Faith.

Steve Gentry

[0:08] Go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. If this is your first time here, my [0:13] name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. And as always, I am thankful [0:17] and grateful to see each and every one of you. When you came in, you might have noticed [0:23] that on the seats around you, there were envelopes with cards in them. Now, last Sunday, [0:30] we kind of unfolded what this is for. There are some changes that we desire to make for [0:36] our building to expand our capacity. But more than expanding our capacity, what it really

[0:42] is is to make some certain elements of our building more user-friendly, where bathrooms [0:46] are concerned, where the foyer space is concerned, where handicapped parking is concerned, to [0:52] kind of expand and make those a little more user-friendly so that people who don’t know [0:57] Jesus can come and hear about Jesus, they can become followers of Jesus. And so what [1:02] we’re doing is we’re asking you to partner with us, to commit with us, to kind of sacrificing [1:09] so that we can steward our finances as a church well, and to help us raise $100,000

[1:15] for the renovations that we need, really, to do to our building and some of the grounds [1:20] around our building as well. And we believe that we more than have the capabilities to [1:26] do this. As one of my mentors, Dr. Towns, used to say, God has all the money, you just [1:31] have to know where to find it. And we found it. So what we’re asking you to do is to [1:38] really pledge a commitment to this is what I will give one time, or this is what we as [1:45] a family or as an individual will give over a period of time. And we are asking you to

[1:50] go above and beyond your normal giving here as a part or as a family member at Village [1:58] Church. And so what we’re trying to do is gauge really over the next six months what [2:02] we’re going to be able to do. And that’s why we’re asking for a commitment so that [2:06] we can see. Now, some of you are going to be able to say right now, hey, I know exactly [2:11] how much we can give, I know exactly what we can do, and so here’s what we’re going [2:15] to do. For some of you, maybe this is just a shocker to you, you didn’t know we were

[2:20] doing this, and so you need a little more time to really think about this, to pray [2:24] about this, to look at your finances, to see where you can make sacrifices or where you [2:30] have abundance that you desire to share. And we understand that. And so please take that [2:34] card with you and with your family, please pray over that, and really just return that [2:38] to us by the end of the year. But if you can get that to us before that, that would be [2:43] abundantly helpful for our purposes of really planning the next few months and

[2:49] stewarding what God has given us. So if you can turn that in today, fill that out, and [2:54] then a little later the offering baskets will go by, and slip that into the offering [2:57] basket, and if you want to go ahead and slip a lot of money in there, that would be [3:01] helpful as well. But if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to Hebrews, chapter 11. [3:08] We’re going to be talking about faith this morning. And so if you’re kind of coming [3:14] into this series a little bit late, what this series is, is an explanation as to what it

[3:20] looks like and the order by which things happen as you become a follower of Jesus, or really [3:26] for our culture, as you become a Christian. And we started with our need for God to do [3:34] the work in our lives. That it isn’t something that God desires for us to do as much as [3:40] it is that God desires to do for us. That we, apart from the work of God, are spiritually [3:47] dead. And because of that, we need for God to intervene and give us spiritual life. Jesus [3:54] in John chapter 3 called it being born again to new life in Christ. And then last week

[4:01] we began to look at just what is conversion. And that is where God, after giving us spiritual [4:07] life, turns us from a life of living in sin apart from Him, to really converting to what [4:15] it looks like to follow Jesus Christ. And so this week and next week, I want to talk [4:20] about the two necessary elements of being, becoming, and living as a follower of Jesus [4:28] Christ. And those two things are faith and repentance. Now the interesting thing about [4:33] faith and repentance is that these are two things that while we’re going to talk about

[4:37] them in two separate weeks, they’re in many ways inseparable elements of what it means [4:44] to be a follower of Jesus Christ. That if you have faith, you will repent of your sins. [4:50] And if you repent of your sins, it’s because you’re turning to faith in Jesus Christ. But [4:55] in the scriptures for the most part, whenever the call to salvation goes out, it is these [5:02] two elements of believe in the name of Jesus Christ and repent of your sins. And so today [5:09] we’re going to talk about that belief part, because it’s really the same root word in

[5:14] the New Testament for believe and faith. But quite often that aspect of what it means to [5:21] often misunderstood by people. Here’s what the author of Hebrews labels it as. As he [5:28] writes what I think is one of the most helpful places in understanding faith. Starting in [5:32] Hebrews 11.1, it says this, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction [5:39] of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith, [5:46] we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was

[5:53] not made out of things that are visible. You see, throughout my life, I’ve heard faith [6:00] described in many, many ways. Some ways really helpful. Some ways really not helpful. I mean, [6:08] sometimes people have described faith and they have said, you know, faith is like a [6:12] force. That if you will just believe enough, it will change things. It will move people. [6:18] It will move things. You can just name things and claim things and you will have them. [6:24] And to that my response is that’s Star Wars. That’s X-Men. That ain’t faith. All right.

[6:30] That is not what faith is. There are so many things you could believe and you ain’t going [6:34] to do nothing because you ain’t God. That just isn’t the way that faith works. I have [6:39] heard faith described as just a simple agreement that there is a power beyond you, that there [6:46] is something outside of this world. There is a being above that is moving and making [6:52] things happen. There’s the man upstairs. And what I would say, that’s like beginning to [6:57] till the soil of faith, but that is not a helpful faith.

[7:02] Have you ever had somebody come to you at a very difficult time in your life or a time [7:08] when you’re kind of just thinking, man, can I make it through this? Can I endure through [7:13] this event or this activity in my life? And people come to you and say, you just got [7:18] to have faith. In was always my question. Like, can you complete the sentence? Because [7:29] faith is nothing. It is meaningless. Faith in and of itself has no power. Faith is not [7:39] a thing. There must be an object in whom that faith goes to who actually has power to change

[7:47] things, who actually has an ability to do something with that faith. [7:54] It’s a Christianity. If you want to understand what Christian faith is, it is faith in the [8:02] one true God. And he must be everything that he says he is. He must be able to do everything [8:10] that he says he has done. And he must be able to keep every promise that he says he can [8:15] keep for our faith to be legitimate, for our faith to have any meaning and for our faith [8:22] to have any ability to change our lives and then through changing our lives, change the

[8:29] atmosphere and the environments around which we live to accomplish any real thing in our [8:36] lives. But there’s good news is that there is a God and he’s not just out there. He [8:43] has intervened into creation and he has made himself known. And that is why number one [8:49] this morning, we must begin by understanding that faith. If I get it on screen. It’s the [8:57] third time, man. Sometimes I’ll forget. Faith is believing God is who he says he is. Faith [9:04] is believing God is who he says he is. In Genesis chapter one, what we read there is

[9:12] that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Did you realize that the very [9:18] beginning of the narrative of scripture, that very verse is in the place that it is [9:25] because it is setting the environment through which everything through to the book of [9:29] Revelation is going to flow out of that. It’s telling us something vital that everything [9:35] of scripture is going to be based on in the beginning. God and that’s a vital aspect for [9:42] you to understand. God is there is a God. He is there and he has not been silent. There’s

[9:55] something that we call a Christian worldview and it really emerges out of what Genesis [10:01] one is talking about, that there is a God and he has not been silent. You see, there [10:06] are three words that everything fundamentally for faith in God must flow out of in everything [10:14] that it is built upon and it is the reality that God has spoken. You see, nowhere in [10:22] scripture do you find God saying, I hope you can find me. Good luck. No, that is not how [10:30] God treats his creation, but sometimes that is how we treat God and we do that in the

[10:38] face of everything that God has done to make himself wildly apparent, not just in this [10:44] world, but in our lives. God has spoken and this is a fundamental element for what it [10:53] a human being because we were designed to be a people who have faith in that creator [11:01] God because in that first verse, he not only tells us who he is, but he tells us of his [11:08] capabilities. He knows in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now that’s [11:17] an accomplishment. That’s power. It’s letting us know that the fundamental reality, the

[11:24] foundation upon which everything in this world exists is the fact that there is a God who [11:32] is powerful enough to make everything that is around us exist. Now the question that [11:42] you have to ask yourself in that monumental truth is that is your life lived through [11:50] the lens of what that text tells us about God? And what I mean by that is, is that [11:57] if God has done everything that God says he has done, if he is who he says he is, he’s [12:04] there, he’s powerful, he’s able, he’s not silent, he wants to be known to the extent

[12:11] that he has done everything that ever needs to be done to know who he is. Are you basing [12:19] your life on that foundation? And what I mean by that is, is how do you make your decisions? [12:26] Now for some of you, the biggest decision that you’re thinking about right now is what [12:29] meal comes after this, right? And you’re like, what am I going to do for lunch? And that’s [12:34] not the one I’m talking about, even though at a foundational level, that one is involved [12:37] too. I’m talking about the big decisions of your life. I’m talking about the decisions

[12:43] that are so big that they really impact everything that comes after that decision. The types [12:51] of decisions like what kind of career am I going to have? What type of education am I [12:56] going to commit myself to? Am I going to have kids? How many kids am I going to have? What [13:05] am I going to do to support my family? What am I going to live in and where am I going [13:10] to live? I’m talking about the big decisions of life to the extent of what is your career [13:17] going to be. I mean, these are the decisions that are really going to define for the most

[13:22] part what type of person you become and what type of margin you have in your life and what [13:28] you will be remembered for. And even people who will claim to be people of faith, even [13:35] in Jesus Christ, will go about making those decisions without ever considering the impact [13:43] of God has spoken on those decisions. If you make all of the big decisions of your life [13:54] apart from the reality that he is there, he has not been silent, he is not uninvolved, [14:03] but instead speaks into our existence of not only that he is there, but even to the extent

[14:09] of what his name is. And you make the big decisions of your life apart from that, then [14:15] I want you to understand friend, you may be basing your life on something, but you are [14:19] not basing your life on Christianity. You may call yourself a Christian, but if you [14:25] don’t involve God on those types of decisions, then you are not living as a Christian. That [14:31] if the fundamental element of what it means to be a person flows out of the reality that [14:38] God has spoken, then everything that flows out of your life must flow out with that

[14:46] important consideration. You see there are so many arguments for the existence of God [14:55] that I am not going to spend a bunch of time on them. Because I no more feel like it is [15:02] vital for me to prove to you that there is a God, than I feel it is vital for me to prove [15:08] to you that under my feet is a wooden stage. I just submit to you that God is, and more [15:15] than proving that he is, I would like to just introduce you to him today. Because that is [15:22] the vital reality that you must deal with. That he has not just said, I am here, he

[15:28] said, here is who I am. Here is what my personality is like. In Romans chapter 1, the text tells [15:34] us that God has been so specific as to the fact that he is there, that creation itself [15:41] and everything that we look at holds us accountable to the fact that he is a God that we must [15:48] submit to. He is, and he has not been silent. Our reaction to that vital element determines [15:57] all of our lives. Look at Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8. If you look at what Hebrews 11 [16:03] really is, and when I was growing up, it was said that this is faith’s hall of fame. What

[16:10] he begins to do in Hebrews 11 is give us narrative after narrative, example after example, of [16:16] what faith really caused in the lives of what we often refer to as the Old Testament saints. [16:24] What he begins to tell us about Abraham is that God inserted himself into the narrative [16:31] of people’s stories and changed their lives from that point forward. You see, God has [16:38] not been far off from anyone, but instead he has been right there every step of the [16:42] way. In the life of Abraham, God intervenes and he introduces himself to Abraham. He

[16:47] says, Abraham, I am God. More than that, Abraham, there are some things that I am going to [16:53] require of you in your life. Everything after this moment must change and it must be built [17:00] on the fact that I am here, I am involved, and I have things that I want you to do. [17:06] And what is interesting is that Abraham does not seem to respond the way that quite often [17:12] we respond when we claim to have these great moments of faith. You see, Abraham does not [17:19] go to Sarah, his wife, and say, Sarah, a very interesting thing happened to me today. I

[17:26] met God. Isn’t that something? He is out there and he wants a few things from me and he wants [17:33] me to organize my life around him. And as that becomes clear to me how that is going [17:39] to work out in my favor, I will respond. But until then, let’s go back to business as [17:45] usual. That is not what Abraham does. From the moment that Abraham meets God, his life [17:51] is never the same. God comes to him and he demands one thing from Abraham. God demands [17:58] faith. But when Abraham exhibited that faith, nothing was ever the same. God looks to Abraham

[18:06] and he says, Abraham, I want you to go to a land that I am going to give you and your [18:11] ancestors and I want you to take everything that you have ever defined your life by and [18:17] if it holds you back from that, you leave it behind, but everything else you take. And [18:21] you know what Abraham does? He does it. God doesn’t even give him Google Maps. God doesn’t [18:31] even tell him where he’s going to end up. God just says, believe that I have a plan, [18:39] go according to your trust in me. You see, quite often the problem with most of our journey

[18:45] of faith is that we try to hold God accountable to our standards and we want God to give [18:52] us all of the information that only he can be trusted with. So we look to God and we [18:57] will in our subconscious say things kind of like, God, I will go if you will tell me the [19:04] specific coordinates as to where I’m going to end up. If you will tell me every turn [19:10] I’m going to have to make along that journey. If you will ensure to me that I’m not going [19:16] to experience any discomfort. If you will ensure to me that I’m going to be able to

[19:21] hold on to everything that I’ve ever held on to. If you will ensure to me there will [19:25] be no pain, there will be no confusion, there will be no moments of doubt, there will be [19:29] no moments of struggle, there will be no moments where I’m so confused that I’m questioning [19:34] why I got into it in the first place. To where God says, you cannot be trusted because if [19:41] I tell you everything that will happen, you will not go. But what you don’t understand [19:46] is that all the moments of confusion, all the moments of pain, all the moments of suffering,

[19:50] all of the moments where you’re questioning why you followed God in the first place, God [19:55] is going to use those moments to build your faith in him. And apart from those moments, [20:03] you will not grow in your faith. See, the interesting thing about both faith and repentance

[20:11] is that they grow in your entire journey of following Jesus.

[20:19] When you’ve been a follower of Jesus for 10 years, the father has designed it so that on year 10, [20:25] you have more faith than you did at year one. You’ve repented of more than you did at year one. [20:29] But what we need to talk about is year one. What does it look like, that fundamental moment [20:37] where you believe in God? When Abraham just simply believed,

[20:47] he reordered the foundation upon which he had built every aspect of his life. [20:56] What has faith caused you to rebuild?

[21:03] At a fundamental level, I ask you, what has faith that God is? What has it changed about you? [21:13] Because it changed absolutely everything about the life of Abraham. And here’s the kicker. [21:22] Here’s what amazes me about the life of Abraham. At this point where he leaves everything he’s [21:29] ever known, to go to a destination that he has no knowledge of except for the fact that God is and [21:36] I can trust him. He knew far less about God than anyone sitting in this room knows about God. [21:48] Do you realize that? You know so much more about God than Abraham knew at this point in his life.

[21:58] So I ask again, what is it that faith at a fundamental level is causing you to rearrange [22:06] and rebuild on the truth that God is? Number two this morning, faith is believing God has done [22:15] what he says he has done. Faith is believing God has done what he says he has done. [22:23] What’s fascinating to me is in the book of Habakkuk, which is about faith but not the type [22:28] of faith that we typically want to deal with because we typically want to deal with the [22:33] issues of faith where it’s like you know dream bigger, go farther, yay God. In the book of

[22:39] Habakkuk it’s basically a book of bad news and how we respond to bad news because God comes to [22:46] Habakkuk who’s a prophet, it’s in the minor prophets of the Old Testament and God comes [22:50] to Habakkuk and he just gives him one painful message. He says Israel has been woefully [22:54] unfaithful to me. Israel has not had the type of faith, they have not lived like they believe in [23:00] me and here’s the judgment that I’m going to bring down on Israel. I’m going to actually bring a [23:06] people who are even less faithful than they are, who are even more unrighteous, more wicked than

[23:13] they are and those people are going to conquer Israel and you’re going to have to live under [23:18] captivity of these wicked, unrighteous people and Habakkuk looks at God and he says exactly what you [23:25] would probably say, how dare you? He looks at God and he says God that’s not fair. If we’re [23:35] more righteous than they’re, shouldn’t we conquer them? To which God looks to him and he in Habakkuk [23:42] chapter 2 verse 4 and he says Habakkuk, that way of thinking shows that his soul is puffed up [23:52] and it is not upright within him because God is never interested in Habakkuk’s plan

[23:59] or what seems right to Habakkuk or what seems fair to Habakkuk. God is always interested in [24:07] his plan. God is interested in his book. God is interested in the ways that God wants to work [24:14] things because the way that God wants to work things are always wiser than the way that I [24:19] want to work things. Did you know that God has never been worried about getting on the same page [24:24] as I’m on? I’m like you know God, just once I want you to take my plans into consideration.

[24:34] God’s never been interested in it because God doesn’t care. God looks at the book that I’m [24:39] writing and he says Steve I’ve already written a book and it’s better than that one. You get on [24:45] my game plan and God looks to Habakkuk and he says Habakkuk, the righteous will live by faith. [24:56] Faith in what? Faith in God. Faith in the fact that God can be trusted because he has a track [25:02] record of working things to the good of everything he ever said things would be good as. [25:10] And God looks to Habakkuk and says if you don’t trust me in this moment with this plan then you

[25:17] are self-absorbed and you might have a faith but you do not have faith in him. See because [25:24] Habakkuk could only understand faith in Habakkuk. God said no, have faith in the true God. So many [25:34] of us would look to God and say God you know I know I’m supposed to live a life of faith but [25:42] that’s not really my love language. My love language looks like this and if you could just [25:48] work things out this way and to that God is pretty mean in some places of scripture and I would say [25:54] according to me he’s being a little rude in Hebrews 11 6 because here’s what he says in verse 6 of

[26:01] Hebrews 11 he says and without faith it is impossible to please him. There’s no negotiation. [26:14] There’s no compromise. There’s no what do you want it to look like? No God says I demand one [26:21] thing and one thing only. I demand that you have faith in me in spite of what you think you are [26:30] capable of because I bet you are capable of some pretty impressive things. I mean humanity has [26:36] proven that we can accomplish some great things when we put our mind to it. I mean just you know [26:42] last week I was hurdling through the air in nothing more than a tin can with engines attached to

[26:51] side at 600 miles per hour. Have you ever thought of that? The fact that we have the ability [27:00] to invent and create ways to where you’re just hurdling through the air at an unheard of speed [27:07] in nothing more than metal with a cushion under your butt. If you think about it too much you’ll [27:14] actually have a panic attack mid-air and that’s not something that you want to happen mid-air [27:18] but that’s incredible. That’s monumental to what God has put inside of humanity as we bear his [27:27] image of people who are creative beings. In my back pocket right now is a computer that has access

[27:35] to all of the information in the world and more than that I can send a text message to my wife. [27:42] What an incredible creative capacity human beings have. But what Hebrews 11 6 means [27:53] is that none of us are so capable, none of us are so creative that God looks at what we do with our [28:03] lives and when we do it apart from faith in him he says I’m pleased. God says the only way to do [28:12] please him is to have faith in him. That he has more capability than I have. He has more ability [28:23] than I have. He deserves more glory than I deserve. He deserves my commitment. He deserves my

[28:29] allegiance. He deserves my trust. That is what God is after and he has an entire history of doing [28:41] and being and accomplishing for me to look at and say he is worthy of my faith. And the most [28:49] monumental thing that he has done is that he came to this world in the person and work of Jesus Christ. [28:55] You see in John 1 the writer the apostle he writes and he says in the beginning was the word [29:02] and that’s that monumental element God has spoken. And he uses a term that actually means [29:09] the ultimate the overarching revelation of who God is. And then he says and that word was God.

[29:20] Then in verse 14 he says that word that ultimate revelation became flesh and he dwelt among us. [29:29] See he’s talking about Jesus Christ. He’s saying that God not only is God not only is able God not [29:36] only has spoken but God’s name is Jesus. And he was so concerned that we know exactly who he is [29:48] that he came to this earth became one of us walked among us lived among us taught among us [29:57] then died for us then rose from the dead to remove any doubt improve once and for all that he is God. [30:08] Why? In John chapter 20 verse 31 which sets the stage for the conclusion of the book he says these

[30:17] things have I written to you so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God [30:24] and that by believing you may have life in his name. You see that word believe is vital because [30:33] in the New Testament both believe and faith come from the same root and it’s this root of giving [30:39] your trust into giving your hopes into. He says two elements to real biblical faith and the first [30:49] you have to believe objective facts to have faith and what he means by all of these things that [30:56] I’ve written you he wrote narratives of real events that really happened in real time

[31:02] and throughout all of scripture that’s what he’s been doing he’s been giving us evidence after [31:07] evidence he’s been giving us activity after activity intervention after intervention so that [31:11] we could not only know that God is but we could know the things that he does so that we could know [31:16] who he is and he’s telling us that everything that God has ever done in creation has been to [31:24] lead to God showing himself ultimately through Jesus Christ and there are some facts and one [31:31] fact is that God is one distinct person to believe in. He is one God that you are a sinner

[31:42] and you need God’s work and God’s intervention in your life that Jesus he is God [31:53] that Jesus lived the perfect life that you can’t live that Jesus sacrificed his life [32:01] in death so he could save yours that Jesus physically rose from the dead [32:09] showing that he has victory and power over sin and death and that Jesus is Lord of all [32:19] you see friends that is the good news of Jesus that he is not a far off disconnected God from [32:26] this world he is there he is not silent he is not uninvolved but rather he is working among us and

[32:35] he desires to work in your life but facts are not enough the book of James tells us [32:43] that the demons believe those facts and they shudder at them see faith is about knowing the [32:51] facts but it is also about taking those facts and building a heartfelt trust on those facts [32:59] you see in the Old Testament there are three words for faith the first one means to confirm [33:06] or support the second one means to cause someone to support you and the third one means to believe [33:12] and trust someone in the New Testament there are two similar words that are used interchangeably

[33:20] for faith and what the root of those words mean is the faith by which we believe and I know what [33:28] you’re thinking but that is not redundant the reason the faith by which we believe is not [33:34] redundant is because it is a belief that you not only believe facts about but instead you lean [33:41] into those facts and prop your life up by those facts to give the security of your life the peace [33:49] trust for what your life exists for into those very facts and in John chapter 20 he writes and [34:00] he says that he’s written these things so that you would put the trust for your entire life on

[34:07] those facts about Jesus and so therefore Hebrews chapter 11 he’s telling us that Jesus is the [34:18] assurance of hope Jesus is the conviction of things that you can’t see faith is not a hollow [34:28] force of something you want to be true instead faith is backed up by real facts and real time [34:37] and real activity of a god who is really involved he has done what he says he has done and you prop [34:47] your life up by those activities but thirdly this morning faith is believing god will do what he says [34:55] he will do faith is believing god will do what he says he will do see it’s not just that he is

[35:04] it’s not just that he is a who it’s not just that he has done things it is that based on those [35:11] things he has done he wants to give you a future hope he wants to give you a destination to hope [35:21] in because he will deliver on every single one of those things and every moment in your [35:28] journey of following Jesus is building towards something that god wants to do with your future [35:35] in which he will deliver on every promise that he has ever made you see returning to the story [35:45] of Abraham in Romans chapter 4 the apostle Paul writes about Abraham and the fact that Abraham

[35:54] through everything that god was doing in his life was building a hope for the future [35:58] you see when Abraham was called by god to leave everything that he had ever known to go to a [36:03] place that he wasn’t even aware of as Abraham’s faith grew god continued to tell him more god [36:11] continued to promise more and Abraham and his wife were not young they were of at least what [36:19] we would consider retirement age and i don’t know if you know about anything about retirement age [36:23] but they typically don’t have children in those years and what god promised to Abraham in that

[36:29] retirement age is he said Abraham i’m not just doing this to do something through you but you [36:36] your wife are going to have children and then those children are going to form a great nation [36:41] and in Romans chapter 4 the apostle paul writes and he says in hope Abraham believed against hope [36:48] and you might think that doesn’t make any sense and i understand why you say that but in the [36:52] vernacular of that time what he’s saying is is that Abraham had an uncommon hope that was to the [36:59] denial of everything that the hope of this world is based on Abraham had a supernatural hope that

[37:05] through the lens of this world didn’t make any sense and the hope of this world would deny the [37:11] type of hope that Abraham had but Abraham’s hope was in god rather than this world this is that he [37:17] should become the father of many nations as he had been told so shall your offspring be he did [37:24] not weaken in faith when he considered his own body which was as good as dead now it’s one thing [37:30] that elderly people like it’s when you look at them and you say man you’re so old you’re as good [37:34] as dead don’t do that since he was about 100 years old or when he considered the barrenness

[37:42] of Sarah’s womb no one belief made him waver concerning the promise of god but he grew strong [37:50] in his faith as he gave glory to god fully convinced that god was able to do what he had [37:59] is why faith was counted to him as righteousness but note this verse 23 [38:04] but the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone but for hours also [38:12] it will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our lord who was [38:19] delivered up for our sins and raised for our justification so what he’s saying there is what

[38:26] god was doing in Abraham’s life was not fully about Abraham what god was doing in Abraham’s [38:33] life was about you it was about your life it was about what god has promised you it was about what [38:41] god wants to do through you and that every step of history of god’s narrative in this world he has [38:48] been working he has been going he has been doing because he wanted to build a resume of credibility [38:56] so that the followers of Jesus could know the testimony of what god did through Abraham’s life [39:02] so that you would understand that he wants to work through faith in your life that this god

[39:10] who raised up Abraham told him to go there was a destination Abraham made it there was a child [39:16] Sarah had it there was a nation that emerged from those people that went to Egypt and were [39:23] put into slavery and through that slavery god was saying remember Abraham your slavery isn’t [39:28] pointless i’m working you towards something and even in slavery god said be fertile and there [39:34] were so many of them that Egypt couldn’t contain them and Moses came and he let them out and then [39:40] at the Red Sea god parted that sea and they walked through on dry land and they made it to the

[39:46] where god raised up kings and kingdoms and giants were slain other kingdoms were toppled [39:53] and then even in captivity god spoke through prophets and he said there is a purpose for [39:59] your pain there’s purpose for your suffering and then out of that captivity came Israel [40:04] who should have been made extinct but instead they endured and then Jesus Christ was born [40:11] through those very people that god had worked through over and over and over and through him [40:17] he was the king of kings and the lord of lords and he lived a life that you are incapable of

[40:24] living on your behalf and he died a substitutionary death so that you could know god and then he rose [40:31] from the dead so that you could have a new life in him where you live and you breathe and you trust [40:39] that there is coming a day where god will deliver on every single one of his promises and he [40:45] will reign forever and ever and his kingdom will never end you see that is a god that you can put [40:57] your faith in so that no matter what you are enduring and no matter what you are going through [41:02] you can say i may not know the destination but i know who controls the destination there is a god

[41:14] and he has not been silent he is involved in your life he is working in your life [41:21] and everything that will ever happen to you is so that you can have more and more faith in Jesus [41:29] Christ because he is god every week we reflect on that base reality through communion [41:44] you see the bread on the plates around this room represent the broken body of Jesus the cup [41:51] represents his shed blood and we do this because Jesus commanded that we do this because it is a [41:58] picture it is a picture of his body it is a picture of his sacrifice and when we eat and when we

[42:04] drink what is a picture of is we are saying to everyone i have faith that the life of Jesus is [42:11] in my life i have faith that god has made himself abundantly clear to me he has told me his name [42:20] he has told me who he is and i believe in him friends if you have trusted in Jesus Christ as [42:28] your lord and savior these tables are open to you and in just a moment i am going to ask you to come [42:33] to the front or to the back to eat and to drink and to proclaim your faith in Jesus Christ but [42:40] once you are done with that once the songs end today go into this world and live by the faith

[42:50] that you claim to have when you are ready come

[43:15] back