Say It Before You See It | Pastor Jeremy Saylor | Sunday Service

Good morning, church.

You look good today, you sound good.

God's in the house.

God's people are in the house.

It's a great place to be.

There's no place, as a matter of fact, that I would rather be than right here with you today.

Pastor Noah mentioned that God's doing some great things at our church, and I just want to take a moment and celebrate that a couple weeks ago we were able to open our kids' ministry space.

All parents in the house come on, put your hands together.

It's exciting to see our kids' space opened up and our kids being able to get back in there, and there's room for everybody.

We're making room for the next generation.

How many of you guys know that it's not just about us, it's about those that come after us, and we want to impart the gospel to them.

And so we're making room for that.

So exciting.

Hey, while we're celebrating stuff, can you put your hands together for the choir and the worship team today?

I mean, just absolutely incredible job leading us into the presence of the Lord.

It's good to be here.

If you have your Bibles, grab those this morning.

2 Chronicles chapter 32.

2 Chronicles 32 · chapter mention

2 Chronicles chapter 32 is where we're going to be together this morning.

2 Chronicles 32 · chapter mention

If you haven't downloaded our COC app, I want to encourage you to do that.

You can do that at the Church Center COC app.

There should be a QR code maybe behind the screen behind me that you can take a picture of and download our app so you can follow along.

There it is.

You can follow along with online notes.

Our team works really hard every week to provide you resources so that you can continue to take what you hear and what you learn and apply it to your life.

So if you haven't done it already, download that app.

We're in a series entitled What Do You See?

And in this series, we're we're exploring eight doorways that God is inviting us into so that we can begin to live the kind of life Jesus came to give us.

How many of you guys know that that Jesus came not just to save us today, but to transform us for eternity?

I'm so thankful that he loves us as he found us.

But he doesn't just leave us that way, he changes us into glory into glory.

And so these eight doorways are eight ways that we step into the kind of life that Jesus came to give us.

We've looked at the doorway of his presence.

We've looked at the doorway of outrageous love.

And today we're going to look at the doorway of radical faith.

I want you to say that after me this morning.

Radical faith.

Turn to your neighbor and say radical faith.

Not just regular faith.

I'm talking about radical faith.

That I want to live a radical faith.

Pastor Jeremy, what is that?

What does that look like?

I'm going to give it to you and then I'm going to show it to you in scripture.

This is what I believe the doorway of radical faith is inviting us into.

It's inviting us to pray bold prayers.

Not just ordinary prayers, but to pray bold prayers, to take courageous steps, and to trust God more than your fear.

That's what I think radical faith is, and that's what we're going to explore together this morning through the story of a man named Hezekiah in the Old Testament.

2 Chronicles chapter 32.

2 Chronicles 32 · chapter mention

Stand with me where you are this morning as we read God's word together today.

2 Chronicles chapter 32.

2 Chronicles 32 · chapter mention

Starting in verse 1, we're going to read the first eight verses together.

The Word of God says, after all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, after all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, all the things that he had so faithfully done, Sennacherib, everybody say Sennacherib.

I will forever remember that name because it sounds like he's snacking on a rib.

And I like ribs.

Anyone else like ribs?

Come on.

So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and invaded Judah.

After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and invaded Judah.

This is what he did.

He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

And when Hezekiah saw that all Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, he consulted his officials and his military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him.

And they gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the streams flowed through the land.

And they said, Why should the king of Assyria come and find plenty of water here?

Then he worked hard, repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it.

He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the city of David.

And he also made large numbers of weapons and shields, and he appointed military officers over the people and assembled them in the square at the city gate.

And he encouraged them with these words.

Verse 7.

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him.

Why?

Why should we not be afraid, Hezekiah?

Because there's a greater power with us than with him.

Somebody needs to hear that this morning.

You're facing a situation today and you don't know if you're going to make it.

I want to declare over you today, there's a greater power with you than with the enemy.

Not only is he with you, the Bible says, Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

Touch somebody next to you and say there's something greater with us.

Verse 8, with him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles, and the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah said.

Church, this is God's word and the title of my message this morning is this Say it before you see it.

Turn to your neighbor and say you need to say it before you see it.

Turn to your other neighbor and say, We need to say it before we see it.

Turn around the person behind you and say, CLC needs to say it before we see it.

Father, we thank you for your word this morning.

Your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light into our path, and it shows us the way to go and how to arrive there safely.

And I pray this morning we would not just be hearers of your word, but doers of it.

In Jesus' mighty name.

And everybody said, Amen.

You may be seated.

Thank you, Caleb.

I got a question for you this morning.

I don't know if this resonates with you, but it it resonates with me.

How many of you here today have ever felt like you were doing all the right things but getting the wrong result?

Anyone ever felt like that in your life?

That you're doing all the right things but getting the wrong result.

I'll give you an example.

How many guys have have felt like I'm I'm I'm I'm trying to eat right, but I'm not losing any weight.

I'm doing all the right, I'm trying to eat the right stuff, but the weight's just not coming off.

If you're over 40, you know all about that.

Or maybe, maybe you, you're you're working out.

You're you've you've committed yourself to discipline and and exercise and and you're working out, but you just can't seem to get in shape.

Anybody know what I'm talking about?

Some of you are saying, well, you're not really eating right, you're not really working out right.

Or maybe, maybe you've you've made a commitment.

God, I'm gonna get in your word, I'm gonna get connected in godly community, I'm gonna get up and pray, I'm gonna tithe, I'm gonna devote my life to you.

And then all hell breaks loose.

Anybody know what I'm talking about this morning?

Can anybody resonate with you trying to do the right things but getting the wrong result, whether it's in your mind or in your body or in your spirit?

Can I tell you that's exactly what's happening in this story that we read this morning?

This is exactly the situation that Hezekiah finds himself in.

He's been doing all the right things.

The Bible tells us that Hezekiah, when he became king of Israel, he inherited a country that had turned its back on God.

They had turned to idol worship, they had shut down the temple, they had locked the word of God up in a dark room so that nobody could read it.

They had given themselves to everything but God.

This was the nation that Hezekiah inherited.

And when he became king, he immediately went to work.

And one of the very first things that he did is that he reopened the temple and he reinstituted worship and he restored the word of God to the proper place in the nation.

He called people to prayer and fasting.

And church, guess what happened?

It worked.

Revival began to happen all across the land.

The people that had had formerly turned their back on God began to turn back to God.

And for fourteen years, Hezekiah diligently devoted himself and the nation to the Lord.

And that's when the letter came.

After fourteen years of doing all the right things, Hezekiah receives a letter from the king of Assyria.

From the darkest place that it could possibly come from.

A king, a nation that was brutal, a nation that was ruthless, a nation that had conquered every other foe, and now Israel finds itself next on the docket.

After all that Hezekiah had done to turn the nation back to the Lord, all of a sudden they find themselves face to face with the darkest foe on the planet.

Have you ever felt like you're doing all the right things and then all of the sudden hell shows up in your face?

Can I just give you a principle that you need to get deep down in your soul about your faith journey?

And here's the principle: your faithful work for God never eliminates your need for faith in God.

Unfortunately, we think it does.

If we're not real careful, we will commit ourselves to following the Lord and reading our Bible and giving to the Lord and serving the Lord and doing all the right things.

And in the back of our mind, we will think we're protecting ourselves against having to actually walk by faith.

My dad is uh soon to be 75 and has been in full-time ministry for about 55 years.

And he we were talking just about some of the things that he's going through and some of the things that I'm going through and just processing things.

And he said, Jeremy, let me tell you something, son.

We want to build our lives in such a way that we eliminate the need for faith.

But as an old man, let me tell you, you never grow beyond needing faith in your life.

You never grow beyond walking by faith and not by sight.

You never move beyond the place where faith in God is required to fulfill God's purpose for your life.

And let me tell you why that's the case.

Hebrews chapter 11 says that without faith, it's impossible to please God.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Without faith, it's impossible.

Hebrews 11, 6.

Without faith, it's impossible.

What does impossible mean?

Impossible means impossible.

It means there's no way around it.

That without this ingredient in your life, there's nothing else that you can do to please God.

You know what that means?

That means there's a lot of really good things you can do and not please God.

That means that you can demonstrate compassion and kindness and generosity and love.

There's a lot of good stuff you can do and not please God.

But the Bible says there's one thing above all others that we have to embody and exemplify in our life if we're going to live a life that is pleasing to God, and that is faith.

And it's something we never grow beyond.

If we're not careful, in our perspective, we'll try to build our lives in such a way that we never have to live by faith.

We'll try to build up a retirement account so that we never have to live by faith.

We'll try to get out of debt, and getting out of debt is a good thing, but getting out of debt doesn't eliminate your need for faith.

We'll try to build a hedge around us.

We'll try to build margins all the way around us so that we ultimately are eliminating the very thing that God says we have to have if we want to please him.

Can I just tell you, I have found in my life, I'll just speak to generosity for a moment.

It is uncanny how many times God asked me to give an exceptional gift for Jeremy when I don't have it to give.

You know why?

Because it's impossible to please God without faith.

And this morning I want to help you learn how to walk by faith.

Because I want your life to please God above everything else.

I want your life to be radiant to Him.

I want your life to be so pleasing to the Lord that He can't wait to answer your prayer.

And the only way, church, that we can do that is to live by faith.

And hopefully this morning, by the time that we're done, you're if you're confused about faith, you're going to be clear about it.

You're going to see it in a way that is that is clear and maybe a little bit unique and in a way that is all-encompassing because I have boiled faith down to five words.

Five words that if you get a hold of in your life, it'll posture you to live a life that is pleasing to God because you're going to walk by faith.

And the five words that we're going to talk about this morning are simply this hear, speak, step, stay, and tell.

Five words that help you understand what faith is so you can live it in your life.

I want you to say that after me this morning.

Number one is here.

Everybody say here.

Number two is speak.

Everybody say speak.

Number three is step.

Everybody say step.

Number four is stay.

Everybody say stay.

And number five is tell.

And everybody say tell.

Let's look at these five words and how they posture us to live a life that is pleasing to God because it's a life of faith.

Here's number one.

Here, here, here's what we have to understand about faith.

Faith is developed first and foremost by our hearing.

Faith is developed by our hearing.

Can you imagine what it must have been for Hezekiah for just a moment?

To be doing all the right things.

I mean, he is restoring the nation of Israel back to the heart of God.

The nation is turning for 14 years, almost a decade and a half, they've been taking measures to turn the heart of the people and the heart of the nation back to the Lord.

And then all of a sudden, you get a letter from the darkest foe on the planet that says, You're next.

The word that has come from King Sennacherib is your mind.

How in the world did fear not well up in Hezekiah's heart?

How did he overcome the word from the enemy?

Can I tell you how you overcome the word from the enemy?

Is that you get a better word from God?

See, I believe what happened in Hezekiah's heart is that he for 14 years had been depositing the word of God in his life.

For 14 years he had been reading the word, he'd been studying the word, he'd been praying the word, he had been putting something in him that was bigger, that was greater, that was deeper, that was more powerful than the word of the enemy.

And I know that because when the letter came, 2 Kings 19 tells us about the story that the first thing that Hezekiah did when he received the letter from King Sennacherib is he goes to the temple, he goes to the prophet, and he goes to the word of God.

Why?

Because if we're gonna walk by faith, church, we've got to have a better word in our ear than the word of the enemy.

And that's what Hezekiah did.

He went to the Word of God to get a better word.

Romans chapter 10, verse 17 says this is how faith comes.

Romans 10:17

Faith comes from Oh, come on now.

We're gonna say these five words over and over, over, over, over again today because I need you to get these five words because these five words will change your life.

Faith comes by hearing.

Hearing what?

Hearing the word.

Of God.

I want you to notice this this morning.

Faith doesn't come by seeing.

It doesn't come by figuring it out.

Faith comes by hearing.

Hearing what?

The word of God.

Hezekiah understood something that we need to get.

And it's that we're developed by what we listen to.

What you hear the most develops you the most.

So my question to you this morning is what are you listening to?

Are you listening to the word of the enemy or are you listening to the word of God?

Can I encourage you to do something that may be a little bit awkward in your life?

Maybe you've not done this before?

Faith comes from hearing.

There's something that is stirring in my heart.

There's something that's really happening around the globe that's a little bit, actually, it's a little ancient practice that is being rediscovered.

Believers, instead of just reading the word silently, are starting to read the word out loud to themselves.

Why?

Because faith comes from.

If you know anything about how you retain information and how information changes your life, the more senses that you can involve in learning something, the more likely you are to retain it, the more likely it is to get deep down inside of you.

And so think about this logically for a moment.

If I just read the word of God silently to myself, how many senses am I using?

One.

But how many senses do I begin to use when I start reading the word of God out loud to myself?

Three.

I want to challenge you, church.

If you want to start getting the word deep down on the inside of you that'll lead to transformation for your life and develop some faith deep down inside of you, stop reading the word of God silently and start reading it out loud to yourself.

Why, Pastor?

Because faith comes from the Word of God.

Number two, speak.

Faith is released by speaking.

It may be developed by hearing, but it is released by speaking.

Listen to what Jesus says in Mark chapter 11, verse 23.

Mark 11:23

He says, Truly, I tell you, if anyone thinks to this mountain, is it?

What is it?

Oh, it says say.

If anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in their heart, but believes what they say, it will happen.

It will be done for them.

Here's what you need to understand.

Faith may be developed in your hearing, but it is released through your speaking.

Let me say, you gotta speak to that thing.

You gotta speak to that mountain.

And here's the point that you need to get is the release point for the power of God.

The release point for your faith is the spoken word.

So get what Hezekiah does.

As immediately after he receives the letter from the king of Assyria, he goes to the temple, he goes to the prophet, he goes to the word of God in order to get a better word than the enemy.

Then, after getting a better word, he gathers the people together in the city square.

And then he begins to declare over them what he heard from the Lord.

He began to say, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

Why, Hezekiah?

Because what is with us is greater than what's against us.

What is against us is the arm of flesh, but what is with us is the arm of God.

Yes, we need to develop faith in our hearing, but it can't stay inside of us.

It has to be released through our speaking.

And this is something that we find in Scripture from Genesis all the way to Revelation.

That the spoken word releases faith that makes things shift.

How did God create the universe?

Did God think the universe into existence?

No, the Bible says he spoke the universe into existence.

God said, Let there be light, and light came.

As a matter of fact, the Bible says that God spoke into the darkness, he spoke into the void, he spoke into the abyss of nothingness, and out of nothingness came exactly what he said.

Listen, if you really want to please God and you want to walk by faith and not by sight, you can't just say what you see.

You got to say what you're hearing and believe that it will form what you say.

I've got to speak the word of God over that situation.

That's what Hezekiah did.

That's what the Bible shows us about faith from the beginning to end.

So let me ask you a question this morning.

In what area of your life are you just saying what you see?

You know, unfortunately, the human tendency is that we simply say what we see.

I'm sick, I'm broke, I'm messed up, I'm bound.

We're really good at being commentators about our life.

We're really good at observing what's going on around us and just saying what we see.

But the Bible says if we're going to be men and women of faith who please God, we can't say what we see.

We've got to say what he says.

I've got to declare his word over my life.

I've got to speak it before I see it.

And if I speak it before I see it, it'll take the form that I say because that's the kind of God that we serve.

So if I'm going to walk by faith, I've got to hear, I've got to speak, and then number three, I got to step.

Faith is demonstrated by our stepping.

It's demonstrated by our step.

It's developed in our ears, it's released through our mouth, but it's demonstrated by our feet.

Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 7 says, For we walk, we walk, we walk, we move, we step by what?

2 Corinthians 5:7

So, so faith then has to have action.

It has to have movement.

It's not enough just to hear the right thing and say the right thing.

We've got to do the right thing.

We've got to put some activity behind what we're saying, or it's not going to happen.

Because faith requires movement.

And that's what Hezekiah is doing in the passage that we read.

Do you notice that he told the people, greater is he that is with us than he that is in the world?

But before he said that, do you did you realize how much work he did?

If you read verses two through six, what you find is that he secured the city wall.

He built a second wall.

He brought the water that was outside of the city inside of the city.

He built spears and swords and shields.

Church, that's a lot of work for a man that believes God's going to deliver him.

So what is he doing?

He is demonstrating his faith in God by how he is preparing to defeat the enemy.

And far too often, church, if we're not real, real careful, we'll hear the right thing and maybe even say the right thing, but we never take the step towards the right thing.

And Hezekiah says, God, I believe you're going to do this, but I'm going to do what I know to do and trust you to do what I can't.

And church, that's a principle you need to get in your heart this morning.

Faith is doing all that you know to do and trusting God to do what you can't.

That's demonstrating, God, I'm going to do what I know to do.

I'm going to secure the city walls.

I'm going to bring the water inside the city.

I'm going to build some spears and some shields, and I'm going to make some swords, and we're going to get ready for the fight.

But what I know is you fight our battles.

How often, church, do we hear the right thing and say the right thing, but don't take the step towards the right thing in our lives?

James chapter 2, verse 17 said, faith by itself, if it's not accompanied by what?

James 2:17

Action is dead.

You know what that means?

I believe faith is an action verb.

Faith requires your activity in order to demonstrate your faith in God.

Let me make that practical for you this morning.

Let me make it real practical for you today.

You know what I think demonstrates our faith in God?

If you're sick, this is what I believe demonstrates.

I'm going to go to the doctor, but I'm going to trust the great physician.

That's faith.

Right?

That's right.

I'm, let me say, give me another one.

I'm going to work hard at my job and try to be excellent in everything that I do, but I'm going to trust that promotion comes from above.

Right?

Right?

Right?

Let me give.

I'm going to tithe because the Bible calls us to tithe and honor the Lord with our increase.

But I'm going to trust him to meet all of my needs according to his riches and glory.

See, faith requires you partnering with it in your activity, not just something you say or something you hear, it's something you do.

It's doing your best to live a holy life all the while knowing your holiness doesn't earn you anything.

Because he already loves you.

So faith has to be heard.

It's developed in our hearing.

It's released through our speaking.

It's demonstrated through our stepping.

And number four is stay.

Faith is secured by your staying.

It's secured by your staying.

Now, church, if I just stopped at number three, if I stopped at step, I would have set you up for disappointment.

Because sometimes you can hear, you can speak, and you can step.

And then there's a waiting for the fulfillment.

God doesn't always move in the time frame that we want.

Can I get an amen in the house?

God doesn't always immediately respond.

Sometimes there's a waiting that we go through.

Sometimes there's a delay in a response or what feels like a delay to us.

In Hebrews chapter 6, verse 12, the writer gives us the reason why.

Hebrews 6:12

He says this we do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and boy, that was real timid.

How many of you guys love that word patience?

How many of you guys despise that word patience?

Thank you.

There's some honest people in the house.

I think the vast majority of us would say we don't.

Well, you know, the one thing you never pray for is patience because that's the one thing that God's going to give you the opportunity to demonstrate.

We don't like patience, but the Bible tells us that if we don't have patience, listen to the end of the verse.

We can't inherit the promises of God.

You inheriting the promises of God is connecting to your demonstration of patience.

I've got to be patient in the process.

You know, Joseph, you may guys remember the story of Joseph in in the book of Genesis.

It's the last 13 or 14 chapters of the book of Genesis, is the story of a young man named Joseph who was a dreamer.

He had a dream of his family bowing down to him.

He didn't understand the ramifications of the dream, but he knew that God was setting him apart for something significant.

But he had to go through 13 years of waiting to see his faith become sight.

And the Bible tells us in Psalms 105, verse 19, about Joseph, until what he said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.

Psalms 105:19

I need you to hear me this morning.

There will be a test to your faith.

And the test most often comes in the form of a delay.

How long are you willing to wait?

How patient are you willing to be to see the fulfillment of God's word over your life?

From beginning to end, the Bible illustrates men and women of faith who inherited the promises of God had to endure a test of waiting.

Abraham waited 25 years for the promise child.

Moses waited 40 years to fulfill the destiny of God for his life.

David waited 13 years thereabout to become king for what he was previously anointed to do.

There is going to be a waiting.

That's why I can't leave stay out of the equation because if I leave stay out of the equation, I'm setting you up for failure because there will be a test of your patience in the waiting.

We've got to learn, church, how to put our feet down in the ground and declare, God, I've heard it, I've said it, I've taken a step towards it, and I'm not retreating from it until what I've said becomes my reality.

Far too often the week passes, the month passes, the year passes, and maybe even the decade passes, and we begin to step away from what God laid upon our heart years ago, and we wonder why it doesn't materialize.

It's because we've let it go.

And the word of the Lord over you this morning is stop letting go what he's told you, grab a hold of it again, and don't move off of it until it becomes your reality.

See, this is the journey, the work of faith.

I've got to hear it.

I've got to speak it.

I've got to take a step towards it.

And by faith, I've got to stay where I am until it becomes my reality.

And finally, number five is tell.

Faith is passed by telling.

Here's how the story ends for Hezekiah.

The commander of the army of the Assyrians comes and stands outside the city walls of Jerusalem and begins to declare all that the enemy is getting ready to do, that they're getting ready to destroy the walls, they're going to kill the people, they're going to kill the children, they're going to take all the plunder captive, that Jerusalem is getting ready to be no more.

Hezekiah had gathered the people together and said, don't say a word.

Because he didn't want them saying what they were seeing.

There on top of the city walls, Hezekiah stood and just stayed.

Commander of the army retreated.

The Bible says that night the Lord sent an angel throughout the Assyrian camp.

That angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers and they packed up camp and left home.

Left for home.

Because they stayed.

God proved himself faithful.

At the end of his life, Hezekiah begins to reflect over his life.

And he writes a song.

And Isaiah chapter 38, it records the song, and I'm not going to read the whole song to you, but I do want to read verse 19 to you.

Isaiah 38 · chapter mention

This is the song of Hezekiah's life.

The living, the living, they praise you as I am doing today.

And listen to this.

Parents tell.

Parents tell their children about your faithfulness.

Parents tell their children about your faith.

Parents, tell your kids about what all God's done in your life.

If you want to pass on your faith, not just to be a person who lives by faith, but a person that passes on faith, parents, you need to start telling the story of God's faithfulness in your life.

Your kids need to hear how you walk by faith, how you took steps of faith, how you stood on the foundation of faith and you saw God's faithfulness displayed in your life.

Parents, if I'm just real candid with you this morning, I think we have retreated back from telling our kids the story of our faith.

They need to hear how God came through for you.

Because you're not just telling a story, you're making disciples.

See, these aren't just stories of faith.

They're disciple-making examples of a God that is faithful and a God that is true, and a God that is good, and that a God that'll work for you if you live by faith.

Church, five things.

Five things that demonstrate how we walk by faith were developed by our hearing, released by speaking, demonstrated by stepping, secured by staying, and passed by telling.

This is how faith works in our lives.

Church, this isn't just something I'm I'm teaching you about today.

This is something that we're living.

A few years ago, the Lord spoke to our staff and our boards that the time had come for us to renovate and reimagine our buildings.

So we went to work.

Meeting with architects and builders and plans being laid.

And then about a year ago, we felt like we heard the Lord say, It's time to go.

It's time to build.

And so we started building in church.

I'm thrilled to say we're a few months, a few months away from the building project being completed, which is incredibly exciting.

And during that that time period, guys, we we've raised$1.3 million towards that project, which is incredible.

And our our goal is$2 million.

And we we felt like God said go when we only had$600,000 in the bank.

God is meeting our needs, but I'm gonna tell you what, as pastor, it's a journey of faith.

And and I'm excited that we've only got three months or so before the building project is done, but we've also got about another$700,000 to raise.

And I would be lying to you if I didn't say that made my flesh nervous.

Is that okay to say?

I'm gonna, hey, this is not just something we teach, it's something that we live.

We heard God say it's time to do something.

We heard him say go.

So we began to speak it.

Then we began to take steps for it.

And let me tell you where I am right now.

I'm standing today.

I'm standing today on the word of God, and I'm believing that what God said he's gonna do, and we're gonna get to two million dollars in the next three months.

How we get there, I don't know, but I trust God.

I trust that he is faithful, I trust that he is able, I trust that he will meet all of our needs according to his riches and glory.

And I you know how we're demonstrating it?

We're not taking a step back on our missions giving.

Actually, we're giving more than we've ever given.

Why?

Because we believe that he's faithful and you can't out give God.

So we're standing today on the word of God that he's gonna meet our needs according to his riches and glory, that he's faithful.

Can I tell you what else I believe today?

I believe in your obedience.

I believe in your ability to hear what God says and to do it.

And I believe in the next three months or so, we as a church are going to get to celebrate a journey of faith together.

Where collectively we get to say, look what God has done.

Here's my question to you this morning.

Which of these five things most resonate with you today?

Which of these five things do you need to embrace today?

I know for me it's staying.

But what is it for you?

You're somewhere, you're somewhere in these five words.

You're somewhere in this process.

I don't know where you are, but I I want to encourage you this morning, identify the one that you need to embrace today.

Maybe you need to write it down on a phone.

Maybe you need to write it down on a prayer card.

You need to write it down and say, God, this is what I, this is where where I am today.

And then number two is this.

What step is God calling you to take today?

Faith requires action.

It's developed in our hearing, released through our speaking, but it's demonstrated in our stepping.

It requires action.

I was talking with a church member earlier this week just about life.

And we were talking about a scenario, just how do you live and how do you thrive and how do you survive?

And can I just be candid with you this morning?

You can make it without faith.

You can survive, but you'll never thrive without faith.

You'll never thrive in this life without living by faith.

Why, Pastor Jeremy?

Because without faith, it's impossible to please God.

Will you stand with me where you are this morning?

My response today isn't a come to the altar.

My response today is a go-and-do.

My response and my word over you this morning is to embrace one of these five things that God has quickened to your heart and to take the step you know you should have already taken but haven't taken.

There's a step of faith that God's calling you to do.

And I would encourage you this morning, do it in Jesus' name.

Father, I pray over your church today.

I pray, God, that we would be men and women of faith.

God, that we would be men and women who please you because we make it our desire and our ambition to walk by faith, not by sight, because we want to be a people that please the Lord.

God, we want to be a people that pray bold prayers.

We want to be a people who walk courageously.

We want to be a people who believe you over our fear.

And so I pray this morning over every person here and every person joining us online today, God, that you would quicken one of these five things to them.

The thing that they need to do right now, today, this week, I pray, God, they would begin to do it.

And I pray, Lord, the step that you are asking them to take, God, the step that you've been stirring them to take, they would take it this week and be pleasing to you in Jesus' mighty name.

Had everybody said?