Activate
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 26th July 2015
Passage: Hebrews 11:1-40
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 Well, let me add my welcome. My name is Sam, I'm one of the pastors here, and it is good to get to open God's Word with you tonight.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 Keep that passage open in front of you.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:20 Just recently I had the chance to be at a conference, and something they did as part of the conference was pay tribute to someone who had achieved something significant.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:27 His name is Professor Graham Clark, so he's an Australian professor, and he is the man who invented the bionic ear.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:38 And as impressive as his achievement is, what I love about his story, and many stories of people who have done significant things, is where those stories begin.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:48 It's to think that to get to the point where he actually achieved his goal, there was a moment where that dream was birthed.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 And what you may not know about him is Graham Clark grew up with a father who was deaf.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:59 I actually found out this morning that one of our morning parishioners, Marie Farley, went to university with Graham and actually knows him.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 And she was giving me all sorts of extra details.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:09 So Graham Clark, growing up, had a father who was a pharmacist and had a chemist, and he was completely deaf.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:19 And the incredible challenges that his dad faced were what birthed a dream for Graham Clark to ultimately be able to deal with that issue and fix it.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:29 And it's a really exciting thing, I think, to not just see the finish line, but to see the journey that was taken to that greatness, to that significance.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:38 And I wonder if when you hear stories like that, or stories like we just read in Hebrews 11, if there's a part of you that thinks,
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 I wish I had a vision like that.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 I wish I had a dream for significance.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:48 I wish I had something that I was just going to achieve.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:53 I wish I could somehow imagine me being the one achieving something great.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:59 What if it's there and you just haven't seen it yet?
00:02:00 --> 00:02:06 What if the path to greatness is right in front of you, but you just haven't taken the steps to walk down it yet?
00:02:08 --> 00:02:13 Throughout Scripture, there are many, many people who have achieved great things for God.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 And in every single one of them, there is a common ingredient.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:18 Faith.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:25 The passage we just read in Hebrews 11 is sometimes known as the Faith Hall of Fame.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:33 We think it's this list of kind of faith superheroes, people who just had incredibly massive and impressive faith.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:37 But actually, Hebrews 11 is not about them.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 It's about faith.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 And faith is about God.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:48 The superhero, if you like, in Hebrews 11 is God himself.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 The powerful one in Hebrews 11 is God himself.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 Faith is the thing that achieves significance for everyone in Hebrews 11.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:01 The same faith that all Christians have in the same God.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 See, faith isn't just about getting a ticket to heaven.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:09 Faith is a foundation.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:14 Faith is a power that God wants to unleash in your life.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 Not just an end point power or an end point destination.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:24 It's a foundation and a power that can be unleashed in us to achieve something significant in our lives now.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 This is week three of Activate.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 If this is your first week here or you've been away for a couple of weeks,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 all the excitement that you walked past on your way in is Activate.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:42 It's that time twice a year where we stop and have a chance to connect and serve in church.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 So there's a chance for joining small groups.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 There's a chance for committing to doing ministry.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 And one of the questions we've been asking over the last three weeks is,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:57 how can you invest yourself in the work that God is doing here at St. Paul's Chatswood?
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 So how can you be a part of caring for people who are in need?
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 How can you be a part of bringing hope to people who don't have it?
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 What part can you play?
00:04:06 --> 00:04:11 And really the question behind that question is the one we're looking at tonight.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:18 The question is, what would your life and my life and our life together look like
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 if we genuinely shared the faith of those who have gone before us?
00:04:23 --> 00:04:29 I mean, as we begin to dream about that possibility,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:34 dream about the possibility of God's power achieving something significant in us,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 we need to be clear on what we mean when we say faith.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 It's not a blank check.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:41 But what do we mean?
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 First off, let's be clear on a few things that faith isn't.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 Firstly, faith is not blind and it's not baseless.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 I think I've said to you guys before,
00:04:49 --> 00:04:53 faith is a word that sometimes gets substituted for belief.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 And they're close, but they're not exactly the same thing.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 If I was to climb onto the roof of the church and decide that I wanted to fly,
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 it doesn't matter how hard I flap my arms,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 if I jump off, I'm going to fall and I'm going to fall quickly.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:11 Because there's no basis for the belief that I can fly.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 Faith is actually about the thing that you believe,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 more than how much belief you have.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:21 See, desire is not a sufficient basis for faith.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 It doesn't matter how much I want to fly or how much I believe it,
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 there's no basis for either of those things.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:33 The thing that I'm trusting in, the object, is what defines faith.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 So every time I'm driving in my car and I press on the brake,
00:05:38 --> 00:05:42 I'm placing my faith in the brakes to work and to stop me before I have a crash.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:49 But it's not my belief in the brakes that makes them work and helps me stop.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 It's the functionality of the brakes.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:57 It's actually their ability to stop the wheels in such a way that I don't hit another car.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 My belief in the brakes, if they're not functional, is irrelevant.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 I'm still going to crash.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 It's the functionality of the thing that I'm trusting,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:08 that I'm believing in, that I'm depending on.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:14 What matters when we talk about faith in any sphere of life is not so much the faith itself,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 but it's what we're placing our faith in.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 It's the object that's being trusted and depended on.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:25 And so for Christians, faith is not some vague, ethereal idea
00:06:25 --> 00:06:29 that gets kind of new content depending on what situation we're facing.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 You know, I have faith to fly, I have faith to jump high, whatever it is.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:37 Christian faith has specific content.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 It has a specific object.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:45 Faith, if it's Christian, is necessarily and firmly founded on the promise of God.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 Have a look in Hebrews 11 at verse 7.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 It says that,
00:06:50 --> 00:07:05 So Noah had faith in what?
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 His desire to see the world flooded?
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 His hope that God would judge the sinful people all around him?
00:07:11 --> 00:07:11 No.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 His faith is based on the fact that God warned him.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 God's word was there.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:22 God promised something and Noah believed that God would follow through.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:23 Now you've got to remember,
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 this is just a snapshot of a whole story back in Genesis 6.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 Noah was ridiculed when he did this.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:34 He was building the biggest boat that the world has ever seen in the middle of nowhere
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 with no means of getting it anywhere near water.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 Probably in the middle of a drought.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 And so people said,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 You've lost your mind, Noah.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 You are in all sorts.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 But he stood firm.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:53 He kept his faith because he was trusting something that was immovable.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:58 He was trusting the words of God who doesn't change.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 Faith is not a blind step in the dark full of optimistic hope.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:08 It's confidence based on the sure promise of God.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 So faith is not blind or baseless.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 The second thing faith is not is it's not seen.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:18 Hebrews 11 and verse 13 says,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 All these people were still living by faith when they died.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 They did not receive the things promised.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 Or verse 39 of chapter 11.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:47 All of these people, these heroes apparently of the faith,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 were still living by faith when they died.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 So they hadn't yet been given the things they were promised.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 The things that were shaping their whole life.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 The things that were motivating them to sacrifice,
00:08:58 --> 00:09:02 to suffer for following God with unwavering commitment.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 They didn't receive them.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11 And that's because faith is by its nature forward looking.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 Faith is future oriented.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 It's about something that you don't yet have.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 Something that's just that little bit beyond your reach.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 And that's important.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 Because it reminds us as Christians,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 that stepping out in faith,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 is not just a way of kind of having a transaction
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 to get something we want from God.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:40 Faith's not necessarily going to be about getting immediate gratification back
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 because we've done something bold for God.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 The definition that Hebrews gives us is quite clear.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 In verse 1 of chapter 11.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 and certain of what we do not see.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 Now I have a slightly adjusted definition.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 Faith is a certain future hope
00:10:01 --> 00:10:05 that changes your uncertain present.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 Faith is a certain future hope
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 that changes your uncertain present.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 See, faith brings perspective into situations
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 that would otherwise be overwhelming.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 Faith has the power to take something that could be hopeless
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 and give you a firm footing.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 Even though faith is future directed,
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 we must understand that it has power now.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 It is about something we look forward to,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 something we haven't yet received,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 but it has power now.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 And so the question remains,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 what does it look like to live by faith?
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 And I guess maybe more specifically,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 what would your life and my life and our life look like
00:10:47 --> 00:10:51 if the defining reality of our existence
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 was the death and resurrection of Jesus?
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 What if that was the looking glass
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 through which we perceived every circumstance that we faced,
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 every relationship, every job,
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 every engagement, every challenge,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 every obstacle?
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 Because this chapter in Hebrews
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 is called the Faith Hall of Fame
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 because it's clearly a picture of significant life.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 These people did significant things.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 And it doesn't matter whether you're three or 23 or 103.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 Faith is the ingredient in this chapter.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 It's the thing common to every single person who's mentioned.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:33 And today, we need to lift our eyes
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 and begin to dream.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:40 Begin to imagine just how incredible it might be
00:11:40 --> 00:11:44 for God to work through us in a similar kind of way.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:48 because I can guarantee that God's plan for you
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 is bigger and better than your plan for you.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 So as you begin to visualize that,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 let's unpack what the path might look like to get there.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 Four things that faith looks like from Hebrews 12.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 Therefore, since we are surrounded
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 by such a great cloud of witnesses,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 let us throw off everything that hinders
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 and the sin that so easily entangles,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 and let us run with perseverance
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 the race marked out for us.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 the author and perfecter of our faith,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 who for the joy set before him,
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 endured the cross, scorning its shame,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 The first thing that faith looks like is surrounded.
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 Faith is not a personal or isolated reality.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 Our Christian faith is a communal activity.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 One of the things that seeds our faith,
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 or that strengthens our faith,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 or even gives birth to our faith,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 is actually seeing faith in the lives of other people.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 And not even necessarily the superheroes,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 like in chapter 11 here,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 but surrounded by brothers and sisters
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 here in this community,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 who are living out faith in their jobs,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 in their families.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:08 People like the Fitzroy family
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 in our 930 congregation,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 who dealt with a really difficult
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 and challenging situation
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 with the health of their second born son,
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 and yet continued to trust God
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 in spite of the uncertainty.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 Or living out faith like the Fitzpatricks,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 who moved to a suburb further away from us
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 and less convenient,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 but convinced and convicted
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 that this is where they wanted to serve.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 That this was the ministry
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 that God was calling them to.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 We are surrounded by witnesses
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 who are living out their faith
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 in the day-to-day.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 And faith is a shared journey
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 towards a future hope.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 You're not required to hold on to hope
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 in the difficult circumstances by yourself.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 That's what was so great
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 watching the Fitzroy family.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 It's what's so great watching
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 in so many of our lives and situations
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 is that when we are struggling,
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 God provides the encouragement and support,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 not within ourselves,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 but within the cloud of witnesses.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 He gives us models
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 of what it looks like to persevere.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 He gives us brothers and sisters
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 who bear with us.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 This is the point of chapter 11.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 All of these witnesses
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 are on the same journey of faith.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 That's why they can be an encouragement for us.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 And so faith lived out
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 demands that we surround ourselves
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 with the people of God,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 with witnesses to faith.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 It demands that we gather,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 that we invest relationally in one another,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 that we benefit from this community,
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 but also that we seek to be a benefit
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 to this community.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 Because faith has one goal,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 heaven.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 So it's uncompromising
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 and undivided
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 in its commitment to getting there.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 And in our quest for heaven,
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 faith recognizes
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 that we are stronger together.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 Faith is surrounded.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 The second thing
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 is faith is unhindered.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 We must throw off
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 anything that gets in the way.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 As a younger man,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 I used to go on Christian camps
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 for one reason
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 and one reason only.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:17 Girls.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 From the moment
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 that I arrived at registration,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 I would begin to prowl
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 the other campers
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 looking for pretty girls.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 I would then proceed
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 to place myself
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 in the proximity
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 of pretty girls.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 I would then proceed
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 to do whatever I could
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 to make said pretty girls
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 notice me.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 And you know,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 there was a lot of girls
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 in the youth ministry
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 that I went to,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 so sometimes this was quite
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 a big task.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 But one camp,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 I got particularly ambitious.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 Now,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 you guys might know
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 that I'm not somebody
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 who has really ever
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 in my life struggled
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 particularly with self-confidence.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 But,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 unfortunately,
00:15:59 --> 00:15:59 my self-perception
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 and reality
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 have not always lined up.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 And so,
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 from where I was standing,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 I would strut around
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 registration thinking
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 that, you know,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 Brad Pitt
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 is gracing the halls
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 of camp registration
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 and that any girl
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 with functional eyes
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 is struggling
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 to control herself.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 In reality,
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 I was a little chubby.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 I had a bold haircut
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 and a goofy smile.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 In my perception,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 I was very smooth.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 I was irresistible
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 to the opposite sex.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 I had all the lines
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 ready to go.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 But in reality,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 if any of these girls
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 actually talked to me,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33 all I could manage was,
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 hi.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 Hi.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 But,
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 in spite of reality,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 one year,
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 I got particularly bold.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:43 I spotted
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 a gorgeous girl
00:16:45 --> 00:16:45 at registration.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 I found out her name,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 Alicia.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 She was in year 10.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 I was in year 8.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 To make matters worse,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 my older brother
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 was in year 8
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 and he was actually
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 all the things
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 that I thought I was.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 He was attractive
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 and he was smooth
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 with the ladies.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:03 But,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 remember,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 I hadn't realised
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 that there was barriers
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 like that.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 I was Brad Pitt.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 So,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 eyes on the prize
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 I dedicated myself
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 for the seven days
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 of that camp
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 to pursuing
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 this older woman.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 I was so committed
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 that at mealtimes
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 I sat with her
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 and her friends
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 instead of my friends.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 When it came
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 to picking activities,
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 I chose what she was doing
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 instead of what
00:17:27 --> 00:17:27 I wanted to do.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 Craft was much more exciting
00:17:30 --> 00:17:30 than abseiling.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 In fact,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 for that week,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 I pretended to learn
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 how to whistle
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 because she couldn't whistle
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 and that gave us
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 something to do together.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 I mean,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 come on,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 who can't whistle?
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 I even wrote
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 her little love notes
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 and no self-respecting
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 14-year-old
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 writes any notes,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 let alone love notes,
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 that other people
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 might find out about.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 But I was single-minded
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 in my commitment
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 to the goal
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 of getting this older woman
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 to like me
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 and be my girlfriend.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 Now,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 unfortunately,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 that was my only goal.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 So after I succeeded,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 and I did succeed,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 we started dating
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 for a whopping
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 three weeks
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 and then broke up
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 because I hadn't figured out
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 what happened after
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 I managed to convince her
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 to go out with me.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 Now,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 a quick caveat
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 on this story.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 I'm not endorsing
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 going on camps
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 to pick up girls.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 The moral of the story
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 is not try harder
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 when you're trying
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 to get a boyfriend
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 or girlfriend
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 or husband or wife.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 That's not what I'm saying.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 The point is,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 when you really
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 want something,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 when it is first
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 priority for you,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 you need to forego
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 anything
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 that could slow you down
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 from achieving
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 your goal.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 For us as Christians,
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 faith defines
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 our goal.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 Heaven is the destination.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 That is what we are
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 being prepared for
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 and every step
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 between now and then
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 exists as an opportunity
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 to serve God.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 Every step
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 is an opportunity
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 to be satisfied
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 in God,
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 to enjoy Him
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 and to point
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 other people
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 to see
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 how satisfying
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 He is.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 And so,
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 we've got to
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 throw off
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 anything
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 that gets
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 in the way
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 of that.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 Anything
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 that gets
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 in the way
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 of us serving
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 or enjoying
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 our God.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 Anything
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 that steals
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 our affection
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 from Him.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 One of the questions
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 we need to be asking
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 about everything
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 we do is,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 does this thing
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 help me love God
00:19:27 --> 00:19:29 or does it
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 hinder my love
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 for God?
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 Does it grow
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 my affection
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 for Jesus
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 or does it steal
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 my affection
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 from Jesus?
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 There is no
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 neutral category
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 when it comes
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 to the way
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 that we spend
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 our time
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 and our energy
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 and our money.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 It either
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 drives us forward
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 in our love
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 for God
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 and our enjoyment
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 of Him
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 or it holds us
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 back.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 By definition
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 if it's not
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 helping
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 it's hindering.
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 And so we need
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 to let go
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 of sins
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 that we're
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 holding on to.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 Maybe secret
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 sins
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 that we've
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 kind of
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 conceded on.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 You know
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 the ones
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 that we've
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 kind of
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 gone
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 oh look
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 I'm a sinful
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 person
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 I'm not
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 perfect yet
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 so it's
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 just part
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11 of the deal.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 Throwing
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 those things
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 off means
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 confessing
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 them to God
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 and trusting
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 Him
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 when He says
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 that Jesus
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 has died
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 and risen
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 and that's
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 enough
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 to wash
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 you clean
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 and to
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 transform
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 your heart.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 This isn't
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 about being
00:20:28 --> 00:20:28 perfect
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 but it's
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 about being
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 on a journey
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 an ongoing
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 process of
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 trusting God
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 to keep
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 washing you
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 and keep
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 forgiving you
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 by His grace.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 Plus
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 all this
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 throwing off
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 as well as
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 wrestling with
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 sin and things
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 that are a waste
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 of our time
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 includes letting
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 go of the
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 fear and
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 insecurity
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 that sometimes
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 holds us
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 back from
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 serving God
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 in the ways
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 that He wants.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 Now I know
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 that we don't
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 actually have
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 the ability
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 to switch
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 off that
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 part of
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 the brain
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 that freaks
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 out sometimes
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 but what
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 we do
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 have
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 is the
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 opportunity
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 to take
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 that fear
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 or that
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 anxiety
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 or that
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 uncertainty
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 and take
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 it to
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 the cross.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 What we
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 do have
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 is a
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 cloud of
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 witnesses
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 who are
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 maybe going
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 through the
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 same
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 processes
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 but have
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 learnt
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 how to
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 swap
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 that fear
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 and uncertainty
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 for the
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 confidence
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 in what
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 God has
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 done
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 and in
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 His
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 power
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 instead of
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 in our
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 own
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 power.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 We can
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 trade our
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 fear for
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 the confidence
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 that comes
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 from knowing
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 that we
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 have a
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 Saviour
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 who has
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 proved
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 that He's
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 more powerful
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 than anything
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 we will ever
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 face.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 And when
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 we're free
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 from that
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 hindrance
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 the third
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 thing that
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 our faith
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 will do
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 is release
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 us to
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 run.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 Again
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 Hebrews
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 12
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 end of
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 verse 1
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 let us
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 throw off
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 everything
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 that hinders
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 and the
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 sin that
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 so easily
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 entangles
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 and let
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 us run
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 with
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 perseverance
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 the race
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 marked out
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 for us.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 Run the
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 race.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 Faith is
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 not half
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 hearted or
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 apathetic or
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 lethargic.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 Faith is
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 undivided and
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 committed and
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 energetic and
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 enthusiastic but
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 it's really
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 important that
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 you run
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 your race.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:18 when I was
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 growing up
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 I grew up
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 with a
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 group of
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 guys getting
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 discipled as
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 a teenager
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 and some
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 of those
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 guys were
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 clearly
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 impressive
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 people.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 I had a
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 friend who
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 happened to
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 be into
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 comics but
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 that masked
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 an ability
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 that he had
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 to basically
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 inhale books.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 He's now a
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 minister and
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 the time in
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 his life has
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 come where
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 he's starting
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 to output
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 some of the
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 books that
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 he has been
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 inhaling for
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 the first
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 half of
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 his life.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 He's just
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 recently published
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 his first book
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 on leadership.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 If you're a
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 Christian leader
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 in any capacity
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 I recommend it
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 but that's not
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 the point of
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 what I'm saying.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 He has published
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 this book and
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 it's a significant
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 work and he's a
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 significant guy and
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 he will be known
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 in church and
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 ministry and
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 Christian circles
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 going forward as
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 somebody who will
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 do something
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 significant for
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 God by faith.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 But what I
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 wanted to read
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 to you was the
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 second page.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 It says
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 this,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 for Stu
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 and Tim,
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 the two men
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 God used to
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 bring me to
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 Jesus,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 build me up in
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 him and send
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 me out for
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 him.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 At a stretch
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 the ministry
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 nerds amongst
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 you might have
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 some idea who
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 Tim is.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 He's a kind
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 of fairly
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 significant youth
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 pastor but if
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 not that's fine
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 too.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 But no one
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 here will know
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 who Stu is.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 No one here
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 will know that
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 Stu spent week
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 after week
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 after week while
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 we were in
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 high school
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 sewing into
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 Craig and
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 explaining who
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 Jesus was and
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 what it meant
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 to follow him.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 No one here
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 will know that
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 Stu still calls
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 Craig and
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 me and a
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 bunch of the
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 other guys that
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 he discipled when
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 we were teenagers
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 to encourage us
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 to continue to
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 trust God and
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 live by faith.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 faith.
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 But the key here is
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 Stu has still done
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 something significant
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 by faith.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 It's a different
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 path to the one
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 that Craig who
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 wrote the book
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 is running but
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 he's still running
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 his race.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 He still
00:24:11 --> 00:24:13 sacrificed hours
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 when he was at
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 university and in
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 his early marriage
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 and during his
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 family to sow into
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 ungrateful teenage
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 boys like me and
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 like Craig and like
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 a few others.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 faith doesn't turn
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 Christians into
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 clones.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 It doesn't take
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 away everything
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 about you that's
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 unique and say we
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 all have to do the
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 same things.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 Sure there's some
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 stuff that we're all
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 called to like loving
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 people who don't know
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 Jesus, being humble,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 being generous but in
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 terms of the
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 specifics of the
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 race that God has
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 designed for you,
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 it's your race.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 just like in chapter
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51 11, Noah had a
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 race, Abraham had a
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 race, Enoch had a
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 race.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 Did you notice that
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 Moses' parents got a
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 mention in chapter
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 11?
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 They're not big
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 players in the Bible
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 other than getting a
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 mention here but they
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 did the thing that was
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 required.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 They were bold at a
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 time that boldness was
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 required, they protected
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 their son and then God
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 went on to use Moses
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 significantly.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:16 Some of us might be
00:25:16 --> 00:25:19 called to by faith live
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 in singleness in a way
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 that honors God.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 Some of us might be
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 called by faith to work
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 significantly in caring
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 for those who are
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 desperate and in need in
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 our society.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 Some of us might be
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 called by faith to honor
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 God in the corporate
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 world or in artistic
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 expression or even in
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 ministry.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 But the key is wherever
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 God has placed you,
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 whatever he has put in
00:25:43 --> 00:25:45 your life, get rid of
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 what is slowing you
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 down so that you can
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 run.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 Confess the sin that
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 you're holding on to
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 and being distracted by.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 Trust Jesus to forgive
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 you and run with the
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 energy and freedom that
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 he has won for you.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 I wonder where in your
00:26:03 --> 00:26:05 life tonight God is
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 asking you to trust his
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 promises more fully.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:12 I mean are there any
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 areas of your life,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 maybe it's your job,
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 maybe it's home,
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 maybe it's social,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 whatever it is, are
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 there any areas where
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 trusting Jesus makes no
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 difference right now?
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 And if so, just think for
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 a minute, what difference
00:26:24 --> 00:26:27 would it make if you did
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 trust him there?
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 Faith is about stepping out
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 of your comfort zone.
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 It's about dreaming beyond
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 what you're capable of
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 within yourself and
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 chasing that dream because
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 you believe and trust the
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 promises that God has
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 made.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 Lastly and most
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 importantly, faith is
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 eyes on Jesus.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 Do you ever wish that you
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 knew the future?
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 I mean wouldn't life be
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 easier if you knew how it
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 was going to end up, take
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 stress out of those
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 decisions, out of those
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 uncertainties?
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 Well you do.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 Listen to Hebrews 12
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 again, verse 2.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:13 Let us fix our eyes on
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15 Jesus, the author and
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 perfecter of our faith,
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 who for the joy set before
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 him endured the cross,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 scorning its shame, and
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 sat down at the right hand
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 of the throne of God.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 Consider him who endured
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 such opposition from sinful
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 men, so that you will not
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 grow weary and lose heart.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 See, not only does Jesus
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 make it possible for us to
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 get to heaven, he actually
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 walks the path in front of
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 us to show us what the
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 path is, to show us what it
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 looks like.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 When it says he's the
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 perfecter of our faith, that
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 means he has walked in it, he
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 has lived by faith.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 He trusted his heavenly
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 father.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 He knows the joy, the hope
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 that we hold on to.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 And so he obeys
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 unconditionally everything that
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 his father asks of him.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:02 And now he sits at the
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 right hand of God in heaven,
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 exalted with all authority in
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 heaven and on earth.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 I mean, can you imagine what
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 it would have been like to be
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 Jesus?
00:28:11 --> 00:28:14 Facing torture, being mocked,
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 ultimately being crucified.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 How does he keep walking that
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22 path willingly, by choice?
00:28:22 --> 00:28:30 The answer is, he knew his
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 future.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 He knew what God had
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 promised.
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 He knew that on the other
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 side of his suffering, he would
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 be exalted to the right hand.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 Hebrews chapter 6, a few
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 chapters earlier, talks about the
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 certainty of God's promises,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 about the absolute confidence we
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 can have that God will deliver on
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 everything that he has said he
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 will do.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 And it describes that hope,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 that trust in his promises,
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 that faith, as an anchor for the
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 soul.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 It's an anchor because it
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 guarantees the finish line.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 No matter how dark the
00:29:04 --> 00:29:06 circumstance gets, the anchor
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 makes those circumstances
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 bearable.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 It doesn't make life easy,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:14 but it gives you confidence to
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 keep going.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 It gives you a rock to stand on
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 when the ground is getting
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 uncertain.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:21 It gives you security in the
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 storms to step out and live in
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 light of the power of God.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 And it empowers you to live a
00:29:29 --> 00:29:33 significant life for Jesus, to do
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 more than you're capable of in your
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 own strength.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 Faith is a certain future hope that
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 transforms your uncertain present.
00:29:42 --> 00:29:46 It's a certain future anchor which
00:29:46 --> 00:29:49 makes a difference and has power for
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 everything in your life now.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:55 And so the question for us tonight is,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 what are our eyes focused on?
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 Are you focused on the things that are
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 in your way?
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 The things you can't do, whether it's
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 your own limitations or external
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 factors?
00:30:08 --> 00:30:14 What would it look like if you fixed
00:30:14 --> 00:30:18 your eyes on Jesus, the all-powerful
00:30:18 --> 00:30:21 king, instead of all the reasons you
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 can't?
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 What would it look like if you fixed
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 your eyes on Jesus and the unmatchable
00:30:28 --> 00:30:32 joy that's in him instead of the good
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 but inferior things that he's given you?
00:30:34 --> 00:30:40 This round of activate, what ministry is
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 God calling you to have a go at?
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 Where is he calling you to step out of
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 your comfort zone and trust him and his
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 power instead of your ability or your
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 experience?
00:30:51 --> 00:30:54 What would God do in your life and in
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 this church if we completely surrendered
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 to him in faith?
00:31:00 --> 00:31:03 If like Jesus, we fixed our eyes on the
00:31:03 --> 00:31:08 uncertain future hope and we're able to
00:31:08 --> 00:31:14 give up our own ambition and serve no
00:31:14 --> 00:31:18 matter the cost because that's faith.
00:31:19 --> 00:31:23 It's a certain future hope that transforms
00:31:23 --> 00:31:27 our uncertain present, that has power in
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 our uncertain present.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 Faith is security in God.
00:31:32 --> 00:31:34 It's confidence that he will look after us
00:31:34 --> 00:31:37 because he has said he will and so we can
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 stop chasing our own agenda.
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 We can stop spending our lives trying to
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 look after ourselves because God has
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 promised to do that for us.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:48 Paul expresses faith in Philippians 1 when
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 he says,
00:31:48 --> 00:32:09 Paul can say that because he is secure and
00:32:09 --> 00:32:11 confident that when he finishes the race,
00:32:11 --> 00:32:16 whenever that is, his finish line is heaven.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20 He's confident that no matter what happens,
00:32:20 --> 00:32:23 he will be welcomed into the warm embrace of
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 his heavenly father.
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 God is faithful.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:32 He has a path for you, a faith-filled journey for
00:32:32 --> 00:32:34 his purposes and his kingdom.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:37 So throw off sin.
00:32:38 --> 00:32:42 Throw off anything that entangles and fix your
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 eyes on Jesus.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 Dream.
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 Imagine.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:52 And watch what God will do.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 Amen.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 And watch what life is.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 Amen.
00:32:54 --> 00:32:56 So that's how I see it.
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 Amen.
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 Amen.
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 Amen.