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In this captivating episode, we delve into the story of Daniel, a man who remained unwavering in his faith despite facing intense trials and threats. Drawing from the biblical narrative, we explore how unshakable faith is developed and maintained, and the vital role of consistent obedience in this process. Discover the profound insights into how faith is tested and matured in the midst of adversity, and be inspired by Daniel's incredible journey of resilience. Listeners will be taken on a spiritual journey as we unlock the secrets behind a faith that stands firm against life's many injustices. Through engaging discussions and thoughtful reflections, this episode offers practical advice on fostering a faith that does not waver, even in the face of immense challenges. Whether through understanding biblical stories or applying them to daily life, you'll learn how to nurture a faith that withstands the toughest of storms.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, January 20th. If you've been unfairly criticized, you share something with the prophet Daniel. Let's discover how to build unshakable faith that stands firm against life's injustices.
SPEAKER 02 :
What does it take to shake your faith? Well, for the apostle Peter, it took looking at the waves and the storm around him and his faith began to waver and he began to sink. For Thomas, it was the sight of the crucifixion that caused his faith to shake. For those disciples in the upper room, having heard that Peter had been arrested and knowing that James had been killed, what is it that caused their faith to shake the death of James? What does it take to shake yours? Bad news about your health? Bad news about your finances? disappointment about some plan that you'd had that you just knew was going to work out the way you wanted it to work out? Persecution, prolonged suffering. I mean, it just goes on for weeks and months and years and you don't see any way out and no hope of any change. Does that shake your faith and rattle your faith between you and God? Are you able to see those things and interpret them in the light of what God says about himself in his word? Well, that's what I want to talk about in this message. And the title of this message is Unshakable Faith. And I want you to turn, if you will, to the book of Daniel. And I want us to look at the sixth chapter of this book. So let me give you a little background of what's happening here. And you recall that Daniel was one of those Hebrews who had been taken to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, invaded Babylon. Jerusalem, destroyed the city, burnt the wall, the gates. And on three occasions, 605, 597, and then again in 586, he deported the top quality people over to Babylon to use them and to grow them up in the culture, for example, as he said, and to teach them ways of the Babylonians, teach them their literature, their language. and to make Babylonians out of them. Well, some of those who were taken were young men and Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the four that you and I are the most familiar with and the ones who are named. In this sixth chapter, we come to an incident later on in the life of Daniel where his faith is tested. And I believe in the life of this man, there are those principles that give us an idea of what unshakable faith is about. And you'll recall that Daniel is in a foreign country. All through this book, he is captive but mightily used of God in the lives of four kings. Among the Babylonians, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and then Cyrus the Persian king. So he's lived into the fourth reign of these kings, and it is in Cyrus' kingship that the nation is allowed to go back to rebuild the city. And so... If you recall in the 30th verse of the 5th chapter, this is the end of the reign of Belshazzar, the coming of Darius. The Bible says, That night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was slain. So Darius, the Mede, received the kingdom at about the age of 62. It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, and they should be in charge of the whole kingdom. And over them... three commissioners of whom Daniel was one, that these satraps might be accountable to them and that the king might not suffer loss, that is financial loss and control over his kingdom. Then this Daniel said, began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit. And the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. And then instead of reading all the rest, I want to give you an idea of what's going on. So the rest of these men who had responsibilities became jealous of Daniel because they saw that he was a man of distinguishing qualities and above and beyond all the rest. And they couldn't find any way in the world to accuse him of anything that would cause the riots to judge him in any fashion. So they set a trap. And they went to the king and they said, we think that you ought to pass a law and it should be under the laws of the Medes and the Persians. And the law of the Medes and the Persians said that once that law is agreed to, it cannot be changed under any condition. Even if a man is found guilty and then they find that he is not guilty, the law cannot change. It is the irreversible law of the Medes and the Persians. And so they said, we think you should establish a statute. that anyone who prays to anybody, anywhere, under any condition except to you, that that person should be thrown in the lion's den, and this should last for at least 30 days. Now, they knew that Daniel was a praying man and that he prayed to his God. Well, the Scripture says in verse 10, and we'll read this verse several times. Verse 10 says, Now, when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house, now in his roof. chamber. He had windows open toward Jerusalem. And he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God as he'd been doing previously. Now, this is very important. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. So what did they do? They went to King Darius and said, guess what? And first of all, they had said in the seventh verse that all the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects, the satraps, the high officials, and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute. Well, they hadn't said anything to Daniel about it. So he heard about it, but he was not in on the deal, of course. And so they go to the king and say, well, you know, Daniel... Daniel, we caught him praying to his God. Verse 14 of chapter 6 says, Then as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed, set his mind on delivering Daniel, and even until sunset, he kept exerting himself to rescue him. That is, the king did not want to kill Daniel because he loved Daniel. He understood him to be a man of extreme high quality, and his past had proven that he was indeed... an advantage to the king to have him in places of responsibility. And so... Finally, of course, they said, well, you know now, the law of the Medes and the Persians says you can't change it. Verse 16 says, then the king gave orders. Daniel was brought from the lion's den. But he said to him, your God, whom you constantly serve, will himself deliver you. Verse 18 says, so the king went to bed that night, but he couldn't sleep. And he had no entertainment brought to him, and he was fasting. And verse 19 says, then the king arose with the dawn at the break of day, and he went in haste to the lion's den. And so you can imagine what he was thinking. Then the king spoke and said to Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you constantly serve been able to deliver you from the lions? Now think about this. Every reference is always a reference to Daniel. This man who serves his God constantly. That is, there was a consistency about Daniel. And I believe probably the sweetest words that old King Darius ever heard in his whole life were these. O king, live forever. He knew that wasn't a lion speaking. That was Daniel. Daniel had survived the night and survived the lions. He says, Now, the Bible says that all of those who plotted against Daniel and their wives and their children were fed to the lions. So the lions that night, because they deprived themselves of one man, got a whole bunch of families. And so they ate, no doubt, for days. What a horrible mess when you think about lions devouring people. But you see, the judgment of God again comes, and time after time in Daniel's life, that is exactly what we see happening. Now, what does all that have to do with unshakable faith? We're talking about the quality of faith that is not intimidated by difficulty, hardship, and threats. Not intimidated by it. It is not ruffled by it. It is not moved by it. It is firm, fixed. It is steadfast. It is indomitable. And it does not change because adverse winds blow one way or the other. And this is the quality of faith that Daniel had. Unruffled by the circumstances that surrounded him. Unwavering, steadfast. Let me tell you what it does not mean. When we talk about unshakable faith, we're not talking about a faith. that will preserve me and protect me from all types of difficulty. Unshakable faith does not guarantee me that I will not go through difficulty, hardship, and trial and persecution. Because the life of Daniel is one difficulty and one trial after the other. And as we've discussed in the whole series, these men that have demonstrated such beautiful faith for us, their demonstration has been in the midst of difficulty, hardship, and trial. Prolonged suffering. prolonged difficulty does not mean that our faith is unshakable, nor does it mean that unshakable faith will deliver me out of it and deliver me from it and make it possible for me not to go through these things. Let me go one step further. Unshakable faith does not mean that my hardship and my difficulty and my trial will even preserve my life. That is, unshakable faith does not mean that I won't lose my life living in obedience to God. So these folks who want to say to you, well, if you just have enough faith, everything is going to be good. There's not a single verse in the scripture that says everything is going to be good according to my evaluation of good if I have enough faith. Because where is faith born? Where is it strengthened? Where is it tested? How do we know that you and I have unshakable faith? Listen, I only know that my faith is unshakable when God allows and sins against me enough storms and enough heartaches and enough burdens and enough persecutions and enough beatings that no matter what, I am unshaken in my relationship to Him. So when we talk about unshakable faith, we're talking about faith that is tried and tested. Let me go one step further. When we think about unshakable faith and the quality of it that is certainly true here in the life of Daniel, that does not mean that I won't have moments of doubt. If there is a God, where is he now? If your God loves you, why doesn't he do something about your mess? If God loves you, why doesn't he change this? If God loves you, why did he let that happen? If God really loves you, how do you explain this? And those thoughts do come through our mind and we do think those things, but here's what unshakable faith does. Unshakable faith hears it and sees it and lets it go. Unshakable faith does not grasp the doubt, does not hold to the doubt, does not tolerate the doubt, but just lets it go right on by. Unshakable faith knows better than to grasp a fiery dart of doubt from Satan, but rather focuses attention and sets its focus upon Almighty God, who is the one who makes it possible for us to survive in the midst of those difficulties. So I want to be sure we understand that unshakable faith doesn't mean that everything is going to be good. Everything is going to be easy. Everything is going to be just the way I want it. And if I just trust God enough, everything is going to turn out my way. No, unshakable faith does not guarantee that everything is going to go my way. Now, Let's talk for just a moment about how that kind of faith is developed. And I want to separate the development of this faith from the key to unshakable faith for the simple reason that there is a distinction here that I don't want us to miss. Well, how is this unshakable faith established and how is it developed? The kind that no matter what goes on and what happens, our devotion, our loyalty, our obedience to God does not change. How is this kind of faith developed? Well, let's take Daniel and illustrate it for just a moment. Remember... that Daniel was a young lad over in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king, attacked and took him away. I want to say two or three things about Daniel here, that Daniel's unshakable faith began to be developed at his father and mother's knee when they taught him about God. Now, in every one of these messages on faith, I have said to you parents, listen carefully. For the simple reason, the time to begin to build faith in your children is not when they get to be teenagers and 25 or 30 years of age, but when they are very, very small. And you read them the stories of Scripture and you interpret what God is doing in the lives of these men because though the circumstances are never the same, the principles are always the same. Daniel began to learn and to trust God at the knee of his father and his mother. Secondly, he learned to trust God, listening to the prophecies of Jeremiah the prophet. Jeremiah, who is called the weeping prophet, prophesied for about 40 years, beginning at about the age of 20. And Daniel grew up under the prophecies of Jeremiah, all of which were threatening prophecies. And what he would do, he would warn the nation of Judah of the judgment of God that was coming because of their disobedience to God. Well, once in a while they'd get so sick and tired of hearing it, they'd throw him in jail, then they'd finally let him out. They'd throw him back in jail, then they'd finally let him out. They'd throw him in jail again, finally let him out. They didn't like to hear the prophecies of God's judgment. He said to them, you might as well give up. The Babylonians are coming. And they probably put him in jail to keep him from opening the gate and letting them in because he knew and he said, there is no way for you to defend yourself. The Babylonians are coming. The judgment of God has come upon Judah. And sure enough, they did come. And sure enough, the judgment of God did come upon Judah. And the city was destroyed. And the gates burned. The walls torn down. And so they carried all of these people back to Babylon. Well, Nebuchadnezzar heard about these prophecies of Jeremiah. So you know what he decided? He decided to say to Jeremiah, well, Jeremiah, you can either go to Babylon or you can stay. And so Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem. to encourage the people who were there. And also, Jeremiah would write to the people in Babylon, encouraging them. Because you see, in his prophecy, here's what he said. He said, you will remain there for 70 years. At the end of 70 years, God's going to release you to send you back to rebuild the city. Well, of course, those prophecies, first of all, they didn't like to hear them. They didn't want to hear them. And they paid little heed to them. But Daniel, as a young man, heard these prophecies. And he watched how God fulfilled the prophecies of Jeremiah. So he was beginning to learn to trust God and to trust the Word of God. Well, there came a time when he got to Babylon that he had to trust the Lord. And he also was tested. And God began to develop his faith, not only by the teaching of his parents, not only by the prophecies of Jeremiah, but also in his own life. There is a facet to this development that I want to mention here because I don't want you to miss a very, very, very important part of it. Because there are many people who say, well, you know, I'm trusting God, but my faith certainly is not unshakable. And I find myself wavering here and wavering there. And here is a key element in the life of Daniel that I believe oftentimes somehow we never relate. There is a link here that sometimes we miss. And here it is. You cannot have unshakable faith without having consistent obedience. Faith and obedience are linked together. You cannot separate the two. They just go together. Because what you'll see is this, that Daniel trusts God, then he obeys God. He trusts God, then he obeys God. He trusts God, then he obeys God. And each time, it matters not what the outcome, his commitment is to be obedient to God. Chapter 1, the Bible says that Daniel made up his mind to be obedient to God no matter what the circumstances. Listen. If you wonder why your faith wavers and why it rattles and why it shakes and why you're on and off and in and out and wondering and questioning and doubting God, then look at the pattern of obedience in your life. Look at the pattern of obedience. Is your life a life of faith? Are you walking by faith? You see, one who walks by faith is consistently obeying God. Does that mean in every single solitary thing? No. But their bent is toward obedience, and their lifestyle is obedience, and there are moments of disobedience, but there are moments they're going to correct it quickly, and they move on to be obedient to God. And that's why when we think in terms of faith, you cannot think in terms of faith without thinking in terms of obedience. Because what is the acid test of my faith? The acid test of my faith is if God says do this, I don't have to know why. If it is your pattern to be obedient to God, your faith is going to grow and it's going to get stronger and stronger and stronger. But if you want to trust God in trouble and somehow he gets you through that, then you go do your own thing until you face another crisis in your life. Then we want to trust God again. Then we wonder, why doesn't God work these things out? And why does it take him so long? Oftentimes it is because, listen, our faith stops in its growth until I obey the last command God gave me. You know, that's why many people go to church for years and years and years and years and sit and listen to sermon after sermon after sermon and do not grow in their spiritual life. Oh, they want to trust God and they want to learn about God, but they do not want to be obedient to God. Because sometimes to obey God costs us. And it could cost us our life. If I really trust Him, I will do what He says no matter what. There is an inseparable link between obedience and strong, unshakable faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to today's podcast titled Unshakable Faith. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Charles Stanley and In Touch Ministries’ daily radio program.
In this captivating episode, we delve into the story of Daniel, a man who remained unwavering in his faith despite facing intense trials and threats. Drawing from the biblical narrative, we explore how unshakable faith is developed and maintained, and the vital role of consistent obedience in this process. Discover the profound insights into how faith is tested and matured in the midst of adversity, and be inspired by Daniel's incredible journey of resilience. Listeners will be taken on a spiritual journey as we unlock the secrets behind a faith that stands firm against life's many injustices. Through engaging discussions and thoughtful reflections, this episode offers practical advice on fostering a faith that does not waver, even in the face of immense challenges. Whether through understanding biblical stories or applying them to daily life, you'll learn how to nurture a faith that withstands the toughest of storms.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, January 20th. If you've been unfairly criticized, you share something with the prophet Daniel. Let's discover how to build unshakable faith that stands firm against life's injustices.
SPEAKER 02 :
What does it take to shake your faith? Well, for the apostle Peter, it took looking at the waves and the storm around him and his faith began to waver and he began to sink. For Thomas, it was the sight of the crucifixion that caused his faith to shake. For those disciples in the upper room, having heard that Peter had been arrested and knowing that James had been killed, what is it that caused their faith to shake the death of James? What does it take to shake yours? Bad news about your health? Bad news about your finances? disappointment about some plan that you'd had that you just knew was going to work out the way you wanted it to work out? Persecution, prolonged suffering. I mean, it just goes on for weeks and months and years and you don't see any way out and no hope of any change. Does that shake your faith and rattle your faith between you and God? Are you able to see those things and interpret them in the light of what God says about himself in his word? Well, that's what I want to talk about in this message. And the title of this message is Unshakable Faith. And I want you to turn, if you will, to the book of Daniel. And I want us to look at the sixth chapter of this book. So let me give you a little background of what's happening here. And you recall that Daniel was one of those Hebrews who had been taken to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, invaded Babylon. Jerusalem, destroyed the city, burnt the wall, the gates. And on three occasions, 605, 597, and then again in 586, he deported the top quality people over to Babylon to use them and to grow them up in the culture, for example, as he said, and to teach them ways of the Babylonians, teach them their literature, their language. and to make Babylonians out of them. Well, some of those who were taken were young men and Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the four that you and I are the most familiar with and the ones who are named. In this sixth chapter, we come to an incident later on in the life of Daniel where his faith is tested. And I believe in the life of this man, there are those principles that give us an idea of what unshakable faith is about. And you'll recall that Daniel is in a foreign country. All through this book, he is captive but mightily used of God in the lives of four kings. Among the Babylonians, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and then Cyrus the Persian king. So he's lived into the fourth reign of these kings, and it is in Cyrus' kingship that the nation is allowed to go back to rebuild the city. And so... If you recall in the 30th verse of the 5th chapter, this is the end of the reign of Belshazzar, the coming of Darius. The Bible says, That night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was slain. So Darius, the Mede, received the kingdom at about the age of 62. It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, and they should be in charge of the whole kingdom. And over them... three commissioners of whom Daniel was one, that these satraps might be accountable to them and that the king might not suffer loss, that is financial loss and control over his kingdom. Then this Daniel said, began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit. And the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. And then instead of reading all the rest, I want to give you an idea of what's going on. So the rest of these men who had responsibilities became jealous of Daniel because they saw that he was a man of distinguishing qualities and above and beyond all the rest. And they couldn't find any way in the world to accuse him of anything that would cause the riots to judge him in any fashion. So they set a trap. And they went to the king and they said, we think that you ought to pass a law and it should be under the laws of the Medes and the Persians. And the law of the Medes and the Persians said that once that law is agreed to, it cannot be changed under any condition. Even if a man is found guilty and then they find that he is not guilty, the law cannot change. It is the irreversible law of the Medes and the Persians. And so they said, we think you should establish a statute. that anyone who prays to anybody, anywhere, under any condition except to you, that that person should be thrown in the lion's den, and this should last for at least 30 days. Now, they knew that Daniel was a praying man and that he prayed to his God. Well, the Scripture says in verse 10, and we'll read this verse several times. Verse 10 says, Now, when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house, now in his roof. chamber. He had windows open toward Jerusalem. And he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God as he'd been doing previously. Now, this is very important. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. So what did they do? They went to King Darius and said, guess what? And first of all, they had said in the seventh verse that all the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects, the satraps, the high officials, and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute. Well, they hadn't said anything to Daniel about it. So he heard about it, but he was not in on the deal, of course. And so they go to the king and say, well, you know, Daniel... Daniel, we caught him praying to his God. Verse 14 of chapter 6 says, Then as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed, set his mind on delivering Daniel, and even until sunset, he kept exerting himself to rescue him. That is, the king did not want to kill Daniel because he loved Daniel. He understood him to be a man of extreme high quality, and his past had proven that he was indeed... an advantage to the king to have him in places of responsibility. And so... Finally, of course, they said, well, you know now, the law of the Medes and the Persians says you can't change it. Verse 16 says, then the king gave orders. Daniel was brought from the lion's den. But he said to him, your God, whom you constantly serve, will himself deliver you. Verse 18 says, so the king went to bed that night, but he couldn't sleep. And he had no entertainment brought to him, and he was fasting. And verse 19 says, then the king arose with the dawn at the break of day, and he went in haste to the lion's den. And so you can imagine what he was thinking. Then the king spoke and said to Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you constantly serve been able to deliver you from the lions? Now think about this. Every reference is always a reference to Daniel. This man who serves his God constantly. That is, there was a consistency about Daniel. And I believe probably the sweetest words that old King Darius ever heard in his whole life were these. O king, live forever. He knew that wasn't a lion speaking. That was Daniel. Daniel had survived the night and survived the lions. He says, Now, the Bible says that all of those who plotted against Daniel and their wives and their children were fed to the lions. So the lions that night, because they deprived themselves of one man, got a whole bunch of families. And so they ate, no doubt, for days. What a horrible mess when you think about lions devouring people. But you see, the judgment of God again comes, and time after time in Daniel's life, that is exactly what we see happening. Now, what does all that have to do with unshakable faith? We're talking about the quality of faith that is not intimidated by difficulty, hardship, and threats. Not intimidated by it. It is not ruffled by it. It is not moved by it. It is firm, fixed. It is steadfast. It is indomitable. And it does not change because adverse winds blow one way or the other. And this is the quality of faith that Daniel had. Unruffled by the circumstances that surrounded him. Unwavering, steadfast. Let me tell you what it does not mean. When we talk about unshakable faith, we're not talking about a faith. that will preserve me and protect me from all types of difficulty. Unshakable faith does not guarantee me that I will not go through difficulty, hardship, and trial and persecution. Because the life of Daniel is one difficulty and one trial after the other. And as we've discussed in the whole series, these men that have demonstrated such beautiful faith for us, their demonstration has been in the midst of difficulty, hardship, and trial. Prolonged suffering. prolonged difficulty does not mean that our faith is unshakable, nor does it mean that unshakable faith will deliver me out of it and deliver me from it and make it possible for me not to go through these things. Let me go one step further. Unshakable faith does not mean that my hardship and my difficulty and my trial will even preserve my life. That is, unshakable faith does not mean that I won't lose my life living in obedience to God. So these folks who want to say to you, well, if you just have enough faith, everything is going to be good. There's not a single verse in the scripture that says everything is going to be good according to my evaluation of good if I have enough faith. Because where is faith born? Where is it strengthened? Where is it tested? How do we know that you and I have unshakable faith? Listen, I only know that my faith is unshakable when God allows and sins against me enough storms and enough heartaches and enough burdens and enough persecutions and enough beatings that no matter what, I am unshaken in my relationship to Him. So when we talk about unshakable faith, we're talking about faith that is tried and tested. Let me go one step further. When we think about unshakable faith and the quality of it that is certainly true here in the life of Daniel, that does not mean that I won't have moments of doubt. If there is a God, where is he now? If your God loves you, why doesn't he do something about your mess? If God loves you, why doesn't he change this? If God loves you, why did he let that happen? If God really loves you, how do you explain this? And those thoughts do come through our mind and we do think those things, but here's what unshakable faith does. Unshakable faith hears it and sees it and lets it go. Unshakable faith does not grasp the doubt, does not hold to the doubt, does not tolerate the doubt, but just lets it go right on by. Unshakable faith knows better than to grasp a fiery dart of doubt from Satan, but rather focuses attention and sets its focus upon Almighty God, who is the one who makes it possible for us to survive in the midst of those difficulties. So I want to be sure we understand that unshakable faith doesn't mean that everything is going to be good. Everything is going to be easy. Everything is going to be just the way I want it. And if I just trust God enough, everything is going to turn out my way. No, unshakable faith does not guarantee that everything is going to go my way. Now, Let's talk for just a moment about how that kind of faith is developed. And I want to separate the development of this faith from the key to unshakable faith for the simple reason that there is a distinction here that I don't want us to miss. Well, how is this unshakable faith established and how is it developed? The kind that no matter what goes on and what happens, our devotion, our loyalty, our obedience to God does not change. How is this kind of faith developed? Well, let's take Daniel and illustrate it for just a moment. Remember... that Daniel was a young lad over in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king, attacked and took him away. I want to say two or three things about Daniel here, that Daniel's unshakable faith began to be developed at his father and mother's knee when they taught him about God. Now, in every one of these messages on faith, I have said to you parents, listen carefully. For the simple reason, the time to begin to build faith in your children is not when they get to be teenagers and 25 or 30 years of age, but when they are very, very small. And you read them the stories of Scripture and you interpret what God is doing in the lives of these men because though the circumstances are never the same, the principles are always the same. Daniel began to learn and to trust God at the knee of his father and his mother. Secondly, he learned to trust God, listening to the prophecies of Jeremiah the prophet. Jeremiah, who is called the weeping prophet, prophesied for about 40 years, beginning at about the age of 20. And Daniel grew up under the prophecies of Jeremiah, all of which were threatening prophecies. And what he would do, he would warn the nation of Judah of the judgment of God that was coming because of their disobedience to God. Well, once in a while they'd get so sick and tired of hearing it, they'd throw him in jail, then they'd finally let him out. They'd throw him back in jail, then they'd finally let him out. They'd throw him in jail again, finally let him out. They didn't like to hear the prophecies of God's judgment. He said to them, you might as well give up. The Babylonians are coming. And they probably put him in jail to keep him from opening the gate and letting them in because he knew and he said, there is no way for you to defend yourself. The Babylonians are coming. The judgment of God has come upon Judah. And sure enough, they did come. And sure enough, the judgment of God did come upon Judah. And the city was destroyed. And the gates burned. The walls torn down. And so they carried all of these people back to Babylon. Well, Nebuchadnezzar heard about these prophecies of Jeremiah. So you know what he decided? He decided to say to Jeremiah, well, Jeremiah, you can either go to Babylon or you can stay. And so Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem. to encourage the people who were there. And also, Jeremiah would write to the people in Babylon, encouraging them. Because you see, in his prophecy, here's what he said. He said, you will remain there for 70 years. At the end of 70 years, God's going to release you to send you back to rebuild the city. Well, of course, those prophecies, first of all, they didn't like to hear them. They didn't want to hear them. And they paid little heed to them. But Daniel, as a young man, heard these prophecies. And he watched how God fulfilled the prophecies of Jeremiah. So he was beginning to learn to trust God and to trust the Word of God. Well, there came a time when he got to Babylon that he had to trust the Lord. And he also was tested. And God began to develop his faith, not only by the teaching of his parents, not only by the prophecies of Jeremiah, but also in his own life. There is a facet to this development that I want to mention here because I don't want you to miss a very, very, very important part of it. Because there are many people who say, well, you know, I'm trusting God, but my faith certainly is not unshakable. And I find myself wavering here and wavering there. And here is a key element in the life of Daniel that I believe oftentimes somehow we never relate. There is a link here that sometimes we miss. And here it is. You cannot have unshakable faith without having consistent obedience. Faith and obedience are linked together. You cannot separate the two. They just go together. Because what you'll see is this, that Daniel trusts God, then he obeys God. He trusts God, then he obeys God. He trusts God, then he obeys God. And each time, it matters not what the outcome, his commitment is to be obedient to God. Chapter 1, the Bible says that Daniel made up his mind to be obedient to God no matter what the circumstances. Listen. If you wonder why your faith wavers and why it rattles and why it shakes and why you're on and off and in and out and wondering and questioning and doubting God, then look at the pattern of obedience in your life. Look at the pattern of obedience. Is your life a life of faith? Are you walking by faith? You see, one who walks by faith is consistently obeying God. Does that mean in every single solitary thing? No. But their bent is toward obedience, and their lifestyle is obedience, and there are moments of disobedience, but there are moments they're going to correct it quickly, and they move on to be obedient to God. And that's why when we think in terms of faith, you cannot think in terms of faith without thinking in terms of obedience. Because what is the acid test of my faith? The acid test of my faith is if God says do this, I don't have to know why. If it is your pattern to be obedient to God, your faith is going to grow and it's going to get stronger and stronger and stronger. But if you want to trust God in trouble and somehow he gets you through that, then you go do your own thing until you face another crisis in your life. Then we want to trust God again. Then we wonder, why doesn't God work these things out? And why does it take him so long? Oftentimes it is because, listen, our faith stops in its growth until I obey the last command God gave me. You know, that's why many people go to church for years and years and years and years and sit and listen to sermon after sermon after sermon and do not grow in their spiritual life. Oh, they want to trust God and they want to learn about God, but they do not want to be obedient to God. Because sometimes to obey God costs us. And it could cost us our life. If I really trust Him, I will do what He says no matter what. There is an inseparable link between obedience and strong, unshakable faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to today's podcast titled Unshakable Faith. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
In today's episode, we dissect what it truly means to follow Jesus. We'll discuss the challenges faced by modern disciples, the rivalry of allegiances, and the tough decision-making inherent in following Christ without reservation. With the guidance of Charles Stanley, learn how to align your ambitions with divine expectations and let your life become a beacon of discipleship.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to this weekend's In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley. Our series, Called to be a Disciple, continues today with a message that helps us adjust our attitude toward following Christ.
SPEAKER 02 :
When we talk about discipleship, my friend, we talk about devotion to Jesus Christ. And that is the theme of this particular message. And that is the devotion of discipleship. Discipleship demands something from us. God is always giving to us, but he's also demanding something from us. And I believe in this passage is a clear delineation of what that price, what that cost, what that devotion to him demands in this area of discipleship. Now, let's see what he says. He says, beginning in this 26th verse, if any man come to me, whoever he may be, teenager, teenage girl, boy, adult, if anyone come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Now, watch this. Three times, here's Jesus. Three times he says, you can't be my disciple. Secondly, you can't be my disciple. Thirdly, you can't be my disciple. He did not want to leave anybody in question as to the devotion which he demanded for discipleship. Now, devotion speaks of loyalty. It speaks of love. It speaks of enthusiasm and zeal in our performance for God. Devotion says something about the innermost being of a man in a woman's heart. Devotion says something about their allegiance and loyalty and love to Jesus Christ. It speaks of something of the giving of themselves with enthusiasm. Yes, because you see, devotion knows nothing of a passive attitude toward Jesus. Their discipleship. He said, follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men. You'll be my disciples. So that discipleship demands devotion to Jesus. Now, I think there are four things he's saying. The first one is this. discipleship demands a devotion whereby our love and loyalty for Jesus will exceed our love and loyalty for all of us. That's what he's saying, first of all. Discipleship demands a devotion to him, a love and loyalty and allegiance and enthusiasm and zeal for him and his work that will exceed our love and loyalty for all of us. Now, any love for anything or anybody... that interferes to any degree with my being obedient to what I know is true is a rival to God. He says there's to be no rivalry. That our devotion to Jesus Christ is to be to the point that when there comes the point of making a decision between obeying God and loving Him, And being obedient to his word, there can be absolutely no question about that in the life of the believer. Devotion to him means I follow him, whatever the price, and whoever may not understand. And I simply ask you this morning, is your life confused? Is there conflict in your life? Because you know that God is saying, this is what I want in your life. And somebody else is saying, why don't you do this? Why don't you do that? Why don't you do the other? I think this is best. Are you influenced by the crowd, a small group? Are you influenced by somebody on your job, somebody in your school, somebody... in your home, that you know what they're saying to you is rivalry. It creates friction and tension in your heart. And as the fellow says, I know what I ought to do, but what did I consider him? You have rivalry in your heart. The Lord Jesus Christ is battling in your heart for your allegiance and loyalty, and you are trying to share it with someone else. Now listen, if you are going to be what you are under mandate to become, you'll lose some friends. But what I discovered, those whom I have lost weren't really my friends because a true friend ought to be building me up, not tearing me down. And if my devotion and obedience to Jesus Christ means that I lose friends, I must lose whatever is necessary because to be built up by him is far more than to have the praise and the approval of others. Now, I want to ask you, my friend, who is it in your life today that is a rival with your allegiance and devotion to Jesus Christ? Devotion to him demands no rivalry within our heart. Second thing I want you to notice is this. Look in verse 27. Whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. What is he saying? The second thing he's saying is this, that discipleship demands a devotion whereby we are willing to suffer willingly for Jesus' sake. It is a devotion to him whereby we are willing to suffer for his sake. What men say, what they do, what they attempt to do, we are willing to suffer without complaint, without grudge, without defense, and without bitterness. You see, lots of people can serve the Lord and then they get all upset when the world attacks or when the devil attacks in some way. But you see, discipleship means that we have come to the place we have been nailed to the cross. And brother, you can't kill a man who's dead. You can't hurt a man who's dead. You can't take from a man who's given it all away to begin with. You cannot steal from a man who has nothing. Why did he use the cross? Because the cross meant death, suffering, and shame for the glory of God. And discipleship, we said, means that a person has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. That's glorious. Yield it to him as Lord. That's wonderful. And who is available for the Lord Jesus Christ to reproduce his life through us in the life of someone else? That may mean you're going to suffer mockery, all kinds of persecution, whatever it may be. But he says, ye cannot be my disciple unless you are willing to freely, without bitterness and begrudging, suffer for Jesus' sake. My friend, I believe if we could get a hold of that verse in our heart, there'd be a lot less telephone calls to the pastor. Oh, do you know what so-and-so's done to me because of my witness for Jesus? Now, most of the time, that's not the problem. Most of the time, it's not the witness for Jesus. It's some other problem. But my friend, when it is because you have been faithful to God, praise God. Every once in a while when somebody attacks me, I just say, thank you, Lord. Praise God, praise God, hallelujah. Because if everybody loved me for everything, I'd know there's something wrong somewhere. Because he said, beware if the world speak well of you. If everybody speaks well of you, watch out. But friend, when you're obedient to God, you will stir up a strange animosity. And let me tell you what it is. What it is, is this. Jesus in you is reflecting through you to them what they ought to be. And when they're committed to not being that, you irritate them. So that your obedience to him is an irritation to them. And your irritation to them invokes animosity and persecution towards you. And that's what makes it difficult sometimes. But he says, unless you're willing to bear persecution without bitterness, without retaliation, and without defense, he says, ye cannot be my disciple. My friend, discipleship demands something. It demands a devotion to him. that knows no defense when attacked, but accepts it from God and says, Thank you, Lord. I must need what you're sending, and I'm going to trust you to do in my life all that you desire. When Jesus went to that cross, he went in obedience to God the Father. He did not begrudge one drop of blood, and his giving his life meant salvation for mankind. Third thing I want you to notice, he says, Whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Not only does discipleship demand the devotion of love beyond all of us, Not only does it demand a devotion of a willingness to suffer without complaint, but thirdly, that discipleship demands a devotion whereby we are willing to follow him, period. Because you see, to follow him means to obey him. Obey Him how? Obey Him in His words. Obey Him in His walk. Obey Him in His way of life. Obey Him in His will. That His walk, words, way, and will may be an expression of our own life. And that our life would be an expression of that in Him. When He said, follow me, He didn't say, follow me up so far. He didn't say, follow me until you get 30. Follow me until you get 65. Follow me in this situation, but don't worry about it over here. To follow Him means that everything He wants, we want. And even, listen, even when we don't want what he wants, just do it anyway. He said, well, how can you do that? Now, my friend, if you give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and he becomes Lord in your life, here's what you're saying. A true disciple must say this, Lord, there'll be some things I don't like. Lord, there'll be some places I don't want to go. Lord, there'll be some things I don't want to say. But whether I want to or not, I'm going to do it because you said do it. My friend, I believe that a disciple must move to the point of devotion to Jesus Christ whereby by his own will he is locked into the will of God. And I mean by locked in this, when you get yourself in a position of devotion and obedience and loyalty to him, whereby you can honestly say, Lord, above everything else in this world, I want to be obedient to your will. Put the pressure on me, God. Just move me and squeeze me tight. Put me in the vice, but make me obedient regardless of my old fleshly nature. Now, dear brother, when you get to that point, you watch what he'll do. He'll squeeze the daylights out of you when you rebel against him. because you have committed yourself to that kind of discipleship. Follow him wherever that leads. Fourth thing I want you to notice, he says in verse 33, having given the illustration of a man who started the bill but had not counted the cost properly, and a man who was going to war who also had not counted the cost properly, he says in verse 33, likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. discipleship demands a devotion to Jesus Christ whereby we are willing to give everything to him without reservation. Now, people read that and they say, well, now I think I know what he meant. But what he meant by that was that we're just sort of willing to. That's not what he said. Discipleship is not merely a subject. It is a way of life. It is a way of life that is to characterize our attitudes, our habits, our actions, everything about us. Discipleship demands our devotion to the point that we are willing to say, Lord, here is everything. I hold nothing in return. Now, what does he mean by that? Well, we look around and we say, what is it in my life that I love the most? Give it to Jesus. What are the things in my life? Give them to him. And what he's simply saying here is this, that if a man is going to be a true disciple, he's got to give it all away. Whatever God wants to give him back, that's fine. But he must give it all up to him, his family, his possessions, his self-will, everything given to him. Lord, if obedience to you demands the furthest most part of the earth, I am willing to go. A few weeks before this church called me as pastor, I had a stack of letters about so high on my desk from pulpit committees all over this country. Wanted to know that since I was in trouble, if they could consider me as their pastor. I got on my knees and I said, now, Lord, you've got to give me some wisdom about something in a hurry. And here's what I did. I simply, after I got up off my knees one day, I shoved every one of those letters in the trash can. I said, dear God, if they throw me out on my head, I'm going to be obedient to God, whatever the consequences may be. And I got the most beautiful, perfect peace in all of my heart. Now listen, it is amazing how the devil will let you hold to one single thread that you can wiggle your way back across the river in case you don't make it. He'll do anything to keep one thread of attachment in your life. And I believe when the people of God burn all of their bridges, And they say, Lord, regardless of the consequences, here is my life. My friends, something is going to happen to your testimony and your witness. The fire of God is going to begin to burn brightly in your life. And this old world is going to begin to look and see and feel the heat of the people of God moving in their lives and influencing them because their devotion to Jesus knows no limitations. You see, one torch of a man can light the torch in hundreds and millions of people's lives. But there's got to be devotion. And you see, a disciple is a man whose devotion to Jesus Christ knows no limitation. Now listen. Got two choices. Verse 34. Salt... Use it every day, probably. Salt is good. But if the salt has lost its savor or its seasoning power, where would it be salted? Now, somebody says, well, but salt can't do that. The salt that he was referring to was the salt of that day which had many, many impurities in it. And sodium chloride... which is the salt, would oftentimes be bleached out. And what they had left was simply the impurities that didn't season anything. You know what he's saying? Now watch this, dear brother. Whoever you are, whatever you're thinking, he is saying to you and to me, if we are not willing to pay the price in our devotion and loyalty and allegiance to Jesus Christ, if we are not willing... to become New Testament disciples, then we choose to become useless to God. Now watch this. You're already saved, and if you're unavailable for Him to have His way in your life, then you can't be used. So what do you have? Now my friend, I think I would do anything under God's heaven if I could get this simple truth in your heart. Listen carefully. Far too long we have been satisfied. You see, here's what we've done. We've brought God's standard down, down, down, down, down to about where we think we can live comfortably. And if we can just go to church and love the church and love the Lord a little bit and read the Bible and pray and give a little bit, we've brought it down to the point that if we can do that, maybe give to missions and a few other things, if we can do that, we have so seared our conscience that we are no longer pricked about His standard. We've brought it down to where it is comfortable to us. Thereby, we can be what we've always been and never get upset. And my friend, listen, whatever it takes before God, Don't let yourself be trapped by the circumstances of this age that is a lukewarm age for God. He wants to do something that is astronomically, absolutely unbelievable among his people. But he cannot do that in the life of the man who's saved and satisfied, who is unavailable and therefore useless before God. Now listen. You say, well, I'm a Sunday school teacher. I'm this, I'm that, I'm the other. That's not what he said. He said, we are to be disciples. Now listen, some of you are 60, 65 years of age. I am just as intent to see God do that in your life as I am the life of a man who's 40. And some of you are 16, and it's just as important for it to happen in your life as the man who's 60. If you're unavailable for him to make you a disciple, then you, when it comes to bearing fruit that is lasting and fruitful and pleasing to God, if you're not available for him to make you a disciple, you are useless before God. You see, here's what the mind says. The mind says, but look at all these things I'm doing for God. Now listen. They weigh heavy when we bring the standard down. But if the standard is discipleship and that's God's standard and it will not budge from where he put it 2,000 years ago, it makes no difference what I may in my mind, how low I may bring it down. He's still displeased. And what I'm asking you is this. If God's standard and mandate for the believer is discipleship, saved, Lord of your life, and He is continuously reproducing His life through your life day by day, if that is His demand upon your life, my friend, can you be satisfied being less? I tell you, no, you cannot be satisfied. And the world is hungering and thirsting and crying and weeping and bleeding and dying and hoping and listening for somebody to give them some kind of help. To say that He is the way. They not only need to hear it from the lips, they need to see it in the light. And when God's people become living torches of discipleship where they work and where they go to school and where they live, this old world is going to shake its head to say, God must be alive. He must be real. And Jesus Christ must be the Son of God. But there is a price. And what I'm asking you this morning from God's standard, how much does your devotion weigh in the light of God? Does it weigh enough... to make you a New Testament disciple.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Badge of a True Disciple. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
In this insightful episode of the In Touch Podcast, Charles Stanley delves deep into the story of David and Goliath, not merely as a tale of bravery but as a profound lesson on the strength of faith in overcoming life's adversities. Listeners are invited to explore how recalling past victories, reaffirming sincere motives, and rejecting the discouraging words of others can contribute to a faith that conquers. Through the narrative of David's unwavering trust in the Lord, we are reminded that no matter how insurmountable the giants in our lives may seem, faith rooted in God can lead us to victory. We further explore how David's understanding of the true nature of his battle, recognizing it as a spiritual conflict rather than merely a physical confrontation, provides a blueprint for viewing our challenges today. The conversation emphasizes the importance of relying on God's power to guide us, rather than succumbing to personal fears and the negativity of others. By contemplating the lessons derived from David's approach and confession, listeners learn to face their own giants armed with faith and assurance of God's presence. The podcast concludes with actionable steps for applying these timeless principles to modern-day struggles, ensuring that spiritual growth and personal victories are within reach for everyone willing to embrace the principles of David's story. Whether you're battling external challenges or internal doubts, this episode provides the encouragement and strength needed to forge forward with faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, January 17th. Many of us know the ancient biblical account of David and Goliath. In today's podcast, we'll explore how the timeless principle from this classic can help us stand against the giants we face in the 21st century.
SPEAKER 02 :
there is a quality of faith that makes it possible when you and I face those challenges, those overwhelming, uncontrollable things in life, that we can be victorious, we can conquer, we can come out the winner no matter what. So what I would like to do is simply explain or to share with you the characteristics. That is, I want to take the principles of of the kind of faith that conquers, and I want you to see how David illustrates these so perfectly. So, the first one of these qualities or characteristics of the kind of faith that conquers in all kinds of situations is this. The faith that conquers recalls previous victories when facing battles. Now, when David David saw Goliath. He didn't stand there and just simply size him up. He's about nine feet tall and looking at his armor and listen to his taunts. The first thing David did was to think back. He recalled, what did I do the last time I faced somebody like this? I killed a lion and a bear. If I can kill a lion and a bear, that is if God wants, So the first characteristic and the quality of the faith it conquers is that is recalling past victories. Secondly... reexamining and reaffirming the proper motives. Now, what motivated David above everything else was this, not money, not marriage, nor freedom. What motivated him was this young shepherd boy who'd been out there in the shepherd field, tending his sheep over these years, had such a relationship to God, such a reverence and awe and respect for Jehovah God, anybody who would disdain the name of Yahweh Anybody who would taunt the armies of the living God and the only God, anyone who would disgrace the name of God had to be dealt with. And if you'll notice in his conversation with King Saul, you know, the only thing he mentioned, the only thing was on his mind primarily. Let's get rid of this uncircumcised Philistine who is challenging the sovereign God of Israel. That was the issue. The third thing I want you to notice is this. That is, the faith that conquers is a faith that rejects the discouraging words of others. If David had listened to his brother, he would have gone back home. Then when he got down to seeing Saul, what did Saul say to him? Saul said, now look, he said, you're no warrior, you're just a shepherd boy. This man has been a warrior from his youth. David refused to listen to negative language and negative comments. Then I want you to notice number four. That is, the kind of faith that really conquers recognizes the true nature of the battle. Now, David understood what the true nature of the battle was. Now, I won't read all these verses again, but just a couple of them. If you go back to verse 26. who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God? Now, the armies of Israel, here's what they thought. Here's what they said to David. The men of Israel said, have you seen this man who's coming up? Surely he's coming up to defy Israel. No, that wasn't the issue. The true nature of the battle was, it was the God's of the Philistines, which weren't gods, and the God of Israel. And this is why David said what he said in his confession over here. He said in verse 47, that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. He said, listen, this battle is between your God and our God, and I'm going to show you that our God is God, and he is going to take care of you today. That's what the real battle was about. And you see, sometimes if we can get the right understanding of what's going on here, Now, what happens is most of the time, if two people fully understand what's really going on, sometimes it may take counsel, sometimes it may not. All of a sudden, the picture gets clear. But as long as either one of them says, it's your fault, you get your act together, and everything in this household is going to be straight, it's not going to be settled like that. But you see, David understood the true nature of the Bible. Sometimes parents against their children and vice versa. They think it's me against my son or my daughter against me. No, that's not the issue. It is a misunderstanding oftentimes of where the other person is coming from. And Satan reaches down into a child's mind or to a parent's frustrations and anxieties and fears and twists things around. And before long, we have children and parents fighting one another. And so they see the battle, my son, my daughter, when the battle is a spiritual battle. And the battle, listen, the ultimate battle is, am I able and am I willing to trust God through this circumstance in my life until God demonstrates his awesome power and gives me the victory? Not because I want victory over somebody, but because I want victory in my life with God, whatever he works out in a person's life. You see, but if I don't see what the real nature of the battle is, and see Saul and his army, they thought it was just two armies against each other. The reason God used David is because David saw the issue. And listen, when he saw the issue, you talking about an explosion of faith, this man is blaspheming my God. You see, if you get hung up and you don't see the true nature of something, David would never have gone to battle. He'd have said, look, hey, you guys fight this battle. Out where I am, it's quiet and peaceful. And besides that, under the stars at night, I don't have to worry about the thing. You know, I got to take care of a few sheep. And they do what I tell them. And I can handle the bears and the lions. Listen to me carefully. A lot of folks want to walk out of the battle. You know why they want to walk out of the battle? Because they don't understand the nature of the battle. If the battle is worth fighting over, and you know what the nature of the battle is, you focus upon God, fix your focus upon Him, trust Him, and you know you will be victorious one way or the other. He understood what the nature of the battle is. Well, let's move on. Not only that, but the true nature of real conquering faith responds to the challenges of the battle with a positive faith confession. That is... When we have conquering faith, we will respond to it with a positive faith confession. When David came out and he said, verse 45, 46, 47, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin. I'm coming to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. Here's what I'm going to do to you. He says, This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands. I will strike you down, remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army, the Philistines, this day to the birds of the sky, the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there was a God in Israel. Now think about this. How in the world was he going to cut off Goliath's head and all he had was a sling? My friend, you're talking about a confession of faith. This is it. Because he was confessing. What he was saying is, Goliath, I'm going to kill you and I'm going to cut off your head with your sword because I don't even own one. a positive faith confession. And here's what we oftentimes do and don't realize sometimes. That is, we listen to the taunts of the enemy. I know whatever the enemy may be or whatever the circumstance may be, whatever that Goliath may be in your life, sometimes we listen to all that. But here's a principle I want you to remember. You listen to the taunts of of the Goliaths in your life against the background of the promises of God. This is why it's so important to be in the Word and absorbing the Word of God in your life. So when you hear all this negative chat and all these attacks and all these horrendous things that are going to happen to you, hey, you listen to that against the background of such things like this. And I'm sure David did. I hear you, Goliath. But I also know that I'm hearing something else. While Goliath was shouting out all of his bigotry, here's what David was hearing. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, not even Goliath's. For thou art with me, thy rod, thy staff, they comfort me. He wasn't listening to all that junk, all that stuff, all that chatter. He heard it, but his spirit heard something else. You say, but man, listen, I don't see any victory in sight. I'm going to share the most wonderful truth in this whole passage. You don't have to see the victory to start confessing victory. Listen, if you wait till Goliath is lying there headless and bleeding, that doesn't take any faith. It's faith when he's standing on both feet, raving about his power and what he's going to do to you. And then when you thank God that he's dead, then that's real faith. You said, but oh, but I'm telling you how I feel. David didn't go to battle on his feelings. He went to battle on his faith. Now, listen to this. And there's so many things. And I know we got to move along here because there's so many wonderful things in this passage. Let me move to the next one. And that is that the faith that conquers relies upon the power of God. Not upon oneself, but upon the power of God. And it's interesting, in these three verses, David said the same thing. Every single time he says the same thing. Verse 37, he said, speaking to Saul, Then if you'll notice, he says again in verse 46, this day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands. And verse 47, he says, he will give you into our hands. That is, David never relied upon his own strength and power. He says, here's what God's going to do. Trusting in God, obeying God, relying wholly upon God. That's exactly what David did. And that does not mean that you and I are to be passive, that we just say, well, God, you just do it just any way you want to. I'm just going, I'm going to stand back here behind the battle line. Just watch you swallow him up. No, God doesn't always do things that way because sometimes God puts us in the battle because he wants to accomplish something through us and something in us. Now look at this. He said, am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And I think by the time David got through telling him what he was going to do to him, old Goliath was so mad and so angry and so insulted. Listen, he was insulted that instead of coming out in warfare armor, here comes a ruddy teenager out there with no protection, he thought. What he didn't see that was between Goliath and David was God. Here comes Goliath, and here runs David. He puts one stone in, and either old Goliath had his helmet on, or he may have gotten so mad he took it and threw it off. But here's what happened. David simply slung one single stone and he hit the one spot that he'd been thinking about all along. Hit him right in the forehead. Down he went. And what are you supposed to happen to his armor bearer? He ran so fast you couldn't even see him running. David walks up, pulls his sword, cuts off his head and takes it to King Saul and says, here's this uncircumcised Philistine who will no longer taunt the armies of the living God. Now, How did he do it? You say, well, David was a very skilled man. Now, wait a minute. On the other hand, you have a man who's dressed in 125-pound armor, shield, sword, javelin, and here's a fellow who isn't dressed in anything but a shepherd's garb. Here's what defeated him, a stick, a stone, and a sling. Plus God equals victory every single time. What did Moses have? One shepherd's stick. What do you have? You have faith. And you have everything in heaven's powerhouse behind you to accomplish what God wants you to accomplish. You see, never say this. Little old me says, No, because you see, what really killed Goliath was not a stone, but God. What God did is He took a shepherd boy with His experience, and what He did, He guided that stone right to the target. You see, because he relied upon the power of God, not upon himself, one last principle And here is the most important one of all, and that is, the faith that conquers reckons the victory even before the battle is won. The faith that conquers reckons the victory even before the battle is won. Now, here's what was going on. When David was walking up and down the battle line with these soldiers, and they were explaining what was going on, they were saying, David, look at him. This guy's nine feet, six inches tall. Look at all that armor. Look at all those weapons. You know what David was doing? He was picking out where he was going to hit him. He was sizing him up. And here's what was going on in David's mind. In David's mind, as he walked along, having picked up his five stones, and probably in his pouch sort of thumbing through one of them, thinking, this feels just about right. And here's what David saw. The men saw Goliath on his two feet challenging them. David kept seeing in his mind. Listen, he could hear it. He kept seeing in his mind and feeling. He knew how many times he had done that. He could feel it. He could see in his mind that split second when he let that sling go. He could trace in his mind that stone going all the way to Goliath's forehead. He could see in his mind it hitting him so hard that With such surprise, he could see Goliath crumbling and falling on his face. And then he could see already pulling out that long sword in the name of Yahweh. You see, the battle was won for David before he ever started running toward Goliath. Now listen carefully. You say now, oh, wait a minute. That sounds like a good story. No, that's not just a story. That's the best way to win a victory. And I can tell you personally how many times that I have been at war with Goliaths in my life when I've gotten in the prayer room and wrestled it out with God and walk out knowing that no matter what happens, it's a done deal with God. What am I going back to? What I said in the very beginning. The most important event in your life every day is the time you spend alone with God. That's where the battles are won. They're won in your heart, in your mind, in your spirit. We're not talking about David and Goliath. I'm talking about you and me and life and God and Christ and the Holy Spirit in reality right now. If you're wise enough to not just put him first in your life, but make him everything. You see, the faith that conquers is the quality of faith that moves from, I know he can, but I'm not sure he will. Yes, he will. So thank God it's done. And I will wait his time to show me the finished product. Father, thank you for your love for us. I pray the Holy Spirit today will encourage the hearts of many who are facing Goliaths, that they'll take these principles and apply them to their heart. And dear God, to walk in them, to believe them, not feel them, but believe them. And watch you demonstrate your awesome power and give them your victory. In Jesus' name, amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to part two of The Faith That Conquers. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
In today's episode, we explore the fundamental principles that supported David against Goliath, drawing parallels on how we can employ these strategies to tackle our problems. Whether it's a mountain of debt, a failing relationship, or an insidious habit, be inspired to draw strength from past victories. Discover why maintaining the right motives and rejecting discouraging voices can be pivotal in overcoming life's battles. Embark on a journey to understand how solitude with God can offer clarity and strength needed to take on life's challenges.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, January 16th. The story of David and Goliath captures a timeless theme. Who doesn't love seeing the underdog win? Today, we can go deeper into this story to uncover powerful principles to help us conquer the giants in our own life.
SPEAKER 02 :
All of us face those circumstances in life. At times we feel overwhelmed and things are out of control and we feel threatened by defeat and threatened by embarrassment and threatened by despair. And when we face those kind of battles in life, our greatest defense is strong faith in the living God. Not just faith, but faith in the living God based upon the foundation of the Word of God. When my faith is built upon this book, it is possible for me to be victorious and to conquer in every single circumstance of life. And that's what I want to talk about in this message, the faith that conquers. And I want you to turn, if you will, to 1 Samuel. And in 1 Samuel, there is the story, the most familiar one probably of all the stories in the Bible about David, is the story of David and Goliath. I want us to read just one part of this 17th chapter. What I would like for us to read is beginning in verse 45 and read David's declaration of what he was going to do to Goliath the giant. This is a tremendous expression of faith on his part. And I want you to read along here. Listen, verse 45. Then David said to the Philistine... You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And that all the assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by the sword or by spear, for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands. Now, here is the application. All of us have Goliaths in our life. They may not be nine feet, six inches tall. They may be the job. This uncontrollable habit in your life. This relationship that is out of control. This pile of debt that is mounted up before you. And all the credit cards are now in vain. And there's no way that you say that you could anyway pay yourself out of this. There are all kinds of Goliaths in life. They come in all shapes, all sizes, and all forms. And sometimes old Goliath in our life rears up his ugly head and begins to shout at us at a time that is very surprising. And the problem is we don't know how to respond to Goliaths. In this series on faith entitled, Followed by Faith, the title of this message is, is the faith that conquers that is there is a quality of faith that makes it possible when you and I face those challenges those overwhelming uncontrollable things in life that we can be victorious we can conquer we can come out the winner no matter what so what I would like to do is simply explain or to share with you the characteristics that is I want to take the principles of the kind of faith that conquers, and I want you to see how David illustrates these so perfectly. So, the first one of these qualities or characteristics of the kind of faith that conquers in all kinds of situations is this. The faith that conquers recalls previous victories when facing battles. That is, the faith that conquers recalls previous victories when facing battles. Now, if you will notice what happens in this passage. When David comes upon the scene and he begins to ask what's going on and who is this uncircumcised Philistine out here who's challenging the armies of God, they tell him and they tell him what is promised to the man who conquers him. Finally, they take him to Saul. And so King Saul looked at him and he said, look, you're just a shepherd boy. You're not a warrior. This man has been a warrior from his youth. He's about nine feet, six inches tall. Look at all that armor. Besides that, he has a shield bearer. He has three weapons. And here you are as a shepherd boy. Listen to David's response. Every single one of these principles is extremely important. Verse 32 of chapter 17, And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail on account of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. Then Saul said to David, You're not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you're but a youth, while he's been a warrior from his youth. But David said to Saul, Your servant... was tending his father's sheep when a lion or a bear, and he had defeated both, a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock. I went out after him and attacked him and rescued it from his mouth. And when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them since he has taunted the armies of the living God. David saw Goliath. He didn't stand there and just simply size him up. He's about nine feet tall and looking at his armor and listen to his taunts. The first thing David did was to think back. He killed both a lion and a bear. So what David did when he saw his opposition, he didn't focus on his opposition. He immediately began to think, what did I do last time? I killed a lion and a bear. If I can kill a lion and a bear, that is, if God will deliver the lion and the bear into my hands, he will surely deliver this uncircumcised Philistine who is taunting the armies of the living God and who is embarrassing the very name of God. Now, David out there on the hillside contemplating with God, thinking about God, writing, he Listen, it was a natural response for him to say, what happened last time when I went through this situation? What can I trust God for? If God delivered him from the bear and the lion, he will also deliver him from Goliath. So the first characteristic and the quality of the faith that conquers is that is recalling past victories. Secondly, reexamining and reaffirming the proper motives. Now, it's interesting what happens here because when David comes on the scene, I want you to notice what's going on. Verse 25, he comes up on the scene and he's brought his brothers their food. He left that and ran up to the battle line. Verse 25 says, And the men of Israel said... Have you seen this man who's coming up? Surely he's coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches, will give him his daughter and make his father's house free of Israel. That means his father's house, his family won't have to pay any more taxes and they would be free men and women. They wouldn't be necessarily servants as the average person was. They'd be in a little different category. And listen to David's response, verse 26. Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God? And so they said to him again, This is what will be done to him. And then in verse... 30 the bible says then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing and the people answered the same thing as again so three times it's like david said now wait a minute i want to get this straight you mean to tell me that the man who kills that uncircumcised philistine over here who's taunting the armies the living god and embarrassing jehovah god that the that the king is going to give him great riches his daughter and a free house they said that's right now That isn't what motivated David to go to war. Here's what motivated David to go to war, and it's so important that you and I examine our motives. I want you to look, if you will, first of all, in verse 36. We've read it once, but the last part of it. He said, "...I will also kill this uncircumcised Philistine who's taunting the armies of the living God." Look back, if you will, in verse 26, the last part again. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies, what, of the living God? And then in verse 45, we read a few moments ago, then David said, you come to me with a sword, a spear, a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God of hosts, of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. And so what motivated David above everything else was this, not money, not marriage, nor freedom. What motivated him was this young shepherd boy who'd been out there in the shepherd field, tending his sheep over these years, had such a relationship to God, such a reverence and awe and respect for Jehovah God. Anybody who would disdain the name of Yahweh Anybody who would taunt the armies of the living God and the only God, anyone who would disgrace the name of God had to be dealt with. He could not stand to hear this man taunt God. He said, listen, I'll take him on. The same God who delivered me before will deliver me now. Now, when you and I face Goliaths in our life, what is their motive? That is, what is it that you and I come to God to ask him to do? Now, Lord, I want you to settle this issue because God, if I had more money, I'd have more money to give. And if I had more money, God, and I've heard people say all kinds of things. Now, Lord, if you'll just do this and do this for me financially, here's what I'll do. You know what that most folks usually don't do what they say they're going to do? That's why God puts them right back in another mess just like the last one there's in because if they had learned their lesson the first time, they wouldn't be in it the second time. When you and I are facing some Goliath in our life, what we have to ask is, God, why do I want the victory? Do I want it so that I can be bragging about it or prideful about it, egotistical, or God? Do I want it because I want my circumstances to change because I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of being sick and tired of all the mess I have to put up with? And God, I'd like to run and I can't run. God, just... Swallow them up with an earthquake. Just do something, God. You know what we're after? Self. We want ease, comfort, pleasure, everybody to love us, everything to be right, have everything we need. Listen, my friend, you know what God's up to? He's not up to my ease, comfort, and pleasure. He's up to molding me into Christ-likeness. He's up to molding us into Christ-likeness. So if my motive is right, here's the way I'll pray. God, I don't like this Goliath. I want him swallowed up, struck down, heart attack, you name it. God, wipe him out. But Lord, if I've got to fight him... in order to become the man you want me to be, here am I, God. Lord, if I've got to walk through this valley one more year, I'm willing. If I've got to walk through it, God, and I don't know how long, I'm still willing. God, if my circumstance will never change, here am I, Lord. Then I know that my motive is right. You see, I may not like getting bloody and being chiseled on and sanded and cut away. But if my motive is right, I'm willing to say, God, whatever it takes to grow me up, whatever it takes to teach me the truth, whatever it takes to make me like you, God, send the Goliaths in my life and keep on sending them if that's what it takes to make me a true man of God. Then I know my motive's right. But if I'm trying to get rid of the Goliaths so I'll feel better, And so everything will be peaceful and quiet around me. There's nothing wrong with having a little peace and quiet. I mean, everybody needs that. And there's nothing wrong also with God prospering you. You see, David didn't say to King Saul, look, I'll tell you what I'll do. If you give me enough gold and you give me your daughter in marriage and you'll free my household, I'll wipe him out for you. He didn't bargain with him. Saul is the one who made the offer. And David simply stepped into the situation to say, listen, Here's what I'm willing to do. And if you'll notice in his conversation with King Saul, you know, the only thing he mentioned, the only thing was on his mind primarily. Let's get rid of this uncircumcised Philistine who is challenging the sovereign God of Israel. That was the issue. And so when you and I are facing Goliaths in our life, we have to ask ourselves, what's our motive? The third thing I want you to notice is this, and that is the faith that conquers is a faith that rejects the discouraging words of others. A faith that rejects the discouraging words of others. Now look what happens. David comes to the scene, he leaves his baggage behind, and he comes up to the battle line, and here's what happens. Verse 28. Now Eliab, his oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger burned against David and said, now look at this. This is a wonderful conversation to learn something. He said, why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep? Now look at that. You see, he cut him a little bit. Just had to cut him a little bit. With whom have you left those few sheep? Why didn't he say, with whom have you left your herds? But you see, that would have made David look pretty good. You know, he's shepherding herds. With whom have you left your few sheep? But that wasn't enough. Watch this. And he says, with whom have you left your few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart. You've come down in order to see the battle. Now look at this. The reason I know that David felt rejected in his household, look at this. He says, what have I done now? Not what have I done? What have I done now? You know what that says? That he was always after David about something. Always harassing him. Now what have I done? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever said that? What have I done now? How many of you think your kids have ever said that? What have I done now? He says, what have I done now? Was it not just a question? Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing. And the people answered the same thing as before. And so if David had listened to his brother, he would have gone back home. Then when he got down to seeing Saul, what did Saul say to him? Saul said, now look, he said, you're no warrior, you're just a shepherd boy. This man has been a warrior from his youth. David refused to listen to negative language and negative comments. Now, here's what I want you to see, and this is very, very, very important. When you and I are in the midst of any kind of battle, whatever our Goliath may be, be very careful who you listen to. Because if you listen to the wrong kind of counsel, you're going to get in a worse situation. And here's what good, meaning people do to us. They say, listen, you don't have to suffer like that. You don't deserve that. If I were you, here's what I'd do. Remember this, they're not you. And secondly, it's real easy to tell somebody else what you would do if you were them because that can't ever be, so you're safe. And besides that, what they want to do is release us from the hurt. Sometimes the hurt is what God knows is absolutely necessary to sand me and sift me and sculpt me until he shapes me into his likeness. So we have to be very, very careful that here is God and here is the person you want to help. And what we do is we slip in right between God and the other person in order to release them and alleviate some pain in their life. And what happens is we listen to the wrong kind of counsel. The Bible says there's wisdom in many counsels, but the Bible says don't believe all the counselors. You can't believe everything you hear. And what we have to do is to be sure we're listening to God. Now listen carefully. You know why that didn't bother David? Now listen. David was out on the hillside at nighttime by himself. It's just he and God. Listen, David, I love this. David was so used to listening to God that when he heard all this negative jabber, it just went in one ear and right out the other. He didn't even let that bother him. He didn't fight back. He just said, now what have I done? I mean, what's the deal? He knew exactly what God was saying to him. And sometimes we find ourselves listening to the wrong kind of language and the wrong kind of suggestions. And you see, the most important event in your life every single day is this. The time you spend alone with God. I would say that to the president of the United States. And I would say that to a young child, to a mother, the president of any corporation. It makes no difference what. You see, listen, until I've heard from God about a situation, I'm not really ready to face it. And that's why our own quiet, private time of meditation is so very important. David had a habit of listening to God, so he refused to listen to unwise, ungodly counsel.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Faith That Conquers. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Join us as we delve into the lessons faith can instill, drawn from the ancient and inspiring story of Moses. The episode provides a reflective look at Moses’ faith journey, exploring his encounters with Pharaoh, the challenges at the Red Sea, and the pivotal moments that solidified his trust in God. With powerful insights and life applications, this discussion encourages us to rely wholly on God, reminding us that success comes from trusting and obeying His guidance irrespective of the worldly definitions of success.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, January 15th. The remarkable Old Testament stories that we love to read are ultimately about ordinary people who had extraordinary faith in God. Today's podcast explains how you can choose to follow the way of faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
Why couldn't God have straightened Moses up? quicker than 40 years on the backside of the desert. Now, couldn't God have given him some burning bush experience over there in Egypt and said, let's get on with this, Moses? Not only that, what about this? God knows everything. And the Bible says that when Moses came back, he challenged Pharaoh to let the people go and Pharaoh said no. And so God began 10 plagues. Why 10? Because Wait a minute, God. We've been down here almost 400 years. Just send him number 10. That's all we're interested in. Just send him the 10th plague. Because it was the 10th one that got the job done. Killing every single firstborn in Egypt. Unless the blood was on the doorpost. Why go through the first nine plagues? Why not one? The way of faith is sometimes the longest way and sometimes the way that it requires of us the most patience. But it is also the way of oftentimes of the most misunderstanding. When I think about Moses and how God worked in his life and think about the misunderstandings that he went through, listen. over and over and over again, you know what they want to do? They want to stone this man. I mean, he's brought him to the Red Sea, brought him out of Egyptian captivity, all the things that have happened. And what they want to do when things don't go to suit them, they want to stone him right there. He lived with misunderstanding, but he kept on trusting and obeying God until they got to the promised land. Now, let me give you a couple examples. One example is enough here. If I had been one of those Hebrews and all of a sudden we were camped down by the Red Sea, I would be thinking, now wait a minute, Moses. If you're listening to God, the one thing God would never do is lead us in a trap. Because if you'll take a Bible map and trace how the Hebrews moved, They could have gone another way, but God saw fit not to let them go that way. It would have been the easiest way, the Bible says. But he didn't want them getting mixed up in war with the Philistines, so he let them down, and they had to camp by the Red Sea. Now, militarily and strategically, this was suicide. Because remember that Pharaoh has already reneged on his promises again and again, nine plagues. And he turned right around and said no. The tenth plague, they don't know what he's going to do. He may change his mind again. And here they are camped, almost three million of them, down by the Red Sea. And here they are, they're back to the sea. And if Pharaoh changes his mind, there's no way to escape. Sure enough... They hear this rumble. Here comes Pharaoh and his chariots, all of his trained soldiers, all of his arsenal. Behind all of that is his hostility and anger and determination to absolutely wipe out the Hebrews. Moses, you have really blown it this time. You may have led us this far, but you have made a horrible mistake, and we're going to all die in each other's blood right here by the Red Sea. That's what human reasoning says and feeling says. That's what human strength says. How are we helpless with no weapons going to fight against Pharaoh's army? You see, what they didn't understand was this. That old shepherd's stick, at the right moment, Moses was going to lift that and issue a command. What did God do? He just opened up the whole sea and they walked right through. Now listen, not on muddy ground. Now that water had been there for centuries. When they walked by, when they walked through, it was as dry as this carpet. You see, when they walked through, they were kicking up dust. And moments before it had been covered with deep water. You see, God always knows what his next move is going to be. And that's where we trip up. God, what are you going to do next? And he's not going to say a thing. Lord, I want to know. And you can't make him tell you. And what you have to decide is this. Am I going the way of faith or am I going the way of the flesh? My feelings tell me this. Reasoning tells me this. But is that God's way? You see, I must trust him. I must trust Him no matter what someone says." Because you see, other people are not going to be, they can't handle it. And in spite of everything they did, Moses obeyed God. He trusted God, obeyed God, and relied wholly upon God. With his, listen, with his back to all of Egypt's arsenal, he looked at the sea and looked at God. And while he was looking at God, God took care of the sea. You see, that's why we have to keep our focus on God. If Moses had looked around and said, desert, desert, desert, sea. Egyptians by the hundreds. Armed chariots, swords, javelins. Versus sticks and animals and slings. No match. Except when you walk in the way of faith. Listen to me. You're always walking. a match for anything that you face. You're always a match. Listen, not just a match. The odds are ten to one in your favor. No, they're better than that. They're heaven to one in your favor because you cannot lose walking the way of faith. You cannot lose. And no matter what someone says, all you and I have to do is to keep our focus on Him. And we said the way of, listen, the way of faith is the way of trusting, obeying, relying wholly upon God. Let's say it together. Trusting, obeying, relying wholly upon God. Say it again. Trusting, obeying, relying wholly upon God. That's the way of faith. And you cannot fail. So the way of faith is also the way of the greatest spiritual growth. Now think about this. Every single one of us has the potential of being what God wants us to be. Achieving and accomplishing what God wants. The question is, is that what you want for your life? Do you want to be the best that God can make of you? Do you want to be the best that you can be for God? Or you want to be second best? I don't mean better than someone else. I mean the best that you have the potential of being. then why do we settle for such cheap stuff? Doubting God, doing it our way, going by our feelings, got to have it now. And what do we do? We miss out on life's very best. You see, that's the way God grows us up. Look at Moses. He grew up in an Egyptian household with all the paganism of Egypt, all their gods. God took him on the backside of the desert, stripped him of everything he had, changed his mind about a lot of things, brought him back to Egypt. to face Pharaoh, to face innumerable odds, impossible circumstances, barriers that were absolutely impossible. Think about this. When he headed out into that desert, God had not already told him, now I'm going to feed them in the following manner. I'm going to water them in the following manner. Think about some two and a half to three million people walking out into a desert. How are you going to eat? All those animals would be gone before long. And what about water? And they must have asked the same question a thousand times. We're following Moses, but oh God. You see, you just think about how God grew up this man. You know how he grew him up? Troubles, trials, heartaches, tribulations, failures, defeats. That's the way he grew him up. And when I think about 40 years in the desert and all the rest, I want you to think about something. Somebody says, 40 years in the desert. I'm going to tell you of one incident in Moses' life that he would have walked away and said, I want to tell you. After the last 10 minutes, half hour, hour, whatever it was, Forty years in the desert was worth every bit of this. Imagine. Forty years he'd walked around there in Midian. And one day he saw something he'd never seen. Here was a bush burning but would not burn up. And all of a sudden out of that bush he heard a voice that he'd never heard before. Moses. Moses. Take off your sandals. The place upon which you stand is holy ground. Took them off and fell flat before God. He didn't know who God was. He had to ask Him His name. He said, now when I do what you say do, and I go to the elders, who am I going to tell them sent me? Moses stood in the presence of holy God. And the glory of God... They're so great that he could not even look upon that flame. You think when Moses walked away from that, he just said, well, but I've been over here 40 years. Oh, no. Now, listen to me carefully. God is not going to send you and me a burning bush out in our yard that will not burn up to show us something. And thank God he's not going to. Because we have reasons maybe to question. Do you know that I've got something better than the burning bush? We've got the whole counsel of God. In print. In a language we can understand. And every single word of it is from him. And we can trust every single word of it. That's better than a burning bush. And there are going to come times in your life that are going to be pivotal, crucial, critical moments of decision. And you're going to think, oh God, if I just had a burning bush, you've got one. Now listen carefully. You may let it lay in your house till it gets dusty. And you may turn on the air condition and you'll feel the cover and it's cold. But I'm going to tell you, the whole time you've had it, it's been burning. with the revelation of God, with the wisdom of God, with the knowledge of God, with the understanding of God, with direction for your life. You see, that's the way we grow up. We grow up spiritually going through difficulty and hardship in the way of faith because it is the way of faith that brings us to where God wants us to be. Now, the way of faith is also the way of success. Trusting God... Obeying God, relying upon God, you can't fail. You say, now wait a minute, I know some folks who are not saved who are succeeding. What is success? Is success prosperity? Is success prominence? What about the emptiness and the loneliness and the dissatisfaction and the unfulfilled desires and the loneliness they have to go through? You say, well... What about position? What about it? My friend, position doesn't make you a success. Prosperity doesn't make you a success. Prominence doesn't make you a success. Do you know who the successful people in life are? The people who learn and who practice trusting God. OBEYING GOD AND RELYING UPON GOD. YOU KNOW WHAT? WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOMEBODY, I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH THEY HAVE AND HOW HIGH THEIR POSITION, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S DEEP DOWN INSIDE. I'VE READ A WHOLE BUNCH OF SUCCESS BOOKS. THEY HAVE ALL OF THESE WAYS TO MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IF MONEY MADE YOU CONTENTED, AND IF PRESTIGE AND PROMINENCE AND POSITION, ALL THIS STUFF MADE PEOPLE CONTENTED, TELL ME, WHY ARE THEY SO MISERABLE? You can pick up a couple of popular magazines of people who've got all of just what I've been talking about. And most of those magazines about what they have and who they are, but what they're going through. Defeats in their life because of their immorality and disobedience and rebellion against God. And their whole life is a life of pride and egotism. That doesn't make for success. You show me a dear mother who stays at home, trains her children, prays for them daily, loves them, serves her husband, is served by him, loved by him, may not have much of the world's goods, but they love each other to death. And they love their kids, and their kids love them. Their name will never be in the paper. Then you show me someone over here who lives in the biggest house in town, got the most money, highest position, promised, fussing, fighting, kids on drugs, daughter pregnant, Which one do you really want? You see, too much of the world has gotten into people's minds and they think that's a success. No. Moses was a wonderful success. You know why? Because he trusted God and obeyed God and he relied upon God. God made him a success. He trusted the Lord. You see, many people will never succeed because they won't take the first step. If you want to succeed, it's real simple. You don't even have to read any books. All you have to do is make a decision. I am going to trust God in every circumstance of my life, with my finances, with my vocation, with my future, with my health, with my everything. I am going to trust Him. I'm going to walk in his spirit. That is, I'm going to obey him, whatever he says to do, and I'm going to rely upon him to take care of all the consequences of my obedience. There is no way to fail. And God says things about Moses. He says about no one else. Man who walked with God face to face because he walked the way of faith. One last thing. The way of faith is the best way. You should have come to that conclusion already. It is the best way. Why? Well, let me give you several reasons why. First of all, the way of faith keeps my focus upon God. The way of faith keeps me relying upon God. The way of faith keeps me in a position that I am able to receive God's very, very best. You see, walking the way of faith makes it possible for me to succeed because I'm in a position where God can give me his best. And the way of faith brings glory. Listen, the greatest glory to God. Now, what's the first step in the way of faith? Here's the first step. The first step in the way of faith is to place your trust in In Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and ask Him to save you. That's step number one. You know what happens after that? The Holy Spirit comes into your life, and He will begin to give you direction and divine guidance. You say, but now wait a minute. I don't understand that. You don't have to understand that. Just take the first step. And the reason some of you will die and be separated from God forever and ever and ever is because you can't understand the first step. You don't have to understand it. Trust him. Jesus Christ died for your sins. And if you will ask him to forgive you of your sins and accept his death on the cross, his full payment of your sin, take the step of faith. Trust him. Then after you take the first step, he will show you the next step. That's what the Christian life's all about, step by step, the way of faith. And you have two choices. You can keep living the way of the natural, the way of the flesh, by reason, feelings, human wisdom, human strength, or you can choose the way of faith, the supernatural way of trusting Him, obeying Him, and relying totally upon Him in every area of your life, you cannot be the same. You will not be the same. Every single area of your life will be affected if you'll be wise enough to choose the way of faith. Thank you for Moses. Thank you for his faithfulness to you. Thank you for his failures. Thank you for the way you worked in his life. And thank you for the beautiful example he is to all of us. I pray today in Jesus' name that you will sink this message, seal this message, solidify this message in the spirit of every single hearer. so that we cannot escape from it. We'll choose not to escape from it, but we'll choose to apply to our life and look for the evidence with great anticipation and excitement of what you will begin doing when we choose the way of faith is my prayer in behalf of all of us in Jesus' name. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to part two of The Way of Faith. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Join us as we delve into the incredible journey of Moses, a man whose unwavering faith led him to defy the might of Egypt and forever change the destiny of his people. In this episode, we explore the profound impact of living a life rooted in faith, examining the dichotomy between the natural way and the supernatural way. Through biblical illustrations and powerful narratives, you'll discover how faith can be your greatest asset in times of adversity.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, January 14th. Moses is a great example of someone who chose to follow the Lord despite enormous obstacles. Stay with us to learn the benefits of walking the way of faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
If someone should ask you to list your assets, what would you list? Your house, your cars, your cash, your jewelry, maybe your clothes. Are some of the properties that you have or stocks or bonds? If those are the things you listed, you would have left out the most important asset you have. But the most important asset you have is your faith. Listen to what Jesus said. As you believe, so be it unto you. Your faith has made you whole. If you have the faith of a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, be removed and it shall move. Jesus knew that our greatest asset was our faith. And as we exercise our faith, so our life moves. You see, all of us are the products of the way we've been thinking all of these years of our life. And the way we've been thinking involves our faith. I doubt or I believe. I'm trusting him or I'm not trusting him. So that oftentimes when we complain about our circumstances, our circumstances are the result of what we have been willing to believe God for or what we have doubted him about. And so when he says, as your faith is, so be it unto you, our greatest asset is our faith. Now, this is one in a series of messages entitled, Forward by Faith. The title of this message is The Way of Faith. Now, the very title implies there's another way. If there's a way of faith, then there must be another way. And what is that? So I want to distinguish these two before we come to the Scripture. The way of faith has an opposite, and that is the way of the flesh. That is, the way of the flesh is the natural way. That's the way of sight. That's the way of feeling. That's the way of human wisdom and human strength. The way of faith is the supernatural way. That's the way of trusting. of obeying and relying wholly upon God. So all of us have one of two ways to respond to life. The natural way, which is reason, sight, feelings, and human strength, human wisdom. The way of faith is the way, the supernatural way, trusting God, obeying God, relying wholly upon God. The supernatural power of God and the wisdom of God belong to those who are willing to walk the way of faith. Now, in each of these messages, what we have done is to take a biblical character and illustrate some principle of faith by his life. And I want to remind you of something. These were not supernatural men and women. You know what they were? They were just normal people like you and me. And if you'll think about what they were, shepherds and so forth, And how God called them and how He spoke to them and how oftentimes they failed, they were just common folks just like us. The only difference was this. The difference was that those men and women who were willing to walk the way of faith, God did some supernatural things in their life. Those who refused to walk the way of faith and chose the way of the flesh, the natural way, God did not. The principle is the same. The offer is the same. And listen carefully. The results can be the same in your life and my life on the basis of our environment, the time in which we live, and the things that God has called us to do. Now, let's look, if you will, in Hebrews chapter 11. Because in this message, I want to take the life of Moses to illustrate this principle of the way of faith. And many of us know many things about him, and the writer of Hebrews sort of capsuled much of his life, main events, in the 23rd through the 29th verses. So let's read those together. The writer of Hebrews says in verse 23, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king or Pharaoh's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. A perfect description of sin. Verse 26, "'Considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward, by faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king or Pharaoh, for he endured as seeing him who is unseen.'" A very important phrase. Verse 28, "'By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn might not touch them.'" By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land, and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. Now the life of Moses is a colorful life, but a life full, filled with the great principles of Scripture. The way of faith is the way God intends all of us to live. He said to his apostles on many times, in many ways, Simply trust me, have faith in me. And in the New Testament, as the apostle Paul wrote, he talked about walking by faith and living by faith. The way of faith is the way of the supernatural, not the natural. It is the way of trusting God. It is the way of obeying God. It talks about and it involves relying wholly and totally upon God, not ourselves. The opposite of that is the natural way. My feelings, my reasoning, my wisdom, my sight, and my strength. And all of us have the privilege of making a choice. And your choice and my choice is going to determine, listen carefully, is going to determine how life treats you in every single aspect of your life. No exception. Because you see, the way of faith leads me one way, the natural way is going to lead me the other way. One is going to position me for God's best, and the other is going to leave me straggling for myself. So what I would like to do in this message is to describe to you and to describe with you what is this way of faith. And I want to begin by simply saying the way of faith is God's way. It has always been God's way from the very beginning. And the whole Bible shows us the way of faith is God's way. That's what he said in the very beginning. He said it all the way through the Scriptures. You could go all the way through the Bible, one miracle after the other, or one great feat, one great accomplishment after the other. And the book of the Hebrews says that these men and women conquered kingdoms by their faith. That's always been God's way. Well, think about Moses for a moment. Remember that he was born in slavery. And his parents put him in a little basket, sent him down the Nile. His sister watched him, ended up in Pharaoh's household, sent back to his mother for about three years, and she kept him until he was ready to be sent back to Pharaoh's daughter. And then the Bible says in the seventh chapter of the book of Acts, as Stephen is preaching his great message there, talks about the kind of man Moses was, that he was a handsome man and a man who had the learning of Egypt and a man of power and position and probably could have become, maybe, possibly, the next Pharaoh in Egypt. But the Bible says that he chose otherwise and one day that he went out and he saw his Hebrew brothers being mistreated and he killed an Egyptian soldier. He ended up on the backside of the desert for 40 long years, stripped of everything he had. No more power, no more prominence, no more position, no more potential, no more anything. The only thing he had was the smelly clothes of a shepherd and a shepherd's stick. Now, you see, God's way isn't the way of force. It never has been. And what Moses did is he responded to a situation in the natural. We'll fight against these Egyptians. No, that wasn't God's way. So God sent him over there. When he brought him back 40 years later, now he's about 80 years of age, he comes back armed, listen to this, armed not with anything that looks like any part of the arsenal of Egypt. The finest of chariots, the sharpest of javelins, the sharpest of swords, the best of armor. But Moses comes back in a shepherd's garb with one weapon, the most simple form of a weapon, threatening nothing and no one, nothing but a shepherd's stick. That's all he had. But I want to remind you of something. Moses stood alone as a shepherd with a stick in And he challenged the Pharaoh of Egypt. He challenged the whole arsenal of Egypt. Moses with a shepherd's stick. And faith in God brought the whole kingdom of Egypt to its knees. That's God's way. He trusted God. He obeyed God. He leaned totally upon God. That's the way of faith. That's always the way God has operated. What is one man standing alone against Pharaoh and all of his armies? Well, humanly speaking, it is nothing. Feeling wise, it is ridiculous. Humanly speaking, there's no wisdom in that. There's absolute, utter, definite failure in such an attempt, unless you believe in God. God's way has always been the way of faith. But you see, if you look at people around you and you watch the world and listen to the world, they're going to tell you that's not the way you should feel and that's not the way it is and that's not reasonable. And what you have to ask is this. There are two ways in life and only two. There's the way of faith and there's the way of the flesh, the natural way. Which way are you going to choose? God's way is always the way of faith. And so what we see in the life of Moses here is that God took a man... And he took what was very little. All he had was himself and the rod that God had given him as a shepherd. And he challenged a whole kingdom. Let me ask you this. What are you facing in your life? What to you is like Egypt? And you're saying, God, what am I going to do? If you choose the way of faith, God will take you and your little all by yourself if necessary. And what little God has given you, He will conquer the Egypt in your life. The way of faith... is always God's way the second thing I want you to notice here is it is the way of trials suffering and sacrifice now nobody likes to hear that you look at the whole Bible God's servants both men and women whom God used in such a tremendous fashion just common ordinary folks like us who trusted God Their trust brought them tribulation, hardship, trial, difficulty. But we don't like that. So there's a whole segment of people today who say, just trust God, hallelujah, praise God, and everything is going to be fine. They fall off the cliff and wonder where God is. Now listen, trusting God doesn't mean I'm not going to suffer. Trusting God doesn't mean I'm not going to have any hardship. Trusting God doesn't mean I'm not going to have to sacrifice. You look what happened to Moses. He trusted God and God sent him back. Listen, he had to leave the quietness of the desert and go to a stormy Egypt. He had to leave the love and acceptance of his family and go to the rejection, the hostility, and the murderous attitude of a Pharaoh. He left the comfort zone over on the backside of the desert to walk into a war which never ceased for him. For until he died, Moses bore the burden of the nation of Israel out of Egypt into the desert, across the desert. He bore the burden of those people. That wasn't easy. It was a continuous trial. They fought against him. They rebelled against him. They wanted to stone him to death. The way of faith is not always easy. And you recall in the 16th chapter of Matthew at Caesarea Philippi when Jesus was just beginning to relate to his disciples. Now, my kingdom involves my suffering, my persecution, and my death. And here was the Son of God. He'd walked with them. They'd seen all the things he had done. And he was simply explaining to them what was going to happen, what they could expect. Peter said to Jesus, now who is God, it will never happen to you. Now what was that? Was that Peter being just ornery and Peter being hard to get along with? No. The flesh, the natural within Peter said, there is no way that Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Lord and our friend, who is the Messiah and the King of kings, who is God, there is no way they're going to do this to him. That's the natural way. That's the natural response. We're not going to let that happen to you, Jesus. And Jesus had to say to him, Peter, you're acting like the devil. That's exactly what he said to him. You see, if you're waiting for God to make it easy, if you think the way of faith is the easy way, just trusting God and everything is going to be fine, my friend, that's not the way. And many people have misled others by saying, just trust God. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Everything is going to work. It sure will work. In the valley, when you're bleeding, when the sandpaper's getting tougher all the time and the chisel's getting sharp and you can hear the saw coming. God working in our life. Do you know why he doesn't make it easy? Because he has something bigger in mind than we have in mind. The way of faith is not easy. And you look at the life of Moses and you don't see anything easy about this man's life. Nothing whatsoever. But look what God did with him. The way of faith also is the way of patience. Now, in an area and in a time when you and I want everything instantly, we want it now. The way of faith, my friend, is not the way of instantaneous anything. In fact, it's probably the longest way in time. How many times have you and I said, God, where are you? Well, He's where He's always been. God, why aren't you working? Well, He is working. The problem is that most of the time our schedules don't coincide, right? You see, the reason is usually when we come up to a problem, let's move it and move it. Let's get on with it. But that's not God's way because God has a higher purpose in mind than that. And if you'll think about the life of Moses and how God worked in his life, You see, our goal is to achieve this, accomplish that, or to get this done, or get this out of the way, or to have this. God's goal in every circumstance is always larger than ours. Usually it involves more people than us. Usually it involves greater goals than our limited goal. Usually it involves greater influence than what we are concerned about. Usually what we are concerned about is what we want to accomplish. God always has a bigger picture in mind. So that the way of faith is the way of time. The way of faith is the way of patience. Trust Him. Well, I've got to have so-and-so, so you go out and borrow lots of money. And then even realize that somebody was about to give you something. Listen, if you'll just remember this, just when you think, I can't stand it anymore, just wait a little longer. And you know what will happen? God will reward you every time. It's like praying and you think, I just can't get through. God, what's going on? It's like there's a barrier. I learned a long time ago, when I don't feel like praying and nothing's going on, keep hanging in there because I'm going to get through. And just when you think God's not anywhere other than a thousand miles, the light dawns and God answers your prayer. We're so quick to give up because we want it now. Why 40 years in the backside of the desert when God could have given him a burning bush over in Egypt? Why ten plagues? Why not one? The way of faith is sometimes the longest way and sometimes the way that requires of us the most patience.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to The Way of Faith. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Join us as we explore the life of Joseph, a testament to the strength of a steadfast faith. Despite facing false accusations and being forgotten in prison, Joseph's faith never wavered. Through divine intervention, his fortunes change, leading him to interpret Pharaoh's dreams and rise to power. Discover the lessons of resilience, patience, and divine timing as we learn from Joseph’s incredible journey.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, January 13th. How do you keep moving forward when bad things happen? Let's explore the answer to that question by looking at the life of Joseph.
SPEAKER 02 :
When we talk about faith's fixed focus, a fixed focus is the directing of our attention and our faith toward a specific object and holding it there. And for the believer, our fixed focus is God, none other than God. Now, I mentioned to you before that the five men in the Old Testament that most influenced my life were Abraham, And then Joseph and Moses and David and Daniel. And as a kid growing up and reading and searching and asking God to speak to my own heart, how these truths affected my life. Well, we've talked about Abraham, the call of faith. And today, Joseph, faith's fixed focus. Now, my friend, listen carefully. Here's a man whose faith was so fixed upon the heavenly Father that that it sustained him through a family that hated him, sustained him through a period of slavery, sustained him through a period of intense temptation, and sustained him through an unjust accusation that resulted in throwing him in prison. He didn't deserve it, but he had no recourse, no trial, no lawyer, none of that, into a dungeon in prison. Now think about this for a moment. Joseph would have had lots of human reasons for saying, well, this is where being moral and trusting God has gotten me. Rejection from my family. Sold in the slave block for 20 pieces of silver. Falsely accused by Potiphar's wife. And now I'm in a dungeon in prison, probably for the rest of my life, which probably would not have been long, living in a dungeon in And that's what his faith and his obedience got him. Oh, that's not what he said. Because you see, Joseph fixed his faith on Jehovah God. It sustained him through his brother's attempted murder. It sustained him through those early days of slavery in Potiphar's household. It sustained him through the most intense temptation. It sustained him through rejection and being cast into prison. And now here he is in prison. What happens to him? Well, look if you will. In verse 21, now he's in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to Joseph's charge all the prisoners who were in the jail so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. Isn't this just like God? Watch this. Because he fixed his faith upon God and would not waver... The Bible says when he was a slave in Potiphar's household and the Lord was with him. Now he's thrown into prison with no hope of getting out. And what happens? And the Lord was with him. And the scripture says again in the 23rd verse, the chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper. Now look at this. You see how I want you to get this truth. When you and I fix our faith upon God, And we trust him. And we do not allow the circumstances and the environment around us and the opinion of others to push us over on the side and get us out of God's will. The Lord will be with us. God will favor us. And what? Whatever we do will prosper. As a slave, he prospered. In jail, as a prisoner, he's prospering. Because he obeyed God. And he would not let his faith be a faith that wavered because of his circumstances and his environment. But the Bible says on one occasion that he had two new inmates. Pharaoh's butler and Pharaoh's baker. And they'd been there for a little while and they both had a dream. And so the scripture says, and if you'll notice this, this is why I know that he had a concern for his fellow inmates. In verse 7, he asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in confinement in his master's house, why are your faces so sad today? You see, he could tell that these two men were really having a tough time. They said to him, we've had a dream and there's no one to interpret it. Then Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God alone? Not the gods of Egypt, God, Jehovah, Yahweh, he would have said to them. Tell it to me. So they told him their dreams. And you'll recall in this 40th chapter, the butler said, for example... In verse 9, so the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, in my dream there was a vine in front of me. On the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out and its clusters produced ripe grapes. Now Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and I put the cup into Pharaoh's hand. Joseph said, I'll interpret that dream. In three days, you're going to be restored to your original position with Pharaoh, and you'll be his cupbearer. Well, you can imagine what the baker said. Well, I love that interpretation. What about mine? Let me tell you about mine. And so verse 16, when the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, I also saw in my dream and behold there were three baskets of white bread on my head. And in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh. And the birds were eating them out of the baskets on my head. Then Joseph answered and said, this is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you. Well, in three days, Joseph's interpretation came to pass. One restored, one hanged. Now, look at this 23rd verse, if you will. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. So here he is now in prison, forgotten. But his focused faith in God has sustained him through the rejection of his family, through his time of slavery, his intense temptation, his unjust accusations, and now he's been in prison all these years. Where is Joseph's God? Now listen to me carefully. God knows, please don't miss this, You see, one of the reasons you miss God's blessings is because you get your focus off Him and start looking. And I agree. I meet people all the time. All of us have been in circumstances and situations where we've said, God, where are you? Why don't you do something? We complain. Now, we do a little bit more sophisticated. We get on our knees and we say, now, God, now, Lord, you know I... Lord, you... And we remind Him of all the things we've told Him and how good we've been and all of this stuff. Has it ever occurred to us that what he said was true when he said, my ways are not your ways, nor my thoughts your thoughts? Because you see, he says, no matter how high your thoughts are, mine are higher. And no matter how high your ways are, mine are higher and more noble than yours. So somewhere around eight years in prison or thereabouts, maybe ten, forgotten. And I can imagine that Joseph must have thought, I sure hope the cupbearer reminds, I hope he just says just a word or two. Week went by, month went by, two months, three months, six months, nine months, one year, 15 months, 18 months, two long years. And then one of the darkest moments of his life, one looked like that's where he'd be for the You know what Joseph was doing? He was recalling what his great-grandfather had said, and what his grandfather had said, and what his father had taught him. And he remembered those dreams that he had, and somehow he knew God had spoken to him. Now watch this, but by the hand of God, in God's timing, almost 10 years of dungeon living, Pharaoh has a dream. He has two dreams. Both of them with the same message. The first dream said he saw the seven very fat cows come up out of the Nile. Then he saw seven lean ones. They were just skin and bones and they devoured the first ones. Then he saw these big beautiful ears of corn just full and ripe and abundant. Then he saw these that were almost... barren, and those that were barren consumed those that were full. Call all of his magicians, all the court magicians. Potiphar was there. Everybody was there because Pharaoh was afraid. He had this dream. He didn't know what to think about it. He knew there was something significant about it, so he got everybody there. And he said, I want you to interpret this dream. Nobody could interpret it. Then the cupbearer said, Sir, I remember when I was in prison, there was a young Hebrew slave there, young Hebrew, who interpreted my dreams. So Pharaoh calls for Joseph. This is a beautiful passage. Now think about this, if you will. Here is Pharaoh sitting upon his... majestic throne with all of the symbols of all the gods of Egypt all around them. Here's his court of magicians and his priest and everyone else. Standing over here close by is Potiphar. Brought to center stage is young Joseph, now 30 years of age. And so Pharaoh says, I hear you are able to interpret dreams. I love this response. Look at verse 14 in chapter 41. Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph. And they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I've had a dream, but no one can interpret it. And I've heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it. Now listen to this response. Joseph then answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. God, not God's. Jehovah, Yahweh, singular God. God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. Well, I'm here to tell you he had everybody's attention. And I can imagine one person's attention he really had was Potiphar. So, Pharaoh tells his dream. And the scripture says that when he told his dream, then... Joseph responded to that dream. And so here's what he said. He said there are going to be seven very abundant years when the crops will just be absolutely amazingly fruitful. Following that will be seven years of barrenness and famine. Nothing's going to grow. Therefore, Pharaoh, you must find someone to put in charge to so organize the agricultural system of Egypt so that you'll be able to garner all of these crops in this seven-year period. So when the famine comes, you'll be able to feed all of Egypt because other nations too will come and need something. When Pharaoh heard that, It is amazing what he did. Now, I want you to look for just a moment at the rewards of this young man's fixed focus of faith upon God. When he stood before Pharaoh, his first responsibility as a believer in the one true God was not to take credit for for interpreting his dream, which would have been the human response. But what did he do? He said, it is not in me. That is, don't give me credit, Pharaoh, but God will interpret your dream favorably. The first reward that he had for his faithfulness was he had the privilege of a public testimony to Pharaoh that Jehovah God is the God and not the gods of Egypt. The second response and the second reward is that he became the second most powerful man in the civilization and that whole culture. Because the Bible says in this 41st chapter... So Pharaoh said to Joseph, since God has informed you, listen to that, not the gods, since Jehovah, since Yahweh, since God has informed you of this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you, and he's 30 years of age. You shall be over my house. According to your command, all my people shall do homage. Don't you know that while he was standing there listening to Pharaoh, that in that 30-year-old boy's mind, he found himself listening to Pharaoh, but picturing himself the night that he had the dream and those sheaves bowing down and the stars and the sun and moon bowing down. And while he was listening to Pharaoh, God was reminding him, Joseph, I have been faithful to you. And so Pharaoh said to him, everything I have is under your responsibility. He says, see, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Verse 42, then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, put it on Joseph's hand, clothed him in garments of fine linen, put the gold necklace around his neck. He came into Egypt, listen, as a slave in iron chains. Listen, by the time he was 30 years of age, he had the finest of clothes and a gold chain around his neck. Verse 43, and he had him ride in his second chariot. He not only had power, he not only had a personal testimony, he had position, and he had praise. Look at this, verse 43. He had him ride in his second chariot, and they proclaimed before him, bow the knee. And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission, no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. Not only did he have authority, he had absolute authority, second only to Pharaoh. Now, he became a prosperous man, of course, and lots of wonderful things happened to him. Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Now, listen to me. Many of you young people, you get tempted and you get tried and somebody says, it's not going to make any difference. A little drug's not going to hurt you. A little sex's not going to hurt you. A little rebellious attitude until your parents are not going to hurt you? Listen carefully. It won't hurt you if you don't want to make anything out of your life. It won't hurt you if you don't want to be used of God. It won't hurt you if you don't want your best. It won't hurt you unless you really want to be what God wants you to be. Then sin today has its consequences tomorrow. It was his very simple, fixed, childlike faith on God as a teenage boy that 13 years later brought him to become the prime minister of Egypt. Now listen. When Joseph was hated by his brothers, thrown in a pit, he was in God's place. When he was bound in an iron chain, walking across a hot desert into Egypt, he was in God's place. When he was in Potiphar's household as a slave, he was in God's place. When he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, he was in God's place. When he was in the dungeon, he was in God's place. And when he stood before Pharaoh and became the prime minister, he was in God's place. If you want God's best for your life, you set your focus upon Him. You neither listen to the strange voices, nor do you allow your environment or the barriers All the things that would hinder you. You don't get your focus on those things. You set your focus on Him. And you just keep thanking God, Lord, I'm in your place. Because you're powerful enough to put me where you want me. And you're powerful enough to keep me where you want me. And you're powerful enough to protect me from being where you don't want me. And here I am. I'm going to trust you that where I am, you're going to guide me and lead me to where you want me to be. If you and I can learn the simple principle of fixing our faith on Him and steadying it there and gazing upon Him, looking to Him, trusting Him, nothing but Him, you'll be amazed at what God will do in your life.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to part two of Faith's Fixed Focus. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Charles Stanley discusses the profound transformation that comes with becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ. By examining Luke 14, he uncovers the necessity for devotion without rivalries and explores the concept of bearing one's cross. This episode calls believers to examine their loyalty to Christ amidst societal pressures and encourages them to live out the mandate of discipleship with courage and faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to this weekend's In Touch podcast with Charles Stanley. Jesus taught that hardship is a part of a disciple's life, but we can trust that God has a purpose for our trials and that we never face them alone. Today's podcast will show us how becoming a true disciple of Jesus should alter how we respond to God and relate to others.
SPEAKER 02 :
Would you turn please to Luke chapter 14 and we'll begin with verse 25 and read through the end of that chapter. And I hope before we finish discipleship that you will have memorized that passage of Scripture in Luke chapter 14. Luke chapter 14, beginning in verse 26, he says, "...if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, in his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it. Lest happily, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or, what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth, whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand. Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassage and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill, but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. We defined a disciple as one who has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, yielded to Jesus Christ as Lord, and one who is available to Jesus that he might reproduce his life through us in the life of someone else. That discipleship is not optional in the life of the believer. Therefore, it is not optional in the life of the church. discipleship that is saved yielded to him as Lord it is we are on the mandate to be vessels through whom the Lord Jesus Christ can continuously be discipling other people through us that is the mission and the ministry of the church and the only way you and I can accept and believe and and know in our hearts that God is going to continue his blessing upon us, is that when we discover spiritual truth, we obey what we know. And the purpose of this series of messages is simply this, and that is that you and I would get that truth so deep into our soul, we can no longer see ourselves as we have seen ourselves before. What we need in Christendom today is a change of image. Now listen, You see, the majority of the church members of the world today see themselves as members of institutions, of organizations that are in retreat before the world. They see the world encroaching into the church, diminishing the effectiveness of the church, bringing the church to a point of absolute ineffectiveness in its community with its influence and testimony. So they see themselves in retreat. They're drawing in. They're giving less money. They're going less. They're doing less. They're talking less about God and more about survival of the church. And so their image is that they're in retreat and that God is not who he used to be. And the Bible is now antiquated and therefore it is a time to diminish and retreat and let the devil in the world take its course and who knows what's going to happen. And my friend, that's the kind of image that will destroy you. And I believe that those apostles and those disciples in the early days of our Lord could have had the same image. They could have said, well, there are only 12 of us. There are only 500 of us. Surely we've been anointed with the Spirit of God. But look at Rome. Look at the Sadducees. Look at the Pharisees. Look at the religious organization. We don't have a ghost of a chance. We've been saved. We know that he rose from the dead. Why don't we just relax, go back to fishing, and share our faith with those who happen to drop by or who happen to want to go fishing with us? But let's don't upset the status quo. Let's don't rock any boats. Let's just relax and be believers in Jesus Christ. And that kind of attitude would have been disastrous to the church of Jesus Christ. But rather that group of spirit-filled believers said, we are going to march whatever it cost us. We are going to do what he said. We are going to disciple the world if it cost us our blood to do it. I believe the church today needs a brand new image. There needs to be a new image in the pulpit. There needs to be a new image in the pew and a new image in the Sunday school class and a new image among deacons. There needs to be a new image in the whole church of the Lord Jesus Christ that we, under command and mandate of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to disciple and change and influence our society, whatever the cost may be. Far too long men have stood in the pulpit and have seen themselves as men pleasers. And so what happens? Hundreds of years have gone by. The Bible has been taught, but few disciples have been made. Men have sat in the pews and listened to hundreds and millions of sermons. They can read books on any theological question you want to bring up. But how many disciples do we have? There is something deeply and innately wrong in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe that which is wrong needs to be righted, can be righted. And I believe this is the way to get it done. And that is that the people of God get an image change. We are not in retreat, brother. We are on the attack. And according to the book of Revelation, we have already triumphed. Amen? Amen. We have already triumphed. And what we are doing is as we triumph in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, we believe that God is going to conquer. Satan has been defeated and we are here to disciple every single person through whom the Lord Jesus Christ through us can make like him. Now we need a change of image. And I want to say to you, whoever you are and whatever your relationship and whatever your position in this church, you need to change your image, dear friend, and see yourself, first of all, as a disciple of Jesus Christ. And if you cannot, if you cannot see yourself that way, you're going to get very uncomfortable. Because, you see, the Word of God says it will prick, it will prod, it will move, it will stir, it will bring great conviction in your heart. And when you face the truth, if you really mean business, one of two things happens. God does something wonderful in your life, which is his will for every single one of us. Or what happens is you begin the drift. Once you face the truth and you say, no, I'm not going to pay that price, something begins to happen. You begin to drift off center. And before long, what happens in your life is exactly what he describes in the last two verses of Luke 14. Now, when we talk about discipleship, my friend, we talk about devotion to Jesus Christ. And that is the theme of this particular message. And that is the devotion of discipleship. Discipleship demands something from us. God is always giving to us, but he's also demanding something from us. And I believe in this passage is a clear delineation of what that price, what that cost, what that devotion to him demands in this area of discipleship. Now, devotion speaks of loyalty. It speaks of love. It speaks of enthusiasm and zeal in our performance for God. Devotion says something about the innermost being of a man in a woman's heart. Devotion says something about their allegiance and loyalty and love to Jesus Christ. It speaks of something of the giving of themselves with enthusiasm and zeal and ardor and force toward him. enthusiasm yes because you see devotion knows nothing of a passive attitude toward jesus their discipleship he said follow me and i will make you to become fishers of men you'll be my disciples so that discipleship demands devotion to jesus now i think there are four things he's saying here the first one is this Discipleship demands a devotion whereby our love and loyalty for Jesus will exceed our love and loyalty for all of us. That's what he's saying, first of all. Discipleship demands a devotion to him, a love and loyalty and allegiance and enthusiasm and zeal for him and his work that will exceed our love and loyalty for all of us. Now, notice. Did he really mean that if we are his disciples, we're supposed to hate our fathers, hate our mothers, hate our wives and our children? What did he mean by that? No. He could not possibly have meant that because what did he say? He said, by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one toward another. He said one of the indications of discipleship is a genuine love toward each other. And that kind of love is the kind that is always seeking what is best for the other. Now, if that be true, and again, you'll remember he said that the man who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know what he said about murderers. So it seems upon first reading that, that here is a contradiction. He says we're not to kill. And then he says the man who hates his brother is equal to a murderer. And then he says, if you don't hate your brother, you cannot be my disciple. Now is that double talk? Is that some mistake in the Bible? Is that some contradiction? No, it's not that at all. But what is he saying? That is to be his disciple, his follower. Before he is able to disciple someone else through you, there must be a degree and depth and intensity of devotion, love, loyalty toward him that our love for him will exceed greatly our love toward all others. For you see, the Lord knew how many rivals we have in our life and our devotion to Him. Now, if I should ask you this morning, do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, yes. Do you love Him with all of your heart? Yes. Is there anybody you love more than Him? No. And yet, we know deep in our heart that oftentimes that is not true. Now, what kind of rivalry do we have in our heart with the Lord Jesus Christ? Any love for anything or anybody... that interferes to any degree with my being obedient to what I know is true is a rival to God. He says there's to be no rivalry. That our devotion to Jesus Christ is to be to the point that when there comes the point of making a decision between obeying God and loving Him and being obedient to His Word, there can be absolutely no question about that in the life of the believer. And so often someone will say, well, but here's what they want me to do. Here's the influence of the crowd. And my friends, you have a rival in your life. You see, he says, follow me. That our love and intensity and loyalty and devotion to him is to be so intense, there just cannot be any question about who we're going to follow. We're going to be obedient to God regardless of the rivalry. Now, we can talk about it all we want to, but God is looking for people whose love for him knows no rivalry with anything or anybody. You see, when we get under the hardcore facts of living a Christian life, friend, that just can't be any question about it. He says our love for him is to be of such quality in nature that even those in our own household will think we have wronged them. Now, he did not mean bitter animosity and hatred, but he meant that in the eyes of those with whom we fellowship. Those with whom we love and those with whom we live, that our devotion to him is to be so excessive from their point of view that they just cannot understand it. They may get upset. They may get mad. They may get angry. They may get bitter. He says it makes no difference. Our love for him is to exceed our devotion toward all of us. And once in a while, some parent would say, you mean to tell me that you believe that's what God wants my son to do? I said, it's not a question of whether I believe it or not. Here's what he says. And I'm simply asking you to get on your knees with that boy and you ask God with him if that's what he wants him to do. You see, Jesus not only came to bring peace, but his life within you is going to be like a sword in someone else's life. Because the commitment that you have to Jesus Christ is going to cross purposes with many people whom you fellowship. Devotion to Him means I follow Him, whatever the price, and whoever may not understand. And I simply ask you this morning, is your life confused? Is there conflict in your life because you know that God is saying, this is what I want in your life, and somebody else is saying, why don't you do this? Why don't you do that? Why don't you do the other? I think this is best. Are you influenced by the crowd, a small group? Are you influenced by somebody on your job, somebody in your school, somebody... in your home, that you know what they're saying to you is rivalry. It creates friction and tension in your heart. And as the fellow says, I know what I ought to do, but what did I consider him? You have rivalry in your heart. The Lord Jesus Christ is battling in your heart for your allegiance and loyalty, and you are trying to share it with someone else. Now listen, if you are going to be what you are under mandate to become, you'll lose some friends. But what I discovered, those whom I have lost weren't really my friends because a true friend ought to be building me up, not tearing me down. And if my devotion and obedience to Jesus Christ means that I lose friends, I must lose whatever is necessary because to be built up by him is far more than to have the praise and the approval of others. And I want to ask you, my friend, who is it in your life today that is a rival with your allegiance and devotion to Jesus Christ? Devotion to him demands no rivalry within our heart. Now, while I've been talking, you've been thinking about what it is. Somebody, something, some group, whatever it might be. But something that has created friction between you and Jesus Christ. Something that will not let you have perfect peace and assurance that you're doing the right thing. Whatever it is, give it up. You say, but wait a minute, listen. How could you be forgiven without him? You could not. How could you be blessed without him? You could not. Nothing is worthy of rivaling our love and devotion to Jesus Christ. Some of you, you may be courting someone you're going to marry, and God's already told you that's not it. You better give them up. Some of you have made decisions influenced by groups, maybe where you work or whatever it might be. You better give them up. He says he'll not tolerate that because if you refuse giving him total loyalty and allegiance and love and obedience to him, knowing the truth, my friend, when we get to the last two verses, you're going to find out exactly what's going to happen in your life. Second thing I want you to notice is this. Look in verse 27. Whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. What is he saying? The second thing he's saying is this, that discipleship demands a devotion whereby we are willing to suffer willingly for Jesus' sake. Discipleship demands the devotion whereby we are willing to suffer for Jesus' sake. When he says, whosoever doth not bear his cross, he's speaking of one thing only. All the way through the New Testament, the cross always indicates suffering. And he is not speaking of suffering as a result of things we bring upon ourselves by violation of natural laws or spiritual laws. But he's speaking of suffering that comes our way because of, listen, because of, directly because of, we have committed ourselves to be obedient to God. And my friend, if you obey God, you are going to suffer. There's no question about that. You see, this is why Jesus had throngs and flocks of people following him. And as long as he fed them and demonstrated his power through miracles, I mean, he had a tremendous congregation. But once he brought up the subject of the cross, the scripture says they turned and walked with him no more because men want what God has to offer up to the point of genuine discipleship. And I'm sure that if I preached an easy message and, you know, just sort of don't get too excited. Just talk about how good God is, how much he'll bless you. And let's forget this discipleship bit. We'd have a lot more folks around here. My friend, it is not the number that God is after. He's after men and women who mean business for Him. And discipleship demands suffering. It is a devotion to Him whereby we are willing to suffer for His sake. What men say, what they do, what they attempt to do, we are willing to suffer without complaint, without grudge, without defense, and without bitterness. You see, lots of people can serve the Lord and then they get all upset when the world attacks or when the devil attacks in some way. But you see, discipleship means that we have come to the place we have been nailed to the cross. And brother, you can't kill a man who's dead. You can't hurt a man who's dead. You can't take from a man who's given it all away to begin with. You cannot steal from a man who has nothing. Why did he use the cross? Because the cross meant death, suffering, and shame for the glory of God. And discipleship, we said, means that a person has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. That's glorious. Yield it to him as Lord. That's wonderful. And who is available for the Lord Jesus Christ to reproduce his life through us in the life of someone else? That may mean you're going to suffer mockery, all kinds of persecution, whatever it may be. But he says, ye cannot be my disciple unless you are willing to freely, without bitterness and begrudging, suffer for Jesus' sake.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Devotion of Discipleship. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
In this episode of In Touch Podcast, we continue our journey through the transformative power of faith by examining the compelling narrative of Joseph. Despite facing rejection, false accusations, and imprisonment, Joseph's commitment to his faith served as an unshakable foundation. We analyze the pivotal moments of his life, drawing parallels to our experiences and discovering the profound impact faith can have when we focus on divine promises. This episode is an in-depth look at the strength derived from aligning our faith with steadfast beliefs.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, January 10th. Today's podcast continues encouraging us to move forward by faith with a look at the life of Joseph. His example teaches us to follow the Lord even when things are going disastrously wrong.
SPEAKER 02 :
If you really want God's best in your life, then you will learn to live by faith. I mean living not by your feelings, not by sight, not by the opinion of others, but learning to live by trusting in God moment by moment, day by day. Now, all of us trust him to some degree, but I think most of us would probably have to admit that there are times when we find ourselves wavering in our faith. James warns us about that in James, the first chapter, if you'll turn there for a moment. And you'll recall he uses our desire for wisdom as an example, and he says in verse 5, "'But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.'" But let him ask in faith without any doubting. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. Being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. That is when you and I... are seeking the Lord, are asking for his direction, and we're believing him. If we say, well, yes, that is what God's saying. Well, no, I'm not sure. Well, I think that's what he said. Well, when I was praying, that's what I felt. Well, yesterday I believed that, but today, no, I don't believe that. In fact, the truth is I'm not sure what I believe. Well, he says that kind of a person can expect to get nothing from God because God doesn't respond to that kind of faith. So the very purpose of this series, entitled Forward by Faith, is this. That you and I will learn the principles by which God operates in our life. Remember what he said concerning Moses. That Moses learned the ways of God. We want to know how does God operate in our life. And so the title of this message is Faith's Fixed Focus. You say, well, now what do you mean by that? Simply this. When we talk about faith's fixed focus, a fixed focus is the directing of our attention and our faith toward a specific object and holding it there. And for the believer, our fixed focus is God, none other than God. Now, I mentioned to you before that the five men in the Old Testament that most influenced my life were Abraham and then Joseph and Moses and David and Daniel. Well, we've talked about Abraham, the call of faith. And today, Joseph, faith's fixed focus. Now, my friend, listen carefully. If you will listen to the principles in this passage of Scripture and apply them to your heart, you cannot be the same. And I want to say to you parents how very important it is that you instruct your children in these simple principles. And I want to say to all of you who are teenagers, If you will take these simple principles and let God just rivet them into your spirit, God will protect you. He will guide you. He will bless you in ways that you're not going to be blessed if you ignore and neglect these simple principles. So what I would like to do is to take the life of Joseph and interpret his life in the light of this truth, that Joseph was a young man beginning as a teenager, who fixed his faith on God. So let's look at the life of Joseph in the light of this. And the first thing I want us to notice here, and what we're going to do, if you will turn to the 37th chapter of Genesis, we're really going 37 through 50, but I just want to hit a few verses here and there. And let me just give you a little background here. You'll recall that there was Abraham, Isaac, and And so Joseph is one of those sons of Jacob. And this chapter, beginning in 37 through the rest of the book of Genesis, 37 through 50, really is about the life of Joseph. And there's some of the richest truths in the Old Testament found in this man's life. And you will recall, let's begin in verse 31. Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when 17 years of age, was pastoring the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel, that is Jacob, God changed his name, loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age and he made him a very colored tunic. And you and I know that as the coat of many colors. And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. And so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms. And then to make it worse, then Joseph had a dream. And when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. So I want to begin this whole idea of faith's fixed focus as lived out by Joseph to talk about the foundation of that faith. And it begins like this. It begins with the instruction of his father. Remember now that Jacob certainly heard his father Isaac talk about all the things that his grandfather, that is Abraham had told him, had God had said to him and revealed himself to him and said, I'm going to bless you. And I'm going to bless all the nations of the earth through you. I'm going to give you a land. Wasn't conditional. I'm going to give you this land. And he says, your seed shall inherit it forever. So as Abraham passed on to Isaac and Isaac passed on to Jacob, these rich truths, these things that God had shared with him, certainly Jacob told and shared and instructed Joseph in these things. Not only that, but there came a time in his own life when he was around a teenager that on one occasion he had two dreams. Now usually the Bible teaches us that when God tells us two things about the same thing, to undergird the same thing, it's his way of assuring us this is going to happen. And so the Bible says that on one occasion that Joseph was speaking with his family and he said, I want to tell you about these two dreams I had. And one of these dreams, you'll recall in this 37th chapter, he says he was out in the field with them. They were binding sheaths and his sheath stood straight up and all the other sheaths bowed down. Well, you can imagine what his brothers thought. Yeah, you're talking about pride. And so then to make it even worse, he said, well, let me tell you this other dream I had. The other dream I had, he said, was that the sun and the moon and the 11 stars, he says, all of these bowed down to me. Well, when his father heard that, he really rebuked him because he says, you mean to tell me that even your parents are going to bow down to you? And so you can imagine what kind of tension and hostility and resentment and anger was built up in this family. And here's Joseph just doing what he believes the Lord would have him to do. And he's followed the instruction of his father. He's learned to be disciplined. He has a relationship with God. It's probably a very childlike relationship at that time. But Joseph knows... that he has heard two dreams and both of these dreams said the same thing. And in essence, that one day he would be in a position of authority over his family. Well, with that in mind, you can see how God began to work in his life as a teenager. And I want to say to all of you young people who are here today, don't underestimate God's desire for nor his efforts at speaking to you very, very early in life, one way or the other. Now, Joseph, as a young man, set his focus upon God. He learned it at the knee of his father, and he learned it as a revelation from God that one day, somehow, in some fashion, for some reason, he would be in a place of authority. Now, what I want us to see here, I want us to see how... This fixed focus on God took him through tribulations and trials and difficulties. That is the power of our faith when it is fixed upon God. So here's what happens. The Bible says one day his father sent him out to find his brothers. And when they saw him coming, they decided this is our opportunity to get our revenge. And so we're going to kill him. So they plotted to kill him. They threw him in a pit and finally made a decision to sell him as a slave to some Midianites and Ishmaelites that were coming that way to a caravan on their way to Egypt. And so they brought him out of the pit and they decided to sell him for 20 pieces of silver, which was not a very good price. But after all, he was a teenager, somewhere around the age of 17, 18, somewhere thereabouts. So I want to say, first of all, when you and I learn to fix our faith and to focus our faith on God and realize that we're not to trust in ourselves, we're not to trust in other people, we're not to trust in things, we're not to trust in money, materials, we're not to trust in experience and friends, we're to put our trust in God and God alone, fixing our faith, focusing on Him and steadying our faith upon Him. That will sustain us through all kinds of rejection and division and hostility and anger and resentment. And oftentimes our response is, God, if you were God, you wouldn't be letting me go through this. I don't deserve this, Lord. I've trusted you these years of my life. If you were God, you wouldn't be letting me do this. That is not a faith that is fixed upon God. That is a faith that, listen, has moved its focus from the Father down to the circumstances. Joseph teaches us that when our faith is fixed upon God, it will sustain us through all kinds of hardship because he fixed his faith upon God. God sustained him through that. There's no evidence that he was revengeful toward his brothers, that he hated them, that he was resentful. He didn't even try to escape. He was their victim. He was absolutely helpless and hopeless. And they sold him like a slave. The second thing I want you to notice about his life is this, that his faith in God, his fixed focus upon the Father, sustained him in a time of slavery. Now, remember this, because I'm coming back to it. What we find is this teenage boy bound in chains, iron chains, on his way to Egypt as a slave. Now, look at this. His family rejects him, and now he's put up on the slave block and sold for 20 pieces of silver. When he gets to Egypt, the Bible says that the captain of Pharaoh's guard, that is Potiphar, purchases this Hebrew teenager off the slave block and puts him in his home. As I go through here, I'm going to bring you back to a few verses. Don't miss any of it. The principles... true of Joseph are the same principles God is working in the lives of people today if they will let him do it. He's not going to force you. So here's what happens. Next thing we see, we see Joseph as a slave. He's a teenage slave boy in Potiphar's household. You know what Joseph decided when he got to Potiphar's household? I'm going to be the best slave in Egypt. How did I know that? Here's how I know it. Look, if you will, and turn over to the 39th chapter of Genesis. The Bible says in verse 1, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So you know what he did? The Bible says it wasn't very long in a short period of time that Potiphar said, I'll tell you what. Joseph, I'm going to turn over the management of all of my household and all of my circumstances to you. And the Bible says that the only thing, look at this, in verse 6, so he left everything he owned in Joseph's charge and with him, there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Which means that the only thing that... Potiphar was concerned about is when he went in and sat down at the table, he wanted a good meal. That was his only concern. He had such confidence in this slave, this Hebrew slave boy, that his finances, the management of his home, his estate, everything he had was under the control of Joseph. Why do you think it was? I'll tell you why. Because Joseph fixed his faith upon Almighty God. He recalled what his father had taught him. He remembered what God had said to him in the dreams. And so no matter what was going on, here he was a slave. He decided to be the best slave he could possibly be. And before long, Potiphar turned everything in his household over to him. Now, I want to say this to you who may be parents and you who are young people. Listen to me carefully. If you're wise, you will teach your children. Don't look at your circumstances. Wherever you are, give it your best. You say, I'm waiting for a break. Joseph didn't wait for a break. The truth is, he never got a break until he got the break. And so it was in those times as a slave when he decided, I'm going to be the best slave in Egypt. What was it that sustained him as a slave boy brought to Egypt in irons, bought by Potiphar himself, put into his house as a slave boy? Now, let me tell you something, friend. He didn't start out being the manager. As a Hebrew slave, he probably had one of the lowest forms of manual labor possible. You know what got Potiphar's attention? His attitude. There was something about Joseph that attracted him to Joseph. There was something about Joseph's calmness and assurance and confidence as a slave. He had many slaves, but none like Joseph. And the reason is, the Bible says, the Lord was with Joseph. Let me ask you a question. Do you want the Lord to be with you in whatever you're doing? Do you want to be able to say, and the Lord was with me? Then you must be submissive to God wherever he's put you, not complaining, not moaning, not groaning, and just thank God that at this moment, wherever I am, I'm going to be the best that I can be in whatever God has called me to be. It may not be as good as someone else. That's not the issue. The issue is, am I doing the best at what God has called me to do? Well, in Potiphar's household, he had become the manager of everything. The Bible says that Potiphar had a wife and that Joseph was a very handsome man, handsome in form and appearance. And we certainly know that he was beautiful in his spirit. And so the Bible says that she began to watch Joseph and look at him. And if you'll notice how it's described in verse 7, it came about that after these events... After he'd been there long enough to have gotten Potiphar's attention and Potiphar put everything in his hands. Now look at this. And he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no greater, no one greater in this house than I. And he has withheld nothing from me except you because you're his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God? Not I will not, I cannot. You know why he could not? Because he fixed his faith in God, and he knew that any such violation of the principles of Scripture would do what? Would drive him to some sideline area in his life, and eventually he would miss God's what? God's promise that one day he would stand in authority. So he says, I cannot do it. The next verse says, and it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day that he did not listen to her to lie beside her to be with her. Now, you know the story. The Bible says that on one occasion she decided she wouldn't lie with him and he said no. She got his cloak and she began to scream and holler and accused him of trying, as the Bible says, to make sport with her or to lie with her. It's interesting the Bible says that Potiphar, in verse 20, so Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in the jail. I cannot help but believe that Potiphar had a very difficult time doing that. No trial, no questions, threw him in prison. Remember, he wasn't put in prison for two years, no good probation, no. in a dungeon in Egypt, no air condition, I guarantee you, in a dungeon in Egypt, and what happens? Here's a man whose faith was so fixed upon the heavenly father that it sustained him through a family that hated him, sustained him through a period of slavery, sustained him through a period of intense temptation, and sustained him through an unjust and accusation that resulted in throwing him in prison. He didn't deserve it, but he had no recourse, no trial, no lawyer, none of that, into a dungeon in prison. Joseph would have had lots of human reasons for saying, well, this is where being moral and trusting God has gotten me. Rejection from my family, sold the slave block for 20 pieces of silver, falsely accused by Potiphar's wife. And now I'm in a dungeon in prison, probably for the rest of my life, which probably would not have been long, living in a dungeon. And that's what his faith and his obedience got him. Oh, that's not what he said. Because you see, Joseph fixed his faith on Jehovah God.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to Faith's Fixed Focus. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
In this episode, we dive into the remarkable journey of Abraham and his unwavering faith in the face of the unknown. By examining his responses to God's call, listeners are invited to reflect on their own walks with faith, especially when stepping away from comfort zones. Abraham's story unfolds with lessons on separation, blessings, and the tests that come with following divine guidance. The challenges Abraham faces remind us of the importance of keeping our focus on God, even when circumstances seem daunting. As we explore the trials of faith, we learn how to trust in God’s promises despite fears and famines. The repercussions of doubt, as seen in Abraham's journey to Egypt, offer poignant reminders of the consequences of getting off track but also of God's redemptive power. Through this narrative, listeners are encouraged to trust and obey, reminding themselves that faith is not about reasoning out the journey but in allowing God's power to manifest through trials. Reconnect with the essence of trust and take inspiration from Abraham’s journey to remain steadfast in your faith journey.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, January 9th. Abraham had an extraordinary relationship with God. By studying his response to the Lord, believers in Jesus can learn how to have courage to move forward by faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
Everything God calls us to do in our life, He calls us to move forward, never backwards. And that is always an act of faith on our part. And if you recall, the Bible says we're saved by faith. We walk by faith. We die by faith. We pray by faith. Everything is the result of faith. And so as you think about the life of faith and how God works in your life, I want us to look at the life of Abraham just in one chapter, this 12th chapter of Genesis. I want us to see four things primarily. First one is this, and you'll be wise to jot this down. The call of faith oftentimes is a call to step out into the unknown. To go where we are unfamiliar to some area and some direction that is untried and that is unknown to us. Now let me say it very quickly. The call of faith is oftentimes a call to step out to the unknown. Listen, unknown to me? Yes. Unknown to those about me? Yes. Unknown to God? No. God has never asked you and me to step out in anything that is unknown to Him. So, if you'll notice what God said to Abraham here. He says, I want you to go forth from your country, from your relatives, from your father's house to the land which I will show you. He didn't have any idea where he was going at first. And if you'll turn to Hebrews chapter 11, and the writer of Hebrews, speaking of this very incident, makes this extremely clear in this 11th chapter as he's talking about Abraham's call. He says in the eighth verse of the 11th chapter of Hebrews, he says, by faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. Now, let me ask you a question. Are you willing to follow the leadership of the Lord when you don't know where he's going to lead you? When God says, this is what I want you to do, this is the next step. Are you willing to do that without being able to reason it out? Without being able to figure out how it's going to work out? You see, if I am following Christ, that is a walk of faith. And if I'm going to follow Him, I have to follow Him by faith. And where that will lead you is into and through situations and circumstances that oftentimes will be very difficult. Ultimately, absolutely fantastic through deep valleys, dark valleys, trials, tribulations, heartaches, all kinds of things, all kinds of circumstances. He doesn't say, just follow me and I'll just put you on a cloud and we'll just float you right on across this desert. No, he took him through it. and he took him in a way that he had to listen and follow him. Second principle I want you to notice here, not only in the life of Abraham is this walk of faith a step into the unknown, but it is also a call to separation. Listen to what he said to him. The call of faith is a call to separation. Now listen. He says, "'Abraham, go forth from your country.'" From your relatives, from your father's house, to the land which I will show you. Now, do you know what the biggest problem is? Listen. All of us have a comfort zone. Now, nobody else's comfort zone is exactly like yours. All of us have a little comfort zone in which we feel very secure. We feel accepted. We feel loved. We feel like as long as we keep this all right, everything's fine. Listen to me carefully. The comfort zone is where faith goes to sleep. Because you see, as long as you're in your comfort zone, you don't have to trust God. We don't want to let go what feels good and secure to us. But the third principle I want you to notice here in the life of Abraham is this. And that is the call of God always includes the promise of blessing. The call of God always includes the promise of blessing. Now, it won't be as clear, and certainly not in the magnitude of this one, but listen. He says now, go forth from your country, from your relatives, from your father's house to the land which I will show you. And he says, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make you a great nation. I will bless you, make your name great. You shall be a blessing. I shall bless those who bless you. And the one who curses you, I will curse. Divine protection. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Now, that promise, of course, you and I are today being blessed by it. Because what happened? Abraham had Isaac, Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, and the key son of all of those 12 was Judah, the lion of the tribe of Judah, from which in the lineage came the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior. And there have been many times when I have felt God was challenging me, and you know what his promise was? Blood, sweat, and tears, heartache, rejection. He said, that's not very appealing. Right. But you know what? Look beyond that. You see, our problem is that we're too short-sighted. But if I'm willing to look beyond the hurt, just beyond the hurt, brother, it gets absolutely fantastically wonderful. Abraham was wise enough not to look at the desert. but to look beyond what God said. The fourth principle I want you to look at here, and I don't want you to miss this one because this is so very, very, very, very important. And that is, when you and I are talking to the Lord and listening to Him and searching to know His will and decisions in our life and so forth, whatever it might be, You can mark this one down. The call of faith will involve testing and trials. Now, this is so clearly evident in the life of Abraham here. Suddenly there's a famine. God knew all about that famine. Listen, if God could take him out of the fertile lands of the Ur of the Chaldees and bring him to Haran and then around finally to Canaan, he can certainly feed him in a famine. But you see, it's natural for us when things really get hot around us and they get barren and things aren't working out for us to get our focus off of the Father, onto the famine, on our fears, and then we begin to make choices, not based on faith, but based on reasoning. So the reasonable thing to do was go down into Egypt because Egypt was a fertile area and surely they would have enough. The Bible never says that God called Abraham to Egypt. That was a decision he made on his own because he took his eyes off the father who had led him step by step, got him on the famine, then on his fears, which is on himself, and he got in trouble. Now, here's what I want you to see. Anytime, mark this one down, anytime you take your eyes off the father, And you begin to focus on this trouble around you, whatever it is. It doesn't make any sense if it's in your home, your business, your finances, relationships, whatever it is. You get your eyes on that. Then what happens is we become afraid it's not going to work out the way we want to. So we begin to figure out how to do it. And instead of walking by faith, now we're walking by reason and by sight and by feeling. And here's what happens every time. We get in trouble. Notice what happens. One sin leads to another. His act of unbelief led him to something else. Now look at this. Verse 11. So it came about when he came near to Egypt that he said to Sarah, his wife, see now, I know that you're a beautiful woman. She was about 65 years of age. Verse 12. Came about that when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, this is his wife and they will kill me. But they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister. Now, she was his half-sister. So that it may go well with me because of you and that I may live on account of you. What happened? When you take your focus off the Father and you put him on the famine and you become fearful, you begin to look out for you. And oftentimes, you will hurt the folks there. whom you love the most and who the dearest to you. You don't mean to, but you do. And notice what this man did. He was willing for his wife to be taken by Pharaoh and made Pharaoh's wife to save his own skin. You say, where in the world is his faith? Well, thank God, Abraham failed every once in a while because we can say... Well, that's what happens to me. I get my focus off the Father, onto my famine, and I begin to fear that I want to manipulate my circumstances. And every single time we get the focus off Him on the famine and we begin to fear, we get ourselves in trouble. We hurt ourselves and we hurt others. So what do you do? Listen. His first mistake was doubting God. You know what the second mistake always is? An act of disobedience somewhere else. He asked her to lie and he himself lied. And so what happens? Verse 15 in Pharaoh's official saw her praise her to Pharaoh and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. They didn't ask him. They just took her. Therefore, here's what Pharaoh did. He treated Abraham well for her sake, gave him sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female servants, and female donkeys and camels. I mean, listen, this was a big deal swap. For his wife, he became a very, very wealthy man. But it was an act of disobedience. He took his focus off the father, got it on the famine, on his own fears. And the next thing he's doing, what's he doing? He's just stepping away from God all the time. And of course, by the grace of God, the Bible says that the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with a great plague, with plagues, because of Sarah Abraham's wife. So I believe that somehow, immediately, God's judgment came upon the household of Pharaoh to preserve and to protect the purity of Sarah. And so, the Bible says that Pharaoh calls Abraham in and says, what is this you've done? And so, having given him all of these things and all of these treasures, Abraham leaves. Now, it looks like, look at this, it looks like that in his sinning against the Father by his doubt, That God protected him and he came out real well, smelling like a rose. Gold, silver, camels, sheep, goats. I mean, he walked out of there a very, very, very wealthy man. Now, here is the hook. Every single time, this is it. I want you young folks to listen to me very carefully, as well as adults and everybody else, because it applies to all of us. Whenever I get my focus off the Father, And I get it on my famine and myself and my fears and I begin to manipulate and I work out my circumstances. Every single time I come out a loser. Because something happened here. I'm going to show you in a second. Something happened here that looks like when you read it, you just sort of read right across that and it doesn't even faze you. But that little side trek down into Egypt, which was an act of doubt and disobedience to God, Abraham never got over it. in all of his life. Here's what happened. Look at this, verse 16. Therefore, Pharaoh treated Abraham well for her sake and gave him sheep, oxen, donkeys, male, female servants, and female donkeys and camels. Now, turn to the 16th chapter of Genesis. And I want you to look at this very first verse. Now Sarah, Abraham's wife, had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid. Where do you think he got her? Down in Egypt. An Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarah said to Abram, Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go into my maid. Perhaps I shall obtain children through her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarah. Another mistake in his life. Because... suddenly there was dissension in that home. Dissension that never ceased. She gave birth to a son by the name of Ishmael. That birth and the generations that followed that caused havoc in his family for centuries. This mistake was a mistake that Abraham never escaped from. Not only did he not escape from it, But his family never escaped from it. Because as we look at the nations today, we have Israel over here and the Arab nations of the world here. And as you look at that conflict today and look at the conflict that began back there, that's not to say that God loves anybody unless he loves anybody else. I'm not being critical of anybody. The only thing I'm saying is here's a principle. He should never have gone to Egypt. Because it was the beginning of turmoil in his home. And Hagar was despised by Sarah. And she became jealous and covetous of her. And not only that, the sons and all the things that took place as a result of that. Here's what I want you to see. Our little detours down into Egypt may look very, very innocent. When we take our focus off Him, get Him on our famine, get our needs met our way in our own time, and ignore the consequences, that little journey down into Egypt He never got over. You see, you and I were created to live for Christ and to obey him and to follow him. Now, God made Abraham a great man, and all of us have been blessed because it was through him the Messiah came. And now 2,000 years later, after the Messiah, almost 3,500 years from the time he spoke to Abraham, all of us have been blessed. But how often he failed. But it's interesting that the next thing we see in the back to Bethel where he built an altar before to God. And if you'll notice in the fourth verse of the 13th chapter, he comes up out of Egypt, back up into the Canaan. And to verse four, to the place of the altar, which he had made there formerly. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord and he must have repented before God and asked the Lord to forgive him for his failure to trust him and to obey him. Let me ask you a question. What is it that God is challenging you to do that you're unwilling to do? What is it that you are telling him, Lord, I just can't see my way clear, and this is unknown and unfamiliar territory you're calling me into, and I just can't do it. You're going to miss God's will. Is he saying to you, separate yourself from that circumstance, that job, that relationship, this material thing, and you're saying, but God... And your security is wrapped up in something that it should not be. God is offering you a blessing if you will trust him. And then I want to ask you another question. Are you seated here today or maybe are you listening? And when I said detour to Egypt, something came to your mind just like that. Are you considering a little detour in your spiritual walk and your walk with Christ that you know that deep down in your heart is something you are doing rather than what God has called you to do? Have you taken your focus off of Him and set it on yourself and your famine and you want to get your needs met, you want to get them done now in your way, and instead of trusting Him, you're working out yourself in your way rather than trusting Him? I want to say to you, my friend, you're headed for trouble. You don't have to. Just trust him. You don't have to figure it out. Just trust him. Just do what he says do and give him the privilege of demonstrating his awesome power. the supply you need, whatever it might be. And you know what will happen? God turns famines into fantastic testimonies of the grace of God, the power of God, the provision of God, the blessing of God. But you know what we do? We mess it all up by trying to to work our way through those famines, some of which God sends into our life to test our faith, to give us the privilege of growing in our faith, and given us the privilege of demonstrating how great He is. The call of faith to step out where it appears to be unknown, to separate myself from my comfort zone, to the best blessings that God has to offer, To be tested, to be tried, yes. But in obedience, we are able to enjoy the best that God has to offer.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to part two of The Call of Faith. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
