Sermon

Understanding the Faith for Greater Works (Part 3)

Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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  1. Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

  2. designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

  3. walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

  4. the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

  5. right in. John 14, verse 12, it says, Most assuredly,

    John 14:12

  6. I say to you, he who believes in me, the works

  7. that I do, he will do also. And greater works

  8. than these he will do because I go to my Father.

  9. And we observe from Jesus' statements that greater

  10. works that we are to do are the works of faith.

  11. They are the works of faith. We don't do them

  12. independent of God. But we do them by the grace

  13. and by the love, by the power that God provides.

  14. So these great works, these great works of faith

  15. can only be done by a man who has faith. Can

  16. only be done by a man who has faith. I mean,

  17. in the previous teachings we've explained what

  18. those greater works are. The greater works are

  19. the works of Jesus. All the things that Jesus

  20. began to do and to teach. I will go through the

  21. Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We will

  22. see all the things that Jesus began to do, all

  23. the things that Jesus taught. All these are the

  24. works of Jesus. I will go through the Old Testament

  25. Scriptures, what we call the prophets, the writers

  26. of Moses and the prophets, the Psalms. We will

  27. see prophesied in them the works that the Messiah

  28. will do. And in the Gospels, we see the Messiah,

  29. Jesus Christ, doing the things that has been

  30. said concerning him. And when he was living,

  31. he said to the apostles or the disciples, he

  32. says that they can do the work or they, when

  33. they believe in him, can do the works. That he

  34. did. And only that they will do the works that

  35. he did. But they can do even greater. So the

  36. man who believes. Is a man. That can do greater

  37. works. And if you are here and you believe. You

  38. also are empowered. Because the same spirit that

  39. worked in them. Is the same spirit that we have

  40. received. That is working in us. The same things

  41. that we see them do in the books of the Acts

  42. of the Apostles are the same works that we in

  43. turn have been called to work in. This is our

  44. reality. This is who we are. This is our identity.

  45. In fact, we are called to have all of faith.

  46. We can work in those things which they have done

  47. because we have the ability in us to do them.

  48. Similarly, we see From another instance, when

  49. Jesus was explaining the concept of faith for

  50. these greater works in Mark 11, 12 to 14. Mark

    Mark 11:12

  51. 11, verses 12. Now the next day, when they had

  52. come out from Bethany, he was hungry. Now let

  53. me pause here and say this. Every single time

  54. you come across a story, a parable, an instance

  55. recorded, anything that Jesus did, there's always,

  56. there's always a teaching. All right? There's

  57. always a teaching that Jesus will do whenever

  58. there is a miracle. Whenever there's a miracle

  59. in the Bible and not just there for fun. Okay?

  60. Every bit of Jesus' miracle, you will see a teaching

  61. in line with that. So what is Jesus teaching

  62. in this miracle? We'll see. Now, the next day

  63. when he was hungry, when they had, okay, so the

  64. next day, verse 13, I see from afar a fig tree.

  65. Having leaves, he went to see if perhaps he would

  66. find something to eat. When he came to eat, he

  67. found nothing but leaves. For it was not the

  68. season for figs. Verse 14. In response, Jesus

  69. said to it, let no one eat from you ever again.

  70. And his disciples, they heard what he said. Verse

  71. 20 to 24. And this is a lesson from that event

  72. that happened. Now in the morning, as they passed

  73. by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

  74. Now the most important thing is not that the

  75. fig tree dried from the roots. The most important

  76. thing is not that Jesus spoke to the tree and

  77. then it dried up. But this is what Jesus was

  78. drawing their attention to. And Peter remembering

  79. said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig tree which

  80. he cursed has withered away. So Jesus answered

  81. and said to them, Have faith in God. Have faith

  82. in God. For surely I say to you, whoever says

  83. to this mountain, so faith will make the man

  84. to say, all right, whoever says to this mountain,

  85. be removed and be cast into the sea and does

  86. not doubt in his heart, which means that doubt

  87. can limit the work of faith. Doubt can what?

  88. Can limit the work of faith. Doubt can limit

  89. the work of faith. And does not doubt in his

  90. heart, but believes that those things he says,

  91. who says those things? He, the one that has faith

  92. says, he will what? He will have whatever he

  93. says. Verse 24, therefore I say to you, Whatever

  94. things you ask when you pray, believe that you

  95. will receive them. Whatever things you pray,

  96. you watch, you believe that you have received

  97. them and you will have them. And you will have

  98. those things to which you prayed and you received

  99. them. So verse 12, in a young literary translation,

  100. we see it that Jesus, communicating to them was

  101. that they should have the faith of God. In the

  102. Young Literals translation, which says, and Jesus

  103. answering to them, have faith of God. And we

  104. mentioned the last time that this is a well -translated

  105. verse in this translation. This aligns with biblical

  106. teaching on the origin of faith. The origin of

  107. faith. And when we talk about the origin of faith,

  108. we're talking about the biblical faith. And we've

  109. said this in the past week, that faith comes

  110. from God. A man who does not have the spirit

  111. of God in him does not have the ability to exercise

  112. the kind of faith of God. This man cannot even

  113. do the greater works we're speaking about. The

  114. man that does not have the Spirit of God in him

  115. cannot heal the sick. In a dimension that God

  116. is calling the believer to. So, faith comes from

  117. God. God is a source of faith and we only receive

  118. the faith of God to live the life of God and

  119. to do the works of God. Because the life of the

  120. believer is anchored on what God has done. The

  121. life of the believer is situated, is founded

  122. in what God has worked in Christ. Ephesians 2,

    Ephesians 2:8–10

  123. verse 8 -10. In the King James Version it says,

  124. For by grace are ye saved through faith. Alright?

  125. By grace we are saved through faith. And that's

  126. not of yourselves. So we didn't contribute in

  127. what God did in our salvation. It is the gift

  128. of God. Lord of works, verse 9 says, Lord of

  129. works, lest any man should boast. So you can't

  130. say, I exercise my faith and your boast is on

  131. your works that makes you safe. No. It is about

  132. all that God has done. It is about all that God

  133. has done. No man can come to God unless God drew

  134. him to himself. It is about what God has done.

  135. For we are his workmanship, verse 10. We are

  136. his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto

  137. good works which God had before ordained that

  138. we should work in them. So salvation by grace

  139. through faith, we see is a gift from God. Meaning

  140. that salvation, including the faith, the salvation

  141. itself, the redemption that you are a redeemer,

  142. including the faith, is a gift from God. Everything

  143. we see is a gift from God. There's nothing man

  144. contributed. It's a gift from God. The word workmanship

  145. here refers to God himself, what God himself

  146. has done. In the Amplified Classic, it says,

  147. because it goes on handiwork. That means that

  148. God is solely responsible for that. It is God's

  149. handiwork. God is solely responsible for that,

  150. meaning that it was God himself alone. And established

  151. our salvation. For our Lord will see. Scripture

  152. says we are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ.

  153. Galatians chapter 2 verse 16 from King James.

    Galatians 2:16

  154. We are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ

  155. and not our own faith. Galatians 2 verse 16.

    Galatians 2:16

  156. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works

  157. of the law. The works of the law emphasizes the

  158. effort of a man. The works of the law emphasizing

  159. the contribution of the man. The works of faith

  160. defies what man does. So, knowing that a man

  161. is not justified by the works of the law, but

  162. by the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Jesus

  163. Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ

  164. that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.

  165. And not by the works of the law. For by the works

  166. of the law shall no flesh be justified. Not only

  167. that we are justified by the faith of Christ,

  168. not only that we are saved by the faith of Christ,

  169. By grace through faith of Christ, we also live

  170. by the faith of the Son of God. So the life that

  171. we continuously live is sponsored, is anchored,

  172. is inspired, is driven by faith. Galatians 2,

  173. yes, down to which verse? It's verse 20. Galatians

  174. 2, 20. We see Paul go on to say that I am crucified

  175. with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. I am crucified

  176. with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet know I,

  177. but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I

  178. now live in the flesh, the life which I now live

  179. in the physical, the flesh here does not mean

  180. sinful nature, does not mean anything. It means

  181. in the physical, the life we live, our daily

  182. living. That's what it means. The life I now

  183. live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the

  184. Son of God who loved me and gave himself for

  185. me. So it means that every single thing we do

  186. must be anchored on the faith of the Son of God.

  187. The Christian walk is a walk of faith. The Bible

  188. will tell us that it is him. who works in us,

  189. right? To fulfill his desires. So if you are

  190. putting strength in your own effort to live the

  191. life that God has given you, how can you start

  192. in the spirit? How can you start from faith and

  193. finish by yourself in works? It's impossible

  194. for you to begin in faith, to be born anew in

  195. faith, And then we neglect working in what God

  196. has done for us and begin to look for a means

  197. of living for ourselves. Now I want you all to

  198. see an example of the apostles in Acts chapter

    Acts 3 chapter mention

  199. 3. The life we live in the flesh, the ministry

  200. we do in the flesh, And everything that defines

  201. our lives must be by the faith of the Son of

  202. God. Acts chapter 3 from verse 1 to 9. Now Peter

    Acts 3 chapter mention

  203. and Job went up together to the temple at the

  204. hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain

  205. man's lamb from his mother's womb was carved.

  206. whom they lay daily at the gate of the temple,

  207. which is called beautiful, to ask alms from those

  208. who enter the temple. Who, seeing Peter and John

  209. about to go into the temple, asked for alms.

  210. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter

  211. said, Look at us. So he gave them his attention,

  212. expecting to receive some money from them. And

  213. Peter said, silver and gold I do not have, but

  214. what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus

  215. Christ of Nazareth, rise up and work. And he

  216. took him by the right hand and lifted him up

  217. and immediately his feet and ankles and bones

  218. received strength. So he limping up, stood and

  219. walked and entered the temple with him, walking,

  220. leaping and walking. And he was praising God

  221. for the miraculous work that was done. And all

  222. the people saw him walking and praising God.

  223. The man who is born of God has something special

  224. in him. Alright? The man whom God has saved,

  225. has redeemed, he gave him his spirit. And the

  226. works we leave in the flesh, we don't need an

  227. extra faith to do the works of God. Because in

  228. us, God has put the ability, has put his faith

  229. in us. We don't need a special retreat so we

  230. can be complete and sufficient to do the works

  231. of God. We have all that God has done in us.

  232. And what we need to understand is the work that

  233. God has established in us. Peter was particularly

  234. conscious of what he had in him. Now, oftentimes

  235. we are not conscious of what God has worked in

  236. us. We are not conscious of consciousness. Faith

  237. works with knowledge. Faith works with knowledge.

  238. We must be conscious of what God has wrought

  239. in us. We must be conscious. of what God has

  240. done in us by Christ. Peter says, what I have,

  241. I give. And I want to tell you as a man and a

  242. woman that is born again, you have something,

  243. something more precious than gold. Hallelujah.

  244. You have something more precious than silver.

  245. You have the faith of God in you. You have the

  246. spirit of God in you. Mark 11 .22 says that if

  247. you have the faith of God, you shall see to this

  248. mountain. And we see Peter acting, giving expression

  249. to what God has put in him. So faith speaks from

  250. the position of what we already have. We're not

  251. looking for something else. But faith speaks

  252. from the position of what we already have. It

  253. speaks from the position of the reality of the

  254. believer. So you don't need a special kind of

  255. faith. The faith you have is all of the faith

  256. that you need in order to live the life of God

  257. and to do the work of God. You don't need a special

  258. faith. You don't need a special faith. And your

  259. faith is not little. There's no little faith.

  260. Faith is faith. When you believe in Jesus Christ,

  261. you receive in fullness the faith of God. So

  262. faith speaks from the position of what we already

  263. have. We speak from the finished work of redemption.

  264. That is our position. That is where we function

  265. from. That is where we find expression. That

  266. is where we express the works of God from the

  267. position of the finished work of redemption.

  268. But let's move forward and see Peter's explanation

  269. of what happened. From verse 11 to verse 16 of

  270. that same passage, Acts 3, 11 to 16. Let's see

  271. how Peter explains what happened. Now, as the

  272. lame man who was healed held on to Peter and

  273. John, and all the people ran together to them

  274. in the porch, which is called Solomon's, greatly

  275. amazed because they have seen something special.

  276. They have seen something unique. When Peter saw

  277. it, he responded to them, to the people, men

  278. of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Why do

  279. you look so intently at us? As though, as though

  280. what? As though by our own power, all right?

  281. By our own power or godliness. Now there's a

  282. godliness, okay? Or let me say righteousness

  283. that is a product of the law where a man does

  284. something. That is not the kind of godliness

  285. or righteousness that we've received. We receive

  286. that of God. So he says, why do you look so intently

  287. at us as though we are superstars? Why do you

  288. look so intently at us as though we have some

  289. special powers of our own? Why do you look so

  290. intent at us as though we are supermen? I heard

  291. someone say it, that in the spirit there are

  292. ranks. And some people are not, are lower ranks

  293. than others. No, we equally have. The same faith

  294. has been given to all men as salvation. Hallelujah.

  295. So Peter says, As though by our own power or

  296. godliness, we have made this man walk. You don't

  297. need to do something by your own self to make

  298. a man healed or a man to walk. What you need

  299. to do is to act on what God has put in you. Hallelujah.

  300. You already have all it takes to do the call

  301. or to do the work of God. You're not too small

  302. to preach the gospel. You are not too small to

  303. win souls for Christ. You are not too small to

  304. give expression to the work of God that he has

  305. done in you. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

  306. the God of our fathers, glorify his servant Jesus,

  307. whom you deliver up and deny in the presence

  308. of Pilate, where he was determined to let him

  309. go. But you deny the Holy One and the just and

  310. ask for a murderer to be granted to you. Verse

  311. 15. And kill the prince of life whom God raised

  312. from the dead of which we are witnesses. The

  313. last verse, verse 16. And his name. All right,

  314. look at this carefully, verse 16, carefully.

  315. And his name, to faith in his name. has made

  316. this man strong, which means that we are not

  317. the one that did it. God did it. Won't you see

  318. and know, yes, which faith, the faith which comes

  319. through him has given him the perfect soundness

  320. in the presence of you all. And in his name,

  321. true faith in his name. I went on to say, yes,

  322. the faith. Which faith? The faith is very particular.

  323. Not just any kind of faith. The faith which comes

  324. through him, which comes through Jesus, the faith

  325. that comes from God, has given him the perfect

  326. soundness in the presence of you all. And I want

  327. to tell you that every man who believes has this

  328. faith. This faith that comes from God. And as

  329. you leave this place, I want you to leave this

  330. place having this assurance in your heart that

  331. you are sufficient enough. Having this assurance

  332. in your heart that you have all it takes. That

  333. God has empowered you, God has equipped you.

  334. The faith which comes through Him, has given

  335. him the perfect soundness in the presence of

  336. you all. Which means that we cannot have faith

  337. outside the person of Jesus Christ. We cannot

  338. have faith outside the person of Jesus Christ.

  339. The boundary of faith is Jesus Christ. By implication,

  340. this means that we do, we who have received the

  341. gift of God, the Spirit of God, Have the faith

  342. to do great works. As these men. Or as Peter

  343. did. So how does faith come to us? How did we

  344. receive faith? We saw in Romans chapter 17. 10

  345. verse 17. That faith comes. By the hearing. Of

  346. the word of God. Romans chapter 10 verse 17.

    Romans 10:17

  347. So then. Faith. Comes. By hearing. And hearing.

  348. By the word. Of God. So when we hear the word

  349. of God. Faith. Comes to us. When we hear the

  350. word of God. Faith comes to us. When the message

  351. of the gospel was preached to you. It was faith

  352. that was given to you. One word of God precisely

  353. do we hear to receive faith. Now it is important

  354. for us to note that faith is received differently.

  355. Carefully listen. It's received differently in

  356. different dispensations. All right? Faith is

  357. received differently in different dispensations,

  358. but fundamentally through the word of God. The

  359. faith of God is received differently in different

  360. dispensations, but fundamentally from the word

  361. of God. So it means that in all dispensations,

  362. God has to give a word for faith to come to men.

  363. Hallelujah. In every dispensation of human civilization,

  364. faith comes by the word of God. And even the

  365. faith that comes to you, that you have came by

  366. the word of God. Hebrews 1, verse 1 and 2. God,

    Hebrews 1:1

  367. who at various times, And in various ways. What

  368. did he do? He spoke a word, right? Spoke in time

  369. past. To the fathers. How did he speak to them?

  370. By the prophets. So as under the times. And in

  371. diverse manners. In instructions. In illustrations.

  372. In demonstrations. In different ways of communications,

  373. God spoke to the fathers by the prophets. And

  374. even in Moses, we see God spoke to them. In time

  375. passed on to the fathers by the prophets, but

  376. still says, had in these last days, how did God

  377. speak to us in these last days? Had spoken to

  378. us by his son, whom he had appointed. Heir of

  379. all things. Which means that Christ is center

  380. of all things. By whom all, also he made the

  381. worlds. Now the fathers were men. What were the

  382. fathers men to do with the word God spoke to

  383. them? They were men to receive the word God spoke

  384. to them. Alright? They were men to receive the

  385. word. When they received the word, they received

  386. the faith of God. They were men to receive the

  387. word spoken to them. Hebrews chapter 4, verse

    Hebrews 4:1–3

  388. 1 to 3. Therefore, since a promise remained of

  389. entering his rest, let us fear, lest any of you

  390. seem to have come short of it. For indeed, the

  391. gospel, so the word that was spoken to them,

  392. right, is called the gospel. The gospel was preached

  393. to us. You and I today also, it was preached

  394. to us, as well as to them. Who are they? Them,

  395. the fathers, as sundry times, at their livers'

  396. manners, in different ways, the gospel was preached

  397. to them, but the word which they had did not

  398. profit them. Most of them did not enjoy the profitability

  399. of the word that was spoken to them. not be mixed

  400. with faith in those who heard it. For we who

  401. have believed do enter that rest. As he has said,

  402. so I saw in my wrath, they shall not enter my

  403. rest, although the works were finished from the

  404. foundation of all. So the expectation of God

  405. is that they may in that time receive the word

  406. of God, that they respond to the word of God.

  407. God was not expecting them to do anything. but

  408. to receive the word, the gospel that was preached

  409. to them. For example, Abraham in Genesis chapter

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  410. 12, we'll see in Genesis chapter 12, the word

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  411. of God came to him. Genesis chapter 12 from verse

    Genesis 12 chapter mention

  412. one. Now the Lord has, now the Lord has said

  413. to Abraham, get out of your country from your

  414. family. And from your father's house. To a land

  415. that I will show you. I will make you a good

  416. nation. I will bless you. And make your name

  417. great. And you shall be a blessing. I will bless

  418. those who bless you. And I will curse him who

  419. curses you. And you. All the families of the

  420. earth will be blessed. So Abraham, what did Abraham

  421. do? So Abraham departed as the Lord has what?

  422. Has spoken to him. He responded by accepting

  423. the word of the Lord. Has spoken to him and the

  424. Lord went with him. And Abraham was 75 years

  425. old. When he departed from Haran, verse 5, then

  426. Abraham took Sarah, his wife, and Lot, his brother's

  427. son, and all their possessions that they had

  428. gathered, and the people whom they had acquired,

  429. which means that Abraham was very rich. So the

  430. promises God promised him was not a promise of

  431. something material because he was already materially

  432. blessed. And the people whom they had acquired

  433. in Haran, and they departed to go to the land

  434. of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

  435. Chapter 15, verse 1 to 6, Genesis. After these

  436. things, the one of the Lord came to Abraham in

  437. a vision saying, Do not be afraid, Abraham. I

  438. am your shield, your exceeding great reward.

  439. But Abraham said, Lord God, what will you give

  440. me? Seeing I go childless. And the heir of my

  441. house is Eliezer of Damascus. Then Abraham said,

  442. Look, you have given me no offspring indeed.

  443. One born in my house is my heir. And behold,

  444. the word of the Lord came to him. The word of

  445. the Lord came to him. This one shall not be your

  446. heir, but one who will come from your own body

  447. shall be your heir. Then he brought him out and

  448. said, look now towards heaven and count the stars

  449. if you are able to number them. And he said to

  450. him, so shall your descendants be. Verse six

  451. is very important. And he believed the word of

  452. the Lord. He believed in the Lord and he accounted

  453. it to him for righteousness. So let's see how

  454. Paul explained this in Galatians chapter 3 when

    Galatians 3 chapter mention

  455. he was speaking and chastising in a way such

  456. to say the church in Galatia whom have wandered

  457. away from faith to works trying to earn a way

  458. of being right with God even though they have

  459. already received the faith of God. That is a

  460. product of what God has done and what God alone

  461. can do. Galatians chapter 3 verse 1. He says

    Galatians 3:1

  462. to them, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched

  463. you that you should not obey the truth? Obeying

  464. the truth simply means to believe the truth.

  465. Believe the truth. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ

  466. has clearly portrayed among you as crucified.

  467. This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive

  468. the Spirit by doing something or by hearing of

  469. faith? Remember we say the faith comes by what?

  470. By hearing. Not by doing something. So, did you

  471. receive the faith by walking out your way or

  472. by hearing the message? Are you so foolish having

  473. begun in the Spirit? Are you not made perfect

  474. by the flesh? You know, some of us think that,

  475. you know, Salvation is by grace, through faith

  476. in Christ Jesus. After that one, then I now begin

  477. to walk the walk of faith. By my sense, by my

  478. ability. No, we depend on the strength that God

  479. has made available to walk in the life that God

  480. has given. I feel so far so many things in vain.

  481. It indeed, it was in vain. Therefore, He who

  482. supplies a spirit to you and works in miracles,

  483. which means the miracles were wrought in their

  484. presence among you, does he do it by the works

  485. of the law or by hearing of faith? Which means

  486. that the source of the miracle that was done

  487. in their presence was through the hearing of

  488. faith. Just as Abraham, what did Abraham did?

  489. Believed God. And it was accounted to him for

  490. righteousness. Therefore, know that only those

  491. who have faith are the sons of Abraham. Is that

  492. what it says? Only those who are of faith are

  493. the sons of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing

  494. that God would justify the Gentiles by faith

  495. presented the gospel to Abraham. beforehand saying

  496. in you, all the nations of the earth shall be

  497. bliss. And the scripture foresees, yes, verse

  498. 9. So then, those who are of faith, those who

  499. are of faith, those who are of faith are blessed

  500. with Abraham, with believing Abraham. with believing

  501. Abraham. Those who are of faith are blessed with

  502. believing Abraham. So Abraham had the word of

  503. God and he believed. God walks in us through

  504. the hearing of faith, through the word of God,

  505. through the hearing of faith. Now let's see what

  506. the writer of Hebrews said. Concerning Abraham,

  507. Hebrews 11 verse 8 to 16. Hebrews 11 verse 8

    Hebrews 11:8–16 Hebrews 11:8–16

  508. to 16. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called

  509. to go out to the place which he would receive

  510. as an inheritance and he went out not knowing

  511. where he was going. You see, sometimes what is

  512. our biggest challenge is our desire to know the

  513. nitty gritties and the details of what the possibilities

  514. of how God will work. Now, if I lay my hand on

  515. this person, how will he get healed? Because

  516. of our knowledge of medicine, will the antibiotics

  517. just appear and begin to work? Where will they

  518. come from? Is there an injection that has been

  519. given to him? So we begin to calculate the modality

  520. by which God will work. But faith is trusting

  521. the word of God. It's believing what God has

  522. said. Receiving what God has said. Agreeing what

  523. God has said. Hallelujah. For the believer is

  524. agreeing with everything that God has said concerning

  525. you. Everything that God has said concerning

  526. you, you live in agreement with what God has

  527. said. And you walk in what God has said concerning

  528. you. So by faith he dwelled in the land of promise,

  529. as in a foreign country, dwelling in terms with

  530. Isaac and Jacob, the heir with him of the same

  531. promise. For he waited for the city which has

  532. foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

  533. By faith Sarah herself also received strength

  534. to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she

  535. was past the age, because she judged him faithful.

  536. who had promised. Therefore from one man and

  537. him as good as dead were born as many as the

  538. stars of the sky, a multitude immeasurable as

  539. the sun, which is by the seashore. These all

  540. died in faith, not having received the promises,

  541. but having seen them afar off were assured of

  542. them. embraced them and confessed that they were

  543. strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those

  544. who say such things declare plainly that they

  545. seek a homeland. And truly, if they had called

  546. to mind that a country from which they had come

  547. out, they would have had an opportunity to return.

  548. But now they desire something permanent, that

  549. is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed

  550. to call their God for he has prepared a city

  551. for them. Come to verse 39 and see something.

  552. Verse 39. Verse 39. And all these having obtained

  553. a good testimony, true faith, they obtained a

  554. testimony. That they were righteous. Righteousness

  555. was imputed to them by God. They fulfilled all

  556. the standards of God by accepting the word of

  557. God even though they did not receive the promise.

  558. The promise was not something tangible. Hallelujah.

  559. The promise was not something earthly. The promise

  560. was a promise of the Messiah. The promise was

  561. a promise of what God will do in Christ. The

  562. promise is a promise of the gift of the Spirit

  563. to the saints. And you have received that promise.

  564. Hallelujah. So your faith is not as the faith

  565. of those of old who look into the future and

  566. we see the tremendous work they did. If we read

  567. through the book of Hebrews, it will say that

  568. the world is not worthy of them. I was sharing

  569. with some people in the cemetery and I said,

  570. see, it is illogical for men to go to war. When

  571. men go to war, it is illogical, right? For the

  572. battle strategy to be to move around the city

  573. and the city will fall. It is stupid. It is illogical.

  574. And we will see the nation of Israel. What did

  575. they do? By Joshua, right? Gideon rather. Receiving

  576. the word of God. And then he gather his army.

  577. And they move around the city. They move around

  578. Jericho. Seven times, seven days. And they blow

  579. the trumpet. And the Bible says the city. The

  580. walls of Jericho, what happened to the walls

  581. of Jericho? This cannot be the work of man. People

  582. don't win wars by dancing around cities. America

  583. cannot move around, around, around, around Europe

  584. or Middle East and then something will happen.

  585. It's all like that. This must be the work of

  586. God. That is to say, I am the one who will save

  587. you. That is God's message of salvation there.

  588. You will not partake in this. I will do it myself.

  589. You just obey. Just watch and see what I will

  590. do. And I believe that that's what God is saying

  591. to somebody today. That's what God is speaking

  592. to somebody right now. Egyptians you see today,

  593. you will see them no more. You hold your peace.

  594. Hold on to the promise of God. Hold on to the

  595. word of God. Hold on to all that God has said

  596. concerning you, concerning your situations, concerning

  597. your circumstance, and you will enjoy, because

  598. you've already been delivered by God, you will

  599. enjoy the deliverance of the Lord. So we hold

  600. on to the promises of God. We hold on to the

  601. word of God. We keep... holding on to what God

  602. has said concerning us. He said you will not

  603. live, you will not forsake. God honors his word.

  604. He honors his word. His integrity is tied to

  605. his word. And God cannot lie. God has never lied

  606. and he cannot lie. Melchizedek fell. But God

  607. never fails. God is faithful to his people. And

  608. we shall see, as we've seen for thousands of

  609. years, when the promise was made about the Messiah,

  610. for hundreds of thousands of years, we see the

  611. manifestation of the promise right from the beginning

  612. To the end, we see God fulfilling what he said

  613. to the prophets. Hundreds of years before it

  614. happened, God was able to keep to his word. God

  615. is long -suffering. God is faithful with us.

  616. And it is his faithfulness that he has deposited

  617. in you. So what do we see the fathers receive?

  618. was the word of promise. Even though they did

  619. not receive in that time what was promised yet,

  620. they believed the word of God and they did wonders.

  621. What about us that have received the promise?

  622. about us are living in the reality of what we're

  623. hoping. We're looking forward to what we have

  624. today. What about us have everything that they

  625. were looking forward to in us? What more we should

  626. do? So in that dispensation, we see the way by

  627. which God communicated his word of faith to them

  628. was in a promise. Hallelujah. was in the promise.

  629. And in us today, the promise has been fulfilled.

  630. Amen. And we have the ability to believe God's

  631. word. We have the ability to believe the works

  632. of God. We have the ability to do the works of

  633. God because God has to work, has completed all

  634. that he has promised you do in Christ. And Christ

  635. is seated in our hearts. Hallelujah. Where is

  636. Christ? Christ is seated in us. He's living in

  637. us by His Spirit. And He wants us to give expression

  638. to His Spirit that is in us. I want you to just

  639. close your eyes and speak to God. And tell God

  640. that you believe His Word. We appreciate you

  641. being here today. We hope you carry this word

  642. with you throughout your week. Don't forget to

  643. check the show notes for additional insights.

  644. Stay connected with us through our website or

  645. follow us on social media. If you are encouraged,

  646. share this message with someone you care about.

  647. Until next time, stay blessed.