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[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another word-filled message by David Entry. Preaching is the means by which God manifests His word and nourishes our spirits. May the life of God enter into you and you as you listen to this message. Be blessed.

[0:16] I always want to do this when it comes to faith seminar and I'm teaching on faith. For some reason, I just want to start with these few verses, which must be the foundation of faith seminar, which is in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4. It says, the just shall live by faith.

[0:32] In Romans chapter 1 verse 17, it says, the just shall live by faith. In Galatians chapter 3 verse 11, it says, the just shall live by faith.

[0:43] In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 38, it says, the just shall live by faith. It is repeated four times in the scriptures, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, that it takes faith to live as the just or it takes faith to live or walk with God.

[1:03] It takes faith to enjoy a relationship with God. It takes faith to experience God. It takes faith to receive what God has got for you. It takes faith to see God at work.

[1:15] It takes faith for God to be able to do what He said He would do. We sing that God is able to do just what He said He would do. But people ask, but why won't He do it? It's not about why won't He do it.

[1:30] Can you have faith for it? Someone came to Jesus in the book of Mark chapter 9. He was asking Jesus that, Jesus, if you can help me, if you can heal my child, if you can do something about this, that would be very, very appreciated.

[1:44] And Jesus said, if I can, no, all things are impossible to him who believes. Jesus said, if you go to verse 22, the man came to Jesus, and in the verse 22 of Mark chapter 9, he said to Jesus that oftentimes this spirit throws him into the fire and into water and tries to destroy him.

[2:03] But if you can do anything, say, God can. Say, God can. As I told you, God is not disabled. God is able to do more than you can think or ask of.

[2:16] I'm telling you, when you hear that, it is true. He can. God can. Yes, He can. Yes, He can. Yes, He can. Tell someone, yes, He can. Yes, He can.

[2:27] Tell another person, yes, God can. Yes, God can. You can't, but God can. Yes, God can. Yes, God can. You can keep shouting, yes, I can, yes, I can. It's not everything you can, brother.

[2:38] It's not everything you can, sister. Because human beings are always limited. Because we are finite. We are mortal. So we have a limitation. If you tell me, yes, you can, I will ask you, do you know what is going on in your house now?

[2:51] You don't know. Do you know where that aunt is hiding in your house? No, you don't know. Do you know when you finish church now? Do you know which call is going to come through? You don't know.

[3:01] So you don't know everything. And you can't do everything. You can't fly a plane. You can't fly a jet. Or you can't pull this pillar out of this place. There are so many things that man cannot do.

[3:12] But Bible said, yes, He can. Sharias. Yes. Sharias. Yes. Yes, God can. Yes, God can.

[3:24] The three Hebrew boys, they said, if you put us in the fire, we may burn. We may burn or we may live. If you put us in the fire or if you arrest us, one thing we know, we will not bow to your whims.

[3:38] We will not bow to your threats. Because even if you arrest us, our God is able. Our God is able. They didn't say that we are able.

[3:49] They said, our God is able. Sharias, He can. Yes, He can. Yes, He can. God is in control.

[4:00] Yes. Yes. Yes. Make no mistake about that. To think because things are going the way you don't want them to go. God isn't in control.

[4:12] No. He is. But He says, if you are coming to me and said, if you can do anything, Jesus' response in the verse 23, said, if I can. Are you talking about my ability to deliver?

[4:25] Jesus said, if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. So then God's ability becomes your experience once your faith is in place.

[4:42] God's ability becomes your experience once your faith is in place. And so if, if, can you imagine if you were the devil? I'm saying if I were, but if you were the devil and you don't want someone to win, what you got to do is to fight their faith.

[4:59] So the devil is fighting your faith. It doesn't fear anything but your faith. Not even your prayer by your faith. Not even your giving by your faith.

[5:10] Not even your understanding of scripture by your faith. Because everything rises and falls on faith. When it comes to God, because He says, the just shall live by faith.

[5:21] Shall he ask? The just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. God was not stammering when He said it.

[5:33] He knew exactly what He said. Four times. He's not a stammerer. Da, da, da, da, da, da. Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja. No. He meant what He said. The just shall live by faith.

[5:46] So if you want to enjoy God, my brother, sister, you better put on your faith shoes. You better put on your... How... Can you imagine? How can you go to space and expect to wear normal shoes and your nice Louis Vuitton suit in space?

[6:04] You're going to die when you go to space. For you to live in space, you need a special suit called space suit. Bible says for you to walk with God, you need a special suit called faith suit.

[6:20] Shout yes! Yes! The just shall live by faith. So how is it that you don't want to walk by faith?

[6:31] You are not making effort to walk by faith, but you think God owes you every reaction. Because if there's God, why am I suffering? If there's God, if God is caring, why are these things all happening to me?

[6:43] You may die. You may die. Because no one asks you to go to space. You chose to go. So if you want to be in space, he says that if you...

[6:57] Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And he says, for he who comes to God must believe. Other than that, don't bother coming.

[7:09] I'll show you some things about faith. Let's go to foundational text in the book of Matthew chapter. Matthew chapter 14. Right from verse 22.

[7:23] Thank you, Jesus. Matthew chapter 14. And immediately Jesus made his disciples go into the boat and go before him to the other side while he sent the multitude away.

[7:37] Who made his disciples go? Verse 22. Who made them go? Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him.

[7:50] Whose idea was it for them to get into the boat? Jesus. Whose idea was it for them to go ahead? Jesus. They didn't concoct the idea.

[8:01] Jesus said, you guys gotta go. All right. Verse 23. And when he had sent the multitude away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

[8:15] Now, when evening came, he was alone there. But the boat was now in the... Jesus. The boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

[8:34] Now, in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a ghost.

[8:45] And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.

[8:57] And Peter answering him said, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. So he said, come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

[9:10] But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me.

[9:20] And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

[9:35] Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, truly, you are the son of God. Hallelujah. Going back to verse 22, as I said earlier on, Jesus told them to go to the other side, take the lead to the other side.

[9:53] For he was following them. He was coming. Because he wanted to take his time to disperse the crowd or the multitude, to release them to go. And so he asked them to take the lead.

[10:05] And the Bible says that when he has finished sending the multitude away, he went into the mountain by himself to pray. Jesus was a man of prayer.

[10:16] He was always praying. All right. There is great advantage you gain in life when you are prayerful. So when we call for prayer meeting, don't think that someone is trying to get you to attend.

[10:29] It's just someone is trying to create a room for you to have an upper hand in life. Prayer meeting is prayer makes a difference. Right? Tell someone, you got to pray just to make it a day.

[10:44] Hallelujah. I know you are no MC Hammer, but it's sometimes good to tell someone. So you got to pray. Prayer makes a tremendous difference. So Jesus went to pray.

[10:56] And now when evening was come, he was alone there. Verse 24, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea.

[11:09] Let's all say that together. One more time, please. Say for the last time, louder. I want it louder.

[11:22] Louder. Let's read. The boat was now in the middle of the sea. I like the word now. Okay. Now it's just a relative word in that context in relation to where Jesus was.

[11:36] Because Jesus dispatched them. And he was the subject matter at that time. All right? So he dispatched them. He asked the disciples to take the lead. And he dispensed the crowd.

[11:48] And then he went to the mountain place to pray. And it was now in the night. And he was alone. Then subject changes. The boat was now in the middle of the sea.

[11:59] While Jesus was alone on the other side. In the middle of the sea. Say in the middle of the sea. In the middle of the sea. Some of us are in the middle. It's like it's too late to try and go back.

[12:19] And yet. The shore seems very far. And. Something happened when they were in the middle of the sea.

[12:31] The Bible says that they were tossed. By the tempest. In the middle of the sea. All of a sudden.

[12:42] The storms began to rage. They were being tossed to and fro. I know I'm discussing. I'm describing somebody now. In the middle of the sea.

[12:54] You see the problem is not at the beginning. When you get born again. When you start coming to church. When you start giving. When you make some commitments. When you receive the word of faith.

[13:06] You begin to run with it. When you receive something. You receive inspiration. You feel so charged. See the problem is not in the beginning. In the beginning of the year. When we begin to declare. God is going to do this.

[13:17] You know. The problem is not in the beginning. The problem is not. The problem is in the middle. Sometimes they call it midlife crisis.

[13:31] In the middle. In the middle. In the middle. In the middle. In the middle. You know you are going somewhere. You know you are really not quite where you used to be.

[13:44] You are sure about that. However. You are in the middle. And it looks like. You are sinking. In the middle.

[14:00] You have. Sees to be in the middle. And you look like. You are sinking Jesus. And you feel like. Jesus on the cross.

[14:11] Eli. Eli. La maxa. Bactani. There are people here. Had it not been. That you have gone too far. You would have quit church. But you are now a pastor.

[14:27] You are now a deacon. You are. You are a minister. You may be listening to me as a pastor. And it's like. You are in the middle of the sea. You wanted to.

[14:38] Stop all this. But now you have started the church. You can't go back. And your members are 20. Three of them just came and said they are living. Hey. And you are in the middle of the sea.

[14:52] And you heard a phone call from your other Christian brother who you raised. And he said last Sunday we were 300 people. And he said that one of the biggest musicians in town have just joined our church.

[15:06] And all your instrumentalists have just left you. And you are in the middle of the sea. You feel you have lost friends.

[15:18] You feel people have left you. You have turned your back to a lot of things. Because you know you are taking a step for Jesus.

[15:29] But in the middle of the sea. Say in the middle. In the middle. See the middle is where you have gone away from when you started. But you have not arrived where you are supposed to go.

[15:42] And where you are supposed to arrive seems very far. And in the middle is where the challenges actually come. When we are in church. And the power of God is moving. We are all excited. Haven't you seen people who have come to give testimony.

[15:55] They finish giving their testimony. And they go back and find themselves in the middle. And it's like I made a mistake for giving that testimony. Someone comes to give a testimony.

[16:07] Someone said that God touched my boss's or my friend's heart or someone. And they gave me a car. And I'm excited about the car. God is doing some amazing things. Only to realize that it was a stolen car.

[16:19] In the middle. After you have given testimony. You were driving the car. Joyfully on the way. And the police stops you. And you find yourself behind the counter.

[16:30] In the middle of the story. Oh I know some of us are in the middle.

[16:43] You look like you are not in the middle. But in your heart you know. You are in the middle. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence come in my help.

[16:53] I hear other people's testimony. We all came to church together. I hear other people's testimony. We all prayed at the altar together. We all tap. I have even doing more than tapping. I have been doing more than connecting.

[17:07] I have done everything connecting myself. But it looks like God has forgotten about me. In the middle of the city.

[17:22] Tossed by tempest. Tossed by tempest. Tossed by tempest. And you are losing balance. You are losing your equilibrium. You feel like throwing in the towel.

[17:35] You feel like life is not worth it. Sometimes in the middle. That's when you ask all kinds of questions. Sometimes you are sleepless. You sleep and you can't sleep.

[17:48] And you are wondering. Where did I get it wrong? Or am I. One of the questions that people normally ask. Am I not doing something right?

[18:03] Jesus asking. Go to the other side. Or didn't I hear him right? Everyone has got a middle.

[18:14] The problem is with the middle bit. Where you are not sure. You are not sure. How this whole thing is going to pan out. The problem is with the middle bit.

[18:27] Where you are not sure. What is going on with you. You were so much on fire. And all of a sudden. You are having all this kind of stuff in your body. You don't understand. And it's trying to put you into trouble.

[18:38] And you feel it. That what's wrong with me? I thought I have changed. In the middle.

[18:53] In the middle. You are doing everything you can. You receive a phone call. They say we are sorry. Negative phone call. You were expecting testimony.

[19:04] You have declared that me. I am going to be the first to share my testimony. And there was a declaration. I jumped. I almost slathered with my head. God knows my head.

[19:20] That feeling. That experience. Is called the middle bit. The middle bit. Is not the end of the story. But sometimes. When you are going through it.

[19:30] It feels like you are finished. It feels like there is no hope. There is no future. You have waited long enough. Am I talking to someone? You have waited long enough.

[19:43] You see your classmates. And you feel like you have been left behind. Someone says that.

[19:56] I don't know what I have done. Everything I do. Nothing seems to be working. The middle bit. But I have good news for you. I said I have good news for someone.

[20:09] The middle bit. Hey. As long as you are taking steps on God's word. His goal come to you. Working on the thing that is tossing you.

[20:20] Let's look at that text. Let's look at that text. Look at that text. Oh thank you Jesus.

[20:33] So verse 24 again says that. 23, 24 yes. But the boat was now. In the middle of the sea.

[20:43] Tossed by the waves. For the wind was contrary. You know what that means? Opposition. The wind was opposing your direction.

[20:54] Your movements. Tossed by the waves. For the wind was contrary. Verse 25. Now in the fourth watch.

[21:05] Of the night. Say the fourth watch. What is the meaning of the fourth watch? In Jewish times. Or in Roman times. They had. The day was divided into 12.

[21:18] And the night 12. And the night. Has 12 hours. And they divided the 12 hours. Into four sections. Okay. So they had the first watch. The second watch.

[21:31] The third watch. And the fourth watch. The first watch. Was usually called. The evening watch. Which is from 6 p.m. To 9 p.m.

[21:42] It's called the evening watch. The second watch. Was usually called. The midnight watch. Which is from 9 p.m. To midnight. Okay. And the third watch.

[21:53] Which is called. The cock crowing watch. Is usually from. 12 midnight. To 3 a.m. And then the final watch. Which is the fourth watch.

[22:04] Which is usually from. 3. To 6 a.m. Then the day begins. All right. And so. Usually. The Roman soldiers. Divided the night into four.

[22:15] And then. First watch. They finished. Finish your job. Three watches. Three hours. First watch. Second watch. Third watch. And Bible says that. It was in the night. They have been on the seas.

[22:26] And Jesus. Started. When it was. In the fourth watch. That's somewhere between. Three. And 6 a.m. Let me digress. And say this. It goes to all of us.

[22:38] Those of us who love sleep. I heard one great man of God. Say that. If you sleep all night. Probability is that. You will fail all day. Yeah. Bishop David Abuey.

[22:56] Said. If you sleep all night. Most of you. Probability is that. You will fail. All day. He went on to say.

[23:07] This is a digression. From faith. I'll go back to that. But I think it's good for someone. Because some of us. Looks like we are sleeping too much. Jesus. At the fourth watch. He was still walking. At the.

[23:20] He dispatched. No. Babu didn't say he went to sleep. He dispatched the crowd. Went to pray. And when he finished praying. He set out. He set out. On his journey. I'm sure some of them were sleeping in the boat anyway.

[23:32] But he set out on his journey. Jesus was. Was a hard working man. And so he was commanding results in the day. By heart.

[23:42] Some of us. Particularly Christians. Who don't have a lot doing. We sleep too much. Am I talking to someone?

[23:54] This is not part of faith. But I need to tell someone. I need to hear. Some of us like sleeping too much. You sleep. And when you wake up. If you are not doing anything.

[24:05] If there's your day off. You watch TV. And watch TV. And watch TV. You really want to exhaust your money in the TV. You watch for the TV to feel that now. You. You have been watched.

[24:19] The TV license. You are making sure. Tell someone. Don't sleep too much. Praise the Lord.

[24:38] Am I talking to someone? Yes. You watch anyone who sleeps a lot. Most of the time. They are not very productive. They are not very productive. And check those who are very productive.

[24:50] High earnest. Doing a lot. They don't sleep much. And those who sleep more. More than is due. They grow older. Very fast.

[25:03] Because life is not for sleep. If you are supposed to live 100 years. And you sleep. Eight hours a day. All right. You know. Let's go on the faith.

[25:13] We will come to this sometime later. I don't want to digress. Lord have mercy. But Jesus. I discovered that he didn't sleep. He came to them in the night. Sorry.

[25:23] In the fourth watch. Virtually. The day was breaking. All right. So. Jesus came to them in the fourth watch. Walking. Oh man. Watch this.

[25:34] Let's go to verse 25 again. Now in the fourth watch. Of the night. Jesus went to them. Went where? To them. Ha. Jesus went where? To them. He sent them.

[25:45] And he knew they were struggling. Jesus will always come to you in the middle. Ha. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And I know I'm talking to someone.

[25:55] You feel like you're in the middle. And you know God is talking to you. Because when you find yourself in the middle. Because of your connection to God. God will not leave you. Jesus is going to come.

[26:07] Right where you are. Amen. Amen. Amen. Right where you are. Bible says Jesus went to them.

[26:18] Jesus went to them. And I know to someone. I don't care what the doctors have said. I don't care what the documents have said. I know to you. That Jesus is coming to you.

[26:30] Right where you are. And he's going to do something. About that situation. In the name of Jesus. Share the earth. Yes. So.

[26:43] Jesus went to them. In the night watch. He went to who? Those who are in the middle. Who are in the middle. And being tossed. By the waves.

[26:53] Because the wind. Was contrary. Woo. And verse. 26. And when the disciples. Okay. Verse 25. Went to them.

[27:04] Walking on the sea. Say walking on the sea. Walking on the sea. Say walking on the sea. Walking on what? The sea. That's what was tossing them. He was walking on the sea.

[27:18] And. But the interesting. Interesting. Thing is. Verse 26 said. And when the disciples. Saw him walking on the sea.

[27:34] What? What? What's that? Now things are getting out of us now. Oh my God. Oh my God. Now we finish. We finish. We finish. We finish. We are in the middle of the sea.

[27:45] And we are being tossed by the wind. At least. If you're going to die. Let us die peacefully. Oh man. We are finished. They saw.

[27:56] And when the disciples. Saw him walking on the sea. They were troubled. Saying. It is a ghost. And they cried for fear. So you can imagine. Where are you going?

[28:11] You are in the middle. So you go. You don't have any. So. I can imagine. Somewhere. Going to hide on their chest. And. They were in trouble. They cried for fear.

[28:21] Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. They started crying for fear. Say fear. Fear.

[28:32] They cried out for fear. Because they were afraid. Now watch this. Fear is natural. How many of you have been afraid before?

[28:46] How many of you have been afraid this week? Hmm. You heard some news. And you put fear in your heart. Yesterday I was somewhere.

[28:58] And. I felt the Lord was talking to me about some things. And this is what I like about God. How sometimes. In unlikely moments. He just comes. Begin to show some things. Share some things with you.

[29:10] God was putting something on my heart. Which I really appreciated. And God was teaching me about how. We Christians. Who work by faith. Are confident about tomorrow.

[29:21] All other people. The best. And best. They work by hope. Because tomorrow is not guaranteed. No one.

[29:33] No one can guarantee tomorrow. I remember during the crisis. Financial crisis. The last four years. And five years. You know. The credit crunch. They were saying that we don't even know when this thing is going to end.

[29:46] Things seem to be getting gloomier. And gloomier. And worse. And worse. And worse. So they tried different. I remember Godi Brown met all finance ministers of the G8.

[29:56] Trying to bring ideas. And you know. He had some great ideas. But they'll do one thing and another time. They realize that the thing is not working. It's human. No one can definitely tell you.

[30:09] That tomorrow is secured. No one. Not Obama. Not our prime minister. Neither can Putin do that. No one can tell you about how.

[30:22] Listen. Listen. Have you noticed that sometimes you get two jobs. You receive offers from two companies. And you're not sure which you. Both of them have good pay. The money is good.

[30:33] But you're not quite sure. Because sometimes you want to go for this. But you're afraid. What if. What if. There is this what if. What if factor. Or. If you are not married. And.

[30:46] Three offers come. Suddenly you'll be hit with a what if. What if. I like this one. But. And so you know what people normally do.

[30:58] That is why it's so easy for people to be running after prophets. To massage. Their fear. For the unknown. Their fear.

[31:09] It's not. It's not godly. You know. Because. God wants you to put your faith. In him. Yes. So. He won't even tell you the details of tomorrow. Yes.

[31:20] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. He won't. Yes. Yes. He won't. All he tells you that. Go to the other side. Yes.

[31:30] He won't describe. How the middle looks like to you. Yes. So stop running after prophets to tell you. Sometimes people come to me. Pastor. I've been offered a job here and here.

[31:41] Oh. I don't know. What do you think I should do? They come not because they want to hear God's word. But they come because of their fear for tomorrow. So they want it to be someone's responsibility. Right.

[31:54] Someone should make a decision for them. Maybe you are closer to God. So you can know. You see. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. talking to her of their parents.

[32:08] They are 예�eto. You. You. You. I.

[32:18] You. You. You. You.

[32:29] You. You. You. You. You. You. You. that the chair you are sitting on will break. The fact that, watch this, the fact that you are not afraid does not mean you are in faith.

[32:52] You may be in a certain situation, everything seems calm, so you're cool. But you see, the problem is, the way things are cool, that is actually what disturbs your future in God.

[33:07] You didn't get it. You need something to exercise your faith. I'm going somewhere. And so when they were in the sea, or in the storm, Jesus walked on the sea, came towards them.

[33:26] When Jesus was coming towards them, he was going to them, because he set out on the journey because of them, going to them, and when they saw Jesus, they started screaming for fear.

[33:36] They started shouting for fear, and Jesus said back to them, Fear not, it is I. King James said, Fear not, it is I. Say, fear not. Fear not.

[33:47] It is I. It is I. It is I. It is I. It is I. It is I. King James said, fear not. Hallelujah. Do not be afraid. It is I. One of the translations said, Fear not, it is I.

[34:01] Don't be afraid. Because it is I. You know what? I know you are in the middle, and things look very disturbing. But I have a message for someone.

[34:15] Jesus said, fear not. It is I. In other words, I am working on it. I'm working on it. I'm working on it.

[34:26] It looks like you have been abandoned, but he said, well, I'm working on it. Tell someone, he's working on it. He's working on it. To show them that he's working on it, he walked on the water that was threatening their future.

[34:41] Just to let them know, Fear not, it is I. It is not a ghost. Fear not. Tell someone, fear not. Now, before I move on to the next phase of the things I'm trying to explain to us, I want to take this opportunity to tell us, see, sometimes, to do an experiment, to be able to know something very well, it's sometimes good to know what it isn't.

[35:07] Okay? So if you want to talk about, there are so many things here, which one of them is an iPad? Okay? If you're not quite so sure about iPad, it's better to know what is definitely not an iPad.

[35:19] Sometimes, when you are not feeling well and the doctors want to diagnose their sickness, they have to establish what this problem isn't. Hello? So when you're having some headaches, and let's say there's an outbreak of headaches that is affecting people's, maybe, lungs, there's a lung problem that's affecting people's head, and you go to the GP, and you say, I've got some headache, the first thing they have to establish is that this headache is not this, it's not this, it's not this.

[35:47] Then when they eliminate, that's why they do tests. They eliminate, so they say, oh, this is why it's negative. We did this test, it's negative. So they tell you, we are still trying to find out. But they did all these tests, it's negative. So eliminate what it's not.

[35:58] So sometimes, when you want to talk about faith, it's good to tell what faith isn't. Because I'm both thinking, faith is this, faith is that. Faith isn't some stuff. Now, what are, let me give you one or a few things that faith isn't.

[36:10] Okay, number one, faith isn't denial of situation. It's not denial of the situation.

[36:21] So, you don't have money to pay the rent. And you say, oh yeah, I've got the money, it's there. And you pretend, you behave like you don't, you have a lot of it, but you know, or you behave like, that problem does not exist.

[36:38] You are denying the situation. Okay, so when we say, watch this, when we say, walk by faith, we are not saying, deny the situations. We are not saying, deny the existence of the, we are not saying, deny it.

[36:52] So when you choose to deny it, okay, doctor said, your cholesterol is high, so stop eating cow fruit. And then you deny that, I don't have any high cholesterol, go and buy even more, and start eating them.

[37:09] See, that's not faith. So, first of all, faith is not denier. Let's all say that together. Faith is not denier. If you deny, try to deny the reality of the situation, it doesn't mean it's faith.

[37:24] Right. Now, number two, faith is not neglect. Neglect. Many people, they abdicate and neglect their responsibility, expecting God to do it for them anyway.

[37:34] You are looking for a job. Hello. That's why, I'm glad I spoke about the sleeping. You are looking for a job, and every time, you wake up, you wake up, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo, I can't wait for this evening service, shanolo, shanolo, shanolo.

[37:58] When you finish, you read your Bible, and then turn on God's channel. You are taking your cool and reading, and watching God's channel. When you finish, you get a book, Seven Steps of Prosperity, you are reading.

[38:12] For four months, you are doing the same thing. And you say, I have faith. God will do it. You don't even have a CV. You've not sent your CVs around.

[38:23] You've not done anything. You are sitting in your room for the train to come and pick you from your room to send you to. Can you imagine? It's not faith.

[38:34] It's abdication of responsibilities. Faith is not neglect of responsibilities. The fact that I have faith, I have faith, doesn't mean stop, stop doing what you have to do and leave it for God to do for you.

[38:49] No. No. Believing God is the fruit of the womb. I've discovered some things. We want to put it together. And someone must know that you are praying, that's good.

[39:02] But make sure that you are with her or with your husband. There's a couple that we know. They believe in God for a child, but they're always fighting and they don't sleep on the same bed. That is neglect of responsibilities.

[39:17] I don't care the faith you have. I don't care the faith you have. Hello. So literally, literally, sometimes you have to be scientific enough, smart enough and observe the cycle and know the appropriate time to strike.

[39:37] No, no, no. You have some I'm saying. I don't want to go any further than that. So faith is not abdication of responsibility and you don't even know your cycle.

[39:48] You can't be bothered and you are just there. God will do it. God will do it. No. Did you hear that? I like that man's testimony. He said, the doctor said, this sickness that I have developed, it will take us two years.

[40:01] They will keep me on medication for two years to clear it. But one time, he kept putting prayer requests. Kept putting prayer requests. Kept putting prayer requests. And one day, he said that something spoke to his heart. That belief, that's God.

[40:12] Something spoke to his heart. And that something told him. Every day, at least one hour of exercise. One hour of exercise. So he started embarking on that. God didn't do that exercise for him. He did it himself.

[40:23] Every day, one hour. Every day, one hour. Running up and down, one hour. He knew what he was doing. Whether it was raining. Whether the sun was up. Whether it was snowing. It doesn't matter the condition.

[40:34] He kept doing it. But you have been sleeping. You are not doing anything. And you say, I got a word from God. I got a word from God. God will do it. I have faith. That is not faith. That is application of responsibility.

[40:50] And guess what? The guy, he said, after doing it for a while, he went back. Within six months, the sickness had cleared.

[41:02] Was that faith? Yes. Faith took responsibility of what he heard God say. Sister, behave like someone who is ready for marriage. Yes.

[41:24] You are good Christians, but you know, be aware that you are on the market every day. It may sound, some people say, sit there.

[41:34] The reality is, as you pray, God can bring someone, but because you have dressed like a masquerade, the person will be the same.

[41:50] Okay, I think I have to leave that. So faith, Bible says that God looks at the heart, but men look at the outside.

[42:05] So by faith, you have to make sure your outside looks in the way that men can see it. All right.

[42:16] Faith is not neglect. Faith is not imitation. imitation. Imitation. You know imitation. Replica.

[42:34] Imitation. So you saw someone, he said, every time when we go to church, I go and need that. So you two, you just go and need that. Not connecting your faith. You are just doing the action.

[42:45] You are imitating them. That's not faith. Because you are doing the act, but you don't have the heart. The act without the heart doesn't move heaven.

[42:57] Doesn't have rating in heaven. What, what matters in heaven is the heart condition. If somebody gets something. So faith is not imitation.

[43:08] Faith is not just ordering God around. God, I need money. God, hey, God, don't you, hey, hey, God, hey. Give me a new cap.

[43:19] Give me a new shoe. Hey, God, hey, I need a wife. I need a wife. God, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, God, no, I need a child. God, no, okay, God, if you are waiting with me, let that man, when he comes, let him sit on the sofa. Yes, yes, yes.

[43:31] Faith is not ordering God around. I have faith. Hey, I have faith too. God will do it right now.

[43:41] Hey. You've been waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. You find yourself in the middle. Now, number what? Number five.

[43:52] Faith is not legalistic formula. Legalistic formula. Faith is not like a formula. If they say, giving off, okay, I give this, then I'm expecting this. If I do this, God must do this.

[44:05] So, it's just legalism. Faith is based on the heart. Faith is a spiritual force that emanates from your heart. Bible says that with the heart, man believes, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.

[44:19] So, if you don't have, if you don't have conviction in your heart, and you are just, okay, they said this, how you have to do this, do this, 30 days fasting, okay, you are doing 30 days fasting, and you are expecting at the end of 30 days, this is, no, faith is not a legalistic formula.

[44:35] Someone getting something? Faith is not a formula. Faith is not overriding other people's will. You know what people do? Oh, he's lying.

[44:47] He's going to make his mind. Hey! Like, a certain lady came to me about 13 years ago. She said, hey, God told me this man will marry me, pastor, and this man doesn't want to marry me.

[45:00] He wants to make my God a liar. He's lying. Hey! Hey! Hey! He's lying. He will marry me because God said it. He will marry me. I'm telling you, it's a true story.

[45:13] It's very true. It sounds strange, but very true, because she had faith, and she was very prayerful, and what God has told him, no one can make his God a liar. That's her God. That's what she told me.

[45:23] He said, no one can make my God a liar. No one can make my God a liar. Hey! It will happen. It will happen. He will see. If he tries to tempt my God, he will see what my God will do. And I'm wondering, what's wrong with this sister?

[45:37] You know, because of my nature, I didn't say it to you. And then she took the same statement to another pastor friend of mine. My pastor friend said, hey, sister, what you're doing is foolishness. She was very upset.

[45:47] Now the man is married long time ago, doing very well, have children, God is prospering, who is doing her fantastic well. She move on to another person, and other people, and other people, you know.

[45:59] So, faith is not, you know, manipulating other people's child, hijacking people's free will. They have to do it. They have to do it my way. They have to do it my way.

[46:11] Hey, he will give me that job. He doesn't know what. He will give me that job. That's not faith. Right. Is everyone learning something? Yes. Faith is not a magic wand.

[46:22] You know. Then it happens. You know, some of you have tried it, and you realize, I think it's not working.

[46:36] Hey, I'm going to say, oh, this thing doesn't work. No, because you are using faith like magic wand. Abracadabra. Hey, that is happening. They just shall live by.

[46:50] They just shall live by. And then faith is not a channel to utopia. Utopia. What utopia means, like, where everything is, la, la, la.

[47:03] Everything is good in the optimum state. So it's like, have you realized that never, never would there be a situation where everything in your life, everything is perfect.

[47:18] God, nothing in life is perfect. So faith, faith is not the channel or the ticket to utopia where once I have faith, that means every, have you realized some of us who have tried walking by faith, rather things seem to be very funny.

[47:34] Hello? Sometimes you begin to walk by faith and things look funny. So faith is not a ticket to utopia. And, last, two, I'll give you, faith is not the absence of feelings.

[47:51] What does that mean? So if the fact that you are feeling funny, the fact that you are feeling a certain way doesn't mean faith is not there. Or the fact that you are not feeling that way does not mean faith is present.

[48:04] Does that mean okay, so, I don't feel the pain in my tummy anymore. I don't feel pain.

[48:15] Maybe the pain naturally went. You are just there, you work out, you're just gone. It does not necessarily mean you applied faith or you are applying faith. So faith means that sometimes you may be walking in faith and the feeling will still be there.

[48:28] The negative or contrary feeling will still be there and yet it doesn't mean faith is not there. On the other hand, the fact that the feelings are not there doesn't mean that faith is present.

[48:39] So some people, because their feelings is not there, the person is not going through their feelings or the way the emotional state, the way they are feeling.

[48:50] Now, they feel, some people, they feel very excited. It doesn't mean it's faith. You can be excited, but it doesn't mean you have faith. because faith is not feeling.

[49:03] And it's very common with a lot of people because the special man of God has declared in the name of Jesus and you are very excited. The way the man was preaching, you are so excited, happy. So, you only go out there to realize actually you didn't have faith.

[49:21] Faith is not the absence of feeling. And then finally, faith is not isolated from other spiritual forces. I will explain it. Because faith is a spiritual force, okay, if you have faith, if you have faith, faith is not isolated from other spiritual forces like patience, like love, like prayer.

[49:49] Because if you have faith, the Bible says in 2 Peter 1, verse 5, to your faith add, to your faith add. For this reason, giving all decisions, add to your faith what?

[50:01] Virtue. Virtue there means being consistent, doing the right thing or saying the right thing and that's virtue. Alright? So, to your faith, add something. And it's, because faith doesn't work in isolation, faith works with other things.

[50:17] Faith works with, so now, that's, this is where it's leading me to the message now. So, when Jesus saw them and Jesus said, fear not, it is I. Did you realize Peter's response? In Matthew chapter 14, verse 27, there, Peter responded and he says that if it is you, Jesus said, if it's I, Jesus said, it's I.

[50:37] He said, Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water. If it is you, because if I have faith, watch this, faith doesn't stay once you see Jesus, once you know Jesus is in, in his acting, once you know God is on your side, you don't just stay, you will pray, you will fast, you will do some other things, you will begin to take steps, you will write more CVs, you, you, someone get what I'm saying?

[51:05] Faith, faith is not in, it doesn't, it's not an isolated spiritual force. When there is faith, you will see love, love follows, faith is connected to love, faith is connected to giving, faith is connected to prayer.

[51:18] Somebody can, let me, let me say, I have faith, tell me I don't pray. Because faith is not an isolated spiritual force. Faith is connected to, Bible talk about how, who through faith and patience.

[51:33] Faith, faith doesn't go alone. So when Peter said, Jesus, if it is you, Jesus said it is I, Peter said you, okay, my faith is about to be activated.

[51:44] So as long as I see Jesus, I'm going to take some steps. So, watch this, it is not enough not to be afraid. It is necessary, if faith is in place, you will take some steps.

[51:58] Because Jesus didn't address any of them based on faith. When Peter took the step, he started walking on the water, but what is, the opposite of faith is sight.

[52:10] So he said, we walk by faith and not by sight. It's your sight that will make you doubt. your experience, your physical, your sensory perceptions, what your sense tells you, what your imagination, what your natural senses.

[52:26] See, I like the way Pastor Edebo puts it. He said, most of us have been miseducated. Miseducated. Why?

[52:38] Listen, even the testimony I just said, it was two days ago, he said, my sister was diagnosed to die within 24 hours. 24. So what, what, what happened?

[52:50] What changed the story? So that means that sometimes they can say one thing, but then if you are well educated in God, you will know that faith can also change the story.

[53:03] Because the fact that doctor said it, the fact that the bank said it, the fact that the politician said it, doesn't mean it's absolute. Hello? And so when Peter saw Jesus and said, Jesus, if it's you, bid me to come, Jesus said, come, because it's I.

[53:21] So he said, come. And Pablo says that for the first time in the history of mankind, someone apart from Jesus began to walk on the thing that was threatening their lives. What is it that is threatening you in the middle of the sea?

[53:38] Jesus said, fear not, it is I. But the thing is, if you believe it is I, you begin to take some steps. That's what I'm saying. But Peter said, okay, there's no problem.

[53:49] I just want to make sure it's you. If it is you, I'm ready to take a step. That's where faith comes in. And so when Peter started to sink, because he, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, verse 29 says, he took his eyes off.

[54:04] All right? But when, yeah, verse 30, but when, when, when he saw the wind, the wind was boisterous, it's the same wind that was traveling them. The same wind.

[54:15] He started walking. But when he saw the wind was boisterous, he saw, he saw. So, when he started to walk, what was he looking at when he started walking? He was looking at the word.

[54:26] He was focusing on Jesus. And so, so long that Jesus was in, he said, Jesus, is it you? If it's you, I'm going to come. So, he started taking the step, going towards Jesus. That is faith.

[54:36] What is faith? Faith is basing on what God has said. Taking steps based on God's word and nothing else. Taking steps based on God's word. Judging that God's word is true.

[54:49] God's word is final. Yes. Thank you, Jesus. That's faith. So, Bible said, Sarah believed. Judging.

[54:59] Abraham was willing to give his son away because he judged that God was able to raise him from. That's faith. He judged God for faithful. By faith.

[55:10] Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17, somewhere there. By faith. He gave, he sacrificed Isaac because he judged that God was able also to raise him back from the dead. Verse 18.

[55:22] Thank you, Jesus. It says, in Isaac, God told him that. Verse 19, he said, what? What does the verse 19 say? Concluding, he judged.

[55:33] That's, other verse, he said, he concluded that God was able. Say, God is able. You remember? That is faith. He judged. So, I told you from the beginning that God is able to do some things, but until your faith is in place and you judge that he's able to do it for you and begin to take steps, Peter said, Jesus, if it's you, beat me to Canada and I'm going to come.

[55:57] Hallelujah. Fear not. Fear not. Sister, fear not. Brother, fear not. It is I.

[56:07] As long as it is I, you keep your eye on the it is I, you are going to make it to your destination. As long as you keep your eye on the it is I, even in the middle of a situation, you cannot sing because you are with it is I.

[56:23] Hallelujah. In the first place, Jesus will always give you a reason to believe. That's why we listen to testimonies.

[56:40] He will always give you a reason. You know the reason he gave them? He came walking on the water. That was testimony enough for Peter to say, ah, if you did it, I'm also going to take a step.

[56:53] And he said, I don't want to take a step because it's not a formula. I want to hear a word from you to authorize me to take a step. Pastor, if God spoke to you to start that church, whoever leaves, let them go.

[57:10] They are creating the way for the proper sons to come. if God told you the biggest asset of a Christian is the voice of God, is the voice of God, is the voice, the biggest asset of a, you hear the gentleman, he was saved one and a half years of health challenges.

[57:33] Why? Because he had, not pastor, he was, he's not a pastor. He's not, his work schedule doesn't even afford him to come to church every day of the week. You know what? But he said, I hate God because he exercised his faith, he was determined and he hate God and he started putting it into action and he cleared him.

[57:56] Listen, some of us have problems we are hearing from too many people. Too many people and some of them are expecting what they are talking about. They know what they are talking about.

[58:11] They look at you. They look at your muscles and say, you are not good for any woman to marry. It's too late. I have been in this job for a long time. You can't marry.

[58:23] So you begin to, you have to start considering adoption. Okay, and you can't marry. You know, they tell you based on their expertise. But before you go around looking for what men have got to say, if I were you, I would shut myself in the room.

[58:40] I would shut myself in the room. Take my Bible, nothing else. Take my Bible and call on the name of the God of charis and call on his name and say, Lord, show me the way forward.

[58:51] Lord, show me the way forward. Lord, show me the way forward. Lord, show me the way forward. It's about time someone takes the responsibility to cry onto God for him to speak to you.

[59:06] God loves to speak because he's a speaking God. He loves to speak. As you are seated, someone is hearing the voice of God as I'm talking right now.

[59:20] Yes. Go back to that sister. Go back to that brother. Go back home. Go back to that business. Go back to those books. Go back as you are hearing God.

[59:31] God is a speaking God and your biggest asset is hearing from God. Peter said, if it is you, Lord, bid me to come and I'm going to come.

[59:44] I don't care the odds. I'm going to come if it is you. I'm here to announce to someone. I'm here to announce to someone that you will not be put to shame.

[59:56] You may be in the middle. You may be in the middle of your life in the middle of your financial situation, in the middle of a storm, but I'm here to announce to you, fear not.

[60:08] It is I. Fear not. It is I. Fear not. It is I. Fear not. It is I. Fear not. Defy all the odds.

[60:23] Defy all the negativities. Everything they say against your future. Anything they say, all the contrary evidences. All you need is what is God saying.

[60:35] Listen, after you've gone to men, after you've gone around, after you've done everything you can do, looking for help, after you've done whatever you've done, make sure you don't ignore listening to God.

[60:50] That's why if I were here, I would not miss another service another day. because in an atmosphere like this, God speaks.

[61:01] Some of us hear more from other people than God. Some of us, there have been people who said that had it not been for my friends, my marriage wouldn't have broken down.

[61:13] Had it not been for my friends, this man was a good man. I didn't know he was going to become a millionaire. He was a good man. He loved me, but my friend said he's not good for me, and now he went, this woman is not happy.

[61:25] Now look at me. I did not before the people I listened to. I did not before the people I listened to. I would have stayed in church and my life would have been in peace. Yes, I like that.

[61:38] My life would have been in peace, not in pieces. Why do you have to go to church? Why do you have to spend your life in church like that?

[61:49] You are listening to the wrong people. They are killing your faith. Listen, I started by saying that God revealed it to me, showed me that the believers, we don't just walk by hope.

[62:02] We don't walk by hope. We walk by faith because you know what? Normal human beings, no one knows what tomorrow holds. But the only certainty you have about tomorrow is when you are walking with God by faith.

[62:15] The Bible said faith is the evidence of things hopeful. Faith. And so listen, listen, I've come to a conclusion I won't bother myself when people choose not to live with God, walk with God and do their own thing.

[62:29] My resolution is that I'm going to stay with God, walk with God, stay at it, stay at it, stay at it, keep at it, work at it, keep at it, stay at it. It doesn't matter how long it takes.

[62:41] You can't beat me to it. When I'm doing it God's way and you're doing it otherwise, there's no way. Bring business on board. There's no way. Let me do it with God's principle and do it with any other principle.

[62:53] There's no way you can beat me to it. Bring marriage, bring raising children, bring life issues, bring anything, bring general life. But that's why I announce to you, fear not for God is with you.

[63:07] Fear not for God is with you. Fear not for God is with you. He said it is I. Say yes. Say yes. Say yes.

[63:19] Lord, if it is you, that was faith talking.

[63:35] Faith is not comfortable with, okay, I know it. Faith wants to take a step. In the middle, you are covered. in the middle, you are covered.

[63:47] Fear not. Put your faith into action for the just shall live by faith. I prophesy over your life that your faith is not coming down. I prophesy over your life that your faith is growing wilder and wilder and stronger and stronger.

[64:02] I prophesy over your life that nothing will keep you down, nothing will pull you down. Your faith will deliver. Your faith will deliver. Your faith will deliver. Your faith will deliver.

[64:14] Your faith will deliver. Your faith will deliver. Fear not. Fear not. It is I. Take a step in faith. Take a step in faith.

[64:24] I prophesy over your life that your faith is delivering now. Your miracle is at hand now. Your breakthrough is coming closer to you now. Nothing will stop you.

[64:36] Nothing will stop you. Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. To hear more from David Entry, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

[64:47]  You can also subscribe to Karis Church on YouTube. Don't forget to share and subscribe to our podcast so you're always up to date. Be blessed.