WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:09.720 Elation Church. Everybody say week number six. 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:12.800 Week number six in our series that we've entitled 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:18.199 Faith Act. Everyone say Faith Act. Let's talk 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:21.019 about faith again. Hopefully these words will 00:00:21.019 --> 00:00:24.039 be so much in your heart and in your mind and 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:26.739 in your soul that you'll never forget them. Okay. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:31.230 Romans 10, 17. So then faith comes by hearing 00:00:31.230 --> 00:00:35.429 and hearing by the word of God. So how do we 00:00:35.429 --> 00:00:38.450 get faith? The faith that the Bible talks about, 00:00:38.570 --> 00:00:41.350 the faith that pleases God, the faith that brings 00:00:41.350 --> 00:00:43.570 us all those things that we've been talking about, 00:00:43.670 --> 00:00:48.350 it begins with hearing the word of God, a divine 00:00:48.350 --> 00:00:51.689 utterance, the spoken word of God, the written 00:00:51.689 --> 00:00:55.210 word of God. And we've got to remember that sometimes 00:00:55.210 --> 00:00:58.289 it's not just what's written in black and white. 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:01.880 Sometimes it's what the Holy Spirit speaks to 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:05.680 us. Because there are some things that I've done 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.879 that, you know, it wasn't written in black and 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:12.379 white. Why is everybody laughing? Did I say something 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:18.620 funny? God calling? God was calling? Sometimes 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:22.299 your phone rings and it's God and He wanted to 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:28.879 tell you something. Okay. Sometimes it's a still 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:34.340 small voice and not a telephone. You know, there's 00:01:34.340 --> 00:01:36.439 no verse in the Bible that says, Dean, I want 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:41.120 you to move to Davenport, Florida and plant a 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:44.519 election church. But it's just as much a word 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:48.159 from God as any other word from God, right? Jeffrey 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:50.299 thinks so. He said amen. He moved down here too, 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:55.219 so he must have heard God too. So, there's no 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:57.680 Bible verse that tells me that... I need to marry 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:06.700 Gayna, right? But, well. Now, she did quote a 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:10.139 Bible verse to me. Before we started dating, 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:12.159 she looked at me one day and she said, you have 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:15.879 not because you ask not. Now, that was a Bible 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:22.039 verse. It was a Bible verse. I asked, and we'll 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:24.219 be married 40 years in August. What about that? 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:28.740 Anyway, so. Faith comes by hearing and hearing 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:31.979 by the Word of God, a divine utterance from God. 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:36.000 Faith does not come from wishing or hoping or 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.979 deciding in your own mind. Some people call that 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:43.240 faith. But the faith that the Bible talks about 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:46.400 is a faith that comes by hearing and hearing 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.840 by the Word of God. The first step of faith is 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:52.560 hearing. Everybody say hearing. That's the first 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:54.780 step. That's where it begins. You've got to hear. 00:02:55.370 --> 00:02:59.430 A divine utterance from God. Hebrews 11 .1 goes 00:02:59.430 --> 00:03:02.610 on to tell us that faith is the confidence that 00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:06.729 what we hope for will actually happen. It gives 00:03:06.729 --> 00:03:10.289 us assurance about the things we cannot see. 00:03:11.610 --> 00:03:14.389 So we can't forget that it comes from hearing 00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:17.189 and hearing by the Word of God, right? So after 00:03:17.189 --> 00:03:20.310 we hear the Word of God, then faith is when we 00:03:20.310 --> 00:03:24.050 have confidence. Everybody say confidence. It's 00:03:24.050 --> 00:03:25.909 confidence in what we hope for will actually 00:03:25.909 --> 00:03:28.849 happen. That God's going to keep His promises. 00:03:28.870 --> 00:03:30.710 That we're going to see the goodness of God in 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:36.409 our lives. Come on, somebody. So, it's the hope 00:03:36.409 --> 00:03:39.310 for what will actually happen. It gives us assurance. 00:03:41.009 --> 00:03:43.509 I mean, we're already assured about it, even 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:45.430 though we don't see it. You know why? Because 00:03:45.430 --> 00:03:50.349 God said it and we heard it. Right? So... I remind 00:03:50.349 --> 00:03:52.349 you again, that word hope in the New Testament, 00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:54.310 every time you see it, it's not talking about 00:03:54.310 --> 00:03:58.469 a wish or a hope soul. It's talking about a confident 00:03:58.469 --> 00:04:02.689 expectation. A confident expectation. You're 00:04:02.689 --> 00:04:04.509 so confident, you can go ahead and get happy 00:04:04.509 --> 00:04:11.289 about it. Hello? You can go ahead and get happy 00:04:11.289 --> 00:04:12.949 about it because you're going to see the goodness 00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:15.090 and the promises of God fulfilled in your life 00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:21.019 based on His promise. See, that's faith. That's 00:04:21.019 --> 00:04:24.660 faith. It's not just hearing it and just believing, 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:28.019 yeah, some kind of mental agreement. No, it's 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:30.860 like God said it, so it's going to happen. I'm 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:32.420 going to see it. I'm going to see the goodness 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:36.180 of God based on his promise to me. So the second 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:38.660 step, everybody say second step. Second step 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:43.319 of faith is wholeheartedly believing to the point 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:48.449 where you have confidence in God's word. Then 00:04:48.449 --> 00:04:53.829 we come to James 2 .26. James tells us this, 00:04:53.829 --> 00:04:56.529 by the Holy Spirit, of course, because this is 00:04:56.529 --> 00:04:58.689 the Word of God. It's the Holy Spirit. It's God 00:04:58.689 --> 00:05:02.509 -breathed. He says, faith without works is dead. 00:05:04.509 --> 00:05:09.290 So, what does that tell us? Very clearly, that 00:05:09.290 --> 00:05:12.629 tells us step number three, right? Step number 00:05:12.629 --> 00:05:16.689 three in faith is acting in obedience. A corresponding 00:05:16.689 --> 00:05:21.230 action. Everybody say corresponding action. To 00:05:21.230 --> 00:05:24.110 what we've heard, to what we believe, what we 00:05:24.110 --> 00:05:26.689 have confidence in, now there has to be a corresponding 00:05:26.689 --> 00:05:31.110 action. For so much of my life, I just thought 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:34.810 it was hearing and believing. And I thought that's 00:05:34.810 --> 00:05:37.730 where faith ended. That's why we've entitled 00:05:37.730 --> 00:05:42.149 this Faith Act. Faith Act. Because there has 00:05:42.149 --> 00:05:45.980 to be a corresponding action. See, faith, the 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:48.120 faith that the Bible talks about, it always responds, 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:50.720 it always says, it always gives, it always does, 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:56.000 it always acts. Whatever it is that God is telling 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:00.259 us to do, either by His Spirit or by His Word, 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:05.079 there has to be an action, there has to be an 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:08.180 obedience. And we've looked at so many stories 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:12.959 in the previous five weeks of this message, of 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.480 this series. Now, just real quick, Ephesians 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:20.819 2 .8. You need to know this verse. For by grace 00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:25.079 you have been saved through faith. How many people 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:29.100 are thankful that they have been forgiven and 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:33.339 adopted into the family of God? No longer under 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:35.620 guilt, shame, and condemnation because you've 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:39.060 been taken out of being immersed in sin and you've 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:41.920 been moved into by the Holy Spirit to be immersed 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:48.819 in Christ. That's a good place. So, that all 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:55.899 happened by God's grace. You can't work for it. 00:06:55.939 --> 00:06:59.860 You can't earn it. You can't deserve it. This 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:03.959 is God's work. God's grace. What is God's grace? 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:10.540 It's easy to just spew off, you know, grace's 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:15.079 unmerited favor. How many of you know that? Unmerited 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:18.199 favor. I'd heard that, I'd said that all my life, 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:23.060 but I've expanded that unmerited favor to kind 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:27.220 of connect it more, right? Sometimes we can get 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:31.120 little brief definitions and then they're about 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:33.259 as meaningless as the word that they were trying 00:07:33.259 --> 00:07:37.920 to define as far as application goes, right? 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:43.670 So God's grace is God's acts. of kindness and 00:07:43.670 --> 00:07:48.410 favor towards you, towards me. That's God's grace. 00:07:49.649 --> 00:07:55.610 That's His grace. Because God has acted out of 00:07:55.610 --> 00:07:58.290 His kindness and favor for you and for me. And 00:07:58.290 --> 00:08:00.149 we're talking about salvation, right, in this 00:08:00.149 --> 00:08:06.129 verse. We're saved by grace because God has provided 00:08:06.129 --> 00:08:09.230 for it. He's purchased it. He's earned it. Jesus 00:08:09.230 --> 00:08:12.569 came. And He's the one who went to the cross 00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:16.149 to die for your sin and my sin. He's the one 00:08:16.149 --> 00:08:18.810 who was resurrected, raised from the dead on 00:08:18.810 --> 00:08:21.009 the third day and sent His Holy Spirit to be 00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:23.449 inside of us. The same Spirit that raised Christ 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:26.350 from the dead is alive in us. Somebody ought 00:08:26.350 --> 00:08:30.069 to smile or something. So that's God's work. 00:08:31.970 --> 00:08:37.710 God's grace. But just because salvation is available, 00:08:39.210 --> 00:08:42.549 It doesn't mean that every single person is going 00:08:42.549 --> 00:08:48.009 to connect to it. See, this is easy to see when 00:08:48.009 --> 00:08:53.309 it comes to salvation. We have to connect. Just 00:08:53.309 --> 00:08:55.429 because Jesus died on the cross does not mean 00:08:55.429 --> 00:08:58.110 that everybody's going to heaven. Doesn't mean 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:00.309 that everybody's forgiven. Does it not mean that 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:04.450 everybody's part of God's family? No. Because 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:09.539 we're saved by grace through faith. Everybody 00:09:09.539 --> 00:09:13.480 say, through faith. See, it's God's grace, but 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:19.259 now we have to respond. Right? We have to respond. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.080 So it's God's grace has provided it, and it's 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:27.600 our saving faith. Let's not forget what that 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.580 is. We've got to hear it. You hear the gospel. 00:09:30.740 --> 00:09:32.740 You hear the good news. You hear about the love 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:35.940 of God. You hear that Jesus died for you, and 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:40.039 then you say, thank you, right? So you wholeheartedly 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:44.279 believe that. And then you have confidence that 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:50.759 Jesus died for my sin on the cross. But then 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:55.200 there has to be a corresponding action. The Bible 00:09:55.200 --> 00:10:00.000 tells us with the heart we believe, but with 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.080 the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 00:10:09.569 --> 00:10:11.870 Hello? The Bible says if we confess our sin, 00:10:11.909 --> 00:10:13.370 he's faithful and he's just and he'll forgive 00:10:13.370 --> 00:10:16.690 us. Watch this. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:10:18.909 --> 00:10:21.110 The Bible says if we call on the name of the 00:10:21.110 --> 00:10:26.470 Lord or confess Jesus is Lord, as if we're saying 00:10:26.470 --> 00:10:31.789 Jesus is my Lord, so there's an act of surrender. 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.500 So there has to be a corresponding action for 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:42.659 salvation to occur in your life. You got to hear. 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:44.539 You got to believe. You got to act. That means 00:10:44.539 --> 00:10:49.879 you got to say. You got to surrender. That's 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:52.840 the corresponding action. It's more than just 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:59.720 hearing and believing. You have to act. Here's 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:04.210 the deal. Saving faith. Living faith. The Bible 00:11:04.210 --> 00:11:06.269 says that we're supposed to live by faith. Walking 00:11:06.269 --> 00:11:10.490 faith. The Bible tells us to walk by faith. That 00:11:10.490 --> 00:11:14.470 means that the sphere of our existence is all 00:11:14.470 --> 00:11:16.990 dealing with faith on an every day, every moment 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:19.629 basis. That's the way we live our lives. Victory 00:11:19.629 --> 00:11:21.590 faith. If we want to have victory, we're going 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:25.269 to find it. We're going to connect to the victory 00:11:25.269 --> 00:11:27.529 that God's grace has provided. We're going to 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:33.070 connect to it by our faith. God -pleasing faith? 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:35.909 Without faith, it's impossible to please God? 00:11:35.990 --> 00:11:38.730 Hey, faith works the same no matter what kind 00:11:38.730 --> 00:11:45.429 of faith it is. We have to get a hold of this. 00:11:46.330 --> 00:11:51.429 It works the same. Because how many years of 00:11:51.429 --> 00:11:54.610 our lives have we realized that saving faith 00:11:54.610 --> 00:11:57.049 was hearing and believing and acting, but then 00:11:57.049 --> 00:11:59.210 when it comes to everything else, oh, it's just, 00:11:59.269 --> 00:12:04.529 it's a coin toss. Well, you know, life's just 00:12:04.529 --> 00:12:06.590 going to turn out how life turns out. It's all 00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:12.309 up to God. It's just all up to Him. That's a 00:12:12.309 --> 00:12:16.750 good setup to just be beaten up and tossed around. 00:12:22.330 --> 00:12:24.350 I don't want to preach Jeffrey's message next 00:12:24.350 --> 00:12:25.730 week, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you 00:12:25.730 --> 00:12:33.129 this. If the will of God always was accomplished 00:12:33.129 --> 00:12:36.049 in this earth, why would Jesus ask us to pray 00:12:36.049 --> 00:12:40.549 that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven? 00:12:40.629 --> 00:12:44.110 God's will is always done in heaven, but if you 00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:49.090 look around, you say, is this evil that just 00:12:49.090 --> 00:12:52.909 took place? Is that God's will? Is this evil 00:12:52.909 --> 00:12:57.009 God's will? Is God responsible for evil? Is God 00:12:57.009 --> 00:12:59.990 responsible for... Death and destruction and 00:12:59.990 --> 00:13:06.710 loss is God, the yin and the yang, and He's equal 00:13:06.710 --> 00:13:13.429 evil and equal good. Wrong religion. God's a 00:13:13.429 --> 00:13:19.409 good God. God's a good God. And our faith works 00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:23.169 the same. God even said, it's my will that none 00:13:23.169 --> 00:13:27.720 should perish, right? That all would come. That's 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:30.860 God's will. God wants everybody to be saved and 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:35.460 come to Him by faith and receive salvation. He 00:13:35.460 --> 00:13:38.039 flat out tells us that in Scripture. It's not 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:42.779 my will that any should perish. How many of you 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:44.279 realize that there are going to be some people 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:50.259 who perish? He also said the way is narrow to 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:54.259 life and then there's a broad highway to destruction. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.100 But it's not God's will that people get on that 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:02.600 broad highway to destruction. It's His will that 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:08.000 they take that narrow path to find Him. Some 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.139 of you are thinking way too hard. Faith is the 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:16.759 same. It's the same. It's more than mental agreement. 00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:19.779 It's more than even saying that you believe. 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:24.279 It's more than that. Ultimately, our connection... 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:31.759 To the power and the ability of God. God is omnipotent. 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:36.620 Right? He's all -powerful. Everybody say, God 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:41.899 is all -powerful. He's omnipotent. And he's also 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:45.159 able. Everybody say, God is able. God's able. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:51.200 So ultimately, our connection to his all -powerfulness 00:14:51.200 --> 00:15:00.509 and his... No limit ability is when we act upon 00:15:00.509 --> 00:15:04.370 what he has said. Because we can hear it and 00:15:04.370 --> 00:15:08.330 believe it, but if we don't act, we won't see 00:15:08.330 --> 00:15:12.610 it. That's why we're calling it faith acting. 00:15:12.629 --> 00:15:14.190 Every time I look at that little baby holding 00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:19.110 that 300 -pound dumbbell, he thinks he's about 00:15:19.110 --> 00:15:26.049 to do something. Just like me and you. I just 00:15:26.049 --> 00:15:28.230 think about it. What if some big strong guy walks 00:15:28.230 --> 00:15:30.429 up behind him and puts his hand on the barbell 00:15:30.429 --> 00:15:32.230 past him and the kid doesn't see it and then 00:15:32.230 --> 00:15:34.669 he lifts it up? Could you imagine what that kid's 00:15:34.669 --> 00:15:42.850 face would look like? See, God wants our hands 00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:44.909 on the dumbbell. He's going to do the heavy work. 00:15:44.970 --> 00:15:50.210 He's going to do the lifting. But by faith, we 00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:52.940 can put our hands on it. We can put our hands 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:58.840 on His promise by faith. Here we go, 1 Kings. 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:03.779 Here's our story this week. 1 Kings 17, starting 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:07.120 verse 8. Then the Lord said to Elijah, let me 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.240 set it up. There's a famine. Everybody see a 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:12.120 famine? It's famine. It hadn't rained in a long 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:18.960 time. God had sent Elijah to a creek or a brook 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:21.039 or a small river, whatever you want to call it. 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:24.440 And Elijah had been like living by this creek, 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:27.980 creek, wherever you're from. I mean, we all say 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:30.679 it different ways. I just have to cover all the 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:36.559 bases. Stream. So Elijah had been living by this 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:40.919 creek, and so he had water during the time of 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:46.899 famine. He also had food. I mean, ravens, big 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:48.860 blackbirds, crows, whatever you want to call 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:53.220 them. I don't know where they were getting this 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:56.299 food, but they were bringing food to Elijah every 00:16:56.299 --> 00:17:02.159 day. They'd just fly in with a blueberry muffin 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:05.640 or whatever. Picked it up from somewhere along 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:10.079 the way. Giving Elijah something to eat. Elijah 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.140 had something to drink, but then the famine got 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:17.339 so bad, the creek dried up. So that's where you 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:20.609 pick up our story. Then the Lord said to Elijah, 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:23.990 Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near 00:17:23.990 --> 00:17:27.490 the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow 00:17:27.490 --> 00:17:32.109 there to feed you. So he went to Zarephath. As 00:17:32.109 --> 00:17:34.250 he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw 00:17:34.250 --> 00:17:38.849 a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, Would 00:17:38.849 --> 00:17:41.730 you please bring me a little cup of water? A 00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:49.259 little water and a cup. Okay? Water is... Pretty 00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:53.140 scarce during the famine. But I guess the well 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:57.480 in Zarephath was deep enough that the town or 00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:00.259 the village had water. So he asked her for a 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:03.380 cup of water. That's no easy task. You know, 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:07.460 you've got to draw it out of the well. I mean, 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:10.420 it's not just hitting the faucet at the house 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:13.819 to put some water in it. As she went to go get 00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:17.599 him some water, as she was going to get it, He 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:22.279 called to her, bring me a bite of bread too. 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:27.220 So while you're getting me a cup of water, bring 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:34.859 me a biscuit. Or a piece of loaf bread. Anybody 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:39.500 grow up having loaf bread sandwiches? Just two 00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:41.519 pieces of loaf bread, nothing in it. Just a loaf 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:46.359 bread sandwich. When my dad and I would go fishing, 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:48.960 he would buy a loaf of bread and a pack of bologna. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:55.640 No mayonnaise, no mustard, pack of bologna, loaf 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:58.900 of bread. So we ate dry bologna sandwiches when 00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:04.119 we would go fishing. I enjoyed it, especially 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:07.099 when he brought out the Viena sausages. You might 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:10.480 say Vienna, but you might say Vienna where you're 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.799 from, but when they bring out the Viena sausages. 00:19:18.919 --> 00:19:20.980 We're already up to a three -course meal, right? 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:30.460 Bread, bologna, Viena sausages. No sardines. 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:34.319 Nope. Nope. Not doing the sardines. I'll do the 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:40.359 pot of meat, but not the sardines. Okay, let's 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:43.759 get back to it. Hey, bring me a cup of water. 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:49.359 Bring me a biscuit. Verse 12, she replies, she 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:53.279 said, I swear by the Lord your God that I don't 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:58.180 have a single piece of bread in my house. And 00:19:58.180 --> 00:20:02.059 I have only a handful of flour left in the jar 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:05.579 and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the 00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:12.720 jug. Who's heard this story before? Here's what 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:15.180 she said. I was just gathering a few sticks to 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:20.299 cook this last meal, and then my son and I will 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:28.500 die. This is it. This is it. She had enough to 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:30.539 make two little biscuits, one for her, one for 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:33.140 her son. There was no other food. There's no 00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:35.359 way to get food. It's during a time of famine. 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:40.599 They're just going to die of starvation. That 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:50.809 was her plan. That was her expectation. But Elijah 00:20:50.809 --> 00:20:53.869 said to her, everybody say a prophet. Elijah's 00:20:53.869 --> 00:20:56.390 a prophet. A prophet is simply someone who hears 00:20:56.390 --> 00:21:01.130 God and then tells either one person, a group 00:21:01.130 --> 00:21:05.849 of people, or a whole nation what God says. So 00:21:05.849 --> 00:21:09.250 Elijah was a prophet of God. So Elijah says to 00:21:09.250 --> 00:21:15.720 her, don't be afraid. Why would she be afraid? 00:21:17.819 --> 00:21:21.500 He said, don't be afraid. He said, go ahead and 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:26.119 do just what you've said, but make a little bread 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:31.920 for me first. Everybody say first. Then use what's 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.559 left to prepare a meal for yourself and your 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:42.910 son. Now, wait a minute. If we really look at 00:21:42.910 --> 00:21:46.490 this story, I mean, who would ask an impoverished, 00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:50.549 destitute widow to give up her last meal during 00:21:50.549 --> 00:21:55.130 a time of famine? What kind of audacity would 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:57.690 you have to have? What kind of preacher are you, 00:21:57.730 --> 00:22:01.490 right? What kind of prophet are you to ask a 00:22:01.490 --> 00:22:05.809 widow to make you some food first before she 00:22:05.809 --> 00:22:09.170 makes her own food and food for her son? I mean... 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:14.400 If we were to talk to, you know, the 100 ,000 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:17.480 people around us, they'd be like, how dare you 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:26.119 ask a widow to do something like this? And if 00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:30.299 we're all very honest, we might say, well, that's 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:33.019 pretty. If we didn't know the rest of the story, 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:36.480 I mean, if this was happening live. and this 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.059 widow was in your community and she had a son, 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:41.900 she had enough food for one meal, you would be 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:48.680 ticked off at this prophet. Come on. Don't get 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:53.079 a halo around your head just because you know 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:58.859 the rest of the story. It's like, how many people 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:01.079 who are not in church today would be offended? 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:07.920 If the preacher asked somebody who didn't have 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.519 hardly anything, just barely making it and couldn't 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:12.759 even make it, and the preacher asked him to give, 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:21.559 who would get offended? Everybody. Who asked 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:25.000 this lady? I'm going to ask you again. Who asked 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:32.950 her? Who asked her to make a... To make some 00:23:32.950 --> 00:23:35.390 bread for the prophet first and then make for 00:23:35.390 --> 00:23:41.529 her son and for herself. Who asked her? God asked 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:47.089 her. So if you don't get offended at somebody, 00:23:47.170 --> 00:23:51.289 just get offended at him. God's the one who asked 00:23:51.289 --> 00:23:58.930 her. Elijah said to her, don't be afraid. That's 00:23:58.930 --> 00:24:01.329 the first thing he said. You know why? Because 00:24:01.329 --> 00:24:06.470 fear focuses on what you don't have. You've got 00:24:06.470 --> 00:24:10.509 to let this sink in. Fear focuses on what you 00:24:10.509 --> 00:24:15.650 don't have. Fear focuses on your lack. Fear sees 00:24:15.650 --> 00:24:19.049 subtraction. It always sees subtraction. It's 00:24:19.049 --> 00:24:22.730 like, okay, if I give this prophet some food, 00:24:22.910 --> 00:24:26.069 then me and my son are going to have to split 00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:28.029 a biscuit instead of having our own biscuits. 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:37.799 Subtraction is going to take place. This was 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:39.319 so powerful to me, I'm going to say it again. 00:24:39.380 --> 00:24:43.259 Hopefully, it'll be powerful to you. He said, 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:47.599 don't be afraid, because if she is afraid, she's 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:52.059 going to focus on what she doesn't have instead 00:24:52.059 --> 00:24:55.160 of focusing on God's promise. Her focus is going 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:59.210 to be on her lack. It's going to be on subtraction. 00:25:01.789 --> 00:25:05.789 Now here's the promise. For this is what the 00:25:05.789 --> 00:25:10.049 Lord, the God of Israel, says. There will always, 00:25:10.430 --> 00:25:13.869 everybody say always, there will always be flour 00:25:13.869 --> 00:25:17.289 and olive oil left in your containers until the 00:25:17.289 --> 00:25:20.430 time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow 00:25:20.430 --> 00:25:30.789 again. See, fear focuses on what you don't have. 00:25:30.849 --> 00:25:34.910 Fear sees subtraction. Faith focuses on the promises 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:38.809 of God, and faith sees multiplication instead 00:25:38.809 --> 00:25:45.230 of subtraction. And again, some of you are thinking 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:50.690 way too hard today. This is simple. Look to the 00:25:50.690 --> 00:25:53.289 person beside you and say, it's simple. It's 00:25:53.289 --> 00:25:57.640 simple. You don't have to worry. I'm not trying 00:25:57.640 --> 00:25:59.660 to put any pressure on you. We've already received 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:02.619 the offering. I'm not receiving another one. 00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:13.220 This is simple. Everybody say miracles. See, 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:17.500 when you think of a miracle, when I think of 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:23.059 a miracle, I think miracles take place. When 00:26:23.059 --> 00:26:25.680 there's no other hope, there's no other way, 00:26:25.859 --> 00:26:30.319 and God does something that we thought was impossible, 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:39.319 then we're like, this was a miracle. Put it in 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:42.839 perspective. We're believing God that one day 00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:45.400 we're going to have a prime piece of real estate 00:26:45.400 --> 00:26:49.559 out here on 27 with a 1 ,900 -seat auditorium 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:54.930 on it. 3 ,000 people coming to worship God together 00:26:54.930 --> 00:27:03.250 every week. If somebody called me this afternoon 00:27:03.250 --> 00:27:07.849 and gave Elisha Church 12 acres out here on Highway 00:27:07.849 --> 00:27:09.930 27, how many of you would call that a miracle? 00:27:12.549 --> 00:27:17.970 I would call it a miracle too. See, we think 00:27:17.970 --> 00:27:19.829 it's a miracle when God does something that's 00:27:19.829 --> 00:27:24.210 impossible to us. We don't even see a way. If 00:27:24.210 --> 00:27:26.690 one acre costs $1 million, how in the world are 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:35.779 we going to have 12 acres? Are you with me? Here's 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:37.940 what we have to understand. If we're going to 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:40.039 be people of faith, if we're going to live by 00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:43.380 faith and walk by faith and experience a victorious 00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:46.039 Christian life by faith, we've got to realize 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:48.480 something. God has never considered anything 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:55.460 impossible. That deserved more than two little 00:27:55.460 --> 00:28:02.140 weak amens, almost whispers. God has never... 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:09.220 considered anything impossible. These are the 00:28:09.220 --> 00:28:12.039 words of Jesus. He said, with men, this is impossible. 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:19.180 But with God, all things are possible. All things 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:23.140 are possible. So we think it's some big deal. 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:29.069 And the more out of touch it is to us, Personally, 00:28:29.170 --> 00:28:31.269 with our own effort, with our own resources, 00:28:31.470 --> 00:28:34.869 the farther it gets away from what I can do, 00:28:35.029 --> 00:28:44.009 I mean, it's like the miracles gets bigger. There's 00:28:44.009 --> 00:28:47.509 no such thing as impossible with God. There's 00:28:47.509 --> 00:28:50.109 no such thing as big blessings or little blessings. 00:28:53.609 --> 00:29:01.029 He's God. the earth is already his and the fullness 00:29:01.029 --> 00:29:06.890 of the earth is already his. The earth is the 00:29:06.890 --> 00:29:09.190 Lord's and the fullness thereof, it's all God's. 00:29:11.190 --> 00:29:16.210 If he spoke and created it, is there anything 00:29:16.210 --> 00:29:29.190 impossible? Faith laughs. At impossibilities. 00:29:37.049 --> 00:29:42.930 Faith laughs at impossibilities. Oh God, this 00:29:42.930 --> 00:29:44.890 is just so big. I don't know if you're big enough 00:29:44.890 --> 00:29:52.089 to do it or not. No, it's just... God, if you've 00:29:52.089 --> 00:29:56.299 promised it... I'm just going to be happy about 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:58.019 it that you're going to keep your promise and 00:29:58.019 --> 00:30:06.099 I'm going to see your goodness. Back to the story. 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:09.259 I'll step out of preaching and get back in the 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:16.640 story. So, she did. Everybody say she did. She 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:21.849 did as Elijah asked. So she heard what she was 00:30:21.849 --> 00:30:24.650 supposed to do. She heard what God promised that 00:30:24.650 --> 00:30:27.950 he was going to do. It was still up to her. Now 00:30:27.950 --> 00:30:35.190 she acts on it. This is her faith act. It was 00:30:35.190 --> 00:30:41.430 still up to her. She could have said, nope. I'm 00:30:41.430 --> 00:30:44.609 not giving you my last biscuit. I think you're 00:30:44.609 --> 00:30:47.269 a con man. You want my last biscuit? I'm not 00:30:47.269 --> 00:30:54.140 giving you my last biscuit. Nope. If she would 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:57.059 have done that, it would have been her last biscuit. 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:06.539 She acted in faith as if the promise of God was 00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:16.140 true before she saw the promise fulfilled. So 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:17.319 I'm just going to go ahead and tell you, just 00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:20.099 act like what God said was true. Act like that 00:31:20.099 --> 00:31:28.289 God can keep his promises. That's what she did. 00:31:30.450 --> 00:31:34.670 So she did as Elijah said. Listen, and she and 00:31:34.670 --> 00:31:38.369 Elijah and her son continued to eat for many 00:31:38.369 --> 00:31:47.329 days. Now, for some reason, we limit our understanding 00:31:47.329 --> 00:31:49.369 of what's taking place when we think of this 00:31:49.369 --> 00:31:52.369 story. I mean, it's like, oh, so she had biscuits 00:31:52.369 --> 00:31:59.579 for a week. No. Even if it rained this very day, 00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:04.440 she wouldn't have biscuits in a week. I mean, 00:32:04.460 --> 00:32:07.740 this went on for months. And then after it started 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:12.740 raining, you had to plant, right? So there was 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:14.960 a time for planting seed, and then there's a 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:18.619 time to wait on the seed, and then there's a 00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:29.799 time for harvest. Here's the deal. The handful 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:33.720 of flour for two biscuits and a little bit of 00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:36.519 oil that was going to just be enough for her 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:42.500 and her son is now turning into hundreds. Maybe 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:49.440 a thousand biscuits. Everybody say multiplication. 00:32:52.839 --> 00:32:55.799 Verse 16, there was always enough flour and olive 00:32:55.799 --> 00:32:58.400 oil left in the containers just as God had promised 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:06.359 through Elijah. Everybody say every day. Now 00:33:06.359 --> 00:33:08.960 this wasn't a one -time deal. What if the widow 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:12.759 stopped making Elijah's biscuit first? What if 00:33:12.759 --> 00:33:15.859 you went in a week or two or a month or two and 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:19.779 it's like, nah, I'll make ours first and if he 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:24.059 comes by later, I'll make his. What did God tell 00:33:24.059 --> 00:33:29.599 her to do? Make it for Elijah first. If she would 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:34.539 have quit at any point during these months, it 00:33:34.539 --> 00:33:37.599 would have stopped. So faith is not one and done. 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:42.680 It's not one and done. The Bible says we walk 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:45.240 by faith. We live by faith. We live our lives 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:50.599 from faith to faith. Faith is not, oh, I get 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:52.869 it. And I get it right this time, so I never 00:33:52.869 --> 00:33:55.730 have to worry about it again. No, it's every 00:33:55.730 --> 00:33:59.990 day. It's the scope of our existence is what 00:33:59.990 --> 00:34:02.430 that word means, that we walk by faith. This 00:34:02.430 --> 00:34:09.690 is the way we live. Her faith act continued every 00:34:09.690 --> 00:34:15.610 day, and she received a miracle every day. Somebody 00:34:15.610 --> 00:34:23.480 say every day. What a story. Look to the person 00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:27.139 beside you and say, it's true, it's true. See, 00:34:27.219 --> 00:34:30.019 the first time she obeyed, it wasn't like now 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:33.719 there's like 300 pound bags of flour and five 00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:36.099 gallons of olive oil in her house. No, it was 00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:42.239 every day, every day walking by faith. Did you 00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:45.079 know that God has given you a very similar promise? 00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:50.360 I mean, we look at this and we're like, wow. 00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:54.480 I mean, did you listen to the verses I read right 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:59.860 before we received the offering? Did you listen 00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:03.579 to them? I mean, I normally share these verses. 00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:09.659 Malachi 3 .10. What does it say? It says, bring 00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:13.539 all the tithes into the storehouse so there will 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:19.460 be enough food in my temple. That's what God 00:35:19.460 --> 00:35:24.760 says. Everybody say, that's a faith act. Because 00:35:24.760 --> 00:35:28.920 it's attached to a promise. It's attached to 00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:34.380 a promise. If you do, says the Lord of heaven's 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:37.679 armies, I will open the windows of heaven for 00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:40.760 you. I will pour out a blessing so great you 00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:43.980 won't have enough room to take it in. And then 00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:50.059 he says, try it. Put me to the test. I mean, 00:35:50.059 --> 00:35:51.659 he could have said the same thing to the widow. 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:57.340 Make a cake first for Elijah and put me to the 00:35:57.340 --> 00:36:01.420 test and see if I'm not going to make your handful 00:36:01.420 --> 00:36:04.420 of flour be a handful of flour every time you 00:36:04.420 --> 00:36:06.900 reach in the bag and your little bit of olive 00:36:06.900 --> 00:36:09.079 oil be a little bit of olive oil every time you 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:11.219 pour it out. It'll always be there. There will 00:36:11.219 --> 00:36:18.199 always be enough. Always. God says put him to 00:36:18.199 --> 00:36:22.199 the test. And then he goes on. I don't normally 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:26.800 read this verse. Verse 11. Your crops will be 00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:32.280 abundant. For I will guard them from insects 00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:38.320 and disease. No pesticide here. Didn't have any 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:40.639 deep or chemicals or nothing like that, right? 00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:43.699 God says he'll guard them. He'll keep the insects 00:36:43.699 --> 00:36:45.280 from eating them up. He'll keep them from getting 00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:47.920 some kind of fungus that's going to mess up and 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:51.210 destroy your... He says, your grapes will not 00:36:51.210 --> 00:36:55.269 fall from the vine before they are ripe, says 00:36:55.269 --> 00:37:00.489 the Lord of heaven's armies. How many of you 00:37:00.489 --> 00:37:08.050 believe God keeps his promises? I'm just going 00:37:08.050 --> 00:37:11.710 to put it like this. When you faith act to take 00:37:11.710 --> 00:37:16.590 care of God's house, God will act to take care 00:37:16.590 --> 00:37:24.960 of your house. It's all in the Bible. And then 00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:31.280 you got like, wait a minute, Dan. You don't give 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:39.119 to get. Anybody ever heard that before? We're 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:41.019 coming in here and giving just to get something 00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:48.809 from God. Heard that preached. But when we faith 00:37:48.809 --> 00:37:50.869 act to take care of God's house, he will act 00:37:50.869 --> 00:37:53.610 to take care of our houses. When we faith act 00:37:53.610 --> 00:37:55.610 to take care of God's kingdom business in the 00:37:55.610 --> 00:37:57.929 earth, he will act to take care of your business. 00:38:00.489 --> 00:38:06.510 That's what he said. I didn't say it. Did I, 00:38:06.550 --> 00:38:13.710 Ethan? Did I say it? No, I didn't say it. I said 00:38:13.710 --> 00:38:15.610 this, but I didn't say the verses that we read 00:38:15.610 --> 00:38:21.099 to support this, right? So, Hebrews 11, 6, talking 00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:23.659 about faith. It's impossible to please God without 00:38:23.659 --> 00:38:25.719 faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe 00:38:25.719 --> 00:38:28.659 that God exists and then listen, and that He 00:38:28.659 --> 00:38:44.860 rewards those who sincerely seek Him. I'm here 00:38:44.860 --> 00:38:46.699 today to tell you, you can have an expectation. 00:38:50.920 --> 00:38:54.820 You can have an expectation to see God's goodness 00:38:54.820 --> 00:39:04.860 in your life. Or you don't have to have an expectation. 00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:12.380 But faith hears the word of God, believes the 00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:15.340 word of God, has confidence in the word of God. 00:39:16.940 --> 00:39:24.380 Right? And then acts on what God said. So if 00:39:24.380 --> 00:39:27.559 you just act like it's true, if you act like 00:39:27.559 --> 00:39:30.900 what God said was true, and you've got a divine 00:39:30.900 --> 00:39:32.699 utterance, he's talking to you and he's saying 00:39:32.699 --> 00:39:41.039 it, you just act like he's true. I think God 00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:51.280 wants us to expect him to keep his promise. Is 00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:53.780 it wrong to expect God to keep his promises? 00:39:55.539 --> 00:40:00.940 Or is that faith? I know I'm making some of you 00:40:00.940 --> 00:40:05.860 mad. It's okay. Or some of you are thinking about 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:09.280 this, boy, I don't know if I can unlearn that 00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:15.300 much or not. Do you believe that God rewards 00:40:15.300 --> 00:40:17.440 those who sincerely seek him? I mean, that's 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:22.550 straight out of the Bible. Is it okay to have 00:40:22.550 --> 00:40:26.570 confidence that God is going to keep his promises? 00:40:28.469 --> 00:40:32.429 If I do what he asked me to do, if I act in faith 00:40:32.429 --> 00:40:36.210 based on what he told me to do, his divine utterance, 00:40:36.289 --> 00:40:46.010 can I not expect him to keep his promise? It's 00:40:46.010 --> 00:40:48.170 not like he owes me. Let's get that straight. 00:40:48.329 --> 00:40:51.309 I don't have an attitude. You owe me, God. You 00:40:51.309 --> 00:40:55.610 owe me. That's not what I'm talking about. That's 00:40:55.610 --> 00:40:59.289 not faith. To think that God owes you something 00:40:59.289 --> 00:41:07.269 is not faith. But we can expect to see His goodness. 00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:23.239 That's a big old bullet. This is a .50 caliber 00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:28.099 BMG round. I mean, it's a big old bullet. The 00:41:28.099 --> 00:41:30.599 reason why I bought it is because I wanted to 00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:32.199 make sure that it was big enough for you to see 00:41:32.199 --> 00:41:35.219 it. You know, if I had a little .380 bullet out 00:41:35.219 --> 00:41:38.139 of my little .380 pistol, my fingers are bigger 00:41:38.139 --> 00:41:40.639 than the bullet, okay? My fingers are not bigger 00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:44.940 than this bullet. This is a .50 caliber BMG round. 00:41:47.420 --> 00:41:51.760 I want you to think about this. Inside this bullet 00:41:51.760 --> 00:42:00.900 is the power. It's all in here. Right here. I 00:42:00.900 --> 00:42:04.280 mean, it's not going to hurt anybody. If I drop 00:42:04.280 --> 00:42:08.239 it, it's not going to go off. But all the power 00:42:08.239 --> 00:42:12.159 it needs is right here in it. As a matter of 00:42:12.159 --> 00:42:16.639 fact, there's so much powder in this bullet that... 00:42:17.159 --> 00:42:21.300 There's power to advance this real heavy .50 00:42:21.300 --> 00:42:28.500 caliber projectile at 3 ,000 feet per second. 00:42:31.320 --> 00:42:36.360 It's 10 football fields in a second. And all 00:42:36.360 --> 00:42:40.360 the power that it needs for that to happen is 00:42:40.360 --> 00:42:46.019 already in here. The power... is in this bullet 00:42:46.019 --> 00:42:51.579 to accomplish the purpose of this bullet. Are 00:42:51.579 --> 00:42:57.000 you with me? It's all inside. It's all here. 00:42:59.239 --> 00:43:04.619 But here's the deal. This bullet is not going 00:43:04.619 --> 00:43:08.179 to do anything until it's put in a rifle and 00:43:08.179 --> 00:43:14.440 somebody pulls a trigger. Look at the person 00:43:14.440 --> 00:43:16.000 beside you and say, you got to pull the trigger. 00:43:17.179 --> 00:43:19.539 I mean, it has the power to change things, right? 00:43:21.880 --> 00:43:23.800 But the only way it's going to change anything 00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:26.320 is if you pull the trigger. But the power's there 00:43:26.320 --> 00:43:30.179 and it's ready and it's waiting on someone to 00:43:30.179 --> 00:43:33.639 pull the trigger. Everybody say, just like that. 00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:39.920 Just like that. God's promises are connected 00:43:39.920 --> 00:43:47.219 to his unlimited power. The Bible says that God 00:43:47.219 --> 00:43:51.519 looks over His Word. He watches over His Word 00:43:51.519 --> 00:43:56.199 to perform it. And the promise of God, the divine 00:43:56.199 --> 00:43:59.920 utterance to you or to me, that promise contains 00:43:59.920 --> 00:44:03.840 the power to bring fulfillment to what God has 00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:08.960 promised. Because God is able. He's all -powerful 00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:15.150 and He is able. His word, his name, his power 00:44:15.150 --> 00:44:20.670 is attached to his word. Just like there's power 00:44:20.670 --> 00:44:25.070 in this bullet. God's power is attached to his 00:44:25.070 --> 00:44:31.590 promises. But we're not going to see it released 00:44:31.590 --> 00:44:37.329 unless we pull the trigger with our faith. To 00:44:37.329 --> 00:44:40.389 hear his promise, to believe his promise. To 00:44:40.389 --> 00:44:44.570 have confidence in His promise. That He's faithful. 00:44:44.670 --> 00:44:47.769 Have confidence in His faithfulness. And in His 00:44:47.769 --> 00:44:53.090 goodness. And in His almighty -ness. I don't 00:44:53.090 --> 00:44:54.429 know if that's a word or not, but you know what 00:44:54.429 --> 00:45:00.250 I'm saying. Right? But we pull the trigger with 00:45:00.250 --> 00:45:04.969 our faith act. Pull the trigger with our faith 00:45:04.969 --> 00:45:09.599 act. Some of what God instructs us to do, some 00:45:09.599 --> 00:45:12.679 of those acts are in black and white in the Word 00:45:12.679 --> 00:45:14.860 because there's a lot of promises that are, if 00:45:14.860 --> 00:45:19.679 you do this, then I will do this. And then other 00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:25.840 promises are from His still small voice as His 00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:29.179 Holy Spirit speaks to us and we're led by Him. 00:45:29.219 --> 00:45:31.659 We walk in the Spirit. We're sensitive to His 00:45:31.659 --> 00:45:36.449 voice. We're following Him. We're looking to 00:45:36.449 --> 00:45:39.550 Jesus to be Lord. Not just call him Lord, but 00:45:39.550 --> 00:45:46.449 for him to be Lord. For us to follow him. To 00:45:46.449 --> 00:45:51.949 be disciples. We pull the trigger with our faith 00:45:51.949 --> 00:45:57.469 act. Let's pray together. God, thank you. Thank 00:45:57.469 --> 00:45:59.130 you for your word. Thank you for your promises. 00:45:59.989 --> 00:46:02.610 Thank you that you tell us that your promises 00:46:02.610 --> 00:46:10.059 are yes and amen. So we look to you, and we have 00:46:10.059 --> 00:46:12.920 faith in your faithfulness and in your goodness, 00:46:13.019 --> 00:46:17.900 and we stand in expectation, confident expectation, 00:46:17.980 --> 00:46:22.900 to see your goodness in our lives, your promises 00:46:22.900 --> 00:46:26.400 fulfilled in our lives today. and every day. 00:46:26.460 --> 00:46:29.519 Help us to be like this widow who will act in 00:46:29.519 --> 00:46:32.900 faith. Help us to act in faith every day and 00:46:32.900 --> 00:46:36.539 us to see you at work around us every day. Help 00:46:36.539 --> 00:46:41.000 us to not categorize, you know, there's big things 00:46:41.000 --> 00:46:43.059 that you do and little things that you do. No, 00:46:43.179 --> 00:46:46.219 it's you. It's you. You're at work in our lives 00:46:46.219 --> 00:46:49.400 and we recognize you and we see you and we have 00:46:49.400 --> 00:46:54.070 confidence. As we walk with you and as we act 00:46:54.070 --> 00:46:58.769 in faith that we will see your goodness. In Jesus' 00:46:58.829 --> 00:47:03.090 name I pray. Amen. This online worship experience 00:47:03.090 --> 00:47:05.590 was brought to you by the friends and partners 00:47:05.590 --> 00:47:06.630 of Elation Church.