Living By Faith Brings Glory to God

Take your Bibles if you would turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. We're going to begin reading and read several verses in Hebrews 11 this morning. It's it's often called the chapter of the heroes of the faith. And I think you'll see that as we read through these verses.

We're going to begin in verse one and we'll jump down to verse four and I will jump around a little bit but just keep up with me. We'll all be in Hebrews chapter 11. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it, he being dead yet speaketh.

By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him for before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God but without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith, Noah, being warned of God of things not yet and not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is of God which is by faith. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out not knowing whether he went. Verse 11, through faith also, Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised.

Verse 17, by faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac, should thy seed be called? Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also, he received him in a figure. Verse 23, by faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a seizing, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect into the recompense of the reward. Verse 30, by faith, the walls of Jericho fell down.

After they were compassed about seven days. By faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with them to believe not when she had received the spies with peace. And what shall I say more? For the time would fail, me to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson, of Jephthah, of David, also in Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire. Escape the edge of the sword out of weakness.

We're made strong. Wax valiant in fight. Turn to flight. The armies of the aliens. We'll stop there.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, we thank you for your word this morning. And for the reminder here for the greatness of our God and how mighty you are to those who put their faith in you. Lord, I pray that as we look into your word that Jesus would be exalted in our midst today. That above all things, you would be glorified.

And that if there be one here today that's never put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone as savior that today would be the day that they become a child of the king. In Jesus precious name, we do pray. Amen. Amen. I started a series last week entitled We Will Glorify.

A worthwhile goal for 2016, a worthwhile goal every year, worthwhile goal every month, every week, every day for the child of God, and for every church. To glorify the Lord. That is what we have been called to do on this Earth above all other things. Amen. Is to glorify his name.

I've said many times, if God wanted us to be, if God's only reason for saving you was to take you to heaven, where would you be? You would be in heaven. It's a lot nicer place than this is. But you're not there. Why?

Because he's left you here. That you might glorify his name before others in this world. And share with them. How wonderful he is. And how he can save.

First Corinthians ten thirty one says this, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all what? To the glory of God. Matthew five sixteen, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. It is clear in scripture that God desires for us as Christians, for us as Missouri Missouri Avenue Baptist Church to glorify God in our lives. To demonstrate the true nature of the God we serve and has claimed as our God before the world in which we live.

That they might see who he is. That they might come to know him through faith in his son. That he might be glorified before them. This is our responsibility. This is our ministry.

This is our joy. To be servants of the king and bring glory to the God who has saved us by his grace and through his strength. How do we do that? How do we do that? How do we glorify God as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church or as Christians in general?

We do it by demonstrating our faith in God and that's what we started last week. We had part A last week. We have part B today. We'll come back to that in just a moment. We glorify God by demonstrating our faith.

In a world that is faithless. In a world that is without hope. Accepting Jesus Christ. We glorify our God by showing others that there is a god, a god in whom we have entrusted our eternity, entrusted our lives, entrusted our joy, and we really do believe in him. We do it glorify God by demonstrating the love of God.

How are we as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church going to glorify God to those that walk through those doors and to those that we reach out to in this neighborhood and to those that we rub shoulders with throughout the week. Remember, the church is not the building, folks. The church is us. We are the church. And we can glorify God wherever we are.

As his children, as members of his body, by demonstrating his love, by demonstrating our love for him. And that he is most important to us. And that others are at least as important as we. And then by demonstrating God's holiness. We live in a world that desperately needs to see the holiness of God.

God is exalted in heaven but God is not only exalted in his position. God is exalted in his nature. God is unique. He is set apart. He is without sin.

He is holy and he has called us to reflect that in everything we do and say, to reflect the holiness of God that he might be glorified. We're starting today. We started last week on demonstrating faith. How do we demonstrate our faith? Well, the Bible says, but without faith, it is impossible to please him.

For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We'll start with this today and we'll end with this today and that is you can't demonstrate faith if you have none and you can't please God if you have none and you can't glorify God if you have none. You must have faith. For without faith, it is impossible to please God. Not faith in you.

No. Bible says there's a way that seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death. I wouldn't put your faith in you because you'll fail. I wouldn't put your faith in your fellow man because guess what? Your fellow man is just like you.

He's going to fail. Wouldn't put your faith. The Bible doesn't say we put our faith in the church. Because the church is made up of people and people fail. No, the Bible says, we're to put our faith in who?

Jesus Christ. For he is the sinless one. For he is the perfect one. For he is the faithful one. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

He will never let us down. We can trust in him with all our heart. We can place our eternal soul in his hands and trust that he will deliver us to the doors of heaven. The place that he has reserved for us. We can place our career.

We can place our children, our family. Our time, our money in his hands. He won't fail us. If we'll just trust and obey. But it all starts with entrusting him with your soul.

It's called salvation. And it is impossible to please him without faith. And sad to say there are many people today that are trying to get to heaven based upon their works. The Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of. Works.

Works, lest any man. Lest any man should boast. We don't get to heaven by earning it because we can't. We're sinners. Bible says our righteousness is a filthy rags.

It's only by grace through what? Faith. That we can come to know Jesus Christ as savior. And be saved. And given the gift of everlasting life.

It all starts with faith. It all starts with faith. But it doesn't end there because faith what? It continues. When you put your faith in Christ to save you, your faith only grows in the Lord as you get to know him better and how do we demonstrate that faith?

Well, we demonstrate last week. We looked at by declaring it. We demonstrate the faith of the world around us by saying, hey, I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian. I'm not ashamed of being a Christian.

Hey, I know the Lord. I talk to the Lord. He answers my prayers. He has saved my soul. He will save you too.

We can declare him a testimony before the world and by declaring our faith, we bring glory to the God who saved us. We can declare it in church. We can declare it in song. We can declare it in preaching and teaching. We can declare it in witnessing specifically to others for the grace of God in our lives.

We need to declare it in many ways and we must tell the world about Jesus. There's a song I learned back when I was a kid. It's called Pass It On. It it did the last verse says, I wish for you my friend this happiness that I have found. You can depend on him.

It matters not where you're bound. I'll shout it from the mountain top. I want my world to know. The son of love has come to me. I want to pass it on and I go back when I'm singing that song and I repeat starting that I'll shout it on.

Shout it from the mountain top. And it is our privilege to shout it from the mountain top. Not just inside these walls but most importantly, outside these walls. That Jesus is Lord and king and declare our faith. Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God under salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek and you don't have to be a pastor and you don't have to be a missionary.

All you have to be is a Christian, a true Christian, a child of God. To tell the world who he is. And then secondly, by living out our faith and this is what we're going to spend the remainder of our time this morning on. Not only do we need, must we declare our faith and we should and we must but we also need to live by faith. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to declare your faith if you don't live by it.

And that's what we're going to look at today. Romans one seventeen, for there in his righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. Now, that living is a continuing action. We enter into eternal life.

We enter into life when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as savior. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. If you have the Son, you have life, you can know it. And if you do have life in Him, you do know it. However, the word live is a continuing action.

I don't just enter into relationship with God by faith but I live that life that God has given me. Many man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. I have a new life in Jesus Christ and how do I live that life?

I live it by faith. Start it by faith. I live it by faith till the day that I stand before him in heaven and I see him, what? Face to face. But for now, we live it by faith.

Faces the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Christ hasn't come to take me home yet but I know he will. I don't doubt it. I know it just as much as I know that Mike is sitting right there or Steve is sitting right there or where I am or what time it is. I know Christ is coming back.

Amen. How do I know that? By faith. I know that He is and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. I know He is interceding in my behalf in heaven.

How do I know that? I haven't seen Him. I know it by faith. Eyes of faith that God has given me that I might see him with those eyes, though I can't see him with ease. Not only are we saved by faith, but we are to live by faith.

Ephesians two eight through 10, for by grace are you saved through faith, I already quoted this, that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But I'm gonna add verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, that is those of us who are saved, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Why did God save you? Only so he could take you to heaven, is that right? No.

Why did he save you? So that he could be glorified in your what? Good works. And the fruit that your life will produce because you are a Christian and others see a difference in you. Those works which God hath before ordained that we should walk, that we should live in them by what?

By faith. By faith. Take your Bibles turn if you would to James chapter two. James chapter two. That's right after Hebrews.

If you're still in Hebrews, all you have to do is turn just a few pages and you'll see the book of James. It's small. If you turn too many, you'll pass right over. James chapter two and verse 14. James chapter two verse 14.

James writes, he says, what doth it profit my brethren? Though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, one of you say to them, depart in peace, be you warm and filled, not withstanding, you give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith but hath not works is dead being alone. Yey, a man may say thou hast faith and I have works.

Show me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my thee my faith by my works. It's one of my favorite passages of scripture. Sadly, some have taken it out of context to try to convince people that salvation is by works and not by faith, But that's not what James is saying. James is not discounting faith. He's not saying that faith is not able to save you.

What he is saying is this, the faith that saves you is the faith that remains and the faith that grows and the faith that guides us in our life so that our life produces what? Fruit. Good works to the glory of God. The person says, oh yes, I believe that there's a bridge out down the road. I believe that it's out.

I know that it's out and they still keep going 60 miles an hour down the road right towards the bridge that's out without ever putting on their brakes, you would have to ask yourself, do they really believe the bridge is out? Because if they really believe the bridge was out, what would they do? They'd stop. They wouldn't keep flying forward off the bridge. Here we go.

If we really believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, if we really believe that he has saved us by his grace, if we really believe that he's coming back to get us someday, if we really believe that he is going to reward us, the treasures we have laid up in heaven, then our life will reflect that. The things we do will demonstrate that and in that happening, God will be what? God will be glorified. God will be glorified. How will God be glorified in Missouri Avenue Baptist Church by people who come in these doors and by people we reach out to and by people we rub shoulders with seeing.

That there's something different in us. Seeing that what we believe, we really believe because it changes everything. It changes what we do. It produces fruit in our life and good works to the glory of our father in heaven. Not just in our declaration but also in our works.

By not just declaring our faith but by living it. The declaration of faith becomes quite mute if it's not followed by works which demonstrate it. Such pretend faith is declared by James to be dead, lifeless, and altogether unprofitable. What good does it do to say, I believe something if it does not affect at all your life? Because if it hasn't affected your life and the way you live and the things you do, then, it just doesn't follow that you actually believe it.

If our goal is to glorify God, we must not leave any doubt as to the authenticity of our faith by its unwavering application to each area of our life and ministry. If we are to bring glory to God as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church, we must leave no doubt in the eyes of our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers that what we say we believe, we believe. And that Jesus Christ really does make a difference in people's lives. And then God is glorified. As others see our good works and glorify our father which is in heaven.

Go back to Hebrews 11. If you're in James, you're only a few pages again from Hebrews chapter 11 that we read to begin this morning. Notice in Hebrews chapter 11 that each person displayed their faith by their works. It's it's the hall of fame of faith. The heroes of the faith but if you'll notice each person that had faith in God produce works consistent with that faith.

Abel. This is verse four. Offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Abel brought the proper sacrifice, a blood sacrifice. Which demonstrated his faith in the Lord that the blood of the lamb would atone for his sins.

Enoch, Enoch walked with God and he was translated that he should not see death. Because before his translation, in the verse five, he had this testimony that he pleased God and how he pleased God by what? By faith and the Bible tells us back in Genesis, he walked with God for three hundred years. What does that mean? Well, it means this, he followed the Lord.

He did the Lord's bidding in his life. He did God's will. He walked with the Lord. He didn't do the bidding of the world. He did the bidding of the Lord.

And he demonstrated in everything that he did and God saw fit to take him straight to heaven that Enoch should not see death. Noah, remember Noah? We read about him. Verse seven, what did Noah do? Well, Noah believed God.

And he did what? Allen? He built the ark. That's right. He believed God and he built the ark.

Now, was it raining? No. I don't even think he built the ark right next to the water, I suspect. I suspect he built the ark out in a big open space because it was a big boat. And people scoffed and people laughed and they made fun of him.

For over one hundred years, they scoffed and they laughed and they rejected God's word. But Noah went on building the ark. Because he believed God. And it saved his family. Abraham left his homeland.

And he followed the Lord with or where he he didn't exactly know. To a place he had never been. But he believed God's promises. Later, he was willing to sacrifice. His son, that God had promised through him to make of him a great nation.

It didn't make a whole lot of sense to build an ark in the middle of nowhere. It didn't make a lot of sense to sacrifice his son, Abraham that is. When God had promised to make of his son a great nation. Yet, it says in verse 17, by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called according accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence he received him in a figure. What did Abraham believe?

He said, well, God's made me a promise. He said, he's going to make of this son a great nation. He's offering, he's telling me I have to go offer my son. He says, I don't understand it but I'm going to what? Trust and obey.

How can you do that? Faith, faith. That's it. And he did. Now, he didn't actually kill his son because God stopped him and God provided a ram caught in the thicket behind him to take the place of his son.

Just as God has provided his only begotten son to take our place on Calvary's Cross so that we didn't have to die either. We can continue on. Sarah followed her husband and gave birth to a son when she was far past the age. Moses left the comfort to the palace to join his oppressed people. He may have been in line to be the next pharaoh but he gave it up.

Joshua and Israel walked around the walls of Jericho 13 times. Because God told them to and the walls came tumbling down. Rahab hid the spies that Israel sent into Jericho and her and her house was saved because she hid the spies by faith that the God of Israel was the true God who would deliver her and also, she hung a cord, a red scarlet cord out the window as the spies told her to. And that anybody that was in her home, when the walls came tumbling down, would not die and they didn't. They didn't.

Why? By faith. By faith. But you see in each one of these instances, their faith produced works. They weren't saved by works.

They were saved by faith but they were saved by a faith that in turn produce fruit in their life and in that fruit, God was what? God was glorified. These demonstrated their faith and their obedience to God's commands, trusting in him to do the rest. This is our prerogatives as God's children not to question but to what? To obey.

To obey. Even though the world may scoff, even though we might not understand, we must obey. And how can we do that? Because we trust him. Why does my son, when he was four years old, jump off of a rock in the playground that's 10 feet up into my arms?

Why does he do that? I mean, gravity should tell him that's a foolish thing to do. But he does so because he what? He trusts me. He trusts me.

He has faith, but daddy's going to catch him. And that is how God is glorified among others in our life as Christians. As we jump into His arms, as we trust Him, regardless if we understand everything and regardless of how the world may see it, it doesn't matter. All that matters is how God sees it. And we'll do it because we trust him.

Proverbs three, five, and six, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Joshua exemplified this. God came to him and said, Joshua, I want you to take the people and walk around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days and seven times and then six times on the seventh day, let's get that right and and then the walls Of Jericho, they will what?

They will fall down and you'll have a great victory. Well, if Joshua was leaning on his own understanding, he just scratched his head and says, what? That's sometimes what we do if we're honest. God says, I want you to go here. I want you to do that.

I want you to stop this. I want you to say that and we go, what? They'll think I'm a fool. They might. Doesn't matter what they think.

That's what he thinks. It matters that we bring glory to him. We have to trust him. We have to trust him. We hesitate because we don't trust as we should and we have no reason not to.

When does he let you down? He hasn't and he won't. Psalm thirty seven three through six, trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass, and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday.

What that verse doesn't tell you is that everything is going to be roses along the way. But what that verse does tell you is if we will trust in him, delight in him, commit our way unto him, and trust in him again that in the end, he will bring it all to pass. And that he will bring forth your righteousness as the light and the judgment, your justice, and righteousness as the noonday. Trust him. He knows what he's doing.

Sometimes, it's dark along the path along the way. There's mountain tops experiences and there's valleys. There's trials and difficulties but God sells in James to counter all joy because God's doing a work in your life and God's going to bring us through and you'll see on the other side. It will be worth it all. It will be worth it all.

Matthew six thirty three, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Tell his disciples, don't worry, I'll take care of you But put me first. Trust me. Trust me. And obey.

It's all going to work out. I will take care of you. Is that how you live? God says, do and you do it. God says, stop and you stop it.

Is this how we run our church? God says do it and we do it. God says stop and we stop. God says go and we go. It's the way it should be.

It's the way in which God is glorified. Are we led by our faith in God as a church and a congregation or do we walk by sight when it comes to making decisions in our lives and in our ministry? In closing, how can we live out our faith and bring glory to God as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church? How can we as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church in 2016? Live out our faith and bring glory to our God.

Well, we could spend the next three or four hours doing this but we'll try to get it in in the next just ten minutes. First of all, by boldly preaching and teaching the whole council of scripture without reservation or excuse. And then practicing what we preach. How do we bring glory to God? We preach unabashedly and unashamedly the word of God.

Everything it says, we leave no part out. Whether it be comfortable or uncomfortable and then we do everything we can by the grace of God to practice what we preach. There's a movie Bob Jones put out several years ago. It's called The Printing. It's about Christians in The Soviet Union before the walls came down.

And it's about the underground church and the licensed church. There were licensed churches in The Soviet Union. Licensed churches which met without threat from the government because they agreed not to teach and not to practice certain things in their church which was not consistent with what the government and the state wanted. And so they allowed them to do everything else and they left them alone. And then there was the underground unlicensed churches.

Churches that grew in number, Churches that prospered despite the impending threat of government intervention. Churches that grew and brought glory to God because they were not willing to curtail their preaching and practice to avoid government persecution and persecuted they were but God was glorified and souls were saved. There are many Christians and many churches around the world still like that today. Oh, you can have your church and we'll leave you along as long as you don't preach and practice certain things. You can't live with that.

We must preach the gospel. Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. We must be free to preach the whole counsel of Scripture, to practice public baptism and the things that God has commanded us in His Word. How do we live out our faith? By boldly preaching it and teaching it.

And there are some things the world will look at us and say, there's something wrong with you. Why do you believe that? We look to them and say, I believe him What he says, that we will do as a church. We bring glory to God by demonstrating our faith in our preaching and teaching and practice. We do glory to God by refusing to change our philosophy of ministry and church practice to go along with the mainstream philosophy philosophy and practice of the modern world.

You see, the problem today isn't just the government, matter of fact, where we live, it's very little the government. Praise God. The problem is not even the world many times. The issue is we're often pressured by others that even claim to be Christians. To change, to conform to the ways of the world.

In the way we do our ministry. Because we'll get more people that way because we'll be more popular that way but that's not God's way and God's way must come first in how we do our ministry. We at Missouri Avenue Baptist Church are not a seeker sensitive ministry. That means conforming and and fashioning our ministry to please people. But we are a god sensitive ministry because we believe that our ministry, our church, our worship, and everything we ought we do ought to be done for the glory of who?

God. The glory of God. Glory of God. And God says, I will bring the increase if we will honor him. Worship isn't about us Worship's about the object of our worship.

God. The type of preaching outreach ministry, social functions, behavior and our church ought to be aimed first and foremost at pleasing and glorifying the God we worship, not pleasing and gratifying the flesh. God isn't glorified when we become like the world to reach the world. God is glorified when we become more like Christ. And then that, Christ and the word of God reaches the world.

That is when God is glorified. Pop Christianity tells us that we need to adopt the world's entertainment in order to reach people. We need to water down our message to make it more palatable. We need to join hands in larger ministries which preach another gospel. We must decline their invitation.

And continue to trust. Number three, we glorify God by continuing to reach out to those in our neighborhood with the gospel. As well as those on the other side of the world. God has commanded us to be witnesses. Acts one eight, but you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth.

And he said unto me, go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and low I am with you all way even unto the end of the world. Amen. How do we demonstrate our faith? By believing that God still saves souls.

And preaching the gospel in our services and telling the people outside our walls and our neighborhoods and in our workplaces that Jesus saves and supporting missionaries. We support, I think 11 missionaries right now. Yeah. 11 missionaries. We're a small church.

But we put a good deal of money and effort in prayer. And to reaching lost souls. In other parts of the world who need Jesus just as much as the people in this neighborhood. And God has called us to be witnesses here and God has calls us to reach out to them with the gospel there. And it is our joy, our privilege, and our responsibility and it brings glory to God.

When we tell others about Jesus and when we sacrifice of what God has given us in provision to give to others that God has called to take that message around the world. We call our missions program, Faith Promised Missions. Because we trust in God to give through us To those who he has called to reach out to a lost and dying world. And though we're a small church, we can have a big part. And we do.

Because we're a part of brother Gonzalez ministry in Mexico and brother Guzman's that brings people to the Lord there. We're part of the Erkins ministry as they head off to China this week to bring the gospel to people there. In a land where they can't freely worship us, we can't. And we're part of the ministry. Of everyone of our missionaries, the Roltons in Peru the whites in Chile and we could go on.

We bring glory to God When we give of ourselves our words, and our finances. So that they can tell others about Jesus. We demonstrate our what? Our faith. The world may look at you and call you foolish for giving away your money.

But don't listen to the world. You have responsibilities, your family, and others that you need to provide for. But as a Christian, you also have a responsibility to be part of missions. And praise God, our missions growing grows every year. Even when people move away, it seems like it just continues to grow.

And God is glorified. God is glorified when we pray specifically and with confidence. Do you believe in the things you pray about? If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God to give it to all men liberally and abrade it not and it shall be given him but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like the wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed for not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.

Prayer is not just a spiritual exercise. Prayer is talking to God in heaven and bringing our needs before him as he has invited us to and promised to answer our prayers and though you're not able to help somebody else, They may be beyond your reach. They're not beyond his. Their health may be on your reach. Their spiritual needs may be beyond your reach.

They're not beyond his. The Bible says, pray in faith. Why? Says James five sixteen, confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Prayer in faith.

Believe. Pray with confidence. Pray specifically. Give God an opportunity to show himself mighty. And be glorified in your prayers.

And then, live obediently to God's word in your personal life. Trust and obey. Conform your life to the word of God. That's what the Bible tells us to do. Obey God's commands.

Listen to his leading. Do his will. Go where he says to go. I was a youth pastor in Georgia. I'm from Virginia.

My wife's from Ohio. When we were going to leave from Georgia to go into pastorate somewhere, our first inclination was to look north. We didn't want to go further south. But God did. God knows what he's doing.

Are you willing to go or God says for you to go? Are you willing to do what he says to do? Whether it be your career or where you go to church or witnessing to a lost person or getting right with another Christian. Oh, they won't listen to me. Oh, Forget that.

God says, go talk to him. Trust me. Whether it's giving to his work giving of your time, your talents, or your treasure. Build that ark. Do what God says.

You'll not regret it. Stop what he says to stop. Don't listen to the devil says you can't do it. You can. By his power.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Do you believe it? Don't listen to the devil. Don't compromise with the world. Stand in the gap.

Don't follow your heart. Follow his word. His spirit and his will. I mentioned a quote from young man last week by the name of Jim Elliot. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep.

To gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot and some of his friends felt led of the Lord to bring the gospel to tribe and I think it's Central America called the Auca Indians. I think it was South America. South America. I don't remember the country.

But they were told, you're going into a dangerous situation. Nobody's made it in there and back out. They'll kill you. But they trusted the Lord and they didn't come back They were killed and you think what a waste. What a waste.

No, no, not a waste. You see, others later would follow them, and because they went, even though they died, Jim Elliot's wife and others were able to lead some of the men responsible for their death to the Lord. Souls were saved, many souls were saved, because of the trail that they blazed. There was a man named Eric Liddell. There's a movie called Chariots of Fire I saw when I was a kid.

I've always been impressed with Eric Liddell. I read a biography about him a while back. Eric Liddell's parents were missionaries in China. They were originally from Scotland. Eric Liddell had a talent.

He was very fast on his feet. He made it to the Olympics, the race that he was the best at, the one that he was a shoe in to win. They decided to race one of the heats on Sunday. Eric Liddell didn't believe that God wanted him to race on Sunday and the world called him a fool too. But he didn't race.

He didn't win that race. However, he did win another one he wasn't supposed to win. God was glorified and God was glorified again when Eric Liddell gave up the track field, track and field to go back to China to be a missionary. God can be glorified in our life too. He should be.

He must be. We need to trust Him. We need to demonstrate it in what we do. And if you're here today and you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you, I plead with you today. Before any of the rest of this sermon matters to you, you must become a child of God.

Do you know if you die today where you go? I do. Not because I'm better than anybody else, but because I have a better savior who always keeps his promises and I put my faith in him. Dear Lord, we thank you for your word today and for the precious promises and for the opportunity that we have been given to bring glory to your name to the demonstration of the faith that you have given us. Eyes to see that which is not yet come to pass, that which is not physical but spiritual.

And that which one day we will enjoy. Lord, faith to serve the Lord. To lay up treasure in heaven, and to demonstrate that our God is real, and that he wants to save their souls, and he desires to be glorified in our life. Lord, may our faith grow in 2016, and may it be clearly seen in what's said and done at Missouri Avenue Baptist Church and in every home that is represented here. And Lord, if there be one here that's never trusted in you as Lord and Savior, may they begin the new year with a new Father in heaven, a new promise of eternal life, a new peace that passes all understanding, a new joy that only you can give as they come, as we sing our hymn of invitation.

In Jesus' name we pray.