(SDA Sermon) Mark Finley - "When God Stretches Our Faith " - 2019

let's pray father in heaven as we open your word this morning we pray that the living power of Christ would come fill our hearts lead us from the doldrums of Earth to the glorious heights of heaven help us walk through the valleys onto the mountain top knowing that you're there by our side taking us through every valley leading up to us up the rough places to the mountain of glory where we can see your face we pray in Jesus name Amen in the fifteenth century the Spanish Empire developed a motto and the motto was nape las otra means simply no more beyond the kings and queens of Spain believed that their empire had spread over the world and there was no more there were no more world's to conquer they believed that their empire was so large that there was no more beyond it was in 1492 that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella helped to finance the voyagers of a Explorer by they mcchrystal for Columbus have you ever heard of that name and Columbus dispelled that myth as he traveled around the worlds it and he discovered the new world he showed that that motto Navis ultra that there was no more beyond was totally false and simply a myth you know as I thought of that motto that the Spanish Empire had no more beyond I thought how that applies to many peoples Christian lives they have the idea that there is no more beyond they've stuck in a rut their spiritual lives stagnate they have stopped growing they live within the of their own narrow thoughts they are locked in a no growth pattern and if you ask them what their motto is their motto is well there's no more beyond I mean I've studied everything there is to study I know everything there is to know they're kind of at this plateau of their Christian experience they live as if there is nothing more beyond that they're content with what they've experienced Jacquin Miller wrote an amazing poem about Christopher Columbus and if you have any knowledge of history at all in geography you'll be impressed with this poem it goes something like this and he's talking about Columbus beyond him lay the grey Azores beyond the gates of Hercules before him not the ghost of shores before him and you can almost imagine Columbus sailing the oceans before him only shortlist sees the good mate said now we must pray for though the stars are gone pray that bro what shall I say why sail on sale on sail on in other words beyond the horizon there's something more you may just see these shoreless seas but beyond the horizon there's something more if I were applying that to the Christian faith I'd put it this way let your faith be stretched believe that God has something more for you trust that there's a deeper richer experience than you currently have believe that God is going to lead you into the heights of glory that he's going to lead you beyond the fog of spirituality where you are into something deeper broader in greater believe that in the face of obstacles there's something more believe in the face of difficulties there's something more believe in the face of overwhelming problems that there's something more believe in the face of opposition there's something more believe in the face of criticism there's something more believe in the face of doubt there's something more believe in the face of fear there's something more believe in the face of defeat there's something more believe in the face of failures is something more now the bible shares the lives of two characters that exemplify this spirit of belief and trust in god in this willingness to move forward in the face of what appeared to be overwhelming obstacles their names Caleb and Joshua here's the setting Israel is on the borders of the promised land and as they are on those borders there are obstacles that fate that lie between them and the promised land Moses chooses 12 men all leaders to go out and spy out the land for 40 days they quietly slip into Canaan and as they quietly slip into Canaan under the cloak of the darkness to spy out the land numbers 13 describes the story so if you have your Bible take it and turn to numbers this 13th chapter we're looking at numbers the 13th chapter and we're looking there at verses 17 to 20 numbers 13 verses 17 to 20 Moses sends out the spies to spy out the land of Israel numbers 13 17 to 20 so Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and send and said to them go up this way into the South and go up to the mountains and see what the land is like whether the people do well in it are strong or weak few or many now that's pretty good espionage isn't it if you happen to work for the State Department you work for the espionage agency you are maybe posted in another country and you're checking out the situation there so here is Moses sending out a contingent for an espionage and he says go up don't make yourself known see whether they're strong or weak see whether they're few or many verse 19 look at the geography of the land see whether the land they dwell in is a good or bad weather the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds whether the land is rich or poor whether there are forests and there or not be of good courage bring some of the fruit of the land back now the time was for the season of the ripe grapes so the spies went into the land and their investigative analysis was thorough the espionage report that they went brought back was complete a positive report would spur Israel on to conquest and so the spies followed Moses instructions carefully they were faithful to their assignment they came back after 40 days and they gave a glowing report and as they began to their report all Israel was excited they were thrilled with this report they thought this is indeed the land that God has promised we're going to move into this land rapidly the spies even showed forth a cluster of grapes that was so heavy that it took two men to carry it as it hung on a pole between them they also displayed baskets of figs and pomegranates and you can just imagine the euphoria in Israel you can just imagine the excitement in Israel this is the land that the Lord God has given to us but then after being so estatic after sensing that Canaan was more fantastic than they could ever imagine after they sense that was beyond their wildest dreams the spies went on numbers 13 verse 28 to 33 the scene changes rapidly Israel goes from euphoria immediately to doubt you're looking at the Book of Numbers the 13th chapter xxviii verses and onward and we see there that that scene changed is very very quickly and Israel that had been so excited now senses that there's a great problem we're starting with the 28th verse nevertheless the spies are speaking now they said we told you about this land verse 27 that flows with milk and honey nevertheless so they tell you all the positive things they say nevertheless nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong but cities are fortified and very large moreover we saw the descendants of anak there the the Amalekites dwell in the land to the south the Hittites the Jebusites and the Emirates dwell in the mountains and the Canaanites dwell by the sea along the banks of Jordan let your eyes drop down to verse 32 they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out saying the land through that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants in other words this land you go into it it's going to swallow you up then it says in verse 33 there we saw giants the descendants of anak came from the land and they were like Giants and we're like grasshoppers in their sight and so we are in their sight now did the land swallow people up if the land swallow people up how did they ever get back were those people actually like Giants certainly not you see the more you doubt God the more you exaggerate your problems see the more doubt you have in your life the problems are going to be bigger than you possibly can imagine so you know there is the difference in the spies reports Caleb and Joshua come back and they do not have their proverbial head in the sand Caleb and Joshua see the same thing that the ten spies saw but there's one more difference their God was bigger than the problem Caleb and Joshua had a different focus the focus of the spies was on the problem the focus of Caleb and Joshua was on God when problems arise in your life if the focus of your attention is on the problem you're going to tend to exaggerate the problem the problem is going to become larger and it's going to overwhelm you if the if your God is as small as the problem you've got a real small God when we have financial problems when we have marriage problems when we have health problems when we have interpersonal relationship problems the more you focus on the problem the more the human mind is going to tend to exaggerate the problem and as the human mind exaggerated s' the problem the problems gonna become bigger and bigger and bigger the question is what are you looking at are you focused on the problem or you focus on the God that's bigger than the problem if you focus on the Giants you are going to appear as a grasshopper I don't want to be a grasshopper you won't be a grasshopper if you focus on the Giants you're going to be a grasshopper if you focus on the problems you are gonna tremble in fear rather than move forward in faith one day John Wesley the famed Methodist preacher was walking down a country road counseling with a man and this man was telling Wesley about all of his problems this man was telling Wesley about all of his difficulties and Wesley they walked by a pasture and there was a cow in the pasture and the cow was looking over a wall and so Wesley stopped and he looked at the cow and he said to the man why is that cow looking over the wall the man said what you say and Wesley said why is the cow looking over the wall the guy said I don't know and wisely said because he can't see through it if you are focusing on the wall of troubles the wall of difficulties the wall of challenges the wall of obstacles you're never going to be see be able to look through that wall but if you look over the wall to the christ who is your security the christ who is your refuge the christ who is bigger than that problem i love the way it is put in the book sanctified life page 89 it says this darkness and discouragement will sometimes come upon the soul and threaten to overwhelm us now even as christians we at times experience darkness even as christians we at times experience discouragement it's so Ellen White says darkness and discouragement will sometimes come upon the soul and threaten to overwhelm us but we should not cast away our confidence we must keep our eye fixed on Jesus feeling our no feeling look over the wall look beyond the difficulty look beyond the challenge focus on Jesus now notice next sentence we should seek to faithfully perform every node of duty and every known duty and then calmly rest in the promises of God the ten spies focused on the difficulties rather than the open door of God's providence and because they let their fears overwhelm them because they focused on the difficulties they could have entered the promised land in 14 days when they left Egypt heading through the Red Sea watching the destruction of the Egyptians they could have entered into the Promised Land in 14 days but they allowed their doubts they allowed their fears they allowed the difficulties and the obstacles and challenges to keep them from entering in to the promised land and they wandered for 40 years in the wilderness the ten spies sought focused on the difficulties rather than the open door of God's providence they focused on what their eyes saw rather than heaven's glorious provision for them doubt and unbelief kept them from doing what God wanted them to do and where Caleb and Joshua gave a positive report they gave a negative report but notice what Caleb and Joshua said numbers chapter 14 verse 8 and 9 numbers 14 notice the difference the difference in focus the difference between fear and faith numbers the 14th chapter and we're looking there at verse 8 and 9 the 10 spies focused on the largeness of the problems Caleb and Joshua focused on the bigness of God the 10 spies focused on the difficulties Caleb and Joshua focused on the possibilities the 10 spies focused on what they thought could not be done and the limitations of human strength Caleb and Joshua focused on the power of the Living God and so as the 10 spies give a negative report Caleb and Joshua give a positive report notice numbers 14 verse 8 if the Lord delights in us now notice Caleb and Joshua recognized indeed that there are challenges but they say if the Lord delights in us then he will bring us into the land and give it to us notice it's not we're going to conquer the land it's not that our armies are stronger than their nice it's not that we are wiser it's not that we're more intelligent it's not that we have a better fighting force he will bring us into the land and give it to us a land that flows with milk and honey only do not rebel against the Lord nor fear the people of the land for they are our bread their protection has departed from them and the Lord is with us do not fear them when the Lord is with you you need not fear the obstacles you need not fear the difficulties you need not fear the challenges Caleb and Joshua sensed that their God was bigger than the problem their God was greater than the difficulties their guard was larger than whatever they faced Caleb and Joshua did not lose their focus on God they saw what the ten spies saw but they saw beyond what they saw they grasped the promises of God they see Caleb and Joshua looked back and they remembered distinctly the rumble of the Egyptian armies as they were approaching the Israelites at the Red Sea Caleb and Joshua looked back and they saw the mighty works of God as he opened the Red Sea they remembered Israel going through the Red Sea they look back and they saw the crashing cascade of the waters as the armies of Egypt were crushed and destroyed in the sea Caleb and Joshua recognized that God had said to them build me a sanctuary that I might dwell among them in Caleb and Joshua knew see because that sanctuary had been built in Caleb and Joshua knew that between the cherubim in that sanctuary was the Shekinah glory of God Caleb and Joshua knew that the presence of God was with them and God's presence would go before them into battle here is the good news for you here is the good news for me we are weak but he is strong we are frail but he has enduring might and as we go into battle this week with the enemy the Ark of God that Shekinah glory of God goes with us in that Shekinah glory of God he will defeat every enemy and break down every foe in our life between the sherrit cherubims of the earthly sanctuary God's presence was manifest in Shekinah glory it was this sense of the presence of God with them in all that they did there's a biting sense of the presence of God that fueled their faith encouraged their hearts gave them confidence third urge Israel to move ahead in conquer the promised land as we look to the sanctuary God is forever present I love what it says in numbers 14 24 as it describes Caleb in Joshua numbers 14 and you're looking there at verse 24 it's describing Caleb here and notice what the scripture says see whether you are gripped with worry and fear and anxiety whether your mind is filled with doubt and unbelief depends on what we're going to read in this text numbers 14 and you're looking at verse 24 but my servant Caleb because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully I will bring into the land where he went and his descendants shall inherit it my servant Caleb has a different spirit his spirit was not one of fear his spirit was not one of anxiety his spirit was not one of worry his spirit was one of calm trust his spirit was one of deep faith because he knew that the presence of God was with him in an article in the review and Herald May 30 1912 I read it was Caleb's faith that gave him courage that kept him from the fear of man and enabled him to stand boldly and on Flynn kingly and defensive right what gave Caleb such courage his what his faith now notice this next sentence through reliance on the same power the mighty General of the armies of heaven every true soldier of the Cross may receive strength and courage to overcome the obstacles that seem insurmountable are their obstacles in your life this morning let's seem insurmountable are there challenges that you faced that for you seemed overwhelming is the mountain at times in your life so incredibly high that it seems impossible to scale that mountain notice what it says in the sentence we just read through reliance on the same power the mighty general of the armies of heaven who is that the mighty general it's the armies of heaven who is that that's Jesus the mighty general of the armies of heaven every true soldier of the Cross are you a true soldier of the cross are you a true soldier of the cross every true soldier that may receive strength and courage to overcome the obstacles that seem insurmountable see we do not overcome in our power we overcome in his power Caleb and Joshua had no strength to conquer the land but the presence of God going forth with them would defeat the armies of the Amalekites and the armies of the heathen forces that stood before them faith connects us with the divine power of the creator of the universe through faith we receive strength encouraged to overcome insurmountable obstacles now fear and faith are opposites fear and faith are opposites faith sees the worst fear fear sees the worst faith believes the best and even if the best becomes the worst faith finds a way through fear insinuates doubt faith grasps the hand of God and believes fear retreats the fearful Israelite said let's go back to Egypt now fear does a lot of things to you fear plays havoc with the mind fear exaggerates the problem as we said sees the problem bigger fear paralyzes you so you don't move forward and do what God wants you to do not only does fear do that fear often causes you to retreat so in the Christian life when you face obstacles if you are filled with fear if you're filled with worry you can attend to exaggerate the problem you can attend to remain where you are but then you're gonna tend to retreat back to your old lifestyle that's what fear does to us it strangles our joy and it keeps us from moving ahead as God would have us to do fear retreats that's why the fearful Israel's cried let's go back to Egypt but faith advances Caleb shouted let us go up and take the land fear regards the unknown as a threat faith regards the unknown as a challenge fear longs for the comfort of the past faith longs for the opportunities of the present fear wants the known the predictive of the status quo faith delights in the adventure of the unknown fear sees the obstacles faith sees the possibilities fear cripples it paralyzes it stifles faith liberates it frees and enables fear sees what it is and trembles faith sees what can be and rejoices fear exaggerated s' the problem faith sees beyond the problem to the god that wants to solve it the fear sees the problem as bigger than God faith sees God bigger than the problem fear infects others with the virus a doubt faith inspires as the others with a serum of hope fear tends to blame God for the problem faith trust God through the problem you see this is why that Caleb cries out you see faith is believing God faith is trusting God faith is is settled confidence in God it's moving at God's command it's obeying God's Word it's walking in God's strength and and look what Joshua Caleb's buddy cries out you know it Joshua 1 verse 9 God speaks these words to you this morning God speaks these words to you this morning you're looking there at Joshua chapter 1 and we're looking at verse 9 and listen to these words of hope and let your soul ring with hope hope in the Shekinah glory of God hope in the glory of God that shines from the most holy place of heaven sanctuary hope in that God who's never lost a battle with Satan yet Joshua chapter 1 and we looked there verse 9 and Joshua says to Israel at a time of doubt in fear Joshua points this out he says Joshua 1 verse 9 have I not commanded you be strong and be of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go see here Joshua and Caleb saw the Shekinah glory that overflowed from the most holy place of the sanctuary they saw the pillar of fire that guided them by night they saw the presence of God in the cloud by day and so Joshua says be strong and be of good courage look to the sanctuary there the presence of God is and Jesus says to you and to me today in the challenges of life and the difficulties of life don't let your mind be focused on the problem in tremble with fear look beyond the difficulty look beyond the challenge look to the sanctuary where the Shekinah glory of God is there present for you now faith it's not faith in yourself faith is not faith in your abilities faith is not faith in your skills faith is not faith in your talents faith is faith in God the God of the universe who created the Sun and the moon and the stars the God who says that the tides stop here and go no further the God who says the Sun rise and it rises and set and it sets the god it says to the rain fall and it falls and stop and it stops the god of says to the flowers bloom and they bloom the God who says to the wind and blow and it blows and stop and it stops so our faith is never anchored in our abilities your faith is not anchored in your ability to solve the problem in your family your faith is not anchored in your ability to solve the problem in your marriage the problem in your health the problem in your money now that does not mean that we are stagnant and we don't do anything God may prompt us to do a lot of things to solve problems so it's not that we don't do anything but that's not where our faith is rooted that's not where a faith is anchored our faith is anchored in God now somebody says that's just the problem I don't have any faith my faith is too small and I'm overwhelmed constantly by worry I'm about constantly by fear let me tell you what faith is not many Christians have a great misunderstanding about faith and they have the idea like this I just need to have more faith and I just don't have enough faith I just have to have more faith false reasoning false reasoning faith is not something that you jack up and try to develop faith is something that God works in now take your Bible and turn to the book of Romans Romans the 12th chapter Romans the 12th chapter faith is a gift that God gives us that increases as we exercise it can you say that with me faith is a gift that God gives us that increases as we exercise it again you almost got it faith is a gift that God gives us that increases as we exercise it so this idea that I just need to somehow get more faith is a false idea look here's the text on that Romans 12 verse 3 for I say through the grace given to me where does grace come from where does grace come from God we continue to everyone who is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly as God has dwelt has dealt to each one a measure of faith so when I come to Christ what has God dealt to me what has he dealt to you a measure of what so if I am a believer I have a measure of what faith now you remember what Jesus said he said if you have faith as a grain of what mustard seed you can say to this mountain move and it's going to do what is gonna move so God has given you as a Christian a measure of faith you will be brought by the divine providence of God into challenges in your life you'll be brought into places where you see mountains before you God has a strategy as you exercise the faith that God has already put in your heart that faith is going to increase and God is going to give you more faith and more faith in more faith notice what scripture says it says that revelation 14 verse 12 Revelation 14 verse 12 at end time just before the coming of Jesus our world is going to be overwhelmed with problems beyond which we can imagine and just before the coming of Jesus God will have a people who've been given a measure of faith who exercise that faith and trust in him because Christ is living within him within them and they not only have faith in Jesus but they have the faith of Jesus you're looking at Revelation 14 verse 12 speaking of the last days of verse history speaking of a time when God invites us again to conquer the cities to enter into the enemy's territory with the gospel to go out and preach the word and share with others the very word of God here at end time when the world is overwhelmed with problems that are unimaginable the Bible says in Revelation 14:12 here is the patience of the saints that word patience means endurance here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus now notice it does not say faith in Jesus although we do have faith in Jesus but the faith of Jesus what does that mean the faith of Jesus it means the quality of Christ faith is living in your heart so God is going to allow you to get through some difficulties God's gonna what go and allow you to go through some challenges he has placed in your heart already a measure of faith and as you exercise that faith and you see those mountains moved and as you see those problem solved as you exercise that faith your the faith of Christ within you it's going to grow and grow and grow because as you exercise the faith he's gonna pour more faith into your soul he's gonna pour more faith into your life and you exercise that faith and your faith grows and you live an end time with total absolute trust in Christ and having the faith of Christ fill your heart some time ago I interviewed for it is written television Todd Houston Todd Houston is an amazing young man when Todd was 14 years old he was waterskiing and as he water-skied he fell off the skis and the boat backed up to pick him up as the boat backed up to pick him up it locked in Reverse and as the result of that the propellers of the boat were spinning rapidly and they ran over Todd and severely severed his leg the only way to save the leg after the leg became quite infected was to amputate it so Todd's leg at well as a teenager was cut off just above the knee and Todd in that process was led by the Spirit of God into a deeper relationship with Christ Todd began to study the word more deeply began to trust God more deeply and Todd is an unusual young man and he made a decision in his life that in spite of what had happened to him he would not become bitter with God or not angry with God what he loved mountains and one day he was reading and Todd read that the record for climbing the 50 highest mountains in America in the the highest mountain in each of the 50 contiguous states was a hundred and one days and Todd said you know what I'm gonna set a goal with one leg to climb the highest mountain in every single state in America the goal is 101 days I'm gonna do it with one leg and he began to train when I met Todd he had just made 50 climbs he broke the record in America he shattered that thing he climbed the highest peak in every state in 66 days 22 hours and 47 minutes now his biggest challenge was Mount McKinley because Mountain McKinley is 20,000 feet high 20,000 feet so here's a man with one leg that has to maneuver across large crevices and around avalanches he has to pass over glaciers jutting up against the mountain he has to endure constant exhaustion and cold and so I said to Todd Todd you're at Mount McKinley describe the experience for me and Todd told me he said Pastor Mark I was halfway up the mountain and climbers were coming down and I said to them what's it like what's it like did you make the summit and they said no we had to turn back because the storms and the high winds are our two fears we were locked in the dinelli pass with the snow for three days we just couldn't make it he said one man said to him Todd the summit loses its significance in the face of survival I'm just happy to get off the mountain alive so Todd had to make a choice am i turning back am i going forward am I going to be filled with fear and doubt and he prayed God I set a goal I am moving forward by your grace Todd's faith and courage propelled him forward and I said why didn't you stop when you were a teenager and your leg was cut off why didn't you say that's it I'm gonna sit in a chair and watch television the rest of my life and this is what he told me I'm quoting him now he said if you're gonna look at the difficulties in your life if you're gonna look at the afflictions in your life if you're gonna look at your injuries and focus on all that stuff you're gonna live around it and they're gonna dominate you but if you focus on the Lord if you focus on his presence he's gonna get you through it it's gonna become a learning experience and you are gonna move on to become wiser and stronger because of your Mountain faith conquers mountains of difficulty faith scales the heights faith soars into the heavens in a phenomenal display of courage caleb faces his mountain and caleb is now 85 years old when he first went into the promised land to spy it out he was 40 history a wanders in the wilderness of a forty years five years later take your Bible you say how do you know he's 85 the Bible tells you that if the Bible says and I believe it what about you alright Joshua Joshua 14 right before the book of Judges here we go you're looking there at the 14th chapter of the book of Joshua we're going to start there with verse 10 Joshua 14 verse 10 there are people facing mountains of despair mountains of hopelessness mountains of defeat mountains of heartache mountains of sorrow mountains and broken dreams and shattered hopes mountains of seemingly unconquered habits and unsolvable problems but hear the words of Joshua come echoing down the centuries echoing down the millenniums and they speak to us here today Joshua chapter 14 you're looking there at verse 10 now behold the Lord has kept me alive Joshua says as he said these 45 years ever since the Lord spoke his word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness and now here I am this day 85 years old how old was Joshua everybody eighty-five years old and he's facing a mountain he's facing a challenge man if I'm 85 and I could walk across the street I'm gonna be thanking God and praising God but by faith at 85 I'll be climbing mountains and here's Joshua verse 11 yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me man he must have been on a good Adventist health message eighty-five years old as yet I am as strong this day as I was the day that Moses sent me just as my strength was then so now it's my strength for war both for going out and for coming in now therefore give me this mountain which the Lord spoke in that day for you heard in that day how the anak am we're there that the cities were fortified it may be that the Lord shall be with me and I shall drive them out says the Lord and Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son and so forth Joshua at 85 years old says I will not shrink Joshua at 85 years old says I will not be paralyzed by worry I'll not be paralyzed by fear at 85 years old in a task that seems impossible before him Joshua says give me this mountain what challenge are you facing today what difficulty looms before you today what obstacles are in your pathway today what mountain is before you today there is a God that's bigger than your mountain there is a God that is greater than your obstacles there is a God that's larger than the difficulties there is a God whose Shekinah glory shines from the sanctuary filled with the faith of Jesus you and I can go on to conquer every mountain go climb your Mountain and in faith believe that through Jesus Christ you are a conqueror

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Keywords: Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh day Adventist, SDA, Adventist, Adventists, Mark Finley, HopeLives365, Hope Lives 365, big problems big god, Bible, Christianity, Jesus, God, sermon, faith

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Length: 44min 0sec (2640 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 25 2019