Attrition

All righty. Hey, God does not fail when it comes to faith, but the quality of faith

can. And we've been talking about accrediting ourselves. Like Christ, it

says in Acts chapter 2 22, was accredited by God, by the Spirit, and he went around

Acts 2 · chapter mention

performing science miracles and wonders. And yet our faith often erodes. So I want

to talk about what causes the attrition of faith. So God does not fail, but the

quality of faith can fail. But the quality of faith, but my quality of faith

can fail. And what does failure of faith look like? What does failure of faith,

what does failure of faith look like? Here are some of the ways it looks like,

and I think it's common to all of us. We are waiting and nothing is happening.

Nothing is happening. Sometimes it's worse. The opposite begins to happen. You are

exerting faith as well as you know it, but the opposite begins to happen. You

find that guys who are not using any faith at all are prospering. Non-faith

people seem to be doing really well. As in, they live with a case or

address or attitude, and yet they seem to be prospering really well. While you're

standing in faith and nothing is happening or worse, the opposite begins to

happen. Hey Brandon, if you're anywhere here, can you make my pen light darker?

This is part of what we pay you for.

Four.

Hard to find good help. There. Heidi, could it double his weight?

Four. You see early fruit, it's not raining at all now.

Heidi.

Okay. Sometimes what does the failure of faith look like? You see early fruit and

looks like, ah shucks, and you begin praising God, and it suddenly aborts and

you don't have anything or withers away, and you think to yourself, what was that?

Was it a mirage? After a while, when this thing begins to keep happening, promises

that you get from people, from God, are hard to believe and sustain. And in the

end, what happens is uncertainty because you feel like, can I trust this, can I

not? And that leads to sufficient amount of confusion, and that leads to an

inability or a perceived inability to hear God because you think, am I really

hearing God? Is this just my experience or is it common to you also? Ah, so it's

my experience. So we shall talk about my experience today. So this is what the

failure of faith looks like in my life, where these things begin to happen.

Sometimes when I'm doing the best I can to walk in faith, nothing seems to

happen. Just nothing. It's like there's no progress. And then the next thing is

sometimes the opposite begins to happen. When you're really trusting and you

think things are going to break open, instead the reverse begins to happen. It

gets worse. Third, people who aren't exerting faith at all, who ksira sira

through life, seem to have everything working out for them. Four, I see early

signs of, oh shucks, ah praise God, man, you won't believe what happened and then

nothing happens after that. It's almost like the balloons without air. Oh, when

you, you know what I mean. And then the fifth one is now I begin to think these

promises, I find it hard to believe. I'm not able to sustain my ability to believe

it with everything I have. I leave enough room for doubt. It's almost like be

careful, don't put all your eggs in this basket. And then the last one is that

leads to uncertainty, confusion, and an inability to hear. And so this is what

failure of faith looks like. And if it's not your experience, blessed are you. But

if it is your experience, then hopefully we can work around it. Yeah. No, this is

what failure of faith looks like. So it's not my faith has failed. This is what

regardless of how much I'm trying to exert faith to the best that I know, but

these things are happening. And so it almost feels like a failure of faith, but

it is not a lack of exertion of faith. Today at some point when we were singing

oceans and the song before that, I just felt that this room, there were so many

people with so much faith. So many people with so much faith. When you get to that

bridge that says spirit lead me where my feet may. Yeah, where you go into places

that you any, any sane person will fail. And that's where you want to go. And

that's the other thing. It's easy to practice faith that does not fail by

staying in shallow waters. Remember that if you haven't experienced this, either

you are someone of tremendous faith or you are someone who stays in the

shallows. Either you're someone of tremendous faith, like you only know

victory and success and you've never been through those things. Or you're in

the shallows because you don't have to worry about this because it doesn't

require mystery. It doesn't require feet may fail. This is a progression. We all

go through this and we're supposed to overcome it. Yeah. Yeah, so it's not that

we're not exerting faith. These are things that are happening to people who

exert faith. If you stay in the shallows, this won't happen. So why does this wreck

you? Why does this wreck you? Because it does affect us. It affects how we deal

with life. Why does this wreck you? One, because you are sure you heard God and

now you don't know what to make out of it. Why am I going through this? Because

all of us here have been through this at some point or the other, right? And to

pretend that faith always is working for you. I'm not saying it's impossible.

I'm saying it's not the common experience. Why does this wreck you? Because you're

sure you heard God and now you don't know what to do with it because you're so

sure you heard God. Now what do you do? Second, you expected. You prayed. You

trusted and weren't rewarded or were disappointed. Or were disappointed. Do you

think the disciples didn't have faith? Oh my God, three days have gone by and now

Jesus is still dead. They were beginning to think that this wasn't happening. On

the road to Emmaus, if you actually joined Jesus while he walked with his

disciples, all he could hear was resignation. Three days had come and gone.

So you expected, you prayed, you trusted, you weren't rewarded and you were

disappointed. And disappointment is really sucky. It's not fun. Third one, a

question we often ask. I have heard this asked so many times, especially when

something terrible happens. This is a question that is always asked. When he has

the power, why doesn't he as a father intervene? I don't know. I mean, every

month I get this asked by someone or the other. If he had the power, you say he's a

good father. If he had the power and if he's a father, why didn't he intervene?

If he has the power and he's a good father, like you say, he is, why didn't he intervene?

Another thing that causes you to be reckless, you're speaking faith, you're

standing in faith and now you feel shamed. Some of us, these are different things

that apply to different people. Some of us feel shamed before others because

people are beginning to question your trust, eh? As in did you really hear? What are

you standing on? Sometimes it wrecks you because you're scared inside you that

you may be let down again. You're scared you may be let down. By who? By God.

Because you have had it happen once before and now you're scared and it begins to

create a room for doubt, for maybe lowering your expectations. This is why we

lower our expectations. We lower our expectations because we were burnt once or

twice before. Now we lower our expectations because we don't want to aim as

high as we were. If you don't face the problem, we won't have solutions for it.

Go ahead, Marcus.

Are we putting faith in what we've heard or are we putting faith in the word of God?

Yeah, so are we putting, valid question. What are we putting our faith in? Are we

putting faith in what we hear or what we read? Here's the autic. As we read, we

begin to hear him speak because he's a father and he can speak through the word,

through dreams, through prophetic words, through visions. How do we know that? We

know that because the word says so. So that's the thread. So you can't hear him

without, I mean you can hear him without the word because he can do whatever he

wants. But his normal way of functioning is can you know the word so that you

know my nature? Now that you know my nature and you know me as a father, know

that I will speak to you through different means. Sometimes in your heart,

sometimes through someone, sometimes through a prophetic word, sometimes

through a dream, sometimes through a nudge, sometimes through circumstances.

He'll speak any number of ways. So it is not only the word, it is however God

wants to speak and you know him through the word. If you don't know him through

the word, then you're on shaky ground. I mean I have known non-believers who've

heard God, I mean the living God. They didn't know anything. But usually it will

be through knowing the father through the word. And that's what makes it so

dangerous, right? Because it would be so much easier if we only decided that

everything we hear is through the, what is the written word? And yet we need to

realize that the written word is not Christ. The written word is not Christ.

You can't contain Christ in a book. John himself wrote it. You can't contain him,

sorry not John, Luke wrote that you can't contain even his three and a half years

you can't contain within a book. There is a written word and there is the living

word. The written word launches us into the living word. Many churches play it safe

by only depending on the written word for anything to be spoken. So hearing would

be something they would not encourage.

But

Yeah, 14 minutes 23 seconds. Because this is only the problem. What is the solution

we'll have to see. Yeah, patience and faith, timing, it all works together. This won't

get over today. We'll have to take it into the next week. Three pages. Today it'll be

either really short or really long because I've been traveling for the last 32 hours

so this could go really long. If it goes long just enjoy it. If it's short express your

disappointment.

Yeah, so there'll be so many things that will not be backed by the word. So if God

says for instance, hey Jacob you're special. You know it's the nature of a father. You

know that Isaiah 43 he talks about Israel as special but coming to me and saying I'm

special. It'll be very hard to prove that that this is God or you see a dream and in

the dream God speaks to you. You can't prove it through the word but you know his nature

as a father and you know what he's saying to you in the dream as being the nature of

God. So the book will. Pardon? I didn't understand the question.

Yeah. A question like this. A question like this that it does the written word is the

written word. Won't the written word always back up what God is saying. No. So many times

you hear things when you heard about your house. Well you couldn't back it up with the

written word. I mean you can say Israel was told do not build houses. I will give it to

you free but if you shouldn't that it would be a little difficult. No vineyards, no wells,

no houses. Yeah. So that would make it difficult. This is tenuous ground guys. This is why it

is so much easier just reading the word and hoping that your answers will come from that.

But that is a limited relationship. It is a limited relationship. That frightens me.

And we can't live in limited relationship with the one person in the entire universe who is your

father and who loves talking. Or let's put it this way. How did Jesus operate? When does he know

how to spit on the clay and heal a blind man's eyes? No Old Testament scripture gives you that

permission. How does he know when to pay taxes by going fishing? Who told him he could walk across

the water? An axed can, not a human. So he began to operate by the Spirit by being dependent on the

Spirit. But he knew the nature of his father. Davant, you're good? So, and then the last one that really

wrecks you is, you thought faith should be easy but faith seems exhausting sometimes. Oh brother,

I'm standing in faith. How long are you going to stand? You look like you're going to totter. So these are

the reasons why we feel wrecked. And yet we have to work around this because the church that needs to

walk in easy faith, in restful faith, in faith that may disappoint, though it's not supposed to because

the Bible says in Romans chapter 5 that faith never disappoints. Anyone who puts their trust in the Lord will

Romans 5 · chapter mention

be rewarded. But what when you feel like the reward is not there? What do you do then? How do you work

around that? That's why this will take time and we won't finish it today. How do you respond normally

when these things happen? How do you respond when these things happen? Here are some responses. One,

very simple. I find it then hard to trust God in a certain area because I'm not able to muster what it needs

to walk in faith in that area because it didn't work out a few times. I find it hard to trust God in that area.

Two, I won't attempt to have supernatural expectations. I'll lower my expectations. This is one of the

coolest tricks in Christendom. One of the ways we completely bypass faith is by lowering our expectations.

This makes it very easy to have faith. One of the easiest ways to do this is to say whatever God wills.

There are times when you're sincere about it, but usually when you say it, it is just a way to avoid finding out

what he wills. Very clearly he says, your kingdom come, your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

You've got to know what his will is. Romans 12, find out the good and perfect will of God. We have to find it out,

search it out. If that isn't our human experience, then we're just being Christians, which still gets you to heaven.

The other experience is when you're sons of God. Why? Because the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. That's different.

I want us to know that it's impossible in a sense for us to continue in this church without already having tremendous faith.

You do. I've seen it in your lives. Long ago, this was about seven or eight years ago, we asked people in the church,

many of you weren't there, we asked people in the church to stand up and share stories of either healing or of faith.

There were at that time about 40 people in the church. There were about 40 stories. And people were trying to limit it to one story.

So there's no absence of it. But then why let these things block our way? I want to attempt to have supernatural expectations.

Many of us have lowered our expectations in certain areas. Three.

Resentment, suspicion, lament.

This begins to happen against God.

Guys, please understand this is real. You want to see how real it is? Go to Job. Go to Jeremiah. Go to Elijah. This is real.

This is real. Lament, suspicion, resentment. Against who? Against God.

Jeremiah chapter 15, verse 18 says, you're like a deceptive brook. Can't trust you.

Jeremiah 15:18

I'm not saying Jeremiah is a poster child that we should follow. I'm just saying it is real.

Jeremiah 15, 18.

And especially when you belong to a people who show faith, this becomes even more difficult because you've got to hide this.

Because everyone else seems to be gung-ho about their faith. And everyone comes up with a story.

I texted the landlady and she said, come, even though the house was gone. And I went there and Ann and George got their house.

Hallelujah. What about the rest of us who didn't get a house? So that begins to happen. Sorry, I'm just speaking on you and your house because you asked a question.

Resentment, suspicion, lament against God. Next one.

We can stop at this, or you can add to it later. Discouragement that jades the heart. That jades the heart to promises.

As in, it's like you develop faith fatigue saying, don't give me another promise, please.

I've been hearing this for years and nothing has happened. Don't give me another one.

Any questions, guys? I thought we'd start with the bad news.

We could end on this note, but then it's supposed to be a good news.

Okay.

Why does this happen?

I'll probably end with that and then do the rest next week.

Some of the reasons this happens, guys, is one, is my faith contractual?

Is my faith contractual? And what do I mean by contractual faith? Contractual faith sounds like this.

Oh God, you said it in your word. Therefore, I believe that you will do it.

Oh God, I'm standing on your word. You said it. You're not a liar. You will do it.

That's contractual faith. It is still faith. It is still in the Bible. Jeremiah chapter 1 talks about it.

Jeremiah 1 · chapter mention

What do you see, Jeremiah? I see a boiling an almond tree. You have seen well. I will watch over my word to perform it.

Numbers 23-23. I'm not a man that I should lie. I'm not a son of man that I should deceive.

Have I not said it and will I not do it? So it's actually scriptural, but it's still contractual.

It's Old Testament faith. You have said it, oh God, and you will do it.

It's nice, but it ain't the most excellent way.

It is faith. It is biblical, but it's not the most excellent way.

How does that differ with?

Yeah, so if I tell you what we should replace contractual faith with, then we can go to the wrestling God question.

So this is contractual faith. Well, the faith that we are supposed to have is faith that is born of father-son intimacies.

Faith that is born of father-son intimacies.

Faith that is born of father-son intimacies.

Intimacies. This is different.

It's not, dad, you said you would buy me a bike.

Recently, I had to talk to someone who felt that they did the exams well.

So where's my iPhone? You said that if I do my exams well, I'll get an iPhone. I'll get a laptop.

You said it. You've been saying it for the last two years. And look at my results.

Where's my iPhone? That's contractual. This is between a father and a son.

There's nothing that is so self-entitled to this kind of faith.

It doesn't come out of relationship. It comes out of you are a faithful God. You said this. You will be faithful. I receive it now.

It is good, but it is not the most excellent way. And we should always aim for the more excellent way, even when it comes to faith.

This is what the faith movement was based on. And it eventually implodes.

Because at some point, when contractual faith is not delivered by God, everything will go wrong.

Because you didn't have a relationship. You only had a promise.

It just implodes.

And so what we have to learn, this is how you can prevent your faith from being wrecked.

Can it come out of father-son intimacy?

You want nothing because it's a promise. You want everything because you know his heart.

You want nothing because he gave a promise. You want everything he has for you.

Because every time you want something, let's assume I was his dad, he and I get into a conversation.

Where first I give him the word and he begins to look at the word.

Two, I begin to visit him in the morning and begin to talk to him.

Three, I begin to give him hints of what it is that I want for him.

Four, he begins to see why I desire that for him.

Five, as he sees that I desire it for him, he looks at it and says, it is impossible.

Six, he begins to read the word and gets encouraged by who I am.

Seven, he begins to know the length and the breadth and the height and the depth of not just my power but my love for him.

Eight, he begins to take tiny steps saying, I can believe this. I can believe this.

Nine, he looks for assurances and promises saying, dad, I'm scared. Tell me what to do.

Help as he begins to think. And then he begins to walk.

And as he begins to walk, the limbs begin to strengthen.

And as the limbs begin to strengthen, he knows that he can stand for as long as it's needed.

Not because it's a promise that has a delivery date, but because it is the intimacy that he has with his dad, his relationship with his dad.

He knows his dad now. And what comes now is not from a promise. It is from knowing the heart of his dad.

That is different. That's not contractual. That's not transactional.

That comes out of intimacy. And that does not disappoint. You know why?

Because you now have a relationship with someone who does not disappoint.

In the contractual faith, you have a relationship with a promise.

In this case, you have a relationship with the one who says, I cannot even swear by anything on earth because I am God.

He cannot disappoint. He cannot let down.

Now we get to that place in that song which says, so I yield to you and to your careful hand.

I will trust you even if I don't understand.

This is so hard, guys, because everything in our world is instant.

Everything is contractual, binding, promised, disclaimers, clauses, fine print.

We can go here. We can avoid that whole set of things I wrote down.

This is what Abraham had in the Old Testament. Sure, he tried to help God along.

But he had this. 25 years, the guy is waiting, man.

And after 25 years, when he has him, he has him for about 16 years.

Now he's going to kill him.

Why? Because he has a relationship with a God who he knows can bring back the boy to life.

Is my faith contractual? If it is, beg God.

You know, again, I have a relationship with God.

If it is, beg God.

You know, again, like I said a couple of weeks ago,

please shift from addressing God as God to addressing Him as Father or Son or Holy Spirit.

It makes a massive difference.

You see Him as Father, it becomes very difficult for you to think of Him as anything.

We're absolutely embracing.

You see Him as Holy Spirit and you can see Him as nothing else but amazing counselor, amazing comforter.

This afternoon when I was flying, there was something that I was struggling with and I was trying to find scriptures for it.

And then at one point I said to myself, Holy Spirit, I just want to close my eyes and rest in your comfort.

Rest in your comfort.

And out of that, whatever may come, I don't want an answer.

I just want to rest in your comfort.

And did I get an answer? No.

But did I get rest in comfort? Yes.

Till Derek called me in the middle of the flight.

And I refused to answer because you're not supposed to do voice over calls in the flight.

This is our go to Jesus Christ.

I mean the one who had nails run through his hands, when he caresses you, you feel the scars.

That kind of Christ.

But often when we go to God, like I said, sometimes Christians worship not a triune God but a quadruune God.

God is the one who is the scapegoat always.

But it's impossible to do that to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

That's why He's so personal, right?

No other religion can claim that, man.

For all of them, their God is so nebulous.

Which is why we cannot afford to hide behind whatever His will.

That's not how you work with someone you have a relationship with.

So contractual faith that is not born out of Father-Son intimacies is not a good idea.

It shouldn't prosper in your life and my life, guys.

I mean look at the way it says this in James, I'm reading from the message.

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.

He loves to help.

You'll get His help and He won't be condescending to you when you ask for it.

He loves to help.

He loves to help.

James chapter 1 verse 5 from the message.

James 1:5

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.

He loves to help.

You'll get His help and won't be condescending to you when you ask for it.

Next one.

Because of past experiences, experiences, what are we dealing with right now?

Why does it happen?

Why does what happen?

Why does faith sometimes fail?

Why does it wreck you?

Why is my response so skewed?

Why does that happen?

Sometimes experiences can affect so deeply

that it becomes a stronghold.

That it becomes a stronghold

and a hideout

for spirits

to torment.

Something so difficult happens to you

and you may not have even thought there was a need for faith in it.

You prayed like you normally pray

and then it's such a reversal that it really affects you.

It affects you to a point where

over a period of time, brick by brick by brick,

a stronghold is built.

I can give you many examples.

Let me pick one from my life.

I went to a certain country and when I went to that country,

I had everything prepared, all my documents,

and then I had prayed

because I knew what I was going to the country for.

And I get to the immigration, I provide them everything,

and suddenly this guy comes and he pulls me into a room.

And he begins to interrogate and ask questions

and turns nasty, man.

I get so scared because it's not a country that is necessarily

in a good relationship with Canada.

And so it's not a friendly country.

I got so scared.

And he went on and he said he would send me back,

that he was going to put me in a plane and send me back and stuff like that.

And all this is happening and I'm so scared that I can't even pray.

All I'm saying is, somewhere in my mind is,

oh God, help me get out of this.

And suddenly the guy gets a call.

And he starts talking on the phone.

And it's a long conversation.

And then he looks at me, he's seeing me there, go, go, go, go.

So I get up and run.

But after that, every time I would go to this country,

as I would approach the immigration desk, I could feel fear.

I hated it.

Because when you can feel fear, you know you have a problem.

I could feel fear.

I'd start quoting scriptures.

I'd start standing in faith.

I'd declare open doors and all.

And then I remember twice I went to the country after that

and each time there was fear as the plane was landing.

And so the third time I decided, okay, I'm going to quote nothing.

I've got to change the way I work.

There's quoting scriptures and standing in faith.

If it's making you sweat, something is wrong.

I decided not to.

I started instead calling out to God for help to remove this fear

because it had become a stronghold.

That is a minor thing.

In our lives there have been sometimes things that are far more traumatic

than a guy shouting at you in a language you don't fully understand,

except you know he's not happy.

And when that happens, a stronghold is built.

A stronghold is where spirits begin to torment.

It is like this is what happens as soon as you come into that same circumstance,

the same thing begins to happen.

Fear grips you.

Certain ways you begin to react.

And that's, they begin to torment.

And sometimes that kind of faith is not very good faith.

It's actually faith that is built on fear.

Faith is often built on fear.

Faith is sometimes used as an antidote against fear.

It should not be an antidote against fear.

Faith is supposed to be the base, the platform,

the stuff that you put at the bottom of the tree when you bake.

Whatever that is.

The crust. Yeah.

Examples from the Bible.

Why is it that every time Goliath came out,

an entire army that had just offered a morning sacrifice to God

would run into their foxholes?

One man.

One man would come out and he would simply say,

I dare you who believe in the God of Israel, come out and challenge me.

And an army of Israelites who had seen victories under Saul

would go scampering into their foxholes.

This is a people who would see the visible presence of God.

Another one.

Forever Israel would believe that they were bred before the enemies.

Only two had the way to understand that they were like grasshoppers

and we were the giants.

But in Israel's history, till that generation died,

they always thought they were bred to be eaten.

They had just seen him deliver them from the greatest, strongest,

most fierce army in the world, the Egyptian army.

And now they are at the brink of conquest

and they go back into the bred mentality.

Why? Because the slave mentality persisted.

What do you do with this when you go home?

You've got to take those areas in your life where you have these issues, guys.

You've got to take those areas in your life where you have these issues, guys.

Because otherwise this is just a whole lot of really good notes.

You have areas in your life where these issues exist.

You have areas in your life where these issues exist.

Totally.

How do we find something that's totally irrational

by first admitting that I have a problem with this?

something that's totally irrational by first admitting that I have a problem here.

Okay, so now you've admitted that you have an irrational fear.

Okay, so now that you've said you have an irrational fear,

find out what you normally do to deal with it.

Okay, write down what you normally do to deal with it,

because it's become your default. That's how you're always reacting to it.

You have either offensive mechanisms or defensive mechanisms that are scriptural to deal with it.

Okay, so the second step is over.

The third step is to go to Derek and say,それで de la casa,

I'm going into the same situation, come with me.

The fourth step is to go again to Derek and say,

I'm going into the same situation, come with me.

The fifth step is to again go to Derek and say,

I'm going into the same situation, come with me.

The sixth step is to say, Derek, I want to go alone.

And while you're walking with him into the situation,

you realize that your very ways of dealing with it have changed.

The only way to strengthen muscles in my shoulder that are sagging is to have people who can support it.

Faith is contagious, guys. Faith is contagious.

You put someone in a room full of faith,

and you will find that without knowing, they start talking different.

You put someone in a room full of people who absolutely believe that Jesus always heals,

and you will find that slowly they are beginning to think differently.

So what do you mean by faith is contagious?

Anything that is born of the spirit is contagious.

If it is born out of father-son intimacies, then what comes out of your heart,

because it is out of the abundance of the heart that my mouth can speak on a consistent basis.

Otherwise it can sing a few verses.

But you will know a person by their consistency.

That's how you know what is real and what is not.

There will be consistency in what their heart sings and their mouth expresses.

Church is the easiest place to fake faith.

If you find others who walk like that, my God, man, this is easy to overcome irrationality.

To overcome irrational fears.

My fear was irrational.

It will never happen again.

I've gone to that country many times since.

It never happened again.

I would suggest to you, and this is an odd thing to say,

for believers, this is an extreme statement to make because it's almost not true.

For believers, every fear is irrational.

Hebrews 13, 6.

But is that the reality in my life?

No, I'm afraid.

And if you say you're not afraid, you're either lying or you're not dead.

The only man I think who was not afraid,

the only man that we should aim for in every area that I'm afraid,

chip away, chip away, chip away, till I become like him.

Because one day I will have the same glory that he has, but I don't have it today.

I can speak verses that say I have it today,

but the reality is I do not have his glory yet.

Tomorrow I'll be one degree closer to his glory than I am today.

Because one day we're going to share his glory.

We shall be like him.

But what is the use of being like him then?

I mean, there is great use.

What is the use in these areas?

Why not become like him?

Chipping away at fear, chipping away at fear, chipping away at fear,

that's irrational.

This is our thesis left.

Any questions?

I've got to give you one area to start with.

Just one area to start with.

I've got so many different areas that need repair and help in my life

that I go and ask him, so which area would you like to work on this week or this month

or sometimes this year, because sometimes it takes me a year to overcome it.

Not because he's a bad teacher, I could be a slow learner.

I'm speaking on your behalf, eh, but I'm taking the blame on myself.

I'm getting into trouble for this, but so what?

So I would say, go and ask.

I know the areas of fear in my life when it comes to faith.

I asked this question many years ago.

What would your life look like if today you had no fear?

What would a decision look like if today you had no fear?

Here's what it would look like.

You would send Hagar off with Ishmael.

You would part ways with Barnabas.

You would leave your country, clan and people.

You would endanger your life like Jason did for Paul.

You would turn your back on Egypt and your job as the Prince of Egypt.

You'd refuse to compromise on any truth because you owe Potiphar your loyalty.

You would drop your nets.

Your job, your work, you would drop your nets in a second, say goodbye to your father and walk away.

We think when we talk about fear, we're talking about fear of sickness or fear of disease.

I'm talking about fear that keeps us in a place immovable in terms of the kingdom.

Those are bigger fears because these little fears are easy.

Those bigger fears are what keeps us where we are.

We're not dealing with fears of a fear of a motor accident or fear of getting a cold or a sickness.

No, no, no, no. There's enough scriptures to deal with that.

I'm talking about a fear of life itself, but it doesn't matter.

That is what we're looking for.

Why do you think the rich man did not put his riches at the feet of Jesus?

Love for riches or fear of losing it all or both?

We're playing for much bigger stakes than the fear of sickness or the fear of losing grades at school or a job.

Much bigger stakes.

So fear-filled faith can't trust. Remember that. Fear-filled faith can't trust.

So you know what that means now. Fear-filled faith can't trust.

What's your problem? FFF. Ah, okay.

Fear-filled faith. Fear-filled faith. Say it fast if you get it right.

Fear-filled faith can't trust. Why? Because it's double-minded.

James 1, verse 6-8 talks about it.

James 1:6–8

Here's another reason why sometimes we have problems with faith.

Faith without works is actually dead. Faith without works is dead.

Show me your works and I'll know you're a man of faith. Faith without works is dead.

Whatever God is asking you to do, you'll have to do something that shows that you have evidence before there is even fruit.

There are many stories here where you guys did something even though there was nothing on the horizon to prove that you were right, that anything would work out.

You went ahead and did something because you wanted your works to show how much you trusted them.

First fruits. Another way of expressing faith when it comes to money.

Works must give evidence for your faith.

And if it doesn't, then know your faith is dead. These are some of the reasons faith fails.

Next one. We got three more and then I'll stop.

Did not fight the good fight of faith.

Paul says to Timothy, hey, fight the good fight of faith.

This is where that whole thing of your will be done absolutely neutralizes anyone who wants to fight the fight of faith.

Because you don't need to. As long as you don't know what to fight.

Fight the good fight of faith requires that I know what he wants and then go stand in the middle of a lentil field with just a sword in my hand.

And I slay 300 Philistines that come at me from every direction till the sword is stuck to my hand.

That's what it looks like.

Oh, that's a story from the Bible. David's mighty three and mighty 30.

So if it is, this is where I'm going to say this and it's going to sound completely wrong and yet it's completely right.

This is where hiding behind the sovereignty of God gets your squat.

Because there's a tendency to say, God is sovereign. He'll do whatever he wants.

This is true, but he's also your father and he's also your Lord and Savior who leads from the front.

And he's also the Holy Spirit who is your wonderful counselor, mighty in power, in wisdom, in counsel, in strength.

This is the God you and I serve.

And so it is required that there are times when I have to fight the good fight of faith to bring a result.

Otherwise, why did he give us a shield in our armory?

Why did he give us a breastplate and a helmet?

We'll go into that later.

Everything in that armory is so meant to walk in faith because there are fiery arrows going to come.

You're going to use the shield of faith.

That's the way you think.

How a man thinks, especially in battle or in terms of faith, is how a man will behave.

Helmet of salvation as in helmet of victory.

The word salvation and victory are equated in that scripture.

Loins guarded with truth.

A sword connected to the belt so that you can pull it out.

Belt is torn, sword is missing.

Guys, what a brilliant religion we have, eh?

This is not for namby-pamby wimpy kids.

Did not fight the good fight of faith.

Many lose because of this.

Two more.

Compromised or diluted the outcome through plan Bs.

Ishmael is a classic example.

Compromised or diluted the outcome through plan Bs.

Ah, this is one of our favorite things to do, isn't it?

When this doesn't work, quickly make sure that there's a plan B that you can quickly deflect to

so that you at least get some of the things you are standing in faith for.

I must construct a plan B if I'm asked to construct a plan B.

Otherwise, I must fall flat on my face if plan A doesn't work.

After you fall flat on your face if plan A doesn't work,

get up, clean the wound, and then ask God for another plan.

But don't have a plan B before.

Abraham had a plan B before.

Plan A was complete and it just goes on and on.

It's a gift that keeps giving.

So I'm not saying there is no plan B because one of the things Jesus would find was

he was going somewhere and then there'd be a plan B, there'd be a detour,

because he's got to stop and take care of the woman with the issue of blood.

Then he's got to deal with another demoniac.

Meanwhile, Jairus' daughter is dead.

Same with Lazarus.

There was a plan A. I've got to go and heal the guy.

He's almost near dead.

And then plan B is, nah, wait in Bethany.

Why? Because the guy has to die.

Plan B will always result in...

Here's the problem with the plan B in my life.

If I have a plan B, it always costs more.

I'm not just saying in terms of money.

In different ways it'll cost more.

Two, it will be a construct of the flesh.

And therefore it will not be all spirit.

And therefore it will decay.

Anything that is born of the spirit is spirit.

Anything that is born of the flesh is flesh.

Flesh decays.

Spirit gives life.

Plan B, that is the problem with plan B too.

There'll be flesh involved.

It's a golden calf you create with your own hands.

It'll make you dance for it.

It'll decay.

It won't be life-giving.

But you'll get small rewards because it's your plan.

But the cost is always going to come.

Ishmael cost Abraham.

Ishmael cost Abraham a lot.

You must understand, for him to send his son away,

who was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, man,

he was a blood son.

Last point.

Sometimes the reason these things happen is because we do not have

a group of people, a group of people with courage and courage

or a group of guys tearing the roof open.

Sometimes because we don't have a group of guys who can tear the roof open

and we don't have a group of people with Jesus there,

or because we don't have encouragers,

we're not able to sustain faith for long.

One of the things that we perhaps have to do is when we are going through

a difficult situation, you don't have to spill out all the details,

but tell a few people the difficult situation you're going through

so that they can watch how you handle it

and how you're going to handle it.

Being neutral and quiet and reserved and I'll do this on my own,

it might be very Canadian, but it's not Christian.

Maybe you grew up in a home like that.

Well then, grow up in another home now.

I'm not asking us to wear our hearts on a sleeve

and spill blood all over the place,

but involve some people in your story.

Don't involve sympathizers.

Involve those that will kick your backside.

I remember this pastor's wife coming to me long ago

when I was sitting with my face hanging to the ground thinking,

how will I do?

Her comments to me were, does your God speak?

She's a believer. She's a pastor's wife.

And she's sitting, seeing me sit there with this face of all is lost,

woe is me.

And she says, does your God speak?

So I said, yes, he speaks.

Does your God hear or is he deaf?

Yes, he hears, he's not deaf.

Well then, get off your backside and go ask him what to do

instead of sitting here moping around with your chin

so long that you can mop the floor.

Those are not exactly the words you want to hear at a time like that.

My God, it changed everything.

Can we end on that note?

Next time we'll do how doubt affects, how unnatural...

doubt we kind of know,

but it'll be fascinating how seriously doubt affects us.

Two, how do patience and faith work?

How does the timing of things work?

You have to have faith and you have to have patience.

Both work in tandem.

There's an immediacy and there's an eventuality.

Both have to not collide, but they have to run together.

How does that work?

Then natural.

We have a natural way of functioning.

The natural has to be sacrificed.

Everything that God demands that is great in faith will require

that your natural tendencies be laid down.

Everything that God demands will go against your natural self.

Faith does not operate with the natural person.

1 Corinthians 2 puts it this way.

1 Corinthians 2 says,

hey, know this, that no natural man can understand the things of the spirit.

That only a spiritual man can understand the things of the spirit.

Faith is a spirit thing.

So the demand that will be made on you

will be opposed by everything that is natural about you.

By natural I mean who Jacob is, what his background is,

what his preferences are.

Those things will oppose great acts of faith.

They won't oppose stuff like healing.

Guys, do you realize that most of our faith currency is spent on personal things

like healing, job, money?

Most of our faith currency is spent on healing, job, money.

That is not the intent of this teaching.

Go to Hebrews 11 and we'll read that and end with that.

Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11.

It's around verse 35.

Hebrews 11, 35.

I could go starting at 32.

I could go on and on, but I've run out of time.

Really I have.

There are so many more things in my notes.

Resurrection.

This is rarely preached because it almost goes against the very grain of faith

that every promise must be rewarded.

But these are promises for much greater things than healing and job and money.

These are the things that people will die for, that here we will die for.

I'm telling you, give someone here a cause worth dying for

and you will live and you will die for it.

Come on man, you are that kind of person.

But to both step into that cause and to walk in that cause requires this kind of faith.

Otherwise we'll just be going around doing healing jobs and money.

That's so blooming self-serving.

You don't die for that.

You just come up for prayer for that.

But this you will die for, even if you can't get your hands on it.

Why? Because tomorrow someone will pick up the baton you've laid down

and run and get exactly what you dreamt of.

Yeah, let's pray.

Thank you Father.

You're a God of faith.

You're a God of faith.

That's the God you are.

Everything you do, you said so clearly in Hebrews 11.6.

Without faith, church, it is impossible to please me.

Father, we are God-pleasers.

And if we are God-pleasers, then we are people who will walk in faith.

Oh God, you have given this church a cause.

You have given individuals causes.

I say renew them again.

Because here before you sitting under this roof,

are people who if they are given a cause, are willing to do anything for it.

I've seen it Abba.

Do it again, oh God.

Bring us back to that place of great faith, mighty exploits.

Not for our sake, like we said last week,

but for the sake of King and Kingdom.

So that someone else, someone else from TW,

will pick up what someone else who's 20 years, 30 years older than them has dropped.

And pick it and go to the finish line.

So that you will have what you deserve.

And you will not get what you deserve if your people here won't walk in faith after a God who has always done things by faith.

Hebrews 11 starts that way.

That God spoke and by faith he created the universe.

This is who you are.

This is who we come to be.

Here on earth, as it is in heaven.

Bless this your people Abba.

They are people of faith, Father.

Hear our stories about what you've done.

Bless us.

Bless them.

Bless them I pray.

To walk well in faith in Jesus name I ask.

Amen.

Bless you guys.

Thank you.

If you need prayer guys,

for healing and job and money and everything else,

feel free to come up and we will pray for that.

Because God is interested in meeting those needs,

but he's not interested in staying there.

He wants you to be well,

and then walk the other out.