Faith Strong - Pastor Tina Self

[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold coast podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message. [00:00:07] Amen. God is so good. So good. So good. Amen. Happy Sunday in this beautiful September day. Amen. How's everybody's week been? Good. Good. Amen. Well, I have a message this morning that was really burning on my heart and it's entitled Faith Strong. It's definitely a faith builder this morning, you know, and I hope it encourages you. I just believe that it's a rhema word. I believe it's an on time word like we ministers do. A lot of times we go through things and out of those places we minister, you know, we write a message, we write down notes and how God has helped us through some things. Amen. So let's first go to Jude. I love the book of Jude. Jude is a one chapter book. We're gonna go to Jude 120 through 21. This is a beautiful book. I picked this book up, you know, because it's only one chapter. Read right through it. But there's so much in this beautiful book. This is our main text this morning. But you beloved, building yourselves up on or in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus, and until eternal life. So this scripture is personal. It calls out you his beloved and it says, build yourself up in your most holy faith. This is a very personal scripture here. It all applies to you. Amen. And I believe that there is a big difference in having faith and being faith strong. Amen. A difference in having faith and being faith strong. You can have faith and still allow circumstances to exhaust you. Amen. You can know the Word and still become weary. Amen. You can love God and still go through seasons where life hits you hard. Amen. But Jude gives us instructions for these moments in Jude. It says, build yourself up. Up. Build yourself up. This scripture doesn't say, wait until somebody encourages you. It doesn't say wait until the circumstance changes. It doesn't say to wait until someone gives you a prophetic word that is just the wind to your sails and gets you out of the pit. It does not say that. It says here, but you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith. It doesn't say wait until you feel stronger and do it. He says, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. And I believe that there comes a point in our walk with God where we have to learn to build ourselves up. It's that place of spiritual maturity. It's that place of being skilled in righteousness. It's that place of building ourselves up in the Lord. Amen. You have to know how to get your faith back on when you're doubting. You have to know how to get your expectations back up when you feel like your hope has been deferred. You have to get your confession or your declaration back on and your prayer life back up and running. You've got to get your praise back up, too, and get your eyes back on Jesus. Because life is life. But we live, we reside in an abundant and in an eternal life here on this earth. See, people think that eternal life begins when we go to heaven. No, you are living in an eternal, abundant life now, the moment you said Jesus. Abundant life, eternal life now. Amen. There's a whole lot in that. But that's not my message right there. Maybe that's for someone else. But life will occasionally try to wear you down. The patterns of this world will try to wear us down. See, it's the same patterns that are on repeat. Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, divisions, political stuff, you know. Life patterns of this world is on repeat. And life will occasionally try to wear your faith down. See, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. We think it's the great grander things that he's trying to steal, kill and destroy. But he's a klepto. Have you ever known anyone that was a klepto that they would just take things just to take things? I had a friend in high school. It made no sense to me, but she was a klepto. She stole things just to steal things. It was like a high for her. That's the enemy's sole purpose, is to come and steal, kill and destroy from our lives. It doesn't have to make sense. And oftentimes it's the little foxes that come in to try to spoil the vine. It's the little things that try to come in that try to wear us down, wear our faith down. But God has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. He has given us everything to be and remain faith strong. Amen. You see, faith has to be built. In the book of Jude, it says, building yourselves up. Building implies process. See, when the builders go to build a house, they don't accidentally build a house. There's intent behind it. It's intentional. On how to construct and build a house. You don't accidentally build muscle. You know, Jake and Bailey here, you didn't know I was going to call you out, but they are heavily into Calisthenics. And if you see their Instagram, it's like the things that they do, I'm like, oh my goodness, that is incredible. The way that they can hold their body up and how strong their bodies are. That was intentional. To build their muscles up, Specific muscles and specific areas to be able to do the calisthenics that they do. And you don't accidentally build strong faith. Strong faith is developed. There is intent behind it. Romans 10:17 says this. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. How do we build our faith? Romans says it clearly by hearing, reading the word of God, spending time in our Bibles, spending time here. You know, one time I was very young in the Lord and thank God for the Holy Spirit cause I was called up to do a prayer line at another church. And you know, I just wasn't that person. You know, don't call me up. I'm in kids church, I don't do big church stuff. But they called me up to pray with people and the girl asked me, she was like, I want to have more faith. And I'm just going through in my mind like I have no idea how to pray for this girl that wants more faith. And then the Holy Spirit reminded me. Romans 10:17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. We have to feed on the word of God, we have to ingest it. If we continually feed ourselves fear, we're going to become fear conscious. If we continually feed ourselves on the bad reports, we're going to become report conscious. If we continually feed ourselves on circumstances, we're going to become circumstance conscious. But when we continually feed ourselves on the word of God, we become God conscious. We become life conscious, we become faith conscious. We have anchors that when things come and the winds blow and the boat gets a little rocked and things are a little turbulent, we have something to anchor in. No, my God says no. The Word says. The truth is, faith begins to say, I know what I'm seeing because I also know what God says and God gets the final word. You see, faith is not denying reality. You know, there's realities that we may be facing in our life, but that reality does not have the final word. We don't anchor in what we see or what we don't see. But faith refuses to allow what we see to have the greater authority than what God has said, than what God has promised. You know, and I love Abraham. Abraham understood this. Let's go to Romans 4, 19 and 21. You see, Abraham did not become consumed with the Weakness of his own body or Sarah's inability to conceive. You know, it says here, not being weak in faith. Abraham did not consider his own body already dead since he was about 100 years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb. See, God had said that there was a promised son for him and Sarah. I mean over 100 years old and Sarah is womb dead. And then it says, and not being weak in faith, he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God and being fully convinced that what God had promised he was able to perform. So notice the language here. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief. Okay, Unbelief. There was a reality. Unbelief was there. But he did not waver at the promise, but he was strengthened in faith. See, Abraham became faith strong. Why? Because he was fully convinced that. That what God had promised, he was able to perform. Amen. See, faith strong people are not people who never face impossible circumstances. Faith strong people are people who have decided God and his promises and truth is greater than what I am facing. Amen. Amen. I remember years ago, goodness, we released the vision. Dawn, Michelle, you guys may remember it, you know, of one day having like a community building that housed the church. And I remember just being terrified thinking like, oh my gosh, what if this doesn't happen? We're going to be fools in this, you know. And I mean Covid came. The church closed for the first time in ever. You know, here we are sent here to do church, plant the word. And I mean, my goodness, you know, lack and church split and all this stuff that's happened. Visa, you know, I remember getting the email visa, no pathway, it's closed. I don't know. Hey, wait a minute. There is a way. It's called a labor agreement. But most of the labor agreements get kicked out back. It's going to be hard. It's going to be difficult, but we can try for it. That that was our story here. You know, every impossible situation we were faced with and we knew because we knew because we knew God said it. And we just said, okay, God, lead us, guide us, direct us. Yeah. Behind the scenes, there were tears, there were provoking each other. When he was down in faith, I was like, come on honey, remember what God has done. When I was down in faith, come on, babe, let's get back up. You know, God said this, we're gonna do it. And here, 10 years later, praise God, we're getting ready to push the button to send for a permanent residence. Hallelujah. God provides again and again and again and again. Hallelujah Community Center Boom city Reach. The reality of a place to house the church is like right here. Closer than what it's ever been. Still not there, but it's like right there. Closer than ever. We had to stop measuring God's promises and God's plans by what we saw. We've got to stop measuring God by what we see. Second Corinthians 5, 7 says, for we walk by faith and not by sight. This is one of the greatest things. Battles of faith is getting past what we see, what we feel, what we hear. And we have to get to that place. What do I believe? What do I believe? Even though it doesn't match what God has said right now, what do I believe? Can you imagine Noah building an ark, everyone ridiculing him, but he knew because he knew because God said doesn't have to make sense. It may look silly and just outlandish to some people, but when God has said it, you stand firm in that. Maybe you've prayed, but nothing appears to have changed. Maybe you've sown, but the provision is just not there yet. Maybe you've believed for healing, but you still have those symptoms. Those symptoms are remaining. You believe for restoration, but things still look broken. Maybe you believe God for growth, but you're still waiting. Maybe you believe God for breakthrough, but there's another obstacle that's appeared in all in the midst of that. That's where faith has to become strong. Because sight says, look at this, look at this. But faith says, look at him, look at him. Which is the way, which is truth, which is life. Hebrews 12:2 says this looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame. And I sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. When he was in the garden, asking God, please allow this cup to pass from me, he was distressed as almost as if he was dying. He was praying. He had so much pressure on him in that moment because he knew the cross was ahead. And then the Bible says, after Jesus said, not my will be done, but yours, Father. He says that Jesus went a little bit farther. He went a little bit farther. Sometimes our very breakthrough is going just a little bit farther. It's getting back up again. It's getting our hope alive again. Because when hope is deferred that's when our heart becomes sick, when we defer hope. That's where depression can come in. Amen. But sometimes the very point of breakthrough is saying, okay, God, I'm getting back up. Okay, I'm gonna go a little bit farther. Okay, Jesus, I'm looking to you right now. Sometimes we spent so much time studying the mountain. Oh, the mountain is so big. Oh, that mountain. It just won't move. Oh, that mountain is just burdening me down. Oh, that mountain is just so hard. Oh, that mountain is just so strong. Oh, that mountain. Sometimes we amplify the mountains in our life, but Jesus said, have faith in God. Have faith in God. Don't have faith in the economy. We know. We know what the economy's going to do. We don't have faith in there. We know what the Bible says. We are promised children of God. We are sons and daughters of God. We reside in Goshen. We are no longer in Egypt. We're not captive to Egypt in the wilderness system. We are in Goshen, the land of milk and honey. We're not crossing through a wilderness. We're in the promised land. Land. There's no promised land to step into. There's no promised land to venture into. We're in it now, the moment we say Jesus, Promised land. See, we amplify the wilderness. Oh, I'm just in the wilderness. Oh, I've been in the wilderness. Oh, this is my wilderness season. We're not meant to be in the wilderness, not meant to be in a cave. We are sons and daughters of the most high living God that has everything that pertains to life and godliness. Now, the moment you said Jesus, now, there's no sea to cross. There's no land to split open. There's no crossing over into it. We have it now. Hallelujah, now. And now we know when we're feeling weary. Now we know when the mountain's looking bigger than the promise. We can build ourselves up in the most holy faith. We can build ourselves up in the most holy faith. Some of my most, I don't know, stressful times where I thought I was gonna absolutely lose my mind. I felt like I just couldn't even pray. I felt like I couldn't even read. I turned praise on. I turned praise music on. And somehow, some way, it just broke everything. It just broke everything. I don't know if you remember in the house, I'd float around and everything like that. That's where the Holy Spirit tells us in that moment what we need. Hallelujah have faith in God. Not faith in your own ability. Not faith in everything working perfectly, but faith in God. My confidence isn't that everything around me will behave perfectly. My confidence is God is faithful. God is faithful. And sometimes being faith strong, we have to remember what. What God has already done. I remember times that, you know, when during COVID and visa journeys and you know, I'd be down or he'd be down. There were times that he would look at me and he would say, look at what God has done in our son's life. He healed our son from cancer. Look at what God has already done. Sometimes we have to remember how faithful God has already been. David himself here was Goliath. He stood before Goliath and he remembered the lion and he remembered the bear. He essentially said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, go, and the Lord be with you. So David himself said, the God who delivered me then is the same God that will deliver me now. The God that brought you through then is the same God that will bring you through now. The same God that provided for you then is the same God that will provide for you now. Now, David had a history with God. We have a history with God. Amen. And when you're facing something intimidating, sometimes we need to remind ourselves of what God has brought us through. We've seen him provide, we've seen him heal. We've seen him sustain us. We've seen him restore, we've seen him make a way. Got a report this morning of how he made a way in one day. One day. And what she said was, oh, what God can do in one day, in one second. And suddenly we've watched things impossible turn around already we've seen mountains move. I've watched God carry us through seasons that we did not know how we would survive. And if he did it before, he is still the same God today. He will do it again. And he will do it again. And he will do it again. Psalm 77:11 says, I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember your wonders of old. Don't only remember the battle, Remember the breakthrough. Don't remember what hurt. Remember how God carried you through. Remember what you've lost. Remember how God has restored. Don't allow today's giant to make you forget yesterday's lions and bears. Remember what God has done. Think on what he will continue to do. And you know being Faith strong speaks, it declares, it commands, it believes. 2 Corinthians 4:13 says, and since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke. We also believe and therefore speak. Faith has a voice. Jesus says and said in Mark 11 and 23, whoever says to this mountain, he didn't say, talk to your mountain. He said, speak to your mountain. Speak to that mountain. Speak to that mountain. You have no right in my life. Sickness, you have no right in my life. Disease, lack, you are not my identity. I live and reside in abundance. I have an abundant, eternal life in Christ Jesus. There's a difference. Faith changes the conversation. Instead of saying, I don't know how we're gonna make it, faith says, my God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory. Amen. Instead of saying, I don't think this will ever change, faith says, nothing is impossible, my God. Instead of, I can't do this. Faith says, I can do all things through Christ, who gives me the strength. You know, some of us have. Have, I don't know, new ventures. New ventures. Maybe it's businesses, maybe it's creative things. Maybe it's books, maybe it's ministries. I get it. Sometimes we receive things from God and it's like, ooh, I don't know how to do this, Lord. Thank you, Father. I have the wisdom. You've given me the vision. I have the wisdom. I have the knowledge. I have the ability to take this vision and put it into strategy, your divine strategy, so that it can manifest and come to fruition. Thank you, Lord, for leading me, guiding me to, whether it be people, entities, places that can speak into this. Amen. Thank you, Father. I have it. City reach, man. I'm just like, I don't know how, God, but you do. I mean, Kyle and I both, you know, when it. Stuart also, he's a director, when it all came about, it's like, okay, we're going to do this. And then now to be before politicians and people that are saying, we're going to fund the whole season, potentially next year, and, you know, housing rules potentially changing. You know, if you would have told me a few months ago that that would happen, I probably would not have believed you. But when you surrender at all, say, okay, God, you have the plans, you have the way. You know, Lord. And when your heart is positioned, we're here to come alongside. We're here to help people. We're here to see people change. I mean, this past week, I had one of the guests send A text message to me I my new home and sent photos of her home. I just had tears in my eyes. Like this 67 year old lady, tears in my eyes going, wow, God, only you can do this. You know, Another lady messaged me, she's been at her home for three weeks. Prepare a table, prepare a seat for me at the table. Tina. I'm coming to eat with you guys, you know, but she ended up not coming, but that's okay. She's in her home. She loves, just is like, you know, coming alongside people, you know, God gives you the divine wisdom, the divine knowledge to be able to put thought and vision into execution. Same with Tony and Tracy on the street. Like, I've seen it. I've seen the prayers of the Holy Spirit just leading people right to them. They're going one way and the Holy Spirit drawing, boop. And then they're able to lead them to Jesus. Amen. That's gone. That's gone. Instead of saying, I'm defeated, faith says, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus. We have to say what God says. We have to let our confession and our heart and our belief come into agreement with faith. Amen. Now let's go back to Jude. He says, but you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Praying in the Holy Spirit. There's something supernatural and strengthening that happens in prayer. We've all encountered it. We go into prayer one way feeling defeated and oftentimes going like, I just don't feel like going to prayer tonight. But then you go to prayer and you walk out and you're just like, oh, I can do all things. You know, I seen a photo one time of a little kitten going into a prayer room, coming out like a roaring lion. It's because you come together and you're adding faith to faith. Do we stand and sit and just, you know, pray the whole time? No. We read scripture, we share what God is showing us. We encourage one another. We come alongside, hey, you can do this. Hey, God's going to make a way. And there's a strengthening that happens in that prayer changes the person standing in the circumstance. Isaiah 40:31 and says, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. You know, oftentimes we think waiting on the Lord is very passive. I'm waiting on the Lord doing nothing. No, we wait. The Lord renewing Our strength, building our faith. Being in the Word, Spending time with Him. Being in community. Spending time with community. Prayer is not our last resort. Spending time with the Father is not our last resort. It's our power source. The Word of God is our power source. Just like when we need power, my phone dies. I think it's got an issue. It dies so quickly. It's very old. I only got two little round cameras there. Tells you how old it is. It's almost to the point that I cannot operate it because it's so old. But I'm one. I don't change phones. It's ridiculous. Anyway, that's a whole other tangent. But my phone, when the battery gets low, I've got to pop it into the power source so that it gets on full. Our power source is the Word of God. It's being amongst believers. It's being in community. It's communing with the Father, which is prayer. Prayer is just communing with the Father. When we don't know what to do, ask him. Ask, Lord, what would you have me to do? Show me. Lead me, Guide me. When we feel weak, go to him. Thank you, Lord, that I have strength even when I am weak. When fear starts talking, pray. Find scripture. Find Scripture to combat that fear. Remember what the Lord has already done in your life. When you're waiting, strengthen yourself in the Lord. When the answer comes, keep spending time with him. Keep building yourself up in the Lord. You know, just because we've gotten breakthrough doesn't mean that we stop reading the Word. It doesn't mean that we quit spending time with the Father. No, we keep going. We keep it up. We keep building ourselves up. Amen. You know, and sometimes we need a little patience. Hebrews 6 and 12. This is a good scripture. That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. So it says here. Notice. Faith and patience. Sometimes the manifestations to our breakthroughs requires both faith and patience. But it says, imitate those who are those? Abraham, Noah, all the people in the Bible. Each other. Imitate each other. How did you get through? You know your hardest time in life. That's why we share our testimonies. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony. Faith says God said it, while patience says, I'm not moving while I wait. I'm not moving while I wait. Voices will come in. Maybe it's not going to happen. Maybe God forgot. Maybe you missed it. Numbers 23:19 says, God is not a man. That he should lie. If God said it, he has not forgotten it. If God said will come to pass. And just because it's a delay does not automatically mean that it's a denial. Sometimes God is doing some things that you cannot yet see. Roots grow before fruit appears. Foundations are laid before buildings rise. Seeds develop underground before anything breaks through the soil. Just because you cannot see any movement does not mean that God isn't moving in your life. Amen. In Romans, you know, we read about Abraham tells us that Abraham was giving glory to God. Giving glory to God. He was fully convinced as he waited that God said it, God promised it, and he was giving glory to God for it. So when? When did he give glory to God? Before Isaac arrived. That's faith strong. We all can praise after the answer, but faith strong people praise God before the manifestation. Paul and Silas, they were in prison. What did they do when they were in prison? Paul and Silas, when they were in prison, they praised God. Prison doors opened. Jehoshaphat sent worshipers ahead of the army. They praise before battle. Joshua shouted before the walls fell. There is something powerful about praise that says God. I don't need to see it before I praise you. I'm going to praise you because you're worthy of my praise. Whether I have it, whether I don't. I praise you, Father. Habakkuk 3:17 18 says, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. Though the fig tree may not, yet I will rejoice unto the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. This is a beautiful scripture of even though I don't have it, even though I don't see it, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. That's faith strong. I will praise you in it. I will praise you through it, and I will praise you after it. Because, God, you don't change according to my circumstance. You are the living God. You are the God that created all things. You are the God that split the sea. You are the God that is the way, the truth and the life. You are the God that sent your only begotten son, Jesus, because of your love, not for just a moment, but for all of mankind. You are still that God. You are the God who redeemed humanity. You are the God that set everything right in this new covenant so that we can boldly go to you seeking out mercy in the times of need. Amen. Faith strong doesn't mean you never feel weak. It just means you know, and I think this is important. Being faith strong doesn't mean you don't ever cry, faith strong. It doesn't mean that you're never tired. It doesn't mean that you never have questions. It doesn't mean that every day you may or may not feel victorious in that day. Faith isn't pretending. Faith says, even here, even in the midst, lord, I trust you. Paul said, when I am weak, then I am strong. Weakness never qualified anyone in the Bible. Moses said, God, I'm not of eloquent speech. I have a stutter. He took out the measuring tape and measured himself according to himself. That's never going to work. When we measure according to ourselves, faith is a measure according to him. Faith is a measure that is abundant, that is filled with life and truth and promises. Your weakness does not qualify you. And oftentimes I can look back in my life. Weakness is where I have discovered just how strong I am in him, just how much I need him, just how great his faithfulness truly is. That's what I've discovered in weak times. I've not discovered how weak and wretched I am. Oh, how of little faith I am. I've always discovered facets, facets of him, facets of the Father, facets of truth, facets of a way that I would have never encountered had I not been in that weakness. Can anybody testify right there as well? Amen. Ephesians 6:13 says, Having done all to stand, sometimes faith isn't running. Sometimes faith isn't shouting. Faith is simply standing, still believing, still praying, still worshiping, still serving, still sowing, still loving, still expecting, still showing up and still saying, God, you are faithful. And even after you've done everything you know to do, stand even more. Amen. So I don't know who this message is for or was for. I know it was for me. That's one thing I do know. Because this right here has came out of a place where I have been not just one time, but many times in my walk with God. And there are times that we just have to be like, I've got to get back up. I've got to go just a little bit farther. Sometimes we have to say, you know what, God? It's your love and not mine. And I'm going to keep your love on. I'm going to keep it on. I'm going to keep it on. So maybe you are one that has allowed disappointment to lower your expectation. Expectation. Maybe you've been believing for a while. Maybe you've prayed, you've waited, you've stood and without realizing it, you've stopped expecting. You still love God. You still come to church. You still worship. But somewhere along the way, your expectation came down. Today I believe the Holy Spirit is saying, believe again. Get that alert expectation back on again. Get your faith back up. Believe again, dream again. Oh, dream again, dream again, expect again, pray again, Sow again, speak again, Stand again. Because God has not changed. He is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 says, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Our faith rests upon the faithfulness of a faithful God. Amen. Amen. Amen. We just have to declare, I am faith strong. I am a believer. And no matter what I see, no matter what I hear, no matter what I feel, I believe God. Amen. [00:50:26] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers Life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team. And may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.