the new Jerusalem

Decoding Faith

• Subir Joshua Gorey • Season 2 • Episode 33

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What is the key to every roadblock we face, yet often difficult to use?

This episode explores the true meaning of faith and how we can practice it in our daily lives to live a more blessed life.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
- Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

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Speaker 1:

It's the first day of. We have just one month to go now For this year to be over. 2024 will be done and we will usher in a new year after this. And I want to get Straight into the word of God this morning and I'm reading to you from the book of Hebrews, the 11th chapter, the first verse. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of the conviction of things not seen. Now, faith is being sure of the things we hope for. Faith is being confident, without a doubt, about things that we cannot see have happened yet. That's what this scripture means and you should read it and you know, go and mark it in your Bibles Hebrews 11.1. And you should really meditate on this scripture, for faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction or the evidence of things not seen. It's a strong passage of scripture. It's not an easy one scripture. It's not an easy one. It's definitely not an easy one to live by, but it is the word of God.

Speaker 1:

And today I want to tell you about a man by the name of Abram, who lived his life by the scripture, and Abram, who most of us might know as Abraham. His name was Abram before he became Abraham. And let me tell you the story of Abram. He lived with his father in a place called Haran, the story of Abram he lived with his father in a place called Haran.

Speaker 1:

And the Bible, in the book of Genesis, the 12th chapter, and I'm reading to you from the Word of God now. The Lord said to Abram go forth from your country. And let me just tell you, the Lord speaks to Abram out of nowhere. There's the book just starts with it Genesis 12, 1, and you should read it, it's beautiful. The Lord said to Abram go forth from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land which I will show you. So, basically, god speaks to Abram and he's telling him leave your home, leave your relatives, leave your father and go to the land which I will show you. And then he tells him I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing, oh, hallelujah, and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Oh hallelujah, amen, oh hallelujah. So God is speaking to Abram. He's just a man and he's telling him to leave his relatives home and his father's home. And he's telling him I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and I will make your name great and you will be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you and in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Oh hallelujah, what a beautiful, beautiful promise.

Speaker 1:

And I want to tell you that Abram was obedient to God and he left his father's home and with Abram went his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. And I want to tell you that the Bible says Abram was 75 years old. At 75, 75 is a womb. In our day and age is lived many years, and that's the time when God is shaking him up. And let me just tell you that you know, abraham takes everything that he possesses and the Bible says he stops at a place called Canaan or Canaan, and then he went to a mountain east of a place called Bethel, where he pitched his tent and he made an altar for there, for God. And then the Bible says he continued his journey south, since there was a bad famine there, and he went into Egypt and Abram prospered in Egypt and he became rich through the Pharaoh who gave, and the Bible says gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. And there's a long story behind that, but I won't get into that today and, as I said, whenever you have time you can read it. It's it's just beautiful. And then Abram took all his possessions and left from Egypt and went back to Bethel, the place where he had pitched his tent.

Speaker 1:

And the Bible says in Genesis, the 13th chapter, the second verse now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. Oh, hallelujah, hmm, somewhere very similar to what God told him to do leave your father's home and I will make you great. Leave your father's home and I will make you great. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and gold. So by now God had already made him rich and with him even lot had become rich, his nephew, and so much so that the Bible says that the land that they were living in was not enough and they had to split. So Lot and Abram go separate ways to have ease in living.

Speaker 1:

And then, after all this has happened, genesis, the 13th chapter, the 14th verse onwards, lot said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him now lift up your eyes and look, from the place where you are, northward and southward, and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth which nobody can do, by the way then your descendants can also be numbered, oh, hallelujah. So God basically makes Abram stand in place and look north, south, west and east and he says everything that you see will be filled and given to you and your descendants forever, and your descendants will be as much as the dust of the earth. And if anyone can number the dust, those will be as much as the dust in the earth. And if anyone can number the dust, those will be your descendants. Which, hallelujah, what a promise from God. But I want to tell you something At this time, abraham does not even have a single child.

Speaker 1:

And then the Bible goes on to say one day, lord came. The Lord came to Abram in a vision and he took him outside and said now look towards the heavens. So first he showed him the land north, south, west and east and now he's showing him the heavens and he's saying count the stars. And if you're able to count them, he said, so shall be your descendants. And the Bible says and he's saying count the stars, and if you're able to count them, he said, so shall be your descendants. And the Bible says and he believed in the Lord and it, and he accounted it to him for righteousness, oh hallelujah, oh hallelujah. Genesis 15 6 you can mark it and he believed in the Lord and he accounted it to him for righteousness, oh hallelujah. You know what? The first example of faith, oh hallelujah. And I want to tell you that at this time, abram the Bible says, mentions very clearly is 86 years old, oh, and the Lord has shown him the earth and made him look in all directions. And the Lord has shown him the sky and made him count the stars in the sky and said if you can count it and if you can count the dust on the earth, that will be your descendants. He's 86 and he does not have a single child. And the bible says he believed in the lord, oh hallelujah. And now he is 99. So I'm taking you now 13 years hence. He's 99 years old and God has come to him again.

Speaker 1:

And in Genesis, the 17th chapter, I will establish my covenant between me and you. He made so many promises you remember all these scriptures I've shared with you Just promises God is making to Abram, and I want to tell you everything that God told him. He just accepted, no doubt 86, 75, no doubt Now 99, oh, still no doubt. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and I will multiply you exceedingly. He's 99 people. As for me, behold, my covenant is with you and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.

Speaker 1:

And at this point of time, god changes his name from Abram to Abraham and he changes his wife's name from Sarai to Sarah and he gives him the name Isaac for his son that he's going to have through Sarah. And it's a beautiful story in Genesis, the 18th chapter. You should read it, it's unbelievable. A one-on-one interaction with God. Abraham has a physical interaction with God. It is so amazing. A physical interaction with God, wow, hallelujah.

Speaker 1:

And God gives Abraham a son at the age of 100 for asking Abraham to move out of his father's home at 75 to making him a promise after promise and showing him the stars in the sky and the north, south, west, east on the earth, and the dust and the stars, and if you can count, those will be your descendants.

Speaker 1:

But at 100 he gives him a son and no matter what he told him, from the time he left his father's home, abram believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Oh hallelujah Abram, abraham. Since he was Abram and, as I told you, since he was 75 and his wonderful life shaken up. Oh, by the way, he came from a very rich family, so there was no need for him to leave. He could have enjoyed his life in his father's home. But God shook him up and told him to leave and made him a promise, and I won't tell you, he had faith, the true kind. You know that, the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Oh, abram, and now Abraham, he had faith. But wait, that's not all. In Genesis, the 22nd verse, now he's given him a son son. And Genesis, the 22nd chapter.

Speaker 1:

And now it came about, after these things, that God tested Abraham, what he made, promise after promise to him for 25 years, from 75 to 100. He kept making promises to Abraham, to Abram, I'm sorry. And Abram accepted them blindly. And now, after he gives him a son, he's testing him, oh. And he said to him Abraham. And then he said here I am. And he said take your son. Oh, take now your son, your only son whom you love. Take your son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt sacrifice, as one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah. What a test, oh, yeah. Well, so now Abraham's got Isaac, and now God is testing him and he's telling him Abram, abraham, I'm sorry. And he says here, I am Lord. And he says take your son, your only son, the one who you love in case you're not too sure, he even names him Isaac and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt sacrifice.

Speaker 1:

And the bible says Abraham the next morning rose early, he saddled his donkey, he took two of his young men with him, his son Isaac, and he split wood for a burnt offering. That's Abraham for you. And after reaching a point, he asked the two men to stay with the donkeys while he took the wood, the fire a knife and his son, isaac, and he tells them I'm going there, I'm going ahead with the boy to worship and I will return. The Bible even says Isaac asked his father father, we have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering? But where is the lamb for the offering? I want to tell you what's Abraham's answer God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering. My son and the two of them walked on together. The Bible says, says Well, I just want to tell you Abraham was a different kind of a man and which is why there are so many generations who account for him as their father. Hallelujah. And Abraham said God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering. My son and the two of them walked on together, hallelujah.

Speaker 1:

And, by the way, as it goes, abraham takes Isaac, the Bible says, he binds him up and he puts him on the wood and he raises his hand with the knife to strike the boy, his only son, promised to him by God, given to him at the age of hundred. And Abraham is about to strike the boy, oh, but an angel of the Lord came in and said Abram, stop, do not touch the boy. Do not touch the boy. Abraham, I'm sorry, abraham, stop, do not touch the boy. And the bible says that there's a lamb in a thicket there, or a ram I'm sorry in the ticket there, caught by its horns. And so, as it goes, he takes the ram and makes a sacrifice and I won't tell you this beautiful morning. Genesis 22, 14. Mark it, you should mark it.

Speaker 1:

The Bible says meditate, meditate on his word, meditate on this. Genesis 22, 14. Abraham called the name of that place, the lord, the lord will provide, as it is said to this day, in the mount of the lord, it will be provided. Oh Hallelujah, oh Hallelujah. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Oh hallelujah, the Lord will provide on his mount, oh hallelujah. I want to tell you that you're living with the Lord as your head. He leads your path, he watches your ways, he showers blessings for you and me every morning. And I want to tell you something, for most of you might not even know it, but Mount Moriah, where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, without a doubt, without batting an eyelid, after waiting for 100 years for him, the place where the Lord will provide, I want to tell you is the mount where Jesus was crucified. I told you, meditate on Genesis 22.14 and think about it. The Lord will provide. And you know what he provided the ultimate sacrifice for you and me. He sent his son, his only begotten son, to be crucified on that very same mount. Many, many, many years later for you and me.

Speaker 1:

And today I want to tell you all the more why you should live your life looking at hebrews 11 1 in a very different light. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction and the evidence of things not seen. Assurance of things hoped for and the conviction and the evidence of things not seen. Abraham lived his life that way. It was accounted to him as righteousness. Righteousness has been sent for you and me on this planet. Jesus came on, came on this planet for you and me. And Today I want to tell you that Hebrews 11 one should have a very different meaning for you and me.

Speaker 1:

With eyes closed, you know faith is something that nobody can help you with. You have to do it yourself. You can ask God to increase your faith, but do you know that that step of faith only has to be taken by you and you alone. And this beautiful morning, I want to tell you that, no matter what situation you are in, no matter what situation you are in, once you accept Jesus in your life, you are in, no matter what situation you are in, once you accept Jesus in your life, you are in the mount of the Lord and for you forever, god will provide. No matter what situation you are in, believe me, he will provide for you, for your situation, he will. He's not a respecter of people, he's not a respecter of man. Woman. Title, name, background, religion, height, weight, caste, color, creed, lineage cares none, except that you follow the name, that's, above all names. His son, jesus, who he provided for you and me on that mount.

Speaker 1:

Hallelujah, dear lord, I thank you for this beautiful time. I thank you for the beautiful love that you've showered upon us, lord. I thank you for your son that you sent down for us. I thank you, lord, that you were obedient to death, and death on a cross, just for us. I thank you, lord, that you are our provider and I bring every situation at your feet. Whatever your people need, your word says you will provide. Lord, you are our provider. Whatever your people need, your word says you will provide, lord, you are provider and I thank you, lord, for the provisions that you have already laid down for us. Thank you for this beautiful time. Thank you for your beautiful presence. Thank you, lord, that you are ever so faithful. We remain faithless, but you remain faithful. Thank you for the beautiful love that you have showered upon us. Thank you for your mercies that I knew every morning. Give you glory and honor this beautiful morning, lord, and sing with the host of angels holy, holy, holy Lord, god Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Amen.