Attrition 3

I'm not going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

I'm going to be able to do it.

Okay, can you turn on all the mics?

Guys, we'll just sing it once, okay?

You don't have to turn it on.

Evan will turn it on.

Evan, can you do something?

Okay.

Okay, for all the playing that you've done over the years, this is revenge.

Okay, ready?

Okay.

Can you...

Oh, they can't see you.

Come this side.

Two of you on that side.

Oh, okay, all four on this side.

And after this, make sure you go for Sunday school, okay?

Okay.

Mike, look happy.

Okay.

Happy.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to Mike.

Happy birthday to you.

Yeah!

Thank you, guys.

Thank you, guys.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you, thank you.

At least they dropped the cheaper mics.

Yeah, they only dropped the cheaper mics.

All right, good.

Let's go to the school.

I hope this doesn't become a habit.

Hey, before I go, I want to thank you all for coming.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hey, before I go into the teaching today,

I was in Vienna on Wednesday,

and can we still throw pictures up on one of these?

Pardon?

I don't.

Oh, then don't worry about it.

We'll show it next time.

So, went to Vienna, and there's a family there that I've known for a while.

They introduced us to some of the most important people in the world.

They introduced us to some Romanians,

and this Romanian couple, their names are Ruben and Christina.

Really, the kind of couple you bump into,

and all they need is a little bit of help

to see who they are and what God wants them to do.

And they texted me today saying, after all that you said,

we would like to step into this new adventure that you're talking about.

These are Romanians who moved to Vienna and live in Vienna,

and so, God willing, we'll have them starting something in Vienna.

Not immediately, they just want to train first and then see what happens.

So that was Wednesday.

Thursday I went to Salzburg, where the sound of music was shot.

The sad thing is you only see the hotel and the meeting place,

you don't see anything else.

So I went there and there was a group of young Mongolians.

These are guys who speak French, German, Mongolian and English,

and I spent two days with them, teaching them.

Because they come from different parts of Europe,

and if you can fire up the nomadic spirit in them,

they can go out like crazy.

It's just that you have to help them not settle

for what the West will offer in terms of immigration, visa,

a good job, settle, and then it's done.

Because they're not like that when they're at home.

They're ones who love setting up temporary shelter and then moving on.

So hopefully that'll happen.

And there were three or four that really stood out.

So I spoke to the pastor there and asked if we could keep working with them,

and he agreed.

And then a strange thing began to happen.

I'm so thankful for what we learn here.

Because the pastor felt that God would heal many people and deliver many people.

And I wasn't feeling miraculously at all.

I even texted someone saying,

not feeling inspired or miraculously, but he expects things to happen.

And people started coming.

And one by one, and the only thing I could depend on is what we learn here,

that the presence of God is here, and that he is here to make all things new.

Jane kept repeating that today.

God, you're here to make all things new.

And so the first person that came was a person who had cotton in her ear.

And these guys who are from Bahrain now live in Vienna.

They were there when all this happened.

And so it was because there was so much fluid that are collected in her ear

that there's always this noise of a wind in her ear, and she puts cotton, can't hear.

And prayed twice, and on the second time we prayed, she said, the fluid is shifting.

And she took the cotton thing out, and for the next two days could hear perfectly.

Then I met a woman who had been deaf for 15 years.

And the last time we met in Linz, which is again a city very close to Vienna, she was prayed for.

And I found out that for the last three and a half years she's been hearing.

Only nobody told me.

So it was very, very encouraging to hear people actually getting healed.

Then there was another lady whose ligament, I don't know whether it's a tendon, ligament or muscle,

but basically a knee can't bend.

And so it had torn and the doctors said it would take time to heal and got healed instantly.

And now she went down on her knees and started flexing it, then started doing push-ups.

Mongolians are strong, even the women do push-ups.

And so the whole knee began to work instantly.

Then another lady came and she's had perpetual backache.

The backache seemed like a small thing after these big things.

And one by one, and it was not...

Sometimes if we can depend on what we learn, sometimes that is enough.

That the God is present and he is here to make all things new.

And you don't need to be inspired.

You don't have to feel like something's going to happen.

But to see five or six of these things happen, one after the other, one...

Another lady came and she hadn't been to church for 15 years.

And the only time she had gone to church 15 years ago was because her dad died

and she wanted to call someone father.

And they told her that the Christian God is a father.

So she came to church for a while just so she could call God father.

And then because she didn't like how people were behaving with her in church, she left.

And she's sitting there telling me this story and she's got these sharp pains in her chest.

Her whole shoulder, it's not... I don't think it's got anything to do with the heart.

But sharp pain, so much so that just a cough or just any movement,

it's like literally like an arrow going into her chest.

And I said, why don't we pray?

And this girl, this woman starts weeping because instantly, instantly it's free.

And then there were women with fourth generation shaman curses that were spoken upon them

where evil dreams happen, family diseases just continue.

And one by one, God was just there doing whatever he wanted.

And I'm absolutely sure that it's the same God here.

That perhaps our inadequacy and our non-feelingness is our greatest strength.

That the same God is here.

Just thought I'd share that I had some pictures, but we'll show them next time.

Let's talk about attrition three.

We might end up meeting at a place that Karen is arranging for us next week.

So the pressure's on, Karen.

If you fail, we'll forgive you. We won't hold it against you.

But try not to fail. Yeah. Okay.

Acts 2, 22 is where we started three weeks ago.

It says, Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited to you by God with deeds of power, wonders.

Shoot, I printed the wrong notes, but that's okay.

Oh no, I've got the right notes. Okay.

Acts 2, 22. Guys, faith for deeds, faith for deeds.

Power. Deeds of power. Wonders.

Science.

Must be practiced.

In your life.

So in your life first and through your life.

Through your life.

So that on a regular basis, on a daily basis.

So that you are ready, like it says in 2 Timothy 4, so that you are ready in season and out of season.

And out of season.

So faith for deeds of power, for wonders, science, must be practiced in your life and then through your life.

Must be practiced in my own life.

These are things that I must practice in my own life before it can work through my life.

And it must be done on a daily basis. And what do you mean practice it on a daily basis?

That's what we're going to talk about. How can we make sure that every day there is enough faith to expect whatever God wants to do in your life and expect whatever God wants to do through your life.

And it should be practiced on a daily basis so that you are ready in season or out of season.

Here are some ways to cultivate that discipline. Here are some ways.

Here are some ways to cultivate that discipline.

Here are some ways to cultivate that discipline.

That word is cultivate. Here are some ways to cultivate that discipline.

That's what we look at today.

First, this is perhaps the toughest and it doesn't matter how many times we go over this, it keeps coming up.

Try affirming belief in, know that affirming belief in God, affirming belief in God is not enough.

Affirming belief in God is not enough.

Affirming belief in God is not enough.

What is more important is learning not to doubt his goodness.

Learning not to doubt his goodness.

Learning not to doubt his goodness.

Not suspecting his motives.

Suspecting his motives.

Not suspecting his motives.

Not weighing his character.

This is more important than affirming belief.

Anyone can affirm belief.

Anyone can affirm belief in God.

But to get to a place where I'm learning not to doubt his goodness,

it doesn't matter what my circumstances are, it doesn't matter how difficult things are getting,

it doesn't matter how long things are taking,

that I do not doubt his goodness,

that I do not suspect his motives, as in maybe he has some reason that he's making me go through this misery.

Unless you know that for sure, it is suspecting his motives or weighing his character.

As in he may be good but maybe not always good.

He may heal but he may not always heal.

He may provide but he may not always provide.

This is weighing his nature based on our circumstances and coming out with an answer.

Affirming belief is not enough.

So some of the ways we can cultivate a discipline where God's expectations in us and God's expectations through us in terms of faith,

how do we cultivate it on a daily basis so that we can be fruitful in season and out of season.

This is one of the ways.

So if I want to be like this, where do I start?

Where I start is, can I every day be first the father's child,

second, can I every day focus on one or two things about his heart, so the father's heart,

and third, can I be the father's mature son?

Unto the child is born unto the son is,

given. Can I do this?

This is the best way to learn not to doubt his goodness.

Starting off with this sense of being a much loved child.

It takes time, it's not the first thing that occurs to you when you get up in the morning.

Sometimes it takes very little time, sometimes it will take a lot of time.

It depends on the kind of day you've had, depends on the kind of problems you might have had.

Am I the father's child? Am I the father's much loved child?

What does it mean to be a much loved child?

To locate yourself in that spot and then move from there to focusing on one or two things of the father's heart.

Is he someone who I actually think is unadulterated in his goodness and intentional in his goodness?

Is he someone who is exceptional in his goodness?

Is he someone who I actually think is unadulterated in his goodness and intentional in his goodness?

Is he someone who is extravagantly lavish and embarrassingly generous?

These are things that I said about him, but is that my reality?

And then the third part is, can I say, okay God, now that I know this, I will behave like a mature son.

And come hell or high water, I will stand and show you that I actually trust in you.

Maturity is when you show proof that what you learned is actually practiced in your life.

Maturity is always measured by practice, not by knowledge. Always measured by practice.

Any questions?

What if we do this and yet we face disappointment?

What happens when you live like this and yet are disappointed?

How do you deal with disappointment?

How do you deal with disappointment?

Because that's what throws the whole thing into a funk.

How do you deal with disappointment?

How after starting off the day believing that God is your father and you are your father's child?

How after believing that God is extravagant in his generosity?

How after believing all this and trying to walk for the first two hours of the day,

you come across something that is so devastating that it disappoints you?

So how do you deal with disappointment?

First thing, ask for peace.

Disappointment comes with confusion. It comes with resentment.

It comes with bitterness.

It comes with hurt.

It comes with anger.

It comes with forgetting.

It comes with all these things.

The first thing you do when you're disappointed is ask for peace.

Only he can give it and he gives it willingly without grudging.

Father, give me that peace that passes all understanding.

Right now my understanding absolutely is disappointed in what has happened.

But give me the peace that passes understanding.

Ask for peace. And he's willing to give it always.

He's known as the Prince of Peace.

It's one of his favorite things to give.

This is why Paul would always start his letter saying,

grace and peace to you or peace and grace to you.

He's writing letters. It wasn't a greeting.

He actually meant it.

Ask for peace.

Ask for peace.

Second, when your confidence is shaken,

when your confidence is shaken,

when confidence is shaken,

once you ask for peace, immediately go, it is well.

Because you, oh God, are good.

Or go.

You are my shepherd.

I lack nothing.

Choose which one you want to go with or choose both.

How you react in the first few responses to these situations will then direct the rest of it.

The more time you give, the harder it gets.

The hole gets deeper.

Ask for peace. Then immediately flip to,

because my confidence is shaken,

well then, oh God, I'll sing what that guy sang when his family was killed in the accident at sea.

It is well.

It is well, oh God, because you are good.

I loved what Dane said.

It is well, oh God, because you are good.

I loved what Dane said today.

Oh God, you are good this minute, and you'll be good three minutes from now,

and then you'll be good fifth minute from now,

you'll be good twenty minutes from now, you'll be good twenty days from now.

This is constant goodness, but it starts at this minute.

It is well because you are good.

Or, Father, you are my manager.

You are the one who shepherds me, and I lack nothing.

These are the words that should come out from your spirit,

and from your spirit it will come out easy,

because you are born again.

But my God, the flesh and the mind and the heart will struggle against it,

because that's where disappointment hits.

The third thing we do,

when you are disappointed, and I'm sure,

if you are someone sitting here who hasn't been disappointed,

check your pulse, eh?

Third,

go into conversation with him.

Now that those two steps are over,

go into conversation.

What do you mean, go into conversation?

Why is this happening?

Ask him.

People say, don't ask God.

Not true.

The Book of Job would not exist.

Ask him.

Get into conversation.

Why is it happening, oh God?

What's next then?

I mean, I'm just writing down questions.

You can put down your own.

Or how to restart.

Show me how to change, or what to restart.

Converse with him,

and then if necessary, with others.

Because surprisingly,

I was texting my sister today,

and she was saying how she's tired of asking me for solutions

to solve her problems.

And I said, it's strange, Reba,

but I always ask you to ask me for solutions.

And I said, it's strange, Reba,

but I always have solutions for other people's problems.

I rarely have clarity for my own.

It's the plight of everybody here.

My God, anyone comes and asks you for advice,

and advice is brilliant.

You solve their problems in seconds,

but when it comes to your own blooming problem,

it doesn't matter how much you think,

clarity is a little more difficult.

That's why we need each other.

That's why we need each other.

If I could just converse with God,

and then converse, if necessary, with others,

I would say converse with others,

because it is necessary.

Because surprisingly,

others may have quick clarity to your...

I mean, Davant and I had a conversation.

He was looking so sad that I sat with him,

and he had a conversation.

Once he had the conversation, it was great clarity, right?

You'll have to do that for me someday.

Next one is praise him.

These are one step after the other.

They actually progress.

Praise him for what?

Not praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him.

Not even if it feels like sawdust in your mouth,

keep praising him, because eventually

it'll turn from sawdust to sugar.

Doesn't really work. It's fake.

At least I don't think it should be that way.

I'd say praise him picking stuff,

for your goodness of God.

When we started the service, that's what we were doing.

We were praising him for his goodness, and slowly we caught on.

Praise him for something as simple as salvation.

That song we sang,

my God, man, he saved us from death, from decay.

We are saved. We know God.

We know him as father.

We love his voice. We know his voice.

Can you imagine if suddenly his voice shut down?

Can you imagine if you couldn't communicate with him?

It's the same thing that Adam felt when he sinned.

He felt it.

Praise him for his goodness, for salvation,

for love, for fatherhood.

And then, as you do,

surprisingly,

that cloud of disappointment begins to lift,

and then finally,

as you begin to make a practice of this,

you'll find a strange thing happening.

You will learn to hope against hope.

You will learn to hope against hope.

Really? Does this work?

Yep, it worked for, what's his name?

What's his name?

Abraham.

Hey, Derek, can you see if my phone's anywhere?

Okay.

Here's what it says. Got it, Derek.

Here's what it says.

Listen to this, eh?

Romans 4, 17.

I'll read it.

Let's just read it from the NLT, just for the fun of it.

Abraham did not weaken, even though at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead, and so was Sarah's womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.

In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.

He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.

If you follow these steps, almost in this order, you will find that when disappointment hits, even though the disappointment is initial,

you have the ability to rise up and begin to hope against hope.

Begin to hope against hope.

Begin to hope against hope.

That's what Abraham did, eh?

He begins to praise, and he begins to hope against hope.

Meaning, the disappointment is so immense that you should not be hoping.

It is so concrete that you should not be hoping.

To hope against hope is to go against everything that says no.

There's that song that they sing, at least in Kenya.

Everybody may say...

Don't worry about it.

Basically, it says that everybody may say yes, no, but God says yes.

It's got a nice rhythm.

I miss James, you know?

He is touring the world, I think.

I know where he is, but...

Yeah, he's having a good time. He's doing well, praise God.

Any questions, guys?

Okay.

How else do we cultivate the discipline of faith?

If your mind and your emotions are fixed on your problem...

If your mind and emotions are fixed on your problem...

You will lose.

You will lose.

Because it will distort the voice of God.

It distorts the voice of God.

If your mind and emotions are fixed on the problem...

So what does that mean? What does it mean we should do?

Take captive my thoughts, and I'll take captive my emotions.

Take captive my thoughts, and I'll take captive my emotions.

These are really hard things to do, eh?

Because whatever you rehearse inside your mind...

Whatever you rehearse...

Inside your mind...

Inside your mind...

Whatever you rehearse inside your mind...

Is what determines your emotion.

Is what determines your emotion.

Take captive your thoughts.

When problems begin to arise, whatever area it be...

He who takes captive his thoughts is able to take captive his emotions.

Because whatever you rehearse inside your mind...

Determines your emotions.

I must disengage from internal and external conversations I'm having inside my mind.

Because if I don't disengage from them...

It's only a matter of time before my faith is atrophied.

Any questions?

If I don't disengage from the internal and external conversations I'm having in my mind...

Internal conversations are those that you don't hear.

External conversations are conversations that I begin to...

You begin to hear me speak.

And they're couched in doubt.

They're couched in fear.

They're couched in confusion.

They're couched in not trusting God.

If I don't disengage from internal and external conversations...

It's only a matter of time before my faith gets eroded.

And I said this last time.

Verbalize your lack of faith and it usually has the power to multiply.

And when you try not to verbalize your lack of faith, it usually aborts.

It's a feeding cycle, eh?

Thoughts, emotions, words that feed thoughts, emotions, words that feed thoughts, emotions, words.

And it keeps growing.

It's like a juggernaut.

It keeps collecting more.

It comes rolling down the slope.

Any questions?

Because like it or not, all realms, be it the realms of God or satanic realms or human realms,

all realms use sight and sound to their advantage.

What you see and what you hear, every realm uses that.

The enemy uses that.

God uses that.

The world uses that.

And so when you are threatened, when you are threatened or when you face a crisis,

when you are threatened or you face a crisis, what's your ammo?

What's your ammo?

What's your response?

Because soon as a threat comes, as soon as a crisis comes, what's our response?

I would say many of us begin to engage in internal and external conversations.

I begin to examine all the pros and cons.

And here we are not supposed to.

When you are threatened or you face a crisis, what's your ammo response?

Look at what happens in Acts chapter 4 verse 28.

Acts 4:28

Peter and John are beaten up.

They're brought to the Sanhedrin and they say,

you will not preach this way again or you'll get into more trouble.

What do they do?

They go and collect some more disciples and here is their statement.

Oh God, you see the threats that are against us.

They don't even verbalize their threats.

It's not a denial of reality.

Abraham did not deny the reality that he was a hundred and he was important.

But the way they verb is it is so, it's amazing how people in the Bible verbalize things.

They verbalize it through God.

They verbalize it through God.

They use God as their filter.

If you want filters from the Bible, look at Philippians 4, 8.

Whatever is noble, whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is peaceable.

They filter things through God.

So even when they speak of threats and difficult circumstances,

they say, oh God, you see the threats, you see the circumstances.

This is what they are saying. You know it.

So instead of taking on, oh God, this is what is happening to me,

they immediately place it on God.

And placing it on God, they then begin to say,

look at their threats and give us the boldness.

Look at their threats and give us the courage.

Look at their threats and give us this or give us that.

They're asking for what they need after filtering it through him.

It's very deliberate.

Whatever your situation be, filter it through him.

Oh God, you see my financial situation.

Oh God, you see my relationship.

Oh God, you see the crisis I'm facing.

Oh God, you see the struggle that I'm having with sin.

Oh God, you see this huge mountain going to crush me.

Oh God, you see.

That's the way you take this.

And now that you know and you see, could you send me help?

And then you cry out for whatever help you need.

And then you also ask the Spirit, what help would you have me send?

But disengage from internal and external conversations.

Our external conversations are just a diluted,

Christianized version of our toxic internal conversation.

Yep.

Of which one?

Yeah.

Let me give you something that I could have thought of.

Oh God, you said that you were going to do this.

And now it's been three days.

You said you would do it in three days.

It's been four days now.

It's been five days now.

Haven't I served you properly?

What have I not done?

You told me to go, I went.

I don't know.

It's getting a little difficult to walk this.

I find it very hard to trust.

My heart is kind of getting bitter.

Why aren't you coming and helping me?

You told me to go, I went.

I don't know.

It's getting a little difficult to walk this.

Why aren't you coming and helping me?

You helped that person.

You helped this person.

You're not helping me.

Why should I be in this situation?

I've stood on your promise.

I've told others to stand on your promise.

I teach them how to stand on your promise.

But how come, oh God, after doing all this,

when it comes to me, how come you're not there to deliver?

But now let me show you the Christianized version.

You know, I've been really standing for a while,

and I think I'm showing the kind of faith that's necessary.

But I don't know.

It just doesn't seem like God's responding yet.

But I'm going to continue standing in faith.

That's the Christianized version of my toxic version.

Yeah, we are supposed to talk to others.

But filter it through God.

Hey, Nick, guess what?

I've been standing for a long, man,

and I've told God that this is what I'm looking for.

You filter it through God in your previous conversation,

and then you tell Nick how you filtered it.

He learns, and you are able to present it the right way.

Yeah.

Because guys, toxicity with God is very simple.

It is resentment against God, bitterness against God.

It is believing His promises but not affirming His goodness.

Everybody suffered this.

You're not new to this.

Jeremiah.

Jeremiah says, oh God, you're a deceptive brook.

And guess what God's reply is?

You would think there would be some sympathy.

God's reply is, if you don't start separating the vile from the pure,

if you don't stop speaking nonsense,

if you don't stop casting aspersions and suspicion on my name,

I will not use you as my mouthpiece.

Kalas.

Immediately, Jeremiah changes.

That is focusing on the problem.

Yeah.

No, every time you focus on a problem,

your thoughts focus on a problem,

your emotions will come the same way.

You have to take the problem immediately.

Ask for peace.

Remember those steps you said, ask for peace.

Begin to go into those steps and begin to have conversations with God.

Yeah.

If God doesn't give you a solution, do the next best thing you know.

Because the steps of righteous man are ordered by God.

When you have no clarity on what to do,

trust that the Spirit of God in you will lead you.

Because take any scriptures, take Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6.

Proverbs 3:5

You will find that God is the only one who can lead you.

You will find that God is the only one who can lead you.

Because take any scriptures, take Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6.

Proverbs 3:5

Which says,

Lean on, only trust and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind.

Do not rely on your insight, on your own understanding.

Do not put your trust in man.

But in everything you do, put God first.

And what will he do?

He will make straight and plain your paths and direct your ways.

Proverbs 16, verse 3 or 4.

Proverbs 16:3

Roll your problems on to God and what will he do?

He will make your path straight.

Some whatever.

The steps of a righteous man are ordered by God.

These scriptures come together when we don't know what else to do.

Which doesn't mean we use them as our default.

Our intent is to find out what God wants.

It isn't working.

Either because I'm in a bad place and I can't hear.

Or because God isn't saying anything.

Know that he can still carry you through.

My God, how many times has he done that without you praying?

1 Samuel 30 is another example where David is threatened.

How does a guy who has 400 people with him,

whose wives and children have all been taken away,

how does he not panic?

They're going to stone him in 1 Samuel 30.

And what's his response?

Not some kind of conversation.

He didn't sit down and write a psalm.

Because by the time he finishes, knowing how long his psalms were,

look at what he did with 119.

His wife and kids would be dead.

So what does he do?

He immediately runs to God and God says two simple words, man.

Two simple words.

Actually, four simple words.

You will recover all.

Crazy, eh?

And now he has to stand on that.

It doesn't matter that the Philistines have taken them.

Oh, by the way, when you pray for Israel, what do you pray for?

What do you pray for when you pray for Israel?

Because we all know what's happening.

So here are some things that you can add to if you want to.

But try this.

Because Christians have a tendency to suddenly,

every time something happens to Israel,

we forget that there are other people involved.

So why don't we go with this?

You can add to this, but start with this.

You can start with it once I find it.

Shoot.

One of them was pray for Palestinian Christians.

Because whenever such things happen,

they get beat up from all sides.

So pray for them.

Pray for them.

Pray for them.

Pray for them.

Pray for them.

Pray for them.

Pray for them.

Pray for them.

They're not the ones who get beat up from all sides.

So pray for them because they get the worst from everybody.

One, that the physical sons of Abraham,

as in Ishmael and Isaac,

that the physical sons of Abraham will become spiritual sons of Abraham.

Two, that lives are preserved so that they may yet receive Christ.

Three, sorry.

That the physical sons of Abraham become spiritual sons of Abraham.

We're not praying...

Yeah.

Doesn't matter whether you're physical descendants of Abraham

through Ishmael or through Isaac.

At the end of the day, both will perish without Christ.

So we ask for the physical sons of Abraham,

be it descendant from Ishmael or descendant from Isaac,

to become spiritual sons of Abraham.

Second, that lives are preserved so that they may yet receive Christ.

Every person that dies without Christ perishes.

That lives may be preserved so that they may yet receive Christ.

Third, that believers will pray for both Palestinians and for Israelites.

That believers across the earth will cry out for both,

not for one or the other.

The Afghani, Pakistani, Canadian, Israelite, Jewish, non-Jewish,

all need Christ, and so you can't pray for one side.

Four, that Palestinian Christians be protected through this.

Because they'll get hammered from both sides.

Both the Israeli side and the Hamas side, both will hammer off.

They always suffer the most, the Arab Christians.

And then you can add to this.

Okay, I'll go for another 10 minutes and stop.

Time, guys, time is used as a weapon.

Time is used as a weapon to destroy faith.

Time is used as a weapon to destroy faith.

I've said this before, but if you don't speak, faith will never grow.

So if you're someone who loves being quiet,

if you are someone who does not verbalize things,

if you are someone who thinks but doesn't speak,

then let me assure you, faith that is not spoken is stillborn.

Faith that is not spoken is stillborn.

Faith that is not spoken is stillborn.

And then if you think that's okay, then here's the next line I want to say to you from Hebrews 11, verse 6.

Hebrews 11:6

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Faith must speak.

Okay, third one.

Time is used as a weapon to destroy faith,

because we give up when we can't see.

We give up when we can't see.

We give up when we can't see.

So every time it takes longer, it's best to put your faith into another gear.

Put your faith into another gear.

That's what Abraham did in that scripture we read.

Put your faith into another gear.

How? We need to speak the promise.

We need to call forth what God said he would do.

Vocalizing it, yeah.

These walls may fall.

Three.

Rebuke what needs to be rebuked or subdue what needs to be subdued,

be it a situation or be it the enemy.

Four.

This is really difficult for us who are thinkers and they like to intellectualize things.

Begin to act and speak as if it has already happened.

Who said this? Jesus.

Where? Mark.

Which chapter? 11. Which verse? 23.

Refuse to be defeated by time.

Whatever you believe.

Whatever you believe.

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have already received it.

Or go to 1 John 5, 14, 15.

Whatever you ask, according to my will, know that I, you must have the confidence that it is your present possession.

That you should, and David used to walk like this, Moses walked like this, Joseph walked like this, Jesus walked like this.

Refuse to be defeated by time.

Wait time often becomes worry time.

Wait time often becomes worry time.

Whenever wait time becomes worry time, worry time has you quit or has you turn resentful against God.

One of the things that happens when faith doesn't work is you turn resentful against God.

Resentment is the eventual outcome of faith that is defeated.

Resentment is the eventual outcome of faith that is defeated.

The other easy way to do, to escape all this is to throw everything on the sovereign will of God.

Just say, oh sovereign will of God.

In Islam they say, Inshallah, meaning whatever will be will be.

In the 60s and 70s there was a song called Kesara Sera.

You can choose whichever one you want to.

Any questions?

Yep.

Will there be peace in all the suffering all the time?

Will there be peace in all the suffering all the time?

Sufferings must be categorized under three sections.

One, sufferings caused for the sake of Christ.

Where you suffer because you stood up for Christ.

Then there is suffering that comes because of this sinful world.

Then there is suffering that comes because of others.

Then let's take a fourth one, suffering that's a result of my sin.

These are the four categories under which the Bible puts sufferings.

Suffering that comes because for Christ's sake.

Where you take a stand for Christ and you suffer.

Then there is sufferings that come because of the fallenness of the world.

Death is suffering, sickness is suffering.

Pain is suffering, hurt is suffering, sadness is suffering.

Anything that Adam did not suffer till he sinned is a result of the fall.

No one has spared that.

Labor pain is suffering.

So that's the second set.

The third set is suffering caused by others.

Someone else's mistake causes you to suffer.

Someone else's debt you take on.

There's a story in Elijah where this woman comes up to Elijah and says to him,

Alas the last master, they're coming to take away my two sons because my husband wasn't.

Debt. Someone else is suffering now.

And the fourth category is suffering because of my own sins.

Where what I sow I reap.

So based on these four categories of suffering, we have tremendous peace in this.

God has chosen.

That's why people can go through it.

We have peace in this because there are promises that God gave and we'll sing it.

I mean today at some point I was thinking boy Christmas is just around the corner.

One of my favorite songs is Joy to the World.

As far as the curse is found.

As far as the curse is found.

So I'm going to sing it to you.

I'm going to sing it to you.

As far as the curse is found.

Suffering because of others.

You can ask for peace to endure.

And suffering because of my sin.

You can ask for forgiveness and with it comes peace.

David puts it so brilliantly.

Oh God, Psalm 51.

Cause my bones to rejoice again.

Give me back that which I lost.

Restore to me the joy of my salvation.

Here's the crazy thing.

Four categories of suffering.

All can have peace.

Even though they're caused by four different things.

Why?

Because in the center of all suffering stands one who suffered and was judged for the earth.

And now reigns not just there but in your heart and says I am the Prince of Peace.

This is my favorite thing to do.

That's the crazy part of this.

Shoot, I got to stop.

I've been trying to finish this notes for the last three weeks.

Okay.

Last one.

Crystal, I hope you told your dad and aunt that things go long here.

It's basically because the children sang happy birthday.

Because of Mike, yeah.

Last one is be of good cheer.

Not the last one, the last one for today.

Be of good cheer.

What do you mean by that?

In difficult situations, in really difficult situations where faith is being challenged,

see if you can get to joy before doubt gets to you.

See if you can get to joy before doubt gets to you.

It's hard, eh?

It's hard, but try.

Or find people that can get you there fast.

One or the other.

Because joy and difficult circumstances are not compatible.

Paul and Silas did this.

They went for the jugular joy in prison so that they don't get overwhelmed by their situation.

Four guards, chains.

Very hard thing to do.

This is why I said these are practices.

At the end of the day, my maturity will be known not by what I teach,

but whether I can practice this on a daily basis.

But if I can practice this, then I'll be in a show.

So see if you can get to joy before doubt gets to you.

Thank God nobody names their children doubt, huh?

One of the things about joy, why it's important to get to joy,

is joy has the ability to grasp the outcome.

Even while it isn't your present reality.

Where do we see this?

Though the fig tree shall not blossom, though there be no cattle in the stall,

though the olive trees may not bear fruit, though the stalls be empty,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord my God.

I will do cartwheels of joy.

He's saying that listen, I'm going to be joyful because I'm going to grasp the outcome that is there.

This is what pregnancy looks like.

Where on one hand there is this fact that there's nothing to show and yet you know the outcome.

You know the outcome.

Joy has the ability to grasp the outcome.

Sometimes this kind of joy should make you dance at home and nobody is watching.

And if you're really bad, stay away from mirrors.

That's my secret.

I just don't dance where mirrors are there because then I stop.

As long as I don't have to see, I will grasp joy and start dancing.

My neighbors find it very disturbing, but that's their problem.

The great thing in my building is you can't come to my floor because they don't have a fog.

Any questions, guys? I'll stop for now.

Doubt and joy are not compatible.

Doubt and joy are not compatible. Any questions?

All good?

Cool.

We've got a little more to go and then we'll do that next week.

Next week we'll try, next week based on what Karen has said, we'll be meeting in the morning at 10.30 or so and at this place that she's getting.

And then after that we will have a potluck lunch and then by 2 or 2.30, because that's how long she's getting it for, we leave.

And we just want to thank Mike and Karen for sponsoring the whole event.

In a church, once you clap, it's sealed.

So if you need prayer, there'll be people here to pray with you.

Otherwise, say hello to Crystal's aunt and dad and say hello to Larissa and say goodbye to...