And children are dismissed. Thank you. Children are dismissed. Go with Mrs. Barbosa. If you could stand please to Hebrews chapter 11. If you could stand for the reading of God's word. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 3. We understand that the world were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. That's great. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your words that can change lives. Thank you, Lord, for the power of Scripture. Even today, 2000 and many years later, people still believe in Jesus. And we praise the Lord for that. Thank you, Lord, for your goodness and for your love and mercy. And I pray, Father, if there's someone here today or online that never received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, may today they call upon you for salvation. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. You may be seated. You know, the sad reality of our country and most of the world today is too much entertainment. People are being bombarded by entertainment. I'm not saying the entertainment is bad. I like to be entertained sometimes, don't you? All of us do. But when there's too much of something, that is not good. You know, if you drink milk every day and you have milk and milk and milk, after a while you go, that's too much milk. You know, so I'm just being a little silly about it, but too much entertainment. And it comes to a point today that we live in a society of many unchurched people. They don't go to church, they don't understand the value of church and what a church can do. You know what, the mentality is this, oh church is a bunch of hypocrites and the church just want money. That's not true. A church that proclaims and preaches the gospel, nobody gets rich out of it. A church gives more than what a church receives. If there's a church that preaches the gospel and proclaims Jesus Christ, I tell you what, that church never gets to, like you see some churches out there, they're multi-million dollar churches, if God blesses, blesses. But most churches that proclaim the gospel, they're not very rich. Most of the pastors, they even go to work, like myself. But the reality is this, people have the wrong idea what church is. You know what? Church is a place on which you can become a better person, become a better citizen, become more educated, know about God, know about life, and instead of just existing and surviving, you understand what is the meaning of life after all. You know, I have a mentality, I had a wrong idea about what life was before I got saved. When I met Jesus, guess what? When I started reading His word, the Bible, not the word of men, the word of God, the Bible, guess what happened? I began to change and think about life differently. No, I value life differently because I understand that who is the maker of life and the give of life and what I'm living for and what am I doing in this world. Some people say, well, you know, I love to live the American dream. Well, if you will, all of us want to live the American dream. It's a lot of sad people out there because the American dream is getting more and more expensive. We'll try to buy a house these days. What about buying a car? So, but my message is not about what I'm talking about. It's just a little introduction to what I'm going to say. So, but the Bible says, according to brother John here, and he read from the scriptures, through faith, that's Hebrews 11.3, we're going through this series of faith and action. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. So that things which we are seeing are not made of things which do appear. So through faith, we believe as Christians that God is the one who created everything that exists. That means of the galaxies or the planets, the ocean, the waters, the birds, the trees, the grass, everything that exists, God made it. You say, well, what about the Big Bang Theory? What about the Big Bang Theory? What about? Bang. Done. You have to have material in order to have a big bang. If you have a big bang and you believe it's a big bang, let me ask you a question. Where the material came from? The material got to be created by somebody. If he has no material, there's no big bang. Oh, what about the gorillas? What about the gorillas? What about the gorillas? There's still gorillas in the trees. You follow that? Oh, we came from the gorillas. I don't think so. Last time I was in the zoo, there was a bunch of them there. If we evolve, they did not evolve. Oh, we've been around for millions of years. Really? How do we know that? Based on what? The internet. See, we have to have a little wisdom when we hear people saying things. We've been told things as facts in which they don't match reality. Okay, so fate in action. So last week we began our series, the Hebrews 11 title, fate in action. No other chapter in the Bible addresses the topic of fate as completely and exhaustively as Hebrews 11. And we call it a hall of fate. we saw two week uh last week that the the verse that give us the definition of faith actually verse one of hebrews 11 says now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen all right i don't see jesus but i believe he's real okay i never met george washington but i believe he existed at one time right that's the reality right So did Jesus really exist? Yes, He did exist. He walked in the earth and He asked, He walked on water and He asked, He raised the dead and He asked, He fed thousands and He asked, He rose from the dead. It's evidence of that. There may be present spiritual realities that we cannot see because they are not visible to the human eye. Some examples of present spiritual realities that we cannot see would include the forgiveness of sins. the enthronement of Jesus in heaven the dwelling of the Holy Spirit on a person that received Jesus as Savior and the presence of angels among us that we cannot see but by faith we believe okay you've been forgiven of your sins yes I have based on what on scripture and and I believe by faith that's the Word of God so I believe that God has forgiven me so is every other believer okay so or they may be the future realities that we cannot see either there are future some examples of future realities that we believe by faith that we cannot see includes the second coming of Jesus Christ okay Jesus rose from the dead that's a reality we believe it but he also promised that you will come again and by faith we believe in his promise that he will come again The Bible declares that He is coming again. But He's coming again for what? The Bible actually explains why. Why is Jesus coming again? He's coming again to get His bride. Where is His bride? The church. Jesus is coming to get His church. And one day, thousands, if not millions of people will disappear out of the earth. And in the twinkle of an eye, poof, gone. And people say, Oh, extraterrestrials took them. No, Jesus took them. Because Jesus has come to get His bride, to present them to the Heavenly Father. And in Heaven, do you know what it's going to be? It's going to be a Bible called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And the world is going to have what the world has always wanted, a world without God for seven years. That's a future reality which we believe by faith. So faith deals with both the unseen present realities, which are spiritual in nature, and unseen future realities, what didn't happen yet. As I said before, if you can't see it, if you can see it, then it's not faith at all. Faith is a reality that we cannot see, but we believe it will come to pass. So faith is being sure of what we hope for as certain of realities that we do not see. For an example, okay. I give you a test of faith. What is that? A chair. A chair is made for what? To sit down. If I look at that chair and I say, I believe that chair can hold me if I sit down. So that's a silly thing. No, it's a reality. OK. By fate, I believe, based on the structure of the chair, I believe if I sit down, it's going to hold me up. Here's the thing. Unless I sit, I don't know if it's going to hold me up or not. I'm just basing my thing. So by fate. OK, I have fate, so I'm going to sit. Hi, how are you? so it hold me up my faith you see what i'm saying faith is putting faith is us putting ourselves on something that is a true reality the chicken hold me up okay so i put my faith and trust in the lord jesus christ as my personal savior because jesus is real not a made-up story you follow that okay It's not a story out there and a pie in the sky like, oh, you know, no, it's a reality. Jesus is real. Jesus is the Savior of mankind. Okay, so Hebrews 11 goes on on verse 2 to say that this type of faith is what the Old Testament believers obtained. They were far from being perfect. Neither did they live a perfect life. Let me tell it this way. By the way, there's no one perfect. Do you agree with me? All of us have flaws. Even the saints of the Old Testament, all the people like Abraham and Moses and David and many other people in the Old Testament, guess what? They made mistakes. Like we do all the time. Okay, so they fail miserably in many ways, but each one of them obtain a good report, card of their faith. Hebrews 11 proceeds to work its way through the major persons and events of the Old Testament to show how this faith operates in each of their lives, which leads us to the verse 3, which offers for the message this morning. It says, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made things which do not appear so by faith we believe that God created everything well humanism doesn't believe that so there's a controversy here Christianity says God created all humanism says we evolved from some blob somewhere I don't believe that it's all kinds of nonsense going on out there So this verse answers a very important question about the Christian faith. If true biblical faith deals with realities that we cannot see, how do we know what is real? How do we know what is real and what is not? How do we know what to believe in? For an example, we said that being sure of what we hope for refers to future realities that we cannot see. We can't see them because they haven't happened yet. Well, if they haven't happened yet, how do we know they are real or they're going to be real? How do we know that will happen? OK, so we cannot see them because they are spiritual in nature and we are physical beings who discern reality through our physical senses. OK, well, once again, if we are limited to our ability to discern reality, if we cannot actually see these spiritual realities, how do we know that they are real? okay how many of you here this morning do pray okay when you pray okay many of you or most of you you online put your hand up good i can see it all right i'm sorry i'm not seeing but anyway i just want you to be part of this okay so we do pray okay when you pray you pray to make yourself feel good or you pray because you believe someone is listening to you And you believe that once you pray to the Lord, to God, that he's going to answer your prayer. Some people pray to just make themselves feel good. But if when I pray and I pray in Jesus name and I pray I believe that God is listening to me and and by faith I believe he's going to answer my prayer or most of my prayers and many times in my own life I see the prayer being answered which give me the reality even though that I don't see God I know that he exists You say, well it's coincidence. Alright, if that's what you want to believe. I don't. I believe God is real. I believe God created me. I believe God created all. I believe He saved my soul. And I believe He loves me enough to answer my prayer. That's why it's exciting talking about Him. Because He's a reality. Okay? Alright, so let's look at this message from several points this morning. Based in this verse 3, okay? Number 1, if you like the follow-out lines, our faith is always based on the Word of God. Our faith is not based on anybody's opinion, no pastor's opinion. Our faith comes directly from the Word of God. And where did you find the Word of God? In the Bible. If you don't have a Bible, get one. If you don't read a Bible, start reading today. You know why? It's not the paper, it's the words in the Bible. It's the words of our Creator. All men wrote the Bible. They did not. God wrote the Bible. All men wrote the Bible. No, God wrote the Bible. You see with me and I'm going to win that world contest. I'll be all day telling you God wrote the Bible because that's who wrote the Bible. All right. God wrote the Bible. We believe the word of God to be a reality is true. You want to know about God read the Bible. You know about know about God's character read the Bible. You know, you want to know if God is a loving God read the Bible. You want to see you in the Bible read the Bible. You know why? Because that's the reality of life. Our faith comes from the Word of God. By faith I believe that I'm saved because I put my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible confirms that. Okay so for example the Bible tells us that saving faith is based on the Word of God. Look what it says in Romans chapter 10 verse 16. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God how people get faith by listening to the Word of God That's why when the teachers teaching Sunday school when the teacher is teaching any class when the preacher is preaching We should not fall asleep. We should listen You know why because that's how our faith increases you discouraged the preacher preaches on discouragement. Guess what? It's good for us Just giving you an example faith come by hearing and hearing by the word of God so if within not for the word of God you cannot have saving faith in Jesus Christ who would know from history that a man named Jesus lived about 2 000 years ago who would know that he performed many miracles and that he was he was uh he was uh healed by uh by the people as a prophet who would know that he was crucified and that he grew he rose from the dead If it's only when we read or hear the Word of God that we understand that Jesus is the Son of God who died to pay the penalty for all of our sins. It is through the Word of God that we are told that unseen reality becomes, I'm sorry, reality behind historical events. And by the way, every time I preach, guess what I get my message from? The Word of God. Every time I open my mouth from this pulpit, it's coming from the Word of God. That's what guides us because you know what? Because I believe the Word of God to be the Word of God. So we proclaim the Word of God because by faith we believe to be His Word. That's why we say the Bible says because it's not my words, it's God's Word. You follow that? It's not my words. That's why I say open your Bibles. You know why? Because I want you to see that you can have the same Word that I'm reading to you. All right. So let's go to point number two. Our faith in the power of God's Word in creation. Our faith in the power of God's Word in creation. Look what it says in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. That's the first book of the Bible, the book of beginnings. It said, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Don't you know this verse is very disputed by many human minds? Oh God did not create the world. You know what I say? Did you? Have God created you? Did you create it? Were you around when the world came to be? The Bible says to, or God says to Job, Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Explain it to me. Good conversation by God, isn't it? You're that smart? Tell me where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? The same question goes to every human mind. Where were you when I laid the foundations of it? Were you were there? Okay, we humans are so powerful. What can we do to hold the world together? We can't do anything. You can't even hold a drop of water coming from the sky. Might as well hold the whole world together. So I believe that everyone are entitled to their opinion. That's why we live in a free country. But in those well-meaning people, sometimes we have our opinion. But to our opinion, we are sincerely wrong. For example, we did not evolve. We did not come from another planet. We did not come from a bacteria. We did not come from a Big Bang Theory. I mean, some people are sincere about those things and they believe in those things. You know what? I don't. Look at this. The truth and great reality is that God created the world out of nothing by the power of His Word. All right, let me give you a question class this morning. Why everything dies? If you don't believe in God at all, even online, why everything dies? Fish dies, animals die, trees dies, grass dies. Everything that have life dies, including me and you. Why we all die? Because this world, this whole universe is cursed with sin. And because of sin we all die. That's the reality of God. Why Jesus went to the cross? So you and I won't go to hell. We can go to heaven. He paid the penalty that you and I can now pay. People mock Jesus. People make fun of Jesus. People curse Jesus. But guess what? That's what they need is Jesus. That's what they need. So the truth and great reality is that God created the world out of nothing by the power of His Word. So how do you know that you can trust God's Word? You begin with creation. Do you want to grow in your faith as a Christian? Then first of all understand the power of God's Word in creation. Understand that God created the whole world out of nothing by the power of His Word. All right. Oh, I don't believe that. All right. So when Jesus was on the earth and He was sleeping on the boat, okay? The disciples were on the boat and many of them were fishermen. They knew they were going to die because the storm was so bad. And they woke up Jesus. What did Jesus do? He spoke to the winds. The power of God's Word. When He spoke, the Bible says, the wind ceased. So it tells me that God has power over nature. Not just that, Jesus walked on water. Who can walk on water? You tell me, I can't. It shows God's again, power over creation. Jesus walked. Actually, by the way, the Bible says he walked to the deepest part of the sea of Galilee. It's not like in the shallow thing you walk to the deepest part of the sea and you say how deep is the Sea of Galilee or go Google the thing Google knows everything okay but you see we see over and over again through the Gospels how God you know our Lord Jesus with his word had power over nature over he also rose people from the dead with his word Lazarus come forth The little girl that died, she's not a dead, she's asleep. Rosa, you know what? The power of God's words and with this power he rose people from the dead, with his power he fed thousands of people, with his power he healed the sick, with his power he seized the winds, with his power he walked on water. I tell you what, if we believe all that, why do we have a problem believing that God spoke the world into existence? Okay, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. Hebrews 11 3. So there's two words by faith composed of the reframe of the whole chapter here. 19 times in the book of Hebrews 11, we read those two little words by faith, by faith, by faith. Everything the Christian life, the Christian religion is a religion of faith. We have to believe everything by faith. Okay? So, this first section here this first three deals with the creation of the world so by faith we Christians understand that the word that God created the universe out of nothing by the power of his word that means he did not need to use any pre-existent materials to create the world that that which is seen the physical world the entire universe as we know it was created out of absolutely nothing and we we scratch our heads you say how can you do that You and I cannot do it because we're not God. All right, let me give you a silly analogy for the sake of understanding this. How you can create something out of nothing. All right, God gave us a mind, right? For an example, I love construction. I love electricity, plumbing, construction, cement, woodwork. I love those things. So why, Pastor? Because every time I do those things, my mind constantly is thinking. I do things I never did before. You know what? The power of the mind. I like to do that. It engages your mind into it. You can't say I did anything else. But here's what happens here. I use my mind in some things that I can see with my eye. Somebody created that. All right? One example. It was a smart scientist. This is not a true story. This is an analogy. All right? And he said, I show God what I can create. And God came to him and said, so show me what you can create. He said, I can create something like you did. And God says, go ahead. I want to see it. And he went to the ground and he scooped a big piece of dirt. And he goes to God, watch me. And God says, whoa, whoa, one second here. And he said, what? Put the dirt down. He said, why? God says, it's my dirt. Get your own. It's a silly analogy, but as a big reality. You created everything that exists, all the material world, God did. We can do all kinds of things. The human mind does all kinds of things, but we use what we have. You cannot use what you now see. You follow that? And God spoke material world into existence. That's why he's God and we are not. And that's what Hebrews 11 is talking about here. By the Word of God, He spoke the world into existence. The word framed here means something that is completely or accomplished. God did it. We find a similar word in Genesis chapter 2 right after we finish reading the creation account in Genesis 1. But in Genesis chapter 2 verse 1, the Bible says this, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the hosts of them. How was the universe formed or complete? Hebrews 11 3 says, at God's commands. God spoke and it happened. At first there was nothing but God. Our mind goes, okay, who created God? Do you want the answer? I know you're waiting for the answer. No one. What do you mean God has always been? I heard people told me, oh, you created God. No one. No one has the power to create God. God always been. Everything else, he created. But how God came to be, he's always been. When you die, ask him. Because I don't know the answer. Right? Don't ask me. I'm just a human being just like you are. Oh God, did God really create the world out of nothing by the power of His Word? We may not have been around to witness the creation of the world, but God has given us some strong confirmation concerning this truth that we have just learned in Hebrews 11-3. You know what? There's all kinds of science things, this and that, but you know in reality it's this, God created it all. Letter A, then our second point, the Bible confirms the creation of the world. It's not just, you know, out there. The Bible confirms that God created the world. Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, look what it says, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God, there goes the Trinity, moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let it be light, and there was light. and God saw the light that was good and God divided the light from the darkness and God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day God created the first day in verse 6 of Genesis chapter 1 it says and God said let it be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters and God made a firmament and divided the waters which was under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament and it was so and God called the firmament heaven and the evening and the morning were the second day and God said let the waters under the heaven be gathered together onto one place and let it be dry and let dry land appear and it so and it was so that's what we see today we see the continents and we see the oceans and we say how could the water doesn't come on the earth because God created gravity and holds everything together Oh, I don't believe in gravity. Oh, don't say that. Don't even go test it. It was a young lady, two young ladies, they were walking, and one says to the other one, don't you know scientists said that gravity is getting weaker? And the other one looks at her and said, don't go test gravity. And she goes, I would love to. So they went on top of a building. And she said, the girl said to the other one, said, so you said gravity lost its strength? She said, yeah. Well, why don't you try, throw yourself down the building, see if you can fly. She was smart enough not to do it. Hold everything together is what? Gravity. You created gravity? God did. That's why in the universe everything floats, because there's no gravity. All right? I'm not a scientist, but anyway. Again and again through Genesis 1, we hear God speak and as He speaks, form each command, the word, the world is created and formed. So are the Scriptures, pastor, so confirm this truth? Actually in Psalm chapter 33, talks about this creation. Psalm 33 verse 6, look at these words, it says, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth. And He gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap. He laid upon the depth in a storehouse. And verse 38 of Psalm 33 says, Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the habitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Okay, awe. You know what that word means? Respect. Respect for who God is. You know the problem of our society? We lost respect for God. That's why people curse God all day long, because they lost respect for God. You know one thing, I never use a curse word using my mom and dad. And if somebody want to get me angry, if somebody curse my mom and dad, you know why? Because I have so much respect for mom and dad that I don't teach anybody to use my mom and dad in a curse word. Not even my gods. But people lose respect for God today to a point they use Jesus, they use the Holy Spirit, they use God, and they tell Him where to go. What a sad world we live in, isn't it? The Bible says we stand in awe of God's creation. When we look at the stars, when we look at the sun or the moon, when we look at the clouds, when we look at the trees or the birds or the eagles, when we look at the fishes, we should say, wow, God is a wonderful creator. I was in Last vacation I took, we went to Mexico, all right? And we went snorkeling in the water. And I saw Nemo, not Nemo, I saw, where's the other blue fish, what's her name? You watch those, huh? Dory. We were looking I saw Dory and I look around there was a lot of Dory's over there and I was like wow and we're in the coral reefs it was beautiful but a lot of Nemo's not around but Dory was around a lot of Dory's over there you know how it comes to mind you see that on TV but the reality is much pretty and when the Dory is out in your hands you're like this you have to think God is a great creator God is a Greek. How could something happen so perfect out of a Big Bang Theory? I'm sorry, but it doesn't happen that way. It was so beautiful to see such a colorful fish. We're standing in awe of God's creation. Okay, another psalm says the same thing. Psalm 148 verse 1 says, Praise ye the Lord, praise ye the Lord for the heavens. Praise Him in a high. Praise ye Him, all His angels. Praise ye Him, all His hosts. Praise ye Him, sun and moon. Praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. Created, I'm sorry. We see that the Bible confirms this creation that God created. Let's go to letter B. Nature confirms God's creation. You say nature confirms? Yes it does. I want you to go to Romans chapter 1 verse 20. If you have a Bible go to Romans chapter 1 verse 20. It is interesting that Even creation confirms God's creation. Look what it says, So the creation itself testifies of God's eternal power and divine nature. The vastness of creation is a testimony to God's infinite power. The detailed order and intricacies of the universe bear witness of God's divine nature. Everywhere you look in nature, you see an intelligent design. For example, Isaac Newton was a scientist who also affirmed believing God. In this study, Newton didn't want to create the laws of motion. If you don't know that, Isaac Newton had this beautiful replica. of the solar system done in a scale. So there was a large golden ball in the center representing the sun and then the known planets revolved around and through a series of belts and rods he made the thing look like our galaxy. So one day a friend who didn't believe in God stopped by to visit Newton. The man marveled at the machine that he made and he said, who made this? Newton replied, nobody. Nobody, his friend, asked. That's right, Newton said. All of these things that is here, they just came to be. What was Newton's point here? The guy that asked the question did not believe Newton. He said, somebody created this. You tell me, what do you mean, this thing came to be? It's the same thing about our world. It's so perfectly made, and we say, oh, this is just an accident. Bang! And it happened. You know, when you get to a car accident, whatever accident, nothing good happens out of an accident. Right? You ever been in a car accident? Aren't you glad you came out of there alive? Somebody come there like, oh! You know, because nothing comes, gets good out of an accident. You know what? God spoke, came to be, then God designed it. Bible says he spoke and the world came to be with our form then God work it out now I created the first day now created the second day now created the fishes let me put some men in there oh by the way horses in there lions and tigers put them in there that's what God did Antony Flew was a famous philosopher from England who passed away in 2010 he wrote many books promoting atheism and lecture all around the world. He was a big speaker on atheism. But interesting, Flew said in 2005 interview to Christianity Today magazine, he said, since the beginning of my philosophy, I follow the policy of Plato's and I didn't believe in creation. When he said, now I believe in a designer. It's got to be an intelligent design. Somebody created all this. Why people that don't believe in God, when they kick a table or a chair or hurt themselves, the first thing they say, oh my. Why do they say that? You know why? Because God wrote His name in every human heart and in need for Him. God is a reality. God exists as you like it or not, as you believe it or not. Okay? So science confirms creation as well. You mean science confirms creation? Yes, it does. Science confirms the evidence that the universe had a beginning. How do we know God created the world out of nothing by the power of His Word? Science confirms it. You know, by the way, science came out of the Bible. The problem is men distort science. All right, how we found out the world is round? The Bible. Oh, no, no, no, no. We live in a flat earth. Get out of here, you know. You have to be silly even to believe such a thing. So for a while, many scientists populated that the physical matter of the universe did not come from anything rather than matter. But that matter is eternal, and that the universe had no beginning. This idea popularized by the well-known scientist called Carl Sagan. Sagan was perhaps best known for the public television series, The Cosmos. Everybody watch that, The Cosmos? Sagan opened the series each week, atoning these famous words. The cosmos and all that is. is or ever was, I'm sorry, was or ever will be. What is that expect, the blank belief of that, but anyway, they believe that the universe always been, which is not true. You know what, by the way, the universe had a beginning and the universe will ever end. Our world that we speak is aging, like you and I. You follow that? Our universe is aging. The sun is aging. Planet Earth is aging. You and I are aging. You say, I don't believe that. Well, go look in the mirror and see if you're not aging. You might not recognize the person you're looking at. Who's that? I'm not saying that in a mean way. There's an old joke, which I think illustrates the point pretty well. And I already talked about this joke. It's the scientist that told God he could create anything. God says that's my dirt. So let's go to point number three. Understanding the power of God's Word in our own life. So our first point this morning was understanding the power of God's Word in creation. Then our second point was the reality and application of the first point. Understanding the power of God's Word in our own life. How then we do? We have to point out, is God powerful or is God not powerful? Here's what we do as humans. We cannot deny the power of God. God spoke everything into existence. But it was a thing. Many people make God this small in their own mind. And when they don't need it, they go like this. Get out of here, God. It's a sad thing. But you know what? We should stand in awe of who God is. Letter A, learning to trust God's promises. If God is powerful, if God exists, then we need to trust in His promise. Luke says in Numbers chapter 23 verse 19, God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Had he had said, and shall he not do it? Or had he not spoken, and shall not make it good? The Bible says God is not a liar like all of us are. You know what we say today about a lie? We say, oh, I changed my mind. that's the that's the topic of the day we lie and when we got caught oh no no i didn't like i just changed my mind or change my opinion no the bible says god is not like men god always speaks the truth god always tell people the truth and god in god's word is full of truth and we need to believe thereby say you know how you get to heaven by receiving Jesus as your Savior. Where do you find that? In the pages of the Bible. Jesus died on the cross for me and you. You went to Calvary's cross so you can go to heaven. That's the reality. That's the truth. You know why? Because all of us will die and all of us will go to either heaven or hell. You know how many people don't like to talk about hell. You know how the Bible says hell is a place of eternal suffering. Oh, but God is a loving God. Yes, also a just God. He must punish sin. He must punish wrong. So God would not lie to anyone. Let it be, learning to trust God's power. Luke 1 says in Romans chapter 4 verse 17, As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom he believed. Even God do quicken the dead and call those things which be not as though they were. you see right here we see that actually Romans 4 18 says you again hope believe in hope that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken so shall thy seed be and being now weak in faith he consider not his own body now that when he was about a hundred years old neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb so we're talking about here God's power by faith we believe in God's power God spoke to Abraham and Sarah and sent and promised them a son and he would be the father of a big nation which is the nation of Israel guess what happened Sarah was beyond the time of birth to a point that she even laughed and said yeah right ladies you know when is the time you cannot give children anymore right And God let Sarah pass beyond those ages and tells Abraham, you're going to be the father of a great nation. Abraham believed by faith in the words of God. Sarah left God. Why? Because she did not believe, because she understood her condition. But I guess, faith comes believing in God that God can do what we cannot do. God can do the impossible. You know what? And what happened? What God said, it came to pass. Sarah had a child. It is a miracle child because she was way past those times to have children. And that's what God does. God promised and God's not a man that he would lie. God would tell you the truth. So I conclude with this this morning. So what is faith? What is faith? Faith is being certain of realities we cannot see. How do we know these realities are true? Because of the word of God. I'll tell you what. The Word of God speaks of a Creator, the Bible. And how many books is in here? Sixty-six. Thirty-nine in the Old Testament, twenty-seven in the New. It's an encyclopedia of history. Noah talks about a God that loves you. Well, I've never seen God. How can I love Him? You put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, receive Him as your Savior, and you see how your heart's going to change. That's the reality. So it speaks over God and also reveals who we are, sinners. Do you know the Bible, the Word of God have changed thousands of lives from the beginning of time until now? I've changed my life, I've changed your life, and your life, and your life, and your life, changed your life, most of us here. You know why? Because we believe by faith in the power of God's Word. Not only the power of God's Word, of the God beyond the words. That's what faith comes about. The Christian life is a life of faith. We put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to forgive us of our sin by faith we believe that when we die we're going to be in the presence of the lord by faith right we ask forgiveness of our sin by faith we pray by faith we worship by faith we sing to the Lord by faith we believe that Jesus is coming again by faith we believe there is a heaven by faith we believe we be with him for eternity by faith that's the Christian religion is a religion based on faith and we have to believe by faith you say well that's a silly thing no it's not there's a reality it's a reality you know what when God announced that Jesus will come again will come and be the Messiah would come to die for the sins of mankind they have to believe by faith and the Bible says in the fullness of time Jesus came he came to a specific place written in the Bible many centuries before it was a it says battle hymn of Judea was written there but Jesus came as a baby So faith became a reality because now we could see with our naked eye. Listen, when Jesus walked on the earth, people saw the reality of God's truth. God says, I'm real. You're going to see me. And the Messiah came. When Jesus died on the cross, faith became a reality. Jesus rose from the dead and many people saw Him. Faith became a reality. Now Jesus went to heaven and says to you and me, I will come again. You know why? Faith is going to become a reality once again. Because now we're looking for His promise that He's coming again. You follow that? That's faith. You say, so how can I go to heaven? By faith. You need to put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Savior. That's a faith thing. That's the Christian life. Don't pray to a God that you don't believe. Don't pray to a God that you think does not exist. Some people pray to make themselves feel good. I hope that's nobody here or nobody online that's watching us. You know, we pray to a reality. God exists, God listens, and God answers prayer. Okay, I close with this. I don't like to boast about it, but I have to say it because to God be the glory. I was diagnosed with cancer. I talk to the Lord and say, Lord, I know if you take me, I'm going home to be with you. I believe that by my own heart, by my own faith. But Lord, let me, let me stay around for some more years. I like to die of a good old age. The doctor said, the cancer is gone. Oh, is that the treatment? All right. I believe he heard my prayers. I'm not saying he does the same thing to everybody, but he did it to me. And I praise his name. So people say, but I'll pray for the sickness to get out of me. Well, so did Paul. And he was the super, so people call him the super missionary, church planter, great missionary, loved the Lord. And God says, talk to God to take whatever you have in his flesh that was hurting him. And God said, no, my grace is sufficient for you. There are times that God chooses to take things and chooses sometimes God allows things to happen. He's God and we are not. It is the reality of the Christian life. Christian life is a life of faith. So when you pray, talk to Him and believe that He's listening. When you're disappointed, say, Lord, I'm disappointed. When you rejoice, say, Lord, thank you, Lord. Believe in what you, when you're talking to Him. I'll give you Daniel in the Old Testament was praying and was praying and the prayer was not being answered. When Daniel had something that happened to him, it doesn't happen to all of us, but he saw reality. An angel came to Daniel and said, Daniel, your prayers have been heard in heaven. It was not answered because it is a battle between good and evil that it was not let the prayer come. I don't know how that works. You have to read the book of Daniel to know that. It's kind of difficult. But one thing is the reality is Daniel believed. God heard. God listens. Same thing with me and you. The God of Daniel is your God and my God. And you know why? It's a reality. It's real. And He will listen to you. You know what He wants to do this morning if you're not saved, if you never received Jesus as your Savior? Here's the reality of God. He wants you to call upon Jesus to save your soul this morning. You know why? Because the Bible says these words, Today is the appointed time. Today is the day of salvation. You know, the reality is most of us don't have a guarantee of tomorrow. So today is the day. We don't know what the day may bring. Let's pray heavily father. Thank you Lord for faith. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for salvation. Thank you Lord for your creation. Thank you for this beautiful world that you created for us. Thank you for this beautiful universe for the birds and the trees and the flowers and Lord for the oceans and the fishes. Thank you for all of that. You're such a wonderful creator. Thank you Lord for creating me. Thank you Lord for salvation. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. If you could stand please. We're gonna sing a song of invitation this morning. Whatever is in your heart this morning is an altar here. Just as I am, 294. You know how God wants to save your soul? Just as you are. Come to him and say, Lord, not about me anymore. I want your salvation by faith. Jesus said, I will save you. The Bible says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That takes faith. Let's sing, Just As I Am. Just as I am without one But that Thy blood was shed for me, and that amidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. I tell you what. Here's what Jesus wants you to do this morning. If you never meet Jesus, if you never met Him, He wants to save your soul. He wants you by faith to come to Him and say, Jesus, I'm here, I'm lost. I've sinned against you. Please forgive me of my sin. Come into my heart and be my Lord and my Savior. The Bible says in the book of Revelation that He's knocking. He wants to come to be your Savior. For us Christians, may we be solid in what we believe. And let not the world pollute our minds with nonsense. You created the world? God. You created the universe? God. You created everything? God. Who wrote the Bible? God. He created me, God. Who is God to me? My King, my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer, my all in all. That's who He is. May we stand in awe of who He is and have reverence and respect for Him. in this society that doesn't even respect people, kids don't even respect their moms and dads anymore. May we stand in awe and respect for our God. Let's sing one more verse and we'll be dismissed. Just as I hear Him in waiting on to rid my soul of one dark blood, to thee whose blood can cleanse each spinal limb of God, I come. I come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for this morning. Thank you, Lord, for your people. Thank you, Lord, for these people so patiently listening very attentively. Thank you for those online who are watching, Lord. And I pray, Father, that your word will not return void. May we go on believing in your word and those who don't know you made today to call upon you for salvation. Thank you, Lord, for this morning. I pray, Father, for the food that you would bless it. I pray for the fellowship that follows, Lord, that will bring honor and glory to your name. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.