The Fantastic Faith of the Others

is it all right if we take the remaining time and just preach for a little while i feel uh as i began to pray over this service that god gave me a word and i want to as best i can share it with you tonight so while you remain standing if you would turn with me in your bibles we're turning tonight to the book of hebrews chapter 11. amen hebrews chapter 11 and we're going to begin reading in verse 32. hebrews 11 and 32 as you find that in your bibles tonight i do want to just pause and give honor uh and i'm not for sure the exact titles but for your pastor brother de long thank you it is such a encouragement to me to see people from my generation rising up and staying true to this apostolic faith amen

rising up into leadership positions so i give you honor brother de long amen i give honor to you bishop thank you for your kindness and generosity had the privilege of going to eat with him before service and getting to talk with him pick his brain a little bit about leadership in in the nation of new zealand and and i thank you sir i give you honor for your service to this great organization and because i did eat before church my stomach is heavy and i don't know how long i'm going to preach tonight now no one say hallelujah you're amen or thank you jesus or none of that all right it'll make you seem unspiritual to your neighbor so just be real concerned amen

the book of hebrews chapter 11 verse 32 if you're there would you say amen and what shall i say more say for the time would fail me to tell you of gideon and of barrick and samson and jephthah and of david also and samuel and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens women received their dead raised to life again what a list this is the hall of faith what a list of miracles that we have here women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured someone said and others and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection and

for just a moment tonight by the help of the holy ghost i want to minister to you from this subject the fantastic faith of the others amen the fantastic faith of the others hallelujah we've prayed already tonight so you may be seated may god bless you tonight amen faith is the bedrock of christianity it is truly what we are built upon in fact the writer of the book of hebrews earlier in the book of hebrews chapter 11 and verse number six he says without faith it is impossible to please him faith is so central so integral to the christian life that the writer of this inspired scripture tells us you cannot please god without faith as you begin to read through your bible you'll find that various words are used to express this idea of faith but the main word of the word that i'm

not going to pronounce because i didn't go to bible school long enough to get to greek but it's a greek word and it just literally means belief complete and total trust so when you read in your bible that word faith it means complete and total trust and it further comes from a root word a greek root word that i will not try to pronounce again but a greek root word that we actually get our english word paranormal from and it means something that has happened that is against the normal understanding of man embedded within the concept of that word faith that we read in english we are declaring that when i have faith in god i am putting my total trust in something or in someone that i do not really understand in a god that operates in ways that i don't fully grasp that

works in mysterious ways that are contrary to the laws of humanity and of nature that does things that i cannot quantify cannot measure cannot weigh cannot put into a test tube truly when i say i am a man of faith i am claiming that i have total trust in something i cannot explain to you in its totality i cannot fathom his power i cannot understand his reasoning and i feel a lot like job when job declares in chapter 5 and verse 9 he says which doeth great things and unsearchable marvelous things without number i have put my total trust in a god that does unsearchable things then as you continue on in this walk of faith with the lord putting your total trust in a god you cannot understand allowing yourself that dangerous moment where you step out and you say okay god i i

cannot see you i cannot quantify you i cannot fully describe you but i am going to let go of myself and hold on to this god that i trust in and believe with all my heart when i can get to that dangerous tipping point it unleashes god to do the supernatural in my life so long as i'm holding on to myself so long as i'm holding on to my power and saying i will not trust a god that i cannot quantify it shackles what god is able to do in your life but in that moment where you can come to total trust in that moment where you can come to absolute faith in this god then god says now watch what i can do in your life when you step out and you put your hope in a god that you have never even seen

god begins to work in your life in supernatural ways in fact the bible says that when i put my faith in him that this is the vehicle or the mechanism by which the greatest miracle will ever transpire in my life paul writes it like this in ephesians chapter 2 and verse number 8 he says for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift of god now let us just pause for a moment here because that defies logic that defies reason if you're just real honest with yourself every day that i have to look myself in the mirror i have to admit i probably wouldn't love me knowing what i know about me i probably wouldn't forgive me knowing what i know about me i probably wouldn't call me to be a missionary or to sit on an

apostolic pew in this great church but god does not go by the logic of man and god is not shackled by the reasoning of humanity and so he says you know what i work in ways you don't understand and my love is great and deep and unsearchable and i can love you when you can't love yourself and i can forget well i just feel the holy ghost on a wednesday night god can forgive you when nobody else will forgive you and when you can't even forgive yourself if you can step out and put trust in the master god says i can wash you pure and clean i can make you a vessel of honor i can do a work in your life i can abide in a heart that'll put total trust and confidence in me and it's nothing that i did to earn it

i don't deserve it i cannot claim that i did the work first and then i took the first step in fact we air often in the bible or in the church rather for we and i have been guilty of it too we often say things like well when i came to the lord or when i found jesus and we understand what we're saying and what we mean and that's there's nothing wrong necessarily with that but if we want to just be right i didn't come to jesus he came to me i didn't find him he found me and when i was lost he left the 99 that don't make sense the math doesn't work out but god said i don't work like you work and i can do that in your life and the bible says in romans chapter 5 and verse number 8 but

god commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners god or christ died for us who can understand a god like that who can understand a god that works in ways like that who can fathom a god of such grace and of such mercy but it's not just salvation that faith unlocks in my life it's miracles that begin to happen in my life things that i cannot explain to you things that i cannot make sense of when i put my faith in god god says i can do things that defy the logic of the doctors that defy the logic of your own mind this is why this woman that touched the hymn of his garment in matthew chapter 9 and verse 22 jesus turned him about and he saw this woman and he said daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath

made thee whole when i put my faith in god when i put my total trust in him and this woman said if i can just get to jesus if i can just touch had anyone touched his garment i don't know but i just think if i can get to him if i can just touch any part of him god can do a work and can i tell you that god is still doing miracles in 2021 and god is still the healer of sick bodies in 2021 and god is still the provider for people that are in need in this day his miracles are not locked in the bible his miraculous power is not trapped in scripture but god says if you'll still put your total trust in me i can do a work that you cannot understand can i just testify for a moment my

wife went to the doctor uh years ago and the doctor took a bunch of tests and he came back and he said miss borders i have bad news for you you are exhibiting all the signs of lupus and oh here's your chart here's the readouts whatever it was here's an abnormality here we think that's going to test out and that's going to prove to be lupus we're going to run some more blood work but we already know what it's going to say so they ran the work and they said come back tomorrow for the results and i went home and i can still see myself and apartment f9 and norman oklahoma and i began to praise it god i cannot deal with this i don't know what's going to come of this but god i need a miracle right now i need you to intervene

and when we went back to the doctor the next day the doctor came in to my wife and he said ma'am i don't know what happened there was an abnormality on the chart it was there yesterday but it is not there in this new work can i tell you that when you put your i can't heal lupus but my god can heal lupus i can't heal cancer but my god can heal cancer i can't open doors and provide jobs but my god can and when i come to that moment where i say god i trust you then god begins to so i don't know what you have need of on this wednesday night but i've come tonight to tell you put your trust in god and watch what god can do in your life oh hallelujah

god can do the work that man cannot do god can heal the body that this doctor cannot heal god and god alone can you tell me how he did it i have no idea can you tell me when it happened i don't know when it happened i just know that this great god did the work i know that this god intervened on my behalf thank god that when i put my faith in him miracles and the supernatural take place in my life and when we come to hebrews chapter 11 we see this it's just all laid out for us there in this hall of faith miracles supernatural works in fact if i'm just being honest i feel a little inadequate reading that chapter i think my god look at these great men and women of god look what he's done look at these miracles look

at how god is working and the list goes on and on and on and armies are turned back and dead is raised and sicknesses and lies spared and so on and on and on and on it goes and then we come to this abrupt dead end in verse 35 it feels like you just hit a wall you're just this choo-choo train going along miracle miracle choo choo boom you hit that colon in verse 35 and it says and others were tortured and when i read that i thought now wait a minute well that don't sound like a miracle to me i don't know what torture they did i don't know if they stretched them out i don't know if they beheaded them i don't know if they did the water torture drop thing i don't know what they did but whatever there is no way

for you to take the word torture and get miracle out of it i don't care what kind of greek and latin you know it ain't there i say that by faith because i don't know but i feel pretty positive i highly doubt there's a translation anywhere out there that's so bold to drop the word torture and put in and others received miracles and others were tortured the bible you says i've put my faith in this god that can do anything and i rejoice when he does something but it's a lot harder to put my faith in a god that does nothing see i can put my faith in a god that i don't understand what he does but it's hard to put my faith into god that i don't understand why he doesn't because i guarantee you these others these nameless others were people just

like me and you i don't think they were angels i don't think they were supernatural beings and in the moment in the pain they probably did what every one of us would have done jesus deliver me now i know i'm taking just a little interpretive liberty but i'm reading some humanity into the scripture here because i know if i was being tortured i wouldn't be doing what christ did forgive them for they know not what they do i'd be saying god help god deliver me god get me out of this and yet the bible says that they were tortured and did not accept deliverance what it means is that the offer was made deny christ that total trust you've put in him just recall it and will spare your life recall your total trust rethink your faith and you can live and these others said

i will not i will not do you understand what he do i have no idea what he's doing do you know where he is i have no idea where god is in this moment he's not answering your prayers isn't that proof that your faith is in vain no it is not because even when i cannot see and even when i do not understand i put my total trust in a god that is above me i cannot understand why he's doing this i don't know why he doesn't answer my prayer but i still trust in the lord my god dear friend you hear me on this wednesday night it does not matter where you're at if you're walking in humanity you're going to go through seasons in your life where you wonder where god is you're going to go through seasons in your life where you

pray and you pray and you pray and god does not intervene for reasons known only to god and in that moment the devil creeps in and says see there is no god see your faith is in vain all that time spent at church all that time spent worshiping it is in vain but these others demonstrated this fantastic faith when they said you know what though he slay me yet still will i trust him though i die though i perish though i don't get my miracle i still believe he is god and he's still on the throne and i hope to one day ascribe to that faith and rise to that level of fantastic faith where i can say though he slay me though i am in the valley though i'm still sick in my body though i still don't have the door opened in front

of me yet still will i trust in the name of the lord dear friend i've come to remind you tonight that god is still god no matter what the circumstances of your life you may be with the others feeling a little tortured tonight but keep your faith in god keep holding on to the lord your rock because he's still god and if i can ever come to the place where in the midst of crisis i'm holding on to my faith and in the midst of the carnality of this world i'm holding on to my faith i know there will be a reward you see in hebrews chapter 11 and verse 35 it says and others were tortured not accepting the deliverance that was offered to them if they denied their faith why that they might obtain a better resurrection you can give me life in

this world but my god that i put my faith in can give me everlasting life after death you can take me off the torture table but god can give me a mansion in heaven you can get me out of the dungeon but god can give me a mansion you can ease my suffering for a moment but he can take me to a place where there will be no more tears and no more night and so no thank you mr torturer no thank you mr jailor i think i'll keep my faith and i'll take my reward when it comes because if i can hold my faith there's gonna come a day and there's gonna come an hour that no man knows of but the lord shall return and we're going to be caught up to meet him in the air and all of a sudden looking

down from heaven every valley every moment of torture i can say it was worth it it was worth it i held my faith i ran this race and god did not lie to me heaven is real had i obtained my eternal reward but i'll never make it if i cannot get a firm grip on faith like the others had if i've got to go from just miracle to miracle to sit to sustain my faith i will falter somewhere in the valley but if i made up in my mind you know what my faith is not just in miracles my faith is in the god of the miracles i'm going to make it come what may whatever happens around the world i am still putting my faith in god i will not sacrifice my faith in the valley i will not lose hold on my walk

with god in the midst though he slay me yet still will i trust him and paul you can stand with me i'm coming to a close if it's all right musicians you can come paul lists this list of things that he has endured a night and a day in the deep perils of countrymen and perils of strangers and lashes upon my back torture moments of uncertainty where i have no doubt that even the apostle paul wondered is it worth it and yet paul will write these words in second timothy chapter four and verse number seven he says i have fought a good fight i have finished my course i have kept my faith my total trust in a god i did not understand i have kept it even when you were tortured paul i kept it even when you prayed and it seemed like god

didn't intervene i kept it even when everything came against you i kept it okay paul great job what's all that mean verse eight second timothy chapter four henceforth or because of that there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness the lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to be only put unto all them and all that that love has appearing dear friend i know it's wednesday night and i just felt this in the holy ghost to help someone but maybe you felt like you've been enduring some torture whatever it is whatever's going on in your life those valley seasons as we often call them and you felt that whisper of the enemy god's not there just go ahead and quit you've been faithful to church and you're still here just go ahead and give up and i've come

to remind you you can keep your faith even in the valley and there's a great cloud of witnesses that surround us and i hear that great cloud saying run on run on there's a crown run on there's a reward and the others that are in heaven right now run on it's real there really are streets of gold there really are mansions prepared there really is a river of life there really are trees that bear fruit in their season there really is a throne run on in faith so i encourage this great congregation would you just bow your head with me hallelujah and would you begin to talk to the lord now for just a moment god i'm recommitting no god i don't understand why i'm in this season no god i don't understand what's going on right now but i will not take the easy

way out i will not turn and run i'm holding this faith i'm holy god would you just take a moment now and just between you and the lord make a fresh commitment to your faith just make a fresh commitment to your faith here i am god you can survive this season still i will trust you still i will follow still i we got several just reaching out desperate for god i just feel like there are some others in the room and by that i mean people who are seeing the opposite of miracles right now people who whose life feel devoid of miracles if you find yourself in a place right now that you need a miracle but you're going to seek god over the miracle you you feel like you're in that other category would you just lift your hand and be vulnerable in the

presence of god and say yeah i'm facing some things and i need the strength of god i need the help of god there's some individuals fighting for their faith in the room tonight i wonder if we just be sensitive here for just a moment just a season we'll sing this again but keep your hand lifted if you would and we're going to rally behind these individuals that are fighting for that faith and pursuing god let's sing that again and let's pray in the name of jesus oh god we're going to seek you over the miracles we're going to hold on to this faith lord knowing there's something better there's a better hope there's a better resurrection oh god oh every person who's in that category of other tonight they're not seeing the miracles just yet but they're seeking the god of the miracles we pray

the strength of god we pray the peace of god we pray the great comforter we come alongside them along with the body as we bear one another's burdens in the name of jesus