WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:09.980 Elation Church. This is week number 11 in our 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:13.039 series that we have entitled, Hello, My Name 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:18.160 is God. This is week number 11. And what are 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.500 names all about? Can you remember the three things 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:23.100 that names are about? First of all, names are 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.980 about identity. Everybody say identity. It's 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:32.460 how we identify each other. Now, most of you 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:35.820 probably already know this. I'm not sure. But 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:38.219 when I was born, when we left the hospital, my 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:41.500 parents had not named me yet. So when I went 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:45.240 to play junior high football, I could not play 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:49.619 football without a South Carolina birth certificate. 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:54.539 So when that came in, it said, no name Forrest. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.780 And I still couldn't play football. until I got 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:01.600 my name changed. And to this day, my South Carolina 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.819 birth certificate has an asterisk on it showing 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:09.040 that my name has been changed from No Name Forrest 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.000 to the name that I've went by my whole life is 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.920 Jeffrey Dean Forrest. Most people just call me 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:19.739 Dean. That's my identity. There's another identity 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:22.159 that I have, and it's not just something that 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:25.859 I practice. It's who I am. I am a Christian. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:32.000 And that's my identity. So names signify identity. 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:36.579 Names also signify relationship. Relationship. 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:41.620 So, what are some of my relationship names? My 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:43.500 mom always called me baby because I'm the youngest 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:47.379 of four. Even when I'm in my 50s and she's introducing 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:51.920 me to people, she says, this is my baby. Sometimes 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:53.700 she would tell them, Dean. Sometimes she would 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:56.560 just say, this is my baby. She called me baby. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.540 My whole life. My dad didn't call me baby. My 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:04.500 dad called me son. And when I got married, I 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:06.879 became a husband. That's a relationship name. 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.639 But Ganna doesn't call me husband. She calls 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:15.500 me honey most of the time. Unless I've messed 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:21.120 up or said something wrong or something was misinterpreted. 00:02:23.629 --> 00:02:25.530 When Jeffrey was born, I became a father, but 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:27.469 he never called me father. He started out calling 00:02:27.469 --> 00:02:30.229 me daddy, but then he changed it to dad as he 00:02:30.229 --> 00:02:35.750 grew up. So I'm a dad. So names signify relationship. 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:39.810 I'm also a cousin, an uncle, a nephew, all those 00:02:39.810 --> 00:02:46.090 things. And as you learn my names, you may find 00:02:46.090 --> 00:02:48.210 out something about me that you didn't know. 00:02:51.229 --> 00:02:55.349 Remember that. When you learn my names, you learn 00:02:55.349 --> 00:02:57.569 more about me. You know now that I've got brothers 00:02:57.569 --> 00:02:59.509 and sisters and they have children. You know 00:02:59.509 --> 00:03:04.090 I'm married. You know, you see, you can figure 00:03:04.090 --> 00:03:07.250 out some things. Names also signify activity. 00:03:07.409 --> 00:03:11.629 Everybody say activity. Activity, what a person 00:03:11.629 --> 00:03:17.030 does. I've done a lot. I was a student and I 00:03:17.030 --> 00:03:20.729 am a student. That's still going on to this day. 00:03:20.810 --> 00:03:24.949 I wish. I could get finished. If anybody wants 00:03:24.949 --> 00:03:28.849 to help write papers, well, that would be cheating, 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:32.930 I guess. Got a lot of papers to write still. 00:03:33.569 --> 00:03:37.169 I was a cook, believe it or not. My junior year 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:40.370 of high school, I started out washing dishes, 00:03:40.490 --> 00:03:44.550 and I very quickly became the head cook at times 00:03:44.550 --> 00:03:49.030 at Quincy's Family Steakhouse. running two grills, 00:03:49.090 --> 00:03:51.629 tickets on both grills, keeping it all going, 00:03:51.909 --> 00:03:58.289 spinning plates. The strange thing is the classmate, 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:01.150 it was his idea to go work at Quincy's Family 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:03.810 Steakhouse. Guess what he was doing at the end 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:08.370 of the summer? Still washing dishes. But anyway, 00:04:08.509 --> 00:04:12.169 I was a cook at Quincy's. They're closed now, 00:04:12.310 --> 00:04:15.930 but it wasn't my fault. Been a salesman at Moore's 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:21.129 Lumberyard, at Custom Recording and Sound, at 00:04:21.129 --> 00:04:27.850 Forrest Nissan, my uncle's dealership, at Mark 00:04:27.850 --> 00:04:30.290 5 Sandcastle Recording Studio. I was selling 00:04:30.290 --> 00:04:33.470 recording sessions. So I've been a salesman, 00:04:33.589 --> 00:04:36.029 been a sound man, actually been paid to run sound. 00:04:36.269 --> 00:04:39.050 Been a custodian. I was a custodian at Epcot 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:41.949 for a while, and I was a trainer and a coordinator, 00:04:42.250 --> 00:04:45.170 relief coordinator. I was a janitor. Gina and 00:04:45.170 --> 00:04:49.069 I, you know, couldn't make enough in our two 00:04:49.069 --> 00:04:51.889 40 -hour -a -week jobs, so we started cleaning 00:04:51.889 --> 00:04:56.430 offices at night. So I was a janitor cleaning 00:04:56.430 --> 00:04:59.209 offices three nights a week. I bought my own 00:04:59.209 --> 00:05:01.649 screen printing equipment and started screen 00:05:01.649 --> 00:05:04.269 printing T -shirts. I was an A &R director for 00:05:04.269 --> 00:05:07.910 Mark V Sandcastle Records. I was vice president 00:05:07.910 --> 00:05:10.839 of Heartlet Records. I've been a music director 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:13.459 of state and national organizations, an event 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:16.560 planner. I figured it up yesterday. I've planned 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.259 events in like convention centers and hotels 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:26.620 in 10 different states. So I know all the ins 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:29.220 and outs of that. I've been a crusade director 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:32.420 for about three events, and then Jeanette and 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:38.779 John were the directors for the other 29 crusades. 00:05:39.529 --> 00:05:43.569 that we were a part of working together. I've 00:05:43.569 --> 00:05:47.509 been the president of state and national organizations 00:05:47.509 --> 00:05:50.129 and non -profit corporations. I've been a worship 00:05:50.129 --> 00:05:53.089 leader at times when just me and my family led 00:05:53.089 --> 00:05:56.290 worship. I've been a conference director, an 00:05:56.290 --> 00:05:58.550 evangelist, a chaplain, a preacher, a pastor. 00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:02.689 There's a lot of names. There's a lot of names. 00:06:03.009 --> 00:06:07.550 But I'm just one person. And now you may know... 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:09.709 a little bit more about me than you did before 00:06:09.709 --> 00:06:13.069 you found out those names. That's important because 00:06:13.069 --> 00:06:16.949 today's message isn't about Dean's names. It's 00:06:16.949 --> 00:06:19.790 about, hello, my name is God. I shared with you 00:06:19.790 --> 00:06:24.569 at least 29, maybe 31 or 32 names that I have 00:06:24.569 --> 00:06:29.009 gone by. I'm only one person. Names signify identity, 00:06:29.170 --> 00:06:33.110 relationship, and activity. And that's what God's 00:06:33.110 --> 00:06:39.920 names do. God's names, signify His identity, 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:44.300 who He is. They signify what kind of relationship 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:49.800 He wants to be in with you and me. They signify 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:55.939 His activity, what He does, what He wants to 00:06:55.939 --> 00:07:00.459 do in your life and in my life. And the Bible 00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:03.259 tells us this in Psalm 9 -10, it says, and those 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:05.139 who know your name, talking about God's name, 00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:10.149 will put their trust in you. So when we know 00:07:10.149 --> 00:07:13.990 God's name, we can put our confidence in Him. 00:07:16.529 --> 00:07:20.009 We can put our trust in Him. We can put our faith 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:23.910 in Him. That He's going to be who He said He 00:07:23.910 --> 00:07:26.850 was going to be. He's going to do what He said 00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:33.209 He's going to do based on His name. And I tell 00:07:33.209 --> 00:07:39.740 you, Our problem, I'm going to put myself in 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:46.560 there with it. Our problem is our lack of confidence. 00:07:50.339 --> 00:07:55.120 That's our biggest problem. Is our lack of trust 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:59.100 and confidence in God. Now you might say, well, 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:02.980 I trust God. I have confidence in God. But when 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:11.540 trouble hits, Do you stand in confidence? Or 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:15.560 do you let your mind start pouring on the trouble? 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:20.819 Your mind, your feelings, your emotions, all 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:24.420 of a sudden they start attaching to the trouble 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:30.480 and they turn away from the confidence. And I 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:35.759 want to tell you today that if we can stand in 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:40.360 trust, and confidence when trouble comes our 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:45.200 way or when challenges come our way then the 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.600 trouble and the challenge won't last as long 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:56.580 as it will if we lose our confidence hello because 00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:59.000 if we never have faith and never have confidence 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:03.000 will we ever rise above the challenge or rise 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:08.250 above the trouble It's possible because people 00:09:08.250 --> 00:09:12.169 that don't know God rise above challenges, right? 00:09:12.389 --> 00:09:16.789 They rise above trouble. But we have somebody 00:09:16.789 --> 00:09:22.529 on our side. I have somebody on my side. And 00:09:22.529 --> 00:09:26.870 when I know Him, when I know who He is and what 00:09:26.870 --> 00:09:33.509 He does, then I can trust Him. And you know what? 00:09:34.090 --> 00:09:36.509 He can lift me up even when I'm right in the 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:41.909 middle of the trouble. He can lift me up when 00:09:41.909 --> 00:09:45.570 I'm right in the middle of the challenge. I can 00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:51.330 have joy. I can have peace right in the middle. 00:09:53.389 --> 00:09:56.450 Now, if you don't know God, you're not going 00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:58.649 to have joy and peace in the middle of your challenge 00:09:58.649 --> 00:10:01.769 or the middle of your trouble. But with God, 00:10:03.229 --> 00:10:10.090 You can. I guarantee it. You can. It's available. 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:13.830 Look to the person beside you and say, it's available. 00:10:15.309 --> 00:10:19.730 It's available. When we know His name, we can 00:10:19.730 --> 00:10:23.250 put our trust in Him. And here's why we can put 00:10:23.250 --> 00:10:27.149 our trust in Him. Because He has not forsaken 00:10:27.149 --> 00:10:31.860 those who seek Him. And when we seek Him, We 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:34.860 can know, we can be confident that He's not going 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:38.299 to turn His back on us. See, I don't care what 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:41.600 you feel. Because I've had some pretty negative 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:44.700 feelings in my day that God's turned His back 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:48.039 on me. I don't care what you feel. We have to 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:52.519 be established in what the Word says. Y 'all 00:10:52.519 --> 00:11:00.779 got quiet on me. I'm trying to help you. And 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:06.039 I'm trying to help me. Our biggest problem is 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:11.159 a lack of confidence in who God is. Today we're 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:13.139 looking at a familiar name. Been a lot of songs. 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:17.399 Has anyone ever sang a song that had Jireh in 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:24.340 it? Jehovah Jireh? Today we're looking at Yahweh 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:30.830 Jireh. And normally it's translated. My provider. 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:34.950 Everybody say, my provider. But today we're going 00:11:34.950 --> 00:11:38.549 to look at the literal translation from the Hebrew 00:11:38.549 --> 00:11:43.470 words, which is not my provider. I mean, it means 00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:47.710 that, but the literal translation from the Hebrew 00:11:47.710 --> 00:11:54.129 word is this. I am. Everybody say, I am. I am. 00:11:55.129 --> 00:12:05.220 We'll see to it. We'll see to it. I am. We'll 00:12:05.220 --> 00:12:16.299 see to it. So what are you facing today? Is anybody 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:24.740 facing a challenge today? Listen. I want you 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:32.330 to know that I am. We'll see to it. We need to 00:12:32.330 --> 00:12:38.350 leave here today saying, you know what? I am 00:12:38.350 --> 00:12:42.009 is going to see to it. Because that's who he 00:12:42.009 --> 00:12:48.029 is. That's who he is. That's what the Bible says. 00:12:49.230 --> 00:12:53.190 That's who he is. Let's look at a story. Sometimes 00:12:53.190 --> 00:12:55.509 people get shocked at this story because why 00:12:55.509 --> 00:12:58.299 would God ask? someone to do something that he 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:01.500 asked Abraham to do. But in Genesis 22, starting 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:04.340 in verse 1, it says, Now it came to pass after 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:09.720 these things that God tested Abraham and said 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:16.659 to him, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. Now 00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:19.379 I want you to think about a test. What are tests 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:24.799 for? What are tests for? Why do we have tests? 00:13:25.470 --> 00:13:27.809 It's like the end of the school year. Do you 00:13:27.809 --> 00:13:30.850 guys take some tests? Why did you take a test? 00:13:31.870 --> 00:13:34.049 Did you take a test because your mom's mean? 00:13:35.570 --> 00:13:39.889 She's trying to hurt you? I know you go to some 00:13:39.889 --> 00:13:42.309 classes away from mom, but did you take some 00:13:42.309 --> 00:13:46.289 tests there? Took some tests there? Did they 00:13:46.289 --> 00:13:50.029 give you those tests just to torture you? No. 00:13:52.730 --> 00:13:58.110 Why do we have tests? See what you know. That's 00:13:58.110 --> 00:14:01.990 a good answer. Teachers don't give tests to punish 00:14:01.990 --> 00:14:06.710 or fail students. There's no such thing as a 00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:08.809 teacher that makes a test with the intention 00:14:08.809 --> 00:14:12.690 of failing every student in their class. Right? 00:14:15.309 --> 00:14:18.549 The object of the test is not to cause someone 00:14:18.549 --> 00:14:21.490 to fail. Tests are given to determine the progress. 00:14:21.629 --> 00:14:24.850 Everybody say progress. Tests are given to determine 00:14:24.850 --> 00:14:30.509 the progress, to see what you know. Because we've 00:14:30.509 --> 00:14:33.669 got to figure out what you know before you can 00:14:33.669 --> 00:14:37.669 advance to the next level. Because if you don't 00:14:37.669 --> 00:14:39.230 know what you're supposed to know, then you've 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:42.190 just got to keep taking the same thing until 00:14:42.190 --> 00:14:47.070 you know it. I'm looking at you. I'm looking 00:14:47.070 --> 00:14:51.809 at you. It's good to write. If the test says 00:14:51.809 --> 00:14:53.190 that you don't know it, then you've got to keep 00:14:53.190 --> 00:14:56.590 taking the same thing until you get it. Now that's 00:14:56.590 --> 00:15:00.549 not fun. Let me just go ahead and throw this 00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:04.549 out there. If you don't pass the test when trouble 00:15:04.549 --> 00:15:07.950 or challenge comes your way, if you don't pass 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:11.090 the test of having confidence and trust in God 00:15:11.090 --> 00:15:14.690 and faith in Him and His promises, guess what? 00:15:14.850 --> 00:15:19.200 You might just keep... staying in that level 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.259 until you progress enough spiritually to pass 00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:35.799 that test. Let's continue. Verse 2, Then he said, 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.460 God said to Abraham, Take now your son, your 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:41.940 only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the 00:15:41.940 --> 00:15:45.299 land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:48.320 offering. on one of the mountains of which I 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:55.659 shall tell you. That's a big test. Now Abraham 00:15:55.659 --> 00:16:00.340 had had quite a few tests, and he had passed 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:06.539 quite a few tests to get to this point. So Abraham, 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:09.639 guess what he did? He rose early in the morning, 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:12.480 saddled his donkey, took two of his young men 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.480 with him, and Isaac his son, and he split the 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:17.980 wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:21.740 to the place of which God had told him. Everybody 00:16:21.740 --> 00:16:29.960 say, no hesitation. Why? Because he trusted. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:35.340 Because he had confidence. He had confidence. 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:39.399 Then on the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:41.519 and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.600 to his young men, Stay here with the donkey. 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.740 The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:51.620 we will come back to you. So Abraham took the 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:54.419 wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:57.200 his son, and he took the fire in his hand and 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.159 a knife, and the two of them went together. But 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:03.320 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, My 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:08.079 father. He said, Here I am, my son. Then he said, 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:14.190 Look, a fire? The wood? But where's the lamb 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:19.490 for the burnt offering? We got fire, we got wood. 00:17:19.569 --> 00:17:25.029 Where's the lamb? And Abraham said, everybody 00:17:25.029 --> 00:17:30.730 say confidence. My son, God will provide for 00:17:30.730 --> 00:17:36.250 himself the lamb for the burnt offering. So the 00:17:36.250 --> 00:17:40.900 two of them went together. Then they came to 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:43.700 the place of which God had told him, and Abraham 00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:46.720 built an altar there, placed the wood in order. 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:49.859 He bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:59.740 altar upon the wood. Isaac wasn't a baby. I mean, 00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:02.460 I think he's probably older than you, Riley, 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.940 at this time. Abraham stretched out his hand, 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:12.029 took the knife to slay his son. But the angel 00:18:12.029 --> 00:18:14.190 of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:20.789 Abraham, Abraham. So he said, here I am. And 00:18:20.789 --> 00:18:25.009 he said, don't lay your hand on the lad or do 00:18:25.009 --> 00:18:31.250 anything to him. For now I know that you fear 00:18:31.250 --> 00:18:35.369 God. Since you have not withheld your son, your 00:18:35.369 --> 00:18:41.799 only son from me. Then Abraham lifted his eyes 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:47.140 and looked. And there behind him was a ram caught 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:50.799 in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:54.859 took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering 00:18:54.859 --> 00:19:03.039 instead of his son. And then what happened? And 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:07.200 Abraham called the name of the place, Yahweh 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:13.960 Jireh. The Lord will provide. As it is said to 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:17.420 this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:23.019 be provided. I could probably preach a whole 00:19:23.019 --> 00:19:26.859 series on just this text. And we could look at 00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:30.539 it from a lot of different angles. And, you know, 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:34.480 the word of God is multifaceted at times. And 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:37.119 you can look at it from this side, look at it 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:38.940 from this side, look at it from over here. The 00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:41.799 Holy Spirit just keeps causing it to come alive. 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:44.380 And like I said, I could preach a lot of sermons, 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:49.819 but today we're focusing in on who God is and 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:54.759 what God does. This is where we find the name 00:19:54.759 --> 00:20:00.380 Yahweh Jireh. Now in Genesis, you know, we've 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:02.819 even done a study. Through Abraham. I forgot 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:05.200 how many weeks that was. We went through the 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:09.059 highlight moments of Abraham's life. In a few 00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:11.839 weeks, we looked at some low -light moments of 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.559 Abraham's life when he made some bad decisions 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.599 and when he tried to do something on his own 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:21.160 instead of following God. But we see the stages 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:26.339 of his development in his faith. Everybody say, 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:30.980 from faith to faith. That's the way Abraham lived, 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:35.059 and that's the way we live, from faith to faith. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.500 And we could even put it like this, even, from 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:45.519 test or challenge to test or challenge. And you 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:47.759 might say, well, I don't like tests and challenges. 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:54.400 Well, just stay where you're at. Don't grow. 00:20:56.970 --> 00:20:59.130 And pray to God that you can make it to heaven 00:20:59.130 --> 00:21:04.369 by the skin of your teeth. Right? Don't plan 00:21:04.369 --> 00:21:08.029 to grow in your relationship with Him. Test to 00:21:08.029 --> 00:21:10.450 test, challenge to challenge. God sees how much 00:21:10.450 --> 00:21:14.170 confidence we have in Him. How much trust we 00:21:14.170 --> 00:21:19.329 have in Him. Now, He doesn't send the bad stuff. 00:21:21.450 --> 00:21:23.869 But we live in a fallen world, and guess what? 00:21:23.970 --> 00:21:26.069 Because we live in a fallen world, bad stuff's 00:21:26.069 --> 00:21:28.990 going to come our way. Has anybody ever dealt 00:21:28.990 --> 00:21:33.569 with some bad stuff? Well, you can look at it 00:21:33.569 --> 00:21:37.450 like, woe is me. Or you can look at it like, 00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:42.769 I have victory in Christ. He causes me to triumph. 00:21:44.269 --> 00:21:46.650 I have the peace of the Lord. I have the joy 00:21:46.650 --> 00:21:49.890 of the Holy Spirit. Right in the middle of this, 00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:52.500 I'm going to stay with God and have confidence 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:59.619 and trust in Him. Then you can grow in your faith. 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:06.480 God doesn't send all the terrible things that 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:09.440 this fallen world brings our way. But that doesn't 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:14.859 mean He's not concerned. That doesn't mean that 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:18.480 He doesn't want to see you through. That doesn't 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:23.460 mean that... He's not going to see to it. But 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:26.859 here's the deal. You've got to know who He is 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:30.460 to put your trust in Him, to put your confidence 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:34.799 in Him, to receive what He does. Just because 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.720 that's who He is doesn't mean that you're going 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:42.660 to receive it. That's the hard part for us. Because 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:46.680 we're like, oh, well, yeah, God is my peace, 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:50.240 and God is there. and God is my good shepherd, 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:54.359 just because I have a head knowledge of those 00:22:54.359 --> 00:22:56.960 things, then that's going to happen in my life. 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:05.180 The Bible says a just shall live by faith. We 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:12.380 walk by faith and not by sight. See, if we don't 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:18.079 know who He is, then we can't believe. that who 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:20.319 He is, that we're going to experience who He 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:26.339 is. We have nowhere to stand if we don't know 00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:30.839 that that's who He is. How many times did Jesus 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:33.220 say to people, well, you know what? What just 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:36.420 happened to you was because of your faith. How 00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:40.759 many times did He say that? He doesn't say, because 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:46.119 I'm God and I just did it. When Jesus was walking 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:50.710 on the earth, He would routinely say, you know, 00:23:50.829 --> 00:23:55.630 this happened because of your faith. In who I 00:23:55.630 --> 00:24:01.710 am. In my goodness. In my faithfulness. That's 00:24:01.710 --> 00:24:05.789 why you received it. Let's bring it back down 00:24:05.789 --> 00:24:09.230 to salvation. How many of you know it takes more 00:24:09.230 --> 00:24:12.950 than just having a head and all, is it? God... 00:24:13.609 --> 00:24:16.250 that Jesus brought salvation and forgiveness, 00:24:16.589 --> 00:24:19.150 how many of you know you've got to receive it 00:24:19.150 --> 00:24:23.710 by faith? It doesn't just happen. Jesus is Savior 00:24:23.710 --> 00:24:27.650 and Lord. But in order for Him to be your Savior 00:24:27.650 --> 00:24:30.769 and your Lord, you have to receive that by faith. 00:24:32.269 --> 00:24:41.769 Hello? Are you with me? It works the same all 00:24:41.769 --> 00:24:46.359 through Scripture. It doesn't change after salvation. 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:52.240 It still works the same. See, God promised Abraham 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.940 that he would have a son. God changed his name. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.200 Jeffrey preached a message where God identified 00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:03.680 who he was that God told him, I am El Shaddai. 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:09.450 Right? That's the way he approached Abraham when 00:25:09.450 --> 00:25:12.049 he changed his name from Abram to Abraham, from 00:25:12.049 --> 00:25:15.130 exalted father to the father of a multitude before 00:25:15.130 --> 00:25:20.950 Isaac was even born. How many of you know that 00:25:20.950 --> 00:25:23.769 Abraham had to have confidence that he was El 00:25:23.769 --> 00:25:26.349 Shaddai? He's the God who is more than enough 00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:31.789 before a hundred -year -old man can have a son 00:25:31.789 --> 00:25:33.569 and a ninety -year -old wife. How many of you 00:25:33.569 --> 00:25:36.880 know you've got to believe? and have confidence. 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:41.359 So that's when God told him that his name was 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:47.259 El Shaddai. The one who is mighty to completely 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:51.140 nourish, to completely satisfy, to completely 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:58.099 supply. That's who God is. I said that's who 00:25:58.099 --> 00:26:07.259 God is. He's the one. who is mighty to completely 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:16.720 nourish, satisfy, and supply. So, Isaac is born. 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:20.579 Isaac grows up, most likely 16, 17 years old 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:24.700 at this time. And then now God asks Abraham. 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:28.319 At this point, Isaac is still his only son. Everybody 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:33.660 say, only son. He asks Abraham to sacrifice his 00:26:33.660 --> 00:26:38.410 son. I want to point out some things to you. 00:26:39.210 --> 00:26:44.829 In verse 8 that we read, when Isaac said, I see 00:26:44.829 --> 00:26:51.109 the wood, see the fire, see the knife, where's 00:26:51.109 --> 00:26:58.190 the sacrifice? Well, in our English Bibles, it 00:26:58.190 --> 00:27:01.069 says, Abraham said, My son, God will provide 00:27:01.069 --> 00:27:07.309 for himself the lamb for a burnt offering. But 00:27:07.309 --> 00:27:10.890 in Hebrew, which is what this part of the Old 00:27:10.890 --> 00:27:16.269 Testament is written in, Abraham said, get this, 00:27:16.450 --> 00:27:29.549 My son, Elohim Jireh. That just flew all over 00:27:29.549 --> 00:27:35.029 me. Before the fact, he's going up the hill with 00:27:35.029 --> 00:27:40.079 Isaac. God told him to sacrifice his son. His 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:45.900 son gets a little nervous, I would think. And 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:51.440 all of a sudden, Abraham said, son, Elohim Jireh. 00:27:56.180 --> 00:28:02.079 God's going to see to it. See, here's the deal. 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:09.259 Come on. Stay with me. It's easy to say Yahweh 00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:17.079 Jireh after the ram is in the bush. That's easy. 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:29.160 Huh? We need to learn something. Look to the 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:30.859 person beside you and say, I need to learn something. 00:28:39.529 --> 00:28:42.269 We've got to start putting our words in agreement 00:28:42.269 --> 00:28:49.630 with who God is before we see it. And if you'll 00:28:49.630 --> 00:28:56.190 do that, you'll see it a lot quicker. He said, 00:28:56.309 --> 00:29:07.059 Isaac, Elohim, Jireh. Elohim, Jireh. Let's look 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:09.220 at some New Testament verses. Romans 4, verse 00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:23.180 20 and 21. Listen. Abraham never wavered. Wow. 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:34.420 Wow. Abraham never wavered. Did he ever waver? 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.599 This isn't saying like his whole life he never 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:40.599 had a wavering moment. Alright? Because he's 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:46.720 not perfect. But when it came down to it in the 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:49.420 stories, in the parts of the stories that we 00:29:49.420 --> 00:29:52.420 see where he faced and where he was victorious 00:29:52.420 --> 00:29:56.019 in his struggle, he never wavered. He didn't 00:29:56.019 --> 00:29:59.279 waver. He didn't waver in believing God's promise. 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:04.500 Here's my question. How often do you waver in 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:12.859 believing God's promise? I don't mean to step 00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:18.819 on your toes. I mean at your heart. Abraham never 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:22.019 wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, 00:30:22.019 --> 00:30:27.930 his faith grew stronger. And in this, By not 00:30:27.930 --> 00:30:30.650 wavering, we bring glory to God. He brought glory 00:30:30.650 --> 00:30:33.650 to God by not wavering. And if we can get to 00:30:33.650 --> 00:30:36.049 the point where we have confidence, complete 00:30:36.049 --> 00:30:40.170 confidence, complete trust in God, our faith 00:30:40.170 --> 00:30:42.230 is going to grow stronger and we're going to 00:30:42.230 --> 00:30:45.089 bring glory to God. Because people are going 00:30:45.089 --> 00:30:46.609 to see what we're going through and they're going 00:30:46.609 --> 00:30:50.829 to say, how in the world could you have the peace 00:30:50.829 --> 00:30:52.950 that you have right now when you've just gone 00:30:52.950 --> 00:30:55.250 through what you've gone through? I know what 00:30:55.250 --> 00:30:57.630 you're going through. I would be falling apart 00:30:57.630 --> 00:31:01.369 right now if it was me. And what's up with you? 00:31:04.410 --> 00:31:11.910 Are you cold -hearted? No. I just know that God's 00:31:11.910 --> 00:31:20.930 going to see to it. Abraham never wavered in 00:31:20.930 --> 00:31:22.789 believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew 00:31:22.789 --> 00:31:25.109 stronger. And in this, he brought glory to God. 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:34.319 Fully convinced that God is able to do whatever 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:40.619 He promised. Fully convinced. I would love for 00:31:40.619 --> 00:31:43.140 somebody to say that about me sometimes. You 00:31:43.140 --> 00:31:45.759 know, that means just fully convinced that God 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:52.160 is able to do whatever He promised. I don't ever 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.359 see Him in worry. I don't ever see Him in fear. 00:31:56.140 --> 00:32:01.460 Because he's fully convinced. Does anybody in 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:03.440 the room want somebody to say that about you? 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:10.859 Here's some more good verses. Hebrews 11, 17. 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:14.339 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as 00:32:14.339 --> 00:32:17.299 a burnt sacrifice, or as a sacrifice, when God 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:22.220 was testing him. Abraham, listen, who had received 00:32:22.220 --> 00:32:27.099 God's promises, was ready to sacrifice his only 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:33.480 son Isaac. He was going to do, hey, he's come 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:36.559 so far, he's going to do whatever God tells him 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:44.599 to do. Even if he don't understand it, even if 00:32:44.599 --> 00:32:52.579 it makes him feel strange, he's going to do what 00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:58.230 God told him to do. And he's going to do what 00:32:58.230 --> 00:33:01.650 God told him to do, even though God had already 00:33:01.650 --> 00:33:05.049 told him, Isaac is the son through whom your 00:33:05.049 --> 00:33:11.190 descendants will be counted. How many kids does 00:33:11.190 --> 00:33:16.349 he have? How many Isaacs are there? Right? I 00:33:16.349 --> 00:33:23.670 mean, he had a son with Hagar, but God didn't 00:33:23.670 --> 00:33:26.579 recognize that son as a covenant son. He said, 00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:28.779 take now your son, your only son. That's what 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:33.339 God said. That was his own plan when he messed 00:33:33.339 --> 00:33:38.599 up. Even though God had told Abraham, Isaac is 00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:40.319 the son through whom your descendants will be 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:43.079 counted, it says, even though God had told him 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:47.140 that, he was ready to sacrifice his only son. 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:53.319 Listen to what the Holy Spirit tells us in verse 00:33:53.319 --> 00:34:00.329 19 after the fact. Abraham reasoned that if Isaac 00:34:00.329 --> 00:34:04.349 died, God was able to bring him back to life 00:34:04.349 --> 00:34:12.090 again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his 00:34:12.090 --> 00:34:16.670 son back from the dead. That's how much confidence 00:34:16.670 --> 00:34:20.190 he had. God, I'm going to do what you tell me 00:34:20.190 --> 00:34:23.949 to do, and I know you're going to keep your promise. 00:34:23.989 --> 00:34:29.849 I don't know how. This don't make sense to me. 00:34:31.210 --> 00:34:34.949 So I guess if I offer him as a sacrifice, you're 00:34:34.949 --> 00:34:42.190 going to raise him up. In my brain, you have 00:34:42.190 --> 00:34:50.110 to. Listen. Abraham knew that God would have 00:34:50.110 --> 00:35:05.429 to raise him up. God will have to. I want you 00:35:05.429 --> 00:35:09.150 to think about that. He was so confident in God's 00:35:09.150 --> 00:35:12.550 promise that he knew that God was going to have 00:35:12.550 --> 00:35:15.409 to do something. Listen, don't be distracted. 00:35:15.610 --> 00:35:17.969 God's going to have to keep his word. God's going 00:35:17.969 --> 00:35:29.880 to have to keep his promises. It's okay. For 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:31.960 you to have faith and confidence and trust in 00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:34.599 God, where you say, God's going to have to keep 00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:37.360 His promises. Because I'm doing what He told 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:42.280 me to do. Now you might say, well, He's God. 00:35:43.739 --> 00:35:48.199 How could you ever have the gall to tell God 00:35:48.199 --> 00:35:56.619 that He's going to have to do something? Some 00:35:56.619 --> 00:35:58.099 of you are smiling, some of you are looking at 00:35:58.099 --> 00:36:01.340 me mad. How could you have to go out and say 00:36:01.340 --> 00:36:05.920 that God's going to have to do something? Because 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:07.960 if God said He was going to do something, and 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:10.539 He doesn't do it, then God's going to be a liar, 00:36:10.659 --> 00:36:12.539 and I'm here to tell you today, God's not a liar. 00:36:16.579 --> 00:36:26.820 He's not a liar. Listen, because Abraham was 00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:30.190 fully convinced, That God would keep His promises. 00:36:32.070 --> 00:36:35.369 Before the fact, Abraham could boldly say, Elohim 00:36:35.369 --> 00:36:39.849 Jireh. He could look at his son and say, God's 00:36:39.849 --> 00:36:44.389 going to see to it. This is an amazing statement 00:36:44.389 --> 00:36:51.929 of faith. God's going to see to it. God's going 00:36:51.929 --> 00:37:01.579 to see to it. The next challenge you face, don't 00:37:01.579 --> 00:37:08.599 get all twisted up and knotted up. Just start 00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:11.559 saying, you know what? God's going to see to 00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:16.000 it. Because that's who He is. I mean, do you 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:18.960 really believe that that's who God is? Is that 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:21.780 His name? And when you know His name, you can 00:37:21.780 --> 00:37:23.420 put your trust, you can put your confidence in 00:37:23.420 --> 00:37:26.719 Him. God will see to it. Because Abraham's... 00:37:27.130 --> 00:37:31.550 Bold statement of faith before the fact. And 00:37:31.550 --> 00:37:36.369 then after God provided, Abraham named the place, 00:37:36.409 --> 00:37:40.550 the Lord will provide. Yahweh, Jireh, which means 00:37:40.550 --> 00:37:46.570 I am, will see to it. And sometimes we look at 00:37:46.570 --> 00:37:47.949 this and we say, well, this is just the name 00:37:47.949 --> 00:37:52.469 of the place. See, this is God's Word. God wants 00:37:52.469 --> 00:37:57.760 us to know who He is and what He does. He is 00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:08.380 Yahweh Jireh. He will see to it. I Am has seen 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:14.880 to it. I Am has seen to it. Back in 1992, I was 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:17.159 just working my regular job at the recording 00:38:17.159 --> 00:38:22.460 studio. I went to a revival service. Does anybody 00:38:22.460 --> 00:38:25.789 know what a revival service is? Back in the day, 00:38:25.869 --> 00:38:29.630 we would have meetings like it would start on 00:38:29.630 --> 00:38:32.090 Sunday morning, then we would have Sunday night, 00:38:32.309 --> 00:38:35.030 then we would have Monday night, we would have 00:38:35.030 --> 00:38:38.050 Tuesday night, we would have Wednesday night. 00:38:39.110 --> 00:38:41.070 Now during the day that I was on the road, that 00:38:41.070 --> 00:38:44.929 was a normal pattern. How many of you would say, 00:38:45.050 --> 00:38:49.949 wow, that'd be crazy for the preacher to expect 00:38:49.949 --> 00:38:51.889 me to go to church on Sunday morning, Sunday 00:38:51.889 --> 00:38:53.650 night, Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday 00:38:53.650 --> 00:39:01.000 night? Well, there were some that had it Thursday, 00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:06.619 Friday, Saturday, and ended it up the next Sunday. 00:39:07.659 --> 00:39:10.460 And then dig on this. I preached a revival just 00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:12.679 outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It went for 00:39:12.679 --> 00:39:22.840 two weeks. Every day for two weeks. I went to 00:39:22.840 --> 00:39:27.000 a revival. I was there Sunday morning. I was 00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:28.900 there Sunday night. I was there Monday night. 00:39:30.019 --> 00:39:34.219 But it happened on Tuesday night. And I found 00:39:34.219 --> 00:39:40.860 out later on that the big, powerful moves normally 00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:46.699 started happening on Tuesday night. Didn't normally 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:49.619 happen on Sunday morning, Sunday night, or Monday 00:39:49.619 --> 00:39:53.239 night. It started really getting good on Tuesday 00:39:53.239 --> 00:39:56.099 night. And I was sitting in the back row on this 00:39:56.099 --> 00:39:58.000 side because that's where I sat. That was my 00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:00.559 assigned seat. My dad was a preacher. I didn't 00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:02.900 sit in the front. I hate to go to Bible conferences 00:40:02.900 --> 00:40:05.440 and they recognize me in the back and they say, 00:40:05.539 --> 00:40:07.599 Hey, Dean, we've got a seat for you up here on 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:10.900 the front row. Well, I like to hide, even now. 00:40:11.400 --> 00:40:14.079 I like to be back there in the back. Anyway, 00:40:14.199 --> 00:40:16.039 I always sat. That was my assigned seat at the 00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:18.599 church that we were going to. And this guy from 00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:21.179 Ohio, believe it or not, originally from Ohio, 00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:24.519 he's there preaching. Boy, he can preach. He 00:40:24.519 --> 00:40:26.559 can talk fast. He can talk faster than I can 00:40:26.559 --> 00:40:29.019 listen. And all of a sudden, he stopped after 00:40:29.019 --> 00:40:31.420 preaching about 15 minutes without taking a breath. 00:40:32.460 --> 00:40:36.619 He stopped to breathe. And he said something 00:40:36.619 --> 00:40:43.300 that was God speaking to me. I went into work 00:40:43.300 --> 00:40:50.400 the next day. I quit my job. That don't make 00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:55.500 no sense. It doesn't make any sense at all to 00:40:55.500 --> 00:40:58.280 go in and quit my job. I mean, Gayna was out. 00:40:58.420 --> 00:41:01.159 I mean, this was October of 92. Jeffrey was born 00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:04.340 in January of 92. December of 91, we moved into 00:41:04.340 --> 00:41:06.380 a brand new house that we designed and built. 00:41:06.619 --> 00:41:08.659 You know, now you can find a lot of houses like 00:41:08.659 --> 00:41:11.480 this. In the 90s, you couldn't. It had one bedroom 00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:13.860 on one side, two bedrooms on the other side. 00:41:13.960 --> 00:41:16.260 We always wanted a house like that. We designed 00:41:16.260 --> 00:41:19.480 this house. We moved in. Gayna never went back 00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:22.139 to work after having Jeffrey. I was the only 00:41:22.139 --> 00:41:25.079 one working, and I'd go in the next day and quit 00:41:25.079 --> 00:41:28.699 my job because God spoke to me and told me that 00:41:28.699 --> 00:41:32.280 he was calling me to be an evangelist. So I just 00:41:32.280 --> 00:41:38.599 quit my job. I've shared that story before, but 00:41:38.599 --> 00:41:44.139 it's fine. Can't you see I've got five stories 00:41:44.139 --> 00:41:51.289 I'm going to tell? This is the abbreviated version. 00:41:55.030 --> 00:41:58.630 I've shared that other story before. Anyway, 00:41:58.809 --> 00:42:03.630 quit my job. We had two concerts booked. Dana 00:42:03.630 --> 00:42:05.369 and I were singing in churches, but we had two 00:42:05.369 --> 00:42:08.929 concerts booked. The week that I quit my job, 00:42:08.989 --> 00:42:15.869 one of them canceled. Before we even got to that 00:42:15.869 --> 00:42:19.349 first concert, another record company, Horizon 00:42:19.349 --> 00:42:22.130 Music Group called me and asked me to come be 00:42:22.130 --> 00:42:26.429 their A &R director. Offering me a car, a lot 00:42:26.429 --> 00:42:31.849 more money, company credit card, take people 00:42:31.849 --> 00:42:37.349 out to eat, never buy a drop of gas. I couldn't 00:42:37.349 --> 00:42:41.070 do it. Because I had to do what God told me to 00:42:41.070 --> 00:42:47.929 do. And I want to tell you something. It wasn't 00:42:47.929 --> 00:42:54.159 easy. To be on the road for 20 years. There were 00:42:54.159 --> 00:43:03.380 challenges. There were challenges. Listen. But 00:43:03.380 --> 00:43:17.900 God saw to it. 20 years on the road. 1995. God 00:43:17.900 --> 00:43:22.809 wanted us to. Sell that brand new house. Move 00:43:22.809 --> 00:43:24.949 into a motor home because we couldn't keep it 00:43:24.949 --> 00:43:28.969 all up and going. Needed to travel farther and 00:43:28.969 --> 00:43:37.690 stay longer. But it was our house. We designed 00:43:37.690 --> 00:43:46.110 it. It's what we wanted. As soon as Gannon and 00:43:46.110 --> 00:43:49.610 I got together and said, it's time. Listen, within 00:43:49.610 --> 00:43:52.309 one week, everybody say one week. Within one 00:43:52.309 --> 00:43:57.750 week, we closed selling our house. Tell me it's 00:43:57.750 --> 00:44:02.789 not possible. It never went on the market. We 00:44:02.789 --> 00:44:06.869 mentioned it to a pastor friend of ours. He went 00:44:06.869 --> 00:44:09.949 and got the money. Lawyers did it. We closed. 00:44:10.949 --> 00:44:12.530 Well, guess what? We didn't have anywhere to 00:44:12.530 --> 00:44:17.710 live. In that same amount of time, We went to 00:44:17.710 --> 00:44:21.670 an RV dealership and bought a brand new Holiday 00:44:21.670 --> 00:44:27.090 Rambler. Now listen, none of that makes sense. 00:44:31.289 --> 00:44:34.030 I'm not smart enough or wealthy enough to be 00:44:34.030 --> 00:44:39.809 able to make all that happen. You know who made 00:44:39.809 --> 00:44:47.110 it happen? God saw to it. God saw to it. In 1998, 00:44:47.449 --> 00:44:49.210 I've shared this story recently. He spoke to 00:44:49.210 --> 00:44:51.849 us, and he wanted us to start the Big God Conference. 00:44:52.010 --> 00:44:54.070 And I told you about the challenges that we faced 00:44:54.070 --> 00:44:56.610 and the things that we went through. But you 00:44:56.610 --> 00:45:02.750 know what? Over that 21 -year run, over 5 ,000, 00:45:02.789 --> 00:45:06.369 oh, I'm sorry, 3 ,000 students and chaperones, 00:45:06.409 --> 00:45:08.030 more than that, that's a conservative number, 00:45:08.150 --> 00:45:11.449 3 ,000 students and chaperones came to Christ 00:45:11.449 --> 00:45:18.800 in that 21 -year run. I'm telling you. We didn't 00:45:18.800 --> 00:45:23.460 have anything. But we knew God told us to do 00:45:23.460 --> 00:45:27.719 it. It's not like we were just sitting there 00:45:27.719 --> 00:45:29.679 with enough money to do it. You've heard the 00:45:29.679 --> 00:45:35.000 story, maybe. We didn't have anything. God told 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.880 us to do it. So how did it keep going for 21 00:45:39.880 --> 00:45:55.239 years? God saw to it. Look. Look at me. I couldn't 00:45:55.239 --> 00:46:00.980 do it. Still couldn't do it. I can't make it 00:46:00.980 --> 00:46:11.780 happen. God saw to it. 2012. In 2011, people 00:46:11.780 --> 00:46:14.079 at Lakewood Camping Resort, they talked to me 00:46:14.079 --> 00:46:15.719 and they said, what would it take for you to 00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:17.599 stay here all the time? Because we've been ministering 00:46:17.599 --> 00:46:20.440 there. five or six weeks out of the year for 00:46:20.440 --> 00:46:24.739 over 20 years. They wanted us every week during 00:46:24.739 --> 00:46:26.239 the summer that we were off. And they're like, 00:46:26.420 --> 00:46:28.900 what would it take for you to stay here? And 00:46:28.900 --> 00:46:31.599 then we felt like God was telling us to go there. 00:46:33.320 --> 00:46:38.119 So all year during 2011, all year we were telling 00:46:38.119 --> 00:46:40.619 people, because when we were at their church, 00:46:40.659 --> 00:46:42.360 they would say, won't you come back next year? 00:46:42.400 --> 00:46:44.460 Let's go ahead and have a date. I'm like, won't 00:46:44.460 --> 00:46:50.300 be able to do it. So all year. Because our ministry 00:46:50.300 --> 00:46:52.000 got to the point where all we did was answer 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.280 the phone and go. We didn't ask anybody to go 00:46:54.280 --> 00:46:58.119 anywhere. People were just calling us. Every 00:46:58.119 --> 00:47:00.179 time somebody called, I'm sorry, we won't be 00:47:00.179 --> 00:47:03.380 able to do it. We can't do it. The people who 00:47:03.380 --> 00:47:04.920 are booking us, the people who are there, they 00:47:04.920 --> 00:47:06.599 want us to come back next year. I'm sorry, we 00:47:06.599 --> 00:47:10.320 won't be able to come back next year. Just turning 00:47:10.320 --> 00:47:16.099 it all down and all the way. I don't know if 00:47:16.099 --> 00:47:17.420 I've ever shared this part of the testimony. 00:47:18.159 --> 00:47:21.199 But after we turn down all of our scheduling, 00:47:21.260 --> 00:47:25.320 and we are ready, and it's Easter, and we're 00:47:25.320 --> 00:47:28.920 going to Lakewood Camping Resort, we are met 00:47:28.920 --> 00:47:44.119 with severe opposition. It's like... Now, don't 00:47:44.119 --> 00:47:47.500 get me wrong. The people who were over the ministry, 00:47:47.719 --> 00:47:52.039 they still wanted us. But a lot of other people 00:47:52.039 --> 00:47:57.820 are like, we don't want a new chapel. So there 00:47:57.820 --> 00:48:07.579 was a fight. We had bought furniture. There was 00:48:07.579 --> 00:48:17.530 a fight. Hello? What am I going to do? I've just 00:48:17.530 --> 00:48:19.849 turned down everybody all year. I'd have had 00:48:19.849 --> 00:48:22.070 a full schedule if I wouldn't have said I would 00:48:22.070 --> 00:48:25.369 come because we were invited to come. Now I've 00:48:25.369 --> 00:48:27.150 done giving it all away. I've done turning it 00:48:27.150 --> 00:48:33.469 all down. I've got nothing. You know what happened? 00:48:36.250 --> 00:48:41.949 God saw to it. God saw to it. We were there for 00:48:41.949 --> 00:48:44.329 nine years. Over 5 ,000 people came to Christ 00:48:44.329 --> 00:48:49.409 in nine years. As the history of the campground, 00:48:49.469 --> 00:48:52.769 I'm the second longest tenured chaplain at the 00:48:52.769 --> 00:48:55.690 campground. They kept calling us, wanting us 00:48:55.690 --> 00:49:00.349 to come back after 2021. They kept saying, please 00:49:00.349 --> 00:49:02.309 come back, please come back, please come back. 00:49:02.610 --> 00:49:11.460 But you know what? In 2021, we moved here. We 00:49:11.460 --> 00:49:19.059 only knew one adult that lived here. And she 00:49:19.059 --> 00:49:24.380 doesn't come here anymore. How many of you know 00:49:24.380 --> 00:49:32.380 there might be some challenges in that? Leaving 00:49:32.380 --> 00:49:38.420 security again for the umpteenth time at this 00:49:38.420 --> 00:49:44.800 point. Leaving a paycheck. leaving a nice, bigger 00:49:44.800 --> 00:49:48.679 house than the one that we sold that, you know, 00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:52.099 had two golf carts. I could ride one to the beach. 00:49:52.139 --> 00:49:53.500 Gannon could ride the other one to the beach. 00:49:53.559 --> 00:49:56.820 It was less than a quarter of a mile to the Atlantic 00:49:56.820 --> 00:50:04.440 Ocean. Bunch of people coming to Christ. But 00:50:04.440 --> 00:50:12.639 God wanted us to come to Four Corners. Between 00:50:12.639 --> 00:50:25.460 192 and I -4. And look at you. You're here. How 00:50:25.460 --> 00:50:29.840 do we keep going? A whole year we had... We thought 00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:32.019 we were doing awesome if we had 12 people every 00:50:32.019 --> 00:50:40.179 Sunday. Year and a half. Is that even possible? 00:50:48.170 --> 00:50:52.610 When the gym costs, for the first part, $430 00:50:52.610 --> 00:51:03.449 a week. Not a month, a week. Got 12 people. How 00:51:03.449 --> 00:51:10.309 are we still here? Look to the person beside 00:51:10.309 --> 00:51:13.650 you and say, God sees to it. God saw to it. He 00:51:13.650 --> 00:51:19.599 saw to it. I'm telling you. I could preach a 00:51:19.599 --> 00:51:22.059 whole series on the miracles that I've seen God 00:51:22.059 --> 00:51:27.380 do in my life. Miracle after miracle after miracle 00:51:27.380 --> 00:51:33.159 after miracle. And I'm not giving you a concept 00:51:33.159 --> 00:51:41.539 today. This is not just a little spiritual exercise 00:51:41.539 --> 00:51:50.739 to tell you that God is Yahweh Jireh. If you 00:51:50.739 --> 00:51:53.420 will have confidence in Him, if you will have 00:51:53.420 --> 00:51:57.340 trust in Him, if you will do what He asks you 00:51:57.340 --> 00:52:04.019 to do, He's going to see to it. He's going to 00:52:04.019 --> 00:52:12.559 see to it. He has for me. He has for me. Daniel 00:52:12.559 --> 00:52:15.440 11, 32, this applies to you. Listen, the people 00:52:15.440 --> 00:52:17.860 who know their God, who knows God? The people 00:52:17.860 --> 00:52:20.940 who know their God shall be strong. Everybody 00:52:20.940 --> 00:52:23.800 say, I'm strong. The people who know their God 00:52:23.800 --> 00:52:26.440 shall be strong. And what are the strong people 00:52:26.440 --> 00:52:28.539 that know their God going to do? They're going 00:52:28.539 --> 00:52:38.320 to carry out great exploits. God wants to do 00:52:38.320 --> 00:52:45.980 some great things through you. Here's my question. 00:52:46.059 --> 00:52:48.000 Do you believe that God wants to do some great 00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:55.139 things through you? Do you believe He does? Do 00:52:55.139 --> 00:52:56.960 you really believe He wants to do some great 00:52:56.960 --> 00:52:59.739 things? Do you believe He wants to do some great 00:52:59.739 --> 00:53:02.320 things through Relation Church? When we talk 00:53:02.320 --> 00:53:06.039 about 100 ,000 people and we talk about every 00:53:06.039 --> 00:53:08.380 community, do you believe God wants to do some 00:53:08.380 --> 00:53:17.969 great things? We have to be strong. We have to 00:53:17.969 --> 00:53:24.289 know God. And we have to do it. We all have a 00:53:24.289 --> 00:53:31.869 part to play. All of us. It's not just, you know, 00:53:31.889 --> 00:53:35.090 I'm just going to ride everybody else's coattails. 00:53:35.150 --> 00:53:43.679 No, we all have a part. He is Yahweh Jireh. And 00:53:43.679 --> 00:53:47.360 He will see to it. Look, when you step out in 00:53:47.360 --> 00:53:52.079 faith to believe God's promises, this applies 00:53:52.079 --> 00:53:56.679 to God's personal promises to you, as well as 00:53:56.679 --> 00:54:01.840 His promises to our church. When you step out 00:54:01.840 --> 00:54:04.360 in faith to believe God, to believe His promises, 00:54:04.480 --> 00:54:10.579 stepping out in faith and doing is... That faith 00:54:10.579 --> 00:54:14.079 act, it's when you trust that God will be who 00:54:14.079 --> 00:54:16.079 He said He would be and do what He said He would 00:54:16.079 --> 00:54:23.219 do. Again, those who know your name will put 00:54:23.219 --> 00:54:27.659 their trust in you. For you, Lord, have not forsaken 00:54:27.659 --> 00:54:35.460 those who seek you. I want you to stand up and 00:54:35.460 --> 00:54:41.000 say this with me. We're going to put our words 00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:45.960 in agreement with who God is. Is that okay? I'm 00:54:45.960 --> 00:54:50.460 glad two of you want to. Let's say it together. 00:54:51.219 --> 00:54:56.659 One, two, three. My God is Yahweh Jireh. He is 00:54:56.659 --> 00:55:01.579 my provider. I have faith in His faithfulness. 00:55:02.019 --> 00:55:07.219 I have confidence in His promises. My God... 00:55:08.259 --> 00:55:15.059 Always cease to it. Do you believe it? Take a 00:55:15.059 --> 00:55:18.219 picture of it on your phone or something. I mean, 00:55:18.260 --> 00:55:24.860 is one thing to say it right now? While we're 00:55:24.860 --> 00:55:27.940 here at church, with everybody with their church 00:55:27.940 --> 00:55:30.619 halos on, you know, it's like, ooh, I'm at church. 00:55:35.460 --> 00:55:40.940 Right. But when a challenge hits, maybe this 00:55:40.940 --> 00:55:43.639 week, when a struggle hits, when trouble comes 00:55:43.639 --> 00:55:49.159 your way, maybe this week, you need to rise up. 00:55:51.119 --> 00:55:52.579 Look to the person beside you and tell them to 00:55:52.579 --> 00:55:54.840 rise up. You need to rise up and you need to 00:55:54.840 --> 00:55:57.599 say, my God is Yahweh Jireh. He's my provider. 00:55:57.900 --> 00:56:00.460 I have faith in His faithfulness. No matter what 00:56:00.460 --> 00:56:02.739 I see, no matter what I think, no matter what 00:56:02.739 --> 00:56:05.400 I feel, I have faith in God's faithfulness. I 00:56:05.400 --> 00:56:07.940 have confidence in His promises. He's made me 00:56:07.940 --> 00:56:13.320 some promises and He's going to keep them. You 00:56:13.320 --> 00:56:17.039 know why? Because my God always sees to it. He 00:56:17.039 --> 00:56:19.280 doesn't see to it sometimes and not other times. 00:56:19.900 --> 00:56:21.980 But when I put my faith and confidence in Him, 00:56:22.039 --> 00:56:25.719 He's going to see to it every time. I might not 00:56:25.719 --> 00:56:28.940 see it in three seconds, but I'm not going to 00:56:28.940 --> 00:56:31.480 waver. I'm not going to waver if it takes a day. 00:56:31.659 --> 00:56:34.199 I'm not going to waver if it takes two days. 00:56:34.320 --> 00:56:36.280 I'm not going to waver if it takes a week. I'm 00:56:36.280 --> 00:56:39.440 not going to waver if it takes a month. I'm here 00:56:39.440 --> 00:56:41.659 to tell you, I'm not going to waver even if it 00:56:41.659 --> 00:56:51.809 takes more than five years. I'm not wavering. 00:56:53.809 --> 00:56:58.090 We're going to have a place of our own. It's 00:56:58.090 --> 00:57:01.369 coming. You know why? Because God's going to 00:57:01.369 --> 00:57:06.010 see to it. I don't know how. I was asked today, 00:57:06.070 --> 00:57:08.170 where are you going to put it? I don't know. 00:57:10.070 --> 00:57:12.510 I'm believing for the land and the building. 00:57:14.429 --> 00:57:16.389 The land's probably going to cost more than the 00:57:16.389 --> 00:57:23.000 building. But God's going to see to it. God's 00:57:23.000 --> 00:57:26.420 going to see to it. Because that's who he is. 00:57:27.639 --> 00:57:30.340 This online worship experience was brought to 00:57:30.340 --> 00:57:33.099 you by the friends and partners of Eulation Church.