Help My Unbelief | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

remain standing to your feet what an awesome God man what up which is a beautiful presence of the Lord just fell in this house tonight thank you worship team Thank You choir thank you Pastor Carpenter we got we got a sang and Pastor don't we aren't we thankful aren't we thankful for a pastor that can bring the Holy Ghost down oh oh we know you do he said I just love him and we know we know that give him honor give first lady honor Matthew chapter 11. just going to read very quickly and you're here in a couple passages First Matthew chapter 11 verse 3. this is John the Baptist disciples they're bringing a message from John to Jesus question end of verse 3 says art thou he that should come or do we look for another verse 4 Jesus answered and said unto them go and show John again those things which you do hear and see Jesus said the blind received their sight in the lame walk the lepers are cleansed into death here the dead are raised up in the poor have the gospel preached to them one more one more scripture in your hearing now let's be seated Mark chapter 9 and verse 24. simply says this straight way the father of the child cried out and said with tears Lord I believe help thine mine unbelief I just want to minister just just in your hearing if Pastor If he if he preaches thoughts that are as deep as a Walmart puddle I think all the water's been evaporated for me but bear with me we're going to preach for a little while in this place help my unbelief that's that's our prayer today Father help listen I've got faith I'm not gonna I'm not gonna deny I have faith but I want more faith come on you just lift up both hands to heaven and let's pray the Lord and ask him for that just very thing tonight father Lord I need more faith I need another level of Faith Lord I'm disbelieving Lord in this place tonight you're gonna you're gonna build faith in this place oh God tonight that there are going to be miracles signs and wonders that the choir has been singing about I I just believe in this place tonight Lord there's people with the needs there's people all that have come tonight wanting to receive looking to receive a miracle in their life God I believe in faith is going to break out in this room help thou mine unbelief we pray this in Jesus name come on if you agree with me clap your hands up to the Lord somebody shall I agree say I agree and then just say Amen you may be seated help my unbelief faith is is not an answer that you can just check a box yes or no matter of fact if I were to ask you tonight how many in this place have faith you would have to ask me a question in response and say faith for what because all faith is not equal matter of fact all throughout the Bible I'm just going to cover this a few tonight but all throughout the New Testament especially we find that there's all different levels of faith Faith such as I'm I got a couple I got a couple of pictures to show you because I just kind of like it's uh a lot of times people can see it people can understand it but levels of Faith are are kind of like airplanes if you will and um if you if you don't understand the law of aerodynamics in in sustained lift if I show you this first picture right here of the Wright brothers in North Carolina and the first the very the very first flight it's probably not hard for all of us any of us every one of us to have enough Faith to say you know what if you've seen a kite fly you could probably imagine that this 605 pound flying machine can probably get some lift and get some air under its wings and December the 17th 1903 sure enough Orville Wright flew this vessel for 120 feet at the Breakneck ground speed of 34 miles an hour and first in flight the Wright brothers they and it took Faith don't get me wrong it took a Measure of Faith there there had to be some Faith involved I sure wouldn't have wanted to be Orville writer even though he wasn't flying very high off the ground I'm not the guy that wants to crash that thing uh into the ground and and I do give him honor for the faith that he had that he understood aerodynamics in this law of lift enough to believe that his flight and his airplane could take off but then I got to looking online because you know I I go to brother Google and I ask him questions and and I looked and I thought what I said what is the heaviest airplane to ever fly because this is just where my mind I I've flown in a Mississippi crop duster that sounded like a a buzzing bee I've flown I've flown on on Double Decker planes going to Australia I've flown on Boeing I don't even know the numbers behind them they're big numbers though and and there was a lot of people on the flight and and I just got to imagine that there had to be a lot of weight going on that flight but uh this this next picture here when I found this plane I thought to myself surely whoever got in that plane the the the crew the airline crew that got in that plane for the first flight for the maiden voyage of that flight they had to be crazy brother Poole I mean look at that thing show me show me the next picture because it did fly I think he's got one two three four five six seven eight sets of wheels in the back on both sides and that's a that's a I'm not throwing off but that's a Ukrainian vessel it's Ukraine's Mariah Mariah m-r-i-y-a Mariah it made us made in Voyage flight in 1988. it's 276 feet long and it can transport 551 000 pounds of cargo at the speed of 528 miles an hour I'm talking about whoever decided that that thing could lift off the ground I don't even know I tried to find how fast does that have to go in order to get some lift under it but you you realize what I'm trying to say there's a difference in the level of faith and believe in that thing can fly or believe in this right here can fly somewhere along the way we we've got to realize that even in our walk with God there's different levels of faith and and I believe in and God made it uh the Bible makes it very very uh obvious and and very sure that we've all been given a Measure of Faith but even with that measure of faith we we find this in Romans 12 3 God have dealt to every man The Measure of Faith even with this measure we can decide whether we're going to build it up or we're going to Snuff it out he gives us each for the Schnitzer he gives us each enough say just enough Faith to where we can build it up and we can believe or we can say you know what I don't believe there's there's atheists there's agnostics there's all kinds of people out there that have no faith they don't believe that they don't even believe there is a God or they believe a God that you can't even have a relationship with but I'm so thankful in this place today I believe we have saints of God who are building up the faith that they've been given and it seems to me that it's usually the people that shouldn't have faith that have faith and we see this overseas a lot a lot of times we'll go we'll go over to the Philippines or we'll go over I've been to Nigeria been to Kenya been Uganda I've been to a lot of these third world Nations where where those people don't have two dimes to rub together but they have this unbelievable faith and because they have this unbelievable Faith things happen for them and to them that aren't Happening Here in the states and I gotta believe it sometimes because we we have what I call Faith amnesia that God does things for us and God provides for us and and God pro he provides Miracles he gives us signs and he performs wonders in our life and for some reason somehow we just can't conjure up that memory when we need it the most can anybody give me a witness to just wave your hand at me and say I've been there before I sure know that I have I've been to those times and in those places in those situations and and I've said God how am I going to get out of this situation God how are you going to help me through this Lord this sickness is in my body God how am I gonna make it through and somewhere along the way we've got to realize I open up your mind and remember what God has done for you and for me in the pastor somebody shall praise the Lord Faith amnesia I gotta believe it's it's Mark 4 and 36 that lets us know that we're not alone because even in a storm when Jesus was on the boat his own disciples couldn't remember that the Savior the deliverer was on the boat with them verse 30 verse 36 says and when they had sent away the multitude they took him Jesus even as he was in the ship and and there were also with him others in their Little Ships around and and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so it was now full and he was in the higher part of the ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and say unto him master Charis thou not that we perish and he arose and rebuked the wind and the Sea he said peace be still in the wind ceased and there was a great calm and here's verse 40 right here this tells me I'm not alone because it says and he said unto them why are you so fearful how is it that you have no faith he looked at his own disciples and he said are you serious right now are you are you being for real with me right now how do you not have faith in me how in the world to you who have witnessed everything that I've done up to this point how can you come to me and say do you not care about us here we are we better be careful because we can we could be in a storm of our own and and we can see the very same things that these these disciples saw they saw just previously just a chapter before Jesus is healing the man with the withered hand just the chapter before he's taken leprosy out of a body just one chapter before with these same men he's doing notable Miracles that they cannot deny but here we are and Jesus is in the boat and he's standing there and the wind has ceased in the water the waves have stopped crashing into the boat and he's standing there and he's going come on guys are you kidding me do you really have no faith but we notice here in the in the reading that people that have little faith people that mix their faith with the deficiency of Faith they're always complaining they're always selfish they're always finger-pointing they're saying Lord don't you care that we perish Jesus don't you see me don't you see the trial that I'm in don't you understand the circumstance that I'm in and there are to being I begin to study faith and there there ought to be a progression of Faith with our walk with God it's okay to have little faith when we're babes in Christ and and Pastor talked about this this morning it's okay if we're just brand new in the church there's going to be times when when all your focus is Inward and you're worried about yourself and and it's a self-focus and I get that when you first get in church but there comes a time when we've got to mature and we've got to stop looking at self and we got to start looking outside of ourselves and realize there is a lost world there are people sitting on the pews with us that need God even as we need God as we mature our little faith progresses into great faith and we get to level two Faith which the Bible defines in Hebrews chapter 11 as the substance of things hoped for it's the evidence of Things Not Seen it's the substance of hope it's the evidence of the Unseen great faith includes mentally and spiritually seen things as though they were great faith doesn't give up until a request is granted the Centurion in Matthew chapter 8 he asked Jesus he says I need you to heal my servant matter of fact look with me in Matthew 8 and 7. Jesus said unto him I will come and heal your servant in the Centurion he answered and said Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof he said but speak the word only in my servant shall be healed for I am a man under Authority Heaven soldiers unto me and I say to this man go he goeth and another come and he cometh into my sermon do this and he doeth it when Jesus heard it watch this right here he marveled Jesus I'm talking about the Son of God marveled and he said unto them following him verily I send you I have not found so great faith no not in Israel he looks at his ass Bibles and says where is your faith why don't you have any faith and he looks at a centurion and he says listen you're not even a disciple of mine you've just heard the good reports of the healing that I'm performing but you have greater Faith even than those that are following me he said I Marvel at the fact that you have faith and you understand oh my God I don't want to be the person who's saying oh God are you going to take care of me huh oh God do you see me where I am oh God you see my family right now I want to be like the Centurion this is God it's not about me if you will just speak the word everyone in my home is going to be okay everything's gonna be all right marriages are going to come back together I believe finances are going to improve if you'll just speak the word I'm preaching about great faith humility during a crisis gets the attention of the Healer just like entitlement gets us nowhere in title it is nothing more than self-centered view of life that makes us feel like we deserve Jesus showing up in our crisis God help me not to have the spirit of entitlement upon any part of my life I don't want the spirit of entitlement when it comes to Healing I don't deserve healing in my body that's something that's not a right for me that's not something that was planned something that was promised it's simply the Bible says the word of God says that there is healing in the church by his stripes we are healed but there's no problem it's not something I'm entitled to well let me set a foundation very sorely and I promise you we'll go somewhere with this but oh God help me create Faith causes us to say I'm not worthy but if you'll just speak the word I'll go home from church tonight and just believed in my crisis has come to a conclusion I'll leave this place tonight and just believe that's what the Centurion did he just said hey speak the word I'll go home and I'll witness whatever just happened to whatever you spoke some of us didn't hear this place tonight listen it might happen right in front of your face in my heaven before our eyes but if we have great faith we could go home believe in her when I get there everything is gonna be okay when I reach my house everything is gonna be okay matter of fact it was at the exact time that Jesus said your servant is healed he looked at the time and he went home and his servant had been healed from that very moment I'm preaching about great faith level one faith is just a measure it's just a little favor in level two faith is great faith but level three faith is a whole another spectrum of Faith because it's what we call no wavering or unwavering faith you see there's a progression of faith we can build upon our faith I'm going I promise you I'm going somewhere with this I cannot wait to preach about John the Baptist but we got to understand we can't all look around and feel that everybody has the same measure of Faith because we don't we've all been given some Faith but some have built upon the faith and some have not God help us to build up our faith unwavering Romans 4 and 20. I want to preach about unwavering Faith because this is the top of the top the Bible says he's staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that he had had promised he was able also to perform simply put his like this he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief to waver is defined as to be undecided between two opinions and if you really have a faith that is unwavering you don't go one day and say I don't know and the next day say I believe you get a lifestyle it's who you are it's it's the it's your very being I have unwavering Faith it's my identity I just believe at all times that God can do it will he do it I don't know but I believe that God can do it I wish there's somebody in this place I feel the Holy Ghost right about now I wish there's somebody in this place who would shake their fist at the enemy and say I know you've been talking in my ear I know you've been telling me lies I know you've been telling me my family's gonna remain lost I know you've been telling me to give up I know you didn't tell me to give in but I have unwavering faith and I believe I choose to believe in my God somebody shout great faith oh I want a mindset I want a lifestyle I want an identity that people look at me and don't have to question what I believe but they just say I know he's a man of unwavering faith which brings me to John the Baptist our our opening text Matthew chapter 11 is telling us the account of John the Baptist as he is locked up in prison John the Baptist had a crazy backstory we were introduced to him we're not introduced to many people like this but we're introduced to him in the womb of his mother that's not where we're usually introduced but but I will I will I will move into the pro-life movement right there I had a plan for your life before you were born I don't want to get on a soap box but but you and I were both sickened by by a certain state in the United States of America they voted in that a doctor was not allowed to bring a child and help a child stay alive if you will if they weren't one and my God every child is wanted let me tell you something we met John the Baptist when he was yet in the womb of his mother there was already a prayer plan there was a calling on that young man's life God knew exactly what he wanted him to do he had a purpose for him and a plan for him and all he had to do was follow the will of God foreign Mary the mother of Jesus her cousin Elizabeth now Mary's young Mary's they saved somewhere between 14 and 17. she's young she's expecting Jesus carrying Jesus comes in in the room with Elizabeth her cousin and the Bible said that John within the belly of Elizabeth jumped oh because he knew he was in the presence of the one he's about to be the Forerunner of this is the same the same John weights and I'm not going to go into tradition I'm not going to go into all the levitical things but until he's about 30 years old he's just a little bit ahead just a few months ahead about about six months or so ahead of Jesus he's born he does the whole he the Bible says he lived in the backside of the desert Bible said that he ate honey and locusts the Bible said he wore Campbell's hair as a as a as a coat as a cover and he he lived a life of uncomfort oh he just wandered until the day when it was the plan of God for him to step out of the Wilderness and step into being the Forerunner of Christ he had one job anybody ever heard that I've heard that I've been told that before my wife said Chad you had one job if I've ever had a Instagram video to have the possibility of going viral it was the day that my littles discovered our ice maker on our refrigerator James man they got up they I videoed them because I walked in and couldn't believe what was happening I heard a commotion and and they had toys stacked up in front of the refrigerator in Windsor was on her tiptoes on top of the top toy and she was just holding down the ice maker bun and those I I was in and bounced off the floor and they were laughing all hysterically they thought it was the greatest thing ever and at first I was going to tell him to stop it I was like this is too good of a video and I really didn't think about that my wife would see the video I'm laughing I'm showing it to her she's like Ted you had one job you're supposed to be watching the kids you know but we could we could call we could call John one job John because that's really all he had he he was born for one reason he was born for one that's all listen one reason he was to be the Forerunner of Christ he never got married he obviously never had children he never had the opportunity of having grandchildren he didn't own a home he didn't have a place he called us on he listen he didn't have he had nothing he had one job he comes out of the desert he starts baptizing people under repentance he even got to baptize Jesus right you know the story I don't have to go through the story but but very soon after that he he kind of gets into herod's face King herod's face and and he says hey you done married your brother's wife and that's a sin you can't be doing that because he was a prophet he said you can't be doing that and Harry's wife got upset said throw him in your prison so here here John is he has done his one job he has he's been the Forerunner of Christ he he made sure that Behold the Lamb of God he's going to baptize you with fire I mean he's done his one job and now he finds himself in a king's prison eating whatever people eat when the queen hates you and you got to imagine with me listen he he was the last of the Old Testament prophets he was the last one he was a Malachi prophesied about John yeah Isaiah prophesied about John there's coming a prophet he's going to make the way straight they prophesied about the last and final Old Testament Prophet even Jesus Christ himself said there was nobody like John never walked the earth a man like John so follow with me and please understand that when John finds himself in the king's prison he had to be discouraged after he was there for some I don't know four or five months here he is and he's wondering what is going on in my life he's in a state of depression come on you and I would be there too you and I would be in the same place the same predicament as him he had the enemy I'm sure whispering in his ear just like the enemy Whispers in our ear you've wasted your entire life preparing the way for someone who has no military experience he has no way of overthrowing the Roman Empire what are you doing we understand that right we understand that that the Jews they thought that a messiah was coming and they were gonna they're gonna have this great Army they're gonna over overthrow the Roman Empire they thought they were coming in they're gonna they're gonna have a king again they're gonna have royalty again and that's not that was not the plan of Jesus but it took John a little while to figure it out but the Devil he's he's speaking in his ear he's he's in the prison cell he's he's a lost hope he's lost faith and he begins to even doubt if Jesus is the Messiah after all and I'll come back oh I'll come back to John because I can't wait to continue to preach about John but what about you and me what about when we're in the storm that we're currently in and all the mental prison cell that we find ourselves currently in oh God let me tell you something if we're not careful we can allow the wrong voices to speak into our lives we can allow the wrong the wrong voices to start telling us things and and all you should be treated a whole lot better don't they know what you've done for the kingdom of God don't you don't they realize what you've given up in order to go to that church don't they realize you're wearing you're wearing cows hair for a coat you're eating wild locusts and honey you're living out you don't have a house you don't have a life you don't have kids and we can start feeling sorry for ourselves whole poor pitiful me let me tell you something we all do it we've all done it we've all been there things have happened in our lives that were not fair I'll tell you a personal story and I I don't want to over share but I grew up I grew up in Upstate New York I grew up in a home missions church and you a lot of you have heard my story but I was the only young person I went to public school my whole life I never had an Apostolic friend in school matter of fact I never had a friend I didn't I just learned how to be a good acquaintance I grew up in heaven my brother my brother went off to Bible school when I was still in a middle school I didn't listen I don't want you to feel sorry for me I just grew up and learned how to not have friends I don't throw off my parents for my parents were there for me my parents would love me my parents took good care of me but the fact of the matter was I was going to a I was going to a second school and I didn't have anybody I wasn't living in the Bible Belt we didn't have Maryville youth 20 minutes away 30 minutes away 45 the nearest church was probably over two hours away at all I know I've got some I got some former New York New York people in here so you know what I'm talking about you feel all alone I've got people from Washington State you feel all you're up in the corners of the U.S you feel all by yourself you're not down in Louisiana Tennessee Texas you you're all by yourself and you just learn how to cope and you'll learn how to not really have true friends like you would like to have so all through high school I moved to North Carolina same thing happened again took a small Church to Heaven you I was the only young person the the only one you see right here that was me there was there was a 40 year old a 45 year old and Mom and Dad and me that was that was all we started with went to public school didn't know assault High Brian High School my junior year of all things my junior year had to start all over but you know what it didn't really matter because I don't have any friends anyways but I knew how to be liked okay I knew I knew how to be liked I knew how to be a good acquaintance I figured out I figured out I was friendly I figured out I figured out how to talk to people and how to try to win people over and even though we couldn't be friends because we didn't believe the same thing and they did their thing and I didn't do what they did right I I I didn't go I wasn't a part of it I was told after the fact that my my junior senior class voted me on to the to the junior senior prom court didn't have one friend among them but they thought man Chad Eric so let's put him on the court I don't know so I went to University went to University guess what didn't have any friends didn't care I never had any close friends didn't know any better didn't care but I went to Bible School when all sudden I'm immersed with all these Apostolic young people that believe the same thing I believe but but the problem was I didn't know how to make a friend I didn't know how to allow people into my life into my inner circle because for so long I had always keep people in arms baby because I didn't want to end up like that so I had to keep them at Arms laying so my second year of Bible school now don't get me wrong I I love I I went to school with some great people and I made some some great friends but not close friends until this young man named Patrick Wilson came up to IBC never heard of him never heard of his dad never heard of his church never heard of Potts Camp Mississippi never heard never never heard of that but man Patrick was just just so cool and he was a good basketball player good golfer good drummer all the girls liked him and so I was just smart enough like if I'm gonna find a first friend this guy is where I want to be so man let me tell you something I finally found my close friend finally found somebody somebody that I could be close friends with that we could confide in more than the Queens you do follow me something I felt cared about me so we went to Bible school we sang and praise together went down from uh from IBC and and graduated from IBC and went and Patrick said hey man come come uh the Wilsons he said come live with my family for the summer he said man Daniel put us to work we'll get some work done and and we'll just see what happens well uh I went off and and took a youth pastor in in Blue Mountain Mississippi and Patrick went back to Bible School it was cool though man everything was awesome just just having that close friend somebody we called we talked all the time how's Bible school going how's Blue Mountain going we go back and forth here we come I moved to Maryville Tennessee in 1999 and and you know uh everything's going good man we have competition and end of May we have competition Patrick brings his his boys basketball team and his girls volleyball team he's the he's the head coach of both and man they cream everybody it was okay though because he's my close friend didn't care it wasn't about it wasn't about a month later June the 13th 1999 at 1 30 p.m on a Sunday afternoon got a phone call from Patrick's sister Stephanie couldn't hardly understand her I just got enough out to hear her say Patrick is in the lake and we can't find him and everything in my head I started thinking well Patrick I mean he's one of the most athletic people I've ever met he's gone he's swam to the woods I remember thinking he saws he swam to the woods he's in the woods he's laughing at them because he was a jokester he's looking out he's laughing at them about 15 minutes later got another phone call he's still not out of the water we still can't find him I started getting scared I thought God come on now you've given me one friend you give me this one and not just a friend this is my first friend I thought this can't be happening get another phone call about an hour later they've pulled his body up out of the water he said I said your friend Patrick he's gone 23 years old had a whole life in front of him he's dead he's gone let me tell you something I cannot lie to you and tell you that I don't have thoughts going through my mind I'm talking dark thoughts I'm talking thoughts of God why why would you allow this to happen God how could this even take place God of all people this this was he had more potential than anybody I've ever met I started thinking you you start feeling sorry for yourself you know those inward thoughts your your faith starts to dwindle and you start thinking inwardly and you start thinking God come on come on you gave me you finally gave me a good friend and now you're going to take my friend away I see how it is you're gonna take the only person I really felt really cared you call me want to know about my youth group and Maryville want to know how many we had a huge service he he would call asking about our Ball Teams why are you gonna take my only friend away from me I'll be caring listen oh I went through some dark times and listen there was a smile on my face but on the inside I was not smiling hurt hurt my faith was wavering my faith was wavering my my faith was not where it should have been my heart was broken and like all I could think about I felt like I was in a Cell very similar to where John the Baptist was in I was in this storm that I just could not see out of the Waves were tossing my boat to and fro oh the wind was rocking us and I did not know how to overcome the thoughts and the feelings but I began to pray even at that time I said Todd I need you to help my unbelief God if you'll just give me just a little more Measure of Faith oh God I promise you I'll Believe In You Lord God but give me more faith because I cannot make it on the faith that I have right now and don't you know even with John the Baptist Jesus told this service he said in Matthew 11 and 6 he says blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me he said blessed is he that doesn't look to me and say why God why did you do it how could you do this to me blessed is he that doesn't ask the questions do you even care let me tell you something death never makes sense sickness oh my God if it's you or a loved one it never makes sense disease in the body it's always gonna floor us there's never a time when you're just gonna be okay with it and accept it whether it's Financial strain or marital strain whatever it is I promise you those things are gonna hit you right in the gut but Jesus said blessed are they who are not offended in me blessed is he who doesn't lose Faith due to the circumstances come on think about this if anybody could have been offended with Jesus if anybody could have played the blame game and would have been justified in doing it it would have been John the Baptist but Jesus sent John's disciples back to him with proof he said I want you to see that I truly am the Messiah I truly am the Christ you have been waiting for I know all of our faith it can waver at times and and we can we can step back and ask God to prove himself I realized that but I want you to see in Scripture that Jesus did not answer John's disciples right off he said I want to prove myself to you so you can go back and share with John exactly who I am the Bible says he began to heal the blind began to see he began to heal the blind he began to Proclaim Liberty to the captive oh and all of a sudden when the disciples went back to John they said I I believe this sounds like Isaiah speaking when he said the Lord hath anointed me to preach Good Tidings under the meek he has sent me to the blind to bind up the Brokenhearted to Proclaim Liberty to the captive and the opening of the prison to them that are powered to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord he was simply saying I want you to know John you don't understand my ways I know John that what I'm doing doesn't make sense in your life but I want you to know also that God's ways are perfect his ways are not our ways his ways are are perfect I don't understand why a Jeff Rutherford would have to die at such a young age Bobby long would have to tie a Kathy Belcher Angie Macintosh Tommy mckeith and Jim Harwood Cheryl Murray James R Stevens Joe Johnson caring for gosso Karen Kirby Danny Ray Bryant Rhonda Johnson and I the list goes on and on and on I don't understand all I can say is that his ways are perfect all I can say there has to be a reason oh we can't understand it right now but pie and Pie when the morning comes with all the saints of God on Gathering home we'll tell the story of how we've overcome and we'll understand it all better by and by they sing a song you may be seeing they sing a song this morning entitled deliver and as I began to hear the words it broke me because it says and never alone in the battle he'll see us through never alone in the desert he'll see us through never alone in the fire he'll see us through Never Alone the water never alone in depression never alone in Addiction in our anxiety he'll see us through in Darkest Hours in our darkest thoughts he'll see us through in every circumstance he'll see us through the chorus says if I know one thing our God is a deliverer if I know one thing our God is gonna see us through and this morning to your service I I want you to know the thought hit my mind but wait a minute what about John the Baptist I'd already been getting ready for this message the thoughts were already going over in my mind I thought to myself he never was delivered from prison what about him but then a still Small Voice spoke to my heart and said really are you sure about that is he still there in prison I got thinking okay okay God I I feel like I know where you're going with this I feel I feel like I know where you're taking me with this but I began to think about John the Baptist and and maybe this is a little different perspective of what you've always thought about John the Baptist but John the Baptist fulfilled his one job and God said you know what I'm going to take you home come on follow me with this he fulfilled his one job herodias herod's wife he shouldn't have had an evil daughter who's dancing lasciviously before the king and all his friends and the King says hey hun what do you want up to half the kingdom I'll give you whatever you want she goes back to Mom and says Mama King says I can have what I don't want she said you get John the Baptist head I want his head on a platter I want it on a silver plan I wanna I wanna present it to me and that that little girl goes back and tells the king and the King he didn't want to do it because he understood that John was a man of God was a prophet of the Lord but he said hey I told you I'll do it so he has the Executioner cut off the head of John the Baptist and they put that head up on a charger up on a platter and they bring that plater uh back to that young girl that young girl brings it to her mama and I began to think God how in the world is that justified to a man who was your Forerunner and I again the wheels started moving in the still Small Voice it started speaking to my mind and I got to look at what happened right after that and here's the deal we're talking about this there's no television there's no news broadcast there are people all throughout the land that didn't know who John the Baptist was there was no World Wide Web nobody there's people from other parts of the world who had never heard of John the Baptist but let me tell you something when you put the head of someone on a platter that goes viral it goes viral in the fact that the very next story watch this with me the very next story is about Jesus feeding the five thousand and so I began to read around that story because something inside of me I thought how did the death of John the Baptist how did that Empower Jesus in his ministry look with me in Mark chapter 6 verse 34 and see if you see what I saw when I began to read this this afternoon because Jesus had learned of the death of his Forerunner John he had learned about the death of his cousin John and he was going out to the Wilderness to mourn over the death but let me tell you something the word had already got out that John had been beheaded and looked with me in Mark 6 34. Jesus is headed out to the Wilderness and he said in Jesus when he came out saw much people and was moved with compassion toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd and he began to teach them many things these people right here listen to me these people right here hundreds if not thousands were followers of John the Baptist Sean had his own disciples so listen y'all he had his own disciples he had his own followers matter of fact there's a stories in the word that talk about how people were talking about you know Jesus's disciples and John's disciples they're in a little competition to see you could baptize more people that's in the word look it up he had he had all kinds of fun John the Baptist he was making the way straight for Jesus but he had all kinds of people that looked at him as a prophet and looked at him as a teacher and it is this great Shepherd and so even right here at the death of John the Baptist God started speaking in my mind today and he said even at the death of this man I can draw even more people to Jesus I could bring even more people into the faith I could turn them from being a shepherd of John the Baptist to Heaven Jesus Christ as their Shepherd and so we have the feeding of five thousand I would say the majority of those people were John's followers who had come to see after they had heard that he had been put to death and even in his death let me tell you something he might have affected more people in his death than he did his life you can't tell me that God's ways are not perfect we don't understand why God does the things that God does we don't understand why he does let me tell you something no we will understand it better pie and Pie I understand it hurts I understand when I lost my best friend it was the most painful moment of my life but I don't know what God's will is I don't know if Patrick hadn't fulfilled the calling of his life and God was taking him I don't understand all things but this one thing I'm sure of my God will never fail and his ways are perfect somebody give him praise in the house if you know he's a god who's faithful he's a promise keeping God if he promised that it's sure it's Amen I believe human resided help thou my unbeliefly let me rephrase this my faith is far from perfect time I just might not have enough Lord I need you to give me a little more that's what that man was saying he had a son he had a son that had a devil inside of him and he said in Jesus said man we got a generation people have no faith and that man got caught in the crossfire I don't believe that Jesus was talking about that man he was talking about the disciples they were trying to cast The Demon out of the boy and they couldn't do it and somehow he got caught in crossfire it's kind of like preaching at church and anytime we get on to something it's always the people that you're not talking to that come up to you man we'll be throwing down on some subject and the least likely person that doesn't even line up at all to what your priest will come up and say I'm so sorry I I don't really mean to do that you're like what are you talking about you're the last person and that's kind of how this man was he comes up to Jesus and says I have faith but help me with my unbelief how's the help I know I'm in a generation that's faithless I I know I'm in a generation who squattered the faith The Measure of Faith they've been given but would you please just help me a little bit would you just give me the spirit of unwavering Faith oh my God I wish we could stand on our feet and just lift up our hands as high as we can and we've been speaking to say God I want unwavering faith I want the faith of John the Baptist who when his disciples came back and told him all the things that Jesus had done all the Miracles the signs and the Wonders I believe when John died he gave up his life but when he died he knew that Jesus was the Christ he understood I I can't explain why I can't explain why the Executioner is coming for me but I can't explain that my God knows all things and I trust his plan for my life I hear the Wailing of parents we got parents that has lost their children recently we got sisters and lost Brothers we we got family members of parents oh my God I can't tell you why I can't explain it I can't tell you the thousands are gonna be saved because your loved one I don't know what it's gonna take I don't know what it's gonna take but there's one thing I do know God sees you where you are and God says if you'll just have enough faith in me if you could have unwaversed the Holy Ghost is in this house today come on somebody sister step we're believing unwavering Faith cancer is not going to scare us cancer is not going to put fear inside of us system Missy unwavering faith we will not fear sister Thompson we will not fear oh come with me doctors give us what report you wanna kill us but I've got unwavering faith I'm lifting up my level of faith I'm going to another another dimension of Faith come on somebody do you have faith in what you need tonight I wish somebody just feel this Altar and say I've got faith but I want some more faith I've got some Faith but it's not enough I'm going through too much I've been through too much I'm in a storm I need faith in my life to well up inside of me Holy Ghost move right now holy ghost speak right now oh in Jesus name I pray for Tommy and Brenda I pray for Shannon I Believe In Lord God that you're going to give them peace that surpasses all understand I believe faith is going to help inside of them and they're going to understand oh God then nothing happens on accidents oh God that you are in the middle of everything if it's your will God let it take place oh God I don't want to get in the way of your will come on let the faith rise in this house come on let the faith rise in this place today in Jesus name some of you got kids some of you got children you've been praying for you've been praying for nothing's been happening come on you just kind of believe that God knows God understands how God sees her God hey come on right now lift up your voices and begin to say God Give Me Faith help my unbeliever give me more faith help my unbeliever whatever outcome you choose I want faith for that outcome come on come on come on oh sometimes you just gotta cry out there's nothing wrong there's nothing wrong with you saying why there's nothing wrong with you crying there's nothing wrong with you feeling that empty feeling but oh you gotta have that feeling the star so well up and take the place of the empty feeling and it's the Holy Ghost inside of you this begins so well up and say I've got your back I'm here for you I know what you're going through crater is he that is within me then he that is within this world come on why don't you pray over a loved one look outside yourself we're not up here to feel sorry for ourselves we're not up here to say oh God why that's all we're doing right here right here we're saying God you know you know my brother's in need you know my sister's in need oh God you see Lord God family man I pray for the Emmons family right now in Jesus name I pray right now Lord God you give strength to Sister Amazon oh God give her strength right now God Lord give her a piece of her mind God give her peace in her mind your ways are perfect your ways are perfect oh you only know why you can only give us the details and the definition of why and I'm thankful oh God yes yes yes yes never alone in the battle come on never alone in the desert never alone in the fire never alone in the water never alone in your depression you're never alone you're never alone in addiction anxiety can attack you because Jesus is with you it can't overtake you because Jesus is with you in your darkest fossa in every circumstance come on you gotta just believe that Jesus is with you you just got to believe that Jesus is in the room oh if he's in the room if he's in the room anything can happen anything can happen oh yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes fear fear will not replace my faith fear will not replace my faith I refuse I refuse to allow it to take place if I fear I lack belief in my God if I fear I don't believe he's really able to take me and to keep me and to deliver me if I fear but oh God help my unbelief help me Lord God build up an unwavering Faith inside of me foreign yes come on you can minister to somebody right now right where you stand you can minister to somebody you might not even know there could be people out there that are just like me they're gonna be people out there standing next to you they were just like me they need somebody to put a hand upon their shoulder and say I am going to be with you I'm gonna support you I'm gonna believe in you I'm gonna have faith in you you can make it you can do it come on Minister Minister Minister minister to one another oh yes yes yes if I know one thing my God is a deliverer if I know one thing my God is gonna see us through if I know one thing yay come on come on come on hey sometimes you just gotta pray through it the enemy's gonna speak in your ear right now and tell you just to let it go just forget about it he don't know what he's talking about he he don't know what you're going through he's never felt what you felt he's never been addicted to what you're addicted to come on the enemy's gonna talk in your mind right now but you gotta rebuke the devil you gotta stop on get him under your feet and say as for me in my house we're gonna live for God as for me and my house we're gonna serve the Lord as from me and my house we're gonna go to church every time the doors are open as from me and my house we're gonna have faith that exceeds just great faith it's gonna be unwavering faith foreign Nations foreign foreign foreign my God God is gonna see us again away you don't have to face it alone you don't have to face it alone foreign see us in my anxiety is gonna see us Hallelujah every where foreign everywhere I curse every destruction every destruction that is distractions that is that is foreign coming here I see myself I see myself please there is faith in this house tonight there is faith in this house tonight and where there is faith Anything is Possible direct your attention to the baptismal pool this young lady came this morning asked can I get baptized tonight she sees the revelation of the name of Jesus and wants to be buried in the name of the Lord would you stretch your hands out over right now she'll receive the gift of the Holy Ghost when she comes up out of the water speaking in that Heavenly language as the promise of God says almighty God Mighty God Mighty God lord Jesus the promise of the Holy Ghost is ours Lord you said if we would repent and be baptized in your name that the promise of the Holy Ghost is for us Lord tonight let Faith rise in this young lady may she already begin to see herself speaking in tongues Lord may she already by the eye of Faith see herself speaking in tongues when she comes up out of the water in Jesus name we pray amen and amen Lisette Garcia upon the profession of your faith and obedience to the word of God I now indeed baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and the word of God says you shall worship the gift of the Holy shots in Jesus name in Jesus name yes