Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW018022A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today Family Worship. 01:13 Happy Sabbath to you. 01:15 We're so grateful that you're able to join 01:16 our 3ABN family here. 01:18 But, you know, Jill and I are really happy 01:20 to be joining you. 01:21 We hear from you from all over the world, 01:23 and it's neat that we can actually meet together 01:25 even somehow through this glass 01:27 and through all the waves 01:28 of the television and the radio, 01:30 but, yeah, we can still be all part of God's family. 01:32 And we're worshipping here together 01:34 bringing in the Sabbath, that's always a blessing. 01:36 Seems like every time we open the Family Worship, 01:38 I talk about having a busy week, 01:39 I think every week is busy. 01:41 And we are thankful... 01:42 That tells you Greg's life is like that. 01:43 Yes. We're thankful for the Sabbath. 01:45 And I'm sure your week has been busy as well, 01:47 but there's a special blessing. 01:49 By worshipping God on the Sabbath, 01:51 what a privilege it is to join you at home 01:53 but everyone here at 3ABN. 01:55 It is. It's a privilege. 01:56 I always love to open up God's Word. 01:57 You know, nothing like opening up 01:59 the Word of God. 02:00 And it's like a treasure chest, seeing what promises, 02:03 what things He has in there for us. 02:05 And then to spend time with family. 02:07 You know, what a treat to be able 02:08 to back away as it were 02:10 from the cares of the week and the cares of the world 02:13 and just spend time at the feet of Jesus. 02:15 And to me, that's what family worship is all about. 02:17 And you guys at home are part of the 3ABN family. 02:21 So we just welcome you here, 02:23 and we have some 3ABN family here 02:24 that's a little around the world too. 02:26 That's right. 02:27 And before we introduce them, I was just thinking, 02:30 I don't know, several weeks back, 02:31 some time ago actually, we were at 3ABN Camp Meeting. 02:34 And it's always a blessing because we get to actually meet 02:37 some of you 02:38 that actually make the trip, the trek, the flight, 02:40 the out of middle of nowhere 02:42 to West Frankfort, Thompsonville, Illinois 02:43 to join us for 3ABN Camp Meeting. 02:45 I think that's a blessing. 02:46 It just gives you a little taste 02:48 of what I believe heaven will be like. 02:49 And, of course, in heaven, life will be perfect there, 02:52 but, boy, what a blessing it is to still get together. 02:55 There was one time at Camp meeting where... 02:57 It was actually the Sabbath School Panel, 02:59 and you had everyone recite the memory verse. 03:01 And I was backstage at Camp Meeting, 03:04 and it actually brought a little tear to my eye 03:06 because everyone was in sync. 03:08 Reading the scripture together, and I couldn't see everyone 03:11 'cause I was backstage, but I could just hear everyone 03:13 reciting the scripture, 03:14 and I was thinking about in heaven. 03:16 Can you imagine? 03:17 'Cause I don't know the number that's going to be in heaven, 03:18 it's going to be a lot. 03:20 But we do know that Jesus 03:21 and of course God and the angels 03:22 will all be there, and to hear everyone 03:24 reciting scripture in heaven. 03:27 I can only imagine that you can understand 03:29 where it mentions about casting our crowns at Jesus' feet. 03:31 What a glorious day that'll be. 03:33 But anyway, we do have our family here. 03:35 We have John and Rosemary Malkiewycz 03:37 from 3ABN Australia, down under. 03:41 The world... 03:43 What's that? We're up over. 03:44 You're up over, I like that. 03:45 That's good comeback actually. 03:48 But you all are the directors of 3ABN Australia, 03:50 and we just appreciate you all making the trip here. 03:53 We know you've come here for other reasons too. 03:55 But we thank you for all the hard work 03:57 that you all have put forth for many years 04:00 there in Australia, doing a great job. 04:02 And I know you don't do it for your own glory, 04:05 you do it for souls, for Jesus Christ. 04:07 And that's the true reward, isn't it? 04:09 It is, definitely. 04:11 And it's great to be here to be on Family Worship, isn't it? 04:14 I know. Isn't it great? 04:15 And that's just part of family. Because we are both family. 04:17 That's right. I love coming home. 04:19 Amen. 04:20 And we're excited because in a few months, 04:23 we'll have the privilege of going up over, down under, 04:26 anyways, we're going to Australia to 3ABN Australia 04:29 and we're excited, and I know... 04:32 Just to see the facilities, 04:33 to see what God has done, to meet the staff there. 04:36 We're very excited about that. 04:38 And on this side is Tim Parton, and you're going with us. 04:40 So we're all going together. I am. I am. 04:42 And, Tim, it's a joy to have you here. 04:43 It's a great privilege to be here. 04:45 I love you guys. You're just wonderful people. 04:47 We love you too. We love you too. 04:48 You're closer to my age, I say than a lot of the people 04:51 that I usually have Family Worship with. 04:54 So it's nice to, you know, be on the same level. 04:57 Actually, I'm older than they are, 04:59 but I consider myself young... 05:01 Maybe by a few seconds. 05:02 By a few seconds, okay, 05:04 but anyway, it's always a privilege to be with you. 05:05 I love your smiles. You're always wide awake. 05:11 You know, we've been through maybe a long week, Tim. 05:13 We're still trying to be wide awake 05:14 for Family Worship. 05:16 Good. Good. 05:17 Then long after we're done with worship, 05:19 maybe we'll just take a little rest for the night. 05:21 Yeah, we appreciate you too, Tim, you know, 05:23 we've taken a number of trips together 05:24 around the world. 05:25 You know, Tim's... 05:27 Everyone's fun to travel with, 05:28 but Tim is really fun to travel with. 05:29 He's just always full of energy, 05:31 and how you see him here is how he is in real life. 05:34 Once the cameras are turned off, 05:35 he's a man that loves the Lord, loves people, 05:38 and just enjoys sharing Jesus with others, 05:41 and you know God's given you many talents, 05:42 and we appreciate you bringing those talents to 3ABN. 05:45 Thanks for the blessing. 05:46 And he enjoys playing the piano. 05:47 I do. Boy, he does. 05:49 That's undeniable. 05:50 That's very interesting, the way you described him. 05:52 We've only known Tim a little while lastly we met, 05:54 and it's true. 05:56 I like the enthusiasm. I know. 05:59 And it's really a blessing to be working with people 06:01 who have enthusiasm 06:03 because there's no negative thoughts, 06:04 they're all positive. 06:05 Right. Exactly. 06:07 You know what I think, music is such a worship... 06:09 I mean, music is in itself is a worship. 06:10 Yes. That's right. 06:12 And then obviously, with Tim here, 06:13 we're going to have him play the piano 06:14 here in just a minute or two, 06:16 but I think we should open in a word of prayer 06:17 to start worship. 06:19 Brother John, do you mind to start please? 06:20 I don't mind. 06:21 Father in heaven, 06:23 as we just bow in Your presence, 06:24 we thank You for the opportunity 06:25 of coming together and opening Your Word. 06:27 We pray, Father, we'll be talking about faith. 06:29 We pray that that faith will be increased in us, 06:32 then we will be willing to do Your bidding 06:35 and to serve You with all our heart 06:36 and soul and mind, for I thank You in Jesus' name. 06:39 Amen. Amen. 06:41 Amen. 06:42 We are talking about faith here this evening. 06:44 What is faith? And what faith is not? 06:47 And we'll be talking about how we can grow our faith. 06:50 We know the Bible tells us in Romans 12 I believe it is, 06:53 "God has given to every man a measure of faith," 06:57 but then God wants us to grow that. 06:59 And sometimes you think, "My faith is very small. 07:01 I don't know how I can grow." 07:03 We'll talk about that here this evening, 07:05 look at scriptures and principles 07:07 from the Word of God and share some personal testimonies too. 07:10 Before we do that, we have a song regarding faith, 07:14 "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus". 07:17 What an incredible thing to lay our burdens, 07:20 to lay our cares at the feet of Jesus 07:24 and know that we can trust Him through anything. 07:32 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus 07:37 Just to take Him at His Word 07:43 Just to rest upon His promise 07:48 Just to know, "Thus saith the Lord!" 07:54 Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him 08:00 How I've proved Him o'er and o'er 08:06 Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus 08:11 Oh, for grace to trust Him more 08:18 I'm so glad I learned to trust Him 08:23 Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend 08:29 And I know that He is with me 08:34 Will be with me to the end 08:38 Here's the chorus. 08:40 Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him 08:45 How I've proved Him o'er and o'er 08:51 Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus 08:57 Oh, for grace to trust Him more 09:04 Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus 09:10 Just from sin and self to cease 09:15 Just from Jesus simply taking 09:21 Life and rest and joy and peace 09:27 Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him 09:32 How I've proved Him o'er and o'er 09:38 Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus 09:43 Oh, for grace 09:46 To trust Him more 09:52 Do you know what amazes me? It's a great hymn. 09:54 How Americans lose their accent when they sing. 09:58 I didn't know that I had an accent. 10:02 That's great. What a great hymn. Oh, amen. 10:04 You know, I love the words, do they really when you sing, 10:06 they can't hear the accent? 10:07 I tell you that again, we're talking about heaven 10:09 just a little bit earlier. 10:10 What a great... 10:12 I don't know what it's going to sound like, 10:13 we all sing in one language in heaven, I don't know, 10:14 but it's going to be beautiful. 10:16 I love some of these words, 10:17 actually, all the words of this great hymn, 10:19 but 'tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, 10:21 just to take Him at His Word. 10:24 And we're talking about faith today 10:26 taking Jesus at His Word. 10:27 How do we grow our faith, what is faith, a great topic. 10:31 And I think even in my own life, 10:32 you know, faith, at times, can be actually hard to, 10:35 you know, put all of my trust in God, 10:38 I hate to say that, but I know that's part of my, 10:40 I guess, Christian journey. 10:42 And so, this worship is for me as well, 10:44 how do I grow my faith and grow more in Jesus. 10:46 And it's interesting... 10:47 Go for it. 10:49 I'm sorry, what were you saying? 10:50 Especially, when things are going hard. 10:52 Yeah, that's true. It's easy when it's going well. 10:53 We have the Word of God that is so full of promises 10:58 that we can claim, and we say, 11:00 "We love those words, just to take Him at His Word." 11:03 And we think it's such, you know, a man's word is... 11:08 It's his bond. Yeah, it's his bond. 11:10 And so we think that that's... 11:12 You know, it's important to do that, 11:14 but then we don't trust His Word... 11:16 It's not that we don't trust it, 11:18 it's just that we doubt it. 11:20 When the rubber meets the road... 11:21 It's just kind of the same thing. 11:22 So it's interesting that we do hold on to those 11:27 that if we think that's a precious thought, 11:28 when we think, 11:29 "Well, that ought to be the way it is." 11:31 And so if we would take Jesus at His Word, 11:33 the way we depend on trusting each other 11:36 for their word to be their bond, 11:39 then maybe we... 11:40 Or much more to God. Isn't that true? 11:43 I know, just this week... 11:45 It's good, so it took too long. 11:46 I know, that's good. It is. 11:47 No, it's fabulous. 11:49 Just this week, I was dealing with some stuff, 11:50 and I remember, in the evening, just praying and, you know, 11:54 just crying out to God, okay, 11:55 so how am I supposed to deal with this, 11:57 and I don't know what to do. 11:59 And, you know, I'm just insufficient for this. 12:02 And then He was like, "Do you trust Me?" 12:05 And I thought, "Well, of course, I do." 12:07 And then He said, "Why are you afraid?" 12:09 "Oh, wow!" 12:10 You know, I mean, am I really taking Him at His Word? 12:13 Am I really trusting what His Word says? 12:16 And, again, it's easy to say, 12:17 "Yes, I trust You with my life in a general sense," 12:21 but when it gets down to those specific areas 12:24 of your life. 12:25 You know, those specific things 12:26 that you're questioning or wondering about, 12:28 that's when the rubber meets the road. 12:29 You know, and you're saying, 12:31 "Yes, God, I want to trust You with that." 12:32 I remember talking to you yesterday 12:34 and telling you a story 12:35 about what God did one time leading us 12:37 in our work with 3ABN. 12:39 And I'm saying, "Lord, I don't understand, 12:41 You've got to do this for us." 12:42 And God's saying, "Don't worry, 12:43 I've got it in control." 12:45 This is the impression that was given to me. 12:46 "I'm in control. You just take it easy." 12:49 And the following week, nothing had happened, 12:51 "Lord, You've got to do something." 12:52 and just "That's all right. 12:54 I'm in control." 12:55 The following week, 12:57 "Lord, You still haven't done anything. 12:58 What are we going to do? 12:59 "Don't worry. I'm in control." 13:01 In a couple of weeks, after that, it was, "Wow! 13:02 You are amazing. 13:04 You are awesome," 13:05 because He had it in control, 13:07 I just didn't see it at the time. 13:09 Yeah. Absolutely. 13:10 I think that's why it's important, 13:11 and I enjoy praying the Word of God. 13:14 Yes. 13:15 You pray it back to Him... 13:17 Isn't that powerful? Wow! "This is Your Word, God. 13:18 This is so... 13:19 I trust You to, you know, show up. 13:21 Yeah, absolutely. That's good. 13:22 When I look at the Bible, it's God's story, 13:25 and when you said trust in His Word, well, 13:28 what are we trusting His Word? 13:29 We know that all of us are subject to death, 13:33 and we die 13:34 where God says, "Trust in My Word," 13:36 and I have to trust in Him because I'm getting older now. 13:38 My days are getting shorter, so I begin to think, 13:41 "Can I trust God with my life?" 13:43 He's promised us eternal life. 13:45 That's trusting in the Word of God, 13:47 that you're not going to die. 13:49 You're going to have an opportunity to live with Him 13:50 throughout eternity. 13:52 And that's exciting. Yeah, it is, isn't it though? 13:54 It is, it's just... 13:56 That's faith. 13:57 Okay, so we're just throwing around trust, 13:59 I don't even have this in my notes here. 14:00 Is there a difference between trust and faith do you think? 14:03 This is just off the cuff, 14:05 actually we don't have that written down here. 14:06 I think they're interchangeable. 14:07 To me, I mean, that's where... 14:09 Because faith is not a word we... 14:11 I mean, we have faith, that's somebody... 14:13 That's more like a good faith, 14:15 more like a financial word almost, 14:18 and the way we use it these days, we don't, 14:22 I don't know, that we use the word faith, 14:24 you know, just in common language. 14:25 A lot of times, we'll say, "I trust you, Tim." 14:27 "I trust you," yeah, yeah, 14:28 "I don't doubt that you will do something." 14:30 So again, that's... 14:31 So I would say they're interchangeable. 14:33 I kind of say faith is the connecting power 14:35 that connects us to God. 14:36 Right. 14:38 Okay. I like that. 14:39 I think so in a way that faith 14:41 and trust really are sort of different. 14:45 You can have faith in anything, 14:47 you know, we have faith 14:48 that we can get in the car today 14:50 and drive and safely get to our destination. 14:53 It doesn't always happen, but we get in the car 14:55 believing we're going to do it. 14:56 And that's... 14:57 You're having faith that you're going to. 14:59 You have faith if you... 15:00 A lot of people when they have cancer, 15:01 they have faith that chemotherapy 15:03 is going to help them. 15:04 We have faith that if we have a headache, 15:07 we can take a tablet, 15:08 and it will take the headache away. 15:10 There are all forms of faith, 15:12 but trust is stronger than faith. 15:16 It's something that you are actually saying, 15:19 "Not that I believe in this, 15:22 but I really trust that this is right. 15:25 This is so... 15:27 This is going to happen." 15:28 And actions immediately follow in that process. 15:31 Right. With trust, there is action. 15:33 There is. 15:34 You know, if you think about it, in Greek, 15:35 the word for faith, 15:37 almost always in Greek is pistis, 15:38 p-i-s-t-i-s, 15:39 and it means belief, trust, and confidence. 15:43 So, you know, 15:44 even in the Strong's Concordance, 15:46 it makes them synonymous, you know, with that trust, 15:49 with the belief, with the confidence. 15:52 It's trust, and it's also sometimes 15:54 translated trustworthy, 15:56 which is interesting, the same Greek word. 15:58 Sometimes in our Bible, in English, 16:00 it says faith and other times, it says trustworthy, 16:03 but it's the same Greek word. 16:05 So really it means that, you know. 16:07 It is stronger. Yeah. 16:08 I love that. That's wonderful. 16:10 You know, I looked it up for... 16:12 This is just from like Webster's Dictionary 16:14 for as the definition for faith, 16:15 and it says complete trust or confidence 16:18 in someone or something. 16:21 So complete trust or belief in something or someone. 16:24 I looked up at the dictionary on faith, 16:26 and it said firm belief in something 16:31 for which there is no proof. 16:34 Well, that goes along with Hebrews. 16:36 Hebrews 11. 16:37 Complete trust or confidence in someone or something, 16:40 that's complete trust. 16:42 It's not just, you know, wishy-washy thing. 16:45 Strong or unshakable belief in something, 16:48 especially without proof or evidence. 16:51 So it's a very strong word. 16:53 Can we look up Hebrews 11 while we talk about this? 16:56 We talk about Webster's definition... 16:58 We got to look at the Bible definition. 17:00 All right, Hebrews 11:1. 17:03 Yeah. I like that text. 17:06 We learnt it. What version do you have? 17:09 I've got the King James Version. 17:10 All right. Okay. 17:11 It says, "Now faith is the substance 17:13 of things hoped for, 17:14 the evidence of things not seen." 17:17 Ooh, yeah, read it one more time. 17:19 "Faith is the substance of things hoped 17:22 for, the evidence of things are not seen." 17:26 I like the word "substance" 17:27 because that's something is tangible. 17:29 I like the word "evidence", evidence of things not seen. 17:33 That's it, right. 17:34 So you have the New King James? 17:36 I do. It's the same. 17:37 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 17:39 the evidence of things not seen." 17:40 It is the same, but substance in Greek means title deed, 17:43 so faith is like our guarantor, you know guarantee? 17:46 Title deed, that we have that. 17:49 Yeah, you have Amplified, Tim. 17:50 Yeah, and it says, now faith is the assurance, 17:53 the confirmation, the title deed 17:56 of the things we hope for, 17:57 being the proof of things we do not see 18:01 and the conviction of their reality. 18:04 Oh, wow. Conviction of their reality. 18:06 Yeah, that's good, you know, I've got a... 18:08 There's a song that I learned several years ago, 18:11 and I'm just going to read the lyrics from the chorus. 18:13 It says, "Faith sees the invisible, 18:16 believes the impossible, receives the incredible 18:20 no matter what was. 18:22 Faith moves the unmovable, proves the unprovable 18:26 for anyone willing to trust, believe, 18:28 and you'll see what faith does." 18:30 I love those, it sees the invisible, 18:34 it believes the impossible, receives the incredible 18:37 no matter what was. 18:39 If there's something that, you know, 18:40 it's speaking things as though they were, 18:42 that's faith that it's going to happen. 18:44 I love faith. 18:45 That's wonderful, but I don't always exhibit it. 18:49 You know, great Martin Luther said it like this, 18:51 "Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace." 18:56 Did you hear that? Nice. 18:58 "Faith is a living, bold trust..." 18:59 Living... 19:01 A living bold trust 19:02 "Living bold trust in God's grace." 19:04 Faith is God's work in us. 19:06 Oh, that's good. 19:07 Wow! And that's Martin Luther? 19:09 Martin Luther. Yeah, sweet. 19:10 I always... 19:12 When I read Hebrews 11:1, I always read verse 6 as well. 19:15 Oh, good, let's read it. Yeah, verse 6. 19:18 It says, "But without faith, it is impossible to please God, 19:22 for he that cometh to God must," 19:25 number one, "believe that He is 19:27 and," number two, 19:29 "and that He is a rewarder of them 19:30 that diligently seek Him." 19:33 So at first we have to believe that God is, 19:35 and then we have to believe, 19:37 and we have to believe in His love. 19:39 It's true. Amen. 19:41 What does this say in the Amplified? 19:42 That's just what I was thinking of? 19:44 Actually, it doesn't get much clearer than that. 19:46 It says, "Without faith, it's impossible to please 19:48 and be satisfactory to Him, 19:51 for whoever would come near to God 19:53 must necessarily believe 19:54 that God exists and that He is the rewarder 19:57 of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out." 20:00 Amen. Amen. 20:01 It's really, it's a simple thing. 20:04 Without faith that's just impossible 20:06 to serve Him, to please Him. 20:08 That's the operative word, please God, Enoch, 20:11 please, God, right? 20:13 And he was translated, and, you know, 20:15 when we understand, when we please God, 20:17 anything about father and a child, 20:20 the faith that exists between a mother and a child, 20:23 but a father takes a child and puts him on the table 20:26 and says, "Jump." 20:28 And the child jumps, 20:30 so he begins to know his father to be able to jump, 20:33 and that's what faith does. 20:35 He trusted his father's going to catch him 20:36 before he hits the ground. 20:38 That happened to me actually with our nephew actually. 20:40 We were on a large combine, he just wanted to look at it 20:42 'cause he liked big tractors and stuff like that, 20:44 and so he was way up on the step, 20:45 you know, the combines are really high. 20:47 And so he just... 20:48 I was down below looking up at him, 20:49 and he just smiled at me 20:51 and just walked right off the edge, 20:52 and I was like, "Okay." 20:54 You know, he didn't even ask, it was just like, 20:55 "Okay, I'm walking off. 20:56 You're down there, you'll take care of me." 20:58 And so, I mean, he just had a great, 20:59 big smile on his face. 21:00 For as long as it's not presumption. 21:02 Yes, that's true. 21:03 There is a difference. That's true. 21:05 Yeah, that's a good point, but still, you know, 21:06 there was obviously trust... 21:07 But as a child, you don't even think presumption. 21:10 No, you don't. He's going to get me. 21:12 Yeah. He's going to catch me. 21:13 And how cruel it would be, you know, to not catch. 21:17 That's a good point, Tim. 21:18 As in the Bible says, 21:20 "As much as God loves to give us good things, 21:22 every good and perfect gift comes from Him, 21:24 but, and He would never give you a stone 21:26 if you ask for bread." 21:27 That's right. And so that's believing. 21:29 I love it. It's good stuff. 21:31 So we're talking about 21:32 what faith is, what is faith not? 21:36 That's not the right word, but what it's not? 21:37 Well, faith is not presumption. Yeah. 21:39 I think that it's really good right there. 21:41 I should look it up on the internet. 21:43 The internet is great. I have learned so much... 21:46 You don't have internet in Australia? 21:47 We do. Oh, okay. 21:49 I didn't know if this was a new revelation, you know. 21:52 I like that. I like that. 21:54 I've actually learned to use it over the years. 21:57 My boys had to teach me, 22:00 but I wrote down something I found 22:02 that someone said about faith and presumption, 22:05 difference between, it says, 22:06 "Faith in its essence, faith is simply trusting God. 22:10 It is being willing to believe God in His Word, 22:12 even if the outward circumstances appear 22:15 to contradict it. 22:16 It is knowing that God is good even when only bad things 22:20 seem to be happening to us." 22:21 That is hard, but that's what it is. 22:23 "But presumption is attempting to manipulate God, 22:28 that fear He's God, 22:30 presumption tells Him what to do 22:32 and usually, when to do it." 22:35 "God, I want it my way or it's the highway." 22:38 Right. Right. 22:39 "And, God, I want it now, 22:41 you know, I want this answer now or whatever." 22:43 I remember someone we used to know at church, 22:47 and I won't name the names, 22:48 but I also know someone else currently 22:52 that because we pray before we drive, 22:55 pray that God will help us drive safely, 22:56 I always know that I will drive safely 22:59 and that God will help everybody else 23:01 on the road where I am to drive safely. 23:04 It's no good if you drive safely 23:05 and everyone else drives dangerously. 23:07 Woman driver, I see. 23:12 You be careful. Anyway. 23:14 So in Australia, you're driving on the other side 23:15 of the road too, is that right? 23:16 Yeah, I know, but it's still safe 23:18 because everybody else is driving on the other side. 23:20 Anyway, there's some people, they pray before they drive, 23:24 but then they drive like maniacs. 23:26 That's presumption. Oh, I see. 23:27 You are presuming 23:29 that God's going to look after you 23:30 because you prayed, 23:31 but you are driving like a fool. 23:33 It's true. 23:34 I rode with a friend like that actually. 23:36 He said, "Let me show you how I can drive looking 23:37 in the rearview mirror." 23:39 So and then he said, 23:40 "And then I'll show you how I can drive 23:42 looking out the back window." 23:43 And I said, "Please, yes..." 23:45 And he did pray, he prayed ahead of time, 23:46 so I mean, yeah, you're right. 23:47 That is presumption. 23:49 So he was driving forward looking back? 23:50 Yeah, he was looking out like this. 23:51 He said, "I'll show you how I can drive forward." 23:53 So you can't because you're looking at the roads, 23:54 so we were accelerating going on to the interstate 23:55 with him looking out the back windows. 23:57 That's scary. That is scary. 23:58 That was years ago. 24:00 And praise the Lord, it's nobody here at 3ABN. 24:01 I have to clarify that. 24:03 This is when I was a teenager, but anyway, yeah, you're right. 24:05 That's just an example of... 24:06 And thankfully, I still have you. 24:08 Yes, that's right. 24:09 But do you know a lot of people do, 24:11 they claim things that aren't in the Word? 24:14 Yeah. Yes. 24:15 You know, and that's why it's important 24:18 before you start believing for something, 24:21 you know, first of all, for your own good, 24:24 it's not, you know, 24:25 "Why would I want anything that God doesn't want for me?" 24:28 But especially 24:30 even if it's something that I want, 24:31 you know, certainly over His will, 24:34 I just don't want that. 24:35 And so that's what faith is not is believing something 24:39 that God doesn't want for us. 24:40 When I think about the story of Abraham, 24:42 you know, God promised him something, 24:43 and he would what, make a big nation? 24:46 And he had no children, 24:48 so then he waited and waited and waited, 24:50 and that's when he got mixed up with Hagar 24:53 and tried to answer God's promise. 24:56 And I think it was what messed things up. 24:59 And that's a form of presumption, 25:01 to run ahead of God 25:03 and try to answer your own prayer 25:05 or try to do what you believe God wants you, you know, 25:08 it's going to lead you into, but you're helping God out 25:11 to make it happen. 25:12 Right. 25:13 I think faith is taking God at His Word which is what 25:15 we've been saying around the table, 25:16 so do you think faith is claiming the Word of God, 25:19 taking Him at His Word, 25:20 and I think faith is not a feeling, you know? 25:22 And I think that is even a form of presumption, 25:26 walking by how I feel instead of taking God at His Word. 25:29 Let's talk about grow in the faith. 25:32 Maybe we look at Mark 9:24. 25:36 Mark 9:24, we talk about grow in faith. 25:41 There's many different texts we could look at 25:43 when we look at how our faith grows. 25:49 Someone have that, Mark 9:24? 25:51 I have it. 25:53 "In a straight way, the father of the child cried out 25:55 and said with tears, 25:57 'Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.'" 26:01 How many times do you feel like that? 26:04 Lord, I believe, 26:05 but just help me to really hang on 26:08 and really believe. 26:11 Go ahead, John. 26:12 I was just thinking 26:14 that father had come to know Jesus 26:16 and what He could do. 26:18 Yes. And that's a bit like faith. 26:20 It's when you see it work, 26:22 then you're more happy to go towards it. 26:25 And so when this happened, 26:27 he said, "Lord, heal my son." 26:30 And so, you know, that's how it works. 26:32 I don't see it working in any other way. 26:34 The Word of God is the truth, and it's by faith that we say, 26:39 "Yes, we believe in the God who made us. 26:41 We accept His Word." 26:43 And we go out and show that in our lives, 26:46 and this is one of those cases. 26:48 But it's important to know the set up for that verse 23 26:54 because it's beautiful to trust in God, 26:58 but it's not always what we really feel, 27:01 like I said earlier, 27:03 but the father says in verse 22, 27:09 "If You can do anything, have pity on us and help us." 27:13 And then in 23, Jesus says, "If you can do anything..." 27:16 If you can believe... 27:17 Really, 27:18 "All things are possible to him who believes." 27:21 So he throws it back in the guys lap, 27:23 in the father's lap and says, you know, 27:25 "It's not about what I can do, it's what you can believe 27:28 because I made the world, you know," and naturally, 27:32 adding a little more into it. 27:34 But then the guy, the father admits, 27:36 "I believe, just help my unbelief." 27:39 Well, you've got to take it back 27:40 further than that to get the context. 27:42 Good. 27:43 He had brought the son to Jesus, 27:45 but Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, 27:48 and the disciples tried to do it, 27:50 and they couldn't 27:51 because of I want to be bigger than everybody else attitude, 27:55 they couldn't do this so because they couldn't do it, 27:58 the man, the father was losing hope, 28:02 and Jesus said, 28:04 "If you can believe, all things are possible." 28:07 And so, Jesus was trying to build his faith, so he says, 28:10 "I believe, but help me to really believe 28:12 because I've lost faith in helping my son." 28:17 So do you think that means that we can ask for more faith 28:21 because he just says, 28:23 "I believe, but help my unbelief." 28:24 So the father recognized, right, 28:26 that he was shaky in the area of faith 28:29 and probably because of the experience 28:31 with the disciples, seeing that, 28:32 well, they hadn't helped, and so maybe can Jesus help 28:35 or I had thought He could. 28:37 And so... 28:38 Maybe he can't. Right. 28:39 And so he is beginning to doubt now, and he's saying, 28:41 "I do believe, but help my unbelief." 28:44 So you think that's if we come to a place, maybe, 28:47 "God, I don't have enough faith in this situation. 28:49 I don't have whatever." 28:51 Is it okay to ask, "God, I want more faith"? 28:52 Definitely. Definitely. 28:54 He's the only one. Right. 28:56 That's the bottom line. 28:57 He is the only one, and we are assured 29:00 that He hears us. 29:01 And so when He hears us, 29:03 can you imagine how this man must have felt 29:06 when his son leaped? 29:08 He would have been ecstatic. Right. 29:10 And so that was 29:12 a faith affirming, faith building. 29:13 It is. 29:14 And besides, I mean, you know, if you ask Him, 29:16 what's the worst He can say? 29:18 No. 29:19 So that's what my mother always said, "Just ask." 29:21 You know, 29:22 the worst you can do is get refused, 29:24 but He says in other places, you know, 29:28 "Ask for wisdom if anyone lacks." 29:30 So I believe there's a lot of things 29:32 that we need to ask for, 29:34 so faith is one of those things. 29:36 Just imagine if Jesus didn't do anything 29:38 and couldn't do anything, what would that do to that man? 29:41 There's a little quote here from Faith and Works that says, 29:44 "It is faith which works that you want." 29:47 So here it is. 29:49 He's saying, "The faith that works." 29:51 And he says, "How does it work?" 29:53 "It works by love." 29:55 What love? 29:57 Why, the love flashing from the cross of Calvary. 30:00 And so when we see that faith that works, 30:03 it not only strengthens us, 30:05 but all those that are around that are looking. 30:08 There's also Luke 17:5 30:09 talk to him to increase our faith where... 30:11 Let's look at that. 30:12 The disciples were asking Jesus... 30:15 Luke 17:5, that's a good one. 30:17 To increase their faith. 30:19 Yes. 30:20 And so if they can ask, we can. 30:22 Amen. 30:24 The only trouble is we should increase our faith, 30:25 God puts us through trials, so we have to exercise faith. 30:29 So if you really want faith, 30:30 ask, but expect that God may put you through a trial. 30:35 But Luke 17:5, 30:37 "The disciple said..." 30:38 And it says in there, 30:40 "The disciples said unto the Lord, 30:41 'Increase our faith.'" 30:43 And Jesus did. 30:45 He couldn't do it right away because of their unbelief, 30:48 but once He had risen from the dead, 30:51 He explained to them how He had fulfilled 30:53 all the prophecies in the Bible of the Messiah, 30:59 their faith was so strong, 31:01 they went out and worked miracles. 31:03 There's plenty of examples in the Book of Acts 31:05 where they healed and where they did... 31:07 I mean, it says even of Stephen, 31:09 he worked many mighty miracles because they had faith. 31:13 Jesus increased their faith. 31:15 So let's say we have then someone that's at home, 31:18 and they're sitting in their living room, 31:21 wherever you are, and you're saying, 31:22 "You know what, where do I start? 31:24 So I want my faith to grow, so I'm going to ask God, 31:27 but where do I start?" 31:28 How would one actually because we're in the part here 31:30 of growing faith, so where would you start? 31:33 Any thoughts on that? Prayer. 31:35 Prayer? 31:36 Because you have to ask for a start. 31:37 Good. I like that. 31:39 And I think you have to also ask God, 31:40 "Is there anything in my life 31:42 that is stopping me from growing in faith?" 31:46 Like the disciples, they had this problem 31:48 of who's going to be the greatest. 31:50 And that was actually stopping Jesus from growing their faith. 31:53 Well, if I was to start with having faith in you... 31:56 Okay, how do you do that? 31:57 Yeah because this is the part... 31:58 How would I do that? 32:00 Well, to me, it's pretty easy, I have to get to know you. 32:02 Amen. That's right. 32:03 And if you want to get to know and have faith in God, 32:06 you got to go to His Word, 32:07 and if you're not sure about that, 32:09 go and read in the New Testament, 32:10 get to know His Son 32:12 because His Son came to reveal His Father 32:14 so that you can have a greater faith. 32:16 Amen. That's right. 32:17 Yeah, I love that because that's key actually, 32:19 and you hit the nail right on the head 32:21 because it's a relationship absolutely, 32:23 and that is how we get to know each other, 32:24 how we get to build the trust and the faith. 32:26 If there's a chair that we're sitting in 32:29 and every time I sat in it, it collapsed, you know, 32:32 I get to know that that chair is untrustworthy. 32:34 Well, we've got one of those chairs 32:35 in our house I sit on and so now guest sits on it. 32:38 Thank you for the heads-up. 32:39 We'll keep that in mind. 32:41 My son, Daniel, sits on it and the back pops out, 32:43 John's got to fix it, but he hasn't done it. 32:44 But then you think about though, you know, 32:46 we've sat in these chairs for many a Family Worship, 32:48 and so, you know, I love that though, you know, 32:50 just with people with things that we're used to, 32:52 we're used to that, 32:54 we build the relationship, especially with people, 32:56 that's where we build a relationship, 32:57 and you get to know someone. 32:59 So reading God's Word, 33:00 and I think the gospels is a great place to start 33:02 'cause that introduces you to Jesus Christ, 33:05 and then that's then I think as you build that, 33:07 then your faith will grow. 33:09 Do you know what I've said to people 33:10 if they're wanting to learn about Jesus? 33:12 Read through the gospels, start from Matthew, 33:15 and every chapter, have a book 33:17 and write down what you learn about Jesus. 33:19 Okay, it's like a little journal. 33:20 Yeah, and so that you can build a picture of who Jesus is 33:23 and what He is like. 33:25 And that way, you grow to love Jesus 33:27 because you see what His character is like, 33:29 and by beholding, we become changed. 33:31 You become changed. 33:32 Good. Let's go for it. 33:34 I'm just going to say that's what it says 33:35 and how I've proved Him over and over. 33:38 So it's a good point. 33:39 Don't you think you gain relationship, 33:41 you grow in relationship with other people 33:43 based on how they respond to you? 33:45 At least to me, that's true, so if I say something to Tim, 33:49 and he's like, "What, Jill? Why'd you say that for?" 33:51 You better know next time, I might not say it, right? 33:53 You better know. That's right. 33:54 Be a little cautious. 33:56 But I mean, I'd be more cautious, 33:57 you'd be like, 33:58 "Oh, I'm not sure how he's going to respond? 34:00 Or maybe this time, it'll be anger 34:01 and maybe next time, it'll be friendly." 34:03 But if we go to Jesus, you know, 34:06 you'll find out who He is in His Word 34:08 that He's consistent, that He's always the same, 34:11 that He always reacts to us out of a heart of love. 34:15 Now sometimes that heart of love, 34:17 there might be a trial involved. 34:19 We're not saying that it's always 34:20 a cakewalk or easy, but at the same time, 34:23 He always responds to us the same. 34:25 And to me, that grows then my faith 34:28 and my trust in Him. 34:29 I love Romans 10:17, 34:31 "Faith comes by hearing 34:33 and hearing by the Word of God." 34:35 So if we want to grow our faith, 34:38 spend time in the Word of God. 34:40 It's like Rosemary said a while ago, 34:41 the disciples did not immediately get that faith. 34:45 And I think that's another thing 34:47 that we would need to tell people 34:49 that faith is not a magic, 34:51 you know, and immediate panacea, 34:54 and immediate cure to whatever... 34:56 Faith is a process almost, you know, the process may be, 35:00 you know, we have faith, immediate faith, 35:03 we trust because the Bible says, 35:06 did we already say that if you come unbelieving, 35:09 you know, if doubting, 35:11 don't think that you'll have 35:12 any result in your prayer. 35:17 I don't think 35:18 I really made any sense what I just said, 35:19 but if you understand what I said, say it. 35:21 No, I do. Yeah, absolutely, Tim. 35:23 But the fact that it is not an immediate cure, 35:26 that it's not what when kind of like 35:29 this going over that with the answer I want. 35:30 I am glad actually, Tim, that you hit on that 35:32 because a lot of times, 35:33 you hear people almost being shamed, 35:35 like "You know what, you didn't have enough faith, 35:36 that's why that didn't happened." 35:38 Yeah. 35:39 You know, and I honestly don't believe that's right. 35:40 I agree. 35:42 Because that comes to trusting 35:43 and having faith in the Creator, God, 35:45 that He knows what is best, 35:46 now it comes back to that relationship, okay? 35:48 "God, I prayed for this, this didn't happen, 35:50 and I've heard it where people say, 35:51 'You know what, you were not healed 35:53 because you didn't have enough faith.'" 35:54 Well, man, you talk about a guilt-trip on that. 35:56 And talk about judging. Oh, my goodness, yeah. 35:57 You don't know... 35:59 That's where it comes back to knowing God 36:00 and who God is and trusting that relationship works. 36:03 It sets people up for a fall. It does. 36:05 Right. 36:07 I remember, years ago, I heard about the little train, 36:10 the three Fs. 36:12 The engine is fact. F-A-C-T. 36:17 Okay, fact comes first, the engine comes first, 36:20 and then the coal car is faith. 36:23 Because of fact, you have end up with faith, 36:26 and the caboose at the end is feelings. 36:29 Feelings don't come first. They don't drive the engine. 36:32 They come last. 36:34 So you start with fact, the fact builds the faith, 36:37 and with the faith comes the feelings. 36:40 And the feelings should never come first. 36:42 Be the engine. 36:43 That shouldn't be the engine on the train. 36:45 Right. 36:46 So you build on the facts of the Bible, 36:48 and your faith comes right through what you learn. 36:51 I find that I have more and more faith in the Bible 36:54 as I spend more time in it and find how deep it is 36:58 and how everything fits together, 37:00 it makes so much sense. 37:03 It has to be real. 37:05 It has to be God's Word 37:07 because nothing that man could write 37:10 could be so deep and yet all fit together. 37:13 Right. 37:14 So the more you read the Bible, 37:16 the more your faith has to grow. 37:17 And that makes sense 37:19 whenever you're talking about feeling, 37:20 you wonder where the feelings even come in, but a lot of us, 37:24 we walk by faith, you know, 37:26 we're saying we're faithing it instead of faking it. 37:30 You faith it until you make it, and so it's important to, 37:34 you know, when you have that faith, then you say, 37:36 "Okay, well, Lord, I don't know this is going to happen, 37:39 but I just have faith." 37:40 And, you know, that's where the fact 37:43 of His Word gives us the faith, and then our feeling says, 37:48 "Okay, ready or not, I'm going to do this." 37:50 And then the feelings change, 37:52 and they come along based on the faith. 37:53 Sure. 37:55 I've had situations where something really bad 37:56 seems to be happening 37:58 and things seem to be going all topsy-turvy, 38:00 and I'm praying and praying, and sometimes I'm saying, 38:03 "Lord, I just praise You even in this situation. 38:06 I don't know why I'm praising You. 38:08 I don't know what to praise You about, 38:09 but I just praise You 38:11 because I know I should be praising You 38:14 even in the bad situation." 38:16 And it's amazing how I have seen 38:17 the situations end up as I praise God turning around 38:24 so that my faith is built stronger 38:27 because I think and it actually work 38:29 and turn a terrible situation 38:31 into something completely different going 38:33 at different direction to what it was. 38:34 So you can always know that if you rely and trust in God, 38:38 He's able to do more than you and I think. 38:41 And that's what we should be telling the people, 38:43 "God wants you to trust in Him and to have faith in Him 38:46 so that your strength will be through Him, 38:49 not through your own self." 38:50 Good point. Yes, yes. 38:51 So as much as we say prayer changes me, 38:54 faith also changes me. 38:56 Oh, definitely. That's good. 38:57 Yeah. Oh, wow, Tim, that's good. 38:58 Because in the Bible, 39:00 it talks about righteousness of faith, 39:02 righteousness which is of faith, 39:05 so obviously if you have faith, 39:07 it actually brings righteousness, 39:10 right doing, holiness, 39:12 being in the image of God, faith actually results in that. 39:16 That's correct. Amen. Amen. 39:17 It does. 39:18 And another way of growing... 39:20 Go ahead, sweetie. No, go ahead. 39:21 Whereas also in Luke... 39:22 Is it Luke 22:32, 39:26 but we have down as far as praying for others, 39:29 that also grows our faith, you know, 39:31 when we pray for others, it's easy, 39:32 I mean, it's terrible, you know, I have, 39:35 you know, so much selfishness, 39:36 but, you know, we tend to pray for things for myself 39:38 and, you know, or Jill and myself, 39:39 but to pray for others, it's a powerful thing too. 39:42 And I believe that also can grow our faith. 39:45 Luke 22:32, you want to read that, 39:47 baby, please. 39:49 Can I read 31 too? Yes. 39:51 This starts with, 39:52 "The Lord Jesus said, 'Simon, Simon! 39:54 Indeed Satan has asked for you, 39:57 that he may sift you as wheat.'" 39:58 That's probably all of us, right? 40:00 Of course. He wants each one. 40:02 And then verse 32, "But I have prayed for you, 40:06 that your faith should not fail, 40:09 and when you have returned to Me," 40:10 or when you are converted, 40:12 I think King James says, "strengthen your brethren." 40:15 And I think you were right, as we pray for others, 40:17 our faith is strengthened. 40:19 But you know what? 40:20 I think as other people pray for us, 40:23 that makes a difference in our faith 40:24 as well because, 40:25 you know, there is times maybe when your own faith is weak, 40:30 and we at 3ABN can stand in the gap for you 40:33 or a family member, 40:35 someone else can pray for you 40:37 that the powers of darkness be pushed back, 40:40 that Jesus come into your home and into your heart, 40:43 and we can pray for each other in that aspect 40:46 and that that faith would be strengthened 40:47 in brothers and sisters. 40:48 But when you know someone else is praying for you, 40:50 it actually strengthens you. 40:52 It does. It does. 40:53 And so it's wonderful what a blessing and joy 40:57 we have to be able to intercede for other people. 41:00 Amen. You know, that's a good point. 41:01 I was... 41:02 You know, we were talking about Camp Meeting earlier, 41:04 and I was rushing, there's a little hallway 41:05 that's right behind the stage at Camp Meeting. 41:07 I was kind of running in a hurry 41:08 because I was trying to get to something 41:10 that was happening and someone else 41:11 was passing in the hallway, and they just said, 41:14 "I'm praying for you." 41:15 And I didn't even get a chance to even stop 41:17 and even say anything to them, but it just kept ringing, 41:19 I mean, obviously, still I'm thinking about it, 41:22 but it was powerful. 41:23 I was a little stressed, and they just said, 41:25 "I'm praying for you." 41:26 You know, I passed them by, but those type of things, 41:28 it means a lot to know 41:29 that someone is actually praying for you. 41:31 You're right, Rosemary. 41:32 But there's another verse that goes, 41:34 it's similar to that one. 41:35 It's in John 17:20, 41:38 and it's in Jesus prayer to His Father 41:42 before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, 41:44 and I think it's very beautiful 41:46 because there he was praying for Peter, 41:48 but in this He says, 41:49 "Neither pray I for these alone," 41:51 speaking to God, His Father, 41:53 "but for them also which shall believe on Me 41:56 through their word." 41:58 He was praying for us. 41:59 Jesus prayed for us because we had believed 42:03 through the disciples were. 42:05 Isn't that powerful? Yeah. 42:07 I mean, just to know that 42:08 someone else is praying for you is incredible. 42:10 That Jesus is praying. I know, right? 42:11 To know that the Lord Jesus Christ, 42:14 to know the Creator of the universe, 42:17 He not only made us, 42:18 He not only redeemed us and bought us back, 42:20 but He's praying for us. 42:22 That's a touching thought, isn't it? 42:23 That's incredible. I really love that verse. 42:26 I think it's beautiful. It's very short but good. 42:28 I think when you know that people having difficulties 42:31 and you might meet them and say, 42:32 "You know, we're praying for you." 42:34 The impact of that is quite remarkable 42:37 because it's now thinking, 42:39 "Well, he's not thinking about himself, 42:40 he's thinking about you." 42:42 And that's what God wants to convey. 42:44 He's always thinking about you. 42:46 There's not a moment that He doesn't go by. 42:48 It's us that forget. 42:50 And I know as a man, 42:51 we try to solve all the problems ourselves, 42:53 but it is God that is able to do 42:56 abundantly more than we ask. 42:57 Amen. Amen. 43:00 Let's look at how trials help grow our faith. 43:04 Whoa! Now that's a big one. 43:06 That is a big one. 43:07 Ooh, maybe James, I know there's several, 43:10 but maybe we'll start with James. 43:12 James 1. Who wants trials? 43:17 I don't see anybody raising their hands. 43:19 There's no takers on that one though. 43:20 Sorry, Rosemary, next. 43:23 But trials are essential, 43:26 I mean, you know, if you think about it, 43:28 trials are essential in our Christian growth. 43:30 And to be honest with you, 43:32 whether you're Christian or not, 43:33 you're going to have issues. 43:34 So, people who don't name the name of Christ, 43:38 people who have not accepted Him 43:39 as their Savior, they're still going through difficulty, 43:42 but the difference is, as Christians, 43:44 when we walk through it, we don't walk alone, 43:47 so, I mean, no matter who you serve, 43:49 you're going to encounter difficulties. 43:51 So I want to encounter them with the Lord Jesus. 43:54 So do I. 43:56 James 1... 43:57 I'll have what she's having. Yeah, me too. 44:01 You have that, sweetie. 44:02 Oh, I'm sorry, just again, yeah, James 1, 44:05 you want 2, 3, 4, should read that? 44:06 Sure. 44:08 Okay, "My brethren, count it all joy 44:10 when you fall into divers temptations, 44:13 knowing this that the trying of your faith works patience, 44:17 but let patience have her perfect work, 44:19 that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. 44:23 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God 44:26 that giveth to all men liberally 44:28 and upbraideth not, and it should be given him." 44:31 Verse 6, "But let him ask in faith nothing wavering, 44:35 for he that waivereth is like the wave of the sea, 44:39 driven with the wind and tossed." 44:42 What's it say in Amplified? 44:43 Oh, yeah, I was wondering that too. 44:44 Yeah, well, it says a lot more than that. 44:47 Oh, yeah, let's hear it. 44:48 But the thing I like about it... 44:50 "Okay, I'll just read it. 44:51 "Consider it holy joyful, my brethren, 44:55 whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort 44:59 or fall into various temptation. 45:01 Be assured and understand that the trial 45:03 and proving of your faith bring out endurance 45:06 and steadfastness and patience." 45:09 So I'm just going to... 45:10 That's just verse 2 and 3. 45:11 So the fact that there's a reason for our faith, 45:16 it says the proving of your faith, 45:17 that means there's an obvious end to it, 45:20 a goal to faith in that, 45:23 and then it says let endurance and steadfastness 45:26 and patience have full play and do a thorough work 45:30 so that you may be people perfectly 45:32 and fully developed lacking into nothing. 45:35 In the Old Testament, there are many times 45:37 when it says that God was proving His people 45:40 and proving His people means, 45:42 they were going through difficulties, 45:44 but the difficulties are making the gold, 45:47 tried in the fire, 45:48 getting all the dross and everything, 45:49 it helps us to see ourselves. 45:51 It can be pretty ugly, but God helps us to see 45:55 who we really are and strengthens us, 45:59 and, yes, we do grow in patience 46:02 because you endure through the temptation. 46:06 There's another verse I like 46:07 that goes along with this whole thing. 46:09 In Philippians 1:12, 46:13 and it's Paul writing to the Philippians. 46:17 And it doesn't mention faith, 46:19 but it's to do with these things that happen to us. 46:22 He said, "But you should understand, 46:25 brethren, that the things which happened unto me," 46:28 and we know from Paul's epistles, 46:30 that he went through a multitude of terrible things. 46:32 Yeah, he did. 46:35 "The things that have happened to me have fallen out 46:37 rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." 46:40 So even though we may be going through trials, 46:44 it builds our faith but through those trials 46:47 and our testimony 46:50 and how people can see us enduring that, 46:53 God can be exalted, God can be glorified, 46:59 our faith is strengthened, but it builds faith in others, 47:02 the gospel is spread further 47:04 through what we endure as God is purifying us. 47:07 I like... 47:08 Oh, go ahead, sorry. 47:10 I was just going to say in verse 14, this says, 47:12 "And most of the brethren have derived fresh confidence 47:15 in the Lord because of my chains." 47:17 Well, what is confidence? 47:18 Faith. 47:19 Oh, yeah. I've got confidence. 47:21 God is going to see me through, okay, that's faith, 47:24 so that is very good. 47:26 Wow! 47:27 Yeah, that is good in verse 14. I really enjoyed that verse. 47:28 That is good. 47:30 No, I was going to go to 19, so I'm glad you did 14, 47:32 that was before 19. 47:34 It says, "For I know that this will turn out 47:35 for my deliverance through your prayer 47:37 in the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ," 47:39 It goes along with the same thing 47:41 that we've been discussing that this, 47:42 whatever this trial is, whatever this problem is 47:45 will turn out for my deliverance. 47:47 You know, and I think it's in King James, 47:48 for my salvation. 47:50 Doesn't it say 47:51 "for my salvation" in King James? 47:52 Yeah, amen. 47:54 And that's faith, and that's prayer. 47:56 I think to grow faith, you know, the Bible says, 47:58 "Faith without works is dead." 48:01 And so works play 48:03 a very pertinent part with faith. 48:07 And, you know, we're judged according to our work, 48:09 so how do we show our faith? 48:11 By our works. By our works. 48:12 Yes. 48:14 So it really is very important that people understand that 48:16 that's just as important as believing and trusting, 48:21 it's actually doing. 48:22 I'm thinking about the children of Israel, 48:24 getting ready to cross the Jordan into Canaan, 48:26 and remember, the River Jordan was flooding, 48:28 and the priests were carrying the ark 48:30 or wasn't until their what, their feet touched the water, 48:33 it opened up. 48:34 So, you know, that's the work, 48:36 they could have stood at the edge and say, 48:37 I don't know, this doesn't..." 48:39 But the priest in front, as soon as it touched, 48:41 you know, that's doing 48:42 and then the water split, so it's a good point. 48:44 That's sort of their works. 48:46 The verse I think maybe you were referencing, 48:48 I'm not sure if this is the one but James 2:19 and 20. 48:51 I'm not sure if that's the one, but it says, 48:53 "You believe there is one God, you do well, even the demons, 48:56 or the devils, believe in tremble." 48:58 Verse 20, James 2:20, "But do you want to know, 49:01 O foolish man, 49:03 that faith without works is dead?" 49:06 And if you think about, okay, 49:07 we're talking about having faith, 49:08 but this means you can have a dead faith. 49:10 That's right. Right. 49:11 So there's a dead form of faith, 49:13 so a dead faith, I think, is belief in God 49:15 without corresponding obedience. 49:18 You know, it's saying, "Okay, I believe in You, God, 49:21 but I'm not willing to walk in Your way." 49:23 Or, "I'm not willing to say yes 49:24 when You call me to do something or walking." 49:26 The righteousness of faith. 49:27 Yes. 49:29 So we can say we believe in God, we trust in Him, 49:32 but we don't really see that 49:34 until we actually take that step. 49:36 That's right. 49:38 And, you know, and that's one thing 49:39 that we see all around us with Christians. 49:42 Now I'm talking about Christians, 49:44 how do we know if someone's a Christian 49:46 and has faith in God? 49:48 By doing kind acts with a kindly heart 49:50 to other people because that's what Jesus did. 49:53 And that's a revelation of, I believe, 49:55 how faith is witnessed to others. 49:57 Yes. 49:58 You know, there's a story, 50:00 and you probably get fired for this, but I'm willing. 50:03 You know, but don't get nervous. 50:06 There's this story about the dear, 50:09 old saint who has... 50:11 You know, there was a bar in a tavern in her town, 50:15 and she just prayed and prayed 50:17 that God would close the doors on that, that place. 50:20 And it just never happened, 50:22 so she finally got a box of matches 50:25 and went down and burned the place down. 50:27 But sometimes they have principle. 50:29 There's a principle there. 50:30 Let's think about you, John. That's right. 50:32 So it was fictitious example, 50:34 but the fact is putting feet to our faith, 50:37 and that's why it's important to know 50:40 what you're praying for is God's will 50:43 and knowing that it's biblical, 50:45 knowing that it's, you know, not something just you want, 50:49 but it's something that God wants. 50:50 There's examples in the Bible, 50:53 and one is the woman who had the issue for 12 years. 50:56 She believed, she'd heard that Jesus could heal people. 50:59 She believed that she just touched the hem of His garment 51:02 she would be healed, so she did it. 51:04 She actually got up even though she was unclean, 51:08 and she went and touched the hem of His garment, 51:11 and she was healed because she had faith 51:12 to believe that that would happen. 51:14 Put feet to her faith. 51:16 That's good. Yeah, absolutely. 51:17 Yeah. Good. 51:19 We're already down to almost the end of Family Worship. 51:21 That's hard to believe, time has gone by quickly. 51:22 We should have closing prayer. 51:25 And, yeah, 51:28 I think in my own life, I think, I mean, 51:30 we can talk all day long, and I can share all day long, 51:34 but it's actually like you're saying, 51:36 I want to put feet to my faith 51:37 and actually trust God at His Word. 51:39 So, Brother John, do you mind to start? 51:40 We're just going round the circle. 51:42 Okay, thank you. 51:43 Father in heaven, we just pray for all those 51:44 that are watching this program that their faith 51:46 has been strengthened in knowing that God is the one 51:49 that works in and through us to develop this faith, 51:52 fill us with Your Holy Spirit, 51:53 I pray to accomplish this in Jesus' name. 51:57 Father in heaven, I just thank You 51:58 that we have Your Word, 52:00 that we can read Your Word 52:02 and spend time in studying Your Word, 52:04 asking the Holy Spirit to give us understanding 52:08 and through Your Word, we can get to know you better 52:10 and our faith can be strengthened, 52:13 but through trials, Father, 52:14 You purify us and teach us to trust You in all situations. 52:19 Please help the viewers who are going through 52:21 difficulties at this time, help them to trust, 52:25 help them to hold on to You, 52:27 in Jesus' name, I pray. 52:31 Father, God, I do want to thank You that You have... 52:33 I have seen with my own eyes the impossible made possible 52:38 because You have moved in situations 52:40 that I trusted You in. 52:43 I thank You that the gift of faith be... 52:47 I pray for those who are watching 52:49 that it would be made manifest in their lives. 52:51 Lord, that You would... 52:53 The faith would rise up 52:55 for whatever situation that any of us are going through. 52:58 Lord, help our unbelief, 53:01 help our doubt because it's so easy to fall 53:05 to what we see going on around us, 53:08 the situation must not overpower 53:11 what we know that the Word of God 53:13 is You've told us is true, 53:15 and so we're trusting in You, God, 53:18 and we have faith and belief, and we're grateful for that. 53:21 So we bless Your name. 53:24 Amen. Amen. 53:25 Father, as we continue in prayer, 53:27 we just thank You, 53:28 thank You that You love us with an everlasting love, 53:30 thank You that Your mercies are new every single day. 53:34 And we have the privilege of coming 53:35 into Your presence and asking 53:37 for Your righteous white robe to cover us, 53:41 and we just praise You for that. 53:43 Thank You for the blood of Jesus applied to our hearts. 53:46 Thank You for the gift of faith, 53:48 and that You have given 53:49 our brothers and sisters at home 53:50 and us here, each one of us got that gift. 53:54 And we just ask that You would grow it. 53:59 We give You permission to grow it in our hearts. 54:02 Lord, for our brothers and sisters at home, 54:05 those maybe who are trying to reach out 54:07 and hang on 54:08 and aren't even sure if they can, 54:09 we are praying for them right now, 54:12 asking in the name of Jesus 54:13 that You would come to them right now, 54:16 and that they would be able to look up 54:18 and fasten their eyes on You, 54:20 that they would be able to spend time in Your Word 54:23 and You would grow their faith in You. 54:26 And I thank You for what You've done, 54:27 and I thank You for what You're going to do. 54:31 Father in heaven, Lord, it's a privilege 54:33 and an honor to be able to 54:35 or encouragement to open Your Word and to... 54:40 Boy, just receive You into our lives. 54:42 Thank You that Your Word is quick and powerful, 54:46 and that it can do a change on each one of our lives. 54:48 Lord, I pray for those at home 54:50 that may be going through that fiery trial. 54:54 And at times, this may seem squeezed in, 54:56 like the Egyptians on one side of the mountains, the Red Sea, 54:59 and they just feel trapped, but, Lord, You have a way out. 55:03 And I just pray 55:04 that as they may feel squeezed, Lord, 55:08 that You would just open that Red Sea for them, 55:10 and that, Lord, that by faith, they would grasp Your hand 55:13 and walk on that journey with You. 55:16 I pray, Lord, in my own life that I would put feet to faith, 55:21 more than that I would just trust You, and, Lord, 55:25 realizing that as we build that relationship through You, 55:28 with You by reading Your Word, and getting to know You better, 55:32 Father, that our trust would continue to grow. 55:35 Lord, again, I thank You for Your love for us, 55:37 for the Sabbath, and, Lord, 55:38 for the special rest that You have promised, 55:41 in Jesus' name, we pray. 55:42 Amen. Amen. 55:43 Amen. 55:45 You know, I was just thinking about faith, 55:47 you know, even just this week, here, 55:49 you know, 3ABN is a faith-based ministry. 55:51 Yes, I was thinking the same thing. 55:52 Yeah, and I think you all too at 3ABN Australia, 55:55 and I was just thinking about 3ABN, 55:58 you know, Danny and God, 56:00 I believe started this ministry. 56:02 And, you know, you hear the stories 56:04 from long ago about how 56:05 Danny was getting like five gallon fuel cans 56:08 to put fuel into the bulldozer, 56:09 you know, that still happens here 56:11 at 3ABN now. 56:12 It may not be five gallons of fuel, but just this week, 56:15 this is just a miracle of God. 56:17 There are some regular expenses that need to be paid. 56:19 And do you know that God provided 56:22 the money one day 56:23 before we needed to pay the bills? 56:26 Praise the Lord. Don't tell me that's not God. 56:28 It's God. 56:29 God still is in the miracle working business, 56:32 and 3ABN is a faith-based ministry, 56:33 and it's so neat to see 56:35 how God is working in here at the ministry 56:38 but in your own life. 56:39 All of us can look in our own lives 56:40 if we just take notice I think, Tim. 56:42 Absolutely. And realize what He's doing. 56:43 He's doing marvelous things every day. 56:45 Amen. 56:47 We've all got things that we could testify. 56:48 That's right. 56:49 I mean, God has answered prayers. 56:51 I had a list of 3ABN faith stories, 56:52 but the reality of it is God does take care. 56:55 Amen. Amen. Isn't that a blessing? 56:56 Thank you so much. 56:58 I wish we had more time, 56:59 but, John and Rosemary and Tim, thank you for joining us. 57:01 Thanking for having us here. Very privileged. 57:03 And it's a privilege to have Family Worship 57:05 with you at home. 57:06 We thank you for joining us, taking time, sitting down, 57:09 opening up the Word of God, singing along with us, 57:12 know that we pray for you, that we love you here at 3ABN, 57:16 and that we know 57:17 that God has a plan for your life, 57:19 a plan to prosper you and not to harm you, 57:21 give you a future and a hope. 57:23 We'll see you again. Bye-bye. |
Revised 2018-08-02