Through Faith, By Faith, In Faith - Pastor Tina Self

[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message. [00:00:06] Amen. Amen. Amen. I'm just gonna write down one little note here. I love my husband's T shirt. Famous enough. Rather be known by God than by men. [00:00:22] Amen. [00:00:24] In my book, he's more than famous. Amen. He's my. Not only my superhero, He's my human diary. Anyway, he didn't pay me to say all those good things. [00:00:41] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [00:00:44] How's your week been, everybody? Have you had a good week? Yeah. Good to see all of you. Good to see some faces I've not seen in a while. Lovely to have you all in the house of the Lord. It's wonderful to see some new faces. [00:00:59] Amen. Amen. [00:01:01] God is so good. Well, I was supposed to minister last week and was unwell, and so I'm praying this morning. Believe with me that I'm not up here coughing or anything in front of you, which would be highly embarrassing and just not much fun. But I believe. I believe that I have a word from God for you in this season. You know, Pastor Kyle released a word this morning of, you know, that we're going to go into a realm of thriving, no more delays, and that we are going to see the promises of God manifest in our lives. And I hope that this morning I'll share with you just some truths in the word of how that can become possible. [00:01:51] Amen. [00:01:52] I mean, all things are possible if we believe, right? That's the word of God. [00:01:58] Amen. [00:01:59] So, Father, I thank you. I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your presence here. I thank you for each and every person that is here this morning. I thank you, Father, that you are so mindful of them. You're mindful of what they need. You're mindful of what is good for them. And you are mindful, Father, that as long as they believe in you, that they will see your goodness in the land of the living. So, Father, this morning, I just thank you that you will speak through my vocal cords. You will think through my mind. And, Father, let it be all of you and none of me this morning. And it's in Jesus name I pray. [00:02:45] Amen and amen. [00:02:48] All right. Well, my message is through faith, by faith and living faith. [00:02:53] Amen. [00:02:54] As I said earlier, if we can believe all things are possible, how do we believe? We believe by faith. It's faith. Every one of us has the faith God has given us all the measure of faith that comes from him on the inside of you. It's just up to us where we put that faith in. And as Christians, we should be putting our faith in the truth of God's word, the promises of God's Word, and in Jesus, which is the way, the truth, and life. [00:03:32] Amen. [00:03:34] So imagine you were on a hike in the mountains. How many. How many of you have ever been hiking? Yes, I love hiking. But imagine you are hiking in the mountains and there's thick fog surrounding you. I remember one time we took the boys to somewhere in one of the mountains here, and it's supposed to be the greatest look off of all, the greatest view of all. And we're so excited. And we get there and all we could see was fog and clouds. And we were like, wow, we'll have to come back when there's no clouds. But we could imagine that that place would have a stunning view. [00:04:19] Amen. [00:04:21] But imagine you are on a hike in the mountains and thick fog is surrounding you. You can't see the path ahead of you, but you trust every trail marker that you see as you're walking and that you trust those trail markers will guide you. Right? You can't see clearly where you're going, but you're trusting the markers, that those markers will lead you to a path that is safe and to your destination. You keep moving forward despite your limited visibility, despite what you can see, despite what you cannot see. But you know the end result will be your destination because those trail markers say so. Right? That's how we walk through faith, by faith, and live in faith as believers. We may not see it in the moment, but we see it because it's a promise. [00:05:28] Amen. Amen. [00:05:31] How many pens do I have in my giant Bible? [00:05:33] Amen. [00:05:35] Ha ha. At least you all know that I write. But we don't always, as Christians and believers, we don't always see the path. You know, we know that according to the word of God, we all have good plans. God has good plans for us. A hope, expected end, plans not to harm us. We know that, but we may not always see that. But when we trust God, place all of our trust in God and believe and have faith, knowing that he is the one that has mapped our journey. [00:06:14] Amen. [00:06:15] So let's dive into some scripture again. We're going to talk about. We're going to dive in what it means to live by faith, walk through faith, and allow faith to be the foundation of our lives. You know, a lot of people would say these concepts are theological ideas. Well, I believe they're more than theological ideas. Faith is the lifeblood of our Christian walk. Faith is the essence of being in a relationship with Jesus. Amen. It's more than a theological. It's more. It becomes a part of us, that we live it, we breathe it, and we're moving in it. [00:07:01] Amen. [00:07:02] Faith is the channel through which we even come to God. The moment that you gave your life to Jesus, faith was the channel that you gave your life to Jesus. [00:07:15] Amen. [00:07:16] It took faith for you to say, I want this man, Jesus, I want this person, Jesus, to be my Lord and Savior. It takes faith. It took faith. And it's faith that we grow in God, and it's faith that we live in God. [00:07:35] Amen. [00:07:37] So through faith, which is the foundation of our salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9, it says this, for by grace you have been saved. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. There's another version that says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV) It is his grace that is the free gift of salvation. But the moment that you believed and you put faith in is the moment that you are saved and that you receive this gift. It's not by your works. It's not by the amount that you give. It's not amount by how many people you feed on the street. It has nothing to do with performance. [00:08:44] Amen. [00:08:45] I had my performance review this past week, and I thought, how amazing is it that I'm being rated on my performance? You know, when in ministry. It has nothing to do with performance. [00:09:00] Amen. [00:09:02] But it's not our performance that we please God. It's faith itself that pleases God. [00:09:09] Amen. [00:09:11] It's our faith and trust in him. So faith is the beginning of our relationship with God. Salvation itself starts by faith. Through faith, we are not saved by our good works or by trying harder or by following rules. Salvation is a free gift from God. It's a gift of grace that we receive through faith. Salvation is the door to eternal life, and it's the foundation of everything that we believe as Christians. You know, I recently Read in Luke 23:42, 43, this is the account of Jesus when he was on the cross, and next to him was a thief that was on the cross as well. And the thief looked at Jesus and he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And this is what Jesus replied. I assure you today, you will be with me in paradise. See that thief on the cross? He was nailed. He was, you know, death right there. Jesus, the savior of the world, right beside him, divinely placed beside him. The thief believed that he was the. Is the Messiah. And he said, remember me on this day. And Jesus said, the thief on the cross himself, in his last moments, he had faith in Christ Jesus, saying, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus assured him. Jesus didn't say, well, you know, you're a thief. You know what? You're a thief. You know, you're barely going to enter in. We'll see. Oh, you're a thief. Something bad's going to happen to you. Jesus didn't say that. Jesus said, I will see you in paradise. [00:11:19] Amen. [00:11:21] See, there's no condemnation in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. I was telling the girls this morning during prayer, we are never, ever, ever condemned for use. Never ever. A righteous man may fall seven times, but he will get back up. She will get back up. Why? Because there is a power that is at work on the inside of you called the Spirit of God, that will not leave you there. The love of God will not leave you there. The Spirit of God will do what it's supposed to do, which is help you, comfort you, teach you on your way through it and out of it. We'll guide you, we'll speak to you. We'll convict you. [00:12:10] Amen. [00:12:11] It's the Spirit of God that does that. That's just a side note, a side dish. Faith is more than a belief. It's trust. I believe that trust is the currency of the kingdom of God. Trust is the currency of the kingdom of God. Believing in God's existence is one thing, but trusting him and that his promises are true, His Word is reliable, and that his grace is enough to save us is the essence of Amen. Faith is not simply knowing that God exists. It's relying on him for our salvation. It's relying on him for our daily needs. I love that song. Jehovah Jireh. He is our provider. Jehovah Shalom. He is our peace. [00:13:09] Amen. [00:13:11] Jehovah Rapha. He is our healer. It's trusting Him. Faith is not simply knowing that he exists. It's relying on him every step of the way. For our now, for our tomorrow, for our future. For our future as well. So picture this, okay? We all came in today and we all saw these chairs here, right? Was there a moment that you thought, I don't know if the chair's gonna hold me up once in your life? Well, yeah, probably in some situations. That's why he's given us wisdom. If the leg's broke on the chair, don't sit in it, right? [00:13:58] Amen. [00:14:00] But typically, when we see a chair and we go to sit in it, we're not like, oh, chair, are you going to hold me up? Oh, chair, are you reliable? Do you see what I'm saying? We trust that the chair. And it's easy when we can see it, right? But we trust the chair that when we sit in it, that it will hold us up. [00:14:25] Amen. [00:14:26] That it will do what it's designed to do. Right. Faith is this substance that brings the promises, the things that we hope for according to the word of God, that brings it into a reality in our life. [00:14:44] Amen. [00:14:45] Faith is that substance. So when we sit in the chair, we trust and know that it will support our weight. In the same way, when it comes to trusting God, faith is leaning entirely on God in the beginning for our salvation, and then for each and every day of our life thereafter. [00:15:08] Amen. [00:15:10] So faith is the foundation of our salvation, and this is what we need to be mindful of. It doesn't stop there. That is just the beginning. Salvation is just the beginning of living this life in faith. It's not just the entry point. It's the way that we live our life every day. And, you know, I don't know if everyone this morning is saved, but if you haven't fully placed your trust in Jesus for salvation, I think today is the most incredible day for you to do that. Not because I'm preaching, but because it's the best way to live. [00:15:52] Amen. [00:15:53] I've seen the world in many different forms, and I've seen this life in Christ Jesus. And in Christ Jesus. Someone said recently it was as if the birds sang and I could hear them so much louder. And it was like this, and it was like I could see the rainbows and the flowers blooming. You know, it's not a walk in the park. Every day there's challenges, but by faith and through faith and living in faith, we overcome every challenge because the word of God says that we do. [00:16:30] Amen. [00:16:33] So remember that it is by faith that we are saved. Through faith that we are saved. And it's the same faith that sustains us every day. So you may ask, do I have faith? Do I have faith? Well, the Bible says that everyone has the measure of faith. God himself has put faith on the inside of every single one of us. We have it. Years ago I remember I was young in the Lord and I didn't know the Word of God like I do now. And someone had asked me to come up and be a part of the prayer line. And I was very timid and very shy years ago, believe it or not, and the prayer request, this girl said, I was like, oh, what can I come into agreement and pray for you for? And she said, I want more faith. And I was like, well, God, Holy Spirit, hello. And he said this, which is his word. In Romans 10:17, he said, Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. It's not that we, you know, get more faith because we already have the measure of faith, but it's the knowledge of him. When we hear the Word, when we read the Word, we come into knowledge of him that then we know what we have access through Jesus and his finished works, and we receive it by faith. [00:18:16] Amen. [00:18:18] So let's talk about what about walking in times of uncertainty. Times of uncertainty. Let's go to 2 Corinthians 5:7. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, for we walk by faith and not by sight. [00:18:39] Amen. [00:18:40] We walk by faith and not by sight. Faith is the key to walking through life's unknowns. Faith is the key in walking through life's challenges. Faith is the key when everything is good and perfect and you're victorious and on top of the world. And seeing breakthrough, faith is still the key to walking in this life in Christ Jesus. [00:19:09] Amen. [00:19:13] Walking by faith, it means trusting God when the way isn't clear, when the circumstances don't always make sense. You know, there's circumstances. At times it's like, what? Where did that come from? It doesn't always make sense. Or when answers aren't immediately visible. We still need to walk by faith and not by sight. You know, life sometimes feels uncertain, but faith anchors us into the promises of God. You know, we were intentional. I loved our Tuesday night this past week with the girls. We made prayer boards. And I was just looking at all the prayer boards. Someone did virtual prayer board on their computer. Money was falling down. We had tidal waves and everything. And then we had board, external boards that we had envelopes with answered prayers and prayer requests. And on mine, I did a little tag that said, boldly entering the throne room of grace. Amen. And so this is just an illustration with these prayer boards of intentional praying to God. Intentional believing, intentional walking by faith. And I just said that trusting God and faith is that anchor in God's promises. I remember years ago, I had so much pressure. I know I'm sharing a lot this morning, but I had so much pressure. Oh, I need to know the Word. I need to read the Word. I need to read the Bible in a year. I need to. I need to know it. I need to read it. Because that is the achievement to read the whole Word of God. And I got so frustrated because I was like, I'm just not getting it. I just don't understand. And then I had wise counsel tell me, I'll never forget this. And I share it with many people. He said this. He said, Tina, it's not how much Bible you read, but it's how much Bible you are applying to your life. [00:21:39] Amen. [00:21:42] So just like an anchor. Just like an anchor, when you're on a boat and you're in a sweet spot, maybe you're fishing. Darren would know. Maybe you're fishing and you're in a sweet spot there, catching a lot of fish, bringing them in, what do you do? You anchor right there. [00:22:00] Amen. [00:22:02] So God's promise is we can take a scripture, even if we take a scripture for a whole entire year and say, you know what? I'm anchoring in this scripture because I don't want this to be a struggle anymore. I don't want this to be a delay anymore. I want to see breakthrough right here. So I'm anchoring in this Word. [00:22:26] Amen. [00:22:28] I am anchoring right here. And it will help you. It will help you. Because what happens is you are getting to know him through the Word. You're getting to know what you have access to as a Christian. And then not only are you reading it, you then become to live it. It's like a seed that you plant. AnnMarie would know. She does a lot of planting and flowers and all of that. But it's like seeds that you plant. We've got to plan. Plant the word of God on the inside of us in our hearts. That's where we believe it. We don't believe it here. We believe it in our hearts. That's where it manifests. That's where it produces fruit. [00:23:18] Amen. [00:23:20] Amen. [00:23:23] Amen. [00:23:25] So in Genesis 12:1-4, I love the story of Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-4, I'll give a summary. God called Abraham. He said to Abraham, leave your native country. Who here has left your native country? Wow. [00:23:47] Amen. [00:23:50] Well, hallelujah. We're not alone. And you guys know, and I'm sure you can relate to Abraham. But the Lord told Abraham, leave your native country. Leave your relatives, leave your family. And go to the land that I show you. Some of you are shaking your heads like, yep, true story. Living it right now. [00:24:18] Amen. [00:24:20] Pastor Kyle and I can relate. Alex was a baby, I think less than a year old, screaming. You guys have heard it. Screaming in the back of the car. First child, we were like, he's diapered, he's fed. We're in the car driving. What is wrong with my child? Praying? And then all of a sudden, Kyle, during this moment, says, honey, when America gets bad, God's going to move us to Australia. We are coming home from a revival. And I'm like, why are you saying that right now? Our child's crying. And he goes, just what God said. I said, how? I literally did this. I don't see it. There's no connecting point. We know no one there. How? I don't know, God's going to do it. I said, all right. Needless to say, we were only saved. What? We got saved. Mary and Alex. So a year and a half, two years, maybe Two years, maybe saved for two years. The year before. He said, I'm called to be a preacher. I'm going to evangelize and I'm going to preach. And I'm like, I'm not a pastor's wife. I don't look like them. You've married the wrong girl. Do we need to talk about this? Because I can just. And then, yeah, we're going to move to Australia. Well, not that we were looking for it, because we forgot about what he said all those years ago. And look at us now. God's plan. [00:26:02] Amen. [00:26:03] But Abraham, God called him to leave everything familiar and go to a land that he had never seen. How many of you that move countries had never been to Australia before you came? Anybody? Wow. Wow. Same for us. We'd never been here, never put our feet on it. Sold everything. Here we go. Because God said, that's a longer story. The whole journey of it for another day. But Abraham obeyed God. He trusted God that by faith, even though he had no map, he had no detailed plan, he didn't have Google and GPS. He didn't have what we have today. He had no airplane to ride on. He literally walked by faith, believing that God would fulfill his promises. And his promise. We can read more. Genesis 12. Let's go to 2. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous. And you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. So Abraham departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran, so here he went. Because God has a promise. We are a promise because of Abraham. [00:27:55] Amen. [00:27:56] Jesus was a promise, is a promise because of Abraham. [00:28:01] Amen. [00:28:04] Walking by faith also requires us to let go of control. [00:28:09] Amen. [00:28:11] Let go of control. I could write a book on this because I like being in control. We all like being in control, you know. But one of the hardest things for us to do is to let go of control and trust God with our future. To trust God and believe God with our future. Our natural fleshly inclination is to rely on what we can see and understand by walking by faith means trusting in God's timing. And let me tell you, God's timing is the right timing. And when you see the breakthrough and when that timing comes, when that due season comes, you'll be like, I get it may not be momentarily, but I've had many times, it's like, I want to now. I want to now. I want to now. But then when it came, it was so God's timing. And then later on as I progressed, I was like, I see it now. I'm sorry, God, I was mad, but I see it now. [00:29:24] Amen. [00:29:28] Walking by faith means that we trust in his provision, that we trust in his wisdom even when things seem uncertain. Peter in Matthew 14:28-31, when Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water towards Jesus, he was simply walking by faith. You know, a lot of people think Peter was walking on water. Yes, he was walking on water. I see it that Peter was walking by faith. [00:30:04] Amen. [00:30:06] Because it took so much faith for him to step out of that boat and to walk on that water. [00:30:14] Amen. [00:30:16] He was walking by faith. As long as Peter focused on Jesus, he stayed above the waves. When he focused on Jesus, he was right there treading water. But the moment that he looked at the storm, what happened? He sank. Fear took over and he began to sink. The lesson here is that faith keeps us walking forward even when the storms of life rage around us. [00:30:49] Amen. [00:30:50] In the shelter of the Most high, we find our refuge. Last week I said, Lord, I just. I know that I'm covered in your wings. I want to feel your feathers. I just want to feel your feathers. [00:31:05] Amen. [00:31:07] Faith is often, when difficult times come, we can feel that we're being tested. We can feel the fiery trials. You know, faith is really easy when things are going very well. But when there's a fiery trial, when there's a difficult moment when maybe we've messed up, or maybe we're like, oh, I probably shouldn't have said that to that person. We walk by faith. We still have to walk by faith. Trusting God. Trusting God in the valley, trusting God when the fires come, trusting God in the waiting, trusting God in the struggle, trusting God in the complications. Trust and belief should never, never be an absent factor in our walk in Christ Jesus. [00:31:59] Amen. [00:32:01] It's in those moments that we can't see clearly, but we believe. It may be that, you know, there's times behind the scenes we're laying on the bed, throwing our feet around, screaming and crying. True story. You know, it's easy to stand up front and say, you know what? God broke through in my life and I'm healed. But you know what? There's a behind the scenes story that's never talked about. I had my three minute fits during times of struggle. I had moments of, why God? I don't understand God. When's it coming, God? I had moments. Crawled up in a fetal position on the floor, crying at 2am why did this happen, God. But God is still faithful even when we are not. [00:32:57] Amen. [00:32:58] He's still faithful even when we are not. The Bible says that the enemy will come in like a flood. But what happens? God always raises the standard in those moments that you feel like the enemy is coming in like a flood, that everything is against you. Go higher, go higher. Go higher in him. Press deeper in the word of God. Get in that place of surrender. Get in that place of worship. Get in that place of praise and strengthen yourself in the Lord. Build yourself up in the Lord. Pray in your heavenly language. What does prayer in your heavenly language do? The book of Jude says that it builds ourself up in the most holy faith. Sometimes we don't have the natural words to say, but we can pray in our heavenly language and it will build ourselves up in faith. It builds ourself up in love. [00:34:04] Amen. [00:34:06] Another example is the Israelites. When they crossed the Red Sea in Exodus 14. They stood literally, ah, it's like I could just see it now. Sometimes I'm like, I really wish that I could have just seen it. But they stood before this impossible situation. The sea in front of them, the Egyptian army behind them. But God called them to keep moving forward. And by faith, they walked through the sea on dry ground. Faith led them to the other side. There's always a way. All things are possible. If you can Believe. [00:34:53] Amen. [00:34:55] Where's God calling you to walk by faith today? Is there an area in your life that may seem unclear? You don't need to have all the answers. You just need to trust the one that does, and that is God and his Word. Walking by faith does not require perfect vision of the future. It requires a perfect trust in God. It requires knowing Him. It requires prayer. I love the account in Mark 8:22-26. This is Jesus. He came to a blind man. Someone brought a blind man to him, and the blind man begged him to touch him. So he took the blind man by the hand and he led him out of that town. He said, come here, come on, come on, let's get out of this situation. And when Jesus spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything. The man looked up and he said, I see men, and they're like, walking as if they're trees. So Jesus then put his hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. But it didn't stop there. Jesus sent him away to his house, saying, neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town. There's another version that says, don't go home via the village. Sometimes we need to be let out of situations. Sometimes we need to leave that village. And the village could be our own thinking. The village could be a fence, the village could be hurt. The village could be disappointment. And we need to get a perspective of Jesus so that we can see clearly. Another account is in 2 Kings 6:16-17. This was Elisha. They were surrounded. And Elisha told the servant. He said, do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those that are with them. So the servant basically comes to Elisha when they're surrounded, and he's like, we're surrounded. There's more of them. And Elisha said this. He said, do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who were with them. And then Elisha prayed, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. What are we focused on? See, we all have a measure of faith. We all have the measure of faith, but what are we focused on? I have to wear these glasses to see up close. When I put them on, I see clearly what I'm reading here. But when I take them off and I look at my Bible, it's blurry. [00:38:34] Amen. [00:38:36] What is the lens that we are looking through? Because when we are looking through the lens of truth and promise from the word of God, when we are looking through the lens of I am a child of God. When we're looking through the lens of he's for me, he is never against me. When we're looking through the lens of Jesus, defeated sin, past, present and future. When we look through the lens of the Holy Spirit will teach me and guide me. I can lean on the Holy Spirit. When we look through the proper lens, we will be able to see clearly. [00:39:22] Amen. [00:39:24] And what we need to look through is the lens of Jesus and his finished works, the way, the truth and the life. Faith is not just a belief, it is a lifestyle. We as Christians, you know, we're saved through faith. We walk by faith. But we have to live every day in this faith. We have to leave believing and trusting and choosing life. Amen. And choosing the way of life. To live by faith means that faith becomes the driving force behind every decision, every action and every thought. Faith is not something that we only use in emergencies or when we need something. It's the way that we live every single day. I love the scripture that says, it's in him that we live. It's in him that we move, and it's in him that we have our very being. We have to trust his presence. We have to trust that he is near. We have to trust and believe that he never will leave us and he never will forsake us. [00:40:45] Amen. [00:40:47] I love the story of Jesus when he's in the garden of Gethsemane. You know, Jesus, he was. He was having a difficult time before he went to the cross and he begged God, he said, God, let this cup pass from me. The Bible talks about that. He. It felt as if he were dying. And then he got up and the Bible says he went a little further. Jesus went a little further and he was able to complete and be that final sacrifice for all of mankind. [00:41:34] Amen. [00:41:36] He was able to conquered death. He was able. Yeah. He went a little farther, fell in his face, praying, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, Father. Jesus was about the Father's business on this earth. And I love this, you know, freedom. Matthew 26, before verse 39, it talks about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. You know, I love Hebrews 11. There's so much in Hebrews 11 that is, you know, living by faith. There's many People in the Bible, Noah, Noah built an ark. You know, he was warned by God about the floods. (Hebrews 11:7) But Noah was divinely warned of things not yet seen. He didn't see the floods. There was no weather forecast of the weather in five years is that a big flood is coming that will wipe out the earth? There was no weather forecast, BOM weather. God told him the floods was coming to build an ark. God told him exactly how to build this ark. And it was by faith that Noah built the ark. And out of that he was able to save his family. It was by faith, as we read about with Abraham, it was by faith that when the Lord called to him, he obeyed by faith. When Sarah was old and God told her that she would have a child, she laughed at God because she was old and she was barren, she thought. But by faith, by faith, God, she conceived a child and bore a child. All of these people before us, they died in faith. [00:43:56] Amen. [00:43:58] Rahab. When the spies came to Rahab, Rahab led them out through the window. She hid the spies and each of them took steps in faith. You know, she led them out. Rahab. It was by faith that she did that. (Joshua 2) Each of them trusted God's what he spoke to them. Each of them trusted God and his promise, even when the outcome was so unseen. James 2:17 says, Faith by itself. Faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds. It is dead and useless. Faith without a work is dead. Faith needs to be accompanied by action. Living by faith compels us to act, to put it in motion, trusting that he will provide and be and do what he says that he will do. We are to live by faith in every day of our lives, every aspect of our life. A lot of people will say that it's God first, family, you know, job and everything else. Like this tier. Pastor Kyle and I believe that it's God. Our relationship with God. God in our family, God in our children, with our children, God in our job, God in our relationships. It's not God and then family. It's God in everything. He's in everything. He's in everything. He's in our everyday. And we are to apply this faith to every aspect of our life. Our finances, our relationships, our careers, our health, our daily decisions, our dating, our pre marriage, our marriage. Every aspect of our lives we are to live by faith. [00:46:19] Amen. [00:46:22] What does it mean for you to live by faith today? It means trusting God with your now and trusting God with your future. It means taking those steps of obedience even when the way is not clear. It's believing that God will meet you in every moment of every need. Faith is the lens through which we view our entire life. Faith is that lens. And you know, even when we are weak, he is so strong on the inside of us. Amen. Even when we are weak, it is his strength that will get us through. [00:47:06] Amen. [00:47:08] A lot of us has seen it, a lot of us has been in it. But it is by faith. I'm going to end with a last scripture from Hebrews 12:1-2. It says, Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking into Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2. Let us run with endurance, looking into Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Jesus is both the beginning and he's the end of our faith. He's the one who started that good work on the inside of you, and he is the one that is faithful to complete it. So no matter where you are in your faith journey, know that God is with you, that you have his Holy Spirit and you are never, ever shortchanged. And his Holy Spirit will guide you, will lead you, will teach you, will strengthen you, will intercede for you every step of the way. [00:48:24] Amen. [00:48:26] So Father, I thank you for the gift of faith. Father, I thank you that it is by faith that we are saved. It's by faith that we walk and by faith that we live each and every day. Holy Spirit, help us all to trust you more. Holy Spirit, we just surrender everything to you. We know that in you is a great and a divine exchange. We can give you our ashes and look for the beauty. We can give you our sorrows and look for your joy. We can give you our discontent and knowing that through your word we can be content in all things, but knowing that there is more to come. Father, we give you our lack. We surrender our lack and we say thank you Lord that you are our provision. We give you Lord, our I don't knows and Father, we exchange it for your wisdom. We thank you for your wisdom, Lord and we have confidence in the uncertainties that knowing that we have confidence in your promises to live each and every day in full reliance on your grace and your strength. We exchange our weaknesses for strength, strengthen our faith where it is weak and guide us to live boldly for you. Guide us to live boldly to tell other people about you. Jesus, we place every part of our lives in your hands. And Father, I ask for the courage. The courage. If there be someone in here, I ask that they have the courage to take the next step of faith, Father, if it's courage to repent from whatever needs to be repented from which has changed direction, Father, let that area in their life be surrendered. Let repentance come and conviction come, but no condemnation father. And I thank you Father that we can look forward to your promises that we can have hope, Lord, in whatever area it may be. And Father, I thank you that it's in the mighty name of Jesus that we pray. Bless these wonderful people. Bless these wonderful people that are strong and mighty in you. Bless them that are called according to your purpose, Father. Bless them, Father. Let them see clearly, Lord, wherever they've been putting their focus, Lord. Let them see clearly your promises. Father, I give you glory for it all. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. [00:51:36] Amen and Amen and Amen. [00:51:40] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory be to God. [00:51:46] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchanger.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.