08.880 Uh sorry, that's James 2.18. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:11.039 James 2.18. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:12.400 That's amplified. 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:17.440 You know, Jesus commended the church in the book of Revelation. 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:21.920 There's seven churches that Jesus is talking to and sends a letter and sends a letter to. 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:39.679 Um, and the church at Thyatira, he says, um, I'll put it on screen, I know all the things you do, I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance, and I can see your constant improvement in all these things. 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:44.719 He's commending them because he didn't just say, I see your faith. 00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:50.719 There's service involved in that, there's action involved in that, there's love, there's patient endurance. 00:35:50.880 --> 00:35:57.840 There's things that are along with that that are not just, yeah, it looks like you have faith. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:01.280 You know, no, there's there's action that followed with it. 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:10.320 Our journey of faith begins with believing the good news of salvation. 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:22.800 But step after step in our journey is only progressed by believing the word and acting on it in faith, keeping your conscience clear and your obedience on the ready. 00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:24.239 That takes work. 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:34.880 That takes labor, it takes uh it takes a fight because the devil's trying to always constantly push that unbelief, push that, don't flip that switch. 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:37.039 You don't know what's gonna happen if you do. 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:48.079 God's gonna call you to Africa and make you be a missionary and leave everything you have, and you know, He, you know, He's trying to not get you to flip that switch. 00:36:48.159 --> 00:36:49.599 Don't turn that car on. 00:36:50.639 --> 00:36:54.800 But once we do, then we gotta still say, okay, Lord, I'm ready to go. 00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:55.840 Where are we going? 00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:59.760 What's my next, where am I, what do I need to do to be obedient to this? 00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:01.760