Joyce Meyer - The Shield Of Faith (08/20/2019)
Joyce Meyer teaches on the shield of faith from Mark 11:22 and Ephesians 6, urging believers to constantly exercise faith beyond salvation—for freedom from guilt, provision, healing, stability in trials, and quenching the enemy's darts. Faith grows through use, works by love, is released through words and actions, and must be lifted actively, not lazily. Even when we don't receive what we want, true faith trusts God constantly, as seen in the heroes of Hebrews 11 who died believing without full manifestation here.
Have Faith in God Constantly – Mark 11:22
Well, Father, we thank you for the word today. Just appreciate you and letting us be here today. Thank you that we still have the freedom to do these kind of things in this nation. And I pray that we'll never lose those freedoms. Impact us with the word today, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Well, back to Mark 11, 22. We're going to talk today about the shield of faith. You know, we Christians talk about faith a lot, but it's one thing to believe in Jesus as your Savior. That's one thing that we exercise our faith for.
But then there's many other things that we need to release our faith for that maybe we're missing. Like, there's all kinds of people who believe in Jesus that live under condemnation all the time.
So if you really want to use your faith for something, why don't you really use your faith to live free from guilt and condemnation? I mean, if you believe when you ask God to forgive your sins, that He did forgive your sins, and He removed them as far as the East is from the West, then what's to still feel guilty about?
So I'm just trying to make the point that although we have faith and we say, well, I believe in Jesus, that's not where faith ends. From there on, we're supposed to learn to live by faith.
The just man shall live by faith. We're made right with God by faith. We're sanctified by faith. We're redeemed by faith. Our provision comes by faith.
Faith Beyond Salvation – Real-Life Examples
I went to church for many, many, many years, and I believed in Jesus, but that was pretty much the end of what I believed. I didn't even really know that I could believe God for other things.
I remember running into a woman in a store one day who was a clerk, and we got to talking. I found out she was a Christian. So I was just asking her questions about how the business was, and, you know, are you on commission? Do you get a salary? You know, we were just chatting.
And she said, well, things have not been very good. She said, I have a quota that I have to meet. And she said, honestly, I haven't been meeting it, and I'm kind of concerned that I'm going to lose my job.
I said, well, why don't you just pray for God to give you favor and cause people to wander over here into your department to shop?
Well, see, that was very normal to me because I had learned that I could exercise my faith for things like that. But she looked at me and said, well, she'd been a believer all of her life. She looked at me and said, well, you mean it would be okay to ask God for money?
So here she's a Christian. She goes to church all the time. She believes in Christ, but she did not know that she could exercise her faith for something as simple as provision or for God to move customers in her direction.
There is nothing that we cannot pray about, no need that we cannot lift up to God. I'm not saying we're going to get everything we want, but when it comes to our needs and our provision, we can release our faith.
But see, it has to be released. And sometimes, to be honest, we get a little bit lazy.
So today, we're going to have a few words for the lazy people. And I know nobody here today is lazy. I mean, my goodness, you got up and got here, so I can't say you were lazy. But maybe there's just somebody watching by television somewhere in the world. In Europe, in Africa, in India, in Australia, in America, and you're just a little lazy. It's just a little too much of an effort.
You know, let's take something simple like praying over our food. We better pray sincerely because there's a whole bunch of stuff in it that could kill us if we don't pray over it.
But what do we do? And I'm guilty too. Thank you, Lord, for this food. Blessing my body in Jesus' name. Amen. Or then sometimes, after we've eaten half of it, bless the Lord, oh, my soul and all that's already in me.
Well, you know, it's one thing to do it as an obligation or just a habit of something we do. But the faith is really not working unless we take a moment to sincerely pray.
Father, I'm praying over this food and I thank you for it. And I pray, God, that if there's anything in it that's harmful, that you won't let it harm me in Jesus' name. Amen.
So it's one thing to have faith. It's another thing to actually use your faith and exercise your faith.
The Shield of Faith – Lift It Up
So the Bible talks about the shield of faith. And in Mark 11, 22, which is kind of our foundation scripture, it simply says, have faith in God constantly.
And Jesus is replying, said to them, have faith in God constantly. I like that scripture. Not just once in a while. Not just occasionally. Not just until you're tired of waiting for your breakthrough. But have faith in God constantly.
Now, let's learn some facts about faith.
First of all, faith can grow. Let's look at 2 Thessalonians 1, 3. Faith can grow. But it only grows as we use it.
How many of you would like to have a greater muscle mass than what you have? Well, you know what? You can't pray that in. I mean, I don't care how much faith you got. You can get a whole group of faith-filled believers together. And they cannot pray muscle on you.
There's only one way you're going to get it, and that's effort. Amen? You have to use that muscle. And the more you use it, the muscle will start to grow. And then to get it to grow more, you have to lift heavier things or do harder things.
So why do we think that we go through something, and we finally get through that, and we're like, and then there's something even harder than the last thing. So, okay, we go through that, and then it's like, and then another thing.
Well, you know, by the time we get way up here, these things down here don't bother us at all anymore. Amen?
When I first started going to the gym and working out, I mean, I started with these little dog bone weights that weighed about three pounds, and I... Well, you know, now, 20 pounds or 25 pounds later, if I go back to something like that, it's like, well, this is nothing.
Well, see, some of the things that you're going through right now, as you continue to grow in faith, those things will be nothing. You won't even notice them.
Actually, it amazes me the things that I used to get upset about. I look back now and think, how dumb was that? To make myself miserable all day over something that ridiculous.
So, 2 Thessalonians 1, 3, your faith is growing and your love towards each other is increasing and abound.
So, Paul's saying, your faith is growing and your love is growing. Your faith is growing and your love is growing.
Do you know what? Faith doesn't grow without love. You say, well, what do you mean? Well, first of all, my understanding of how much God loves me, and your understanding of how much God loves you has to grow in order for your faith to grow.
The more that you believe that someone loves you, the more you're going to be willing to put your trust in them and put your confidence in them.
So, I would say, if you're having trouble with faith, maybe just kind of lay that lesson aside for a little bit and go study how much God loves you. Get rooted and grounded in His love, and then you'll come back and it won't be as hard to put your faith in Him.
We're supposed to receive the love of God, learn to love ourselves in a balanced way, love God, and then let that love flow through us to other people.
Galatians 5, 6 says, Faith works by love.
That's why in Mark 11, He says, When you pray, if you have anything against anyone, leave it, drop it, let it go, forgive him. Why? Because faith won't work without love.
If we're mad at somebody, we're angry at somebody, we're all stopped up inside, and that love can't flow through us, then our faith is not going to work either.
So He said, I'm grateful that your faith is growing, and your love toward one another is also increasing and abounds.
I think in the church in the last 25 years, we have paid a lot more attention to faith than we have love. I'm going to say that again. I think we've paid a lot more attention to faith than we have love.
Maybe I'll even say it a third time. I think we've paid a lot more attention to faith than we have love.
Why? Because we kind of learned where we could use our faith and get some things we wanted. But although God may have started to introduce us to faith by teaching us that, it's for a lot greater purpose than just to get your own way.
Yes, there are things that we can believe for that we want and need. But faith is primarily to be used to help us get through things and remain stable and strong no matter what is going on.
Do you know what God wants more than anything? He wants a whole worldwide church full of people out there shining like bright lights, making everybody else wonder, how in the world can you be the way you are with everything that's going on in the world?
More than anything, He wants us to be stable and walking in love and having peace and having joy. Simple little things.
Psalm 100, verse 2, serve the Lord with gladness.
So faith and love. Don't try to pay more attention to faith than you do love.
Faith Can Be Heard – Listen to Your Words
Faith also, another fact about faith, faith can be heard out of our mouth. 2 Corinthians 4, 13, I know this one's right because I looked it up this morning. It says, Yet we have the same spirit of faith as He had who wrote, I have believed and therefore have I spoken we too believe and therefore we speak.
If you really want to know how much faith you have or anybody else for that matter, listen to them. And especially listen in hard times. Especially listen when you're having to wait longer than you'd like to.
And especially listen when somebody else gets what you want and you don't have yours yet. And then especially listen when somebody mistreats you and God doesn't come along and vindicate you quite as quick as you'd like Him to.
Then we start finding out how much faith we really have.
Once again, I want to make a difference between this faith that we receive Christ through. We believe in Christ. We believe He died for us. We believe He's our only hope of salvation.
And if you don't, you certainly can get that settled right away by just inviting Christ into your life. Admit that you've been a sinner, that you want to turn away from sin. I'm sorry, God. Please come and live on the inside of me and save me. It's so simple that people miss it.
So there's that faith that we have. But then we're supposed to learn to live by that faith. To exercise that faith in every single area of our life. And that takes a little bit of concentration and a little bit of focus.
Faith Dispels Fear & Worry
Faith dispels fear and worry. Matthew 6.30 says, Don't worry about your provision. Each day has sufficient trouble of its own. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about yesterday. Exercise your faith each day. One day at a time.
You know, I have things just like you do. I've got a couple of situations right now that are going on that are a little bit tense in some areas where I'm responsible to take care of some situations that I don't even really know how I got into to start with.
But you know how that goes. It's one of those why me things. You know, why do I have to be doing this? But nonetheless, I'm in it and got to see it through.
So, you know, things are going messy and so you get up in the morning and you start to try to pray and then you start thinking, well, you know, what about this and that? And then just like you, I have to say, nope, I'm using my faith to live today. I'll have what I need tomorrow when tomorrow comes.
We all have to do it. But you see, it's something that you have to do on purpose. You purposely have to exercise your faith in those areas and learn how to talk to yourself if need be and remind yourself of scriptures like this, I don't have to worry about tomorrow.
Surely God loves me more than a bird and I've never seen a bird sitting on a branch having a breakdown because he didn't know where his next worm was coming from. I mean, could you, I mean, God says the birds are fed. There's nothing more beautiful than the flowers and God take care of them.
So we don't have to worry about God taking care of us either. But, although we don't have to worry about it, we do need to release our faith for it.
You see, this is where I think sometimes we get lazy. It's like a, oh yeah, God will take care of that. Have you prayed about it? Are you keeping your confession in line with what you say you believe?
Those are our areas to exercise our faith and if we do our part, God will never fail to do his part.
Jesus even told the disciples when they were fearful in the storm, if you had enough faith, you wouldn't be afraid of this storm. If you trusted me, why does God let us go through things?
Because faith grows through experience with God. My faith is so much stronger now than it was 36 years ago when I really entered into a serious relationship with God.
And I was a Christian a long time before I got serious. Hello? Come on, I'm talking to some of you watching me right now by TV. And don't turn the set off either.
I was a Christian a long time before I got serious. I had enough of God to keep me out of hell but not enough to cause me to walk in victory. Come on.
Don't just have enough of God to keep you from going to hell. Have enough to cause you to walk in victory so you can take somebody else to heaven with you.
Well, I'm sure glad that I pressed through and let God grow me up a little.
Just last night we had 1,102 people receive Christ. Just last night. I mean, I spent years as a not-so-serious Christian marching off to church every week and going back home and as far as I know nobody ever got saved because of my life.
But boy, once you get serious with God, once you really begin to exercise your faith to believe everything that He says, faith is a powerful force that can change many things in our life.
What Faith Does – Healing, Provision & More
Faith heals the sick. No matter how much medicine is available to us today and no matter how many medical treatments that we can get, let us not forget to first and foremost believe God to keep us healthy. Amen.
And if you're not familiar with God's desire to heal the sick, go read Matthew chapter 8, the first 17 verses and you'll see He was healing people every time He turned around.
But unbelief can keep God from being able to do what He wants to do. Let's look at Matthew 13, 58. And He did not do many works of power there because of their unbelief, their lack of faith in the divine mission of Jesus.
So God is working all the time but what He's doing is received through the hand of faith. We have to release our faith and say, God, I believe Your Word and I want to take that as my own.
So, some of the things that faith does. Faith receives provision. Faith saves us from sin. Faith can cause us to live completely free from guilt. Wow.
Faith fills us with the Holy Spirit. By faith we can believe that we are pleasing to God even in our imperfect state. faith purifies the heart. It sanctifies the person. It brings revelation. It justifies us. It gives us access into the presence of God.
By faith we're made right with God. Faith gives us security and confidence. It brings blessing. It brings hope. It produces good works. It edifies. It keeps us true to God. And it quenches all the fiery darts of the enemy.
But Ephesians 6 says lift up the shield of faith. It doesn't say drag it along with you. It doesn't even say just you know yep got my shield. Yes sir got that shield of faith. I'm a faith woman.
Yeah well are you lifting up the shield of faith when one of those fiery darts is here comes another lie. No I don't believe that. Here comes another attack. No I don't believe that.
Ephesians 6 16 I think I'll just leave that there for you guys to see. Ephesians 6 16 in the Amplified says lift up over all the covering shield of saving faith upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of
Faith can do us no good if we don't pick it up, lift it up, release it, let it go.
And how do we release our faith? Through praying, through saying, and through faith-filled, God-inspired action. Not just any kind of action, but faith-filled, God-inspired action.
What does the Bible say in James 1? Faith without works is dead. Not works of the flesh, but the works that God tells us to do.
So therefore, we see we cannot be lazy. Can I tell you, it's not enough to go to church and park your little bottom on a pew. I don't care, you can go four times a week.
And have somebody else who's put out all the effort and hasn't been lazy feed you the Word of God, spoon-feed you the Word of God, and then you march out and go back home and march back the next week to get another feeding.
That is not going to be enough. It's a beginning, but it's not enough. It's good, but it's not enough.
Well, what do you want me to do? Well, you can start by taking some notes or buying a recorded copy of the messages that you hear and then go home and study some more yourself.
Hearing somebody else tell you something is one level, but when you study, that information can become revelation to you.
Don't be the person all your life who needs to be ministered to. Come on, let me say it again. It's time for transition for some of you.
It's, you know, we want to minister to people, but don't be the person who all your life needs to be the one that's receiving the ministry. Be the one who's helping somebody else.
And not only that, I can say, I think we get to a certain point in receiving where we can't even receive anymore if we don't start giving out.
Faith without works is dead. Has no power. No power at all.
Faith should always come first before works, but we can't leave out the works. And that takes an effort, doesn't it?
How many of you know that doing the right thing takes an effort? Come on, don't just have enough faith to keep you out of hell. Have enough faith and start releasing it to walk in victory.
And to be a blessing to somebody else.
I don't even really think that we should get through one day without being able to say, I'm so glad, God, that you allowed me to be a blessing to so-and-so today. I was able to encourage. I was able to lift up. I was able to meet a need. I was able to share my faith with somebody.
Lazy Christians will never stay protected from the plots and plans of Satan. Lazy is a good word, isn't it?
2 Peter 1, verse 5. It says, employ every effort in exercising your faith. Employ every effort.
For this reason, adding your divine diligence to the divine... Adding your diligence to the divine promises.
So we have the promises of God. But he says, now employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue. Excellence. Resolution. Christian energy. And then he goes on to say some other things.
But my point is, is that you have to make an effort. To exercise your faith.
Hope is a good thing. But if hope is just kind of like, I wish... Hope is a very close relative of faith. And I don't think you can have faith without hope. Because hope is a positive expectation that something good is going to happen.
So you have to have that before you're even going to release your faith. But a lot of people don't have any of that. They just wish. I wish I had.
We don't need wishbone. We need backbone. We need to be able to stand up and say, I'm going to do my part through the power of God.
Get up every morning and take 10, 15 minutes. To thank God for what he's doing. And to praise him. And to release your faith. For what you know you need that day. And what may come up that you don't even know that you need.
And release your faith to get out in public and act like a Christian. Spend time in the presence of God. And ask to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
I love Ephesians 3 that says, Paul prayed that they would be filled in their inner man. That the Holy Spirit would indwell their innermost being and personality.
I don't know about you, but I know some folks could use a good shot of the Holy Ghost in their personality.
We need to live ready. We need to live full up with the power of God. Full up on the Word of God. Our faith needs to be sharp. And we need to have up that shield of faith. Be ready all the time.
If you thought Jesus was coming back next Friday. Man, would you be busy and active in this next week.
Matthew chapter 25 is one of the best chapters in the Bible, I think, to read. If you get a lazy spell. And you want to get jolted out of it.
Now, you know, some of you don't have a problem at all with laziness. But you'll just have to bear with me because many other people do.
And you know, you might be a hard worker. Physically a hard worker. And think, well, I'm not lazy. But I'm asking you, are you spiritually lazy?
There's a difference in being lazy about doing your work. And lazy about exercising your faith. Or lazy about the things of God that you need to attend to.
Waiting on God is not a fleshly activity. But it is, you're spiritually active when you're waiting on God. I'm trusting you, God. I'm waiting on you. I'm exercising my faith. I don't want to move in the flesh here. I trust you.
Parable of the Ten Virgins – Live Ready
Matthew 25, verse 1. Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish and five were wise.
When the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any extra oil with them. The lazy Christian won't do anything extra. Come on now, those of you laying in bed right now watching me. You know, you didn't even get out of bed. You already had it set on the right station and you were sleepy, still in your eyes. You got that remote and went... Sure hope Joyce has got a good word for me today. Come on. I know. Well, I am happy, happy, happy, so happy to do it. If it will finally get you out of bed... And motivated to start exercising your faith... To be the kind of person that God wants you to be... So you can make a difference in somebody else's life.
Somebody help me so I can help you, and I want to help you so you can help somebody else. We're not supposed to just take everything in and do nothing.
You got a war against laziness. Do the extra. Might be a little harder to find the scripture yourself than to call a friend and ask them where it's at. Come on, you're laughing too much. There's something wrong with this. When you laugh that much, I get concerned.
You know what? If you find out where it's at, you won't forget the next time.
But the wise took flasks of oil along with them, and also they had their lamps that had oil in them.
When the bridegroom... While the bridegroom lingered and was slow in coming, they all began nodding their heads. We all get tired of waiting. And they fell asleep.
But at midnight, there was a shout, Behold the bridegroom, go out to meet him.
Then all those virgins got up and put their own lamps in order, and the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.
I can just hear them right now. Sister? I'm out of oil. Can I have some of yours? Can I have some of yours?
But the wise said, There won't be enough for us and for you. Go to the dealers and buy for yourselves.
And while they were going to do what they should have done a long time ago, the bridegroom came and they missed out on the whole thing. Hallelujah.
Look at verse 13. Watch, therefore, give strict attention, be cautious and, uh-oh, active. For you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man will come.
We need to live ready. We need to live full up with the power of God. Full up on the Word of God. Our faith needs to be sharp, and we need to have up that shield of faith. Be ready all the time.
Now, if you thought Jesus was coming back next Friday, man, would you be busy and active in this next week. Come on, just think about the things that you'll probably do this next week that you wouldn't do if you thought Jesus was coming back in a week.
Oh, I'm making everybody nervous, isn't I? We have to live ready. You know, I know different people have kind of bent in different directions, and I'm not one who's given much to being overly concerned about when Jesus is coming back.
I don't get into all the post-trib, pre-trib, mid-trib. Are we going to be here for the tribulation? Aren't we going to be? When is Jesus coming, you know?
I believe we should know the signs of the times, and they're everywhere. So, whenever He's going to come, we're a lot closer to it now than we were a while ago. And every day we live, we're getting closer.
But I just believe we should live ready. I don't think we should have to get ready. I think we need to live ready.
If you walk in your authority and know who you are in Christ at all times, then when the devil comes after you, you don't have to get all in a dither trying to take authority. I take authority over you. You're not going to do this to me.
You know what I found out? If you just walk in love, He can't touch you. He can come against you, but He's not going to win. I mean, stirred up, on fire, hot with love.
1 Timothy 6.12 says we've got to fight the good fight of faith. Faith is a fight sometimes.
1 John 5.4 For whatever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Faith When You Don't Get What You Want
Now, we're going to go somewhere that I've never tried to go in a meeting. So we'll see what happens. Because I want to try to teach you today that although we can use our faith to get the things that we want and need, what are you supposed to do when you don't get what you want?
Have faith in God constantly.
It's our faith that pleases God. And if we want to be pleasing to God, then we have to learn to just stay in faith. No matter how long it takes. No matter what it looks like. No matter how it feels. If it's fair. If it's not fair. If it seems just or unjust. If God vindicates us in two days. If it takes Him 20 years.
Come on. My father sexually abused me and it was 55 years. before I saw the vindication. But I eventually got to lead my dad to the Lord and I baptized him. Didn't happen quickly. But it happened.
And you know what? Even if he would have never received Christ, my position was to still be believing even when he died.
The only thing that can end faith is manifestation. Come on now.
So it's interesting that in the Bible we have what's called the Faith Hall of Fame. And I've been reading this the last couple of days and I'll have to tell you that I am just absolutely amazed. All over again.
You say, well, why have you never gone through this in a meeting? You say, well, why have you never gone through this in a meeting? Because... Because... Ushers, lock the doors. Because...
Not one of these people who are here in the Hero's Hall of Faith got what they were believing for.
Now, I mean, I don't expect you to clap and cheer. So just, you don't need to. But they died still believing. And the Bible says that they obtained a good report. And they're our example today.
And not only that, the Bible says that they were sustained and controlled by their faith. I love that.
Can I tell you something? And if you've had enough experience with God, you'll agree with me. So, if you have had enough experience with God, then I want you to say a hearty amen when I say this.
Yes, getting what we want is the coolest thing. But... That's not where I wanted the amen. But to be honest, even if you're not getting what you want and you have real faith, to you, you're just as happy as if you had it.
And I've just come to the conclusion that if I don't share this, not only with you and with all the people that are watching from around the world by TV, then I'm not doing you a favor because I am not going to sit here and tell you that if you exercise your faith that you are going to get everything you want in life.
I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you that because I don't believe that the Bible says that.
Because there are times when we pray amiss. James 4 says, you have not because you ask not. Or you do ask and you don't receive because you're asking with a wrong purpose and an evil, selfish motive. Or you ask amiss.
Just because we want it doesn't necessarily mean that it's in God's plan for us to have it right now or maybe not ever.
But I'll tell you one thing and you listen to me. If you really know God, if you really know who He is and you know His character and you really know that God loves you, then even if you don't get what you want, you will trust God that He has something better in mind.
Now this is when faith gets good. God, if you don't give it to me, then you've got something better in mind and I'm just not smart enough to know how to ask for it.
Can we move over into that kind of faith today? Where we're not just trusting God for something, but we're going to say, I'm going to trust you all the way through. I'm going to die believing.
I am going to trust you, God, that you're good and everything in my life will work out good if I keep my confidence in you.
Can we trust God for that today? I want you to come into a new level of peace and joy.
And I tell you, when you start living in that kind of faith, I'm not saying that it doesn't hurt when we don't get what we want. But trusting God, really trusting God, gives you so much peace.
But Joyce, it's not fair. It's not right. Trust God. Trust Him.
God, if it's taking longer than I thought, then there's something that you're doing that I don't understand and know about. God's ways are greater than our ways.
So now, Hebrews 11. Now, faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of the things we hope for. Being the proof of the things we don't see and the conviction of their reality. Faith perceiving as real fact what is not yet revealed to the senses.
So get that. Faith makes it real to us in the spirit even though we don't have it in the natural.
Verse 4. Prompted by faith, Abel brought God a better and a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. So, faith can cause you to give your very best. Where fear will cause you to hold back the best and give what you're comfortable with.
verse 5. Because of faith, Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven. The Bible says that Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. I bet that was exciting. Where did Enoch go?
Verse 6. Without faith, it's impossible to please God. But those who come to him must believe that he is and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. God is good.
Prompted by faith. Now, I want to just call your attention to the fact that these were people. Prompted by faith, Noah, being forewarned by God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his family.
God told him about a flood that was coming and you have to understand they didn't know what rain was. And it took him a hundred years to build the ark. And everybody thought he was stark raving mad.
Now, come just... You ain't thinking. Think with me. We can't even hardly get through lunch at work if we're being made fun of and not part of the group.
Well, I know I probably shouldn't sit there and listen to the dirty jokes, but, you know, it's just lonely. Oh, don't you sit there and look like that.
He was laughed at and made fun of for a hundred years. And he did it how? By faith. I trust you, God. I trust you. I trust you.
Hey, listen. When I stepped out to do what I'm doing, back in 1976, I lost all my friends, got asked to leave my church. Everybody thought I was stark raving mad. You think you're going to do what?
And half the time, I thought I was stark raving mad. But I'm still here. Amen?
And Noah built the ark by faith. And he didn't drown.
Urged on by faith. Verse 8, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went to a place where he was destined to go, even though he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go.
I love that. Think about this. Abraham had a family, had a home, had a tent, had cattle. And God said, I can't do what I want to do with you here. You're going to have to leave this place and go somewhere else.
Okay, God, where do you want me to go? Well, you pack up everything and start moving and then I'll tell you.
Come on, I mean, do we really think that that was just like, oh, okay. Sure, no problem.
Why did God have to do that? Maybe something that Abraham didn't even understand at the time. A lot of times when God asks us to do something, we don't understand. It's like, why would you want me to do that?
Why couldn't I have went in ministry and had everybody clap and cheer for me? I mean, after all, I was just being a sweet little girl trying to do the right thing and I lost all my friends and got kicked out of my church.
What I got for coming up higher with God was loneliness and rejection. But it put me in a place where I got to know God really well. Because I didn't have anybody else.
A lot of Abraham's family, if you study history, were idol worshipers and what God wanted to do with him, he couldn't do unless he got him out of there.
Go to a place that I will show you. So he went.
Prompted by faith, he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise of God even though he was a stranger in a strange country.
Verse 10, for he was waiting expectantly and confidently. He was waiting what? With faith. He was waiting with faith.
I'm so sick and tired of waiting on God. Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. When God, when. Why is nothing happening to me?
But if we wait with faith and wait confidently we can say I don't care what I see or feel I believe that God is working. I believe that God is working.
Sarah, verse 11, who'd already had the change of life and was wrinkled everywhere you could be wrinkled says that she received physical power by faith to give birth to a child. Wow.
Verse 13 These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith but not having received the tangible fulfillment of God's promise.
You say well wait a minute Sarah did have a child. Yes she did but they were believing for something far beyond that. They were looking forward to the Messiah that we now trust and enjoy. They were looking forward to going into that promised land and they traveled all their life to get there and never entered in but they died in faith and now they're in the hall of fame and you know I'm not going to have time to do this justice so I may have to go at it again some other time but if you go over to the next page verse 17
By faith, Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up his child as a sacrifice because he believed that even if God let him kill Isaac, that God was able to raise him from the dead.
Abraham had so much faith, he said, death can't even stop God. Death can't even stop him.
Prompted by faith, verse 21, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons.
Verse 22, actuated by faith, Joseph, when nearing the end of his life, referred back to the promise of God, how the Israelites came out of Egypt and headed for the promised land, and he gave instructions concerning his bones.
He said, you take my bones with you when you go, because dead or alive, I'm going to end up in the promised land. Come on, is anybody hearing me today?
What do we have to be afraid of? Even if we don't get everything here, we're going to be here at the... Let's say you live to be old, a hundred years, and then you've got eternity having everything you could possibly ever want. No more crying, no more tears, no more sadness, no more night. God himself will be our son, we will know him even as he knows us.
And you know what you won't need in heaven? Faith. Because you'll have it all.
Stay with me.
When Moses was born, and they were killing all the children, his mother had enough faith to say, I'm going to hide him and send him off on the water and just trust God.
And you know the story. Pharaoh's sister found him and raised him as her own son, which was exactly what God wanted, because it put Moses in exactly the position he needed to be in.
Moses, when he was grown and he saw the oppression of his people, the Bible says in chapter 25, I love this, because he, I mean in verse 25, because he preferred to share the oppression, the suffering, and the hardships, and to bear the shame of the people of God, rather than to have a fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life, he walked away from that great position.
He did that by faith. Sometimes you've got to go into things by faith, sometimes you've got to walk away from things by faith. Is anybody listening today?
And on and on it goes. Motivated by faith, he left Egypt. Verse 28, by simple faith and confidence in God, he instituted the Passover.
Urged on by faith, verse 29, the people crossed the Red Sea.
I wonder how Moses felt when the Red Sea was in front of him and the Egyptian army was behind him and God said, go forward.
Excuse me, God. Are you not seeing what I'm seeing here? Come on, sometimes you've got to put your toe in before the water parts.
You're not hearing me. Maybe you've got to get a little more committed than what you might be now.
And this thing just goes on and on and on and on.
Verse 32, I'm just about done. And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the other prophets who by the help of faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouth of lions, extinguished the power of raging fire.
Verse 39, it says it again, and all of these, though they won divine approval by means of their faith, did not receive a fulfillment of everything that had been promised them.
Now I know some of you are thinking, well, this is kind of a bummer. It's exactly why I've never bothered to share the whole thing in a meeting. Because even as a preacher, I'm not too thrilled about everybody going.
So why are you doing it? Because I want you to know that faith is not just to get what you want. Faith is to take you through the times when you don't get what you want.
And let me tell you something. God will always take care of you. We may not get every single solitary thing that we want, but God will always take care of you. He will take care of you.
And they didn't understand why they didn't get the fulfillment. But verse 40 says, because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us so that they, these heroes and heroines of faith, should not come to perfection apart from us before we could join them.
So God actually asked them to make the sacrifice to keep trusting Him and not see the fulfillment of their dreams so He could leave the door of grace open for us Gentiles to be gathered in. And we can all march in together when Jesus comes back. Amen.