1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,680 You're very welcome to today's Triumph Church podcast. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,440 We pray that you enjoy the message we're. 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,920 Going to begin this morning's message in Hebrews chapter 10 4 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:23,640 and verse 38. If you want to turn with me 5 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:29,280 there in your Bibles, Hebrews 1038 says now the just shall 6 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,520 live by faith. But if anyone draws back, my 7 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:40,600 soul has no pleasure in him. I've been praying for a while 8 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:47,000 now about 2026, and what I'm sharing with you this morning is 9 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,280 what the Lord has placed upon my heart for Triumph Church. 10 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:57,360 And for each of you. This morning's teaching is about 11 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:03,360 refusing to draw back. Each year many of us make New 12 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,920 Year's resolutions, and that's good. 13 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:11,040 Many of those are noble. But nothing compares with our 14 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,200 pursuit of drawing ever closer to God. 15 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:18,840 This needs to be our first priority. 16 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,760 There's nothing in your life more important than this. 17 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:30,640 Your husband isn't as important. Your wife isn't as important. 18 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,880 Your boyfriend or your girlfriend isn't as important to 19 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,800 your friends, even your job, your aunties, your uncles, your 20 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,640 grandparents. Nothing in your life is more 21 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:49,240 important than your pursuit of drawing closer to God. 22 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,400 And this is something that begins from the the moment that 23 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,680 you become born again, the moment you you ask Jesus to be 24 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,280 the the Lord and Savior of your life. 25 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,360 That's the beginning point, but it's a pursuit that happens in 26 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,240 your life until you leave this natural life and go on to 27 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,240 eternity with with God in in heaven. 28 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,800 But there's nothing more important than your pursuit of 29 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,200 God and listen that the devil will try to keep you from this. 30 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:27,720 His motives, we read in John 1010, are to steal, to kill, and 31 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,920 to cause destruction, right. And what is the purpose of 32 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:34,320 these? What is the purpose of his 33 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,600 coming in to try to steal, to try to to kill your hopes and 34 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,800 your your dreams and to cause destruction and chaos in your 35 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,720 life? What is the purpose of these? 36 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:52,240 His hope is that you'll continue in the same pattern of Adam and 37 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,960 Eve, which was to draw back from God. 38 00:02:54,960 --> 00:03:00,120 Their natural tendency once they, they fell into the enemy's 39 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:06,680 trap was to draw back from God. And the devil's hope is that 40 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,640 when he comes into our life and tries to steal, to kill and, and 41 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:14,960 cause destruction in our lives, that will fall back and will 42 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:16,960 will fall into that same tendency. 43 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,600 And all of us are human, right? All of us have that tendency 44 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,080 from Adam and Eve to draw back from God. 45 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,400 But this is the polar opposite of what we really need. 46 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:36,400 And the enemy is counting on that tendency to draw back. 47 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:43,280 But if we want to see God move in our lives, then we really 48 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,320 need to do then. Then what we really need to do 49 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:51,960 is to deny that tendency and instead draw nearer to God. 50 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:58,240 Let's look at what what James chapter 4 and verse 7 and 8 says 51 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,800 for a moment because this gives us some great keys in how we can 52 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,720 overcome that tendency to draw back. 53 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:13,240 James chapter 4 and verses 7 and 8 says in verse 7, therefore 54 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:19,399 submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. 55 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:25,400 And then verse 8 draw near to God and he will draw near to 56 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,280 you. There are a few great takeaways 57 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:31,760 here. The first is submitting to God. 58 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:38,000 This requires our humbling ourselves and listen our our 59 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,040 greatest enemy isn't actually the devil. 60 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:47,440 We'd like to blame everything on him, of course, but our greatest 61 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,600 enemy isn't the devil. Our greatest enemy is our pride. 62 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:59,360 Our pride is what keeps us from drawing close to God. 63 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,280 Our pride is what causes us to draw away from him. 64 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:09,200 And the second is resisting the devil. 65 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,520 But listen, you cannot do this on your own. 66 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,640 You do not have the strength, you do not have the power, you 67 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:25,560 do not have the capacity on your own to resist the devil. 68 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:33,160 Listen to what Paul says in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 69 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,480 13. He says that I can do all things 70 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,720 through Christ who strengthens me. 71 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,040 Who is it that strengthens you? It's God. 72 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,760 It's through Christ. Through Christ you are 73 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:51,000 strengthened. And listen, the 3rd, and this 74 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,800 ties directly into the second, is that strength only comes when 75 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:02,480 you do what James says in chapter 4 and verse 8 that we 76 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:06,760 just read, that you must draw close to God. 77 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:14,440 Our strength is through Christ. So when we draw close to God, he 78 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:20,080 draws near to us. That place of drawing close to 79 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:24,760 Him is where we're able to resist the devil. 80 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:27,480 That is where we're strengthened. 81 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:33,520 That is where we're empowered. close to God is our place of 82 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,120 strength. It's our fortress. 83 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,200 Read Psalm 91 from this perspective. 84 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:46,560 And This is why in in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 38, we're 85 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,880 encouraged not to draw back, because when we draw back, we're 86 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:58,080 actually stepping away from God, away from that position of of 87 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,520 refuge and strength and towards the enemy. 88 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,320 And I shouldn't have to state how serious that is. 89 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,680 You draw away from God, you're taking a step toward the enemy. 90 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:18,080 Hebrews 1038 speaks just as loudly to us today and is truly 91 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,840 just as relevant as it ever has been. 92 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,280 The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who had 93 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:33,400 placed their faith in Jesus, but we're now under intense pressure 94 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:38,360 to draw back. Following Christ had cost them 95 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,840 socially. Following Christ had cost them 96 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,920 economically and relationally, right. 97 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,480 Some of us may may be able to relate to this and they were 98 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:55,320 being tempted to draw back because following him had become 99 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,360 difficult and had become inconvenient. 100 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,000 It had become unpopular. That's not so much different 101 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:09,400 than it is from today, is it? But the immediate danger they 102 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:15,360 faced was not the difficulties on the outside, but it was the 103 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:21,120 the quiet withdrawal. They were still believers, but 104 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,680 they were drawing back from gathering. 105 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,920 They were drawing back from their commitment and public 106 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,440 identification with Christ. And listen, this isn't so far 107 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:39,240 away from Jesus actually walking this earth, Jesus actually 108 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:43,280 performing miracles and signs and wonders. 109 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:49,000 This wasn't so far from the apostles still working after 110 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,440 Jesus had ascended to heaven, after their going around doing 111 00:08:52,440 --> 00:09:00,240 the works of Jesus, right? And This is why in Hebrews 112 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:05,040 chapter 10, it directly addresses the necessity of 113 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:11,360 assembling together and perseverance and endurance, 114 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,280 because even at that point you had people that were were 115 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:19,640 drawing away from Christ, drawing away from from their 116 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:26,120 faith in him. So I want to examine a few 117 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,800 points this this morning and it's all going to center around 118 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,320 Hebrews chapter 10, verse 38. That's going to be our our key 119 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,240 Scripture here and we'll refer back to it several times. 120 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,840 But the the first point we're going to look at is faith is 121 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:45,280 meant as a way of life, not an occasional choice. 122 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,200 The second is drawing back, begins with distance. 123 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:54,040 And the third is God takes pleasure and forward moving 124 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,880 faith. So let's begin with our first 125 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:01,240 point. Faith is a way of life, not an 126 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,320 occasional choice. Let's look again at Hebrews 1038 127 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:10,400 and at the beginning it says now the just shall live by faith. 128 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:17,240 That word live here matters. Faith is not something the the 129 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,320 righteous visit, it's how they function. 130 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,880 It's not a convenient or occasional choice, but a fixed 131 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:30,480 and immovable conviction. Our faith shouldn't be reserved 132 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:35,800 for crisis moments or spiritual highs, but it's the daily rhythm 133 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:41,960 of trusting God and ordering our lives centered around him. 134 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:48,400 Our faith, our life. We're supposed to live by faith. 135 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:53,120 In that faith, everything centers around Christ. 136 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,400 The apostle Paul says this in Acts chapter 17 and verse 28. 137 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,120 He said, for in him we move and have our being. 138 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,640 Paul reinforces this again and again in his writings. 139 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,880 In Two Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7 he says, for we walk by 140 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:19,400 faith and not by sight. And in Colossians chapter 2 and 141 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,440 verse 6 he says, as you therefore have received Christ 142 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:30,760 Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. A continual theme of the Apostle 143 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,440 Paul's is living for Christ, living in faith. 144 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:41,320 And this can only be done by faith, surrender and obedience 145 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,840 on our part. So let's talk about these three 146 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,160 things. Let's talk about faith first. 147 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:53,760 Living for Christ begins with faith, not just believing in 148 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:59,360 him, but trusting him to saturate our lives in every 149 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,560 part, in every area. The Apostle Paul declares in 150 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:09,200 Galatians chapter 2 in verse 20 he says the life that I now live 151 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:15,840 in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and 152 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:22,000 gave himself for me. Paul reminds us that to live for 153 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:27,520 Christ is to let faith govern our decisions, our responses and 154 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:32,160 and priorities, That our lives should be anchored in Jesus. 155 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,400 Our faith in Christ should govern everything in our lives, 156 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:43,000 the decisions that we make. And then we have surrender. 157 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,360 Living for Christ requires full surrender. 158 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,680 And what is that? It's a daily yielding of our 159 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:56,520 personal rights, our ambitions and controls to Jesus. 160 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:01,440 Listen, when we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, 161 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:09,560 making Him our our Lord means that we put Him over everything 162 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:14,680 in our lives, everything, absolutely everything. 163 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,680 We surrender our life completely to Him. 164 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,160 And wherever it is that He directs us, whatever it is that 165 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:28,120 He wants us to do, whatever we give that all to Him, we 166 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,440 surrender our lives to Him. And listen, surrender is not a 167 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,840 bad thing. We know that God's will for us, 168 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,400 Scripture says, is always good and pleasing and perfect. 169 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,200 We know that Scripture says that He turns all things to the good 170 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:49,040 of those who love Him, right? So when you surrender everything 171 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,520 to him, what are you surrendering yourself to? 172 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,240 You're surrendering yourself to God's perfect will that's always 173 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,720 good and pleasing and perfect in that when you surrender 174 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,960 everything to him, your life, your decisions, your family, 175 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:07,240 your job, everything to Him, he's going to cause all things 176 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:11,280 to work for your good, right? Because you love him right and 177 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:12,800 everyone here loves the Lord, right? 178 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:17,000 So that means that that God is going to turn all things to your 179 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:22,040 good. Paul urges us to this in Romans 180 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:27,600 chapter 12 and verse one. He says in in, in. 181 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,960 So, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your 182 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,280 bodies to God because of all He has done for you. 183 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,760 Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind He will find 184 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:44,960 acceptable. This is truly the way to worship 185 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,760 Him. Surrender is not passive 186 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:54,080 resignation, but active submission, where Christ becomes 187 00:14:54,280 --> 00:15:01,080 Lord in every area of our life. As I said, we give Him every 188 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:11,800 part of us, every corner, every area, every part, complete and 189 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:17,040 total surrender. And when we do that, we're 190 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,440 tapping into something that is absolutely, truly amazing. 191 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,440 God will never let us down. He's faithful. 192 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,000 Faithful to His Word, faithful to His promises. 193 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,880 And when we surrender our lives to Him, he will cause those 194 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:37,960 promises, those things in His Word, if we'll believe them, 195 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:44,320 He'll cause those things to come to pass in our lives, and then 196 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:49,160 we have obedience. Faith and surrender naturally 197 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,400 lead to obedience. For Paul, obedience was the 198 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,440 outward expression of an inward devotion to Christ. 199 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:01,680 Because he was was submitted to Christ. 200 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:09,720 Because he had faith in Christ, it was natural for him to obey 201 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,840 Christ. Because he trusted him, he had 202 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,720 faith in him. He had faith knowing that that 203 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,840 God's will for him was always good and pleasing and perfect. 204 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,520 The same is true for us. The apostle Paul testified to 205 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,360 this in in Acts chapter 26 and verse 19. 206 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,720 He says that I was not disobedient to the heavenly 207 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:34,960 vision, showing that living for Christ means obedience to 208 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,560 Christ. And listen, obedience is not 209 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,200 legalism. It's love in action. 210 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:46,480 It's our response to our faith in God's goodness, right? 211 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,720 And obedience is, is something that when we believe God, when 212 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:59,040 we have faith in him and we surrender our lives to him, it's 213 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:06,359 important that we obey his word, that we act that out in our 214 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:11,880 lives, that we do what it is that it says our faith and our 215 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:17,160 surrender will naturally lead to our obedience to God's word. 216 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:23,920 When we obey God's word, then he's able to provide for for all 217 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,200 of our need and and perform his his will in our lives. 218 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,480 Well, let's look at our second point this morning, which is 219 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,600 drawing back begins with distance. 220 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:45,760 Hebrews 1038 says, but if anyone draws back, drawing back is 221 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:51,800 rarely something that's sudden. Most people don't just make the 222 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:56,160 decision instantaneously in a moment that they're going to 223 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:00,280 draw back from from God. It's it's usually something 224 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,880 that's progressive. It it begins quietly. 225 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:08,760 It begins with distance, then disengagement and then neglect. 226 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,520 And where this is usually first evident is in our attitude 227 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,000 towards the things of God, but also our attitude towards 228 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,760 towards church. When believers begin to 229 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:27,200 disconnect from the local church, spiritual drift begins 230 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,920 to follow. And that drifting leads 231 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:36,600 oftentimes to compromise. Compromise of our beliefs, 232 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:41,360 compromise of, of God's word, compromise of our relationship 233 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,320 with Him, compromise of our, our faith. 234 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:51,560 And it leads to lukewarmness. It leads to a, a casual attitude 235 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:55,680 towards God and the things of God. 236 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,600 You know, God designed the church as a place of growing, of 237 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,320 accountability, of encouragement, of protection, 238 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:07,480 right? We need church. 239 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,520 But listen, we don't just come to church for ourselves. 240 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,240 We need to come to church for ourselves, right? 241 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,000 But we also come to to church for the the person next to us, 242 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,440 the person behind us, the person in front of us. 243 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,360 We all need each other. We're a family, right? 244 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,640 We're a church family. We're a spiritual community and 245 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,640 we need one another and listen, there's times where where one of 246 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,720 us is down and and and the other others of us are are up and and 247 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:42,280 when we're down, we need those people that can encourage us, 248 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,480 who can give us a hug and say that I love you. 249 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:49,120 Who can say, listen, God is for you and I'm for you and I'm with 250 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:50,920 you. Let's believe him together in 251 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,120 this right. We need one another. 252 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,640 A growing tend trend in in Christian circles is that. 253 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:06,040 Faithfully attending a church has become less and less of our 254 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,360 priority. Christians are increasingly 255 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,840 isolating themselves. This trend was catapulted really 256 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,640 in 2020, though it's something that had been have has been 257 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,120 happening for some time. But in 2020, government shut 258 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,760 shut everything down around the globe and forced people into 259 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,080 isolation. And a massive fallout of this is 260 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:34,800 that church has fallen as a priority to many believers. 261 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,560 You know, we have these massive fireplaces, these cast iron 262 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,680 stoves in each of our sitting rooms. 263 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,280 We have two sitting rooms and we have one in, in each room. 264 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,320 And a lot of times I, I use coal because it gets really hot and I 265 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:55,480 put some then, then some wood on that. 266 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,560 But I've noticed, and you can see this if you've ever made a 267 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,120 fire, that when you, when you make a fire with coal, you know, 268 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,080 if you take a, if you, if a piece of coal falls off of the 269 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,120 pile, right, and it's over to the side, it starts to begin to 270 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:12,840 cool down. You know, all the rest are like 271 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,560 blazing red. They're hot, they're intense, 272 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:17,640 right? But that piece that's falling 273 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,080 off begins to cool off and it's no longer red. 274 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,560 It's no longer hot. It's no longer putting off the 275 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,240 the same heat that it that it used to, right? 276 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:32,920 Because it's become isolated. And when we become isolated, we 277 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,560 become easy prey. We know what Peter warns of in 278 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,680 one Peter chapter 5 and verse 8. He said stay alert. 279 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,560 Watch out for your great enemy, the devil, because he prowls 280 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:50,000 around like a roaring lion looking for whom he may devour, 281 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:53,320 right? Well, listen, when we, when we 282 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:57,400 separate ourselves, when we draw back from God, when we draw back 283 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,240 from from his church, when we draw back from our from our 284 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,720 church family, our community, we begin to cool off. 285 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:12,080 We start to become isolated and that's where we would become 286 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:16,400 easy pickings for the devil because there's strength in 287 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:18,840 community. We're looking after one another. 288 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:20,960 We have each other's back, right? 289 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,320 We're encouraging one another. Iron sharpens iron. 290 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:26,120 We're pushing each other forward. 291 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:33,920 But when we isolate ourselves, we become easy pickings for the 292 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,600 devil. I said when I was growing up, 293 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,160 everything was closed on Sundays. 294 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,160 The petrol stations were closed, the grocery stores were closed, 295 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:52,880 Nearly everything was closed. Sundays were for church and you 296 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:57,480 had to plan ahead of time. You had to buy groceries for 297 00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,400 that. You needed for a Sunday for 298 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,880 lunch and for dinner. If you needed some, some fuel, 299 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:06,960 some some petrol, you needed to go to the the petrol station on 300 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,360 Saturday. So you because they were closed 301 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:14,480 on Sunday, right? Even still, when Pastor Amy and 302 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:20,360 I first moved to Ireland in 2000 in Limerick, it was near the 303 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,160 same then. Most businesses were closed. 304 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,960 If any were open, they closed early. 305 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,280 How many of you remember that? And it was such a lovely time. 306 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:34,720 But things have changed. Things have shifted in both 307 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:40,480 society and within the church. Many believers have begun begun 308 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,880 to draw back. There is no longer a a priority 309 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:51,640 to attend church together, which is a symptom of a much larger 310 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,920 problem. Some people are, are 311 00:23:54,920 --> 00:24:00,000 prioritizing a good lion instead of coming to church and, and 312 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,720 hearing God's worship and, or hearing God's word and, and 313 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,400 worshipping him as a, as a, as a church family. 314 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:15,120 Some people are instead of coming to, to church to honor 315 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:20,000 Christ, to honor his church, to honor his word, to honor the 316 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,400 community and what that he's doing, they're choosing to, to 317 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:28,480 stay home. But Scripture never presents 318 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:34,520 church gathering as optional for believers in Hebrews chapter 10 319 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:39,000 and verse 25 is very clear. It says not forsaking the 320 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,960 assembly of ourselves together, as is the manner of some. 321 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:49,160 Now notice here it states the manner of some. 322 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,320 Even then in the days of the early church, as I said, people 323 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:58,800 were already drifting. They were already drawing back. 324 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:06,320 The Holy Spirit addresses this directly because our faith 325 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:12,360 weekends when our connection to God, when our connection to our 326 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:15,800 faith community, when our connection to our church fades. 327 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,960 Consistent gathering of believers was never something 328 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:25,880 that Jesus considered optional in his own life. 329 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,560 And by example, he was faithful to attend the synagogue on the 330 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,600 Sabbath. And Luke chapter 4 and verse 16 331 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,720 it says. And when he came to the village 332 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:45,360 of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the 333 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:53,200 synagogue on the Sabbath. Right as usual means that Jesus 334 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:58,600 had a settled habitual practice of gathering at the synagogue. 335 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:05,440 It wasn't a, an occasional act. It was something that he did as 336 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,040 usual. He had a habit of that when he 337 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:15,000 was 12 years old and his parents misplaced him for an entire day. 338 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,400 They lost track of him. They were traveling and you 339 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,560 know, they traveled kind of in a caravan as a, as a small 340 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,600 community back then. So they didn't realize that 341 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,720 Jesus wasn't with them. But when they found Jesus, where 342 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,720 was Jesus at? He's 12 years old. 343 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:39,720 He's at the synagogue, right? Jesus had a consistent habit, a 344 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:48,880 priority, that when it was Sabbath, he was at the synagogue 345 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,720 hearing the teaching of Scripture. 346 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:59,960 The Sabbath was for the Lord for gathering and just as we do each 347 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:05,320 weekend we like to say Sundays are for church worship. 348 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:11,840 Scripture and community were non negotiables for Jesus and 349 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:17,080 honestly as your pastor I would encourage you that this 350 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,120 shouldn't be a negotiable in our lives either. 351 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:29,880 Jesus was setting an example with His life to faithfully 352 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:37,560 attend what He built His church. Listen, church attendance 353 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:43,840 doesn't make you righteous, but righteous people value and honor 354 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:48,960 the local church because Jesus established it. 355 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:57,080 Honoring His church honors Him. And listen, I don't want you to 356 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,880 feel bad because you know, you work some Sundays and you're not 357 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,880 able to come into to church because you're working a job. 358 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,440 I understand that. I had to do that at different 359 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,640 times in my life. I alternated Sundays, So every 360 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,120 other Sunday I was having to work on Sunday morning, right? 361 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,000 But the Sundays that I was off, I was at church with my family. 362 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:27,480 It was important. So I understand that sometimes 363 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:29,000 we're not able to come to church. 364 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,240 That's not what I'm talking about, OK? 365 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,560 I'm talking about us having a a conviction, us having a a 366 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:42,040 commitment and consistently gathering with our church family 367 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,160 to hear the word to worship the Lord together. 368 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:51,320 We need that and others need us. All right, honoring Christ, 369 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:58,880 Church honors him. Let's finish with my Third Point 370 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:05,040 this morning, which God takes pleasure in forward moving 371 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,360 faith. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 38 372 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,160 again says now the just shall live by faith. 373 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:19,280 But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. 374 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:23,840 Listen, God's not neutral about retreat. 375 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:31,040 Scripture is clear that God delights in faith that presses 376 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,320 forward. Remember, faith defined is 377 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,920 simply believing that God is telling us the truth. 378 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:43,160 It's believing His word over every circumstance. 379 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:48,920 It's believing that God is able to defy natural circumstance. 380 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,480 His supernatural and supernatural just means that 381 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,880 that God is able to alter the natural. 382 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:04,520 It's His super in the natural. His supernatural is exceedingly 383 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:10,760 able to overcome any circumstance in your life if 384 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:16,240 you'll have faith in His Word and surrender to His will and 385 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:24,000 obey what His Word says. It's no wonder that in Hebrews 386 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:31,200 Chapter 11 in verse 6 it says this, that without faith it is 387 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:36,080 impossible to believe Him or in without faith it is impossible 388 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,840 to please Him. Faith is believing God over 389 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:46,280 everything you see, over everything you feel, over your 390 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:50,120 emotions, over everything that you experience. 391 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:56,520 God is greater than all of that. And listen, faith isn't a denial 392 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:03,480 of circumstances, OK? A lot of we all deal with 393 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:05,160 circumstances. We all deal. 394 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,800 Sometimes my body is, is speaking to me. 395 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:11,160 It's not feeling well, right? That's a circumstance, all 396 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,120 right. But faith is a belief in trust 397 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:19,360 that God can change that circumstance no matter what my 398 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,480 body is speaking to me. That circumstance, no matter 399 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:27,040 what any bill is speaking to me or that circumstance, right? 400 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:31,120 I have faith. I have a belief in trust that 401 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,520 God can change that. That is faith. 402 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:42,080 And the very next verse after Hebrews 1038 gives God's 403 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:47,560 expectation for believers. And it's this Hebrews 1039 says, 404 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:53,200 But we are not of those who draw back. 405 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,200 I am not one who's going to draw back. 406 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,600 You are not those who are going to draw back. 407 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:05,120 But we are going to push forward in 2026, and this is going to be 408 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:11,480 an amazing and miraculous year because we are pushing forward. 409 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:16,160 We're not going to draw back. Triumph Church isn't going to 410 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,320 draw back. This church, family and 411 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:20,800 community is not going to draw back. 412 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,880 You are not going to draw back. But we are going to see as we 413 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:28,760 draw close to God that He's going to draw close to us. 414 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,760 And we're going to see His word come to pass in our lives. 415 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,000 Those who move forward in faith, well, triumph. 416 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:44,480 They're going to overcome as they prioritize God and draw 417 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:49,040 close to Him and as they prioritize his church and be 418 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:55,480 part of that. So to close out this morning, I 419 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:59,760 want to encourage you what the Lord is telling us at Triumph 420 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:04,480 Church in 2026, and it's to continue to move forward what 421 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:07,640 God has done in your life in 2025. 422 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:12,160 Let that be the foundation and let God continue to build upon 423 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:17,200 that. And let's continue to move 424 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:23,960 forward and refuse to draw back. Don't even give the enemy a 425 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:28,680 centimeter, don't take a step back, even a centimeter, but 426 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:33,320 continue to push forward. Continue that all that, all that 427 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:37,080 into all that the Lord has been building and developing in your 428 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:40,120 life and allow Him to build upon that. 429 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:47,320 Living by faith means staying connected to God, connected to 430 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:54,280 God's people and God's purposes. Today is a call to forward 431 00:33:54,280 --> 00:34:00,360 moving faith, to consistent faith, to committed faith. 432 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:06,800 And my hope for you in 2026 as your pastor is that you'll 433 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:13,560 choose to live by faith and let that faith be seen in your 434 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:18,560 devotion to the Lord and his church. 435 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:23,000 Amen. Listen, if if that's you this 436 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,360 morning, if you've come to church and you're sitting in 437 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:33,480 these seats here, if you have, AI would want to encourage you 438 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:41,360 to make a a commitment to be part of what God is doing and 439 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,159 allow him to continue to build in your life. 440 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:52,440 You're going to see amazing things if this is you, if you're 441 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,679 going to continue to move forward, if you're going to 442 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:59,920 continue to have forward moving faith and draw close to God. 443 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:02,120 I just want you to pray this with me. 444 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,000 Let's pray this all together. Just repeat after me. 445 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:10,240 Dear Heavenly Father, I commit my life to you. 446 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:19,440 I commit my 2026 to you. Help me walk in faith, help me 447 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:25,560 walk in surrender, help me walk in obedience to Your Word, and 448 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:34,480 help me live my life as a light and an example of a committed 449 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:41,960 Christian pressing forward in Christ's strength, in Jesus 450 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:50,720 name, Amen. Thank you for listening to the 451 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,920 Triumph Church Podcast this week. 452 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,920 If it was a blessing to you, share it with someone you know. 453 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:03,360 For more information on Triumph Church, you can visit us at W 454 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:05,880 dot Triumph Church dot IE.