WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:03.240 Have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn't. 2 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:06.440 One of the most difficult things in life is to 3 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:09.480 sit in God's waiting room. God's waiting room is when 4 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.880 there's something beyond your control that you can't speed up, 5 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:17.079 an answer to prayer, a miracle, a change in a situation, 6 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:19.600 and you want it to change, but it is totally 7 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:23.039 out of your control, and you have to wait on God. 8 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:26.879 The Bible says in Ecclesiastes three to eleven, God does 9 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:31.359 everything just right and on time, but people can never 10 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:34.439 completely understand what he's doing. Boy, is that the truth? 11 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:36.719 We don't know always what God is doing, and we 12 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:38.799 certainly don't know when He's going to do it, and 13 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:42.840 so much of life we spend waiting on God's timetable. 14 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.560 How do you keep on believing while you're waiting on God? 15 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:51.439 If any man had to wait, it was Abraham. God 16 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:53.359 gave him a promise that he'd have a baby who 17 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.520 would become a great nation, which later became the nation 18 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:00.240 of Israel. But Abraham had to wait one hundred years 19 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.319 for that baby. That's a long time to wait. What 20 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:07.959 do you do while you're waiting on God? The Bible says, 21 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:12.959 five things. Number one, you need to first understand the 22 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:16.920 six phases of faith. God always takes you through a 23 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:20.879 predictable phase and stages of faith. The first phase of 24 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:24.319 faith is when God gives you a dream, an idea, 25 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:25.760 an ambition, a goal. 26 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:27.239 God gives you a dream. 27 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:29.959 In at age seventy five, God gave Abraham a dream. 28 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.760 He said, I'm going to make you into a great nation. 29 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:37.280 But that's just the start. Phase two is a decision, 30 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:41.200 and a decision is when you decide to act on 31 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:44.640 that dream. A dream without a decision is worthless, and 32 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:47.400 every dream of God has a risk to it. It 33 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.560 has a part that you have to to take a 34 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:54.079 step of faith out. Abraham had to leave his existing 35 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:56.680 homeland and go to a place where he never knew. 36 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.480 He had never heard of, never heard of, never been there. 37 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:00.680 He took a risk. 38 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.319 And when God gives you a dream and says this 39 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:04.959 is what I want to do with your life, there's 40 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:06.439 going to come a point you have to make the 41 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.120 decision to say, Okay, God, I'm going to go after 42 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:13.159 your dream for my life, not my own dream. Once 43 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:16.080 you've done that, you move into phase three. And phase 44 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:21.439 three is delay because the dream is never fulfilled instantly. 45 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.520 When God gives you an idea of what he wants 46 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.639 to do with your life, and when he actually fulfills it, 47 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.280 there is always a time gap because He wants to 48 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:31.879 grow you, he wants to build you up. Eleven years 49 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.159 after God gave Abraham his dream, Abraham still didn't have 50 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:38.479 a child. And when he's eighty six, it says, but 51 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:42.560 Sarah still had not borne any children. What's happened in 52 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:46.280 those eleven years. The answer is nothing. He was just 53 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.319 waiting on God. He's tempted to doubt, tempted to despair, 54 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:52.560 tempted to take detours, but God says, no, You're going 55 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.039 to wait for the fulfillment of the dream I've given you. 56 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.360 Then comes along phase four, and that is difficulty. God 57 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:01.360 not only let you wait for a while, but while 58 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:02.439 you wait, he lets you. 59 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:04.120 Have some problems. Isn't that fun? 60 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:08.199 And so you go through the stage of difficulty, where 61 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.759 things go from bad to really bad. 62 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:12.919 To worse to impossible. 63 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.759 And you notice that at age ninety nine, Abraham still 64 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.360 didn't have a son. He's ninety nine, his wife Sarah 65 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:24.280 is eighty nine, and he still it says, how can 66 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:25.120 a son be born? 67 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:26.240 To a man my age. 68 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:30.520 Now, what's worse is that God changed Abraham's name. His 69 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:35.080 name originally was Abram, and God changed his name to Abraham, 70 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.000 which means father of a great nation. Now imagine this. 71 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:42.639 He walks into a seven to eleven. The guy says, 72 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:44.439 what's your name, father of a great nation? 73 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:48.159 Oh? How many kids you have? None? How old are you? 74 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:49.039 Ninety nine? 75 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:54.479 That's kind of embarrassing, folks. It's a test of his faith. 76 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:58.000 But eventually god fulfills the dream and at age one 77 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:01.080 hundred and his wife is ninety Sarah, they have a 78 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:05.120 miracle baby and they name him Isaac, which means laughter, 79 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:08.319 because they laughed at that thought. I mean, Sarah's ninety 80 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.560 years old. We know she didn't believe God when God 81 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:13.759 said you're pregnant because she laughed. Any woman who really 82 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.600 believed God at ninety and figured she was pregnant would 83 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:21.800 have cried. But she laughs, and God laughs, and Abraham laughs, 84 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:24.319 and Isaac is named Laughter, and they have a miracle boy. 85 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:27.160 And I think this is great. But then comes the 86 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:31.240 most difficult phase of faith of all number five, dead end. 87 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:37.319 And at dead end, God allows your dream to seemingly die. 88 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:42.399 Abraham was asked to give up the miracle child. God says, 89 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.399 I want you to sacrifice him back to me. Now 90 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:46.120 get this. 91 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:49.560 Abraham wakes one hundred years, gets a baby, he starts 92 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:50.959 to grow up, and God says, by the way, now, 93 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:52.560 I want you to give him back to me. I 94 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:55.319 want you to sacrifice him to me. Abraham's thinking, what 95 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:56.399 kind of God is this? 96 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:58.079 Is this a cruel joke? 97 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:01.920 He's asking me to sacrifice the very dream child that 98 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:06.399 was promised to me. And he looks he feels pretty hopeless. 99 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:09.120 How do you know when you're at a dead end, 100 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:13.040 you feel hopeless. Some of you are at a dead 101 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:16.399 end in your marriage right now. Some of you are 102 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:18.720 at a dead end and getting married. Some of you 103 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.560 are at a dead end when you look at your budget, 104 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:23.800 when you look at your career, when you look at 105 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.040 your friendships, your relationships. Some of you are at a 106 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:31.160 physical dead end and your help is falling apart. And 107 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:34.720 when you're at this stage, you start to doubt God's 108 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:36.800 wisdom and love and you say, why is this happening 109 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:42.240 to me? It's out of your control. Well, congratulations, God 110 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.360 is getting you ready. He is preparing you for the 111 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:50.279 final phase of faith, which is deliverance. And the greater 112 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.240 the dead end, the more hopeless the situation, the greater 113 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:56.879 the deliverance is going to be. The more of a miracle. 114 00:05:56.920 --> 00:05:59.560 It'll be you go, Wow, that was God. Only God 115 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:03.120 could have done that. And so God is getting you 116 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:09.079 ready for a miracle, the miracle of deliverance. Now, everybody 117 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:12.399 in this room, God's going to take you through these 118 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:15.560 six phases of faith many many times in your life, 119 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:17.360 over and over again. 120 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:18.120 You'll go from. 121 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:21.079 Dream to decision, to delay, to difficulty, to dead end 122 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:23.480 to deliverance, and then they'll do it again, and then 123 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.360 they'll do it again to keep you growing in your faith. 124 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:29.639 In fact, everybody here is at one of these stages 125 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:32.279 right now. Some of you are in the dream phase, 126 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:33.839 you're getting an idea. Some of you are in the 127 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:37.199 delay phase or the difficulty or the dead end phase. 128 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:41.000 But you have to understand how God works. 129 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:43.279 If you're going to learn to be patient and keep 130 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.720 on believing when you're waiting on God. The second thing 131 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:50.040 you do when you're waiting for deliverance is you remember 132 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:52.040 what God can do. 133 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.439 Remember what God can do. 134 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:57.920 The situation may be out of your control, but it's 135 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:00.439 not out of God's control. So you don't focus on 136 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:04.240 what you can't do. You focus on what God can do. 137 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:06.959 What can God do? Well, look at this verse Romans 138 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:07.680 four seventeen. 139 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:08.279 Read it with me. 140 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:13.000 Abraham believed in God, who gives life to the dead 141 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:17.839 and who creates something out of nothing. Folks, That verse 142 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:20.959 right there is the definition of a miracle. Because in 143 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.120 a miracle, here's what happens. Either God gives life to 144 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.560 something that's dead, or he creates something out of nothing. 145 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:30.160 And that's what it's all about. Though. That's what God 146 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:30.519 can do. 147 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:33.480 He can give life to a dead career, a dead marriage, 148 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:37.199 dead dreams, dead finances, and he can bring something out 149 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:42.399 of nothing. Jesus said, anything as possible if you have faith. Now, 150 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:45.000 I want you to notice something. This is very important. 151 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.240 What did Abraham put his faith in? Look at that verse. 152 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:51.480 What did he believe in? Did he believe in himself? 153 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.439 No? Did he believe in his feelings? No? 154 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:57.560 Did he put faith in faith, you know, like I'm 155 00:07:57.600 --> 00:07:58.680 just put faith in faith. 156 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:02.040 No? Did he practice positive thinking? 157 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:08.120 No? He believed in God. Now I believe in positive thinking. 158 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:11.160 We've talked about this many times, but positive thinking and 159 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:12.879 faith are not the same. 160 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:13.399 Thing. 161 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:17.720 You hear these songs about positive thinking, like I believe 162 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:21.360 that for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows. 163 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:23.519 Folks, that's belowney. 164 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:25.600 If every drop of rain produced a flower, the world 165 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:26.720 would be covered with flowers. 166 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:30.560 We'd be tiptoing through the tulips. It's just not true. 167 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.799 And positive thinking works in one situation. It works in 168 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:40.960 situations where you have control over the situation. I, for instance, 169 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:42.919 you believe you're going to do a good job at something, 170 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.360 you'll probably do a better job than if you didn't 171 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:49.720 believe it. But positive thinking is worthless in things that 172 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:50.840 are out of your control. 173 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:53.720 You can say, I hope my mom is going to live, 174 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:55.440 but that's not going to change anything. 175 00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:59.039 You can say I hope that he doesn't get heard 176 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:01.919 in that accident, but that isn't going to stop them 177 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:04.720 from getting hurt. I hope my team wins. I hope 178 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:09.840 I get a job. That's just wishful thinking. Positive thinking 179 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:13.840 is worthless in situations out of your control, especially when 180 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:16.559 you come to a dead end in life. When you 181 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:18.720 come to a dead end, you need more and just 182 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:24.000 a nice happy thought. You need faith in God. You know, 183 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:26.960 I could say, you know, I believe I look like 184 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:31.039 Brad Pitt. I could say it all the time I want. 185 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:35.240 It's going to make me look like Brad Pitt. What's 186 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.480 going to happen is the only thing that changes circumstances 187 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:43.159 is faith in God. Faith in God works when things 188 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:44.159 are out of your control. 189 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:48.080 Now here's a little secret. Most of life is beyond 190 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:48.759 your control. 191 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:53.200 So you need faith in God far more than you 192 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:56.799 need just kind of happy positive, you know, think pretty thoughts. 193 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:59.600 When you get to a dead end, you need to 194 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:04.960 remember what God can do Lotus's verse, what is impossible 195 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:09.639 with men is possible with God. The third thing you 196 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.840 do when you're waiting on God is rely on God's promises. 197 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:18.759 Rely on what God has promised. The Bible says in 198 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:24.039 Romans four eighteen, when hope was dead within him, Abraham 199 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:25.879 went on hoping in faith. 200 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:28.919 He relied on the word of God. 201 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:32.399 Have you ever felt that way that hope was dying 202 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:36.279 inside of you? How do you know when hope is 203 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:40.519 dying inside of you? You start using the word never. 204 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:46.720 I'm never going to get married, We're never going to 205 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:51.519 have a baby, I'm never going to be happy again. 206 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:59.519 I'm never going to change. Abraham went on hoping in faith. 207 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:06.200 This isn't just wishful thinking, This isn't just positive thinking. 208 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:11.799 This is hoping in faith, faith in God. You keep 209 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.399 on believing. How do you keep on believing when you 210 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:18.639 feel like doubting, when you feel like giving up? Well, 211 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:22.960 it says there he relied on God's word and nothing 212 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:24.320 is more reliable. 213 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.559 Now, I hope you've gotten this by now. 214 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:30.240 You've got to get into God's word if you're going 215 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:31.840 to be a man of faith, if you're going to 216 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:34.720 be a woman of faith, you have to get God's 217 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:39.320 promises in your life. Even here, once again we hit 218 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:42.720 it again. Rely on what God has promised. He relied 219 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:44.440 on the word of God, and that's what kept them 220 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:47.320 going when Hope wanted to give up. You need to 221 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:51.879 read this book, Study this book, memorize Bible verses Matthew 222 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:55.799 nineteen twenty six. With God, everything is possible and Glatians 223 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.799 five to six. The only thing that counts is faith 224 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:03.559 expressing itself through love. When you get the promises of 225 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.519 God in your life, you will be able to hope 226 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:10.480 in faith rather than giving up. Now when you come 227 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:13.320 to a dead end, rely on the promises. Notice this 228 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.919 next verse, While God was testing him, and that's what 229 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:17.519 waiting is. 230 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:18.399 It's a test. 231 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:23.279 Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, so he 232 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:28.480 offered his son Isaac. Now this is a test. Isaac 233 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:30.240 grows up and God says, I want you to give 234 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:32.159 him back to me. I want you to sacrifice them 235 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.919 to me. But Abraham didn't panic. I would have, but 236 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.559 Abraham didn't panic. God said, give me your son back, 237 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.039 sacrifice them to me. But he didn't panic. For three reasons, 238 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:45.159 the Bible tells us. One, he believed that God would 239 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:49.480 raise him from the dead Hebrews eleven nineteen. Second, when 240 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:51.559 he's telling his servant, we're going up the hill to 241 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.759 make the sacrifice, he says, will be back, Not I'll 242 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.679 be back, but we'll be back. He fully intended the 243 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.799 son to come back with him. And Third, when his 244 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.799 little boy, Isaac is walking up the hill with him 245 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:05.080 and he says, Daddy, where's the lamb we're going to sacrifice, 246 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:10.480 Abraham says, the Lord will provide. He had every intention 247 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:13.159 and no doubt that God was going to spare his 248 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.159 son or resurrect him from the dead. Why he had 249 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.519 the promises of God. Now here's the big test in 250 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:21.799 your life. 251 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:22.720 What are you going to. 252 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:25.840 Do when God says to you, I want you to 253 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:29.960 sacrifice your greatest dream. 254 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.039 That is the ultimate test of faith. 255 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:37.240 When God says the thing you value most in life, 256 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.360 what you want most in life, what you crave most 257 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:42.799 in life, will you offer it on the altar? 258 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:47.279 To me, this is a test. 259 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:51.639 Will you do what Abraham did? Will you hope against hope? 260 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.600 Will you hope in faith? And will you rely on 261 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.840 the promises of God? Look at the next verse Romans 262 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:03.159 four eighteen. Though it seemed Abraham's hope could not be fulfilled, 263 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:07.840 he did become the father of many nations, exactly as 264 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.440 God has promised. Noticed the word seemed things are never 265 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.639 as bleak as they seem if you look at them 266 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:18.679 from God's point of view. The Disciples followed Jesus around 267 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:21.120 for three years, and they thought he was going to 268 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:22.960 bring in the kingdom and set up the kingom. 269 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:24.039 They'd all be rulers. 270 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.120 And one day they look up and Jesus is hanging 271 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:31.080 on the cross and he's dead. You talk about a 272 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:36.200 dead end. They are devastated. He's the Messiah, He's the 273 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:37.960 son of God. How in the world could be hanging 274 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:41.679 on a cross. They didn't know that Easter. 275 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.240 Was just a couple days away. 276 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:49.840 God specializes in turning dead situations around and resurrecting situations 277 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:50.399 that look. 278 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.559 Hopeless when we rely on the promises of God. 279 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:57.720 Notice, he says, he became the father of many nations. 280 00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:59.799 Exactly as God had promised. 281 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:03.480 Promise is only as good as the integrity of the promiser, 282 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:07.919 and God cannot lie. The fourth thing you do when 283 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:14.519 you're waiting on God recognize the facts in faith. Face them, 284 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:18.679 but face them in faith. Recognize the facts of your 285 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:24.639 life in faith. Romans four nineteen and twenty says, without 286 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:29.639 weakening in his faith, he it's Abraham faced the facts 287 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:34.159 that his body was as good as dead and Sarah's 288 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:38.679 womb was also dead. He's been pretty blunt here, yet 289 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:43.440 he didn't waver with unbelief. God's word translation says, through faith, 290 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:49.320 he regarded the facts. Abraham recognizes that he and his 291 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:54.279 wife are beyond child bearing years. He's ninety nine, his 292 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:58.399 wife is eighty nine, and it is a medical impossibility 293 00:15:58.759 --> 00:15:59.960 that they're going to have children. 294 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:01.480 Now. 295 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:05.159 He doesn't deny the facts. He faces them with faith. 296 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:06.600 This is very very important. 297 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:06.879 Get this. 298 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:11.480 Faith does not ignore reality. Faith does not pretend you 299 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:15.039 don't have a problem. Faith does not act like it's 300 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:20.440 no difficulty. Faith is not denial. Please hear that, because 301 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:23.000 a lot of people think it is. Let me give 302 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:27.159 you definition of faith. Faith is facing the facts in 303 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.080 your life. 304 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.200 Without being discouraged by them. That's faith. 305 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:35.440 It's not denying you have problems. It's not denying you 306 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.080 have difficulties. It's not denying you're facing a dead end 307 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:39.159 or a hopeless situation. 308 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:40.480 From a human standpoint. 309 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.080 It is facing the fact of problems in your life 310 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:50.840 without being discouraged by them. That is true faith. Some 311 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:54.759 of you are facing cancer. Some of you have loved 312 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:59.320 ones who are facing cancer right now. You cannot deny 313 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:03.080 the diagnosed, but you can defy the verdict. 314 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:05.079 Big difference. 315 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:09.279 You cannot deny the diagnosis. I don't have cancer, Yes 316 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:12.559 you do. They don't have cancer, Yes they do. You 317 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:17.759 cannot deny the diagnosis. That's fantasy, it's denial. But you 318 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.960 can defy the verdict, and you can fight it and 319 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.000 say we're going to work at this and we're going 320 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.720 to do all we can to beat. 321 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:28.519 It and defy the verdict. 322 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:31.160 You see, this is very important because there's a brand 323 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:35.119 of Christianity out there that says, deny all your problems 324 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:40.559 and just smile, smile, smile. That's not Jesus, that's Pollyanna. 325 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:40.799 You know. 326 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:44.359 It says, you know, I'm not sick. Positive confession, I'm 327 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:46.359 not sick. I got a one hundred and four temperature, 328 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:50.240 but I'm not sick. Or you know, I'm not in debt. 329 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:52.799 I'm on the verge of bankruptcy, but I'm not in debt. 330 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:57.960 Faith is not asking you to deny reality. It never does. 331 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:02.160 Faith asks you to face the reality in your life 332 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:08.759 without being discouraged by it. It's not living in denial. 333 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.799 Faith is not clinging to the past. Faith is not 334 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:18.799 stubborn foolishness. Please understand this. If you're still waiting for 335 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:23.880 eight Tracks to make a comeback, let it go. 336 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.000 It's over. It isn't coming back. 337 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:32.119 If you're still waiting for that special guy or girl 338 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:34.920 to invite you out on a date, that person from 339 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:39.119 high school and it's your fiftieth reunion. 340 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:46.400 Let it go. That puppy's not coming home. Just let 341 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:51.880 it go. Grieve deeply, but let it go. 342 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:57.559 Some of you need to do some legitimate, deep grieving 343 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:00.079 in your life. That things have not turned out as 344 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:03.039 you plan, that what you dream for your life isn't 345 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:08.839 gonna happen. But you don't have a pity party. You 346 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.119 believe that God knows best, and you say, yes, it 347 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:15.519 didn't turn out the way I plan, but I believe 348 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:16.680 God has a better plan. 349 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:18.000 That is faith. 350 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:22.200 Yes, things did not work out the way I thought, 351 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:24.640 but I believe God is not through with my life, 352 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:26.920 and He's working in my life, and God has good 353 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:27.960 things in store for me. 354 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:28.480 Still. 355 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:34.200 That is faith. It is facing the facts in faith. 356 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:39.079 It's not fantasy. It's just not being discouraged. One of 357 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.400 the things I've told pastors for many, many years, it's 358 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:45.000 an old cavalry military rule. It says, when the horse 359 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:54.240 is dead, dismount. Okay, don't keep beating the dead horse. 360 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:02.279 And when a dream dies, you just dismount and saddle 361 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:07.440 another one. Because God's not through with you. God is 362 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:10.720 not through with you. Some of you wanted to get married, 363 00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:16.039 but you never did. Some of you wanted to have children, 364 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:20.960 but you never have. What do you do with a 365 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:27.119 blocked love? Pull yourself into a cell, build a shell 366 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.519 around yourself, be self concerned, a prickly pair. I'm never 367 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.440 gonna let anybody get close to me again. I'm not 368 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:34.440 gonna let anybody hurt me. I'm going to hold in 369 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:38.640 my emotions, of course not. What do you do when 370 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:42.359 a love is blocked? You redirect it, You rechannel it. 371 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:45.160 You know that story I've told you several times about 372 00:20:45.160 --> 00:20:47.960 Corey tin Boom when she was a young woman, was 373 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.960 engaged to be married, and all of a sudden the 374 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:53.359 boy broke up with her and married a friend, and 375 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:57.640 she was devastated, and she never did marry, went through 376 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:02.240 life as a single woman. But she redirected her love. 377 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:06.039 She didn't pull herself into a little shell, and she 378 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:09.440 became one of the most loving Christian leaders of the 379 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:16.640 twentieth century, influencing millions and millions of people. She redirected 380 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:20.880 her love in a new direction. How do you keep 381 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:25.400 on believing when you feel like giving up? You do 382 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:29.680 these five things. First, you need to understand the six 383 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:32.640 phases of faith that God will take you through over 384 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.839 and over and over. Then you remember what God can do. 385 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:38.000 He can do anything. 386 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:42.680 Then you rely on God's promises and remember what He's 387 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:47.920 promised to do. Then you recognize the facts of your 388 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.200 life in faith. You don't deny them. You recognize them, 389 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:57.880 but you don't get discouraged. And finally you rejoice in anticipation. 390 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:04.200 In anti patient, you expect, You joyfully expect God to 391 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:07.960 act in your life and to do good things, even 392 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:10.279 if it's not the way you plan. He will do 393 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:14.480 good things. You expect him to act. Romans fourth, twenty 394 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:20.559 twenty one says this Abraham never doubted. He believed God 395 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.880 for his faith and trust grew ever stronger, and he 396 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.160 praised God for this blessing even before it happened. Wow, 397 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:34.079 he was completely sure that God was well able to 398 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:39.000 do anything he promised. Notice, even before it happened. That 399 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.599 is real faith. When you thank God for something after 400 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:46.200 it happens, that's gratitude. When you thank God for something 401 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:49.880