Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW210044S
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, I'm Ben Lingle. 01:11 And I want to welcome you to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:14 Thank you so much for joining us 01:15 each Friday night, 01:17 as we welcome in the Sabbath together 01:18 and study something deep from the Word of God. 01:21 It's always a blessing to get to study with you 01:24 and we love hearing from you through the week. 01:26 So we love Family Worship, 01:28 and we love getting together on set as well. 01:31 There's a lot of times that we get tired through the week 01:33 and there's a lot of things that can wear us down 01:36 but this time is always a time 01:37 that we can kind of give our gratitude to God 01:39 and really come together 01:41 and discuss how God has blessed us through the week 01:43 and, of course, how He's going to bless us 01:45 through His Word. 01:46 So we're just so grateful that you all are joining us. 01:50 And tonight, obviously, it's Family Worship 01:52 so we have the family with us. 01:54 So I'm going to introduce them to you now. 01:56 To my immediate right, I have Miss Tiara Walker. 02:00 And, Tiara, you work in production here. 02:02 So maybe tell our audience 02:03 a little bit about what you do at 3ABN? 02:05 Okay, yeah, I work in the control room, primarily. 02:08 I do video graphics. 02:09 So I put up the graphics, 02:10 the supers, usually, that's my job. 02:13 I've been here a little over a year, 02:15 almost going on two years in production. 02:17 And we have a great topic and I'm excited to get into it. 02:20 That's right. 02:22 And, of course, to her right 02:24 and way across on the other side of the table 02:27 for me is Miss Jewlee Meadows 02:29 who also works here at 3ABN production department. 02:32 So what do you do, Jewlee? 02:34 I am right there with Tiara, we both do video graphics 02:36 and we were actually hired on the same day. 02:38 So we've been working for about two years. 02:42 But I'm just so excited for my very first Family Worship. 02:45 I have my Bible. 02:46 I have my notes, and I'm just excited to see 02:48 what God's gonna show us today. 02:50 That's good. 02:51 Now, I'm looking at you both 02:53 and you look very similar. 02:57 Are you guys related? 02:59 Yeah, we're actually cousins. 03:02 People think we're sisters 03:03 because everywhere one is the other one's right there. 03:05 We are close. 03:07 As close as cousins can be to becoming sisters like. 03:11 That's very sweet honestly. 03:13 You guys outside of working in the production department 03:15 have done a lot on 3ABN as far as some skits 03:18 for the kid's network and other things as well 03:20 writing scripts and other things. 03:22 So you guys are really a blessing to 3ABN, 03:25 but you're also a blessing to be here tonight. 03:27 So thank you for joining. Absolutely. 03:29 And we are honored, 03:31 kind of one of our first times for Family Worship 03:33 to have a couple of friends over on Skype 03:36 and so I want to introduce to you now Rachel Arner. 03:39 And, Rachel, you've been on Family Worship before, 03:43 you've been on one of the other programs we did, 03:45 but kind of maybe just reintroduce yourself 03:48 to our audience. 03:49 And also you have a podcast, 03:51 I want you to kind of just give us 03:52 a 30-second synopsis of that? 03:55 Okay, sure. Hi, everyone. 03:57 It's so good to see all of you there on set. 04:00 Wish I could be there in person. 04:03 I'm just so happy to be here 04:05 because anytime we can open up the Word together, 04:08 it's such a blessing. 04:10 So thank you for having me. 04:12 I go to the seminary at Andrews University. 04:15 I'm studying the MDiv right now. 04:17 And as you mentioned, Ben, I have a podcast. 04:20 It's called the Preacher Girl podcast. 04:23 So anyone can check it out, give it a listen. 04:27 You can go to my website, preachergirlpodcast.com 04:30 and be encouraged. 04:32 It's all about being encouraged and inspired, 04:36 kind of in our faith journey. 04:38 What we're going to be talking about tonight. 04:40 In our faith journey and our walk with God, 04:42 that's what my podcast is about. 04:44 So, thank you for having me. 04:46 I'm really excited to open the Word here 04:48 with you guys tonight. 04:49 Yes, thank you, Rachel, for being on 04:50 and I've known you for many years 04:52 and you just have such a heart for God and ministry 04:54 and people, so we're just really excited 04:55 for you to be here tonight. 04:57 And, of course, I met Michael Boddie, 05:00 our friend through Rachel. 05:01 Rachel recommended Michael be on the program with us tonight. 05:04 So, Michael, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? 05:07 You also have a podcast. 05:08 I want to hear about that as well. 05:11 Yes, well, me and Rachel we're both seminarians 05:15 at Andrews Theological Seminary. 05:18 So I'm very thankful and grateful 05:20 that she extended me the invitation 05:22 to be on the program today. 05:24 My podcast is called the Fresh Start podcast. 05:27 And basically, the main goal of the podcast is to emphasize 05:32 that God loves us unconditionally. 05:34 So no matter where we are, no matter what we've done, 05:36 no matter how many times we've messed up, 05:38 there's always hope for a fresh start 05:40 in Jesus Christ. 05:41 So, yeah, that's a little bit about me 05:43 and the podcast that I'm currently doing. 05:46 That's awesome. Fresh Start, I like that. 05:47 That's a nice title. That's a nice title. 05:50 All right, guys, as we said, 05:52 we're gonna dive deep here into our topic 05:54 and before I kind of introduce this topic, 05:56 I want to have a word of prayer. 05:57 So, Michael, I'm going to ask you, 05:59 if you would pray for us? 06:01 Definitely. Let's bow our heads. 06:03 Dear Heavenly Father, God, we thank You so much 06:05 just for the opportunity and the privilege 06:08 You have given us to get into Your Word. 06:11 Lord, we understand that through studying the Bible, 06:13 we get a better understanding of Your character 06:15 and Your will for our lives. 06:17 So, Lord, we just pray right now 06:19 that the Holy Spirit leads and guides in that 06:22 as a result of this Bible study, 06:23 we will better understand You and be drawn closer to You. 06:27 So be with us now. 06:28 And in Your name, we pray, amen. 06:30 Amen. Thank you so much, Michael. 06:33 Faith is something 06:34 that is foundational to us as Christians. 06:36 Outside of love, faith is really something 06:39 that's important, that's something 06:40 we need to understand. 06:42 And so, tonight, we are talking about faith, 06:45 and we've titled this Family Worship, What is Faith? 06:48 It really is something that can be hard to understand. 06:51 It's obviously something we can't see. 06:54 So how do we understand something we can't see it? 06:56 So it can make it difficult but faith is something 07:00 that we kind of want to dive deep into the Word 07:03 and see what the Bible has to say about faith. 07:05 And so let's start with something that's very, 07:09 very simple in Scripture, which is examples of faith. 07:13 Sometimes it's easier to understand what something 07:15 is by an example. 07:17 So we're gonna go to Hebrews Chapter 11, 07:21 and Hebrews Chapter 11 gives us a lot of examples 07:24 of faith in the lives 07:25 of various people from Scripture. 07:29 And so, we're gonna read probably the first 12 verses, 07:32 I think, that kind of gives us the foundation of this 07:35 and then we may read a little bit more, 07:36 but why don't we separate this a little bit 07:38 because it's kind of quite a bit of a passage there. 07:41 So, Jewlee, 07:43 why don't you read the first three verses, 1, 2, 3. 07:46 Tiara, you can read 4, 5, and 6. 07:49 Rachel, I'll have you read 7, 8, and 9, and then Michael, 07:51 you can read 10, 11, and 12. 07:53 So let's start with Jewlee in the first three verses. 07:56 Okay. 07:57 Hebrews 11:1, 07:59 "Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, 08:02 the conviction of things not seen. 08:05 For by it the people of old received their commendations. 08:08 By faith, we understand 08:10 that the universe was created by the word of God 08:13 so that what is seen was not made out of things 08:15 that are visible." 08:17 All right, verse 4 picks up and it says, 08:19 "It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable 08:22 offering to God than Cain did. 08:24 Abel's offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, 08:27 and God showed His approval of his gifts. 08:30 Although Abel is long dead, 08:31 he still speaks to us by his example of faith. 08:34 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven 08:37 without dying, 08:38 he disappeared because God took him 08:40 for before he was taken up, 08:42 he was known as a person who please God. 08:44 It is impossible to please God without faith. 08:47 Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe 08:50 that God exists and that He rewards 08:52 those who sincerely seek Him." 08:56 And verse 7 says, 08:58 "By faith, Noah, when warned about things 09:01 not yet seen, in holy fear, 09:04 built an ark to save his family. 09:06 By his faith, he condemned the world 09:09 and became heir of the righteousness 09:12 that is in keeping with faith." 09:14 Verse 8, "By faith Abraham, 09:17 when called to go to a place he would later receive 09:20 as his inheritance, 09:22 obeyed and went even though he did not know 09:25 where he was going. 09:26 By faith, he made his home in the Promised Land 09:29 like a stranger in a foreign country. 09:32 He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, 09:35 who were heirs with him of the same promise." 09:40 And starting at verse 10, it says, 09:43 "But he was looking for the city, 09:45 which has foundations, 09:47 whose architect and builder is God, by faith, 09:50 even Sarah herself received the ability 09:53 to conceive even beyond the proper time of life 09:57 since she considered him faithful who had promised. 10:01 Therefore, there was born even of one man 10:05 and him as good as dead at that, 10:07 as many descendants as the stars of the heaven 10:10 in number, and innumerable as the sand, 10:13 which is by the seashore." 10:15 Wow. 10:16 So as we can see in these biblical examples 10:18 that most of the people we read about in the Old Testament, 10:22 all had a common theme within their lives, 10:25 which was faith. 10:28 One of my favorite examples was Abraham 10:31 when it's talking about, specifically, I guess, Sarah. 10:37 It says, by faith, Sarah herself also received 10:39 strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child. 10:42 Now you guys remember how old Sarah was, right? 10:44 I mean... That's crazy. 10:47 She was in her 90s, wasn't she, guys? 10:48 I think she was in her 90s, right? 10:50 Yeah, close to 100. 10:51 If a 90-year-old woman today had a child, 10:54 I would say it's probably either fake 10:57 or it's just a miracle in general, right? 11:02 Because like, that's not even, really possible nowadays. 11:06 But the reality is, 11:08 I love how in each one of these examples, 11:11 it talks about how faith contributed 11:14 to these people's lives. 11:16 It really encourages me because, 11:19 we sometimes take advantage 11:23 of our lives in the sense that we don't always see 11:26 the faith in our lives. 11:27 We don't always see that our faith leads us to things 11:33 or helps us understand what God is trying to tell us 11:35 or do in our lives. 11:37 I think that's really cool to see this 11:38 in the biblical narrative 11:40 about how all these characters in Scripture 11:43 all had that common theme of faith in their lives. 11:46 And they believe, like the verse here that says, 11:49 but without faith, it is impossible to please Him, 11:51 for he who comes to God must believe 11:54 that He is and that He is a rewarder 11:56 of those who diligently seek Him. 11:58 So we also see in this example, 12:00 that these people were diligently seeking God. 12:04 And so, what are you guys' thoughts on this chapter? 12:07 For somebody who might not understand 12:10 what faith is they're coming, right, you know, 12:13 new in the faith, 12:14 or just got a relationship with Christ 12:16 or maybe they've seen people in their lives 12:18 who claim they have a relationship, 12:19 and they don't quite understand what faith is. 12:21 I know that there is a common misconception 12:25 and what faith is. 12:26 A lot of people who don't understand 12:27 and might mistake it 12:31 for blind trust, 12:33 or use it as a cop-out for something 12:35 if somebody is asking a question about the Bible. 12:37 They say, well, we don't really know 12:39 why some things like that. 12:40 It's just by faith, it's by faith. 12:42 And that might be a sufficient answer 12:44 for some people who understand it. 12:45 Like for me, that makes sense. 12:47 I understand faith but for somebody who doesn't, 12:49 that's confusing. 12:51 It sounds like blind trust for somebody. 12:53 And I have a study Bible, and under Hebrews 11, 12:56 it gave like this little example, 12:57 it kind of explained 12:59 what faith was, it gave a little blurb. 13:01 I'm going to read that really quick. 13:02 I thought it was really great. 13:04 So this is what it says, 13:05 "Biblical faith is not vague hope grounded 13:08 in imaginary wishful thinking. 13:10 Instead, faith is a settled confidence 13:13 that something in the future, 13:15 something that is not yet seen but has been promised 13:18 by God will actually come to pass 13:21 because God will bring it about. 13:23 Thus biblical faith is not blind trust in the face 13:26 of contrary evidence. 13:28 Rather, faith is a confident trust in what God has said. 13:32 And I thought that was just so good. 13:34 It just laid it out. 13:35 It kind of made that line of distinction 13:38 between blind trust and what faith is. 13:41 And like you were saying, looking at people in the Bible, 13:43 like Sarah, and Abraham, and Moses, 13:45 all these people who were mentioned, 13:48 they're kind of like faith heroes. 13:50 In the days of old you see their faith 13:53 that they had in God 13:55 and all these amazing things that happened. 13:57 Faith is very influential. 13:59 Me reading that, it really encourages me in my faith. 14:02 There are faith heroes of old 14:04 but there are also modern-day heroes. 14:07 You know what I mean, your pastor, 14:09 people in your life, 14:10 you might be somebody's modern-day faith hero 14:13 that they're looking for and you have to know 14:15 that your faith influences the faith of others as well. 14:19 You got to be careful with that, 14:20 you got to be careful what you do. 14:22 Your lack of faith can influence others 14:25 just as easily as your abundance in faith. 14:28 So make sure you're strong in the faith 14:30 and look to these people from the Bible, 14:32 look at your modern-day heroes, 14:33 and really strengthen your faith in that. 14:36 I think when we talk about faith, 14:38 I think about the origin of this network. 14:40 I mean, this whole network was based on the premise 14:43 of having faith in God. 14:44 Danny having the faith in God to provide 14:46 what needed to be provided in order to build a network 14:49 that would reach the world with the gospel. 14:51 So I think that's amazing. 14:53 Anybody else have anything on this on the examples of faith? 14:56 Yeah, I like that as you said, we look at these characters 15:00 as heroes from the Bible, but really, 15:03 they're just everyday people like we are. 15:07 And it's like, I've even heard Hebrews 11 15:10 referred to as the faith hall of fame, 15:14 you see all of these characters 15:16 and you think these miracles 15:18 that happened was a result of their faith, 15:22 and how encouraging that is. 15:23 And you see these miracles, 15:25 you see, Sarah, she was barren, and she had a baby. 15:28 And you see David, and he literally fought 15:32 and killed a real-life giant. 15:34 And you see Moses and he delivered 15:37 an entire nation of people from their enemies 15:40 and you think, wow, 15:41 that's insane because it is insane. 15:45 But thinking back, it's like, we think of these miracles 15:48 as like, Bible time miracles. 15:50 Yeah, that was back in the Bible, 15:52 but if you read your Bible, 15:55 you see that that's not where miracles stop. 15:58 God's saying, I have things for you 16:01 bigger than what I did for them. 16:04 And I have a scripture to prove it to you guys. 16:06 Okay, it's in John 14:12. 16:09 It says, "I tell you the truth, 16:11 anyone who believes in Me 16:13 will do the same works I have done, 16:16 and even greater works, 16:19 because I am going to be with the Father." 16:22 Greater works, 16:23 I feel like I almost need to do a double-take on that, 16:26 like did greater works than what Jesus did? 16:29 That's crazy. 16:30 And so, if we have enough faith, 16:32 that means that we can kill our own giants. 16:36 That means that we can heal our families, 16:38 that means that we can be delivered from our enemies 16:41 and even greater than that, how encouraging. 16:45 I think it's in Matthew. 16:49 I don't remember if it's Chapter 24, 16:51 there's a verse where Jesus is talking, 16:53 and He's talking about having the faith of a mustard seed. 16:56 Yeah. Yeah. 16:57 And one of the specific illustrations Jesus uses 17:00 in that passage is basically, 17:03 that if you have enough faith as a mustard seed, 17:05 which a mustard seed, it's so tiny like this. 17:09 If you have enough faith as a mustard seed, 17:11 you can tell mountains to move, and they'll move. 17:15 Like, that's wild. 17:17 Typically we think about that more in a metaphoric sense 17:20 and all that, at least that's kind of how I take it 17:22 more or less. 17:24 I was thinking about this the other day, 17:25 God impressed on my heart, 17:27 that, we have metaphorically speaking mountains 17:30 in our lives. 17:31 It could be student loans, Rachel and Michael, 17:35 you guys probably all know about that. 17:37 It could be family issues. 17:40 It could be marriage issues. 17:41 It could be whatever it could be but you know, 17:44 and sometimes our initial response is to climb it, right? 17:48 Because that's, I mean, 17:50 logically that's what you would think to do. 17:51 That's the only way to get around this mountain 17:52 is to climb it, right? 17:54 But sometimes, as Jesus told us, 17:56 sometimes it's just easier to tell it to move. 17:58 Preach it, Ben. Go ahead and preach. 18:00 Go ahead. You know what I mean? 18:02 I love that specific illustration that Jesus used. 18:06 But, Michael, and Rachel, 18:07 I don't want to exclude you on this. 18:09 So what are some of the thoughts you have 18:11 on examples of faith? 18:14 Yeah, absolutely. So Michael, go ahead. 18:20 Well, for me, 18:21 I think one thing that's important to point out is that, 18:23 in verse 6, it says, without faith, 18:26 it is impossible to please Him. 18:28 And I think a lot of people think that you know what, 18:31 I believe God is real, I believe God exists. 18:33 So then I must be pleasing Him, 18:35 I must be having the type of faith 18:37 that this verse is talking about. 18:39 But I want to read another verse, 18:40 a few verses from James 2:18-20. 18:45 Okay. 18:47 Just want to read them very quickly, 18:48 James 2:18-20, it says, 18:52 "But someone may well say, you have faith, 18:56 and I have works. 18:58 Show me your faith without the works, 19:00 and I will show you my faith by my works. 19:03 You believe that God is one, you do well, 19:06 that demons also believe and shutter. 19:09 But are you willing to recognize 19:11 you foolish fellow, 19:12 that faith without works is useless?" 19:15 So taking into context, 19:17 this verse along with Hebrews Chapter 11, 19:20 it seems like the type of faith 19:21 that God is talking about that brings pleasure to Him 19:23 isn't just merely believing that He exists. 19:26 You know, as you just read in James Chapter 2, 19:28 even the demons believe and know that God exists. 19:30 That's true. 19:32 But God wants to have a type of faith that leads to action. 19:35 You know, faith without works is dead. 19:37 So, you know, no one's going to be saved, 19:40 just because they simply believe God is real, 19:42 we're going to be saved 19:43 because we allowed our faith in Him, 19:45 our dependence on Him 19:46 to lead to us surrendering to Him. 19:48 So our faith needs to lead to action 19:50 and that's the type of faith that pleases God. 19:53 Wow, that's powerful. That's powerful. 19:55 Rachel, you have anything on that? 19:57 Wow. Yeah. 19:58 I mean, you guys are just 20:00 really loaded on the powerful verses here. 20:02 I'm feeling blessed already. 20:07 I gotta say when I was preparing 20:10 and kind of going over this topic for today, 20:15 I couldn't help but think about the spiritual warfare 20:18 that is going on, 20:20 and the battle that is going on behind the scenes as well. 20:24 And then you talk about the blessing that 3ABN 20:27 is and it is such a blessing. 20:30 Because myself and so many people included, 20:33 we turn on 3ABN. 20:35 I know week to week, I know Friday night for me. 20:38 When I turn on 3ABN, I am just so happy to sit down 20:44 and start the Sabbath 20:47 and be encouraged because every week, 20:51 especially these days, it is very difficult. 20:54 And there are better weeks than others, 20:57 but there's a lot going on in the world around us. 21:01 But we have the hope of Jesus 21:04 and we have the hope of Jesus Christ, 21:07 one day coming back for us. 21:09 And so I say this 21:11 to kind of hopefully encourage right off the bat. 21:17 That yes, there is this battle going on behind the scenes 21:21 and we do get discouraged. 21:24 I know we'll talk about this later on. 21:26 In our faith journey, 21:28 we have our ups and our downs 21:30 but at the end of the day, 21:31 you know, we have this hope in Jesus. 21:34 And that is always so encouraging to me. 21:37 So I'm so thankful for that. 21:38 Yeah, that's great. 21:40 That's awesome and that's true. 21:42 We do have that hope in Jesus. 21:44 You know, what a friend we have in Jesus, 21:45 right, as the song says. 21:47 Such a good song. Yeah, it's a great song. 21:48 All right, that's good, guys. 21:50 That was good. 21:52 I think if this wasn't an hour program, 21:54 I think we could stop right there and say, see y'all later. 21:56 Amen. We're gonna keep going here. 21:59 So let's talk about first steps to faith. 22:02 Let's say we have a new Christian or someone, 22:06 maybe someone who's been a Christian, 22:08 but they just don't completely grasp the concept of faith. 22:11 So what are some maybe first steps these individuals 22:14 could take in order to kind of begin 22:16 to develop faith in their lives? 22:18 Right. 22:19 So I think that the biggest step that a Christian can make 22:22 is the very first step you make as a Christian. 22:25 And I think that that is salvation. 22:27 That takes amazing faith right there. 22:29 It does. 22:31 And if anyone at home hasn't accepted Christ 22:34 and accepted salvation, taken that first step, 22:37 I just want to encourage you, 22:40 please do that because God is waiting for you 22:44 with open arms, 22:45 and He wants you to come to Him. 22:47 And it is the best decision you will ever make, 22:50 and you will not regret it. 22:51 But I feel like a lot of Christians 22:54 take that first step. 22:56 And then they stop there. 22:58 That's where they stop because it's safe. 23:00 They're safe Christian. 23:02 They're comfortable right there. 23:04 And I like how you brought up Matthew 17:20, 23:08 I had it on my list and it goes, 23:11 because it's only fitting if we're talking about faith, 23:13 it's only fitting. 23:14 I want to read it to you guys. 23:16 And this is right after a man brought his son 23:20 to the disciples and his son is possessed by a demon 23:24 and he's asking, can you please heal my son, 23:26 and they were unsuccessful. 23:27 They couldn't cast out the demon. 23:29 So they take him to Jesus and Jesus, He takes care of it, 23:32 you know, like Jesus does. 23:34 And then later they asked, they're like, 23:36 "Jesus, what, what happened back there? 23:38 Why couldn't we cast out this demon?" 23:40 And this is what Jesus says, He says, 23:42 "You do not have enough faith." 23:45 Jesus told them, "I tell you the truth, 23:48 if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, 23:52 you could say to this mountain move from here to there, 23:55 and it would move, nothing would be impossible." 23:59 So Jesus is saying, "Okay, 24:01 you took that first step of salvation 24:03 and that's great, 24:04 and I'm so proud of you for that. 24:06 But if you would just take one more step, 24:09 just one small step, one mustard seed size step, 24:14 I could show you things that would blow your mind, 24:18 things that you thought were impossible." 24:21 But so many Christians are just safe 24:24 and they love God, and they go to church, 24:26 but that's where it stops. 24:28 It stops at church. 24:29 It's because they're comfortable. 24:32 But God is just telling us, if you just step out, 24:34 take one step further. 24:37 I can show you amazing things 24:39 because little faith has big results. 24:43 In Psalms it talks about a wicked man 24:47 and a righteous man. 24:49 It talks about the wicked man falls down and he stays down. 24:51 Yeah. 24:52 But then it says a righteous man falls seven times, 24:54 but he gets back up. 24:55 Yeah. 24:57 So there's this constant effort moving forward 24:58 in the Christian life, right? 25:00 And I think that completely highlighted that idea 25:03 of taking a little bit more of a step. 25:06 I think it's easy for us, especially like our age group. 25:09 Like, it's easy for us to get comfortable 25:13 and especially if we were raised in a Christian home, 25:16 it's easy for us to go to church out of routine, 25:21 and not because we want to go to church, 25:24 and I hate to say it, but I've fallen into that trap 25:26 before where it's like, well, I just go to church 25:28 because that's what I've always done. 25:30 Yeah, my family does it, we've always gone, 25:32 we go as a family. 25:34 But it wasn't until I actually took that step of faith, 25:37 if you will, 25:39 and started developing my relationship with Christ, 25:42 my personal relationship with Christ, 25:44 that I started to truly desire that fellowship at church, 25:47 desire the learning 25:48 that I would get from church and all that. 25:50 So I think, man, Jewlee, that was beautiful. 25:52 That's a great example. 25:53 Tiara, I think, it sounds like you're gonna say something. 25:55 Ben, I liked what you said about growing 25:57 and how you start taking a step at a time 26:00 and the imagery with the seed and how it grows. 26:03 When you start your faith, 26:05 you're not going to be doing all these crazy things, 26:07 like you see people who have been practicing 26:09 their faith for 50, 60 years, you know what I mean? 26:11 You start small, and that's okay. 26:13 But small faith equals big results like Jewlee said. 26:16 It's still the same there. 26:18 But I think of, When you start your Christian walk, 26:20 I think of like a baby, like, oh, cute little baby. 26:23 You have to start from square one, 26:25 babies start from square one, 26:27 they have to learn how to walk one step at a time, 26:29 how to talk one word at a time, they start out on milk, 26:33 and then they have to go through a process 26:34 and learn how to eat solid food. 26:36 And that's kind of trying to parallel 26:39 that with a faith walk. 26:41 You know, you start out small, 26:43 you're just starting to learn who God is. 26:45 You're just starting to become familiar with who He is. 26:47 And the more you figure out who God is, 26:50 the more your trust in Him gets bigger, 26:52 and the more your faith grows, 26:54 and the bigger steps you're going to start taking Yeah. 26:57 You start out small, you start out on milk, 26:59 you start out one step at a time. 27:01 But there comes a time too where you need to grow 27:03 and you need to start getting out, 27:04 you need to start doing bigger things 27:06 and taking bigger steps so that you can develop 27:09 and grow into who God wants you to be. 27:11 And a great way to do that, if you're going to church 27:14 and you're trying to is to find a mentor. 27:16 Find somebody in your church, like a pastor or a teacher, 27:20 maybe somebody that you work with, 27:21 or a family member who has been in that. 27:23 Let them teach you how to walk the right path, 27:28 how to talk with the words of Christ, 27:30 how to get a daily dose of the Word 27:31 so that you're feeding yourself spiritually, 27:34 so that you can take those steps, 27:36 continue to keep growing, don't get comfortable, 27:38 don't just stop at salvation and just stop at church, 27:42 find somebody at the church so you can grow more, 27:44 and so God can move these huge mountains for you 27:47 and your faith will influence others. 27:50 Yeah. That's great. 27:51 Community is a big part of that. 27:53 You were just saying, find people at church, 27:55 people who can encourage you, 27:56 people who can lead you to the right path, 27:58 who have wisdom, right? 28:00 So I think that's really great. 28:02 Find a mentor, 28:04 find someone who's lived in faith for the last 50 years. 28:07 Because you don't know it all. Right. Exactly. 28:10 And then just, you know, being, 28:11 you know, acknowledging that being humble, 28:13 like, oh, I'm faithful. 28:14 I know whati¿½faith is. 28:17 No, it's something we learn daily. 28:19 It's life long process. 28:20 Yeah, Michael, were you gonna say something? 28:23 Oh, I'm just reflecting on what you guys are saying. 28:26 I completely agree with Jewlee 28:28 and Tiara in terms of the first step is salvation, 28:32 and also once we are saved 28:34 we should continue to grow and mature. 28:37 For me, if I could just add to that, 28:38 I would just say that one of the most fundamental 28:41 steps of faith, 28:42 and this is something we have to do time like 28:45 over and over again, 28:46 is to continue to grow in our understanding 28:48 of God's love for us. 28:51 I think it's really intentional 28:54 how Ellen White entitled the first chapter 28:56 Steps to Christ, she entitled God's love for man. 29:00 She didn't start off with faith and acceptance. 29:03 She didn't start off with what to do with doubt. 29:05 She's made the first chapter, God's love for man. 29:08 I think that's so important 29:09 because understanding God's character 29:12 is what's going to help us to stay faithful to Him 29:14 when times get hard. 29:16 So even when we look at the life of Job. 29:19 Job had everything taken away from him, except for his life. 29:24 But he says, though God slays me, 29:28 yet will I trust in Him. 29:29 That was because Job understood God's love for him, 29:32 Job understood God's character. 29:35 And when we focus on the why for faith, 29:38 rather than just the what of faith, 29:40 the why will help us to stay faithful, 29:43 no matter what Satan tries to throw out. 29:44 And so I think, in addition to what Jewlee 29:47 and Tiara shared God's love, 29:49 we have to continually stay in the Word 29:52 and surround ourselves with positive influences 29:54 that will remind us that even when life isn't good, 29:58 God is, and because of thati¿½He's always worthy 30:01 of our trust and our faith. 30:02 Wow. That was great. 30:04 Go ahead and preach it. That was good. 30:05 Rachel, what you got? Yeah. 30:08 So the verse that I'm thinking of 30:10 is in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 30:17 and... 30:18 Yeah, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 30:22 and it says, rejoice always, and verse 17, 30:26 it says, pray continually, and verse 18, 30:31 it says, give thanks in all circumstances, 30:35 for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 30:38 And Michael just mentioned the story of Job, 30:41 and how everything was taken away from him. 30:44 Yet he still trusted God. 30:47 You guys are talking about community and finding a mentor. 30:51 What came to my mind was the power of joining 30:55 a Bible study group. 30:57 I started a... Yeah, right, I know. 31:00 Yeah, it's the best. 31:05 Anyone can do it. 31:07 So I started an online zoom 31:09 women's Bible study group this fall. 31:11 And I wasn't sure what to expect 31:14 and I wasn't sure would people join or not. 31:17 And we're doing this youth young adult program. 31:21 And the point I want to make here 31:24 is that we think that maybe a lot of young people 31:27 have left the church or what does that look like 31:31 for a lot of people, but the fact of the matter is, 31:33 there are a lot of people our age, 31:35 who are very hungry, and very thirsty 31:38 for the Word of God and for community. 31:41 And it's always such a joy to come together, 31:45 even if it's on zoom in a community to pray together 31:49 and to open the Bible together. 31:51 And if you don't have that type of opportunity 31:54 to pray for that, to pray for a community, 31:58 because I know, 31:59 that is something that can be hard to find as well. 32:02 And so to pray for that, this verse says that, 32:04 pray continually. 32:06 We can come to God as a friend and pray to Him 32:09 about anything and everything. 32:11 We're talking about simple faith actions 32:15 from starting small, working our way up, 32:17 you know, we can come to God as a friend 32:19 and pray to Him about anything and everything. 32:22 Even if we don't have a community, 32:24 we can ask Him for one, or we can ask Him for a mentor. 32:27 So that's what I wanted to share as well. 32:29 Yeah. I like that. 32:30 And I like that you mentioned 32:32 you started a Bible study group, 32:34 I think that's a big step in faith as it is, right? 32:37 Because like you said, you don't know 32:38 people are gonna come to it, or what they're gonna think. 32:41 So I think that's really cool. 32:42 And actually, you two started a small Bible study group 32:46 that I attend, and many of us attend. 32:48 And I think that's been a lot of fun, too. 32:50 But I bet that was a step of faith for you both as well. 32:52 Absolutely. For sure. 32:54 When God calls you out, just go. 32:55 And I mean, He's blessed all of us. 32:57 So you've been there, we've been there. 32:59 We've had a great time learning, again, 33:01 that sense of community and having people to, 33:03 to learn the word with you, 33:05 I mean, there's nothing like that. 33:06 Yeah. It's really been fun to study the Word together. 33:10 And, Rachel, I love that you also encouraged our audience, 33:15 encourage young people that there is an army 33:17 of young people out there who are dedicated 33:20 to the gospel and truly seeking 33:21 and are hungry for God and His Word. 33:25 So that's really amazing and encouraging to hear as well. 33:28 All right, let's dig into a different aspect of faith. 33:32 Okay. Okay? 33:34 Now we're talking about more of, 33:35 I guess I'll call this the more realistic 33:37 aspect of faith 33:38 which is struggles of having faith. 33:40 Right. 33:42 Even Christians who have been Christians 33:44 for 50 years, 60 years, 70 years, 80 years. 33:47 We all have our ups and downs. Yeah. 33:49 We have situations in our lives where it's difficult 33:52 to completely put our trust in God, 33:56 because we're human and we have faults. 33:59 All have fallen short of the glory of God. 34:00 So let's look at 34:02 James 1:2-3. 34:07 And let me see if... 34:10 Tiara, do you have that? I do have. 34:11 Would you be willing to read that? Sure. 34:13 Okay. Here we go. 34:14 James 1:2-3, "Dear brothers and sisters, 34:17 when troubles come your way, 34:19 consider it an opportunity for great joy. 34:22 For you know that when your faith is tested, 34:24 your endurance has a chance to grow." 34:26 Actually, I'm going to read verse 4 too, 34:28 I think it goes really good with it. 34:29 "So let it grow, 34:31 for when your endurance is fully developed, 34:33 you will be perfect and complete, 34:34 needing nothing." 34:37 Wow. 34:38 So that's interesting to me, 34:40 because it talks about... 34:45 How many of us, let's be real. 34:47 How many of us thank God 34:49 when something we consider bad happens in our lives, 34:52 like when we have trials in our lives, 34:54 like how many of us actually? 34:55 Calling us out all, Ben? 34:57 He's calling us out. 34:58 I mean, let's be real, right? 35:00 Whenever my car's not turning on, 35:03 or whatever's happening in my life 35:06 I'm not like sitting there going, oh, thank you. 35:07 Praise the Lord. 35:09 You stub your toe, you're not thinking, oh, 35:11 thank you, Lord, I needed that. 35:15 You know, it's like how often do we really, 35:18 you know how realistic is that? 35:19 But here's what I love and this actually pairs 35:22 with what Rachel read just a bit ago. 35:25 It said the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5 said, 35:30 give thanks in every circumstance. 35:33 And I've really been on that recently, 35:36 I actually did a worship thought here at 3ABN on that, 35:39 where it was talking about that verse specifically. 35:43 And there's a song that has meant a lot to me 35:46 over the past few months. 35:47 And it's called gratitude. 35:48 It's a simple song, simple lyrics, 35:50 but it basically is talking about, 35:54 whatever I'm going through, 35:55 I'm going to throw up my hands and praise You 35:57 again and again, regardless. 35:59 And that's what's so powerful about that verse, 36:01 this song, and this idea is that 36:05 even though we still go through trials 36:07 if we have our faith in God, 36:09 we can give Him thanks in every circumstance 36:11 because regardless 36:13 of what's going on in our lives, 36:14 we know He's still working 36:16 behind the scenes for our good. 36:17 Right. So I think that's really great. 36:20 What are you guys' thoughts on struggling with having faith 36:23 and how we can kind of combat that? 36:25 Right. 36:27 I like it because it says when troubles come your way, 36:29 consider it an opportunity for great joy, 36:31 for you know that when your faith is tested, 36:33 your endurance has a chance to grow. 36:35 And we're just talking about growing, 36:37 how perfect does that fit? 36:39 Growing, you think of back to my analogy of the baby growing. 36:42 Sometimes I don't know 36:44 if anybody else has experienced, 36:45 but there's a thing called growing pains. 36:47 When you start growing 36:48 up, maybe your muscles hurt or something. 36:49 And that's kind of what it is with faith, 36:52 you're going to be put in places 36:54 where there's oppression, 36:55 and you're being pressed down 36:56 and people think that you're crazy for your faith, 36:59 or you're persecuted for your faith, 37:01 whatever it might be, in those chances, 37:03 consider it a chance to, 37:06 an opportunity to grow in those times of persecution. 37:09 I mean, that is where your faith can grow big 37:12 because you have your daily practices 37:14 of reading your Bible of maybe talking in little groups 37:17 or whatever it might be your daily practices, 37:19 but it's only when you're under oppression. 37:22 That's when your faith stands. 37:24 That's when all your daily practices come in, 37:26 and they bind together 37:28 and you can stand on that firm foundation 37:29 that settled confidence 37:31 and what God has set for your life. 37:33 I like that. I like that and you know, that's where I... 37:36 When I think of that scripture it's like when you think, 37:40 rejoice, you know, going through these trials 37:43 like that sounds so strange, 37:44 but Satan is going to do anything 37:48 he can to stop you from what God has for you. 37:52 So if you're facing these things, 37:53 if you're facing all of that stuff, 37:56 then yeah, you should rejoice 37:59 because that means you're doing something right. 38:01 If all these things are coming against you, 38:04 that means Satan is trying to stop you. 38:06 So you're doing something right Means you're in God's will 38:09 and he does not want you there. 38:10 Because when you're in God's will, 38:12 those mountains are gonna start moving 38:14 and he does not want that to happen. 38:15 He's not happy about that. 38:17 If God is for us who can be against us. 38:18 Exactly. 38:20 I mean, it's really that simple. 38:22 If God is for us who can be against us. 38:23 You know, I was thinking about, 38:25 really quickly before I go to Rachel and Michael. 38:28 I was thinking about, there are times in my life 38:33 where people have done me wrong. 38:35 Yeah. 38:37 Situations, could be close friends, 38:38 could be family could be whoever, right? 38:39 And, you know, a lot of times, like Tiara was saying, 38:42 that's kind of where our faith and our character, 38:45 our Christian character kind 38:47 of is in the testing phase right there. 38:49 Because how are we going to react to that situation? 38:52 And you know sometimes, 38:54 you know, whenever someone does you wrong, 38:56 there's a bad situation, 38:57 you don't want to pray for that person. 38:59 You want revenge. Yeah. 39:00 Our natural tendency is to say, 39:03 well, I hope they get what they deserve. 39:05 But really as I've grown in my faith in Christ, 39:08 and my character has grown in Him, 39:11 I'm so thankful that He is softening my heart 39:13 more and more to even people 39:15 who have put me through rough situations. 39:18 And really, I just want to pray for them, 39:21 and ask God to just help them, regardless of what they did, 39:24 or how they're feeling or whatever, 39:26 because sometimes too some people aren't doing things 39:30 because they want to do that to you but they're doing them 39:33 because of maybe how they were raised, 39:35 or maybe because of a circumstance 39:36 that they're in and that's making them react 39:39 in a negative way towards other people. 39:41 So being sensitive to that and being aware of that 39:44 and just growing in that love 39:46 and character that Christ gives us 39:50 as we begin to know Him more 39:51 is something that's just really specialized. 39:54 I think that was good way. 39:56 So, Rachel and Michael, 40:00 I want to know what you guys think. 40:01 Every single point you guys have been hitting 40:03 has been like incredible. 40:04 So I don't care who wants to start? 40:07 Michael, go ahead. Okay. 40:11 Well, when I was thinking about struggles of having faith, 40:15 the Bible story that came to my head immediately 40:17 was the Israelites 40:19 when they were enslaved in Egypt. 40:22 Specifically, when you look at Exodus 6:1-9, 40:26 I won't read it now for time's sake. 40:27 But basically, in those verses, Moses, 40:31 he's come back to Egypt and he's told the Israelites 40:35 that God is going to set them free. 40:37 He told them that, God has a plan for you, 40:40 God has a promised land for you 40:42 and He was trying to give them hope 40:44 but because the Israelites had been enslaved for so long, 40:49 it's almost like they got spiritual burnout. 40:52 It's like they got tired of waiting on God, 40:55 and they were struggling with their faith 40:57 because what they were seeing was different 41:01 from what they heard God say He was going to do. 41:04 And I think that's something 41:06 that is not just unique to them. 41:08 It's something that we all struggle with, 41:10 in waiting on God, you know, even when we look historically, 41:13 at the founding of our denomination, 41:16 on October 22, 1844, 41:19 there were a lot of people 41:20 who were waiting on Jesus to come back, 41:23 but because what they expected didn't come to pass, 41:27 there were some people who, who lost faith and even today, 41:31 you know, as Seventh-day Adventists 41:33 is part of our name, 41:34 we're waiting on that second advent, 41:36 the second coming of Jesus Christ. 41:38 Even today, there are some people 41:40 who are just like, we've been waiting, 41:42 we've been waiting, 41:43 and their faith is getting weak, 41:45 but I think the saving grace in all of it is that 41:50 God's character is not dependent on our circumstances. 41:54 So even when it seems like or feels like 41:59 God isn't going to come through, 42:01 all we have to do is look back over the course of our lives 42:04 and see time and time and time again, 42:08 where Jesus did come through, you 42:10 know, it's almost like we get spiritual amnesia 42:12 whenever we face a trial. 42:14 It's just like, oh, how am I gonna get up? 42:16 How's gonna God bring me through? 42:17 It's like, He just bought you something else yesterday. 42:22 We forget so quickly about the goodness of God. 42:25 And do, yeah, just that waiting period, 42:28 and just trying to wait on God to come through the way 42:31 that He said He would 42:33 sometimes can cause a struggle in our faith. 42:37 But I heard one person say like this, that, 42:39 when we're waiting on God, we don't need a miracle. 42:42 We need a memory. 42:44 We need to remember about the goodness of God, 42:47 we need to remember time... 42:49 We should even keep a log even write down every time 42:51 God answers our prayers. 42:53 And it will help us to hold on to our faith, 42:55 to hold on to God even when we face new trials. 42:58 Yeah. Wow, that's powerful. 43:00 That's powerful. 43:02 And just, yeah, exactly, 43:03 acknowledging the goodness of God. 43:05 I mean, there are many situations in our lives. 43:06 And I think we can all say that God's been good. 43:09 Even, I would say, obviously, more than once, 43:12 but I mean, for sure, one time, God has been good to us. 43:16 Even if it was just one time, that's still more than enough. 43:22 More than we deserve. 43:23 I like that, Michael. 43:24 I love that you said that because I even had that 43:26 in my notes too. 43:27 Patience almost always goes right alongside with faith, 43:32 because it's almost like it's, 43:34 if you're going to grow your faith, 43:36 that's your side effects. 43:37 You're gonna have some patience 43:38 that you're gonna have to work on, 43:40 because sometimes it doesn't always come 43:42 the way you want it to. 43:43 But that that faith in God, that was so good, Michael, 43:46 I really appreciated that. 43:47 That's really good. Rachel, did you have anything? 43:50 Yeah. 43:52 Thank you, Michael, for sharing that. 43:54 I was just thinking about that yesterday about 43:57 when you're in a tough spot, just like what you just said. 44:00 And I'm not going to repeat what you said. 44:02 That, how much does it help us 44:04 when we remember the times 44:06 that God has answered our prayers in the past? 44:08 And the verse I want to share with you is Psalms 23:4, 44:13 because it's so encouraging and comforting, 44:16 bring so much comfort, it says, 44:18 "Ye though I walk through the valley 44:20 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 44:23 for You are with me, 44:25 Your rod and Your staff they comfort me." 44:29 Because when we're going through trials, 44:31 and when we're going through hardships, 44:33 and when we're, you know, we're having our faith 44:35 and we're remembering how God has brought us 44:37 through the past and the enemy is trying 44:40 to discourage us and block our memory 44:45 of not wanting us to remember 44:48 how God has answered our prayers. 44:51 God is right there with us 44:53 and He will help us through and He will comfort us 44:57 and that's why I love this verse because it says, 45:00 "Even though I walk through the valley 45:02 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 45:05 for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, 45:08 they comfort me." 45:10 And so, for, whoever is watching 45:14 or listening right now, 45:15 I just want to affirm you and encourage you. 45:19 If you're dealing with a illness, 45:21 if you're dealing with a sickness, 45:23 if you're dealing with a loss of a loved one, 45:26 whatever it is that 45:27 you are facing financial difficulty, 45:30 whatever the struggle 45:32 and your faith feels like it's shaking, 45:34 I just want you to claim this Bible verse today 45:38 and this week, and know that God, 45:40 He can and He will comfort you, 45:42 and He will not leave you 45:45 and He will help you through this. 45:47 Amen. Yeah. That's awesome. 45:49 So I want to ask you, Rachel and Michael, 45:52 since we're on the topic of struggles of faith, 45:54 has there ever been a situation in your lives 45:56 that you maybe struggled to have faith in? 45:58 What was something that you did 46:00 or maybe something you read in Scripture 46:01 that helped encourage you to kind of regain that faith? 46:05 Was there any situation in your lives? 46:09 Well, I think that everybody has faith, 46:14 but sometimes our faith may just be misplaced. 46:19 For me, you know, growing up in the church, 46:22 born and raised, you know, 46:24 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 46:25 For me, for the majority of my life, 46:29 I had misplaced faith, 46:31 because I believe that salvation 46:34 and righteousness came by works. 46:36 So I had faith, but my faith was in myself 46:40 to be good enough and righteous enough in order 46:43 to be able to go to heaven. 46:46 And what helped me actually when I went to undergrad, 46:51 whilst undergrad at Oakwood University, 46:53 on what helped me is learning about the truth, 46:56 of the truths of salvation and righteousness by faith, 47:01 trusting in the goodness of God, 47:03 trusting in what God has done on our behalf 47:05 rather than trusting myself, 47:08 you know, realizing and having that epiphany like, 47:10 wow, like, I can never keep enough Sabbaths, 47:12 I can never read enough Ellen G. White's books, 47:14 I can never eat enough veggie meat to be good enough, 47:20 to be able to go to heaven. 47:24 But God helped me to redirect my faith on to, 47:28 from the sand to the solid rock, 47:30 which is Jesus Christ, and trust in Him for, 47:33 you know, my salvation 47:35 and trust in Him to continually help me to grow in Him 47:39 and become more like Him each day. 47:41 So that was probably 47:43 the biggest struggle faith I've had. 47:46 And God really helped me 47:48 through the word by showing me that, 47:50 you know, 47:51 salvation comes by grace through faith 47:53 in Jesus Christ alone. 47:54 Amen. I like that. 47:56 I think that's good because knowing our God, 48:00 we have to have faith that He will keep His promises. 48:03 The things that He tells us He's gonna do, 48:05 we have to have faith that He's gonna do it. 48:07 Like we said, through this whole thing here, 48:10 it can be difficult, you know, 48:12 but we have to do our best to have faith in that. 48:15 What about you guys? 48:16 Have you guys ever had a situation 48:17 in your life like that? 48:19 Oh, absolutely. I mean it. 48:21 Wait, you guys have? No, not us. 48:23 Not us, I thought about someone else. 48:24 No, I mean, I could sit here all day 48:28 and tell you guys how important faith is 48:30 but I mean, if we're all being honest, 48:32 it's way easier said than done, 48:34 way easier and I find myself not having enough faith 48:37 in more situations than I'd even like to admit, 48:40 but even just recently, 48:42 I felt like God was really calling me 48:45 and telling me that Tiara 48:47 and I are going to start doing skits, 48:49 and performing for Him 48:51 because we used to be on a drama team. 48:52 And we used to travel and do these skits. 48:54 And so whenever He told me, 48:56 we were going to be doing that again, 48:57 I was so excited, I was pumped, I was ready. 49:00 And then when like a situation or something would come up, 49:03 I'd be like, this is it. 49:04 This is our opportunity. 49:06 It's it, and then it would fall through and I get discouraged. 49:08 And then another opportunity would come up, 49:11 and then people would be like, okay, 49:13 but you're a little too loud. 49:14 You're a little too crazy. 49:16 You need to calm down a little bit. 49:18 You can't say that and, I was like, 49:21 man, God, I thought You told me 49:23 that this is what we were gonna do. 49:25 And now, it's not happening. 49:27 I was getting so discouraged and Tiara even told me, 49:30 she said, Jewlee, listen, 49:33 you're letting people tell you how to do something 49:36 that God has given you. 49:38 And that's not how it works. 49:40 And then I'm telling you, I had an epiphany. 49:43 I was like, I am letting people tell me 49:47 how to do things that God has given me. 49:49 Why am I doing that? 49:51 You're never going to please everyone as long 49:53 as you're faithful to God and listening to Him. 49:55 That's just what you have to do. 49:57 So often though, we let people dictate 49:59 the boundaries of our own faith. 50:01 Exactly. They get to tell us how far we can go. 50:04 Yeah. Why do we let that happen? 50:06 We just talked about 50:08 how our God can move mountains and stuff. 50:10 But we fell short in that and everything 50:14 and it's just common, don't let people dictate 50:17 the boundary of your faith. 50:19 Yeah. And that's what I thought. 50:21 I thought okay, so maybe, maybe we can start doing some skits 50:25 at some local churches. 50:26 And then I thought, well, why stop there? 50:28 We could travel all over Southern Illinois 50:30 and perform all these skits for God. 50:33 Why stop there? 50:34 We could go anywhere that God sends us 50:36 and we could win thousands of souls to Christ. 50:39 There's no limit in God, like having full faith in God. 50:43 That's crazy but that's what we're called to do. 50:46 We tend to put God in a box. Yes, we do. 50:49 Because we only can see our possibilities, 50:53 and not see what God can make impossibilities for us, right? 50:57 We can only see from our own narrow viewpoint. Yeah. 51:01 Let's say we don't have peripheral vision, 51:02 so to speak, right? 51:03 We can only see what's in front of us. 51:06 So it's really amazing how, 51:09 as we grow in our faith 51:11 like you were just giving an example, 51:12 as we grow in believing that God's gonna do 51:14 what He's gonna do, and He's gonna lead us 51:16 to what He's calling us to do, 51:18 and provide opportunities for that. 51:20 It's amazing that He will exceed anything you can think, 51:25 in your own mind every time. 51:29 And it's just really a beautiful thing. 51:31 Rachel, it sounded like maybe you want to say 51:32 something on this topic of having an example of this? 51:37 Sure. 51:38 Well, I mean, I'm just being touched 51:40 by everything you guys are saying and so blessed. 51:44 I'm so thankful for who our God is. 51:48 There's so much I think that we all could say, 51:52 so many stories we all could share of times 51:57 where God has intervened in our lives, 52:00 times where God has performed miracles in our lives. 52:03 One thing that I have noticed, 52:06 related to that is that God, 52:10 He will wait until the very last second 52:15 to answer our prayers. 52:20 And something along with that is, 52:23 if I remember many times, 52:25 very recently as well being in a very tough situation. 52:29 And if I had stopped praying, 52:33 if I had stopped praying, 52:35 I honestly don't know what would have happened. 52:40 I'm so grateful to God for answering 52:43 that prayer in particular. 52:45 And I'm just saying all of this to make the point 52:50 that we can't give up, we can't give up. 52:54 We talked about this earlier, praying without ceasing, 52:58 rejoicing, keeping that hope in Jesus. 53:02 Because God will, 53:03 we're talking about the mustard seed, 53:05 having faith of the size of the mustard seed. 53:07 God will do the impossible for us, 53:11 but we have to continue to play the part as well, 53:15 we have to keep praying, 53:17 putting one foot in front of the other as well. 53:21 Sometimes we can't do it alone and so don't feel bad 53:25 if you have to reach out to friends 53:27 or family or loved ones for help. 53:30 Because we're not meant to go through life alone, 53:33 especially when you're in difficult moments 53:36 and so that is also something to keep in mind as well. 53:40 And so, I'm just so thankful. 53:43 And I just want to give praise to God 53:44 for many answered prayers in my life 53:47 and for all of your lives 53:50 and for those who are listening and watching. 53:52 I know that there will be many answered prayers to come 53:55 as well for them too. 53:57 Praise the Lord. Yeah, I love that. 54:00 It's amazing because our impossible 54:03 is God's possible and I love that, 54:06 our impossible is God's possible. 54:07 That's right. Thankful for that. 54:09 We only have about three minutes left, guys. 54:12 So this has gone really fast. 54:13 This has been a really great, great discussion, great study. 54:16 Thank you all so much for joining us on this program. 54:18 But let's talk about something that I think over, 54:22 you know, the COVID period 54:23 has really been a topic among Christians 54:25 and even those who aren't Christians, 54:27 which is faith versus fear, right? 54:31 Can you be fearful but still have faith in God? 54:33 And there's various opinions and ideas on that, 54:36 but we're gonna stick as best to Scripture 54:38 as we possibly can. 54:39 Yeah. 54:40 Now something that as I was studying these verses 54:42 for this specific topic here, 54:45 something that I noticed in Scripture 54:47 is that a lot of times our fear leads us 54:51 to faith and trust in God. 54:53 And we can see this time and time again. 54:56 In the Bible, one verse, 54:57 particularly that I'm thinking of is Psalm 56:3-4, 55:01 which says, "When I'm afraid, 55:02 I put my trust in You," obviously meaning God, 55:05 "in God whose words I praise, 55:07 in God I trust, I shall not be afraid, 55:10 what can flesh do to me?" 55:13 And then, of course, there's this promise 55:15 in Isaiah 41 that says, "Fear not, for I'm with you, 55:18 be not dismayed for I'm your God, 55:19 I'll strengthen you and I will help you. 55:22 I'll uphold you with My righteous hand." 55:24 Amen. 55:25 So what I see in Scripture, at least for this specific topic 55:29 is that regardless of where we're at in our lives, 55:33 we may have fear and we're gonna have fear. 55:35 There's a lot of examples in Scripture, 55:39 even Jesus was fearful in the Garden of Gethsemane, 55:43 when He was praying to God, and He said, "Lord, 55:45 if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me." 55:47 But He said, "Let Your will be done," 55:50 after that, regardless. 55:51 So He was putting His faith in God and saying, 55:54 Lord, I'm about to go through something that I'm not even, 55:57 in His human flesh, He couldn't even comprehend. 56:00 But He still was able to put His trust in God, 56:03 which is so amazing. 56:04 And Jesus is our greatest example. Exactly. 56:06 So we have only about a minute and a half. 56:07 So really quick, short responses, 56:09 who's got a response? 56:11 I think fear is always going to try to stop you. 56:15 It will always be there. 56:16 When God calls you out for something, 56:18 fear is going to try to be there to stop you. 56:21 A lot of the times it does stop people. 56:22 Don't let it stop you. 56:24 Don't let fear stop you. 56:26 Fear is always going to try to dirty your vision 56:28 for what God has for you. 56:29 But if you let go, and you let God, 56:33 that fear will become the soil in which your faith will grow. 56:37 So just remember that. 56:38 She is preaching. I'm preaching, I'm here. 56:41 All right, anybody else got something on that? 56:44 Faith over fear, anybody? 56:48 Just keep trusting in God, no matter what happens, 56:51 just don't let fear control you, 56:53 just give it to God, submit it to God, 56:55 and keep claiming Jesus over your life 56:58 and He will take care of you. 57:00 Amen. That's powerful. 57:02 All right, guys, I just want to thank you all 57:04 so much for joining us today. 57:05 Of course, Jewlee and Tiara on set. 57:07 Then, of course, our friends, Rachael and Michael, 57:11 who were joining us via Skype. 57:12 Just thank you guys so much for being a part 57:13 of this program with us. 57:15 And we want to thank you for joining us today as well. 57:17 Know we're praying for you, and that we pray 57:19 that this program has been a blessing 57:21 and hopefully you got something out of it. 57:23 And if you're struggling in your faith, 57:25 I just pray that God will help replenish 57:27 that in your life and help that grow. 57:28 Well, until next time, friends, 57:30 remember to keep moving forward in Jesus. |
Revised 2022-02-03