1 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:15,840 Hi and welcome to the VR Zion Sermon Podcast. 2 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,920 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,120 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,280 encourage, inspire and instil fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,600 We begin a new series today titled All Roads Lead to Rome, 6 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,640 which is a study in the book of Romans. 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,120 As we study this letter written to the Jewish and Gentile 8 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:38,800 believers in the city of Rome, we ask that you put yourself in 9 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,480 their shoes, for our context is not that different after all. 10 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:46,520 Our hope is that through this series, you would experience the 11 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,000 fullness of knowing who God is, what He did for you through 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,760 Jesus, and how you can live a life that honours Him and 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,040 blesses others. Hi church. 14 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,920 What a joy it is to begin this series today with you. 15 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,280 Our series is called All Roads Lead to Rome, and it's basically 16 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,040 a walk through the book of Romans. 17 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,280 And as you know, we were reading it and Geshom and I were just 18 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,200 discussing what God would potentially want out of this 19 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,600 book. We were just thinking of, you 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,120 know, how heavy this book is. First of all, from a teaching 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,200 standpoint, it's a heavy book. It, it literally wraps the whole 22 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,000 entire essence of the Bible into one book. 23 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,440 And so it's a, it's a very heavy book, but it's such a 24 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,040 theologically sound book in the sense, of course, the whole 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,240 Bible is theologically sound. But this one, if you read it and 26 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,200 you digest it and, you know, chew on it enough, you will know 27 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,160 the exact blueprint of our Christian theology. 28 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:39,960 You'll get an idea of what this is all about. 29 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,400 And I was just as I was reading a bit about the background of 30 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,240 this book of Romans. Of course the author is the 31 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,000 Apostle Paul. The interesting fact was this 32 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,200 church was actually planted in the city of Rome by believers 33 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,400 who were there at the Upper Room on Pentecost Sunday. 34 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,280 On that day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God filled a bunch 35 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,880 of believers and they spoke out in tongues, tongues of fire 36 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,240 appeared on them and they began to speak in different tongues. 37 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,280 Couple of those believers were the ones who left from there, 38 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,840 went back to Rome and establish the church there. 39 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,360 So it feels very fitting that two Sundays after the Pentecost 40 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,480 Sunday, now we start this letter. 41 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,640 And it's so important to understand that this book of 42 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:24,680 Romans is called actually like the manifesto of the Christian 43 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,240 faith. It is we look at it and we 44 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,040 understand why we believe what we believe. 45 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,960 If we look at it and we realize this is the foundation to our 46 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,600 faith in Jesus. And it's amazing because it was 47 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,000 written by Paul. Paul had not visited this church 48 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,320 yet. He was in the city of Corinth in 49 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,120 AD 57. He wrote this letter from there 50 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,240 to them because he was sitting in an other in, in, you know, 51 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,280 colloquial terms. It was another metropolitan city 52 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,040 or a cosmopolitan city where there was a melting pot of 53 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:52,160 cultures. There were people of different 54 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,480 beliefs. There were those when, like the 55 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,720 common New Ages now, we had those who believed in anything. 56 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,120 We had those who believed in nothing. 57 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:01,320 There was a lot of idolatry. There was a lot of 58 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,840 permissiveness. This is a city that he was 59 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,200 living in at the time of writing this, and he knew that what he 60 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,520 was seeing in Corinth was also probably the issue at Romans, at 61 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,480 the place of the Romans. And so he was addressing the 62 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,280 problem that the global body of Christ would eventually face and 63 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:18,840 was currently facing at that time. 64 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,920 Today when I read it, when I read the whole book of Romans at 65 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,040 one shot, this is what it resonates with me that it is as 66 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,680 relevant today as it was back then in 1857. 67 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,240 And so today I want us to look at the book of Romans. 68 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,360 We're going to be doing this over the next couple of weeks. 69 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,160 We're just we're leaving it open to how God leads the teaching 70 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,480 each Sunday. But there are some repeated 71 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,480 themes in this entire book, which I just want to give us an 72 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:45,680 introduction to serve. We're not too taken aback when 73 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:47,880 we keep hearing it over the next few weeks. 74 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,720 The first word that is repeated a lot is the law. 75 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,600 And when it talks about the law, because it's talking about the 76 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,880 law and it's talking about grace and righteousness and all of 77 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,480 that. But the law, when it talks about 78 00:03:58,480 --> 00:03:59,840 the law, what is it talking about? 79 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:03,320 Us talking about the Tanakh. The Tanakh was the book of 80 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,920 books, books of Moses, which is the Torah, which is also the 81 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:08,720 writings, the poetic writings, and then also the books of the 82 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,360 prophets. And all of this together formed 83 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,560 the law that the people were reading at the time. 84 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,480 And the Jews, the traditional Jews, followed the law to the 85 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,560 letter. Every ritual, every tradition, 86 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,840 there were these traditions of a past down generations and they 87 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:26,440 were very ritualistic about that and that all of this comprised 88 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:29,400 the law which they were taking, you know, and they believed that 89 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,200 was what would bring them closer to God, that was obeying, that 90 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,160 would bring them salvation. And a lot of times Paul had to 91 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,240 go back to that place of saying observance of the law is not 92 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,200 enough. Faith in Jesus was. 93 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,160 So that is a repeated word. It actually appears about 78 94 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,920 times. The next word that appears a lot 95 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,720 is righteousness. And here it talks about how we 96 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,760 have to actually look at righteousness through the lens 97 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,920 of God and that the righteousness of God is imputed 98 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,680 or given to us in Jesus. So it's a very vital theme that 99 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,560 is talked about. It appears about 66 times. 100 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:08,640 It debunked the idea that, you know, our good works or our 101 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,520 goodness would bring us righteousness. 102 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,480 It was all imputed to us from God. 103 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,480 The word faith appears about 62 times in this book and basically 104 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,440 talks about the initiator. It's it's what it's a gift from 105 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:28,200 what even having faith to believe in Jesus is a gift that 106 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,680 the Spirit of God gives us. And this talks about an active 107 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:33,840 trust in God. It's not some, you know, faded 108 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:37,640 out a jaded one woman thing. Faith is this active component 109 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,320 in our walk with God. So when we look at this book 110 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,000 over the next couple of weeks, we don't know how many weeks 111 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,200 this is going to go for, but we want you to keep two things in 112 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:48,200 mind. Two outcomes. 113 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:49,880 Because when we're doing something, we need to know where 114 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,400 we're headed, right? The two outcomes is you're going 115 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,240 to find out why you believe what you believe, right? 116 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,640 The second thing is you're going to find out how we can live out 117 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,240 what you believe. It's so important we we have the 118 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,320 theology that we get from this book, but that theology will be 119 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:06,880 empty. It'll just be head knowledge if 120 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,000 we don't put it into practice, if there is no practical 121 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,760 component. So we're going to tie in the 122 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:12,680 two. We're going to look at how we 123 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,840 understand this in all its correctness in in the way God 124 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,280 intended us to understand, but we're also going to see how we 125 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:20,240 will live that out in our everyday. 126 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:21,960 It's going to have two components. 127 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,400 So every Sunday when we teach about this, when we learn, we 128 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,240 are looking at it in this angle, hey, why do we believe this? 129 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,760 What is the significance of what we are believing? 130 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,040 And then how does that work its way out into our everyday? 131 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:37,400 So today we're going to be looking at chapter one, Romans 132 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,520 chapter one, and we're going to be looking at verses 1 to 17. 133 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:41,880 I'm not going to read the whole thing. 134 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,760 Basically, it's structured like most of his letters. 135 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,040 There's an introduction where he, he's reaching out to the 136 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,960 believers of Jesus in Romans and he, he basically sets the tone 137 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:54,720 because he establishes who he is. 138 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,480 Paul says that he is an apostle who's called by God, who's 139 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,520 appointed. He talks about who he 140 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,920 represents. He's, he talks about this triune 141 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,560 God. He talks about Jesus and, and he 142 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,640 literally gives the gospel in three lines. 143 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,440 He talks about what Jesus, who Jesus was, what he accomplished, 144 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,240 who established Jesus's mission or not. 145 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,840 He's very clear. And then he also shares who he 146 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:19,760 actually speaks about, what is the content of his preaching? 147 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,520 So that's what the entire chapter, the initial part of 148 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:24,800 this chapter is. And he mentions this nice line, 149 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,400 which is so much in line with our church's theme for the year. 150 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,680 He says he has been set apart for the gospel. 151 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,280 For the first few months of this year, we have been looking up, 152 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,360 looking at how God has set us apart from certain things to 153 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,560 really live a life that is consecrated and holy. 154 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,840 But today we want to remind you that you are set apart for 155 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:44,400 something. You are set apart for the 156 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:45,720 gospel. You are set apart for the 157 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,440 Kingdom of God. You are set apart for Jesus. 158 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,720 It's so important to remember what we are set apart for. 159 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:54,880 Paul Ben goes on to explain the gospel. 160 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:56,960 What is the gospel? You know, a lot of times we just 161 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,200 use these words and we forget to actually dig deeper and 162 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,560 understand what is this gospel? The gospel is very simply 163 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,640 explains it in the first few verses. 164 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,560 He says Jesus, the Son of God, was born in the earthly line of 165 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,160 King David and the Spirit of God raised him from the dead. 166 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,880 And that resurrection established that he was truly 167 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:17,720 divine, that he was truly the Son of God. 168 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,160 And he goes on to establish who he is in Christ. 169 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,800 He says that he's an ordinary person who was given grace and 170 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,520 was called into apostleship. And the apostles were basically 171 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:30,640 those who were sent. They were the sent ones. 172 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,200 So they were called of God, and then they were sent to do the 173 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,760 work of God. And so Paul establishes that, 174 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,360 you know, it's only by God's grace that he was chosen and 175 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,480 then he was sent. And so when you look at the 176 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,760 audience, who is he writing to at that moment? 177 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,440 He was writing to the Romans. But today when we read it, we 178 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,520 realise he's talking to us, each one of us, because we are 179 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,840 ordinary. We we're probably really normal 180 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:55,720 people. And yet God has called us. 181 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,040 We are the chosen few. We are the remnant, we are the 182 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,520 set apart few. And it's important to remember 183 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,400 this. He says that you belong to Jesus 184 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,320 who you who loves you dearly and I want us to remember this 185 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,520 before we start. Our identity in Christ has to be 186 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,480 so sealed in this place where we are set apart by God. 187 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,800 We are loved by Jesus. We are called to be holy. 188 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,000 That is what we are. That is where we stand right 189 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,080 now. Even as we dive deeper into a 190 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:22,760 couple of verses in Romans chapter one. 191 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,040 This is where we stand as the audience, as the ones reading 192 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:30,600 this letter to remember. Bottom line, we were saved 193 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,080 because of pure grace, not because of any goodness in US. 194 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:36,800 It was just the fact that God chose us. 195 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,120 He hand picked us and set us apart. 196 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,800 The pivotal verses we're going to be looking at from chapter 197 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,440 one is verses 16 and 17. OK, so we're going to be looking 198 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:51,360 at these two because this is the most important verse in this 199 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,040 entire chapter. And this is what it says. 200 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,760 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the 201 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,400 power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the 202 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,640 Jew 1st and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of 203 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,000 God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written. 204 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,240 The just shall live by faith. As I was reading, this is a very 205 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,120 well known song and there was a song that came out many years 206 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,120 back that we used to do in Sunday school with the kids. 207 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,840 For I'm not ashamed of the gospel, Lord, you know that 208 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,280 song. And so we know this verse, this 209 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:25,160 Paul was very clear. He says I'm called to 210 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:27,560 apostleship and what am I? What is my job? 211 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:30,840 I proclaim the gospel, the gospel that was shared to me by 212 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,400 Jesus himself in a vision is what I'm going to preach to 213 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:35,640 others. I'm not ashamed of it. 214 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,960 And he knew that this proclamation that he was doing 215 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,080 would land him in trouble, but yet he kept doing it because he 216 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,120 says I'm not ashamed. It is a power of God. 217 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,760 It saves everyone who accepts what is received. 218 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,320 And he mentions this order here. He says it's first for the Jew, 219 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,640 then for the Gentile. There's really no debate on 220 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,760 that, that the the gospel was first presented to the Jews when 221 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,760 they turned away, when they rejected Jesus, it was made 222 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,280 available to the whole world. The whole Gentile world heard 223 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,600 it, received it and stepped in. And so this Roman church that he 224 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,880 was writing to basically had a mixture of both the Jews and the 225 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,560 Gentiles. They were those who know, knew 226 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:18,480 the ways of Judaism and had now chosen Jesus and had now started 227 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,400 walking in faith with him. And then there were the Gentiles 228 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,160 who knew nothing about the law, but who just believed in Jesus 229 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,480 of, you know, and, and just loved what was being taught to 230 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:29,960 them. They accepted him, they got 231 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,160 baptized. They were anointed by the Spirit 232 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:33,920 and had now been added to the community. 233 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:35,760 So there was this mixture of people. 234 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,360 And so he's presenting to them what God's intended plan was. 235 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,680 But what really arrested my attention was this phrase. 236 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:47,600 It says for in it the righteousness of God is revealed 237 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:52,240 from faith to faith and that from faith to faith just kind of 238 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:55,760 didn't let me be. So I kept looking at it and 239 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,920 saying, God, what is this? What what are you trying to say 240 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,840 revealed from faith to faith? And so I started reading it in 241 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,280 other translations and I want to present it to you in a couple of 242 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:06,720 translations for you to understand what Paul is actually 243 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,360 saying in the amplified. It says springing from faith and 244 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,400 leading to faith disclosed in a way that awakens more faith. 245 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,240 Fashion translation says it moves us from receiving life 246 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,080 through faith to the power of living by faith. 247 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,920 The ESV says for in it the righteousness of God is revealed 248 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,280 from faith for faith. The complete Jewish Bible says 249 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:34,040 this, for in it is revealed how God makes people righteous in 250 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,640 his sight. And from beginning to end it is 251 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,720 through trust, as the Tanakh puts it. 252 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,920 But the person who's righteous will live his life by trust. 253 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:48,640 Isn't that amazing? Trust from faith for faith 254 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,760 awakening more faith. So what what is the text telling 255 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:54,440 us? It's telling us about a faith 256 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,200 gradient. So at the time of salvation, it 257 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,000 is because of your faith in Jesus that you are saved, right? 258 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:05,160 And it's a it's a gift. But that faith cannot stay 259 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:07,600 stagnant. It cannot stay at the point or 260 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,360 the place or the quality it was then he's indicating that this 261 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,320 Christian life will need to have a gradient of faith which 262 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:19,840 steadily increases day by day. And it's important that we are 263 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,280 aware of the degree of faith we are having at this time. 264 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:27,520 Now what does that look like? Jesus spoke about mustard size 265 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:29,680 faith in Matthew 17. This is what he said. 266 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,560 Jesus said to them, because of your unbelief. 267 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,720 For assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard 268 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,480 seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to 269 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,200 there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for 270 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,920 you. So basically what had happened 271 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,280 was the disciples had had encountered someone who had a 272 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,880 demon and they were unable to drive out the demon. 273 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,440 And so they called on Jesus. He rebuked them and said you 274 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,800 guys don't have enough faith. But of course he added this 275 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,040 interesting addendum. He said of course, but this type 276 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,240 goes out by prayer and fasting. He said there was an added thing 277 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:03,720 and Jesus was doing a lot of that. 278 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:05,520 So he was filled with the power of God. 279 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,880 But he says very interestingly, he sandwiches this in the 280 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:10,160 middle. He said you need to have faith 281 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,800 as small as a mustard seed because then you can save your 282 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:16,120 mountain move and it'll actually move. 283 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,720 So basically what Jesus was saying, if you need to be a 284 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,880 mountain mover, you need to have faith that is that small. 285 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,040 That's all you need. You just need to believe without 286 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:25,800 a shadow for doubt that it will happen. 287 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,680 Childlike, trusted, implicit belief that God will fight for 288 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:30,760 you. God will come through. 289 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,160 So when you, when you take this into our everyday lives, you 290 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,960 know, life as we know it has these huge mountains, obstacles, 291 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,480 struggles, opposition, hardships that all of us face. 292 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,360 None of us are exempt. And it's interesting because 293 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,480 after one mount, we conquer 1 mountain. 294 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,400 We, we have a sea, you know, a steady path for a while and then 295 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,840 we face the next mountain that is life for every one of us. 296 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,280 And So what does that look like for our faith? 297 00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:59,520 Like we've been talking in church, we believe it's a new 298 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,280 season for church after six years. 299 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,760 We believe God is turning us in another direction. 300 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,280 We are pioneering again on different levels. 301 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:09,600 And in this new season, it doesn't mean that our faith can 302 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,440 flag. It cannot mean that our faith 303 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,960 just starts to go, oh, well, you know, we've accomplished so 304 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:16,160 much. Now God will do the rest. 305 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,760 Our faith has to step up in the new season. 306 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,280 A lot of times we think when that new season comes, God will 307 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:24,800 do everything. I can relax. 308 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,000 We can. It's amazing because you can, 309 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:31,960 but you can't relax when your faith has stepped up internally. 310 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,760 And what does that look like? Can I orchestrate my own faith? 311 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:37,880 Can I step it up? Can I just turn this knob and 312 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:39,080 say no, my faith needs to increase? 313 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,080 It's not like that. It doesn't happen like that. 314 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:44,920 So let's let's look at what Jesus himself taught us about 315 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,120 this. Matthew chapter 13 verses 31 to 316 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:49,280 32. This is what he says. 317 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,720 Another parable he put forth to them saying the Kingdom of 318 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:56,120 heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in 319 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,600 his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds, but when 320 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,120 it is grown is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so 321 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,480 that the birds of the egg come and nest in its branches. 322 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,720 Mark talks a little differently. He says when it is sown it grows 323 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,840 up and becomes greater than all herbs and shoots out large 324 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,040 branches so that the birds of the airmen nest in its shape. 325 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,040 What is Jesus talking? He just said faith as small as a 326 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,920 mustard seed is adequate. But now he's talking about this 327 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,320 seed being sown in soil and the tree that it produces is huge 328 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:31,440 and it brings so much shade to everything around. 329 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,880 What is he talking about? He's talking about this gradient 330 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,880 again, that that mustard seed faith has to be sown into our 331 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,480 lives and God is the one who brings increase. 332 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,160 If you look at a plant growing in your garden, you realize you 333 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,560 literally have no control of how it grows. 334 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:48,960 You don't have control of how the weed is growing. 335 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,720 If you put a time lapse camera, you just record it. 336 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:52,880 You realize you're doing nothing. 337 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,400 Your watering is probably doing 10% of the job. 338 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,120 Growth is brought about by God, the growth of our faith, the 339 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:03,240 gradient of our faith, It's entirely in God's hands, but it 340 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,200 only requires a willing heart. It only requires a surrendered 341 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:10,440 life and God in the midst of that circums like ideal, optimum 342 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:12,480 circumstances. God grows our faith. 343 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:15,720 And so here it says, it's so interesting. 344 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,200 Paul writes when he's writing to the Romans, he mentions this one 345 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,000 thing in verse eight. He says, I first thank my God 346 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,960 through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of 347 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:29,480 throughout the whole world. I wonder if someone was to write 348 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,560 a letter to us today, would they say, Christine, it's amazing. 349 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,680 I pray for you all the time and I've heard your about your faith 350 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,080 from wherever I go. Is your faith spoken about by 351 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:43,640 people at the far ends of the earth? 352 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:50,600 The Roman believers faith was so strong, was so vibrant that it 353 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:52,520 was known at different parts of the globe. 354 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,120 Is the quality of your faith and mind like that? 355 00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:58,080 Is the caliber of our faith like that? 356 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:03,200 Is it at a level where it is talking far and wide of how we 357 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,960 believe in Jesus, of what that faith is doing? 358 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:10,040 I want to ask you, is your faith a stagnant faith? 359 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,840 You got saved, but it hasn't really grown from there because 360 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,160 the problem with the stagnant faith is it will not have an 361 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,800 aroma. It will not attract more people 362 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,240 to Jesus. Are you having a depleting 363 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,280 faith? Series of obstacles, too many 364 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,320 mountains, too many unanswered prayers, dryness, barrenness 365 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:28,840 that your faith has started regressing. 366 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,680 Remember that a depleting faith will begin to show up in your 367 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,880 life as a dryness. People around you will not sense 368 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,080 the joy of the Lord in you. You will start to drift because 369 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:40,600 you don't have much purpose anymore. 370 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,920 But today God is calling you for a faith that is ever increasing. 371 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,440 Maybe all you have energy for is that mustard size faith. 372 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,400 But will you plant it in your life and say Lord, I believe 373 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,400 that you will come through what you said you will do. 374 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,360 I believe in you. I will hold on to you with every 375 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:59,680 fiber of my being. That is a great place to start 376 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:01,800 because that faith needs to grow. 377 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,920 It needs to increase. Because the truth is, faith is 378 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,600 the thing that had faith in Jesus is the thing that helps us 379 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,760 adapt in every season we are placed in. 380 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,160 I often wonder of how people actually do life in today's 381 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,560 world without Jesus. Because you know, for us, 382 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:21,760 irrespective of the season, whether it's a high, it's a low, 383 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,600 it's barren, it's it's fruitful. The constant has been Jesus, 384 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,280 even in the hardest times. The fact that we can cling on to 385 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:30,680 him like an anchor keeps us going. 386 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,240 But if you don't have Jesus, what do you have? 387 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,440 Who do you call on? Who do you turn to in the night 388 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,560 seasons? Who do you weep your heart or 389 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,920 bear your soul to? Who is the one who heals? 390 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,840 The ones that no one else can heal on earth. 391 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,320 It's so important to remember that a faith in Jesus is what 392 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,080 keeps us going in every season. You may be entering one of the 393 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,760 hardest seasons of your life. You may be exiting one of the 394 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,720 hardest seasons of your life. Whatever it is, will your faith 395 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:03,600 keep you tethered to Jesus? I was in an aquarium recently 396 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,600 and my kids were, you know, wandering through the aquarium 397 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,440 and looking at all the. Different fish and this one boat 398 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,840 arrested my attention and it just talked about amazing 399 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,000 adaptations. OK and I want to read what the 400 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,120 boat said and then this is what I really felt when I was reading 401 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:23,560 the boat. The boat read The inter tidal 402 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,520 zone is hidden at high tide but a place of discovery at low 403 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,120 tide. Animals in the zone have special 404 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:30,880 adaptations to help them survive. 405 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,200 Strong tube feet to resist powerful waves or hard shells 406 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:39,000 that lock in moisture and prevent dehydration during low 407 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,520 tide. And as I was reading it, I was 408 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,320 just thinking that this pretty much describes the Christian 409 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,280 life. It pretty much describes human 410 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,520 life. But for the Christian, our 411 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,120 amazing adaptation is our faith in Jesus. 412 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,760 Because when the seasons happen where there is low tide, we're 413 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,680 exposed to the elements. We don't feel the presence of 414 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,560 God as much as we did in the previous session. 415 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,720 Our faith keeps us hooked on to Him. 416 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,520 And then there are those times when it's high time and storms 417 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,400 of life are beating on you and yet you have this anchor in Him. 418 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:12,800 And then there was peaceful times. 419 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,720 It's Placid, it's calm, and you know He's in the boat with you. 420 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,640 You see what I'm saying? For the believer, through every 421 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,480 up and down, through every upheaval, through every 422 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,760 calmness, through every fruitfulness, through every 423 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,280 barrenness. The thing that keeps us sane, 424 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,200 the thing that keeps us well, the thing that keeps us going is 425 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,280 a faith in Jesus. The only constant in our lives 426 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,640 will be Jesus. The amazing adaptation we have 427 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,720 is faith in Him. That's what keeps us going. 428 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,680 As we mentioned on Pentecost Sunday, we believe we're heading 429 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,160 into a season of harvest as the body of Christ. 430 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:52,480 And this harvest looks like there's going to be a lot of 431 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,560 fruit being born, but there's also going to be a lot of de 432 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:55,560 wedding. There's going to be a lot of 433 00:21:55,560 --> 00:22:00,720 landscaping that God does in our lives, along with the growth 434 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:04,240 that comes with the harvest, along with the specific tasks 435 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,600 God gives us. He will need us to step up the 436 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,520 measure of faith that we carry. Because the faith that I had for 437 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:14,040 the previous season was great, but this new season is going to 438 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,120 need a different level of faith. I'm not going to say it's going 439 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:17,480 to need more. It's going to need a different 440 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,480 quality of faith. It's going to need a different 441 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,520 kind of caliber of faith. Are you ready for that? 442 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,160 Are you ready that you will move from faith to faith because 443 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,400 throughout our lives what is going to mark us on a spiritual 444 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,120 calendar of God was to you know and we meet him in heaven when 445 00:22:34,120 --> 00:22:36,000 he looks at our reports, so to speak. 446 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,960 What is going to carry on is our faithfulness to him. 447 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:45,720 Have I been faithful full of faith no matter what storm I 448 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:47,480 stood firm and said Jesus is enough. 449 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,880 He will carry me through this no matter the successes my eyes 450 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,280 were on Jesus. That's what's going to count 451 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,600 because when I close my eyes and go meet him, he's going to say 452 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,600 well done, good and faithful, full of faith, faithful servant. 453 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:09,080 And the interesting thing is I cannot do this on my own. 454 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:10,760 I cannot step up faith on my own. 455 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,160 I cannot increase the quality of faith on my own. 456 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:15,360 I need the Lord for it. I need Him. 457 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,440 It's not a miracle portion, but this is the way He grows faith. 458 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,000 OK, I want you to really listen to this. 459 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,400 This is not going to be pleasant to hear. 460 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,520 He grows our faith by our circumstances. 461 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,360 He grows our faith by the ordinary situations we face as 462 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,560 humans. It's interesting. 463 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,720 If you ask God for more love, He'll place you in circles with 464 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,840 people who are hard to love just so that you step up and how you 465 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:40,080 love them. If you ask God for more 466 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:41,240 patience, Lord, give me patience. 467 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,400 Give me endurance. He gives you hard situations 468 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:46,560 where you're waiting for a long time, where you're dealing with 469 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,520 people or your children who really test your patience. 470 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,800 Similarly, when you ask Him for more faith, He allows you to 471 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,800 walk through circumstances that need you to lean on Him more, 472 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:03,160 need you to lean on Him solely. So how does this translate to 473 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,120 you and me today? How do we take this for 474 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:07,360 ourselves? OK, we know that we don't need 475 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,360 to be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to save 476 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,480 all of humanity. And it, it is through the gospel 477 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,920 that I understand the righteousness of God from faith 478 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,280 to faith, right? But what does this look like for 479 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:23,760 you and me? How do, how does this faith 480 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:25,040 grow? Like I said, it grows through 481 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,840 our ordinary human life, ordinary human circumstances. 482 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:30,960 So the first thing I want you to remember is that faith will grow 483 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,440 as we continue to do life. Faith grows as we live life. 484 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,520 Romans 117 says the just shall live by faith. 485 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,480 That word live the Greek root for that means to experience 486 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,680 God's gift of life. Isn't that amazing? 487 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,920 So the just shall live by faith is basically saying when you 488 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,160 stand in the righteousness of Christ, because our 489 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,320 righteousness is nothing, it's filthy rags, but we have the 490 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,000 righteousness of Christ, we learn to live this life to 491 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,640 abundance. Many of us are mistaking 492 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:04,280 abundance as an abundance of things. 493 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,360 We're thinking that you know we need to have more to live this 494 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,760 abundant life. No, in the midst of what you 495 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,960 have, the little you have, Abundance of soul is what makes 496 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,760 all the difference. A spiritual abundance standing 497 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,960 in your identity in Christ makes all the difference. 498 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,880 Seek first His Kingdom and all these things will be added unto 499 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:23,760 you. You have to come to a place of 500 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,520 enjoying this abundant life. That's when you're actually 501 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:31,440 living life to the fullest. And faith grows as you live this 502 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,880 life, as you live this new life in Christ. 503 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,400 Now this, this, you know, Romans 117 is actually the latter part 504 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,560 of the worst. It's taken originally from 505 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,240 Habakkuk, and I want to read what Habakkuk writes. 506 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,880 Habakkuk chapter 2, verses two to four. 507 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,520 And Habakkuk starts this chapter by saying, I will stand on the 508 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,920 ramparts. I will stand on that watchtower 509 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,720 and listen for what God wants to tell me. 510 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,280 And then God replies. This is what God says. 511 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,520 God answered, Write this, write what you see. 512 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,800 Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read 513 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,360 on the run. This vision message is a witness 514 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:07,200 pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming. 515 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,800 It can hardly wait, and it doesn't like if it seems slow 516 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,160 and coming. Wait, it's on its way. 517 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,920 It will come right on time. Look at that man, bloated by 518 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,560 self importance, full of himself but soul empty. 519 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,400 But the person in right standing before God through loyal and 520 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,160 steady believing is fully alive, really alive. 521 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:28,440 This is the worst that we're looking at. 522 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:34,520 The person in right standing before God through loyal and 523 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:39,560 steady believing, that is faith, loyal, steady believing is fully 524 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,520 alive, really alive. I'm sure in your life you have 525 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,240 some who have lived the Christian life completely 526 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,640 faithful to God, who actually epitomize this and say you've 527 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:52,840 seen them through every season when they could have washed 528 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,160 their hands off their faith said no, I still, you know, I know 529 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,680 that Jesus has called me. I know that this is he's allowed 530 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:01,600 it. I will walk in faithfulness to 531 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,880 him steady believing the ups and downs are real. 532 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:10,200 High tide, low tide, We face it. Every one of us face it. 533 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,520 And I want to encourage you. When you read the book of 534 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:16,440 Romans, you feel so normal sometimes you feel, why am I 535 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:17,480 going through these ups and downs? 536 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,280 Shouldn't I be just, you know, sailing through life shouldn't 537 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,240 no matter what happens? Shouldn't I be just, you know, 538 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,600 cruising through? Well, life happens and God 539 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,800 understands what we go through. And in the midst of all of it, 540 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,240 He says, stay fixed on me. And so in this place, faith 541 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:38,560 grows as you live life. What is the vision primarily, 542 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:42,360 before you even live this life fully and abundantly, what is 543 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:43,800 the vision you have for your life? 544 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,840 What is the vision God has given for your life? 545 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,360 I need to correct that because a lot of times we have a vision 546 00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:50,360 for our life. Oh, I need to do this by 25. 547 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:52,800 I need to own this by 30. I need to be married. 548 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,240 I need to have a kid. Or maybe that lesson feature in 549 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,680 your life's plans. But whatever it is, you have a 550 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:00,120 vision. But I want to ask you, what is 551 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:03,400 the vision God has given? What is the word God has given 552 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,840 you saying this is what I created you for? 553 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,280 They've been multiple times in the last five years when God has 554 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,880 reiterated to me the things that I was created for. 555 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,920 What has He told you? Hey, this is what you were made 556 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:19,800 for? Because when you come in 557 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:24,400 alignment with what His vision for you is, living fully becomes 558 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,040 very easy. You're not actually striving to 559 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,800 live up in abundance. It's important because he says 560 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,280 this vision message is a witness pointing to what's coming. 561 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,320 So very important to this journey of life is keeping our 562 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,800 eyes on the God vision that he's given us. 563 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,920 If God has said this is my vision for you, I want you to be 564 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,480 a shining light for me in the place in your marketplace. 565 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,280 No matter what's happening in the marketplace, you keep your 566 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,200 eyes on that vision. God, you call me, you brought me 567 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,960 here, you lead me. Maybe your God has given you 568 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,800 this vision. You're going to mentor a 569 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,360 generation of young people in your school that you work at. 570 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,320 So no matter what obstacles you're facing, you're going. 571 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,400 God, you're placed me here. I know that you have me here for 572 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:08,120 a season. I'll do what you asked me to do. 573 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,320 Maybe you're a homemaker. You think you don't have much to 574 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,920 do, but God is impressed on your heart that those children in 575 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,320 your home, your two children, your one child, that is your 576 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:18,760 focus. That is the place where you're 577 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:22,960 going to see the harvest. You'll be so intentional, even 578 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,320 when you're buffeted with self doubt and an identity crisis. 579 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,080 You know that inherently that's where God called you. 580 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:31,920 The vision for our life is all important. 581 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,560 Faith grows when we do life with that vision. 582 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,520 More important than the vision, though, is the one who gave you 583 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,800 the vision, Paul writes in another letter. 584 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,280 He says, keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and 585 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,120 perfecter of my faith. He is the one that I keep my 586 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,880 focus on because the highs and lows are real, the ups and downs 587 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,160 are real, the dark seasons of the soul are real. 588 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,720 But when I keep my eyes on Jesus, everything else fades 589 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,360 away. Things may not make more sense, 590 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,280 but when I look at Him, I find comfort. 591 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,000 I remember the things He did in the past for me. 592 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,480 I know He can do it again. I know that He is as loving as 593 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:14,840 He promised he would be. It's so important that we keep 594 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,160 our eyes on Jesus because he is the one who made us righteous. 595 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,360 Today I stand and righteous standing before God because of 596 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:26,400 what Jesus did for me. So it's so important that in 597 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,240 this journey of life, this Christian life, to move from 598 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,800 faith to faith, I need to do life as I am. 599 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:37,720 I need to stand in this place, living this new life in Christ. 600 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,240 Your faith will grow when you embrace the life you are living. 601 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,360 Too many of us wish we had a different life. 602 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,240 I, I despise social media for this one thing. 603 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,520 Too many people look at social media and think I need to have 604 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,960 that kind of spouse. I need to have that kind of 605 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,080 holiday. I wish my children did such and 606 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,800 such. I wish you know I could 607 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,600 influence people like the way that person is. 608 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,800 We don't know their journeys. We don't know what they walked 609 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:02,640 through. We don't know their sacrifices. 610 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:07,040 All we see is this life that is plastered on social media. 611 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,720 It's important that we come to this place of God. 612 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:14,120 What have you called me for? I will run the track. 613 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,560 Too many of us are running on someone else's track when God is 614 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,320 marked out a track for us. And it is when I run this track 615 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,080 faithfully that automatically my faith will grow because I'm 616 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:26,800 embracing the life that I'm living. 617 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,960 It is a new life in Christ that I am facing. 618 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,680 I run it fully. That's when my faith 619 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:35,600 automatically grows. You need to remember you cannot 620 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,240 grow your faith. It's not something that you can 621 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,760 by willpower grow. It just happens when you live 622 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:42,920 life. So that's the first important 623 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,400 thing. Faith grows when you live this 624 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,360 new life in Christ. The second thing is faith grows 625 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:53,480 in community. Post COVID, there was the option 626 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:56,160 of online. There was the option of, you 627 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:59,240 know, meeting, you know, in remote offices. 628 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:03,280 Many of them have, you know, decided to have full time online 629 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:06,120 positions. So the need for community has 630 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,680 dropped. But can I just tell you 631 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,000 something? What COVID proved more than 632 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,440 anything was that we need people. 633 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,880 We were not meant for isolation. We were not meant for solitary 634 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,840 confinement. And I believe that today the 635 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:23,400 body of Christ needs its people to come back in. 636 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,680 You cannot do the Christian life by just connecting to an online 637 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:29,720 community. That may be great for a weekend 638 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,480 that you're not well or that you're travelling, but you need 639 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,320 people to do life with. Faith grows in community, It 640 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:40,400 doesn't grow in isolation. Romans one was 11 to 12. 641 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,120 This is what Paul says. I long to see you, that I may 642 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,120 impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be 643 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,280 established. That is, that I may be 644 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:52,440 encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both of you 645 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,760 and me. Some of us are very comfortable, 646 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:57,800 but just one Sunday we visit here. 647 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,720 Next Sunday we visit somewhere else because we have friends in 648 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,280 different places. That may work for a while, but 649 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:05,960 you need to put down your roots somewhere because it is in that 650 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,520 community where you are growing. You get sharpened by other 651 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:11,760 people. You hear, I love when we meet 4 652 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:15,640 ladies prayer during the week. Someone else's testimony will 653 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:17,000 minister to us. When they say, you know, I 654 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,480 prayed for this and this happened. 655 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,760 It always challenges me to go, why don't I pray like that? 656 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,160 Why am I not asking God for things like this auntie is doing 657 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,280 or if someone else is grieving through a season when the other 658 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,880 women embrace her and say we're with you, we're standing with 659 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,680 you, you're not alone. Mutual encouragement. 660 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,920 Faith is grown in community. Let's not kid ourselves, you 661 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,560 cannot be of wholesome Christian if you are not in community. 662 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,160 You need to plant yourself somewhere. 663 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:51,240 You need to do life with people. I love hearing stories of faith. 664 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:54,840 I love when people tell me this is where I was at, this is how 665 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,120 God met me. It stirs up my faith. 666 00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:58,960 I may have been flagging that day. 667 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,640 I may have been going, Oh God, I wish, I wish you would show me 668 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:04,200 that you're real and someone just shares that story. 669 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,280 It builds me up. Someone just shares in our group 670 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,320 of how prayer was answered, how God came through powerfully. 671 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:15,800 Too many of us are missing out on that integral part of the 672 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:17,679 Christian journey, which is community. 673 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:22,159 We wonder why we're so lonely. We think we're the only ones 674 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:24,280 going through that problem. Get into community. 675 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,040 You'll hear of those who have run the race far ahead. 676 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,120 They'll say, I know exactly what you're walking through. 677 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:33,920 You will get through it. Whatever season of life you're 678 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:37,120 in, you're not alone. I love what Peter writes in his 679 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:39,280 episode. He says for around the world, 680 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,360 brothers and sisters are going through the same things that you 681 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,520 are going through. I often turn to that and say, 682 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,159 Lord, I thank you that I'm not alone in this. 683 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:49,040 I love that we have friends around the country. 684 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,400 I love that we have friends around the world who when we 685 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,360 connect to those more pivotal moments, God will connect us 686 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,240 with them. When they hear us out, they say, 687 00:34:57,240 --> 00:34:59,160 don't worry, we've been there, we've done that. 688 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:02,920 You will get through it. That's the power of community. 689 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:06,040 We start playing those crazy faith filled prayers. 690 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,280 We start to step outside our comfort zone. 691 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,200 We have a couple of friends who are younger than us and who call 692 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:17,400 us out on our fears, who call us out on our anxieties, who call 693 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,720 us out on things and challenge us to be better, challenge us to 694 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:23,560 lead better. Challenge us to think with 695 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,120 greater vision. We need community. 696 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:28,800 Let's let's not kid ourselves anymore. 697 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:30,880 Let's not say that you know, the online thing works for me. 698 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:34,640 It cannot possibly work in the to the degree that you know, in 699 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:39,200 person community works. As I conclude, I want to leave 700 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:42,680 this with you. Our faith in Jesus is what will 701 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:47,720 preserve us and protect us in the changing times that we live 702 00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:50,920 in, the times we live in our volatile times. 703 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:52,920 There are wars happening in different parts of the globe. 704 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:58,160 Recessions are promised. Governments are changing or not 705 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:03,440 changing, whatever it is, things don't look as promising as we 706 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,920 would like them to look. Maybe your job feels like it's 707 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,240 on the rocks. Maybe your financial situation 708 00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:11,680 doesn't look very stable. Maybe your health has been on 709 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:15,800 edge. Whatever it is, faith in Jesus, 710 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,840 that is what will keep us going. As I was thinking about this, I 711 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:24,040 got this image of a ladder and you're going to be looking at a 712 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:28,240 couple of images right now. Some of us, the way we look at 713 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,840 our faith, we're like the steps to, you know, we're just 714 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,360 starting out. We just accepted Jesus. 715 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,720 We feel, you know, we've got the stable ladder that we see, you 716 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,400 know, can stand on firmly because Jesus is my foundation. 717 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:45,880 I'm standing on him. We have adequate amount of faith 718 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:47,320 to do the things we're called to do. 719 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,880 Some of us have grown. We've we've grown in our faith 720 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:53,600 to a place where we're so stable. 721 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:56,600 We're like the larger step ladder, you know, the one that 722 00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,520 we have at home. We open it out, it's it's super 723 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,240 stable. You fix it, you can do your 724 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:04,800 work. And our faith sometimes looks 725 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,360 like that. The problem with the step ladder 726 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:11,080 kind of faith I realize is that it's so fixed on my abilities. 727 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:15,640 It's so fixed on what I know. It's so fixed on who I know. 728 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,360 Oh, I can get this done. Oh, I'm confident that I can 729 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:21,720 sell this product. Oh, I'm confident that I get 730 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:24,400 that, that you know the good review. 731 00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:29,440 I'm confident that I'm capable of handling this. 732 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:32,800 And so sometimes my faith gets so established in what I am 733 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:38,240 capable of that I forget that it requires a leaning on someone 734 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:39,760 else. And you remember the old 735 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:43,520 fashioned ladders, the ones that we had when we were kids, This 736 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,240 was the most unstable thing. And you have a picture of it. 737 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:49,920 It's called the straight ladder. And this straight ladder was 738 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,480 always so dependent on the wall that you leaned it on. 739 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,440 It had no stability on its own. If you went to the circus, the 740 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:57,480 clowns would try climbing up on it straight. 741 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,760 But beyond that, you and me, ordinary people, had to lean it 742 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,640 on a stable source. And even then, you had to keep 743 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,320 it at the right angle so that doesn't slip when you climb it 744 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,240 right. God is calling us for a straight 745 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:15,640 ladder like faith. He's saying, will you bring your 746 00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:21,120 life and lean it solely on me? Because I don't shift, I don't 747 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:25,280 change. I love that you have abilities, 748 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:27,760 but you need to trust my abilities. 749 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:31,960 I love that you have resources, but I have innumerable 750 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:35,200 resources. I love that you have influence, 751 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,520 but my influence is world renowned. 752 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:40,880 It touches the far-flung islands. 753 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:43,280 It touches the depths of the ocean. 754 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,520 It touches the depths of the the heights of the heaven. 755 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:52,520 Some of you, I've already had this straight ladder faith the 756 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,920 last season built it. You were built in furnace. 757 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:59,280 Your faith has been built up. It's been tested, it's tried, 758 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:00,400 it's true. But you know what? 759 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:01,880 God's calling you to the next level. 760 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,280 He's calling you to an extension ladder kind of faith. 761 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,480 You know what that is? It's the same straight ladder, 762 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,960 but it has an extension that gets pulled up and God is saying 763 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:12,240 I'm taking you to the next level. 764 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:16,080 But will you trust me? It will require raising faith. 765 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:20,240 It will require a bold faith like you never had before. 766 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:22,560 I'm going to stretch your resources. 767 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,480 I'm going to stretch you. I'm going to make you visible. 768 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:28,160 I'm going to amplify your voice and your sound. 769 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:30,840 I'm going to use you in ways you never even pictured and 770 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:32,600 imagined. You didn't ask for it, but I'm 771 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:35,680 going to give it to you. But will you be ready for that? 772 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:41,200 If you notice, there was a gradient of the ladder, just as 773 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,360 there has to be a gradient in our faith. 774 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,600 Start out with the mustard seed fear. 775 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:49,080 Sometimes with the multiple mountains you're facing, you 776 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:52,120 need a lot of mustards. Mustard says you need a lot of 777 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:54,360 it. But ask this from God. 778 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:58,440 Ask Him to grow your faith. He is faithful to do what He has 779 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:02,680 promised because it is faith in Jesus that will preserve and 780 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:06,240 protect us. Nothing else, nothing else. 781 00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:09,800 Isaiah 33 verses 5 to 6. This is what it says the Lord is 782 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:14,040 exalted for He dwells on high. He has filled Zion with justice 783 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,200 and righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge will be the 784 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:20,720 stability of your times and the strength of salvation. 785 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,360 The fear of the Lord is his treasure. 786 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:29,320 Wisdom, knowledge will be the stability of your times. 787 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,360 Where does this wisdom and knowledge come from? 788 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:36,800 Jesus, the source of everything. The strength of salvation, the 789 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:38,680 fear of the Lord is his treasure. 790 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:42,600 It is in the presence of God. It is in that relationship with 791 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:47,160 Jesus that we will have what it takes to navigate the times 792 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:51,560 ahead. Let's not pacify ourselves by 793 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,440 saying I can manage and my bank balance is OK. 794 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:59,240 I have a plan for my life. Where is your ladder leaning? 795 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:05,360 Have you become so self reliant or do you need to move back to 796 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,600 the straight ladder and say Lord I'm leaning on you for my 797 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:13,400 marriage, for my children, for my future, for my health, for my 798 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:16,240 job, for my calling, for my purpose. 799 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:21,080 I lean on you entirely because I know that you are not a leaning 800 00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:24,120 wall or a tottering fence. You are rock solid. 801 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,840 You don't change. Will you lean on Him today? 802 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:33,760 From faith to faith. We cannot do this life without 803 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:37,080 an ever increasing faith. A faith that goes from season to 804 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:41,120 season, unshakable, steady and loyal, unchanging. 805 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,080 There will be times when you face doubts. 806 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:47,240 There will be times when you think God, I'm believing in you, 807 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:51,000 but I don't see the return. I want to encourage you. 808 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,640 Keep pushing on, keep pushing forward. 809 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:57,960 Hold on to what you believe in because the one who has called 810 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,240 you, he's faithful. He's faithful to His word. 811 00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:04,000 Can we just pray? I want to pray for you that your 812 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:05,920 faith will experience this gradient. 813 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:07,880 It will grow from strength to strength. 814 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:11,240 Father, I just thank you for the gift of faith, for even that is 815 00:42:11,240 --> 00:42:15,200 from you, Lord, it was not our ability to believe in you. 816 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,440 It was a gift from you. And I just pray right now for 817 00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:22,320 each of us, wherever we are in this season of life, that Lord, 818 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:25,400 for this next season you're leading us into, that our faith 819 00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,040 will be stepped up. That God, you will use us in the 820 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:31,120 ways you have purposed for us to be used. 821 00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,360 That God, where we are lagging behind, we would catch up to 822 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:36,840 you. I pray God, for perfect 823 00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:40,000 alignment with you. That God, each of us will have 824 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,480 an align, our vision and yours will align. 825 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:45,320 That we will not, Lord, push your vision out of the way, but 826 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:47,480 we will keep our eyes fixed on you. 827 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:51,720 Father, I pray very specially for those who are afraid of the 828 00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:54,040 times ahead, that Lord, if they are worried about the 829 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:57,600 instability that is coming, God, that they will anchor themselves 830 00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:00,000 in you, they will keep their eyes on you. 831 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,880 Father, I pray for those who have stepped out of communities, 832 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:06,440 who have stepped out of churches because of hurt, because of 833 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:09,960 fear, because of anything that has let them down. 834 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,320 Father, I pray that they will take a chance again. 835 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,680 They will find themselves in a community that Lord, their faith 836 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:22,080 would be grown amongst others. Or Father, we thank you, we love 837 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,040 you, we know that you are doing things in our life. 838 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:27,880 I pray that God, throughout our lives, no matter what, high and 839 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:32,160 low we go through, that God, we will be so steadfast in knowing 840 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:33,920 you, in loving you and following you. 841 00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:38,960 Help us, O God, help us, we love you and we thank you in Jesus 842 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:41,160 name, Amen. Amen. 843 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:43,840 God bless you. I pray that as we do the book of 844 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,920 Romans, you will realize why you believe what you believe and 845 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:48,920 that you will be able to translate that into your 846 00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:50,480 everyday. God bless you. 847 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:53,280 Thanks for listening to this message. 848 00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:57,120 We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this. 849 00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:01,440 Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 850 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:03,800 episodes. If you like what you are 851 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:08,360 hearing, consider rating US, subscribing and even sharing it 852 00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:10,920 with friends. That would really help us. 853 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:16,240 For more content from Via Zion and to connect with us, go to 854 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:21,440 Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 855 00:44:21,720 --> 00:44:22,400 finds life.