WEBVTT 00:00:01.479 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:10.539 Elation Church. Welcome to week number four, 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:13.259 I believe. Everybody say week number four. Week 00:00:13.259 --> 00:00:15.099 number four in our series that we've entitled 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:18.739 Faith Act. Has anyone learned anything along 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:22.300 the way in this series? I have to admit that 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:25.059 I've learned some things, even though I'm the 00:00:25.059 --> 00:00:27.260 one teaching it. I'm learning it before I teach 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:32.100 it. And today... was just a big aha moment for 00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:36.880 me. Last week when I was preparing for this message, 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:39.359 it's like all of a sudden I saw something that 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.280 I'd never seen before. And that's strange when 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:48.240 you've preached the text multiple times. Remember, 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:51.179 I was in evangelism on the road, so I preached 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:53.799 a lot of sermons more than once, all right, if 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:58.060 you hadn't figured that out. So I preached this. 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.460 And I was so shocked that I've never seen it. 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:06.540 Have you ever read a Bible verse or even memorized 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:08.239 a Bible verse and then all of a sudden you see 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.500 it? It's like you might have known it for 10 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:13.640 years. You might have memorized it for 20 years. 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:16.019 And then all of a sudden you're like, is that 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:20.480 what that says? Is anybody with me? Well, that's 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:22.900 a big aha moment for me. And maybe everybody 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:26.819 in the room already knew. What I didn't know. 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:29.560 Okay, so it may not be an aha moment for you, 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:34.140 but it was definitely an aha moment for me. Faith 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:37.159 acts. Let's talk about faith. Just a reminder, 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:40.579 Ephesians 2 .8 tells us something very important 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:43.739 about faith. It says this, for by grace you have 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:49.120 been saved through faith. So, everybody say grace. 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:52.640 I believe the definition for grace might be here. 00:01:54.069 --> 00:01:56.569 Grace, we're going to take it above, you know, 00:01:56.590 --> 00:02:03.569 what you've got memorized, all right? Let's look 00:02:03.569 --> 00:02:08.090 at it this way. Grace is God's acts of kindness 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:12.090 and favor towards you and towards me. Some people 00:02:12.090 --> 00:02:14.330 just cut it off at unmerited favor, and, you 00:02:14.330 --> 00:02:18.830 know, let's personalize it, right? Because God 00:02:18.830 --> 00:02:23.460 has done some pretty amazing things. showing 00:02:23.460 --> 00:02:27.060 His love, showing His kindness, showing His favor 00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:32.180 towards you and me when we didn't deserve it. 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:38.400 We didn't deserve it. So grace, that's the part 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:43.360 God did which makes it available. See, grace 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:47.520 makes it available. Are you with me? Y 'all got 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:49.680 to listen faster. I don't want you to go to sleep. 00:02:50.739 --> 00:02:52.620 It's easy to go to sleep when it gets warm, right? 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:56.860 Grace makes it available, but just because it's 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:03.500 available doesn't mean that we have it. Yes. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:07.340 Just because it's available doesn't mean that 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:09.159 it's ours. It means that it's available. And 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:15.039 how do we take hold of it? By faith. It's by 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:18.719 grace. God's grace made salvation available. 00:03:20.110 --> 00:03:24.550 And then we receive it through faith. We have 00:03:24.550 --> 00:03:27.150 to receive it. Just like every other promise 00:03:27.150 --> 00:03:32.629 of God, we receive it the same way that we receive 00:03:32.629 --> 00:03:37.610 salvation. We receive it through faith. Galatians 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:39.889 3 .11, No one is justified by the law in the 00:03:39.889 --> 00:03:43.210 sight of God, that's evident, for the just shall 00:03:43.210 --> 00:03:46.500 live by faith. those who have been justified, 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:50.240 where God looks at you just as if you've never 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:54.860 sinned against Him, when you're in that position 00:03:54.860 --> 00:04:00.039 in Christ, then you live by faith. You live by 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:05.319 faith. You're not justified by your ability to 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:10.060 keep the rules. You're justified because of what 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:12.900 God has provided, and then you receive it by 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:17.930 faith. 2 Corinthians 5, 7, for we walk by faith. 00:04:18.029 --> 00:04:20.810 Everybody say walk by faith. We walk by faith 00:04:20.810 --> 00:04:23.209 and not by sight. This word walk means the sphere 00:04:23.209 --> 00:04:26.610 of our existence. Every day, everything we're 00:04:26.610 --> 00:04:29.149 involved in, the Bible tells us that we should 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:32.790 live by faith and walk by faith. Our existence 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:37.670 should be about our faith in God, not based on 00:04:37.670 --> 00:04:46.639 what we see or what we feel. Y 'all got to smile 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:48.660 every once in a while. Make me preach better 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:50.839 if you smile every once in a while. 1 John 5, 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:55.759 4. Good news, right? Every child of God. How 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:57.459 many children of God do we have in the room? 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:03.540 Every child of God defeats this evil world. We 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:11.180 are all victors. God's grace makes that available. 00:05:12.389 --> 00:05:19.470 For you to live in victory in this world. And 00:05:19.470 --> 00:05:21.509 how do you connect to it? How do you achieve 00:05:21.509 --> 00:05:27.050 it? Through your faith. Through your faith. Hebrews 00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:30.850 11, 6 says this. It's impossible to please God 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:34.209 without faith. How many people want to please 00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:38.370 God? Well, then we have to understand faith and 00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:41.100 walk by faith, live by faith. If we're going 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:45.019 to please God. So if we're saved through faith, 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.000 if we're called to live by faith, if we only 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.459 experience victory through faith, and if we can 00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:52.939 only please God by our faith, then we need to 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:56.100 be people of faith. Actively living by faith. 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:59.120 Actively standing in faith. Actively increasing 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:05.360 in faith. Faith is important. Faith is important. 00:06:05.850 --> 00:06:07.490 If you come to the Lathian Church a lot, you 00:06:07.490 --> 00:06:09.910 might get to the point where you say, man, we 00:06:09.910 --> 00:06:13.389 got another sermon on faith? Well, it's very 00:06:13.389 --> 00:06:17.290 important. It's very important. Because it's 00:06:17.290 --> 00:06:20.870 critical if we want these things in our lives, 00:06:20.970 --> 00:06:23.189 if we want to see the promises of God fulfilled 00:06:23.189 --> 00:06:25.730 and manifested in our lives, then we're going 00:06:25.730 --> 00:06:28.430 to have to be people of faith. Going to have 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:31.089 to understand it. And I don't care how much you 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:36.360 know about it, you have room to grow. You have 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:38.680 room to grow. Look at the person beside you and 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:42.139 say, you have room to grow. Some of us have more 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:49.620 room to grow than others. I want to grow. I want 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:53.240 to grow. I want to be a person of faith, actively 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:55.540 living by faith, actively standing in faith, 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:59.019 actively increasing in faith. If you know me, 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:01.480 I want you to look at me as this is happening 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:06.430 in my life. So what is faith? Where does it come 00:07:06.430 --> 00:07:11.709 from? How do we have it? How do we live it? Romans 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:14.610 10, 17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by 00:07:14.610 --> 00:07:20.930 the word of God. Without a word from God, we're 00:07:20.930 --> 00:07:23.170 living on speculation. We're not living by faith. 00:07:23.310 --> 00:07:26.430 We might live... I mean, I guess people live 00:07:26.430 --> 00:07:29.129 in faith in themselves or faith in other people 00:07:29.129 --> 00:07:33.639 around them, but... I've let myself down quite 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:35.800 a few times and other people have let me down 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:38.720 quite a few times. So it's important if we're 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:40.240 going to have the faith that pleases God, it 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:43.879 has to be faith in God. Jesus said, have faith 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.720 in God. He didn't say just have faith. He said, 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:49.500 have faith in God because God is the one who 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:56.139 is able. And that faith comes to us when we hear 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.839 the word of God, when we hear a divine utterance. 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:05.019 Whether it's spoken or written. Now, that means 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:10.180 that all these promises in here, thousands of 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:16.620 promises, thousands. As you read them, the Holy 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:19.319 Spirit can cause them to come alive on the inside 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.680 of you and you say, God just promised me that. 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.220 God just promised me that. And I'm going to believe 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:32.169 it. I'm going to receive it. Right? So faith 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:34.590 comes by hearing. But it also comes by hearing 00:08:34.590 --> 00:08:38.149 that divine utterance from God, the Holy Spirit, 00:08:38.309 --> 00:08:40.990 who is living on the inside of us, who speaks 00:08:40.990 --> 00:08:43.870 to us in a still, small voice. Most of the time, 00:08:43.870 --> 00:08:48.769 still, small voice. So, how many of you know 00:08:48.769 --> 00:08:52.370 that, you know, there's a whole lot of things 00:08:52.370 --> 00:08:55.809 that God might be asking you to do that are not 00:08:55.809 --> 00:09:02.419 written in black and white in this book? But 00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:05.419 that doesn't mean that there's not a divine utterance. 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:09.379 Now, everything we say that we hear from God 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:14.419 has to agree with God's written Word. It has 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:17.840 to agree. If you tell me that God told you to 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:21.500 do something that the Word of God says that God's 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:25.000 against that, then God didn't tell you to do 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.860 it. He didn't tell you to. But there's not a 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:43.690 verse that says, hey, In April of 2021, I want 00:09:43.690 --> 00:09:47.690 you to move from Myrtle Beach to Four Corners 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:52.129 and plant Elation Church. There's no black and 00:09:52.129 --> 00:09:55.850 white verse for that. If you find it, let me 00:09:55.850 --> 00:10:00.850 know. But there is the Holy Spirit of God speaking 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:07.289 His divine utterance to lead into God. There 00:10:07.289 --> 00:10:17.730 was not a verse that said in August of 84, there 00:10:17.730 --> 00:10:21.409 wasn't a verse that said, okay, Dean, I want 00:10:21.409 --> 00:10:24.149 you to marry Gannon. There wasn't a verse for 00:10:24.149 --> 00:10:28.769 that. But I had the peace of God and the direction 00:10:28.769 --> 00:10:32.990 of God and joy of God all wrapped up all in it. 00:10:33.389 --> 00:10:38.009 Right? So, a divine utterance. Faith comes by 00:10:38.009 --> 00:10:41.350 hearing and hearing by a divine utterance from 00:10:41.350 --> 00:10:44.970 God. So the first step, everybody say first step. 00:10:45.330 --> 00:10:48.769 First step is hearing the divine utterance. Now 00:10:48.769 --> 00:10:51.710 when you hear it, then you have a decision to 00:10:51.710 --> 00:10:55.740 make. Are you going to believe it? Are you going 00:10:55.740 --> 00:10:58.879 to have confidence in it? Hebrews 11 .1 says, 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:01.220 Faith is the confidence. Everybody say confidence. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.700 That what we hope for will actually happen. It 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:06.759 gives us assurance. Everybody say assurance. 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:12.139 About the things we cannot see. So, confidence. 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:16.620 That what we hope for. What is hope? It's not 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:18.539 a hope, so hope. It's a confident expectation. 00:11:19.690 --> 00:11:22.269 That we're going to see the promises of God fulfilled. 00:11:22.350 --> 00:11:24.450 We're going to see the goodness of God fulfilled 00:11:24.450 --> 00:11:30.750 in our lives based on what He has said. Based 00:11:30.750 --> 00:11:34.450 on what He has said. You believe it to the point 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:37.090 not where you just have some kind of mental agreement. 00:11:37.210 --> 00:11:39.990 No, you believe it where you have confidence 00:11:39.990 --> 00:11:46.690 in it. So the second step of faith is wholeheartedly. 00:11:47.409 --> 00:11:51.289 believing and having confidence in God's Word. 00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:56.929 Second step. Now, a lot of people just quit right 00:11:56.929 --> 00:12:01.090 there for I don't know how many years of my Christian 00:12:01.090 --> 00:12:05.110 life. I mean, maybe 20 years. I mean, if I heard 00:12:05.110 --> 00:12:07.389 it and believed it and wholeheartedly believed 00:12:07.389 --> 00:12:19.009 it, that's faith. Is it? Well, in this series, 00:12:19.090 --> 00:12:22.570 what we're learning from God's Word is that there 00:12:22.570 --> 00:12:27.070 has to be a corresponding action. Everybody say 00:12:27.070 --> 00:12:30.409 corresponding action. Because faith without works 00:12:30.409 --> 00:12:34.870 is dead faith. How many of you know dead faith 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:40.009 won't produce anything? So we can hear it, and 00:12:40.009 --> 00:12:42.950 we can say we believe it, and even be confident 00:12:42.950 --> 00:12:45.490 in ourself that we believe it. But if there's 00:12:45.490 --> 00:12:48.529 no corresponding action attached to it, then 00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:54.090 it's not going to produce. It's dead faith. I 00:12:54.090 --> 00:12:55.490 don't need to preach that. That's going to be 00:12:55.490 --> 00:13:00.029 the last sermon of the series. Anyway, so the 00:13:00.029 --> 00:13:03.490 third step, everybody say third step, is acting 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:08.590 in obedience. Acting in obedience. Sometimes 00:13:08.590 --> 00:13:13.350 it's very clear in the Word of God. If you... 00:13:15.959 --> 00:13:18.860 then I promise you that I'm going to do this. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.580 And we can believe the promise and believe that 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:26.860 God keeps His promises and say, well, that promise 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:31.259 is for me, but if we don't do our if part, then 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:38.559 we can't expect God to do His then part. I'm 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.080 already getting some pushback on the social media 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:46.340 from this sermon series. But I don't care. I 00:13:46.340 --> 00:13:49.799 don't care. I've got preacher friends giving 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:51.799 me some pushback. They're like, oh, you're talking 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:55.139 about... Listen, when I talk about acting and 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:56.899 when I talk about works, I'm not talking about 00:13:56.899 --> 00:14:01.100 the works of the law. That's not what I'm talking 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:05.740 about. And you could run off and say, well, you 00:14:05.740 --> 00:14:08.759 know, preacher's saying that we get saved by 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:14.350 works. I didn't say that. And if you're listening, 00:14:14.429 --> 00:14:18.950 I didn't say that. Okay? But what I am going 00:14:18.950 --> 00:14:22.889 to say is, salvation is provided, but you have 00:14:22.889 --> 00:14:26.529 to act on it to receive it. You have to connect 00:14:26.529 --> 00:14:29.870 your faith to it to receive it. The Bible says 00:14:29.870 --> 00:14:32.889 you've got to believe it, then you've got to 00:14:32.889 --> 00:14:35.889 confess your sin. If we confess our sins, He's 00:14:35.889 --> 00:14:38.690 faithful and just. So that's an act. Confession 00:14:38.690 --> 00:14:43.500 is an act. If you don't confess, you're not going 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:47.860 to receive salvation. If you don't call on the 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:49.720 name of the Lord, you're not going to be saved. 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:54.960 Hello? So you have to confess and you have to 00:14:54.960 --> 00:15:00.759 call. Those are two actions. Two actions. So 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:03.860 the third step of faith is acting in obedience. 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:07.399 It's not by keeping the rules, no. But it is 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:09.879 by acting in the way that God calls you to act. 00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:15.570 So our connection to the power and the ability 00:15:15.570 --> 00:15:18.690 of God, everybody say God is able. Our connection 00:15:18.690 --> 00:15:21.450 to his power, everybody say he's all -powerful. 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:26.149 Our connection to his all -powerfulness and his 00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:32.409 ability is when we act on what he said. That's 00:15:32.409 --> 00:15:34.990 our connection. And don't forget, you've got 00:15:34.990 --> 00:15:36.669 to hear it, you've got to believe it, you've 00:15:36.669 --> 00:15:39.509 got to have confidence, but there's always an 00:15:39.509 --> 00:15:43.210 act, always an action. The faith that ultimately 00:15:43.210 --> 00:15:46.809 pleases God is a faith that responds. It does. 00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:52.330 It acts. It gives. Whatever it is that God is 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:55.370 speaking to you through his word or by the still 00:15:55.370 --> 00:15:57.809 small voice of his Holy Spirit, whatever it is 00:15:57.809 --> 00:16:00.029 that he is saying for you to do, and we've talked 00:16:00.029 --> 00:16:02.610 about this, sometimes we don't even see a connection. 00:16:05.110 --> 00:16:09.590 Remember Naaman? What's the connection of dipping 00:16:09.590 --> 00:16:12.639 seven times in the Jordan River? going to do 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:16.059 with me being healed of leprosy. That's absolutely 00:16:16.059 --> 00:16:18.940 crazy. I've got better rivers back where I lived. 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:26.220 Right? So we might not think the connection has 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:31.740 anything to do with the promise. But it does. 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:37.720 It does. So faith act. That little baby holding 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:42.059 that barbell. Can that baby lift that 300 -pound 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:47.820 barbell? Somebody say no. Obviously, an eight 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:50.899 -month -old baby with a bib around its neck can't 00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:56.000 lift a 300 -pound barbell off the floor. I've 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.440 seen some strong babies, but none that strong. 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:04.440 But what do you think that baby would be like 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:06.640 if somebody who could pick up that 300 -pound 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:08.900 barbell walked up behind him and picked it up? 00:17:11.970 --> 00:17:19.250 Yeah! Right? God is able. God is able, but He's 00:17:19.250 --> 00:17:22.829 wanting you to act. He wants you to put your 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:24.750 hands on the barbell. He said, I'll pick it up, 00:17:24.769 --> 00:17:26.509 but I want you to put your hands on the barbell. 00:17:31.230 --> 00:17:34.390 Here's the story. Here's my aha moment this past 00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.650 week. And if you've been in church any time, 00:17:37.730 --> 00:17:39.089 you're going to know this story, and you're going 00:17:39.089 --> 00:17:43.569 to say, what's the big deal, Dean? Well, Matthew 00:17:43.569 --> 00:17:46.170 7, 24 through 29. Look at the person beside you 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:49.670 and say, listen fast. I don't want you to fall 00:17:49.670 --> 00:17:53.849 asleep when it's warm, man. It might be hard 00:17:53.849 --> 00:17:57.670 for me to stay awake during this one. I am standing 00:17:57.670 --> 00:18:00.329 up, but I'm trying to stay awake. Oh, I thought 00:18:00.329 --> 00:18:01.789 you were telling me I might need to stand up. 00:18:05.650 --> 00:18:08.190 Had a friend that always fell asleep when he 00:18:08.190 --> 00:18:11.009 was reading his Bible, you know, so. He decided 00:18:11.009 --> 00:18:13.750 how to conquer that. He took his Bible and stood 00:18:13.750 --> 00:18:17.230 up on the edge of the tub and read his Bible 00:18:17.230 --> 00:18:20.390 standing on the edge of the tub. If you fall 00:18:20.390 --> 00:18:22.130 asleep then, you're not going to fall asleep 00:18:22.130 --> 00:18:24.250 again. You're going to wake up really quick, 00:18:24.450 --> 00:18:30.289 right? So that was his solution to falling asleep. 00:18:31.309 --> 00:18:34.430 Matthew 7, 24. Therefore, whoever... This is 00:18:34.430 --> 00:18:37.109 Jesus talking, even though it's not read up here. 00:18:38.029 --> 00:18:41.180 This is a parable. Everybody say a parable. Therefore, 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:44.480 whoever hears these sayings of mine and does 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.579 them, I will liken him to a wise man who built 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:51.940 his house on the rock. The rain descended, the 00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:54.220 floods came, the winds blew and beat on that 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:57.279 house, and it did not fall, for it was founded 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.680 on the rock. How many of you have heard this 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:04.660 story before? But everyone who hears these sayings 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.519 of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:13.339 man who built his house on the sand. The rain 00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:15.380 descended, the floods came, and the winds blew 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:18.759 and beat on that house, and it fell, and great 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:25.720 was its fall. Simple story. Simple story. I want 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:28.400 us to look at the similarities and differences 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:35.160 between the two people, the two houses. This 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:37.660 message is going to be so simple, anybody in 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:39.980 the room can preach it after you're done. All 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:42.609 right? Similarities and differences. Same house. 00:19:42.750 --> 00:19:45.009 Everybody say same house. We're not talking about 00:19:45.009 --> 00:19:46.730 the three little pigs or one of them's out of 00:19:46.730 --> 00:19:49.289 straw and one of them's out of sticks and one 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:51.049 of them's out of brick. I mean, it's not like 00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:53.150 the foolish person built their house out of straw 00:19:53.150 --> 00:19:55.549 and the wise person built their house out of 00:19:55.549 --> 00:20:00.609 brick. No. Okay? Same house. When we look at 00:20:00.609 --> 00:20:03.670 the text, it simply says built his house. Everybody 00:20:03.670 --> 00:20:06.950 say built his house. So we can assume that there's 00:20:06.950 --> 00:20:09.430 any differences between the houses. Same house. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:14.319 It's also the same storm. The description is 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:18.000 exactly the same. The rain descended, the floods 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:21.420 came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:25.099 Everybody say same storm. Nothing different. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:29.019 It's not that one was a gentle spring shower 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:31.099 and the other one was a hurricane. No, it's the 00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:37.180 same storm. But we have different outcomes. One 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:42.130 house did not fall. The other house fell, and 00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:47.009 great was its fall. Everybody say, no duh. I 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:49.450 mean, this is just easy, right? It's easy. Simple. 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:54.710 There are different foundations. So now we're 00:20:54.710 --> 00:20:58.269 getting into some differences. One foundation 00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:00.450 was on a rock, and the other one was on sand. 00:21:02.150 --> 00:21:07.839 And this is where I, among preachers, All of 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.619 a sudden, you know, we start pulling out that 00:21:09.619 --> 00:21:13.279 verse, you know. Jesus said he was the rock. 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:18.279 Jesus is saying he's the cornerstone. Amen? It's 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:19.859 good preaching. Everybody say good preaching. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:23.180 It's good preaching. So if you build your house 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:25.359 on Jesus, you're building your house on the rock. 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:27.700 And if you're not building your house on Jesus, 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:29.140 then you're building your house on the sand. 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:37.700 And if you build it on the sand, Then it's going 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:40.039 to fall. Because you should have built your house 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:47.900 on Jesus. All right. If I only had a B3 player, 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:53.140 Bo, we'd ramp it up hard right there. But that's 00:21:53.140 --> 00:21:59.680 what I've preached. And that's what I've heard 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:03.259 preachers preach. Do we have any preachers in 00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:05.240 the room or Bible study teachers in the room? 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:07.539 And that's where you went. If you tried to teach 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:10.299 this, that's where you went. Well, that preaches 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:14.960 real good, but that's not what Jesus said. This 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:23.059 was my aha moment. My aha moment. So, what's 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:26.859 the difference on the foundations? Where does 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:29.059 the difference come from? What does Jesus say? 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:35.579 He clearly told us. But then we just create our 00:22:35.579 --> 00:22:39.819 own sermon based on his parable. But it's very 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:43.420 clear. Everybody say very clear. Very obvious. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:47.579 It's so easy. It takes a theologian to mess it 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:55.519 up. It's so easy. Let's go. Same word. Everybody 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.390 say same word. Both these guys heard the same 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:01.829 word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the 00:23:01.829 --> 00:23:05.269 word of God. Both of them heard the same word. 00:23:06.930 --> 00:23:09.990 Jesus said it exactly the same for both of these 00:23:09.990 --> 00:23:13.349 people. He said, whoever hears these sayings 00:23:13.349 --> 00:23:22.430 of mine. So, these are not just complete atheists 00:23:22.430 --> 00:23:28.759 or pagans. These people heard the word. Whoever 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:31.500 hears these sayings of mine. And then there's 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:33.779 different descriptions. There's like, one of 00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:36.380 them is wise. Everybody say wise. The other is 00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:40.880 foolish. Everybody say foolish. Now, they heard 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:44.460 the same word, but the way one reacted was wise, 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:46.880 and the way the other one reacted was foolish. 00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:54.220 So simple. What's the difference? What's the 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:57.650 difference? What's the rock? What's the sand? 00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:03.670 Jesus did not say, right after he said this parable, 00:24:03.710 --> 00:24:06.690 he said, I am the rock, so build on me. And that's 00:24:06.690 --> 00:24:09.549 good. That's good preaching. That's not what 00:24:09.549 --> 00:24:15.029 he says. The difference is between a wise person 00:24:15.029 --> 00:24:17.910 and a foolish person is their response to the 00:24:17.910 --> 00:24:24.380 word. It's like, I ain't never seen that. I've 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:26.680 read this a hundred times. I've preached it 20 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:32.039 or 30 times. I've never seen it. Have you ever 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:34.059 seen it? I mean, is this like, oh no, he's just 00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:36.619 telling me something I already knew. That's okay. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.619 It's good to hear it again. Different responses 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:48.339 to the Word. That's the difference. He said this. 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:50.759 I just copied and pasted this from the text. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.160 Everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:58.079 does not do them will be like a foolish man. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.559 So if we hear the divine utterance of God and 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:06.960 we don't act on it, there's no corresponding 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:13.680 action, then we're foolish, Jesus said. But if 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:20.259 we hear it and do it, we'll be wise, Jesus said. 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:28.400 What an amazing illustration. Just straight up 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:34.119 in our face. Same storm. Nothing different about 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:39.299 this storm. Matthew 5 .45 tells us it rains on 00:25:39.299 --> 00:25:43.000 the just and the unjust. Every single one of 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:46.000 us, we live in the same fallen, broken world. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:51.740 I mean, I know that don't give us warm fuzzies. 00:25:53.450 --> 00:25:57.369 But it's messed up. It's broken. Sin has destroyed 00:25:57.369 --> 00:26:05.069 God's beautiful creation. So it rains on the 00:26:05.069 --> 00:26:06.930 just and the unjust. When I talk about being 00:26:06.930 --> 00:26:09.430 a person of faith, I'm not talking about, hey, 00:26:09.470 --> 00:26:11.670 if you'll be a person of faith, nothing ever, 00:26:11.930 --> 00:26:16.009 no bad thing will ever come into your life if 00:26:16.009 --> 00:26:18.069 you're a person of faith. That's not what I'm 00:26:18.069 --> 00:26:23.559 saying. The Bible doesn't teach that. I mean, 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:26.980 our opportunity to use our faith, our opportunity 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:30.339 to have victory, that automatically tells you 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:32.500 that there's going to be a struggle. If you're 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:34.220 going to have victory, there's going to be some 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:35.920 kind of struggle that you're going to overcome 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:40.079 to have victory. So we live in a fallen, broken, 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:47.839 messed up world. All of us. I mean, here's what 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:50.000 the enemy tries to get us to believe so many 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.789 times. You know what? Nobody's as messed up as 00:26:55.789 --> 00:26:58.589 I am. Nobody has ever dealt with what I deal 00:26:58.589 --> 00:27:01.769 with. Nobody has ever had to struggle. Nobody's 00:27:01.769 --> 00:27:08.210 ever had the problem as severe as mine. I tell 00:27:08.210 --> 00:27:10.849 you, if we go around the room and share the microphone 00:27:10.849 --> 00:27:15.789 and talk about terrible things or tragic things 00:27:15.789 --> 00:27:18.930 that you've gone through or you're going through 00:27:18.930 --> 00:27:22.700 now, I mean... it'd be real easy to have a woe 00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:32.400 is me testimony service. Because if you're not 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:35.180 going through trouble today, I'm pretty sure 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:40.259 you've gone through trouble before today. Same 00:27:40.259 --> 00:27:44.480 storms. Same storms. I've already showed you 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:47.200 that Jesus described them exactly the same, but... 00:27:47.849 --> 00:27:49.970 But we're talking about being wise and foolish. 00:27:50.089 --> 00:27:52.089 We're talking about standing or falling apart. 00:27:52.690 --> 00:27:56.410 And in this world, when storms come our way, 00:27:56.509 --> 00:27:59.269 when tragedy comes our way, when trouble comes 00:27:59.269 --> 00:28:01.970 our way, when all those things come our way, 00:28:02.049 --> 00:28:04.690 it's like, here's the question. Are we going 00:28:04.690 --> 00:28:07.809 to stand in faith or are we going to fall apart? 00:28:10.309 --> 00:28:14.109 Has anybody ever fallen apart before? Have you 00:28:14.109 --> 00:28:16.990 had a time when a storm hit and you just... Fell 00:28:16.990 --> 00:28:29.150 apart. I have. We all have. But Jesus is saying, 00:28:29.250 --> 00:28:33.049 look, you don't have to fall apart. You don't 00:28:33.049 --> 00:28:35.670 have to fall apart. There's different outcomes. 00:28:35.910 --> 00:28:38.630 One person stands, one person falls apart. I've 00:28:38.630 --> 00:28:41.009 seen it so many times. People who go through 00:28:41.009 --> 00:28:45.509 the same thing. This family went through this. 00:28:46.430 --> 00:28:48.710 Terrible thing. This family went through the 00:28:48.710 --> 00:28:52.390 same terrible thing. This person faced this challenge. 00:28:52.549 --> 00:28:56.269 This person faced the exact same challenge. One 00:28:56.269 --> 00:28:58.910 of them, one of those families falls apart. One 00:28:58.910 --> 00:29:01.589 of these people fall apart. One of these families 00:29:01.589 --> 00:29:05.269 stand, and that person stands. And they went 00:29:05.269 --> 00:29:12.990 through the same thing. Same thing. And what's 00:29:12.990 --> 00:29:22.380 the different outcome? What's it based on? See, 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:26.460 I'm going to tell you. I believe what the Bible 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:31.000 says right here. And it says this in 2 Peter 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:36.460 1 .3. By His divine power, this is God's power, 00:29:36.619 --> 00:29:43.539 God has given us everything we need for living 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:52.390 a godly life. Everybody say grace. He has already 00:29:52.390 --> 00:29:59.890 given you and me. He's already made it available. 00:30:01.369 --> 00:30:06.779 Everything you need. We've received all this 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:09.059 by coming to know him. If you're in Christ, he's 00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:11.559 already given it to you. The one who called us 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:14.799 to himself by means of his marvelous glory and 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:17.880 excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:21.819 he has given us great and precious promises. 00:30:24.579 --> 00:30:30.680 Everybody say great promises. Everybody say precious 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:34.880 promises. You want me to tell you how great and 00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:38.900 how precious they are? These are the promises 00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:48.559 that enable you, empower you to share His divine 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:57.059 nature and escape this world's corruption. Because... 00:30:59.140 --> 00:31:02.259 This world's corruption we know was caused by 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:05.059 human desire. It's caused by sin. That's where 00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:07.519 all the tragedy and all the trouble, hey, it 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:09.880 wouldn't be here without the original sin in 00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:15.000 the garden. That's when it all fell apart. So, 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:22.380 the Word of God, God has given you and He has 00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:25.940 given me great and precious promises, and He's 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:30.700 already given us. The promises that will empower 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:38.599 us to share his supernatural, beyond what we 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:44.339 can do or accomplish on our own, his divine nature 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:52.839 and escape the world's corruption. Do you believe 00:31:52.839 --> 00:32:02.299 it? I believe it. I believe it. And I can't say 00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:06.640 I always get it right, but I do look back at 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.240 my life, and there has been an occasional time 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:14.779 when I have responded by hearing what God said 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:18.400 and then having a corresponding action after 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.420 I've heard it, after I believe it, after I have 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:23.940 confidence in it, and then I'd have a corresponding 00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:26.660 action, and I have seen the goodness of God. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:33.700 I've seen deliverance. I've seen miracles. I've 00:32:33.700 --> 00:32:38.240 seen promises fulfilled. I've tasted the peace 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:41.279 of God that surpasses understanding when people 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:45.740 would say, how in the world could you be so calm 00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:48.480 and have so much peace when this is going on? 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:50.920 How in the world? How is that possible? It's 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:54.319 possible because it's the peace of God. It's 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:56.759 the peace that He gave to me, not the peace that 00:32:56.759 --> 00:33:00.079 the world has to offer that just depends on if 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:04.460 everything's going my way or not. I've tasted 00:33:04.460 --> 00:33:11.200 and seen the goodness of God. In the land of 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:15.619 the living, that means now. So many people think 00:33:15.619 --> 00:33:17.440 that, oh, it's going to be great when we get 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:21.660 to heaven. I'll have victory when I'm in heaven. 00:33:22.949 --> 00:33:25.730 I'll have peace and joy and life when I'm in 00:33:25.730 --> 00:33:28.109 heaven. Yes, you will, but you can have it now. 00:33:31.849 --> 00:33:33.930 You might think I'm crazy, but I'm telling you, 00:33:33.970 --> 00:33:38.789 you can have it now. I talked about somebody 00:33:38.789 --> 00:33:40.630 who said that they wasn't going to come here 00:33:40.630 --> 00:33:42.890 because I told them that they could have peace. 00:33:47.170 --> 00:33:52.640 That God wanted them to have peace. They identified 00:33:52.640 --> 00:34:01.119 with their worry, their fear, their anxiety. 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:05.740 It became part of who they are. And they didn't 00:34:05.740 --> 00:34:07.339 want to come to church here because I told them 00:34:07.339 --> 00:34:09.219 God wanted to give them peace and God wanted 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:12.179 to set them free. And I just said it generally 00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:14.179 like I'm saying it now, but they took offense. 00:34:16.579 --> 00:34:21.840 Not coming to that church. If somebody told me 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:24.320 I could have peace when I needed it, I'd be saying, 00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:27.619 that's where I want to go. Because I want some 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:32.860 of that. I can't wave a magic wand or just touch 00:34:32.860 --> 00:34:35.079 you and give you the peace of God that surpasses 00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:38.960 all understanding. I don't have it to give. God 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:53.519 has already given it to you. And listens. Jeremiah 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:55.400 got it right. He's the weeping prophet, right? 00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:57.440 Do you know Jeremiah? He's the weeping prophet, 00:34:57.619 --> 00:35:03.800 man. Nobody's wanting to listen to him. But the 00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:05.719 Lord told him, He said, You got this right. You 00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:09.739 saw this well. Because here's what God said. 00:35:11.179 --> 00:35:17.820 He says, I am ready to perform my word. I want 00:35:17.820 --> 00:35:23.429 you to hear God tell you that today. He is ready 00:35:23.429 --> 00:35:31.349 to perform His Word in your life, in your situation. 00:35:32.449 --> 00:35:35.170 God's ready. God's not holding back. God's ready. 00:35:35.489 --> 00:35:38.730 Everybody say, God's ready. God's ready to perform 00:35:38.730 --> 00:35:46.409 His Word in your life. He didn't tell you something. 00:35:47.279 --> 00:35:49.219 Have you seen that commercial? I know it's old 00:35:49.219 --> 00:35:51.260 now, but that guy with the dollar bill on a fishing 00:35:51.260 --> 00:35:54.880 pole, and he's like putting it, dangling it out 00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:56.440 there, and then when he gets close, he jerks 00:35:56.440 --> 00:35:58.139 it up, jerks it away. Have you seen that commercial? 00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:03.800 That's not God. That's not God. He's not dangling 00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:06.000 His Word and His promise out in front of you 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:08.519 just to like keep you on the hook but not give 00:36:08.519 --> 00:36:13.559 it to you. No, He is ready to perform His Word. 00:36:19.309 --> 00:36:20.889 I have to be honest. There are some times in 00:36:20.889 --> 00:36:22.710 my life where I think, God, why are you holding 00:36:22.710 --> 00:36:28.590 out on me? But see, what I'm doing then is I'm 00:36:28.590 --> 00:36:34.329 not walking by faith. I'm walking by sight, and 00:36:34.329 --> 00:36:37.010 I'm walking by feelings. When I start saying, 00:36:37.110 --> 00:36:38.929 God, why are you holding out on me? I mean, I'm 00:36:38.929 --> 00:36:40.710 doing what you told me to do. Why are you holding 00:36:40.710 --> 00:36:43.730 out on me? Listen, we'll talk about this later, 00:36:43.829 --> 00:36:45.630 but there's a thing called due season. Everybody 00:36:45.630 --> 00:36:54.179 say due season. Due season. Sometimes we're going 00:36:54.179 --> 00:36:56.820 through a due season, even in our actions. Sometimes 00:36:56.820 --> 00:37:00.519 there are multiple actions. We've looked at that 00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:02.800 through the stories that we've looked at. It's 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:07.139 not just one corresponding action. It's two, 00:37:07.260 --> 00:37:09.079 three, four. I think the first week, there might 00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:10.980 have been up to five different corresponding 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:15.969 actions. And then even before God's people crossed 00:37:15.969 --> 00:37:18.989 over to the other side of the Red Sea, I mean, 00:37:18.989 --> 00:37:21.489 it went, there was a lot of time in between all 00:37:21.489 --> 00:37:23.510 this from when they saw the dust cloud coming 00:37:23.510 --> 00:37:26.269 to when they actually crossed over on dry land. 00:37:26.670 --> 00:37:29.449 It wasn't due season yet. The promise was there, 00:37:29.510 --> 00:37:31.650 but it wasn't due season yet. And you got to 00:37:31.650 --> 00:37:34.349 hold on. You got to fight the good fight of faith, 00:37:34.489 --> 00:37:37.690 holding on to the word of God, holding on to 00:37:37.690 --> 00:37:41.329 your confidence, holding on to your confession 00:37:41.329 --> 00:37:44.840 and profession. your agreement with what God 00:37:44.840 --> 00:37:46.619 has said, sometimes you've got to hold on to 00:37:46.619 --> 00:37:48.860 it. There's been times in my life where I've 00:37:48.860 --> 00:37:51.460 had to hold on. Hey, I'm still holding on to 00:37:51.460 --> 00:37:53.800 something that God promised me, and I'm waiting 00:37:53.800 --> 00:37:56.360 on the due season to come. And when the due season 00:37:56.360 --> 00:37:59.440 gets here, you know what? I'm already happy about 00:37:59.440 --> 00:38:02.599 it, and sometimes I laugh and jump and dance 00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:05.519 because it's not here yet, but I know it's coming 00:38:05.519 --> 00:38:07.860 because God promised it, and God keeps His promises. 00:38:08.699 --> 00:38:11.119 Then there's other times where it's been months. 00:38:12.809 --> 00:38:20.269 It's been months. I've held on. I've held on. 00:38:22.789 --> 00:38:26.190 There's been years. There's been months before 00:38:26.190 --> 00:38:32.570 the due season came. And I saw the deliverance. 00:38:32.570 --> 00:38:41.349 I saw the freedom. I saw the provision. Look 00:38:41.349 --> 00:38:42.650 to the person beside you and tell them, hold 00:38:42.650 --> 00:38:51.670 on. Hold on. Don't give up. Don't give up. I'm 00:38:51.670 --> 00:38:53.170 trying to remember. I think it's Galatians 6 00:38:53.170 --> 00:38:58.590 .9. I don't have it on the slide, but I feel 00:38:58.590 --> 00:39:00.369 like I need to read it right now. Galatians 6 00:39:00.369 --> 00:39:08.570 .9. I can't pull the complete verse out of my 00:39:08.570 --> 00:39:10.480 head. Are you looking it up? I can look it up. 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:11.920 I got a Bible right here. Why am I looking at 00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:18.780 you? Huh? Speed drill. I remember doing that. 00:39:18.840 --> 00:39:29.400 You got it? GE Power Company. Galatians 6. Galatians. 00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:34.500 Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Here we go. 00:39:35.420 --> 00:39:39.389 Galatians 6 .9. So let's not get tired. Everybody 00:39:39.389 --> 00:39:45.429 say doing. Let's not get tired of doing what 00:39:45.429 --> 00:39:51.789 is good. At just the right time, we will reap. 00:39:51.949 --> 00:39:55.909 Everybody say due season. See, if we don't get 00:39:55.909 --> 00:39:58.949 tired, if we don't give up in our corresponding 00:39:58.949 --> 00:40:01.610 action to what God has said and what God has 00:40:01.610 --> 00:40:06.289 promised, if we don't give up, It says at just 00:40:06.289 --> 00:40:08.989 the right time we will reap the harvest of blessing 00:40:08.989 --> 00:40:14.710 if we don't give up. But if we give up, we're 00:40:14.710 --> 00:40:20.409 not going to get it. I don't know if you are 00:40:20.409 --> 00:40:22.989 as excited about this as I am, but when I looked 00:40:22.989 --> 00:40:27.010 at this parable, I said, wow. There's a difference 00:40:27.010 --> 00:40:33.750 between standing and falling apart. Everybody 00:40:33.750 --> 00:40:36.699 say, this is for me. I mean, all of us are going 00:40:36.699 --> 00:40:40.719 to have the opportunity very shortly to either 00:40:40.719 --> 00:40:44.340 stand or to fall apart. You're going to have 00:40:44.340 --> 00:40:47.559 an opportunity. And the difference between standing 00:40:47.559 --> 00:40:50.199 and falling apart, when the storms of life in 00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:53.380 this fallen world hit, the difference is how 00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:57.760 we're going to respond to God's promises and 00:40:57.760 --> 00:41:03.099 God's truth, how we're going to respond and how 00:41:03.099 --> 00:41:04.869 we're going to hold on to it. how we're going 00:41:04.869 --> 00:41:07.369 to fight the good fight of faith and not give 00:41:07.369 --> 00:41:14.250 up. Because our connection to God's power and 00:41:14.250 --> 00:41:22.349 God's ability ultimately is when we act on what 00:41:22.349 --> 00:41:26.730 he says. It has to be a corresponding action. 00:41:27.889 --> 00:41:30.550 Remember, you can hear, you can say you believe. 00:41:34.760 --> 00:41:37.619 But if there's no corresponding action to what 00:41:37.619 --> 00:41:39.440 you have heard and what you say you believe, 00:41:39.579 --> 00:41:46.900 I'm sorry, but we're not going to receive it. 00:41:46.960 --> 00:41:53.940 But the good news is, if we will hear and believe 00:41:53.940 --> 00:41:58.920 and have confidence and don't give up, stand 00:41:58.920 --> 00:42:06.630 with God. Stand on God's side. We'll see his 00:42:06.630 --> 00:42:14.349 goodness. We'll see it. We'll see it. You can 00:42:14.349 --> 00:42:19.409 see it. You can see it. Look to the person beside 00:42:19.409 --> 00:42:20.989 you and at least smile when you say it. Let's 00:42:20.989 --> 00:42:25.969 say, you can see it. Tell them, say, you can 00:42:25.969 --> 00:42:30.010 see victory. Go ahead, tell them. You can see 00:42:30.010 --> 00:42:33.690 victory. You can see deliverance. You can see 00:42:33.690 --> 00:42:37.800 freedom. You can see peace. You can see joy. 00:42:38.179 --> 00:42:42.760 You can see hope. You can see life. You can see 00:42:42.760 --> 00:42:48.960 it. Because all that's who God is and what his 00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:55.400 kingdom is about. You can see it. This online 00:42:55.400 --> 00:42:58.019 worship experience was brought to you by the 00:42:58.019 --> 00:43:00.079 Friends and Partners of Eulation Church.