Kingdom Faith

about faith again today. I talked to a couple of pastors this weekend, surprisingly, even

though it's supposed to be Hosanna Sunday, which would be the ideal message to speak

on a day like this, for whatever reason there are two or three pastors and perhaps more

in the city who today are talking on faith. And none of us met with each other and said

we got to talk about faith. But when I met with them during the week, all of them are

for some strange reason teaching on faith. And we were laughing because no one ever coordinated

so don't know what God is trying to say, but thought I'll talk on faith today instead of

Hosanna. So if you want to turn to Deuteronomy 31 6, Deuteronomy 31 6, Deuteronomy 31 6.

It says there, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.

Or sometimes you can put in the word it because sometimes it's not people who terrify us,

it's situations that terrify us. Deuteronomy 31 6, be strong and courageous. Do not be

afraid or terrified because of them. For the Lord your God goes with you. He will never

leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. I mean, whenever God says

stuff like this, it just washes over us so quickly. But if you actually think of it,

it is the God of the universe saying, Jacob, I'm speaking too fast today. Let me slow it

down. The God of the universe is saying, Jacob, be strong and be full of courage. Why? Because

you look too afraid and terrified of people and situations. But I want you to know this,

that I will go with you and that I won't abandon you or forsake you or leave you or desert

you. I won't do that. And then the same thing is echoed in Hebrews 13 verse 6 where God

Hebrews 13:6

says, Jacob, I am your helper so don't fear because what can man do to you when I am your

helper? And we talked about this. When God says he's your helper, he's not your secretary.

What he means when he says you're helper is not that he's an aid or some kind of an assistant.

What he's saying is you are so helpless, Jacob, that you need someone to help and I am that

helper. So Hebrews 13 verse 6 says, Jacob, I, God, am your helper. Don't be afraid. What

Hebrews 13:6

can they do to you now that I am your helper? What can the situation do to you now that

I am your helper? Guys, half the time we are afraid is because our human faith is limited

and influenced by five senses. We do have this thing called human faith. Do you realize

that you time and again step into a 60 meter cylinder that travels at 900 kilometers per

hour and is piloted by two guys you haven't even seen? I mean, you heard what happened

with that German wings flight. But we have human faith. We step into that cylinder traveling

at 900 kilometers per hour at 8,000 meters and trust that the two people sitting behind

a door that we cannot enter know how to handle this thing and to take it up and bring it

down. So there is this thing called human faith. The world operates by it. But human

faith is limited to five senses. It's influenced by the five senses and limited to the five

senses and that's why God said, hey, you need to have this God faith thing because you are

continuously submerged. We are continuously submerged or engulfed in reasoning, understanding

in speculative thinking, in speculative thinking, reasoning, speculative thinking and calculated

response, calculated responses, calculated responses. This is why we need faith guys

because the way humans are, we're continuously trying to reason things out. We're continuously

engaging in speculative thinking and in calculated responses, reasoning as in trying to figure

out whether what we are going to do or what faces us can be rationalized and worked out

with our minds which are so limited. Because our minds are fed by five senses. All that

we know is fed by the five senses. Then there's speculative thinking. Speculative thinking

is what if or what does this mean or what could it be? This happened to that person.

How is it going to be for me? It's speculative thinking where you're speculating on something

that you have no control over, absolutely no control over. It's fascinating. I remember

sitting in a hotel room once and speculating for two hours and I looked at my watch and

I thought you just spent 7200 seconds speculating on something you can't control. I was so irritated

with myself for spending two hours thinking about something that I didn't know how it

would work out, how I could control it. Guys, we spend half our time sleeping, half our

time speculating and then the other half we live. It doesn't work out that way. And then

there's calculated responses where we try to figure out what is the best option given

our reasoning and our speculative thinking. What can we respond to after calculating all

the odds that will make things work out? And all three are ways that are from the world.

And this has to now be replaced by faith as in biblically prescribed faith which gives

you a singular eye to see what God wants. So that's the way it works.

You-to-do. That's the thing, eh? Faith helps me draw back from rationale which is limited.

I'm not saying rational is always bad but it's so limited because it's dependent on

my soul, on my five senses which is again so corrupted by the environment I grow up

in. It gives me a singular eye where it draws me back from speculative thinking. It draws

me back from trying to reason things out. It draws me back from trying to calculate

the best odds. It gives me a singular eye to see what God wants me to do. It gives me

a singular eye and it helps override the questions in my mind. Gosh man, when you begin to go

down this road the number of questions that come up, how will this work, who should I

meet, what? To override those questions and to have a single eye to see things the way

God sees things, faith is required. Any questions? Any questions? Or any challenges to this?

Any questions? Any challenges? Which one are you looking at, Ruth? Prescribed. Whenever

you write the word prescribed you have to write it like a doctor. It should be completely

illegible. Guys, so faith is a very important part of the human being. It's a very important

part of the human being. It's a very important part of the human being. It's a very important

part of the human being. And faith, Heidi, what are you looking at now? To see what God

wants you to do. You're a nurse. You write like this. To see what God wants you to do.

Guys, one of the definitions of faith that we rarely hear is faith is entering into what

God wants to do with you and for you. Faith is entering into what God wants to do with

you and for you. What a cool definition, eh? Faith is entering into what God wants to do

with you and for you. Faith isn't this thing that we decide, ah, this is what we want to

do and then there's this struggling. No. God gave us faith so that we could enter into

what God wants to do with us and for us. It's a risky embrace of His action. It's a risky

embrace of His action. It will always be beyond your abilities, eh? But He is the story writer.

He's the author and the finisher of faith. So He's writing the story. But He's saying,

hey Jacob, before you were born, I prepared these mighty exploits for you to do and these

were authored by me and I got the power to finish them. So why don't you enter and embrace

this risky venture that I'm wanting to engage you in and let's you and I enter into what

I want to do through you, for you, come. That's what faith is. Suddenly it becomes an adventure

that you look forward to, not some kind of a struggle that you're engaged in. It's so

sad that faith has become a thing that when I go through a struggle I need faith. No.

When I walk through adventures I need faith. Faith is entering into what God wants to do

with you and for you. It's a risky embrace of what God wants to do. And it will always

be beyond you. And by the way, all of us start with faith, eh? To begin with, isn't it a

fruit of the spirit? And if you have the spirit of God, I'm suggesting you have faith. We

all have been given faith to start with. Romans 12.3 talks about it. Galatians 5.22 talks

about it. Ephesians 2.8 talks about it. Romans 10.17 says, now that this faith has been

given to you, cultivate it. Cultivate it. How? Through hearing and doing. Everybody

here who is a believer has the faith that God requires and wants him to have to enter

into adventures with him. Guys, think of it again. Think of that line again. Faith is

entering into things that God wants to do with you and for you. So even when a struggle

comes, God is saying, hey, I want to do something with you and for you in the middle of the

struggle. Want to come in? Want to walk with me? Want to take this risky embrace of this

venture that I'm leading you into? Want to see how I'll deliver you? Come walk. That's

what he's saying. And we know that the enemy is someone who keeps shooting fiery darts.

And what do we block that with? The shield of? Faith. Again, it goes back to the same

thing. Oh, he's really shooting fiery darts at you, having a tough time. Want to come

with me? Pick up the shield of faith and you and I can go and walk this together. Walk

into a venture that will help you get through this because I'm the author and not the half

writer, but the author and the finisher of your faith. I know the story. I'm writing

it. I know how to get you out of it. And boy, will they read it and say, oh shucks. That's

how this works. Any questions on that? Guys, feel free to challenge this and question it.

Hey, were you waiting for me to move for you to go this way? That's very nice. Oh, okay.

Any questions guys? Any difference of opinion? Okay. Honk honk. Faith is not a means to an

end. It is the end in itself. Faith is not a means to the end. We often use faith as

a means towards an end. As in, if I exert faith, I will obtain this. True. We need to

have a result or an outcome that we know God is taking us towards. But faith is not a means

towards an end. Faith is an end in itself. And why do I say that? Because here is what

the end of faith is. Faith makes you a God recognizer. As in Hebrews 11, 5 or 6 says

that one should believe that God exists before you can even start. Faith helps you become

a God recognizer. The end of faith, the end of faith, besides the outcome, besides the

outcome is that you become a God recognizer, you become a God partner, and you become a

God pleaser. Without faith it is impossible to please God. So you become a God recognizer.

Faith allows me to now recognize God as more powerful than, greater than, bigger than any

situation, any enemy, any mortal that comes my way. It recognizes God. Faith that does

not recognize God will not survive. Faith recognizes God. Faith recognizes God. We'll

talk more about that again later. Faith makes me a God partner. Where in 2 Chronicles 16,

9 or 1 Chronicles 16, 9 it says that the eyes of the Lord roam to and fro looking for those

that he can show himself mighty on behalf of. God is looking for partners. God is looking

for partners to show himself off through. Jesus put it this way. He said, Oh God, you're

in me and I'm in you. So will you do your works through me so that they may know that

I am sent by you and they may recognize that you work in me and they recognize you. So

two things are happening in what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying, you're in me, I'm

in you. Could you do works through me so that they acknowledge that you sent me? And once

I start doing the works you want me to do, they'll also acknowledge you. A God partner.

The end of faith, besides the outcome, is you become a God recognizer, a God partner

and a God pleaser. Because without faith it is impossible to please God. What a cool thing

faith is, man. In every little thing, and I asked this question before when we did faith

long ago, do you prefer to live by faith? And the answer usually is no, I use it when

I have to. But the correct answer to the question, do you prefer to live by faith is absolutely,

is there any other kind of living? But Christians use faith as, oh I've got to use faith again

because I'm in a situation. Jesus preferred to live by faith. Yep?

Absolutely, and we'll talk about faith degraders. What degrades faith? And when we come to that

we'll touch on what Diana just said. So let's talk about faith degraders. Faith degraders,

I like the word degrade because nowadays you keep hearing that from the White House. We

are degrading ISIS in Syria. And we don't know what that means but I like the sound

of degraders. So faith degraders. So what are faith degraders? Faith degraders are the

basically things that come against faith. So here's the thing guys. The opposite of

faith, the opposite of faith is doubt. The substitute for faith is self-reliance. So

the substitute for faith is self-reliance. The detractor of faith, the detractor of

faith is expectancy. I'll explain that. Low expectancy. The failure of faith, why does

faith not have power? Why is there a blackout of faith? The failure of faith is ignorance.

The failure of faith is ignorance. And the tormentor of faith, and the tormentor of faith

is fear. These are basically what we can term as faith degraders or you can call it whatever

you want. Faith degraders. The opposite of faith is doubt. The opposite of faith is fear.

Faith degraders are the opposite of faith. Faith degraders are the opposite of faith.

The opposite of faith is doubt. The substitute for faith is self-reliance. The detractor

of faith is low expectancy. As in it detracts from faith. It minuses, subtracts faith. The

detractor of faith is low expectancy. The failure of faith is ignorance. The tormentor

of faith is fear. And boy, do these things sometimes assail us. Just keep assaulting

us. So the opposite of faith is doubt. So when doubt comes in, guys, it's pointless

when we have doubt to try and go to somebody who will make us feel better. Because that's

what we do. When we have doubt, we sometimes want prayer just so we feel better. But it's

not feelings that will help you. The opposite of faith is doubt and the only way to handle

doubt is to go back into the word. There's no other way around that. The substitute for

faith is self-reliance. This is our specialty as humans. Self-reliance. We substitute faith

with self-reliance. So what does Saul do? He goes to the witch of Endo. What does Abraham

do? He goes back to Egypt. What does King Asa do? He goes to his physicians. So what

does Peter do? He goes back to fishing. What does Jacob do? He goes to someone who can

help him. I'm talking about this Jacob. So the substitute for faith is self-reliance.

Where we become self-reliant because it's much easier to do it our way, with our rational

and hope it works out than trust God who is invisible, whose word we have to depend on

and he seems to take his own sweet time when I can fix it in two minutes. Third one, the

detractor of faith is low expectancy. Guys, we'll talk about this some more later on.

But here's the thing. Many of us have small faith because our expectancy is small. The

largeness of faith is not determined by the size of your faith, by the size of your expectancy.

The largeness of faith is not determined by the size of your faith, but the size of

your expectancy. What do you want? What do you want? Jesus keeps asking people, what

do you want? I mean a blind man comes up, what do you want? Why? Because once my expectations

are low, it detracts faith, it destroys faith. We hide behind the sovereignty of God so

that we don't need to exert faith. Let me say that again. There's a tendency in Christianity

to hide behind the sovereignty of God as in saying, let God do what he wants to do.

And that way I don't have to exert faith. Faith always has expectancy. The very definition

of faith in Hebrews chapter 11, one word, the hope of things unseen. As in I have to

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

see something which is unseen and begin to expect and hope in it for faith to even exist.

Low expectancy detracts faith, guys. Be aware of that. And the difference between small

faith and large faith is just expectancy. We'll talk about that a little more. It's

so important. The fourth one is the failure of faith. The failure of faith is ignorance.

The more I'm ignorant of the word, the less there is a chance of my faith succeeding.

Because Romans 10.17 puts it this way, faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.

Be ignorant of the word, have a failure or a power failure of faith. Because what do

you base it on? On someone else's experience? That doesn't help you grow. It encourages

you, but it doesn't help you grow. And the last one is the tormentor of faith. Fear.

The tormentor of faith is fear. And the tormentor of faith comes through what? Sound, sight.

Two highly used phenomena. We rarely smell fear. Dogs do. But we don't necessarily smell

fear. But we hear fear and we see fear. And boy, does that become a source of torment

which begins to eat away from faith. So whatever is your weakest area, begin to work on that.

Because I'm sure that all of this happens to us at different times. But there are certain

areas in this that are particularly our thing. And work on that first. Work on that first.

Any questions, comments?

We'll talk about that. Talk about that. In six minutes.

No, ladies, you've got to be kinder.

Guys, part of the reason God starts with his Deuteronomy 31.6 where he says, be strong

and courageous and don't be afraid, is because he wants us to be fearless when it comes to

faith. And one of the first requirements for fearlessness is what I said last week. Write

it down. It's Sunday school stuff. But write it down and read it every day if you can.

He owns everything. He controls everything. He's very kind and he's intentionally looking

for ways to do me good. It is so comforting, guys. He owns everything. He controls everything.

He's very kind and he's intentionally looking for ways to do me good. Sounds so simple,

I have to repeat it a third time. He owns everything, controls everything. He's very

kind and he's intentionally looking for ways to do me good. Guys, this one statement will

prevent you from questioning or being disappointed when things don't work out like you want.

This has helped me so much when I'm expecting something standing in faith and it doesn't

happen. Everything in me kind of shrinks up where you feel like your stomach and your

heart is kind of shrinking. It would be good if it actually happened, but it's just inside

that it happens. And then you're thinking to yourself, man, this is so sad because I did

everything I felt I was standing in faith and everything has just crumpled. And that

is when I quickly go to my iPhone and not read this, read what I read. That he owns

everything. He controls everything. He's very kind and he's always intentionally looking

for ways to do me good. So I'm not seeing what needs to happen here, but there's something

that I need to see because it's not a lack of faith that sometimes causes things to fall

apart. There are so many other factors, guys, but I know that he's intentionally good. I've

got to trust that and it'll begin to come up again, especially when you're standing in

faith for someone else, guys. There are so many factors involved. So many factors involved.

I remember a pastor once whose wife used to be falling sick quite often and he'd go lay

hands on her and she'd get healed every time he'd pray for her. And then a time came about

four or five years into the marriage, and this is a very well-known guy. He wrote it

in his book, one of his books he wrote. Five years into his marriage, he went to pray for

his wife and she didn't recover. And so he goes and asks the Lord saying, Father, how

come? I've been praying. You always heal my wife. I prayed for her. She's not recovering

and God's answer was very simple to him. He says, she's got to stop piggyback riding on

you. It's time for her to step into maturity and exert her own faith. When I read that

many years ago, about 24 years ago, I read that and I thought, huh, there are times when

you've got to stop carrying people on your back because they have had enough time to

develop their faith. Three years ago or four years ago, my sister wanted to put Leah in

a private school in Bristol. And they asked me what I thought and I was asking the Lord,

Father, what do you think? And I felt the Lord saying, go ahead. Because their main

concern was private schools are super expensive, so will they be able to handle it? And I felt

the Lord saying, don't worry, tell them to go ahead and I'll take care of it. So I went

and told my sister, listen, you asked me and I sensed God saying this, but they still didn't

have the peace or the comfort to go ahead and do it. And so then I was asking the Lord,

Father, now what do you do? I told them what you want. And the Lord said, that's fine.

At present they don't have the faith. Tell them to try again next year. And so I told

them, don't worry about it. It's no big deal. God's not upset with you or disappointed

with you. So between now and the next year admission deadline, build up your faith. And

so for one year they actually took it seriously. The next year came and the craziest thing

happened. My brother-in-law got an increase in salary. He had back pay that was supposed

to be given to him for four or five years and it came together. And my sister got some

kind of a promotion at work and the money was no issue. But by now they had built up

their faith to a point where they could. Right. Guys, sometimes remember when we are standing

in faith for others, you can only have them piggyback on you for so long. Because what

if Tavis is now 20 years old and Jason still has to carry him to church? That won't be

fun because Tavis would be bigger than Jason. Tavis could carry Jason. So that's what I

mean guys. Just be aware of it when you're praying for somebody else. Because the only

person you really know well and you really know the exertion of what you're doing is

you. You can't say it for anybody else. Another way to stay fearless is to go back to

Deuteronomy 31.6. The Lord goes with me. When? When I'm holy? No, no, no, no. The Lord goes

with me period. He doesn't say when you're holy I'll go with you. When you're not holy

you're on your own. Thank God he doesn't say that. The Lord goes with you. The Lord goes

with me. Second statement in Deuteronomy 31.6. He will not abandon me. He will not disown

me. He will not leave me alone. He will never forsake me. He's my absolute helper. So Jacob,

give me a good reason for you to be afraid. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid

of anything. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid of

anything. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid of anything.

Okay, the next thing which we talked about a lot in this church is gauge which direction God is going in.

How do you figure out which direction God is going in? Through his word, through a

Rhema word which God sends, through a prophetic word that God sends, through dreams, through visions,

through asking, through seeking. Know which way he's traveling. He uses circumstances. Look at the

circumstances he used in Jason's life to bring about this house. I mean we go for a pastor's

retreat which is really not our favorite place to go. And we went there and I'm talking to this lady

and she says she's from Lethbridge and I think you had talked to her before that and then she connects

the thing and the house happens. God uses circumstances, dreams, visions, prophetic words, Rhema, Rhema

words, the word of God, every which way to show you the direction he wants you to take. Guys, he says

I do not speak in obtuse riddles. I speak plainly. And when I speak plainly I do so so that you can

understand what I'm saying. I speak in parables to people who are not necessarily once connected with

me but with you I speak things plainly. We've talked about it a million times so I won't talk about

that right now. But one of the ways you can be fearless is when you know the direction God wants you to

travel in and once that happens the next door neighbors of us, like the kids, they're going to be talking

today about shameless boldness. Once you know God has said something you can be shamelessly bold.

Shamelessly bold. Because you've heard God. Now what does it matter? Now even the outcome doesn't matter

because faith is now about entering into an adventure and trusting and obeying. Hey guys, it's because

our focus is on the outcome that we feel disappointment. If our focus was on God and not the fig tree, the

fig tree will blossom in time. Because our focus is not on God but on the fig tree, the fig tree

because our focus is not on God but on the fig tree that has not blossomed yet. Habakkuk chapter 3.

Habakkuk 3 · chapter mention

What happens is we get disappointed when we don't see fruit on the fig tree immediately. When the, if the

focus is on God then we don't have to worry about the outcome. Well because the fig tree will blossom. I'm

called to trust and obey and enter into an adventure because God is saying come I've planned this before the

foundations of the earth, walk with me in this.

If you say you have faith and we go back to that whole question of expectancy. If you say you have faith, one must ask the question

that God asks, what do you want me to do for you? In Mark chapter 10 verse 51 a blind man comes up to Jesus

Mark 10:51

and Jesus asks him such a foolish question by human standards. A blind man comes to him and he says what do you want?

But Jesus wants to know what is your expectancy? What do you want? He wants to know your expectations. Guys, vagueness

or whatever will be will be is not faith. Vagueness is not faith. Whatever will be, do with me as you will is not

faith, is not faith. Jesus says that. The Bible says that. What is your expectancy? Guys the capacity of your

expectation determines the largeness of your faith. The capacity of your expectation determines the largeness of your

faith. Peter has eleven others in the boat. Why do we say Peter was a man of bold faith? Because he, look at his

expectancy. If you can walk on water and you are my master and we recognize you and I recognize you as Jesus, son of the

living God, then why can't I walk on water too? So can you tell me to come? Because once you say come then I know that the

word has been spoken and I can jump on this water and start walking on it. Is that large expectancy? Walking on water I'd suggest

to you is large expectancy. I remember when I was a kid, I had this friend who had an uncle who was a scientist and he told

us he could walk on water. So we were all excited and he said three days it will take before he can do it. So we were all waiting

for three days. Then after the third day he takes us into the washroom and then he pours some water on the floor and he walks on

it. It was so disappointing man. We were just kids, like six and seven year olds and waiting for three days saying, oh he's going to do

that. It was like after three days to pour some water on the floor and walk on it. So Tavis don't let anyone pull that one on

you now. Expectancy increases as one recognizes who the father is. Expectancy increases as one recognizes who the father is.

Expectancy increases as you live life as a much loved child. Expectancy increases as you live life as a much loved child. Expectancy

increases as you walk on water and find that it works. Now you begin to have a greater expectancy. The more you experience God the

greater your expectancy. Guys at the end of the day it's not your grasp of Greek or your guts or your gumption that allows you to trust God. It's the

depth of the revelation of the father. You get to know what the father is like and you begin to act like a much loved child and bold faith is

basically faith that expects giant things of a gigantic God. Because God is saying, hey this is what I have for you. Do you want to

step in? Guys let me assure you every time throughout your life you will always be stretched beyond what you have been stretched today because God is more aware of your

capacity than you are. There is never going to be a time when God will stretch you as much as he stretched you two years ago. He will always stretch you beyond because he

knows that Jacob has the ability after all these years to venture into bolder faith where I think my limits are is almost never where God thinks my limits are. And it will always stretch me but it will always be in my grasp. This is the way faith works.

Might as well enjoy it and make it your friend than fight it as if it is an eventuality of life. You know you hear sermons on dream big. You cannot dream big till you have great expectancy and you cannot have great expectancy till you know the father, till you are a much loved child, until you experience faith on a regular basis. That's what makes expectancy grow man.

Got to get this right. When will you start if not today and who if not you? And I am not talking to you I am talking to me. Remember when I say you I always mean me. No I am not. But you are not excluding us. I said no I am not. But when when guys? When when? When? Today. Today.

See this is what will happen. We listen to this message and we have a particular situation happening in our life right now that we have been waiting for that we have been disappointed in that we have been praying for and it hasn't worked out and we use that as a filter for the rest of life.

And what a shame because we are missing out on everything because of that. You are taking once this message is done Chris can say but my ear. Wayne and Bernice can say but Wendy. Kamal and Ann can say but this. I can say but this. Mariana can say but this.

In the ground we bury the richness of who God is because our circumstance begins to frustrate the truth and denies us this banquet that God is setting before us. What a shame eh. We cannot allow this to happen. We can't allow incidents to determine the face and the faithfulness of God.

Every one of us Jacob has something that we are standing for. Yeah and for each of us it's super difficult. Now I may think that ah Wayne and Bernice are going through a difficult time with Wendy in the hospital and it bothers me. But guess what the same degree to which it bothers them is perhaps what bothers Chris when it comes to her ear because she's been handling that for the last few years.

For the last seven or eight years. You know it doesn't matter what our problem is to us it is the largest thing that is happening. All of us in this room are having it guys. We can't let what God is saying go to not because of a circumstance and particularly when the circumstance has to deal with faith for somebody else.

You have less control guys because there is another life involved another will involved another exertion of faith involved another degree of obedience involved. You cannot control someone else's life. They make decisions and those decisions and have different results and you can only do your best but you can't do more than that guys.

Can't do more than that. Let me kind of begin to conclude. Guys one of the things with faith it always hears and sees what God is saying and then it names the journey or the outcome. It names the journey or the outcome.

One of the things that we have learned to do well is we'll exert faith but we won't tell anybody about it. Why just in case it doesn't work out then it's not a problem. That's that's not necessarily the way faith works from the stories in the Bible.

Abraham changes name to Abraham. I'm not saying wear what you're doing on your sleeve and let everybody know but don't hide it to the point where it's not known either. I know mothers who are pregnant and they won't tell anybody that they're pregnant. You know why because they're scared that they may lose the baby and so they don't want to tell anybody.

Now I can understand the fear because they must have lost babies in the past but sometimes faith requires that I name the outcome. Name the outcome. I'm not saying that you should be afraid of the outcome. I'm saying that you should be afraid of the outcome.

I can understand the fear because they must have lost babies in the past but sometimes faith requires that I name the outcome. Name the outcome. Joseph said listen don't bury my bones here. My bones need to be buried in the promised land. He was talking 400 years in advance or something like that.

Yeah 400 years in advance. Abraham changed his name to Abraham when he was 75 and spent the next 24 years wondering why he changed his name.

But faith names the journey or the outcome. Why did I tell you about that woman in Indonesia that I was going to visit? I could have kept it quiet because what if nothing happened? Then you wouldn't know and my testimony would still be intact.

But I told you ahead of time so that you know that there is a possibility that I'll go there and that this was a woman's condition so that you would know whether it failed or not. Or rather in my mind really in a sense of speaking there was never a question of failure. I knew it would succeed.

The point being name the journey. Name the journey. By keeping it quiet it's not necessarily helpful. Two, guys this might sound like such an odd sentence. The ideal environment for faith is when there is no human reason for hope.

It recognizes the impossibility of what you have just named and it dares to trust God instead of seeing what can't be done. I mean you see this in Abraham's life. He names the journey. He looks at his condition and he says listen I'm important. Then he begins to say but I'm fully persuaded that what God said he can.

Abraham means father of many nations. The other thing faith does is it grasps the journey as a present possession. It grasps the journey as a present possession. As a present possession. As a present possession.

As it says father this is what you said. This is what I believe you will do. And so I at present receive it in my spirit immediately. It makes me feel like I'm in a place where I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there. I can't be there

It may take a minute for it to happen or it may take a year for it to happen. But I just want you to know that I really believe what you've said and I receive it in my spirit right now.

Yeah. Faith has the ability to grasp as present possession what God has said. Faith has the ability to grasp as present possession what God has said.

As in father you said it. I now receive it in my spirit immediately. I agree with you right now. It may take a minute for it to happen or it may take a year for it to happen. But I want you to know that I fully believe you and I receive it in my spirit right now because you're a now God and I believe it fully that it's your desire. And so I receive it. I thank you for it.

And now father I mean when when mothers get pregnant what do they say? Yeah, there's some strange feeling inside my belly, but don't know what it is. Two months later. Yeah, it's the belly is kind of swollen up. Don't know what it is. That's not what mothers do.

They begin to say right off the bat that they've got a baby. People celebrate that a baby is on the way.

Got to do the same thing with things that we have received in our womb from God saying my womb is full with what God is saying I'm going to birth. It may take nine months or it may take 24 months or it may take 36 months, but I know it's in the womb of my spirit.

The period of gestation varies guys and it depends on so many different factors. But nothing can kill the seed of God. Nothing can kill the seed of God. Nothing can kill the seed of God that which is born of Hagar will be of flesh.

But nothing can kill the seed of God. Nothing can kill the seed of God. Nothing can kill the seed of God that which is born of Hagar will be of flesh. But that which is born of promise will be full of laughter like Isaac and it will come forth because you can't kill the seed of God.

But the seed of God stays dormant if it's not received in the womb of your spirit. Receive it in the womb of your spirit as in father I know you said it and I don't trust my five senses or my feelings. I receive it in my spirit saying God has said it. I believe it and that settles it for me and from here on I move.

Awesome when we begin to think and walk like that guys. You birth things in your lifetime. Not just for you but for others too. For others too.

Faith acknowledges reality guys and it bypasses feelings. It acknowledges realities and it bypasses feelings. The question is not what am I feeling. The question is what is the confession of my faith. The question is not what am I feeling. The question is what is the confession of my faith given what I know from God. What is the confession of my faith. Oh you're feeling really low Jacob. Oh sorry. Sorry.

But now what is the confession of your faith. Come sympathize with me. Make me feel better. But what is the confession of my faith. And faith speaks guys. Faith speaks. Faith rebukes. Faith commands. Faith speaks what God has said. Faith speaks.

I remember when I was boarding a flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia and I got no problems flying Malaysian Airlines and even though they've had two crashes in the last one year and so this guy is walking me to the gate and he says, oh shucks if they reverse the number you're going to get a ticket.

I remember when I was boarding a flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia and I got no problems flying Malaysian Airlines and even though they've had two crashes in the last one year and so this guy is walking me to the gate and he says, oh shucks if they reverse the number you're sure you want to take this flight because the flight that went down was flight 370 and I'm flying flight 073.

And so the guy who's walking with me looks at 073 and he says look at the number. I'm looking at the number and I can't find anything wrong with it. He's saying but look at it read it this way. So now it reads 370. And he's saying you sure you want to take this flight. This is what I meant by speculative thinking and this and that and the other.

And it was such a silly incident but it was important for me to say guys that I've asked God how to fly. I've asked the Lord what choices I have where to go and all this stuff. God's going to keep this safe and so you don't need to worry about this. This is another believer but a young believer.

Speculative thinking. By the way if you want to fly in Asia take Malaysian Airlines. It's dirty because they're trying to win back your favor. Yeah.

Faith does not tiptoe around God's promises. Faith does not tiptoe around God's promises. Plunges right in. There's no tiptoeing around it.

And then here's what happens guys. Your focus is not on the victory as in the outcome. Your focus is on God. You are obsessed with God. You're obsessed with God and therefore your eyes are not on the victory. You're obsessed with God.

You're obsessed with God. Guys sometimes you can enjoy something so much that you don't care about the outcome. Faith should become like that.

You begin to enjoy something so much that your eyes are not on the outcome. You begin to enjoy something so much that your eyes are not on the outcome.

Guys sometimes you can enjoy something so much that you don't care about the outcome. Faith should become like that. You begin to enjoy something so much that your eyes are not on the outcome.

Second, now you have the ability to be foolish. Where you face Goliath with five stones.

Then you begin to function well because you act on your faith and give feet to your belief.

And the last stage is you finish what you've started. How? By being steadfast. Why? Because you're obsessed with God. You're obsessed with God. You're obsessed with God.

And the last stage is you finish what you've started. How? By being steadfast. Why? Because steadfastness brings you into maturity. Who said so? God. Where? James 1. What did he say?

Count it all joy, Jason, when you go through trials. Why? Because the testing of your faith will bring perseverance and steadfastness. And steadfastness will bring you into a place of maturity.

James 1.3. Let's just stop there. Any questions guys? Any questions? The first one is focus. Focus takes your eyes off.

Guys, adjust along the way. When you're pursuing something, there'll be times when God will say, yeah, I told you to start here, but now I want you to take a left turn. But Father, why didn't you tell me before? Well, you wouldn't have listened then, so take a left turn now. So take a left turn.

And then after you take the left turn, he'll say take a right turn. Take it. Make adjustments along the way. Make adjustments along the way. Paul had to do this. And so God said to Paul, go to Asia Minor. So he starts going. When he gets to Mycea, the Holy Spirit says, can't let you through. So he goes to Phrygia and he says, can't let you through. So he goes to Macedonia and then he has a vision. Make adjustments along the way. Keep moving.

Focus is not on the fig tree because faith is usually for all the fig trees and blossoming father please make it blossom and we put all our strength into it. All our strength into it. Guys, one of the things Jesus said in John 530, so cool. He says that I hear accurately and judge things that my father is saying accurately because I'm not seeking my own vision. So focus is not on the fig tree.

and judge things that my father is saying accurately because I'm not seeking my own will but the will of my father.

The secret to hearing accurately is not desiring your own

will. We so desperately want things to work out for everybody and we stand in faith and we don't necessarily hear. One of the

saddest things I have done is

on two occasions when people were sick

didn't go to pray for them because I felt the Lord saying they're gonna die so don't pray let them come home.

And to have to call up the daughters and say hey, I

just want you to know that

your father is going to die

in the next couple of days and so why don't you start preparing for their death and they started screaming saying

how can you even say that and all this stuff?

This was

yeah, and I felt so bad man.

And in a day and a half he died.

And

the same thing happened to someone else and this time they kept the body for six seven hours

wanting to revive it when God had said it's time to come home.

And the disappointment that just swept across the room because we so desperately want some things to happen that

it clouds our judgment and we don't necessarily

hear and Jesus said the reason I judge and see things accurately is because I do not seek my own will but the will of my

father and therefore he could hear correctly.

I long to be in a place where it's not my desire that drives my faith

but the desire of the father that drives my faith. I long for that. Certain things are established.

We don't even have a doubt it but there are certain gray areas that we don't know.

Those are the areas we find disappointment in but in areas that God has already mentioned in the Bible, we don't need to doubt it.

But in other areas yes.

And

then despite everything when you are disappointed at how it did not turn out remember

he's very kind

he's always intentionally looking for ways to do me good.

I know his nature.

He's really loving he cares for me like crazy.

I'm a much-loved child. I

can't understand him, but I know that he's always fair and perfect.

So even though it hurts Abba,

I raise my arms and say

that blessed be the name of the

glorious Lord and then this doesn't

prevent us from exerting faith the next time. We dust ourselves off,

check if we are smelling of smoke and no it's not smoke and then we start again. Why?

Because faith is full of hope man. It's got nothing to do with disappointment.

And Satan will again and again use disappointment as a means to prevent the children of God from exerting hope.

He uses that so well, so well.

And how does he do it? He doesn't make us faithless. He just

helps us lower our expectancy and depend on the sovereignty of God

so that we are like a married couple who don't know the nature of our spouse, but just live in the same house.

Happily married, but don't ask me what color she wants or how much sugar she takes in a coffee. Those things I don't know

because we live sovereignly in one house.

That's the condition that we should avoid.

Satan attacks us by lowering our expectancy and once expectancy can be lowered, faith can be small.