"Unshakeable Unbreakable Faith" - Pastor Stephen Bohr

[Music] shall we bow our heads for prayer father in heaven we thank you for the awesome privilege of being in your house of worship we thank you for your word which is a sure compass in a world of confusion and rebellion we ask that as we study about unshakable an unbreakable faith the biblical meaning of faith that you will not only help us to understand the meaning of faith but that you will help us grasp and experience it in our lives because we know that it's the only thing that's going to keep us firm and strong in these last days so be with us and teach us we pray in the precious name of Jesus your beloved son amen in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 we find in the first twenty two verses a list of heroes that are first mentioned in the book of Genesis now these individuals that are mentioned in Hebrews 11 are great heroes of faith and our subject for today is unshakable an unbreakable faith basically we're going to study the meaning of faith in holy scripture let's begin then at Hebrews chapter 11 and I would like to read verse 1 where we find the definition of faith Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1 it says here in this very well-known verse now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen now the word substance could better be translated the assurance faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the word evidence could better be translated proof the proof of things that you cannot see and so faith gives us assurance of the things that have not taken place yet assurance of things we hope for and faith is the proof of things that we cannot see as of now with our physical eyes so obviously faith helps us look into the future faith helps us see what is invisible to the naked eye now we want to begin discussing faith the meaning of faith in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 3 we've defined the meaning of faith now we want to take a look at Hebrews chapter 11 and verse three it's the first event that is described where we need faith in order to grasp it it says there by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible basically this text is telling us that God made the visible universe from that which could not be seen in other words he created the universe out of nothing now you try making something out of nothing we use pre-existed matter to create things but Hebrews 11 in verse 3 is telling us that God created the worlds from nothing he spoke and it came into existence according to some 33 verse nine now how do we know that God created this world by the word of his mouth that he spoke and it came into existence how do we know that for sure Hebrews 11 and verse 3 says that we understand that by faith in other words we know it happened because God says so in his holy word now it's interesting to notice in the creation story that Adam and Eve did not see God create anything they weren't around the first day the second day the third day the fourth day the fifth day the sixth day God made the animals they still weren't around and then God made Adam obviously Adam did not see God create him he just suddenly appeared on the scene and then when God made Eve he put Adam to sleep and made Eve so Adam did not see the creation of Eve and Eve did not see the creation of Adam in other words Adam and Eve also had to believe in creation by faith the only proof if you can speak of proof that they had that God was the creator of everything is because God said that he was the creator in other words faith in God's Word was proof of creation was evidence of creation was the assurance of creation even though they had not seen it with their eyes they had not experienced it after all there could be other explanations for the origin of the universe you could believe for example in spontaneous generation like for many years individuals believed you could believe that this world came into existence by a Big Bang that's a possible explanation you could believe that this world came into existence by progressive creation that is that God intervened at certain critical points in the history of this world to advance the process of evolution in other words God used evolution as his method of creation according to progressive creationism but we don't believe in any of those explanations or theories we believe that God spoke thanks into existence we believe that God created this world in six literal days and he rested on the seventh literal day now how do we know that God did that simply because God says so and we believe what God speaks in other words faith is faith in what God says it's trusting in what he speaks because we know him and because we trust him as a person now then there are many heroes in Hebrews 11 that are mentioned after creation I want to examine these heroes that are mentioned in the book of Genesis and I want to show you how they manifested their faith in God's Word known as Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 4 this is the first hero who is mentioned in Hebrews and by the way he's also mentioned in Genesis it says here by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain through which he obtained witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts and through it he being dead still speaks we're told here that by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain now what was involved in this sacrifice that made it more excellent how did Abel have to manifest faith when he offered this sacrifice the answer is very simple if you read the story in Genesis you'll discover that it tells us that Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and they're fat now why would he bring the first and why would he bring the fat simply because later on in the sacrificial service of Israel the firstborn of the flock were brought and their fat was burned on the altar because the fat represented sin and of course the first born of the flock represented Jesus the firstborn of Mary according to Scripture who was brought and presented before the Lord what I'm saying is that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice because he believed that in the future God was going to send Jesus the Messiah he believed God's Word that that sacrifice represented the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by faith as he observed that sacrifice he was allowed to look into the future - what that sacrifice represented his sacrifice was more excellent than the sacrifice of Cain because it was a sacrifice of blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin in other words Abel had had faith as he looked at that sacrifice he had faith that God was going to send Jesus Christ to the world to die for our sins something which at that moment could not be seen something at that moment which had to be grasped by faith in God's promise the promise of Genesis 3 and verse 15 so once again we find the idea of Abel trusting the Word of God that God would send in the future Jesus Christ to die for sin and then of course we have the next hero Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5 this individual is not mentioned very frequently in Scripture in fact he's mentioned in Genesis 5 he's mentioned in Hebrews 11 and in Jude 14 and 15 notice Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5 by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see there and was not found because God had taken him for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God now what faith did Enoch have where was his faith focused if you read for example the description in the book patriarchs and prophets you'll discover that as Enoch lived his life day after day year after year his mind was focused less and less on earth and more and more on heaven his eyes were focused on that which he could not see but on that which God had promised because we're told in Hebrews 11 that these heroes look forward to a city whose builder and maker is God in other words they know that there was a city coming that God was going to come and it happened forever with his people and Enoch by faith looked to heaven and he longed for that day to come even though it had not taken place yet and his mind became so closely identified with the mind of God that eventually he was totally disconnected from this world from the things of this world and God said to Enoch Enoch your mind is totally in heaven you're totally heavenly minded there's no reason for you to stay on earth if your mind is here in the city with me you walk down there day by day spiritually by faith in me God says Enoch I'm going to have you come up here and you no longer will have to walk by faith you can now walk by sight we'll walk the street of gold together in the holy city towards which you are looking and so Enoch was allowed to see the holy city by faith and was taken there Amon was allowed to see the future sacrifice of Jesus because God had promised it like he promised the holy city now the next hero that we find in the book of Hebrews which is also mentioned in Genesis is Noah notice Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 7 by faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith now let's take a look at the story of Noah by the way faith is very simple faith means that God speaks you trust what God says and you act upon what he says that's what faith is it always is linked with the Word of God God speaks or gives a command or a promise we trust and believe God's promise and we trust it enough to act upon it so God says to Noah Noah I am going to send a flood to the world I'm going to cause water to come from heaven and I'm going to cause the Fountains of the great deep to be broken up I'm gonna fill the planet with water that was God's Word let me ask you didn't know I believed God's Word of course he did was the Word of God apparently absurd illogical unreasonable absolutely see faith many times acts upon God's Word when God's Word appears to be ridiculous but that which is impossible to man with faith is possible because with faith all things are possible according to Jesus himself and so when God says to Noah there's going to be a flood there's gonna be rain from heaven Noah says I've known you long enough to know that when you say things it's gonna happen I trust you and so what does Noah do he goes and he gets the sauce and he gets the hammer and it gets the nails and he says let's act upon God's Word let's do something about and so notice God speaks Noah believes what God spoke and his belief is shown by his actions in other words he builds a boat no matter how ridiculous it might appear no matter how illogical what God is asking for no matter how impossible it is Noah says God has spoken I can trust what God says and I am going to do it and so he builds this boat this Ark and of course when the flood came it became evident that Noah was right in trusting the Word of God and building that boat or building that Ark now the next example that we find in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 is the case of Abraham and there are several episodes here about Abraham notice chapter 11 and verse 8 by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going would that take faith imagine god says to God says to Abraham Abraham I want you to leave Abraham says yes Lord where am I going I'll tell you later I mean at this time he was established in Haran he'd left of the counties with Terra's father he was in Haran and God says I'm going to take you somewhere just pick everything up and move and what did Abraham do he said God has spoken God's Word is clear I'm supposed to get up pack and move and so the Bible tells us that Abraham even though he didn't know where they were going he had Sarah and his sir pack everything up and who knows how much later they began their journey to Canaan without knowing where they were going once again we have this idea that faith means listening to God's Word trusting God's Word because we trust him trusting his word enough to do what God tells us to do in his word faith means believing God's Word because we trust God and acting upon what he says because we know that God is going to come through by the way Abraham didn't always have this kind of faith sometimes he walked by sight not by faith you remember for example when he went down into Egypt and his wife was very beautiful he says Pharaoh is gonna look at my wife and he's gonna see she's very beautiful he's gonna kill me and take her so he says Oh Sarah just just tell him that you're my sister don't tell him the whole truth lack of faith because God could have predicted Sarah he did the same thing when he when he went to visit Abimelech it happened twice according to scripture and then when God promised him a son and the years went by and Sarah says Abraham now do you really believe that the word of the Lord is gonna be fulfilled the way he says maybe we need to help God just a little bit so don't you think I'd be a good idea take this servant girl Hagar and maybe that's the way that God's promised God's Word will be fulfilled and Abraham showed a lack of faith he listened to Sarah and were still suffering the effects of this in the Middle East today as a result of Abraham's lack of faith you see God wanted these heroes to walk by faith not by sight even though they couldn't see things even though things had not transpired her happened yet God wanted them to believe in his word to trust in him and leave things in God's hands and then of course you have Sarah mentioned in Hebrews 11 let's go there to Hebrews chapter 11 and let's notice eleven and twelve Hebrews 11 and verses 11 and 12 it says here in verse 11 by faith Sara herself also received strength to conceive seed and she bore a child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful who had promised therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore by the way at first Sarah Connor chuckled at this promise of God in Genesis 18 verses 11 through 14 God says to her you were laughing were you no no I wasn't I wasn't I was laughing you know she was she was adding lying to laughing incidentally because she had laughed she was saying how can an old woman like myself have a child did you notice it says here that Abraham was as good as dead some way to describe your husband my husband is as good as dead imagine that and yet it appears that in the course of time Sarah decided that she would trust God according to Hebrews 11 even though at first she disbelieved and finally when she is 89 and Abraham is 99 Abraham says to Sarah Sarah don't you think it might be a good idea for us to have marital relations by the way they did have to act on God's Word hello it was not going to happen by osmosis and so Abraham and Sarah says Abraham have you looked at me in the mirror can you believe that an a nine-year-old woman is going to have a baby and Abraham says God promised and when God promises we can take it to the bank and I guess Sarah said hey you know you're probably right and so they decided to have marital relations and when they did when they acted upon God's Word God intervened and he did that which is humanly and biologically what impossible you see faith makes the impossible possible it makes the impossible true it fulfills that which God says and then of course you have the experience of Abraham when God asked him to offer Isaac that's the next event in Hebrews 11 all of these are generous Genesis heroes by the way illustrating faith God says to Abraham Abraham I want you to take that son that you had in your old age and I want you to take him to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him on one of the mountains that are in the region of Moriah that was God's Word did Abraham trust God did he you know whatever ham could have done Abraham could have said I just can't bring myself to do that it would be too painful how me sacrificing my own son my emotions that my feelings say I can't do this but Abraham did not live by emotions and feelings he could have used logic oh well God said thou shall not kill so this can't be God's voice he could have waked up his wife to give him some moral support cuz he knew that she would say no way you're not taking him to sacrifice him but he left Sarah sleeping purposely because he knew what she was going to say Abraham could have followed many different sources of authority but when God spoke the Bible says that Abraham trusted God he trusted God's Word because he knew God and he says if God says it I believe it and I'm gonna do it and so he got up real early before Sarah was awake and he traveled three days to Mount Moriah and we all know the story how he raised the knife to plunge it into his own son obeying the Word of God acting upon God's Word by faith because he trusted God now notice Hebrews chapter 11 and how it describes this event Hebrews 11 and let's begin reading let's see here let's begin reading at verse 17 it says here by faith Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son woman was said in Isaac your seed shall be called and now notice why did he do it because he trusted God notice concluding that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from which he also received him in a figurative sense so Abraham says I can't understand this this is a child in the promise there's supposed to be a multitude that comes from him and ultimately the Messiah I can't understand why God is asking me to do this but God is spoken I will do it and God will take care of the consequences I believe that it's necessary he can resurrect him from the dead so once again God speaks Abraham trusts in God and what God says and he acts upon what God says and then of course in Hebrews 11 we also have the story of Jacob and Esau the I'll just mention this in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 20 we find a Isaac blessing Jacob and Esau and the things that he says he could have never known that that the descendants of Jacob and Esau would have those characteristics in other words Isaac is looking into the future prophetically because God has shown him what's gonna happen with Jacob and what's gonna happen with Esau and he's simply repeating what God has said because he believes it he honors it with his voice and then of course in Hebrews 11 verse 22 you have the last Genesis hero that is mentioned in the book of Genesis and that's Joseph notice Hebrews 11 and verse 22 Hebrews 11 and verse 22 here Joseph is mentioned and it says here in this verse by faith Joseph when he was dying made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones do you notice this what did Joseph do he spoke about the release of the children of Israel and he spoke about them not leaving his bones in Egypt how could Joseph be sure that Israel was going to be delivered from Egypt this wasn't going to happen for several hundred years more and yet Joseph is saying when you leave Egypt for Canaan make sure you take my bones with you on what basis could he say that you see in Genesis 15 God had given a promise he'd said that after 400 years he was going to intervene and he was going to deliver God's people from Egypt and he was going to take them to Canaan and Joseph believed what God said he spoke about the deliverance before it happened and he also said make sure your tent you take your bones with you my with you as well and so basically when God speaks his word you can take it to the bank you can trust his word because you can trust God his word never returns unto Him void notice what we find in Isaiah 55 Isaiah 55 and let's read verses 10 and 11 Isaiah 55 10 and 11 notice the power of God's Holy Word it says here for as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and do not return there but water the earth and make it bring forth and but then it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater now notice so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth it shall not return to me void but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it does the word of God ever returned empty or does it accomplish what God says it is going to accomplish you can take it to the bank folks that's why we need to learn to trust in the promises of God it doesn't mean that God is going to do it immediately we need to be patient sometimes but it means that God when he makes a promise when he speaks his word we can trust what he says because we can trust him you can take it to the bank the Bible says in Hebrews actually the book of Romans chapter sin 10 and verse 17 Romans 10 verse 17 so faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God how does faith come faith comes by hearing by hearing what by hearing the Word of God and let me explain how the process is God speaks his word you believe his word because you believe in him because you know him because you've spent time with him let me go over that again God speaks his word you believe his word because you believe in him because you have come to know him and because you have spent time with him because you need to spend time with someone if you're gonna know them so you spend time with God you come to know God and therefore you trust God when God speaks because you know that God is trustworthy that means that the more time we spend the gut with God the more powerful our faith is going to be because the more we will have experience what it means to trust in God to trust in someone because faith is not trusting in something faith is trusting in someone because we know that someone because we've spent time with that someone and we're willing to do what that someone told us because we know them let me illustrate what I mean supposing that you've never seen me before and I meet you on the street and I say to you would you please lend me a thousand dollars I promise to pay you next week you think anybody would lend me the money of course not if I'm walking down the street nobody's ever seen me even if I have a suit on especially probably if I have a suit on and some what guarantee do I have that you're gonna pay me back next week trust me I'm promising it it's my I give you my word is that going to do any good absolutely not why won't they lend me that money because they don't know me they haven't spent time with me and they don't know if what I say is trustworthy but now let's suppose that I talk with Elaine and I say you know Elaine I'm in a tough situation here you know I I don't have enough money to enough money to pay for my mortgage this month do please lend me a thousand dollars and I promise to pay you back next week what would he Lane say she said you've got it past her I'll talk to you after the service today why would elaine lend me the money because she knows me she knows that my word is trustworthy because she's become acquainted with me is that true also in the realm of faith absolutely why do we do what God says even if it appears to be ridiculous because by previous experience we have formed a relationship with God we know him to be trustworthy because of what he says in his holy word and in the Bible we have a plethora of examples of faith you remember the miraculous fishing expedition where the disciples had been this is in Luke chapter 5 the disciples had been on the lake all night and they had not fished one single fish and they were kind of discouraged the next day Jesus got into the boat and they launched out into the deep it was daytime and Jesus says to Peter that he was supposed to do the absurd I mean Peter was the fisherman Jesus was the carpenter and so Jesus says to Peter Peter throw your nets you don't throw your nets in the daytime the fish can see the nets because the water of the Sea of Galilee is clear you don't fish in the daytime with Nets it's that simple and yet Peter says to Jesus even though you're the carpenter and I'm the fisherman at your word I will let down the net because I know that your word can do something special and so because Jesus spoke the word and Peter trusted Jesus in spite of the fact that he knew that they weren't going to fish anything humanly speaking he cast down the nets and the Bible says that the nets had so many fish that they were breaking so they had to call their companion fishermen and they both boats because Peter acted upon the word of Jesus because he trusted the word of Jesus because he trusted Jesus because he had spent time with Jesus how about it you know you have an interesting story that's found in John chapter 4 verses 46 through 54 I'm going to tell you this story we're not going to read the verses but I'm going to read a couple of statements from the spirit of prophecy and this Jesus was in Cana of Galilee and there was a man who was visiting there from Capernaum and he comes to Jesus and he says my son is at home in Capernaum he's dying could you please come and heal him and what does Jesus do let's notice I'll read just one verse verse 50 of John 4 John 4 verse 50 I want you to notice this it's very very significant John 4 and verse 50 it says here jesus said to him go your way your son lives that what Jesus said he said I don't have to go just go your way your son lives and I'll notice so the man what by the way that word believed is the word piece duo in Greek and and faith is pistis we would never know in English that the word believed and the word faith are the same Greek word so you could translate this so the man trusted or had faith in the word that Jesus spoke to him and he went his way now listen up Capernaum was close enough to Cana for that man to have rushed home to see whether his son really had been healed but do you know what's interesting he had no sense of urgency after Jesus spoke the word no sense of urgency at all in fact he decided to take the scenic route and to smell the flowers the next day by the way this this healing had taken place at one o'clock in the afternoon at the seventh hour the Bible says that's one o'clock in the afternoon so you could have made it home before sundown if he rushed I wonder whether my son is healed or not he didn't he waited till the next day and then he took the scenic route he smelled the flowers and when he gets home he asked some of the servants how's my son doing they said he's healed he says when was he healed yesterday at the seventh hour now allow me to read you a statement here from desire of Ages page 200 this is marvelous talk about trust in God's Word see he didn't even have to see the healing when Jesus spoke the word he said that's it he's healed it says the nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe that's when he first arrived he wanted to see the fulfillment of his word before he could believe but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted this lesson we also have to learn not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe did you hear that I'm gonna read that again not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe we are to trust his promises when we come to him in faith every petition enters the heart of God when we have asked for his blessing we should believe that we receive it and thank him that we have received it hello even before we've received it because he speaks and he's trustworthy and it says then we are to go about our duties assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most when we have learned to do this we shall know that our prayers are answered by the way do you know how jesus healed this man who was this young man who was over in Capernaum when he actually pronounced the word in Cana I'll give you a little inkling the Bible tells us that the angels are ministering spirits that perform the will of God all over the earth in fact we find in desire of Ages page 143 that all of the miracles of Christ were performed by the power of God through the ministration of the angels do you remember the story of the Centurion who came to Jesus he said my son is sick he's definitely sick could you please heal him Jesus says okay I'll go he says now you don't you don't need to come just speak the word I trust your word to speak the word and he'll be well he says because I'm also a man of authority he says I tell this soldier go here and I tell this servant do that over there and they do it he says so just speak the word and it will be done do you know when Jesus spoke the word the angels actually went and healed the Centurion son the angels actually were the ones who spooked the fish to come to the side of the boat the angels were really the ones that went to Capernaum and implemented the word of Jesus because the miracles of Jesus were performed by the power of God through the administration of angels there are millions and millions of angels all over the world just waiting to execute God's will we have a lot of helpers in this world praise the Lord and then we have the experience of Jesus the greatest illustration of faith in the whole Bible imagine Jesus on the cross of Calvary it's about the ninth hour and Jesus cries out with a loud voice and he says honey which means my God my God why hast thou forsaken me let me ask you did Jesus feel forsaken by his father did he feel forsaken by his father yes he did he says my God my God why hast thou forsaken me he felt forsaken by his father but did Jesus know that he wasn't forsaken by the father yes he did now you say this is strange you say he knew that he wasn't forsaken by the father but he felt forsaken by the father now how do you explain that it simply teaches us folks that we are not to go by feelings we are to go by what God says had God the Father said to Jesus that if he was faithful to him that he would not forsake him that he would resurrect him the third day had the father promised that to Jesus yes now Jesus on the cross could not feel the presence of his father he felt forsaken by his father but he relied upon the promise of his father his father had said if you go through with this if you are victorious I guarantee then I will come and resurrect you from the tomb you can take it to the bank and so even though Jesus on the cross felt forsaken by his father by faith in the promises of his father which he had received previously he knew that death was not the end in fact we clearly grasp that because immediately after Jesus says my God my God why has thou forsaken me he then says father into your hands I commend my spirit evidently it wasn't forsaken or else he wouldn't have asked his father to take care of his spirit and by the way those of you who have studied with me before and all of the word spirit indicates much more than the breath it's through actually the record of the life it's actually the character of the individual the self-identity in other words Jesus say preserve Who I am in your books not in conscious state but in your records because you've promised that on the third day you are going to return to me Who I am by resurrecting me from the dead and of course we know that on the third day the Father fulfilled his promise and he says I preserved your spirit I preserve your character now I've come to give it back o son of God come forth and Jesus came out so you have these mixed feelings on the cross of Calvary Jesus feeling forsaken but saying father into your hands I commend my spirit I feel forsaken but I know I'm not because you told me that I'm not are you understanding what I'm saying allow me to read a statement from desire of Ages page 756 about how Jesus overcame on the cross here Ellen White says amid the awful darkness apparently forsaken of God notice apparently forsaken of God Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe in those dreadful hours he had relied upon the evidence of his father's acceptance heretofore given him in those hours he relied upon what upon the evidence of the father's acceptance that up till that point had been given him he was acquainted with the character of his father he had to spend time with him for that right he was acquainted with the character of his father he understood his justice his mercy and his great love by faith he rested in him whom it had ever been his joy to obey and as in submission he committed himself to God the sense of the loss of his father's favor was withdrawn by faith Christ was the victor he trusted his father because he knew his father from previous experienced he had received the word of his father believed the word of his father lived the word of his father before and he knew that his father was going to raise him from the dead not because he felt it but because God said so in fact Ellen White says that Jesus could not see beyond the portals of the tomb he felt that sin was so offensive to God that the separation would be everlasting that's how Jesus felt but Jesus did not go by feelings and emotions Jesus trusted the Word of God one time I had a young lady come to me she says pastor I don't feel that God has forgiven me I said well that's interesting I said why not she says because I've committed this sin several times I'm positive that the Lord has not forgiven me I said well have you repented of that sin she says yes I have I said have you confessed that sin she says yes I've confessed it also I said then you're forgiven because in 1st John 1 verse 9 it says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if you fulfill the conditions if you've repented if you're confess to your sin believe it not because you feel it but because God says it we trust our feelings too much we say well I don't feel that God is forgiving me feelings have nothing to do with it if God says it and you fulfill the conditions you can take it to the bank how are you understanding what I'm saying faith means trusting what God says because we know God and because we've spent time with God quality time with God we've come to know him you remember the experience of the three young men who were thrown in the fiery furnace do you know that they claimed a promise from scripture that had been written before this experience no size eya 43 Isaiah 43 and verse two Isaiah 43 and verse 2 when you pass through the waters I will be with you and through the rivers they shall not overflow you when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned nor shall the flame scorch you they claim that promise they know their God and therefore the remain firm and by the way this experience is going to take place again this experience in Daniel 3 was a historical but also a prophetic experience because in Daniel 3 you have Nebuchadnezzar who for a while lived as a beast he raised an image he commanded everyone to worship the image that he had raised up and he was going to have everybody he killed who did not worship the image that he had raised is that the scenario in Revelation chapter 13 it most certainly is and as those three young men had to face the fiery furnace we will have to face the period of the seven last plagues when the wrath of God is poured out without mixture in this world the fullness of God's wrath is poured out and yet like those three young men the plagues will be falling on one but the plagues will not touch God's people because they have learned to trust in God this is what revelation 13 verse 10 means when it says here is the patience of the saints here's the patience and the perseverance and the faith of the saints in other words we're gonna need perseverance we're gonna need faith because we're going to lose everything that we have our freedom some people in the little time of trouble are eating are even going to lose their lives and if we trust in our feelings our emotions and our things and in what other people say we're going to fall in an instant folks we have to learn to trust in God we have to get into the word we have to get to know God personally and we need to claim the promises and act upon those promises of God allow me to say this as we near the close do you know that one of the great deceptions of Satan in the end time is going to be to disguise himself along with his evil angels as departed relatives and don't you be surprised if there's a John Paul the second appear in someplace all over the earth and don't you be surprised if the supposed Virgin Mary is appearing in different parts of the earth that's of course already happened you said I would never believe that the dead don't know anything listen Ellen White says that this will be an almost overmastering delusion notice what she says in great controversy page 552 speaking about the Satan's power he has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends the counterfeit is perfect did you catch that the counterfeit is what perfect the familiar look the words the tone are reproduced with marvelous distinctness many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the Bliss of heaven and without suspicion of danger they are giving ear to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils listen folks have we reached a point in our experience where we are so saturated with the Word of God then we will ignore what our eyes our ears our touch our smell our feelings our reasonings the words of others ignore all of these things and to just trust the naked word of God though someone appear disguised as a relative or as a friend or one of the great heroes of the Christian of the Christian Church and they look the same they darkness they make us feel good they speak about peace and love and kindness are we gonna be willing to say I hear you I see you I feel you but the Bible says the living know that they shall die but the dead know nothing well I live by faith in God's Word and only in God's Word and not on the basis of my reasonings and my emotions and what other people say you know most of the world is going to be deluded listen and this is a supposition but I think it's a very possible thing if John Paul should appear in different parts of the world speaking to the living how many people in the world would be deceived how many Christians would be deceived by that the majority of the Christian world including Protestants would be deceived by that if the funeral of john paul ii has anything to say but evidence will not be deceived some of them will according to ellen white because they go by their feelings their emotions they don't follow what the Word of God says they haven't learned to trust God do you know that the devil is even going to counterfeit the second coming of Jesus in great controversy you find this description as well in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 Wow she says that Satan will appear in different parts of the earth his appearance will be like Christ in Revelation chapter 1 with his face shining as the Sun he's got to speak some beautiful words of peace and love and kindness like people love to hear in church today and then he's going to perform miracles I'm vehicles and she says that this is the almost overmastering delusion people who trust their feelings and their emotions and what their preachers say and what their reason says and what their senses say immediately they will say this is Christ who has returned of course it doesn't help that most Christians believe that when Jesus comes again he's going to set up his Millennial Kingdom on they're leaving themselves wide open to the acceptance of the false Christ when he walks upon the earth but we know and by the way then she says that the devil is going to say that he is Christ and that he's being greatly offended because sunday is not being kept God's people will not be deceived because first of all they know that the Bible says that Jesus will not come not come all the way down to the earth number 2 Jesus is not coming to set up his Millennial Kingdom here and furthermore the teaching that were supposed to keep the first day of the week does not square with a thus saith the Lord Ellen White says that her only safeguard will be in following the Bible how about get into the word study of the word and obey the word is my prayer [Music]

Channel: Aaron

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Id: T7mRvAJQE2U

Length: 56min 22sec (3382 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 19 2018