Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000041
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01:12 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:15 Father in heaven, we thank you for the awesome 01:18 privilege of being in Your house of worship. 01:22 We thank you for Your Word 01:25 which is a sure compass 01:27 in a world of confusion and rebellion. 01:31 We ask that as we study about Unshakeable 01:35 and Unbreakable Faith - 01:37 the Biblical meaning of faith - 01:40 that You will not only help us to understand the meaning of 01:44 faith but that You will help us grasp and experience it 01:49 in our lives because we know that it's 01:52 the only thing that's going to keep us firm and strong 01:55 in these last days. 01:57 So be with us and teach us 02:00 we pray in the precious name of Jesus, Your beloved Son, 02:04 Amen. 02:07 In the book of Hebrews chapter 11 02:11 we find in the first 22 verses 02:16 a list of heroes that are first mentioned 02:20 in the book of Genesis. 02:24 Now these individuals that are mentioned in Hebrews 11 02:28 are great heroes of faith. 02:33 And our subject for today is Unshakeable and Unbreakable 02:38 Faith. 02:41 Basically we're going to study 02:42 the meaning of faith 02:44 in holy scripture. 02:47 Let's begin then at Hebrews 02:49 chapter 11 and I would like to 02:52 read verse 1 02:55 where we find the definition of faith. 02:58 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1. 03:03 It says here in this very well-known verse: 03:19 Now the word substance could better be translated 03:23 the assurance. "Faith is the assurance 03:28 of things hoped for... " And the word evidence 03:33 could better be translated proof. 03:36 "the proof of things that you cannot see. " 03:41 And so faith gives us assurance 03:44 of the things that have not taken place yet. 03:47 Assurance of things we hope for. 03:50 And faith is the proof of things that we cannot see 03:56 as of now with our physical eyes. 03:59 So obviously, faith helps us look into the future. 04:04 Faith helps us see what is invisible to the naked eye. 04:11 Now we want to begin discussing faith - the meaning of faith - 04:16 in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3. 04:21 We've defined the meaning of faith. 04:23 Now we want to take a look at Hebrews 11:3. 04:28 It's the first event that is described where we need faith 04:32 in order to grasp it. 04:34 It says there: 04:51 Basically, this text is telling us that God made the visible 04:57 universe from that which could not be seen. 05:00 In other words, He created the universe out of nothing. 05:06 Now you try making something out of nothing. 05:09 We use pre-existent matter to create things. 05:14 But Hebrews 11 and verse 3 is telling us that God created 05:20 the worlds from nothing. 05:22 He spoke... and it came into existence 05:26 according to Psalm 33:9. 05:31 Now how do we know that God created this world 05:35 by the word of His mouth? 05:37 That He spoke and it came into existence? 05:40 How do we know that for sure? 05:43 Hebrews 11 and verse 3 says that we understand that 05:47 by faith. 05:51 In other words, we know it happened because God 05:53 said so in His Holy Word. 05:57 Now it's interesting to notice in the creation story 06:01 that Adam and Eve did not see God create anything. 06:06 They weren't around the first day, the second day, 06:09 the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day. 06:12 The sixth day God made the animals... 06:14 they still weren't around. 06:16 And then God made Adam. 06:18 Obviously Adam did not see God create him. 06:21 He just suddenly appeared on the scene. 06:23 And then when God made Eve He put Adam to sleep 06:27 and made Eve, so Adam did not see the creation of Eve. 06:31 And Eve did not see the creation of Adam. 06:35 In other words, Adam and Eve also had to believe in creation 06:39 by faith. The only proof - if you can speak of proof 06:44 that they had - that God was the Creator of everything 06:48 is because God said that He was the Creator. 06:52 In other words, faith in God's word was proof of creation. 06:57 Was evidence of creation. 07:00 Was the assurance of creation even though they had not seen it 07:04 with their eyes, they had not experienced it. 07:08 After all, there could be other explanations 07:11 for the origin of the universe. 07:13 You could believe, for example, in spontaneous generation 07:18 like for many years individuals believed. 07:22 You could believe that this world came into existence 07:25 by a Big Bang. That's a possible explanation. 07:29 You could believe that this world came into existence 07:32 by progressive creation. 07:34 That is, that God intervened at certain critical points 07:37 in the history of this world 07:40 to advance the process of evolution. 07:43 In other words, God used evolution as His method 07:46 of creation according to progressive creationism. 07:49 But we don't believe in any of those explanations 07:52 or theories. 07:54 We believe that God spoke things into existence. 07:58 We believe that God created this world in six literal days 08:02 and He rested on the seventh literal day. 08:05 Now how do we know that God did that? 08:08 Simply because God says so 08:11 and we believe what God speaks. 08:16 In other words, faith is faith in what God says. 08:19 It's trusting in what He speaks 08:23 because we know Him and because we trust Him 08:26 as a person. Now there are many heroes in Hebrews 11 08:31 that are mentioned after creation. 08:34 I want us to examine these heroes that are mentioned 08:37 in the book of Genesis 08:39 and I want to show you how they manifested their faith 08:43 in God's word. 08:45 Notice Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4. 08:50 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4. 08:53 This is the first hero who is mentioned in Hebrews 08:57 and by the way he's also mentioned in Genesis. 09:01 It says here: 09:22 We're told here that by faith Abel 09:26 offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. 09:30 Now what was involved in this sacrifice that made it more 09:33 excellent? How did Abel have to manifest faith 09:38 when he offered this sacrifice? 09:40 The answer is very simple. 09:42 If you read the story in Genesis 09:45 you'll discover that it tells us that Abel brought 09:49 the firstlings of his flock and their fat. 09:54 Now why would he bring the firstborn and why would he bring 09:58 the fat? Simply because later on in the sacrificial 10:02 service of Israel the firstborn of the flocks 10:06 were brought and their fat was burned on the altar 10:10 because the fat represented sin. 10:13 And of course the firstborn of the flock represented 10:17 Jesus... the firstborn of Mary according to scripture... 10:23 who was brought and presented before the Lord. 10:25 What I'm saying is that Abel offered a more excellent 10:29 sacrifice because he believed that in the future God was going 10:34 to send Jesus the Messiah. 10:37 He believed God's word that that sacrifice 10:39 represented the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 10:43 By faith as he observed that sacrifice 10:47 he was allowed to look into the future to what that sacrifice 10:51 represented. His sacrifice was more excellent 10:55 than the sacrifice of Cain because it was a sacrifice 10:58 of blood. And without the shedding of blood 11:01 there is no remission of sin. 11:04 In other words Abel had faith... As he looked at that sacrifice 11:10 he had faith that God was going to send Jesus Christ 11:14 to the world to die for our sins. 11:17 Something which at that moment could not be seen. 11:20 Something at that moment which had to be grasped 11:23 by faith in God's promise: the promise of Genesis 3:15. 11:28 So once again we find the idea of Abel 11:32 trusting the word of God that God would send 11:36 in the future Jesus Christ to die for sin. 11:40 And then of course we have the next hero: 11:42 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. 11:46 This individual is not mentioned very frequently in scripture. 11:50 In fact, he's mentioned in Genesis 5; 11:53 he's mentioned in Hebrews 11; 11:55 and in Jude 14 and 15. 11:58 Notice Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5: 12:25 Now what faith did Enoch have? 12:28 Where was his faith focused? 12:32 If you read for example 12:34 the description in the book 12:35 Patriarchs and Prophets 12:37 you'll discover that as Enoch lived his life 12:40 day after day year after year 12:44 his mind was focused less and less on earth 12:49 and more and more on heaven. 12:53 His eyes were focused on that which he could not see 12:57 but on that which God had promised. 13:00 Because we're told in Hebrews 11 that these heroes 13:03 looked forward to a city whose builder and maker 13:07 is God. In other words, they knew that there was a city 13:10 coming that God was going to come and inhabit forever 13:14 with His people. And Enoch by faith 13:17 looked to heaven and he longed for that day to come 13:21 even thought it had not taken place yet. 13:23 And his mind become so closely identified with the mind of God 13:29 that eventually he was totally disconnected from this world, 13:35 from the things of this world. 13:37 And God said to Enoch: "Enoch, your mind is totally 13:41 in heaven, you're totally heavenly minded, 13:43 there's no reason for you to stay on earth. 13:46 If your mind is here in the city with Me, 13:50 you walk down there day by day spiritually by faith in Me... " 13:55 God says "Enoch, I'm going to have you come up here 13:59 and you no longer will have to walk by faith. 14:02 You can now walk by sight. 14:04 We'll walk the street of gold together in the Holy City 14:08 towards which you are looking. " 14:10 And so Enoch was allowed to see the Holy City by faith 14:15 and was taken there. 14:16 Abel was allowed to see the future sacrifice of Jesus 14:20 because God had promised it like He promised the Holy City. 14:25 Now the next hero that we find in the book of Hebrews 14:29 which is also mentioned in Genesis is Noah. 14:34 Notice Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 7. 14:59 Now let's take a look at the story of Noah. 15:02 By the way, faith is very simple. 15:06 Faith means that God speaks. 15:09 You trust what God says 15:12 and you act upon what He says. 15:16 That's what faith is. 15:18 It always is linked with the word of God. 15:20 God speaks or gives a command or a promise. 15:24 We trust and believe God's promise 15:27 and we trust it enough to act upon it. 15:32 So God says to Noah: "Noah, I am going to send 15:35 a flood to the world. 15:37 I'm going to cause water to come from heaven 15:40 and I'm going to cause the fountains of the great deep 15:43 to be broken up. I'm going to fill the planet with water. " 15:47 That was God's word. 15:49 Let me ask you: did Noah believe God's word? 15:53 Of course he did. 15:55 Was the word of God apparently absurd, illogical, unreasonable? 16:00 Absolutely! 16:02 See, faith many times acts upon God's word 16:05 when God's word appears to be ridiculous. 16:08 But that which is impossible to man with faith 16:12 is possible... because with faith ALL THINGS are possible 16:16 according to Jesus Himself. 16:18 And so when God said to Noah: "There's going to be a flood; 16:21 there's going to be rain from heaven" 16:23 Noah says: "I've known You long enough to know that 16:26 when You say things it's going to happen. I trust You. " 16:30 And so what does Noah do? 16:32 He goes and he gets the saws and he gets the hammers 16:37 and he gets the nails and he says: 16:39 "Let's act upon God's word; let's do something about it. " 16:44 And so notice: God speaks, Noah believes what God spoke, 16:49 and his belief is shown by his actions. 16:53 In other words, he builds a boat. 16:55 No matter how ridiculous it might appear, 16:58 no matter how illogical what God is asking for, 17:01 no matter how impossible it is 17:04 Noah says: "God has spoken. I can trust what God says 17:08 and I am going to do it. " 17:11 And so he builds this boat... this ark. 17:15 And of course, when the flood came 17:18 it became evident that Noah was right 17:22 in trusting the word of God 17:24 and building that boat or building that ark. 17:29 Now the next example that we find in the book of Hebrews 17:34 chapter 11 is the case of Abraham. 17:38 And there's several episodes here about Abraham. 17:41 Notice chapter 11 and verse 8. 18:00 Would that take faith? 18:03 Imagine, God says to Abraham: 18:06 "Abraham, I want you to leave. " 18:10 Abraham says: "Yes, Lord. Where am I going? " 18:14 "I'll tell you later. " 18:16 I mean, at this time he was established in Heron. 18:19 He'd left Ur of the Chaldees with Terah his father. 18:22 He was in Heron. And God says: "I'm going to 18:24 take you somewhere. Just pick everything up 18:27 and move. " 18:30 And what did Abraham do? 18:33 He said: "God has spoken. God's word is clear. 18:37 I'm supposed to get up, pack, and move. " 18:43 And so the Bible tells us that Abraham - even though 18:46 he didn't know where they were going - 18:48 he had Sarah and his servants pack everything up 18:52 and who knows how much later they began their journey 18:56 to Canaan without knowing where they were going. 19:00 Once again we have this idea 19:03 that faith means listening to God's word, 19:06 trusting God's word because we trust Him, 19:10 trusting His word enough to do what God tells us to do 19:15 in His word. Faith means believing God's word 19:20 because we trust God and acting upon what He says 19:25 because we know that God is going to come through. 19:30 By the way, Abraham didn't always have this kind of faith. 19:33 Sometimes he walked by sight not by faith. 19:38 Do you remember for example when he went down into Egypt 19:41 and his wife was very beautiful. He says: "Pharaoh 19:43 is going to look at my wife and he's going to see she's 19:46 very beautiful. He's going to kill me and take her. " 19:49 So he said to Sarah: "Just tell him that you're my sister. 19:53 Don't tell him the whole truth. " 19:55 Lack of faith, because God could have protected Sarah. 19:58 He did the same thing when he 19:59 went to visit Abimelech. 20:02 It happened twice according to 20:03 scripture. And then when God 20:05 promised him a son and the years went by 20:08 and Sarah says: "Abraham, now do you really believe that 20:11 the word of the Lord is going to be fulfilled the way He said? 20:14 Maybe we need to help God just a little bit. 20:18 So don't you think it'd be a good idea to take this 20:20 servant girl Hagar? And maybe that's the way 20:25 that God's promise... God's word will be fulfilled. " 20:27 And Abraham showed a lack of faith. 20:29 He listened to Sarah, and we're still suffering the 20:32 effects of this in the Middle East today 20:35 as the result of Abraham's lack of faith. 20:39 You see, God wanted these heroes to walk by faith 20:42 not by sight. Even though they couldn't see things... 20:45 even though things had not transpired or happened yet 20:49 God wanted them to believe in His word, to trust in Him 20:52 and leave things in God's hands. 20:55 And then, of course, you have Sarah mentioned 20:59 in Hebrews 11. Let's go there to Hebrews 21:01 chapter 11 and let's notice verses 11 and 12. 21:06 Hebrews 11 and verses 11 and 12. 21:10 It says here in verse 11: 21:47 By the way, at first Sarah kind of chuckled 21:51 at this promise of God. 21:54 In Genesis 18 verses 11 through 14 21:57 God says to her: "You were laughing, weren't you? " 21:59 "No, no... I wasn't... I wasn't laughing. " 22:01 You know, she was adding lying to laughing 22:06 incidentally because she HAD laughed. 22:08 She was saying: "How can an old woman like myself 22:11 have a child? " 22:14 Did you notice it says here that Abraham was as good as dead? 22:19 Some way to describe your husband. 22:23 "My husband is as good as dead. " Imagine that! 22:27 And yet it appears that in the course of time 22:31 Sarah decided that she would trust God 22:38 according to Hebrews 11, even though at first she disbelieved. 22:42 And finally when she is 89 22:45 and Abraham is 99 22:49 Abraham says to Sarah: 22:51 "Sarah, don't you think it might be a good idea for us 22:54 to have marital relations? " 22:59 By the way, they did have to act on God's word. 23:01 Hello? It was not going to happen by osmosis. 23:07 And so Sarah said: "Abraham, have you looked at me 23:12 in the mirror? 23:16 Can you believe that an 89-year-old woman 23:19 is going to have a baby? " And Abraham said: 23:22 "God promised! " 23:25 And when God promises we can take it to the bank. 23:28 And I guess Sarah said: "Hey, you know you're probably 23:32 right. " And so they decided to have marital relations. 23:36 And when they did - when they acted upon God's word - 23:40 God intervened and He did that which is humanly and 23:44 biologically what? Impossible! 23:47 You see, faith makes the impossible possible. 23:52 It makes the impossible true. 23:55 It fulfills that which God says. 23:59 And then, of course, you have the experience of Abraham 24:02 when God asked him to offer Isaac. 24:05 That's the next event in Hebrews 11. 24:07 All of these are Genesis heroes, by the way, illustrating faith. 24:12 God says to Abraham: "Abraham, I want you to take 24:15 that son that you had in your old age 24:17 and I want you to take him to Mount Moriah 24:22 and sacrifice him on one of the mountains that are in the 24:26 region of Moriah. " 24:29 That was God's word. 24:32 Did Abraham trust God? 24:36 Did he? You know what Abraham could have done? 24:40 Abraham could have said: 24:43 "I just can't bring myself to do that. 24:46 It'll be too painful. 24:48 I mean, sacrificing my own son? 24:50 My emotions and my feelings say I can't do this. " 24:54 But Abraham did not live by emotions and feelings. 24:58 He could have used logic. 25:00 "Oh well, God said 'Thou shalt not kill' 25:02 so this can't be God's voice. " 25:05 He could have waked up his wife to give him some moral support 25:12 'cause he knew that she would say "No way... 25:17 you're not taking him to sacrifice him. " 25:20 But he left Sarah sleeping purposely because he knew 25:25 what she was going to say. 25:27 Abraham could have followed 25:30 many different sources of authority. 25:33 But when God spoke the Bible says that Abraham 25:37 trusted God. He trusted God's word 25:41 because he knew God. 25:43 And he says: "If God says it, I believe it 25:47 and I'm going to do it. " 25:48 And so he got up real early before Sarah was awake 25:51 and he traveled three days to Mount Moriah. 25:56 And we all know the story 25:58 how he raised the knife to plunge it into his own son, 26:02 obeying the word of God. 26:06 Acting upon God's word by faith 26:10 because he trusted God. 26:13 Now notice Hebrews chapter 11 and how it describes this event. 26:18 Hebrews 11, and let's begin reading... Let's see here... 26:23 let's begin reading at verse 17. 26:25 It says here: 27:03 So Abraham says: "I can't understand this. 27:05 This is a child of the promise. 27:07 There's supposed to be a multitude that comes from him 27:10 and ultimately the Messiah. 27:11 I can't understand why God is asking me to do this 27:14 but God has spoken. I will do it and God will take 27:17 care of the consequences. I believe that if necessary 27:20 He can resurrect him from the dead. " 27:23 So once again, God speaks. 27:27 Abraham trusts in God and what God says 27:32 and he acts upon what God says. 27:35 And then, of course in Hebrews 11 we also have 27:38 the story of Jacob and Esau. 27:41 I'll just mention this. In Hebrews chapter 11 27:43 and verse 20 we find Isaac 27:49 blessing Jacob and Esau. 27:52 And the things that he says he could have never known 27:55 that the descendants of Jacob and Esau would have 27:58 those characteristics. 27:59 In other words, Isaac is 28:01 looking into the future 28:03 prophetically because God has 28:05 shown him what's going to happen 28:06 with Jacob and what's going to happen with Esau. 28:08 And he's simply repeating what God has said 28:11 because he believes it. 28:13 He utters it with his voice. 28:16 And then, of course, in Hebrews 11 verse 22 28:18 we have the last Genesis hero that is mentioned in the book 28:21 of Hebrews... and that's Joseph. 28:24 Notice Hebrews 11 and verse 22. 28:28 Hebrews 11 and verse 22. 28:31 Here Joseph is mentioned. 28:33 And it says here in this verse: 28:50 Did you notice this? 28:52 What did Joseph do? 28:54 He spoke about the release of the children of Israel 28:58 and he spoke about them not leaving his bones in Egypt. 29:04 How could Joseph be sure that Israel was going to be 29:09 delivered from Egypt? 29:10 This wasn't going to happen for several hundred years more. 29:16 And yet Joseph is saying: "When you leave Egypt for Canaan 29:21 make sure you take my bones with you. " 29:25 On what basis could he say that? 29:27 You see, in Genesis 15 God had given a promise. 29:31 He'd said that after 400 years He was going to intervene 29:36 and He was going to deliver God's people from Egypt 29:40 and He was going to take them to Canaan. 29:42 And Joseph believed what God said. 29:44 He spoke about the deliverance before it happened. 29:48 And he also said: "Make sure 29:51 you take my bones with you as well. " 29:56 And so basically, when God speaks His word 29:59 you can take it to the bank. 30:01 You can trust His word because you can trust God. 30:04 His word never returns unto Him void. 30:07 Notice what we find in Isaiah 55... 30:10 Isaiah 55 and let's read verses 10 and 11. 30:14 Isaiah 55:10-11. 30:17 Notice the power of God's holy word. 30:19 It says here: 30:58 Does the word of God ever return empty? 31:00 Or does it accomplish what God says it is going to accomplish? 31:04 You can take it to the bank, folks. 31:07 That's why we need to learn to trust in the promises of God. 31:10 It doesn't mean that God is going to do it immediately. 31:14 We need to be patient sometimes. But it means 31:17 that God when He makes a promise, when He speaks His word 31:20 we can trust what He says because we can trust Him. 31:23 You can take it to the bank. 31:25 The Bible says in Hebrews... actually, the book of Romans 31:28 chapter 10 and verse 17. 31:31 Romans 10 verse 17: 31:40 How does faith come? Faith comes by hearing. 31:44 By hearing what? By hearing the Word of God. 31:49 And let me explain how the process is. 31:51 God speaks His word; you believe His word 31:57 because you believe in Him; 32:00 because you know Him; 32:03 because you've spent time with Him. 32:07 Let me go over that again. 32:09 God speaks His word; 32:11 you believe His word 32:14 because you believe in Him; 32:18 because you have come to know Him 32:22 and because you have spent time with Him. 32:25 Because you need to spend time with someone if you're going to 32:27 know them. So you spend time with God; 32:30 you come to know God; 32:31 and therefore you trust God when God speaks 32:35 because you know that God is trustworthy. 32:40 That means that the more time we spend with God 32:43 the more powerful our faith is going to be 32:46 because the more we will have experienced what it means 32:49 to trust in God... to trust in someone. 32:52 Because faith is not trusting in something; 32:55 faith is trusting in someone 32:57 because we know that someone, because we've spent time 33:00 with someone, and we're willing to do what that someone told us 33:04 because we know them. 33:07 Let me illustrate what I mean. 33:10 Supposing that you'd never seen me before 33:12 and I meet you on the street 33:16 and I say to you: "Would you please lend me $1,000? 33:22 I promise to pay you next week. " 33:26 Do you think anybody would lend me the money? 33:29 Of course not. 33:32 If I'm walking down the street and nobody's ever seen me, 33:35 even if I have a suit on - especially, probably 33:37 if I have a suit on - they'd say "What guarantee 33:41 do I have that you're going to pay me back next week? " 33:44 "Trust me. " 33:47 "I'm promising it. " 33:50 "I give you my word. " 33:52 Is that going to do any good? 33:53 Absolutely not. 33:55 Why won't they lend me that money? 33:58 Because they don't know me. 34:01 They haven't spent time with me and they don't know if what I 34:04 say is trustworthy. 34:06 But now let's suppose that I talk with Elaine. 34:11 And I say: "You know, Elaine, I'm in a tough situation here. 34:15 You know I don't have enough money to pay for my mortgage 34:19 this month. Would you please lend me $1,000? 34:23 I promise to pay you back next week. " 34:26 What would Elaine say? 34:28 She said: "You've got it, Pastor! " 34:30 I'll talk to you after the service today. 34:34 Why would Elaine lend me the money? 34:38 Because she knows me. 34:40 She knows that my word is trustworthy 34:44 because she's become acquainted with me. 34:46 Is that true also in the realm of faith? 34:50 Absolutely! 34:52 Why do we do what God says even if it appears to be 34:55 ridiculous? Because by previous experience 34:59 we have formed a relationship with God. 35:02 We know Him to be trustworthy 35:05 because of what He says in His Holy Word. 35:07 And in the Bible we have a plethora of examples of faith. 35:13 You remember the miraculous fishing expedition 35:16 where the disciples had been - this is in Luke chapter 5- 35:19 the disciples had been on the lake all night 35:22 and they had not fished one single fish. 35:27 They were kind of discouraged. The next day Jesus got into the 35:31 boat and they launched out into the deep. 35:33 It was daytime. 35:35 And Jesus said to Peter that he was supposed to do the absurd. 35:39 I mean, Peter was a fisherman; Jesus was a carpenter. 35:42 And so Jesus said to Peter: "Peter, throw out your nets. " 35:45 You don't throw out your nets in the daytime. 35:47 The fish can see the nets 35:49 because the water of the Sea of Galilee is clear. 35:52 You don't fish in the daytime with nets. 35:54 It's that simple. 35:56 And yet Peter says to Jesus: 36:10 "Because I know that Your word can do something special. " 36:13 And so because Jesus spoke the word 36:17 and Peter trusted Jesus in spite of the fact that he knew 36:20 that they weren't going to fish anything humanly speaking 36:24 he cast down the nets. 36:27 And the Bible says that the nets had so many fish 36:30 that they were breaking. So they had to call their 36:32 companion fishermen and they filled both boats 36:37 because Peter acted upon the word of Jesus. 36:41 Because he trusted the word of Jesus. 36:43 Because he trusted Jesus because he had spent time with Jesus. 36:46 How about it? You know, you have an interesting story 36:50 that's found in John chapter 4 verses 46 through 54. 36:55 I'm going to tell you the story. 36:56 We're not going to read the verses 36:58 but I'm going to read a couple of statements from the 37:00 Spirit of Prophecy on this. 37:02 Jesus was in Cana of Galilee. 37:05 There was a man who was visiting there from Capernaeum 37:08 and he comes to Jesus and he says 37:10 "My son is at home 37:12 in Capernaum; he's dying. 37:14 Could you please come and heal him? " 37:19 Now what does Jesus do? 37:23 Let's notice... I'll read just one verse. 37:26 Verse 50 of John 4. 37:29 John 4 verse 50. I want you to notice this. 37:32 It's very, very significant. 37:34 John 4 and verse 50. It says here: 37:43 "Jesus said to him: 37:47 'Go your way. Your son lives. ' " 37:52 Is that what Jesus said? 37:54 He said: 'I don't have to go. 37:56 Just go your way. Your son lives. " 37:59 And now notice: "So the man... " What? 38:04 By the way, that word believed is the word pisteuo in Greek 38:08 and faith is pistis. 38:11 We would never know in English that the word believed 38:13 and the word faith are the same Greek word. 38:16 So you could translate this: "So the man trusted 38:21 or had faith in the word that Jesus spoke to him. 38:26 And he went his way. " Now listen up: 38:30 Capernaum was close enough to Cana for that man 38:35 to have rushed home to see whether his son really had been 38:38 healed. But do you know what's interesting? 38:42 He had no sense of urgency after Jesus spoke the word. 38:47 No sense of urgency at all. 38:52 In fact, he decided to take the scenic route 38:54 and to smell the flowers the next day. By the way, 39:00 this healing had taken place at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. 39:05 "At the seventh hour" the Bible says. 39:07 That's 1 o'clock in the afternoon. 39:09 So he could have made it home before sundown if he rushed. 39:14 "I wonder whether my son is healed or not? " He didn't. 39:16 He waited till the next day and then he took the scenic route. 39:19 He smelled the flowers. 39:21 And when he gets home he asks some of the servants: 39:25 "How's my son doing? " 39:27 They said: "He's healed. " 39:29 He says: "When was he healed? " 39:31 "Yesterday... at the seventh hour. " 39:36 Now allow me to read you a statement here from 39:38 Desire of Ages page 200. 39:42 This is marvelous. 39:43 Talk about trusting God's word. 39:46 See, he didn't even have to see the healing. 39:48 When Jesus spoke the word he said: "That's it! 39:51 He's healed. " It says: 40:52 Hello? Even before we receive it 40:56 because He speaks and He is 40:57 trustworthy. 40:59 And it says: 41:15 By the way, do you know how Jesus healed this man who was... 41:19 this young man who was over in Capernaum 41:22 when He actually pronounced the word in Cana? 41:24 I'll give you a little inkling. 41:26 The Bible tells us that the angels are ministering spirits 41:31 that perform the will of God all over the earth. 41:37 In fact, we find in Desire of Ages page 143 41:41 that all of the miracles of Christ were performed by 41:44 the power of God through the ministration of the angels. 41:47 Do you remember the story of the centurion who came to Jesus 41:50 and said: "My son is sick... he's deathly sick. 41:53 Could You please heal him? " 41:55 Jesus says: "OK, I'll go. " 41:57 He says: "No, You don't need to come. Just speak the word. " 42:01 "I trust Your word. Just speak the word and he'll be well. " 42:04 He says: "Because I'm also a man of authority. " 42:07 He says: "I tell this soldier 'Go here' and I tell this 42:10 servant 'Do that over there' and they do it. " 42:13 He says: "So just speak the word and it will be done. " 42:16 Do you know... when Jesus spoke the word 42:18 the angels actually went and healed the centurion's son. 42:24 The angels actually were the ones who spooked the fish 42:27 to come to the side of the boat. 42:30 The angels were really the ones that went to Capernaum 42:33 and implemented the word of Jesus 42:37 because the miracles of Jesus were performed by the power 42:40 of God through the ministration of angels. 42:42 There are millions and millions of angels all over the world 42:44 just waiting to execute God's will. 42:48 We have a lot of helpers in this world. 42:51 Praise the Lord! 42:54 And then we have the experience of Jesus... 42:57 the greatest illustration of faith in the whole Bible. 43:02 Imagine Jesus on the cross of Calvary. 43:06 It's about the ninth hour 43:08 and Jesus cries out with a loud voice and He says: 43:20 Let me ask you: did Jesus feel forsaken by His Father? 43:24 Did He feel forsaken by His Father? 43:27 Yes He did. 43:29 He says: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? " 43:32 He felt forsaken by His Father. 43:36 But did Jesus know that He 43:38 wasn't forsaken by the Father? 43:41 Yes He did. 43:43 Now you say: "This is strange. " 43:45 You say: "He knew that He wasn't forsaken by the Father 43:47 but He felt forsaken by the Father. 43:50 Now how do you explain that? " 43:52 It simply teaches us, folks, that we are not to go by 43:54 feelings. We are to go by what God says! 44:00 Had God the Father said to Jesus that if He was faithful to Him 44:06 that He would not forsake Him? That He would resurrect Him 44:09 the third day? Had the Father promised that to Jesus? 44:12 Yes! Now Jesus on the cross could not feel the presence 44:16 of His Father. He felt forsaken by His Father 44:19 but He relied upon the promise of His Father. 44:22 His Father had said: "If You go through with this, 44:25 if You are victorious, I guarantee that I will come 44:28 and resurrect You from the tomb. You can take it to the bank. " 44:31 And so even though Jesus on the cross felt forsaken 44:35 by His Father, by faith in the promises of His Father 44:39 which He had received previously 44:41 He knew that death was not the end. 44:45 In fact, we clearly grasp that because immediately after 44:49 Jesus says: "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me? " 44:54 He then says: 45:00 Evidently He wasn't forsaken 45:03 or else He wouldn't have asked His Father 45:04 to take care of His spirit. 45:07 And by the way, those of you who have studied with me before 45:10 know that the word spirit indicates much more than 45:12 the breath. It's actually the record of the life. 45:15 It's actually the character of the individual. 45:18 The self-identity. In other words, Jesus is saying 45:21 "Preserve who I am in Your books... " 45:25 Not in conscious state but in Your records... 45:28 "because You have promised that on the third day You are 45:31 going to return to Me who I am 45:34 by resurrecting Me from the dead. " 45:37 And of course, we know that on the third day the Father 45:39 fulfilled His promise. And He says: "I preserved Your 45:43 spirit, I preserved Your character. 45:45 Now I've come to give it back. " 45:47 "Oh thou Son of God come forth! " 45:49 And Jesus came forth. 45:51 So you have these mixed feelings on the cross of Calvary. 45:54 Jesus feeling forsaken but saying: "Father, 45:57 into Your hands I commend My spirit. 45:59 I feel forsaken but I know I'm not 46:01 because You told Me that I'm not. " 46:04 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 46:06 Allow me to read a statement from Desire of Ages 46:10 page 756 about how Jesus overcame on the cross. 46:17 Here Ellen White says: 47:36 He trusted His Father because He knew His Father 47:42 from previous experience. 47:44 He had received the word of His Father; 47:47 believed the word of His Father; 47:49 lived the word of His Father before. 47:52 And He knew that His Father was going to raise Him from the dead 47:55 not because He felt it but because God said so. 47:59 In fact, Ellen White says that Jesus could not see beyond 48:02 the portals of the tomb. 48:03 He felt that sin was so offensive to God 48:07 that the separation would be everlasting. 48:09 That's how Jesus felt! 48:11 But Jesus did not go by feelings and emotions. 48:14 Jesus trusted the word of God. Amen! 48:20 One time I had a young lady come to me. She said: 48:22 "Pastor, I don't feel that God has forgiven me. " 48:27 I said: "Well that's interesting. " 48:29 I said: "Why not? " She said: "Because I've committed 48:31 this sin several times. I'm positive that the Lord 48:35 has not forgiven me. " 48:37 I said: "Well, have you repented of that sin? " 48:39 She says: "Yes I have. " 48:41 I said: "Have you confessed that sin? " 48:42 She says: "Yes, I've confessed it also. " 48:45 I said: "Then you're forgiven! " 48:49 Because in I John 1:9 it says: 48:58 If you fulfill the conditions, if you have repented, 49:01 if you've confessed your sin, 49:03 believe it... not because you feel it but because God says it. 49:07 We trust our feelings too much! 49:10 We say: "Well I don't feel that God has forgiven me. " 49:13 Feelings have nothing to do with this. 49:15 If God says it and you've fulfilled the conditions, 49:19 you can take it to the bank. 49:22 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 49:24 Faith means trusting what God says because we know God 49:29 and because we've spent time with God... 49:32 quality time with God. We've come to know Him. 49:35 You remember the experience of the three young men who were 49:38 thrown in the fiery furnace? 49:40 Do you know that they claimed a promise from scripture 49:45 that had been written before this experience? 49:48 Notice Isaiah 43... 49:50 Isaiah 43 and verse 2. 49:55 Isaiah 43 and verse 2. 50:23 They claimed that promise. 50:26 They knew their God and therefore they remained firm. 50:30 And by the way, this experience is going to take place again. 50:34 This experience in Daniel 3 was historical but also 50:39 a prophetic experience. 50:41 Because in Daniel 3 you have Nebuchadnezzar who for a while 50:44 lived as a beast. He raised an image. 50:47 He commanded everyone to worship the image that he had raised up, 50:50 and he was going to have everybody killed who did not 50:53 worship the image that he had raised. 50:55 Is that the scenario in Revelation chapter 13? 50:58 It most certainly is. 51:00 And as those three young men had to face the fiery furnace 51:03 we will have to face the period of the seven last plagues 51:08 when the wrath of God is poured out without mixture 51:10 in this world. 51:12 The fullness of God's wrath is poured out. 51:14 And yet like those 3 young men 51:16 the plagues will be falling on one side and on the other 51:19 but the plagues will not touch 51:21 God's people 51:22 because they have learned 51:24 to trust in God. 51:26 This is what Revelation 13:10 51:28 means when it says: "Here is the patience of the saints. " 51:32 Here is the patience and the perseverance and the faith 51:35 of the saints. In other words, we're going to need 51:37 perseverance, we're going to need faith 51:40 because we're going to lose everything that we have. 51:43 Our freedom. 51:46 Some people in the little time of trouble are even going to 51:48 lose their lives. And if we trust in our feelings, 51:52 our emotions, and our things and in what other people say 51:56 we're going to fall in an instant, folks. 51:58 We have to learn to trust in God. 52:01 We have to get into the Word. 52:03 We have to get to know God personally. 52:06 And we need to claim the promises and act upon 52:09 those promises of God. 52:11 Allow me to say this as we near the close: 52:15 Do you know that one of the great deceptions of Satan 52:18 in the end time is going to be to disguise himself - 52:22 along with his evil angels - 52:23 as departed relatives? 52:26 And don't you be surprised if there's a John Paul II 52:30 appearing some place all over the earth. 52:34 And don't you be surprised if the supposed Virgin Mary 52:38 is appearing in different parts of the earth. 52:42 That's, of course, already happened! 52:46 You say: "Ah, I would never believe that. 52:48 The dead don't know anything. " 52:50 Listen, Ellen White says that this will be an almost 52:55 overmastering delusion. 52:59 Notice what she says in Great Controversy page 552. 53:03 Speaking about Satan's power: "He has power to bring before 53:07 men the appearance of their departed friends. 53:10 The counterfeit is perfect. " 53:13 Did you catch that? The counterfeit is what? 53:17 Perfect. 53:19 "The familiar look, the words, the tone 53:22 are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. 53:27 Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones 53:30 are enjoying the bliss of heaven 53:32 and without suspicion of danger they are giving ear to seducing 53:37 spirits and doctrine of devils. " 53:41 Listen folks, have we reached the point in our experience 53:45 where we are so saturated with the Word of God 53:48 that we will ignore what our eyes, our ears, 53:52 our touch, our smell, our feelings, 53:55 our reasonings, the words of others? 53:58 Ignore all of these things 54:01 and to just trust the naked Word of God? 54:06 Though someone appear disguised as a relative 54:09 or as a friend or one of the great heroes 54:12 of the Christian church? 54:15 And they look the same, they talk the same, 54:18 they make us feel good. 54:21 They speak about peace and love and kindness. 54:25 Are we going to be willing to say: "I hear you, 54:29 I see you, I feel you 54:33 but the Bible says: "The living know that they shall die 54:37 but the dead know nothing. " 54:42 Will I live by faith in God's Word 54:45 and only in God's Word 54:48 and not on the basis of my reasonings and my emotions 54:52 and what other people say? 54:53 You know, most of the world is going to be deluded. 54:56 Listen - and this is a supposition but I think it's 55:00 a very possible thing - 55:03 if John Paul should appear in different parts of the world 55:07 speaking to the living how many people in the world 55:10 would be deceived? How many Christians would be 55:12 deceived by that? 55:14 The majority of the Christian world including Protestants 55:20 will be deceived by that 55:22 if the funeral of John Paul II has anything to say. 55:26 But Adventists will not be deceived. 55:28 Some of them will according to Ellen White 55:30 because they go by their feelings and emotions. 55:33 They don't follow what the Word of God says. 55:35 They haven't learned to trust God. 55:37 Do you know that the devil is even going to counterfeit 55:39 the second coming of Jesus? 55:41 In Great Controversy you find the description 55:44 as well as in II Thessalonians chapter 2. 55:47 Wow! She says that Satan will appear in different parts 55:51 of the earth. His appearance will be like 55:54 Christ in Revelation chapter 1 55:56 with his face shining as the sun. 55:59 He's going to speak some beautiful words of peace 56:02 and love and kindness like people love to hear 56:04 in church today. And then he's going to perform miracles! 56:09 Undeniable miracles! 56:11 And she says that this is the almost overmastering delusion. 56:14 People who trust their feelings and their emotions 56:17 and what their preachers say and what their reason says 56:20 and what their senses say. Immediately they will say: 56:23 "This is Christ who has returned! " 56:26 Of course it doesn't help that most Christians believe 56:29 that when Jesus comes again He's going to set up His 56:31 millennial kingdom on earth. 56:33 They're leaving themselves wide open 56:35 to the acceptance of the false Christ 56:37 when he walks upon the earth. 56:39 But we know... And by the way, and then she says 56:41 that the devil is going to say that he is Christ 56:45 and that he is being greatly offended because 56:48 Sunday is not being kept. 56:50 God's people will not be deceived 56:53 because first of all they know that the Bible says 56:56 that Jesus will not come all the way down to the earth. 57:00 Number two: Jesus is not coming to set up His millennial kingdom 57:03 here. And furthermore, the teaching that we're supposed to 57:07 keep the first day of the week does not square with a 57:10 "thus saith the Lord. " 57:13 Ellen White says that our only safeguard 57:15 will be in following the Bible. 57:18 How about it? Get into the Word; study the Word; 57:21 and obey the Word is my prayer. |
Revised 2014-12-17