WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Today we're going to talk about living by faith. 2 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.000 And I'm going to be looking at Hebrews 11. 3 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:31.000 That's one of the most well known Bible chapters that gives us insight to living by faith and not by sight. The verses are going to be on the screen, but if you have your Bible with you and you'd like to follow along, please do. It's going to be a little bit of a Bible study style sermon where we're going to work through that chapter together. 4 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:36.000 As I started to look at it, I realized just how much there is in this chapter. 5 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:58.000 So if I talk too long, I give you the, what do you call it, words gone out of my head, the permission, that's it, to give me the wind up signal. Okay, so we're going to start at Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1. 6 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:06.000 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 7 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:13.000 That's the Bible's clear definition of faith. And it really doesn't get much plainer than that. 8 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.000 Faith deals with certainty. 9 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:40.000 There's no doubts, there's no maybes. It's not saying that maybe something we hope for will happen even though we can't see it. Now, faith's that certainty in our hearts and in our minds as well, that confidence of knowing without any tangible evidence. 10 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:47.000 So now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 11 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:57.000 The rest of Hebrews 11 tells us more about living by faith. And verse two says, this is what the ancients were commended for. 12 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:02.000 And we're going to talk through how some of those things work for those ancients. 13 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:07.000 And you'll recognise a lot of the names as we go through. 14 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:19.000 So verse three is, by faith we understand the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 15 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.000 Notice it says, by faith we understand. 16 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:29.000 So faith leads to understanding. It's not the other way around. 17 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:37.000 Some people wrongly say, I just need to understand it first and then I'll believe. 18 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:41.000 But with God, faith brings understanding. 19 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:44.000 Have you heard people say that? 20 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:56.000 Yeah, it's the other way around really though, isn't it? It's when we say, okay, God, I really don't understand, but I'm going to trust you. 21 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:11.000 That's when we really get that full understanding and that's when the scripture opens up to us and you get that wow moment. This is really real. 22 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.000 Faith believes in creation out of nothing. 23 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:23.000 It's not the Big Bang theory or things that haven't been Proved yet or evolution. 24 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:30.000 In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. 25 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:40.000 He simply created it. And it's our faith that gives us God's understanding that that's how it worked. 26 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:45.000 Do you notice also that faith shows the big picture? 27 00:03:45.000 --> 00:04:00.000 It's not getting bogged down in little details, the universe being formed at God's command. That's not little detail stuff. That is seeing the big picture. 28 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:09.000 And in verse four, by faith, Abel brought God a better offering than what Cain did. 29 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:21.000 By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith, Abel still speaks even though he is dead. 30 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:40.000 So this verse introduces Abel as the first example of genuine faith and emphasizes that faith is the key to pleasing God rather than our outward appearance or the quantity of our offerings. 31 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:46.000 And it's definitely not just performing religious acts. 32 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.000 Do you remember this account? 33 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:53.000 Cain and Abel brought gifts to God as part of their worship. 34 00:04:53.000 --> 00:05:07.000 Cain offered the fruits of the ground because he was a farmer, while Abel presented the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions, indicating his role as a shepherd. 35 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:17.000 Now, I don't know about you, but I read that and I thought, well, both of those things actually sound pretty good. 36 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:24.000 But God looked favourably on Abel's offering and rejected Cain's. 37 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:32.000 That led Cain to anger, so much anger that he actually murdered Abel. 38 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:43.000 It clearly illustrates the significance of worship and the differing attitudes between the two offerings. 39 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:53.000 It highlights the importance of sincerity in our faith, sincerity in our own devotion to God. 40 00:05:53.000 --> 00:06:12.000 Abel's sacrifice was considered more acceptable because it was offered with a believing heart, unlike Cain, who offered from his own preference without any true faith. 41 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:18.000 So even though Abel was murdered, his faith continues to speak to us. 42 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:31.000 This illustrates that faith leaves a legacy, a legacy that influences others way beyond our time here on earth. 43 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:37.000 Acts of faith have enduring spiritual impact. 44 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:47.000 And I'm sure you can think of people that are no longer with us that have had that spiritual impact on your lives. 45 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.000 I'm going to move on to verse 5. 46 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:55.000 By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death. 47 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 He could not be found because God had taken him away. 48 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:07.000 For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 49 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:17.000 That shows me that faith has unshakable confidence that God will take us away after this life. 50 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:29.000 That's something that I find pretty amazing and it's something that can sustain you through those times when life is a struggle. 51 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:33.000 God will take you away after this life. 52 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:37.000 It's a hope for the future and a comfort. 53 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:46.000 On a similar note, I'm going To jump on up to verse 13 and 16, it says all these people were still living by faith when they died. 54 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:53.000 They did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. 55 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:57.000 And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on Earth. 56 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:04.000 They were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. 57 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.000 So faith looks out over the horizon. 58 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:11.000 It doesn't live only for here and now. 59 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:17.000 It looks to the future and believes in the future. 60 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:23.000 And God has your future in his hands. 61 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:29.000 I believe our faith is strengthened too, by our view of eternity. 62 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:37.000 It's not living for here and now, but faith helps us to continue looking ahead to our heavenly home. 63 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:43.000 A belief for the future that God provides. 64 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:59.000 And without faith, it is impossible to please God because everyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him. 65 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:07.000 I stopped at that one and thought, well, how could we please God if we don't even believe in Him? 66 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:22.000 If we don't believe he exists by faith, not only do we believe that God exists, but also that he rewards us. 67 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.000 And faith gives us confidence in those two things. 68 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:33.000 God exists and God's a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him. 69 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:53.000 That's our being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see that helps us believe that God exists, not only exists, but rewards those people who earnestly seek Him. 70 00:09:53.000 --> 00:10:03.000 And verse seven by faith. Noah, when warned about things not yet seen in holy fear, built an ark to save his family. 71 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:12.000 By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 72 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:21.000 So that tells me that faith leads you to do things now before you see the results. 73 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:26.000 I'm guessing everyone's heard about Noah and the ark. 74 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.000 Do you believe it's a true account of what happened? 75 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:34.000 See a couple of nods. 76 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:42.000 Can you imagine what it was like for Noah and his family? 77 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:49.000 They spent years building this huge boat in a place where there was no water. 78 00:10:49.000 --> 00:11:07.000 Now, imagine the reaction if someone right here in Summerhill started building a boat. A boat that was big enough to fit two of every kind of animal in it. That's a pretty massive boat. 79 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:13.000 I guess for a start, the neighbours might start asking a few questions. 80 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:19.000 I'm guessing as it got a bit bigger, the council might ask a few more. 81 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:25.000 They might even draw a little bit of media attention, or a lot of media attention. 82 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.000 Can you imagine the laughs? 83 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:44.000 People would find that hilarious when that was broadcast and Noah says, God's told me to build it because there's a huge flood coming and there he is sitting up here in Summerhill. 84 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:49.000 Seriously, where's the flood coming from to here? 85 00:11:49.000 --> 00:12:02.000 Where's the flood coming from that's going to be big enough to float a boat that size that's sitting this far from that much water? 86 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:14.000 I expect a lot of people would think it's another one of those crazy sects and wonder, seriously, what's coming next? 87 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.000 But Noah had faith to believe what he hadn't seen yet. 88 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.000 How do you think he'd go with that? 89 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.000 It's pretty huge, isn't it? 90 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:37.000 How are you going stepping out in faith in your community and reaching people for Christ? 91 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:43.000 There's a huge harvest that's right here on our doorstep. 92 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:50.000 Do you believe that God loves all the people that live in Tassie? 93 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.000 Yeah, Got a couple agreeing with me, Duz. Good. 94 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:57.000 Do you believe that he wants a personal relationship with them? 95 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.000 Yep. 96 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:06.000 So do you believe that he can use you to do it? 97 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:12.000 When the rubber hits the road, it's a little bit more difficult, isn't it? 98 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:18.000 Moving from theory to practice can be pretty scary at times. 99 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:23.000 It's not a spot we all feel so comfortable. 100 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:28.000 How do you go from being a friend to sharing our beliefs? 101 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.000 For some people, that's quite natural. 102 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:37.000 For others, it's a little bit more scary. 103 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:44.000 And sometimes in our minds, there's questions like, gee, I don't know, how much do I say? 104 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.000 Am I turning them off? 105 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:53.000 I really don't want to lose their friendship? 106 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:57.000 Or what do I even say? 107 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.000 When's the right time to speak out? 108 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:08.000 Many years ago, I attended a workshop by a man named Dennis Pethers. 109 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:15.000 He was all about turning a community contact into a faith conversation. 110 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:24.000 And, you know, the most important thing that I learned from that workshop is we don't have to share the gospel. 111 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 We don't have to know all the words. 112 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:33.000 We just need to be brave enough to be honest when there's openings. 113 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:36.000 Dennis told us about a friend at the gym. 114 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:44.000 He was there on his treadmill with his headphones in, and friend asked him, what are you listening to? 115 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:56.000 He hesitated for a second and thought, do I just say, oh, just the music, or do I be honest and say I'm actually listening to some worship songs? 116 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:02.000 Well, took a breath and he said, they're worship songs. 117 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.000 What's that? 118 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.000 It's Christian music. 119 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:21.000 I find it really uplifting. Instead of, you know, the songs about, oh, you know, I've lost my love and someone left me and all the standard things we listen to, and it started a conversation. 120 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:29.000 There were actually two other friends nearby that heard Them talking, and they chipped in, too. 121 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:38.000 How many times have you been in a situation like that where we hesitate to open our mouths? 122 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:47.000 Three men know a little bit more about Christ simply because he was honest. 123 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:54.000 That really stuck with me and it changed the way that I interact with people. 124 00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:04.000 I work at the railway through the week, and I went out on track one day with one of the inspectors, and we talked about so many things through the day. 125 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:21.000 We talked about reincarnation, about the soul leaving your body when you die, about being raised in a household where you're taken to Sunday school every week, what happens when you die. 126 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.000 And on and on it went. It was fantastic. 127 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:30.000 But God confirmed for me that we need to take opportunities. 128 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:37.000 And, you know, it really wasn't as scary as I thought it might be. 129 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:42.000 And it wasn't in any way me preaching at him. 130 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:50.000 It was me listening to him and then responding. 131 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:55.000 I really like to encourage you to give it a go. 132 00:16:55.000 --> 00:17:03.000 Listen to what people are saying to you and then just respond honestly. 133 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:11.000 Now, you know tomorrow's standard question is going to be, what did you do at the weekend? 134 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:28.000 So there's your first challenge. What's your answer going to be? Are you going to say, I went to church yesterday, or are you going to tell them about all the other things that you've done over the weekend? 135 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:40.000 God can use you just in small ways that will make an eternal difference simply by being honest in our conversations. 136 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:47.000 We're going to continue on through Hebrews. And the next couple of verses we're going to look at are about Abraham. 137 00:17:47.000 --> 00:18:01.000 Verse 8 says, by faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he didn't know where he was going. 138 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:05.000 So faith doesn't command the Lord. 139 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.000 Faith obeys the Lord. 140 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:21.000 When you know God's call, faith leads you to obey and to go, even though you may not know what's ahead. 141 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:30.000 Now, I don't know about you, but when we think about being called, we quite often think about missionaries overseas. 142 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:39.000 But we're all missionaries here with that great harvest that's all around us. 143 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:45.000 So when you hear that still small voice, do you obey? 144 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:50.000 Do you make that phone call to that person that God's put on your mind? 145 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.000 Do you pop in and visit someone? 146 00:18:53.000 --> 00:19:02.000 Do you stop for a little bit longer and listen to that person that needs someone to talk to? 147 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:09.000 Abraham was a man of faith. And when God called him, he obeyed. 148 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:25.000 Verse 11 says, by faith, Abraham, even though he was past age and Sarah herself was barren, was Enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful, who had made the promise. 149 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:28.000 That's a key insight for living by faith. 150 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:36.000 He considered him faithful, who has made that promise? 151 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:42.000 Abraham didn't stagger at the promise of God through unbelief. 152 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:49.000 He considered God to be faithful and God honoured that faith. 153 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:55.000 I've heard people say, oh look, I can't do too much now, I'm too old. 154 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:18.000 But seriously, God is still faithful to us. No matter our age, no matter our circumstances, he is always faithful to us and he can do all that he's promised, just like he did with Abraham, even though he was a great age. 155 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:33.000 Now we're going to move on to Joseph, verse 22 by faith. Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. 156 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:39.000 I found that an unusual verse, took me a while to puzzle that one through. 157 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:49.000 But it showed me that faith is being so confident about God's plans that then we can go ahead and make our own plans. 158 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:54.000 Plans that fit into his vision. 159 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:02.000 That's something for us to think about as we move on with God's plan for each of us after today. 160 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:11.000 Today is not an ending, it's. It's a moving forward in God's plan for us and I mean individually and as a church. 161 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:28.000 We've heard about Steve coming in a few weeks time and in a way that's a new beginning. It's the next step, isn't it? In God moving us forward in his plans. 162 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:33.000 It's also following God over the long haul. 163 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:37.000 This church has sought to follow God's plans for years now. 164 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:49.000 It's not just a quick and fleeting thing, it's a long term everyday faith in God. 165 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:59.000 We've had the church review recently and the recommendations from the transition team that we can all begin to progress now. 166 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:03.000 And Steve coming is part of that plan. 167 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:17.000 And as we move forward, I know we can be confident in God's plan for this congregation, their plans to thrive and plans to reach this community. 168 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:31.000 In verse 23 by faith, Moses parents hid him for three months after he was born because they saw he was no ordinary child and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 169 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:35.000 That is huge. 170 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:40.000 I don't know about you, but I seriously can't imagine being in their shoes. 171 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:48.000 You know the account of Moses, the king had ordered all the babies to be killed. 172 00:22:48.000 --> 00:23:01.000 And these parents really trusted God. They had the faith not to be afraid of that king's edict. 173 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:02.000 In Acts. 174 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:14.000 Peter, another person who fully trusted in God Said we will obey God and not man. And that's exactly what they were doing. 175 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:21.000 When you know you're following God, faith keeps you from fearing man. 176 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:28.000 It's another one of those easy to say, not so easy to do always things, isn't it? 177 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:39.000 Are you prepared to obey God and not man to have faith in God when the odds are stacked against you? 178 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:45.000 For Moses parents, the odds were stacked pretty high. 179 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.000 But they followed God regardless. 180 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:52.000 Not man. 181 00:23:52.000 --> 00:24:03.000 Verse 28, it says by faith he kept the passover and the sprinkling of blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. 182 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:15.000 Do you remember how this worked? God told the Israelites to sprinkle blood around the top of their door and that would ensure that their household would be safe. 183 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:23.000 And those houses that didn't do that, they lost their eldest child. 184 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:31.000 Sometimes faith asks us to do things that seem really weird. 185 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.000 Like Noah building an ark. 186 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.000 Like the sprinkling of blood on a doorframe. 187 00:24:38.000 --> 00:25:03.000 Like finding God's blessing in giving, not receiving, in trying to live a humble life, not a self promoting life like giving up your Sunday morning sleeping to be here seeking to serve, not be served. 188 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:08.000 We do these things because of our faith in God. 189 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.000 Today's theme is living by faith. 190 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:16.000 We don't do the same as everyone else does. 191 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:22.000 We do things because of our faith in God. 192 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:34.000 Verse 29. By faith, the Hebrew people pass through the Red Sea on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do so, the they were drowned. 193 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:38.000 This shows me the difference between faith and presumption. 194 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:46.000 The Hebrew people had faith in God and he provided a passage through the sea for them. 195 00:25:46.000 --> 00:26:01.000 The Egyptians on the other hand, they had their own gods and they presumed when their commander told them to go that everything would just work out for them too. 196 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:09.000 So we have two different groups of people here, one following God and the other following man. 197 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.000 Faith obeys God's leading. 198 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:18.000 Presumption acts on man's leading. 199 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:27.000 And as you know, those two things had very different results. 200 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:34.000 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell after the people had marched around them for seven days. 201 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:41.000 Now Jericho is a fortified city on a hill. 202 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:47.000 Some of these fortified cities, those walls are so thick and strong. 203 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:51.000 Yeah, amazing to see. 204 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:55.000 But through faith, astounding things can happen. 205 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.000 Walls can even fall down. 206 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:08.000 This includes too walls that sometimes we build between ourselves and our community. 207 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:14.000 But faith keeps us obeying God even after what might seem a long time. 208 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:23.000 With seven days in this instance, can you imagine walking around a city for the first day? 209 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:25.000 That would be okay. 210 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:30.000 Everyone would Be a little bit enthusiastic the first day, I expect. 211 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:39.000 Then the second day, then the third day, you'd start to think, okay, here we go. 212 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:43.000 Then there's the fourth day. And you'd think, oh, really? 213 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:50.000 And by the time you got to the seventh day, wow, where would you be at? 214 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:59.000 You've really got to trust that this is the right thing. Or you just wouldn't even go there the seventh time, would you? 215 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:06.000 But the people kept obeying and the walls came down. 216 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:14.000 You know, sometimes someone will tell a story and they'll say, oh, you just had to be there. 217 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:18.000 I reckon this was one of those moments. 218 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:22.000 You just have to be there. 219 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:25.000 Sometimes it's really, really hard to hang in for the long haul. 220 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:33.000 We get discouraged, or sometimes we even get angry with God when we don't get the answer yet. 221 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:44.000 But I see from these people who walked around the walls of Jericho for seven days that we need to persevere, keep obeying God. 222 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:53.000 And when we keep obeying God, astounding things can happen, like walls coming down. 223 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:57.000 Verse 32 says, and what more shall I say? 224 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:29.000 I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jiphtha, Daniel, David, Samuel, and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised, who shut the mouth of lions, quenched the fury of the flames and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 225 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:32.000 So much in all of that. 226 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:40.000 But each of these people had faith in God and he used them to do those great things. 227 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.000 They weren't special people. 228 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.000 They didn't have any extraordinary power or strength. 229 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:58.000 They were all just normal, everyday people who had faith to follow where God was leading them. 230 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:06.000 Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 231 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:11.000 Are you sure and certain that God exists? 232 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:22.000 If that is something that you have questions about, then I'd encourage you to talk to someone today. 233 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:27.000 There's lots of people here that would be happy to sit and talk through things with you. 234 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:37.000 If you are certain, then I'd encourage you to share that with someone today. 235 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:44.000 Do you have confidence in spending eternity with God? 236 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:52.000 If not, and you'd like to have that assurance once again, I would encourage you to talk to someone here today. 237 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:59.000 Can you trust for the future when you can't see where it's leading yet? 238 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:05.000 I ask that, both personally and as a congregation too. 239 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:19.000 Do you have faith to follow wherever God leads, regardless of how silly it might seem or how scary it might be? 240 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:26.000 Remember always God is faithful to you. 241 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:29.000 Let's pray. 242 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:35.000 Almighty God, I thank you and praise you for your faithfulness to us. 243 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:41.000 Ask you, please, to continue to grow and strengthen the faith that we have in you. 244 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:46.000 For we know with you there is nothing at all that's impossible. 245 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:58.000 As you've led each of these people we've spoken about today, I trust you to lead this group of people who form your church here at Summerhill. 246 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.000 We know that you created from nothing. 247 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:11.000 You have a place prepared for us when we leave this earth, that you're the God who rewards his people. 248 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:34.000 Thank you for the reminder that we're never too old or too young to fully trust and to follow your lead when we feel under the pressure. Lord, please strengthen our faith and help us just to stand firm. To stand firm with you, Lord. 249 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:45.000 I just ask too, that you forgive us, please, for the times that we've been prompted and we haven't moved or we haven't spoken out of fear. 250 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:59.000 Please take that fear, Lord, and give us faith to have honest conversations, to persevere when things seem to be taking way too long or when we just don't understand. 251 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:08.000 Thank you so much for the reminder that we can fully trust even though we can't see. 252 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:13.000 We trust you for our future and we know that you are faithful, Lord. 253 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.000 Amen.