Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000815
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01:00 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
01:02 And welcome to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting. 01:05 This year, our theme is The Year of Victory. 01:09 And, you know, for some of you at home, 01:10 you may not know what a camp meeting is. 01:13 Let's tell them what it's all about. 01:14 It's fun, isn't it? 01:16 Amen. 01:17 And what we do? 01:21 Camp meeting is a time that we set aside 01:24 special days for the Lord 01:25 and we come together and we worship our Lord, 01:28 we enjoy good music, good teaching, 01:30 get into the Bible. 01:32 It's a time to recharge your battery, 01:34 just be spiritually refreshed, 01:37 meet up with old friends 01:38 and meet some new friends, isn't it? 01:40 So we're so glad that all of you are here today. 01:43 And because our theme is The Year of Victory, 01:47 I thought that 01:48 what I'm going to be teaching on today 01:50 I wanted to tie into the theme. 01:52 And there's something that the Bible says, 01:55 is the victory that overcomes the world. 01:57 What is that? Faith. 01:59 So we're gonna be talking about faith today 02:02 right after Jennifer LaMountain doing this beautiful song 02:06 "The Chasing of the Wind." 02:08 Jennifer. 02:34 Every heart 02:39 Is filled with longing 02:43 To be free 02:47 From all life's pain 02:51 Yet the search 02:56 Through earthly pleasures 03:01 Always ends 03:07 In vain 03:10 Only God 03:13 Who made the heavens 03:18 Can satisfy 03:22 Our souls 03:26 Apart from Him 03:30 And all His meaning 03:35 All things fail 03:39 As they begin 03:44 And hearts deceived 03:48 Can only know 03:54 A chasing 03:58 Of the wind 04:06 All achievements, 04:11 All possessions 04:14 These all with time 04:18 Return to dust 04:22 Only God 04:25 Can be our reason 04:30 For deep 04:33 And quiet trust 04:37 He will guard us 04:42 From the dangers 04:47 That gladly 04:50 Make men fools 04:54 Apart from Him 04:58 and all His meaning 05:02 All things fail 05:07 As they begin 05:11 And hearts deceived 05:15 Can only know 05:21 A chasing 05:25 Of the wind 05:31 A chasing 05:35 Of the wind 05:44 Why do we live 05:47 Without Jesus? 05:54 Why do we waste 05:57 Another day? 06:03 He is the life 06:06 That sustains us 06:12 The only hope 06:15 For us today 06:19 So tell me, 06:23 Why do we live 06:27 Why do we live 06:31 Without Him? 06:55 Amen. 06:57 Thank you, Jennifer. 06:59 You know what amazes me 07:01 when you see some of these artists come out 07:04 and they're pregnant 07:06 and they can still sing like that, 07:07 it seems like that would really be a difficult thing. 07:11 Well, before we begin our study today, 07:13 let's go before the Lord in prayer. 07:16 Loving Father God, 07:19 Father, we do enter Your gates 07:21 with thanksgiving in our hearts. 07:22 And we thank You so much 07:25 for everything that You have already done for us, 07:28 and for everything that You will do, 07:30 and are doing even those things of which we are unaware. 07:34 We praise You, Father, for Your Calvary plan, 07:37 we praise You 07:39 that Your plan is for us 07:41 to be totally dependent upon You. 07:44 And, Lord, I come to You right now today. 07:47 I'm asking in the name of Jesus 07:50 that You would not let me be out here by myself. 07:53 I ask Father that You would empty me of me 07:55 and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. 07:57 Lord, this is about You. 07:59 It's not about me, 08:01 and I pray in Jesus' name, Father, 08:03 get me out of the way and speak through me 08:06 as we look to Your Word, Father, 08:08 to gain a deeper understanding of faith. 08:12 I pray in Jesus' name 08:13 that You will do a work in each one of our hearts. 08:17 Father, help us to understand 08:21 who you are and who we are in You 08:23 and help us to understand Your plan. 08:26 We ask this in the name of Jesus'. 08:28 Amen. Amen. 08:31 If you will, please open your Bibles 08:33 to Hebrews Chapter 12. 08:37 Hebrews Chapter 12. 08:39 Now this is following 08:40 the great Hall of Fame of Faith, 08:45 the Faith Chapter, Hebrews Chapter 11. 08:48 But I just want to remind you that the Bible tells us 08:51 in Romans 14:23 08:54 that anything that we do 08:57 that is not from faith is sin. 09:02 How important is it for us to understand faith? 09:07 Let's look at Hebrews Chapter 12. 09:11 Beginning in verse 1, the Bible says, 09:13 "Therefore we also, 09:15 since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 09:20 let us lay aside every weight, 09:23 and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 09:27 and let us run with endurance the race 09:31 that is set before us." 09:33 What is this race? 09:35 "Looking unto Jesus, 09:37 the author and finisher of our faith, 09:41 who for the joy that was set before Him 09:45 endured the cross, 09:46 despising the shame, 09:48 and has sat down 09:50 at the right hand of the throne of the Father." 09:54 We are in a race of faith 09:57 and the Bible tells us 09:59 that we need to have our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, 10:04 the author, the perfecter of our faith. 10:08 Did you know in Galatians 5:6, 10:13 Paul makes this statement? 10:15 He says, "The only thing 10:20 that counts or avails anything in the kingdom 10:25 is faith working through love." 10:30 What is faith? 10:33 We know Hebrews 11:6 says, 10:36 "Without faith, 10:38 it is impossible to please God." 10:43 Impossible. 10:45 And he says because those who come to Him 10:49 must believe in Him and believe that He exists, 10:53 and that He rewards those 10:55 who earnestly seek Him. 10:58 I remember once when... 11:00 I mean, we're all very familiar with this scripture, 11:03 but, you know, I talk to God like 11:05 I would talk to my earthly father. 11:08 And I came to Him one day 11:09 and this scripture as I was studying, 11:11 it stuck out so much in my mind. 11:14 And I was in one of those times when it was a time of turmoil. 11:18 And I said to the Lord, "Father, 11:20 why is it impossible to please You without faith." 11:24 Lord Jesus, You walked this earth, 11:27 you know what it's like down here. 11:30 We don't know 11:32 the end from the beginning like You do, Lord. 11:34 So why, when I am faithless, 11:37 why is it impossible to please You? 11:41 And I was really seeking God for the answer. 11:45 Well, it didn't come until a couple of days later. 11:48 And I want you to turn to 1 John Chapter 5. 11:52 I'm just praying and asking God 11:54 show me, Lord, 11:56 why is it impossible to please You without faith? 12:00 And a couple of days later, I opened the Bible. 12:03 And I was at 1 John Chapter 5. 12:07 Actually, I'm going to read it to you. 12:09 You know, I don't know 12:11 if you notice last night on the panel, 12:13 but when he asked if anybody's Bibles 12:15 falling apart, I picked mine up, 12:17 mine's in about 12 sections right now. 12:20 I had a hard time 12:21 getting it back into order last night. 12:24 It was out of order. 12:25 But let's look at this. 12:27 1 John 5:10. 12:31 "He who believes 12:34 in the Son of God 12:35 has the testimony within himself, 12:38 he who does not believe God 12:41 has made Him out to be," what? 12:46 "A liar." 12:48 Let's pause on that for just a moment. 12:50 "He who does not believe God 12:54 has made him out 12:57 to be a liar." 13:00 No wonder, 13:02 it's impossible to please God without faith. 13:07 If you don't come to this Word, 13:09 and come to His promises, 13:11 and come to everything 13:13 that the Revelation of what God has told us, 13:15 if you don't accept this 13:18 and say, Lord, I don't care 13:20 what my circumstances look like, 13:22 Your Word says it, I believe it. 13:24 I'm walking in faith, not by sight. 13:29 If you don't believe God, 13:32 it's like you're saying, 13:33 Lord, yes, You said that if I were tithe, 13:36 I could test you in this 13:38 and you would open up the storehouse, 13:41 the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing 13:43 that I couldn't contain. 13:46 But, Lord, I'm not sure that I can trust You in that. 13:50 You know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense 13:52 how I can get by on 90% better than I can on 100%. 13:57 So, Lord, 13:59 I just not sure that I can believe that 14:02 you calling God a liar. 14:05 See, without faith, it is impossible to please God. 14:08 By the way, 14:10 I want to finish this in context. 14:13 From time to time I meet precious souls 14:17 who are yearning to go home 14:22 and be with the Lord. 14:24 And yet they have no assurance of salvation. 14:29 Let me tell you something, 14:31 you can have assurance of salvation. 14:34 Now I know that there's gonna be somebody 14:35 who's gonna write to me and say, "That's not true." 14:38 I'm not saying once saved, always saved 14:42 because we can certainly 14:44 turn from the Lord and be lost. 14:46 But you, if you are abiding in Jesus Christ, 14:51 you can have assurance of salvation. 14:54 It's a gift. 14:55 It's nothing you can earn. Praise the Lord. 14:57 I praise Him all the time, saying, "Father, I thank You." 15:01 That salvation is by grace through faith 15:05 because I know there's nothing that I could ever do 15:09 to earn my way to heaven. 15:11 And let's look while we're here in 1 John 5:10. 15:15 "He who does not believe God 15:17 has made him out to be a liar. 15:21 And this is the testimony, 15:24 God gave us eternal life, 15:27 and this life is in His Son. 15:30 He who possesses the Son 15:33 has the life." 15:37 Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? 15:40 Have you surrendered control of your life to Him? 15:43 You may not be perfect 15:44 but you can absolutely be guaranteed 15:49 that God is faithful. 15:50 He promises in Philippians 1:6, 15:52 He will complete the good work that He has begun in you. 15:57 So you can have assurance of salvation, 15:59 as long as you are keeping your eyes focused 16:02 on Jesus Christ, 16:04 the Author and Finisher of your faith. 16:06 Hallelujah. 16:08 He who does not have the Son 16:12 does not have that life. 16:17 Not everyone will have eternal life. 16:19 Immortality is a gift that we get on that last day. 16:24 Now, I went to the Lord 16:27 as I was considering this, 16:30 and I said, "Father, I don't understand faith." 16:34 Generally speaking, if we're going to, 16:36 if I ask you for a definition of faith, 16:39 what scripture you're gonna quote to me? 16:41 Hebrews 11:1, 16:43 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, 16:45 the evidence of things not yet seen." 16:48 And, you know what? 16:50 We have new Christians, new believers, 16:52 who come into the church, 16:54 or maybe they're not a believer, 16:55 and they're just trying to understand 16:56 what's going on in our life 16:58 and somebody will say, 17:00 "Explain faith to me." 17:02 And we say, 17:03 "Well, faith is the substance of things hoped for, 17:06 the evidence of things not yet seen." 17:09 And they stand there and say, 17:10 "Yes, what does that mean?" 17:12 And we go, 17:14 "Well, faith is the substance of things hoped for." 17:18 You know, we don't see it yet. 17:20 We're just hoping for it. 17:22 And they go, "Okay, thank you." 17:23 And they walk away and they don't understand 17:25 because you didn't understand 17:27 and you couldn't explain it to them. 17:29 I think that Christians are walking 17:32 in a lesser degree of victory 17:36 than we could be simply 17:38 because we have these wonderful words 17:42 that we don't understand. 17:45 You know, let me give you a test. 17:47 Explain sanctification, explain propitiation, 17:50 explain atonement, 17:52 explain grace, explain faith. 17:55 When we start trying to define this, 17:57 we are so limited in our own understanding. 18:01 And it's kind of some of these words they have... 18:06 They're kind of a nebulous or ethereal. 18:08 It's like faith 18:10 is this floaty substance up here. 18:13 So I'm asking the Lord, I said, "Father, 18:15 if You want me to teach 18:16 and You want me to be a woman of faith, 18:18 You've got to teach me what faith is." 18:21 And as I began studying, the Lord gave me seven steps 18:24 that I want to share with you. 18:26 I'm gonna have to share it rather quickly 18:28 'cause I didn't realize how much time I was taking up. 18:30 But let's look at seven steps to faith. 18:35 The very foundation of faith 18:37 and step number one is trust. 18:41 The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6, 18:45 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, 18:49 and lean not on your own understanding, 18:52 in all your ways acknowledge Him, 18:54 and He will direct your paths." 18:57 Okay. 18:58 If I am going to not be leaning 19:01 on my own understanding, 19:04 whose understanding do I need to lean on? 19:07 God's understanding. Where am I gonna find that? 19:10 Right here. 19:12 Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, 19:14 lean not on your human, 19:17 limited wisdom, 19:21 your limited vision, 19:23 go to the word to find the answer. 19:26 Lean on God's Word. 19:30 The Bible tells us in Romans 10:17 that, 19:33 "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing 19:36 by the Word of God." 19:38 If you want faith, you've got to get 19:41 into the Word of God. 19:45 Paul wrote to Timothy 19:47 in 2 Timothy 3:15-17. 19:51 He said, "From childhood you have known 19:53 the Holy Scriptures, 19:55 which are able to make you wise 19:58 for salvation through faith, 20:02 through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 20:07 Hallelujah. 20:10 Why can we trust 20:14 in God? 20:17 Why do you trust in God? 20:19 I thought about that. 20:22 Well, number one, He's all powerful. 20:25 That's a good reason 20:26 you could trust in someone, isn't it? 20:28 He's also consistent. 20:30 He says in Malachi 3:6, 20:32 "I am the Lord, I change not." 20:35 In Hebrews 13:8 says that 20:37 "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 20:41 Have you ever noticed that you can't trust someone 20:45 who's not consistent? 20:48 If you've got a dog, 20:50 and you come home one night from work 20:52 and you're petting it and you're being so sweet 20:54 to that little dog, and the next night 20:56 you come home from working you kick it 21:00 and then the next day you come home 21:01 and you're loving on it, 21:03 the next day you come home and you're kicking it, 21:04 does that dog trust you? 21:07 That dog is gonna cower. 21:09 So you cannot trust someone who's inconsistent. 21:13 That's why you can't trust a liar. 21:16 But we can trust God. 21:18 And we can trust Him because He is love. 21:22 And He demonstrated this love for us 21:25 by sending His Son to die for us 21:28 while we were yet sinners, hallelujah. 21:31 And we can trust the Lord 21:32 because He has 21:35 your eternal benefit in mind. 21:39 You know, we all know Romans 8:28. 21:43 In Romans 8:28, 21:45 now, let me get started here, Romans 8:28 says, 21:48 "All things work together 21:50 for the good of those who love the Lord 21:51 and are called according to His purpose." 21:55 Oh, how do you say that 21:58 to a mother who's just lost her son 22:01 and her husband in a car accident? 22:05 How do you go up and quote this scripture 22:06 and say, all things work together for the good? 22:11 If somebody came and told me that 22:13 in those circumstances, I want to slug them. 22:16 But see, we can't take Romans 8:28 out of context. 22:20 You should never quote Romans 8:28 22:22 unless you add Romans 8:29 22:25 because they come together, 22:27 "All things work together for good 22:29 for those who love the Lord 22:30 and are called according to His purpose 22:33 because those He foreknew, 22:35 He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." 22:40 The way He works all things together for good 22:43 is He works them out for our eternal benefit 22:46 by conforming us to the image of His Son. 22:49 So even in the circumstances of a woman 22:52 who has lost her husband and her child 22:55 in a car accident, 22:57 God can work that out for her eternal benefit. 23:00 He can conform her a little more 23:02 to the image of Jesus, drawing her closer to Him, 23:06 trusting in Him more. 23:09 Learning how to be comforted 23:13 in a time of sorrow. 23:16 Everything that God does is for our eternal benefit. 23:19 Step number two, 23:21 trust is the foundation. 23:22 That's the first step. 23:24 The second step is hope. 23:27 But hope in the Greek means something entirely different 23:32 than the way we use it in the English. 23:35 You know, someone told me last year. 23:38 JD and I've been married 20 years. 23:40 We've had two three-day vacations 23:42 in 20 years. 23:44 That's what happens when a workaholic marries 23:46 a workaholic. 23:48 And someone asked me last year, 23:52 "Are you all going to go on a vacation this year?" 23:54 And I said, "Oh, I hope so." 23:58 Well, we didn't? 24:00 What was I saying when I said I hope so? 24:03 Oh, maybe wishful thinking 24:04 but "Oh, wouldn't that be nice?" 24:06 See, when we use the word hope it's kind of like, 24:09 "Oh, it's a dream, I wish." 24:12 But in the Greek hope means eager expectation. 24:18 Open your Bibles to Hebrews Chapter 6. 24:21 I wanna show you something there. 24:22 I love this scripture. 24:25 Hebrews Chapter 6. 24:31 Our first step is trust, the second step is hope. 24:34 In Hebrews 6:17, says this. 24:40 Hebrews 6:17, 24:41 "Thus God, determining to show 24:44 more abundantly to the heirs of promise 24:47 the immutability of His counsel." 24:51 That means it cannot be changed. 24:53 It's immutable. It stands firm forever. 24:56 "He confirmed it by an oath, 24:59 that by two immutable things, 25:03 " two things that cannot be changed, 25:04 His counsel and His oath, 25:07 "in which it is impossible for God to lie, 25:10 we might have strong consolation, 25:13 who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope 25:17 set before us. 25:20 This hope," this eager expectation, 25:24 "we have as an anchor of the soul, 25:26 both sure and steadfast, 25:28 which enters the Presence behind the veil, 25:31 where the forerunner has entered before us, 25:34 even Jesus, having become 25:36 High Priest forever." 25:41 What does an anchor do for a ship 25:46 in a stormy sea? 25:49 It helps us hold its course 25:51 to keep it on course. 25:53 Hope, 25:55 the hope set before us 25:57 knowing that yes, our loving Lord 26:01 is preparing a place for us right now 26:05 and that He's coming back to get us. 26:07 Hope, eager expectation that we can trust His Word, 26:12 we can trust His counsel, we can trust His oath. 26:15 It is immutable. 26:16 That is an anchor that will keep us 26:19 from being double-minded 26:23 because what does James say in James 1:6-8? 26:28 He says you don't have 26:29 'cause you don't ask, you don't get it 26:31 'cause you're asking with the wrong reason. 26:33 And He says, 26:35 "Let him who ask in faith, 26:39 with no doubting." 26:42 Without doubt. 26:44 We've got to get this in our mind 26:48 that we can put hope, 26:50 our hope, our eager expectation in the Word of God 26:53 'cause James says, "He who doubts is like 26:56 a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 27:00 For let not that man suppose 27:02 he will receive anything from the Lord, 27:05 he is a double-minded man 27:08 unstable in all he does." 27:14 You know, one of my favorite scriptures 27:17 is Romans 4:17. 27:19 It says that "God is the God, 27:21 who gives life to the dead and calls things 27:24 that are not as though they already were." 27:27 A lot of times when I take His promises, 27:30 and I'm praying and back to Him, 27:32 I know if I were to look by sight, 27:35 that it's not the way it is right now. 27:39 But I know His counsel in His Word is immutable. 27:42 So I know that just like God, I'm calling things that are not 27:46 as though they already were. 27:48 The third step from trust, 27:51 we develop that trust 27:53 and we build on that by our hope in God. 27:55 The third step is title deed. 28:00 Title deed, 28:01 Hebrews 11:1. 28:03 Let's turn there. 28:04 Hebrews 11:1, 28:06 the Bible says, 28:09 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 28:13 the evidence of things not seen." 28:16 Now in the Amplified, let me read this to you. 28:19 It says, "Now faith is the assurance, 28:23 the confirmation, 28:25 the title deed of the things we hope for, 28:29 being the proof of things we do not see 28:32 and the conviction of the reality, 28:35 faith perceiving as real fact 28:39 what is not revealed to the senses." 28:42 Now, you know, I read that in the... 28:44 When I read that in the Amplified, 28:46 I thought, I'm gonna do a study in the Greek here. 28:50 The word substance is hupostasis. 28:53 And this was a word that was common 28:56 in the business papyrus that they found back 28:59 in the days of Jesus and it was the basis 29:01 of the guarantee of a transaction. 29:06 It was like, if you bought a home, 29:09 you got a title deed that was the basis 29:12 of the guarantee of the transaction. 29:15 So Moulton and Milligan in their vocabulary 29:18 translated it and said, 29:20 "And as this is the essential meaning 29:23 in hupostasis, 29:25 we venture to suggest the translation. 29:28 Faith is the title deed of things hoped for." 29:34 You've heard about claiming God's promises, right? 29:37 That's what this means. 29:39 You've got to trust in the Lord, 29:41 put your hope, your eager expectation 29:44 in the truth of His Word. 29:46 And then you need to claim the promises of God, 29:49 stake your claim. 29:50 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, 29:53 how many of God's promises are yours 29:55 if you're in Christ Jesus? 29:57 "All of God's promises are yours 29:59 if you are in Christ Jesus." 30:02 We need to be like Abraham. 30:05 The Bible says in Romans 4, beginning in 19, 30:09 "Not being weak in faith, 30:11 he did not consider his own body, 30:15 already dead, 30:16 since he was about a hundred years old, 30:19 and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 30:21 He did not waver 30:23 at the promise of God through unbelief, 30:26 but was strengthened in faith." 30:31 Two polarized opposites, 30:34 unbelief, 30:36 faith. 30:38 Faith is the opposite 30:42 of unbelief. 30:45 So "He did not waver at the promise of God 30:48 through unbelief, 30:49 but was strengthened in his faith, 30:52 giving glory to God, 30:53 and being fully convinced 30:57 that what He had promised 30:59 He was also able to perform. 31:02 And therefore 'it was accounted to him 31:06 for righteousness.'" 31:09 Abraham faced the physical facts 31:13 without weakening in his faith. 31:18 He looked at all of the circumstances. 31:21 And he said, "I don't care. 31:23 I'm not walking by sight, 31:25 I'm walking by faith." 31:27 How often do we walk by sight? 31:32 You know, the Lord told me 31:33 when He first called me 31:35 into full-time ministry, 31:38 very often as I was journaling my prayers 31:42 and sitting at His feet to listen, 31:44 for that voice, that still small voice 31:46 and let the Lord impress His thoughts upon my mind, 31:49 very often, He reminded me. 31:53 Do not let this become a flesh walk, 31:56 it has to be a faith walk. 31:59 Pray for anyone who's in a television ministry, 32:03 please 32:04 because it would be so easy. 32:08 And it's a struggle to... 32:10 You know, there's times you're back here 32:12 and you're worried about your hair 32:14 and whatever else, 32:15 you know, bad hair day, if I have a bad hair day, 32:17 it lasts for years, you know, 32:19 'cause we'll maybe tape eight or nine programs in a day. 32:22 So you've got all of these things 32:24 that you're worried about before you go on the camera. 32:26 And then it's like, 32:27 I can be so surrendered in the morning. 32:29 And then you come in 32:31 and flesh rears its ugly little head 32:32 and you're worried about these things. 32:34 And then you've got to go all through this process 32:37 of surrender again and say, "Lord, let me remember, 32:39 it's not about you. 32:41 It's about me." 32:43 I mean, it's not about me, it's about you. 32:46 Help. 32:47 You know, the very, very first time 32:48 that I was on television on another network. 32:51 And I remember... I had God kept me up all night long. 32:54 I was praying, what do you want me to say? 32:56 And I was up all night long praying with Him. 32:58 And then I went to do this taping, 33:01 and I thought I looked really nice. 33:03 Well, I was with a very... 33:04 I'm six feet tall, barefoot. 33:06 I'm with a very short host. 33:07 And the lighting was all for this host. 33:10 So there's all these shadows over me. 33:13 And I looked up at the monitor right before we began, 33:15 and I thought, "Oh my gosh, I look like an old hag." 33:19 And the Lord said, "Crucify that thought, 33:21 this is not about you, it's about Me." 33:24 You know, He has to remind me of that all the time. 33:28 But what we've got to do, 33:29 I don't know how I got off on that bunny trail 33:31 but let's get back. 33:34 Abraham was absolutely certain 33:37 that God was able 33:42 to keep His Word. 33:45 We don't know what the future holds, 33:48 but we know Him who holds the future. 33:52 And let me share a secret with you. 33:55 It's all about how much word you have in your heart. 33:59 Little word, 34:01 little faith, 34:03 a lot of word, a lot of faith. 34:07 Do you wanna more intimate relationship 34:09 with the Lord Jesus Christ 34:10 you need to have a more intimate relationship 34:12 with your Bible? 34:13 If you wanna have more faith, 34:15 the Bible says we've all been given a measure of faith. 34:18 If you want to increase your faith, 34:19 get into the Word of God. 34:23 So we've got trust. 34:25 We've built on it with hope, eager expectation. 34:30 We have staked our title deed claiming God's promises. 34:34 Now the next thing that we need to do 34:36 step number four, 34:38 is speak in the spirit of faith. 34:43 Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4:13. 34:48 Oh, we do not recognize 34:51 how important what we say really is. 35:00 2 Corinthians 4:13. 35:05 Paul writing to the Corinthians 35:10 says this. 35:12 "And since we have the same spirit of faith, 35:20 according to what is written," 35:21 now he's going to show us what the spirit of faith is. 35:25 "I believed and therefore I spoke." 35:28 He's saying, that's the spirit of faith. 35:30 "I believed, and therefore I spoke." 35:32 "Since we have the same spirit of faith, 35:36 according to what is written, 35:38 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' 35:41 we also believe 35:43 and therefore speak.' 35:45 " Do you realize how important it is 35:47 what comes out of your mouth? 35:49 I can tell if someone is a person of faith 35:52 within being around them in 15 minutes, 35:56 5 minutes, really. 35:59 What comes out of your mouth is all telling. 36:04 The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:21 that, 36:08 "Death and life 36:10 are in the power of the tongue." 36:14 And now I wanna make sure 36:16 I had the scripture reference to us 36:18 flipping through my Bible here on the side. 36:20 Let me read something else to you. 36:21 "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." 36:24 Proverbs 18:21. 36:26 That means you can speak life 36:28 into someone's day, 36:31 their circumstances 36:33 if you're speaking the Word of God 36:34 into their life. 36:36 Or you can speak an idle word. 36:40 You know what an idle word is. 36:42 Anything that doesn't line up with this. 36:45 Idle word is a word that's inoperative, 36:49 but this word is alive, and active, 36:52 and sharper than any two-edged sword. 36:55 Listen to this, 36:56 Numbers 14:27, 37:01 I will begin. 37:02 This is the Lord talking to Moses and Aaron. 37:07 He says, 37:09 let me set this up. 37:14 They're wandering around. 37:16 The children of God are wandering around 37:18 in the desert. 37:19 They have seen him 37:21 part the Red Sea. 37:24 They have seen him 37:26 let Moses strike a rock 37:28 and water gushed forth to bring them water 37:30 for those millions of people. 37:33 They have seen God rain down manna 37:35 from heaven and quail. 37:37 They've seen God do all of these miracles, 37:40 and yet they're murmuring and they're complaining saying, 37:45 "You brought us out here in the desert to die. 37:48 Oh, we had it so much better 37:51 when we were back in Egypt. 37:56 Oh, 37:58 let's bring it into today." 38:00 I've started keeping the Sabbath 38:03 and I'm getting so much trouble at work. 38:06 I may lose my job. 38:08 I had it so much better 38:09 before I was a Sabbath-keeper. 38:12 I had it so much better before I did it God's way. 38:17 God's just gonna let me get ruined. 38:19 He's gonna let my finances go 38:22 right down into the ground. 38:25 Oh, you brought us out here in the desert today. 38:29 The Lord says, 38:30 "How long will this evil congregation 38:34 murmur against Me? 38:37 I have heard the complaints 38:39 the Israelites murmur against Me." 38:41 Tell them, this is Numbers 14:28, 38:44 take note. 38:45 "Tell them, 'As I live,' says the Lord, 38:49 what you have said in My hearing, 38:53 I will do to you." 38:57 Did He? 38:59 Did He left those Israelites 39:01 that generation die in the desert. 39:03 Yeah. Why? 39:05 Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 39:08 He said, "I've told you that there's a Promised Land 39:11 that you can cross over to this Promised Land. 39:15 But you're sitting here calling Me a liar. 39:18 You're saying 39:19 that I brought you out here in the desert. 39:21 I'm the author of life 39:22 and you say I brought you out in the desert to die." 39:26 Fine, God says, 39:27 as you have said in my hearing, 39:29 after seeing miracle, after miracle, after miracle, 39:33 power of life and death is in the tongue, 39:36 so I will do to you. 39:39 God isn't... 39:41 Listen, God's all... 39:42 God is an all loving God. 39:44 I'm not trying to scare you here. 39:46 He knew that there were hardened hearts here 39:49 that would not respond to His love. 39:53 His Spirit will not strive with man forever. 39:56 These people had become hardened 39:58 against God after miracle, after miracle, 40:01 the proof of His love. 40:03 There's power of life and death in the tongue. 40:05 We need to speak 40:08 with a spirit of faith. 40:10 Let us pray 40:12 and ask God to put a guard at the doorpost of our mouth. 40:15 Amen. 40:16 I have to remind myself this every day I confess, 40:20 every day when I'm repenting and confessing my sins, 40:22 I confess idle words. 40:25 And I ask for forgiveness of sin, that sin. 40:28 It is so easy. 40:30 Okay. 40:31 We've got trust, hope, title deed, 40:34 speaking with a spirit of faith. 40:38 Number five. 40:39 This is going to surprise you. 40:42 This is part of faith, folks. 40:44 Actions of obedience. 40:47 It's not enough just to trust in God, 40:50 to put your hope in God, 40:52 to claim His promises, 40:53 to speak in a spirit of faith. 40:56 You've got to have actions of obedience. 40:59 You can see faith. 41:02 The Bible tells us in Mark 2:5, 41:04 "When Jesus saw their faith, 41:07 " He's talking about the stretcher-bearers 41:09 who're bringing their paralytic friend to Him. 41:12 Jesus saw their faith by their actions. 41:17 What we do our deeds breathe life 41:22 into our beliefs. 41:26 Let me repeat that, our deeds breathe life 41:30 into our belief. 41:33 The Bible says in Romans 1:5, 41:36 excuse me, let me skip that one. 41:37 Acts 16:4-5. 41:40 Obedience strengthens faith, listen to this. 41:44 "As they went through the cities, 41:45 they delivered to them to decrees to keep, 41:50 which were determined by the apostles 41:52 and elders at Jerusalem. 41:53 So the churches were strengthened 41:55 in the faith, and increased in number daily." 41:59 We know James 2:17, don't we? 42:02 What does James 2:17 say? 42:04 "Faith without works is dead." 42:10 Your deeds, your actions breathes life 42:14 into what you believe. 42:17 1 John 3:18, 42:20 "My little children, 42:22 let us not love 42:24 in word or in tongue, 42:26 but in deed and in truth." 42:30 We need to understand 42:33 that God's love 42:36 is absolutely unconditional. 42:40 He's so loving we will never, you know, 42:43 the more I study, 42:45 the more and closer I get to the Lord, 42:49 the more I realized how little I understand His love. 42:52 And there are times that I'll go through spiritual dryness, 42:56 maybe a little bit of an overload, a burnout, 42:59 and I get back 43:00 into this performance mentality. 43:02 If only I spend more time in my Bible, 43:04 more time in prayer, 43:06 more time in this. 43:08 And God is calling me lovingly saying, 43:10 "Come rest in Me. 43:13 Come trust in Me. 43:14 Come understand My love." 43:19 His love is unconditional, 43:20 but His promises I want you to know 43:22 are absolutely conditional upon obedience. 43:25 Let me give you a scripture 43:27 to verify that. 43:29 Turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 10:36, 43:32 "The promises are conditional upon obedience." 43:35 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, "All of His promises are yours, 43:39 if you are in Christ Jesus." 43:42 If you're not God's promises aren't yours. 43:45 But Hebrews 10:36, 43:48 listen to this. 43:51 Hebrews 10:36 says, 43:54 "You have need of endurance, 43:57 so that," 43:59 what? 44:01 "After." 44:02 Listen, "You have need of endurance, 44:05 so that after you have done 44:08 the will of God, 44:10 you may receive the promise." 44:14 Now wait a minute, 44:16 what's going on here? 44:18 How can I even? 44:20 I mean, God's promised this 44:21 and He now wants me to obey Him 44:23 in order to get this promise. 44:26 Let me tell you something, Philippians 2:13 says that, 44:29 "God works in you to will 44:33 and to do 44:36 according to His good pleasure." 44:38 It is two totally different stages. 44:42 The first thing when you come to the Lord and say, 44:45 "Oh, Lord, I want Your plan for my life. 44:47 Oh, Father God, 44:49 teach me Your will." 44:51 What will happen 44:53 is the Lord works in you to will 44:54 and He lines your will up with His will. 44:58 He makes His desires become your desires. 45:02 It's so amazing how the Lord works, isn't it? 45:06 I mean, isn't it amazing how gently He changes us? 45:09 And suddenly, we're desiring the things of God. 45:12 And the more of this word that's in you, 45:14 the more of the mind of Christ you're operating by. 45:17 And then 45:19 once He starts lining your will up with His will, 45:24 will He do anything to force you? 45:27 Does God ever force us to do anything? 45:29 All right. 45:31 So if God's gonna work in us to will, 45:32 and He's gonna work in us to act, 45:34 He's not gonna force me to do anything. 45:36 What does He want me to do? 45:38 He says, 45:40 "Take one step of faith." 45:43 You take, you God changes your will 45:46 and you step out in faith. 45:48 And the minute you do the power of the Holy Spirit shows up 45:52 because He gives the Holy Spirit to those 45:54 who obey Him. 45:56 The power of the Holy Spirit shows up 45:58 and He works in you to do His good pleasure. 46:02 Hallelujah. 46:04 It's all about what God is doing in us. 46:07 Obedience is by grace, 46:11 by the power of God working in you. 46:15 I can't obey God on my own. 46:17 Hallelujah. 46:19 This excites me so much when I think about His plan. 46:25 We have need of endurance 46:27 so that after you've done the will of God, 46:30 you will receive the promise. 46:32 Now let's go to step number six. 46:36 We've started with trusting in God, 46:39 we've put our hope in God. 46:41 We have claimed the promises 46:44 we're speaking with a spirit of faith. 46:47 Now we put actions of obedience 46:49 so that our deeds will breathe life 46:52 into what we believe. 46:54 Number six 46:56 is a victorious attitude. 47:01 A victorious attitude. 47:05 Did you know that as a Christian, 47:07 you should have a victorious attitude? 47:10 From time to time I've had people say to me, 47:13 I'm a happy person. 47:15 I'm a joy... Let me change that, I'm a joyful person. 47:18 Right now, actually, I'm not very happy. 47:20 There's something that's going on in my life 47:22 that I'm not very happy about. 47:24 But I've still got the joy of the Lord. 47:27 And no matter what's going on, I can smile, 47:30 takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown. 47:34 I'm just naturally a smiling person. 47:37 And if you knew my history, 47:41 and how I grew up, 47:43 it isn't because I've always had a bed of roses. 47:46 I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. 47:49 Very dysfunctional, 47:51 my father was killed... 47:53 My parents were divorced when I was four. 47:55 My father got custody of me. 47:57 My father was a pilot. 47:59 He was killed when I was six, 48:00 I came back to live with my mother. 48:03 And my mother married an alcoholic 48:05 who was very abusive. 48:08 He was a very mean man. 48:10 And my mother decided 48:12 if you can't beat them, join them. 48:14 And she became an alcoholic. 48:16 And my mother was bipolar. 48:18 So when she divorced this man when I was 16, 48:22 everything landed on me. 48:25 And so I was like a little old lady. 48:28 I mean, I didn't know understand spontaneity. 48:30 I didn't understand anything. 48:31 The only thing that kept me sane 48:33 through my years of growing up, 48:36 I love Jesus with all of my heart. 48:38 I was so active in my church, 48:41 and that was the place 48:43 that I went to breathe. 48:47 But we should have joy. 48:51 Nehemiah 8:10 says, 48:52 "The joy of the Lord is our strength." 48:55 We need to have a victorious attitude. 48:58 1 John Chapter 5 turn there. 49:00 1 John Chapter 5. 49:03 We started off with this scripture, 49:05 now we're going to look at it. 49:09 1 John 5:3. 49:17 1 John 5:3 says, 49:19 "For this is the love of God," 49:22 what? 49:24 "That we keep His commandments." 49:27 You can say, "Oh, God, I love you. 49:30 Oh, God, I love you. 49:33 Oh, Lord, I love you." 49:36 I have a lady that I was counseling with. 49:39 And I do not mean to make light of this. 49:41 She was a very... 49:45 Her relationship with the Lord was very emotional, 49:48 which it should... I mean, there should be emotion in it. 49:51 But it was purely emotional. 49:53 She would worship and she would get... 49:55 When she worshiped the Lord, she always cried, 49:58 she never could and, you know, I have to tell you when I come, 50:00 I'm not a person who cries. 50:03 But when I do press into the presence of the Lord, 50:05 there's many times that I've cried. 50:07 So I'm not making light of this. 50:09 But the point that I'm trying to make is 50:11 hers was purely emotional and there was no obedience. 50:15 She didn't think she needed to obey 50:17 because she didn't understand grace. 50:19 She had a wrong teaching on grace. 50:22 She's coming around a little, but listen what the Bible says, 50:25 "For this is the love of God 50:27 that we keep His commandments." 50:30 Do not love me God is saying 50:32 in word and in tongue only, 50:34 but in truth and in deeds, 50:37 "And His commandments are not burdensome." 50:41 Why are His commandments not burdensome? 50:45 Come on. 50:47 They are promises 50:49 of what He's going to do in our life. 50:52 It's God who's working in us to will and to act. 50:55 Apart from Jesus, 50:57 we can do nothing. 51:00 Nada, zip, zilch, 51:03 there's nothing that you and I can do. 51:05 You know, if we could just get this in our heart 51:08 and learn how to be totally depended upon God. 51:12 I mean, see where I mess up, 51:15 is when I start depending on Shelley. 51:18 Getting back into that performance mentality 51:20 and the Lord has to tell me, "You foolish thing." 51:24 Galatians 3:3, 51:25 "Having begun in the Spirit, 51:27 are you now trying to perfect it in the flesh?" 51:30 Oh, don't we do that? 51:32 Am I the only one? 51:34 Anybody in here try to perfect their relationship 51:37 in the flesh from time to time? 51:38 God is up there saying, 51:40 children you don't know how much I love you. 51:43 All I'm asking is that you come 51:44 and surrender control of your life to Me. 51:47 I'll work in you to will and to act. 51:49 I promise, I'm gonna complete the good work 51:51 I've begun in you. I have equipped you. 51:53 I will equip you to do everything I ask of you. 51:57 These commandments are promises of what I'm doing you 52:00 to give you a happy life and abundant life. 52:04 Hallelujah. 52:07 His commandments are not burdensome. 52:10 1 John 5:4 says, 52:12 "For whatever is born of God 52:15 overcomes the world. 52:18 And this is the victory 52:21 that has overcome the world, 52:23 our faith, our faith." 52:28 Hallelujah. 52:30 Have you been born again? 52:34 If you are in Christ Jesus, 52:37 if you've been born of His Spirit, 52:39 you are an overcomer. 52:42 He came to destroy the works of the devil 52:45 to give you power... 52:46 More than just justification. 52:49 Forgiveness of your old sins, He will sanctify you, 52:53 give you sanctification, 52:54 the power to overcome sin day by day. 52:57 Hallelujah. 52:59 And one day there will be that glorification 53:02 when we see Him, 53:04 and we are changed in the twinkling of an eye 53:06 to be just as He is. 53:08 The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:57, 53:12 "Thanks be to God who gives us 53:15 the victory in Christ Jesus." 53:18 But let's look at Luke Chapter 18. 53:21 If you want to turn there, 53:22 Luke Chapter 18. 53:26 You know, the Bible tells us in Revelation 12:11, 53:29 "We overcome 53:32 by the blood of the Lamb, 53:35 and the word of our testimony." 53:39 Remember that word is so empower, so important. 53:42 Luke 18:1-8. 53:49 This is the Parable of the Persistent Widow. 53:51 And the Bible says, "Then He spoke a parable to them, 53:54 that men are always to pray and not lose heart." 53:58 This is Jesus teaching His disciples with a parable. 54:01 And here's what He said, 54:03 "There was in a certain city 54:05 a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 54:09 Now there was a widow in that city 54:11 and she came to him, saying, 54:13 'Get justice for me for my adversary.' 54:17 He would not for a while, 54:19 but afterward he said within himself, 54:22 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 54:25 yet because this widow troubles me 54:27 I will avenge her, 54:29 lest by her continual coming, 54:32 she wearies me.' 54:34 ' Then the Lord said, 54:36 'Here what the unjust judge said. 54:39 And shall not God avenge His own elect 54:43 who cry out day and night, 54:45 though He bears long with them?' 54:47 " Jesus isn't comparing God to this judge. 54:51 He's already said there are two categories. 54:53 The judge was unjust. 54:55 Here's God. 54:56 It's like Him saying, you as evil as you are. 54:59 If you know how to give good gifts to your children, 55:01 how much more will I give the Holy Spirit 55:03 to those who asked me? 55:05 So He says here, 55:07 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. 55:12 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, 55:15 will He really find faith on earth?" 55:19 He will if you are trusting in Him, 55:23 leading not on your own understanding, 55:24 if you're putting your hope in Him, 55:26 eager expectation, 55:27 if you have staked your title deed, 55:30 claiming his promise, 55:32 if you're speaking in the spirit of faith, 55:34 if you've got actions of obedience, 55:36 and if you've got this victorious attitude, 55:38 He will find faith. 55:40 Now number seven, 55:42 stand firm. 55:44 This is part of faith, folks. 55:46 Stand firm, 2 Chronicles 20:20 says, 55:50 "Believe in the Lord your God, 55:52 and you shall be established, 55:56 believe in His prophets, and you shall prosper." 56:00 Believing in God means 56:03 to be living in God. 56:09 Believing in God means 56:12 to be living in God. 56:15 Isaiah 7:9, 56:17 let me read this to you. 56:19 The Bible says, "If you will not believe, 56:21 surely you shall not be established." 56:24 I like the way the NIV says it. 56:27 It says, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, 56:29 you will not stand at all." 56:33 Let me give you a scripture that you can stand firm on. 56:37 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 says, 56:41 "Now may the God of peace Himself 56:43 sanctify you completely, 56:45 and may your whole spirit, soul, and body 56:47 be preserved blameless 56:49 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 56:51 He who calls you is faithful, 56:54 who will also do it." 56:57 What is faith? 56:59 Faith is trusting in God, 57:01 leaning not on your own understanding. 57:03 It's putting your hope in God claiming His promises, 57:06 staking your title deed. 57:08 It's speaking with a spirit of faith, 57:09 the actions of obedience, victorious attitude, 57:12 and standing firm. 57:15 Hallelujah. |
Revised 2019-08-22