Job chapter one. We're going to turn several places this morning I I like preaching expository messages. I like teaching and preaching through a book or a passage of scripture. That's what we're doing on Sunday nights in second Samuel. That's what we're doing on Wednesday nights in Hosea.

And that's sometimes what we do on Sunday morning. Now, we're going to take a little jog off of that for the next few weeks and we're going to preach on a subject that I think is vitally important as we go into the New Year. There isn't anything mystical or magical about New Year's Eve. A ball dropping in Times Square doesn't mean anything different than the day and the night before, okay? However, The mercies of God are new every morning and the New Year sort of reminds us of that.

It reminds us of the wonderful gift of life that God has given us here. It reminds us of a new beginning. It reminds us of a new start. We have a new year before us. Just like we have every new day And As we go into this New Year there's something I think God has laid on my heart to stress and to focus on.

As we go into 2016, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, looking under Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. And on his will for us and on his will for Missouri Avenue Baptist Church. It's all about his will. It's all about his word.

It's all about his son. It's all about his salvation. It's all about his glory. I want to look at a few verses here. We will come to Job in a little while, okay?

But in the meantime, I have a few verses to show you up here on the screen, a little bit of out of the ordinary this morning but on this subject that I I want us to really focus in on in the next few weeks. First Corinthians ten thirty one, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. That means not only do it to his honor, not only do it his way but do it with the thought of you want God to be glorified before others in your life. Now, no matter what we do, we need to remember. God created us to bring him what?

Glory. Glory. So, in whatever we're doing, whether we're in church, whether we're at home, watching TV, or whether we're eating our noon meal, or whether we're at work, or whether we're out cutting the grass, or whatever we're doing, we are always a representative of Jesus Christ. If we are indeed Christians, and we are to do all to give glory to 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.

This one may not be quite as familiar to you. First Peter chapter two verse 12, having your conversation, the word conversation means conduct or behavior, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that's the unsaved world, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. If the only reason I've said this before and some of you know what I'm going to say here in just a moment. If the only reason God saved you was to take you to heaven, where would you be? We'd be in heaven.

Heaven's a much better place than this. Once we get to heaven, we're we're never going to want to come back here. But God didn't save us just to take us to heaven. God saved us also that we might glorify him before others on earth. That he might be glorified in our life.

So, as I thought, what is the purpose? What should be the goal of Missouri Avenue Baptist Church in the coming New Year? God kept bringing me back to this. Our purpose here is to glorify the Lord. Let's pray once more.

Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for your word today. For the opportunity we have to bring glory to your name. We pray Lord as we look into this this morning and in the coming weeks that we would be focused in our New Year as a church and as individual Christians. To do those things, they're honoring, glorifying to the God who has saved us by his grace. Lord, we thank you for salvation.

We thank you for Jesus Christ. We thank you for the privilege to know you. And to serve you here today. May Jesus Christ be exalted in all that said and done we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

This concept of glorifying God is all the is all throughout the scriptures. I'm just going to read a few verses. I won't give you time to turn there but I'll give you the reference if you want to write it down. John twelve twenty eight, father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.

That's God the father speaking God the son on earth saying, I will have glorified my name. He did in the incarnation and ministry of Christ and he would again in the death burial and what? Resurrection. Resurrection of Jesus Christ. John fourteen thirteen and whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.

This is Jesus speaking, that the father may be glorified in the son. Second Thessalonians 112, that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. First Peter four fourteen, if you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you. The word reproach means persecuted, means admonished, means being slandered by the world. If you're reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you.

For the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part, he is evil spoken of but on your part, he is glorified. Peter says, be happy. When you suffer reproach, when you suffer persecution, when people say bad things about you for the sake of who? Jesus Christ because in you, Jesus is what?

Glorified. Isaiah twenty six fifteen, thou hast increased the nation, oh Lord, thou hast increased the nation, thou art glorified, thou hast removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. Isaiah forty four twenty three, sing all you heavens, for the Lord hath done it. Shout you lower parts of the earth. Break forth in the singing you mountains.

Oh forest and every tree therein, for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself. In Israel. Our Lord desires and our Lord deserves to be glorified in our life. And in our church. What does God want?

What does God deserve from Missouri Avenue Baptist Church? He deserves and he desires. To be glorified in us. In our thoughts, our words, our deeds, our worship, our preaching, everything we do to bring glory to God, to demonstrate the true nature of the God we serve and has claimed as our God. He is our God.

How do we bring glory to God? How do we glorify him as a church? Well, three things came to mind. By demonstrating our faith in God. How do we bring glory to God as a church?

We bring glory to God as a church by demonstrating our faith in God. God is glorified when our faith in him is demonstrated. God is glorified by demonstrating the love of God in our church and in our lives. When we demonstrate, when we express the love of God, when we show our love for God and our love for others, a love that is unlike the love of the world, we bring glory to God and we bring glory to God by demonstrating God's holiness in our lives. He said, be you holy for I am holy.

And there are many things, sub points that we can put under these, that you may come to mind when you think, how can we glorify God? But we're going to put them under these three as we go through them in the coming weeks. Starting with this first one, demonstrating faith. How do we glorify God by demonstrating our faith in God. Now, faith has to have an object and the world uses faith in ways that are much different than the word word of God uses faith today.

They said, oh have faith. The sun will rise tomorrow. Oh, have faith in yourself. Oh, have faith in your follow in your fellow man. You know, don't don't give up so easily on em.

You know, just just just have faith without an object. Life's going to turn out okay. Have have faith. The Bible, when it uses the word faith, always uses it in reference to the object and the object of our faith is who? Ours Jesus Christ.

The object of our faith is Jesus Christ. Faith is very important in scripture. Faith begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. In every book of the Bible, we see demonstrations of what? Faith that brings glory to God.

Just a few verses here as we launch into the first point under that, How do we bring glory to God by demonstrating our faith in him? James two twenty three and the scripture was fulfilled which say it, Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God. Now, I'm reading this out of James chapter two but it's quoting from back in Genesis. What is Genesis about? Genesis is a book about what?

It's a book about faith. How was God glorified in Genesis? He was glorified by the faith and the faith of his people. Be it in Abel who brought the right sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, or be it in Abraham or in Noah or in Isaac or in Joseph, Genesis is a book about those who put their faith in God and God was glorified in them. How is it that Abraham was called the friend of God because he believed in God, he put his what?

Faith in God. Allow Hebrews eleven six, but without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Without what? Faith, it is impossible to please him.

We can't please God. We can't glorify God without demonstrating faith in God. This is a reference in this passage. Again, back to Genesis and a man named Enoch who walked with God for three hundred years and he was not. The Bible says, for God took him.

What does that mean? After three hundred years of walking faithfully with God, God said, I don't, I, I, I want you up in heaven with me and so he took him up into heaven in a manner in which Enoch did not die. He raptured him, translated him, straight up into heaven. He was here and then he wasn't and there was nobody to be found. How did Enoch please God?

Because he was perfect? No. Because he was a man of what? Faith. And God was glorified in him.

Romans one seventeen, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. That is it is written, the just shall live by faith. Again, a quote from Habakkuk in the Old Testament. Old Testament, New Testament, the Bible is about faith and how do the just, the justified, the righteous in the sight of God. How do they become righteous?

By faith. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. How do they continue to live and bring glory to God as Christians? By faith. By faith.

God is glorified, will be glorified in Missouri Avenue Baptist Church in 2016 as we demonstrate faith in our God. I ask you to turn to Job. You may not think of Job as as a book about faith but the whole the whole book of Job is about the faith of who? It's about the faith of Job. It's about his faith.

Let's read Job chapter one and verses one through 12. There was a man in the land of us whose name was Job and that man was perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed evil and there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters, his substance also was 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels and 500 yoke of oxen and 500 she asses and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every on his day and sin and called for their three sisters deed and to drink with them. Look in verse six. Now, there was a day when the sons of of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them.

Sons of God here is a reference to angels, sometimes in the old testament, they're called by that title and among them came Satan and the Lord said unto Satan, whence comest thou? Then, Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it and the Lord said unto Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job? That there is none like him in the earth, the perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil and Satan answered the Lord and said, doth God, Job, fear God for not. In other words, isn't there a reason that he fears you? Isn't there a reason that he trusts you?

When you see the fear of God in the Old Testament, think trust in the Lord. The two were synonymous. To fear God is to trust in God. He said, doesn't he trust you for a reason? He says in verse 10, hast not thou made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side, thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his substance has increased in the land.

Satan said, well, you know, I know why I trust you because you put a hedge of protection. Now, you won't let me touch him. You know, the same God that protected Job is the same God who protects us and Satan can't get to us unless God allows. God had a hedge of protection about Job. Satan said, well, that's why he trusts you and he says, look at all that you've given him.

He he's got all this all this provision, all this stuff. Wow. Look how you blessed him. No wonder he trusts you but he said in verse 11, but put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face And the Lord said unto Satan, behold, all that he hath is in thy power only upon himself, but not forth thine hand. So, Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

Satan said, yeah, here's the reason he trusts you. He trusts you because you've given him all this stuff and you protect him and all this. You allow me to take it away and he'll change his tune. Well, guess what happened? Satan took it all away and did Job change his tune?

The answer is no. Oh, Job cried out to God in his suffering. He asked God, why? He didn't understand. He hadn't done anything wrong that he was aware of, that he hadn't confessed to the Lord and he just, he was frustrated.

But he never lost faith in his God. It endured. Why? Because who upheld him? God upheld his faith.

God upheld him even through the trial. Says in James one, it says, I've account all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or trials, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience but let patience have her perfect work, her complete work, her entire work that she may be entire or perfect, wanting or lacking what? Nothing. That's Job is an illustration of that. And what brought glory to God in Job's life?

His faith. His faith did not fail. In the Lord. Despite the attack of Satan and if you look in verses 20 through 22, it says, then, Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and what? By following along in the verse 20, worshiped.

Did he curse God? Did he blasphemed God? Did he say, God, I'm done with you? Did he turn to someone else? No, he continued to worship the Lord and he said this, naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither.

The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord and all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. God was glorified in the faith of Job. Demonstrated in the trial that he went through. In your lives, you will go through trials.

In our church, we will face trials. The question is, will we give God the glory? We will, will he be glorified in the demonstration of our faith amidst the trial and sometimes we go to God and we say, God, oh please get me out of the trial. Please, I'm sick and I'm suffering and I'm and I'm depressed and I'm and and and and it seems like everything in the world has turned against me. Oh Lord, take me out of the trial and God says, no.

Not yet. Not yet. But I'll be there with you, and I'll strengthen you, and I'll help you, and you will come out on the other side. Trust Him. Demonstrate our faith, your faith in Him.

How do we demonstrate our faith in Him? How do you demonstrate faith? Well, I just broke it down in these two categories. We'll look at one this week and the other next week. The first one of this, by declaring our faith in God.

How do we demonstrate faith? We declare it and then secondly, by living out our faith in God. Not only we declare it but you gotta what? You gotta live it. Okay, that's what Job did.

He declared it but he also lived it and we're going to focus on that next Sunday morning but this morning, declaring our faith, declaring your faith in God and in so doing, I want us to turn to Joshua chapter 24. Turn if you would to Joshua chapter 24. How do we demonstrate faith in God to bring glory unto him? We do it verbally. We do it if thou shalt what?

Confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus. We do it verbally. We do it audibly. We do it with the words of our mouth. This is one way in which we can declare our faith is in a verbal testimony, a testimony.

We will have chance the end of this month. Fifth Sunday, every fifth Sunday of the month, in the Sunday evening service, and if you don't come any other Sunday evening, which you should, but if you don't, come that Sunday night. Maybe that'll help get you started but come that Sunday night. Number one, we partake of the Lord's supper which is something we're commanded to do and and secondly, we have a song and testimony service and I don't know about you but it is a joy for me as your pastor to hear the testimony of God's children and of your faith and what God is doing in your life. And it is a an opportunity we have there and throughout our week before others to verbally testify of our faith in God.

Joshua 24 verse 15. As Joshua's about to pass off the scene in Israel, he challenges them with this. He says, and if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. Where the gods which your father served and were on the other side of the flood or the gods, the Amorites, and whose land you dwell but it's for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods for the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage and which did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way wherein we went and among all the people for whom we passed and the Lord drave out from before us all people even the Amorites which dwelled in the land. Therefore, will we also serve the Lord for he is our God.

Israel was challenged by Joshua Choose. Who will you serve? Joshua said, I will serve the Lord and they echoed, we will serve him too. Look at all that he's done for us and they verbally demonstrated their faith in testimony. They said, he is our God.

We will serve him. We have opportunity at work, at home, in church, to testify to others. As to who our God is. And that we will serve him above all others. Not only do we see that in Daniel chapter 24 but I'm going to read this a little quicker.

I have it written out here for me. First Samuel 17, this is David speaking before Goliath. He says, thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield but I come unto thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied. This day, the Lord will deliver thee into mine hand and I will smite thee and take thy head from thee and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day into the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a. God.

God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord save it not with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands. What was David doing? He was declaring his faith in who? God.

And he declared his faith and and then he lived his faith. Daniel chapter three verses 16 through 18, the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, they were they were told to bow and to worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar had made, they wouldn't do it. So, Nebuchadnezzar said, hey, y'all y'all must not have heard right, okay? So, he invited them into his into his palace, into his place there and he said, I'm going to give you a second chance. I I know you just you just didn't hear right or something.

So, when the music plays, you just, you know, just bow to the image and we'll be done. This is what they had to say. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said, to the king, oh Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter and as we're not afraid. If it so be our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, oh king, but if it not, be it known unto thee, oh king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. They stood up to the king and they said, no.

We're not bowing. Our God is able to deliver us out of the furnace. We don't know if that's his will but whether he delivers us out of the furnace or he doesn't deliver us, we're not bowing to your image because there is one, one God, one God. And they were not nor we to bow before any other. What did they do?

They testified. They demonstrated their faith by testifying before a king. That their God was able. And they demonstrated their faith. We have other examples in scripture.

Two blind men, Jesus, were crying out to Jesus as he passed through a city. Jesus came to them and he asked, believe you that I am able to do this, that this is to give them sight and they said unto him, what? Yey, Lord. They testified two words. And guess what?

They received their sight. Peter, in answer to Christ's question, who do you say that I am? Said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. As he testified, demonstrated his faith in who God is. The woman at the well who met Jesus, she left the well and she went to go find others to bring them to Jesus and this is what she said to them.

She said, come see a man which told me all things that I ever did. Is not this the Christ? Now, that wasn't a question as, do you think he's the Christ? No, that was, don't you think that he's the Christ? You gotta come meet him.

You gotta come see him. She was a woman who had had several husbands was now living with a man. She wasn't married to but she was the woman that Jesus stopped to see to give the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and she was the sinner who was lost seeking a savior. She opened her heart to Jesus Christ and she recognized who he was. When so many others around couldn't see And she testified.

This is one of my quite most loved quotes. By Jim Elliot, missionary killed in service of his king on the mission field and this is what he said. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. He gave his life for the cause of Christ. But he gave it for something that he couldn't ever lose.

That is the rewards of heaven. The love of his savior. Those things he would never lose. And the people that were saved as a result of his ministry years later when his wife and others came to witness to that same tribe. Some of the men that killed him and his associates came to know the Lord Jesus as savior.

He was right when he said this. He was a man of what? A man of faith. These these others that we study in scripture. What does God want you to be?

He wants you to be a child of faith. What does he want Missouri Avenue Baptist Church? He wants Missouri Avenue Baptist Church to be a church that declares their faith. That declares its faith. In this building and outside this building, in our homes and in our places of work, to declare our faith in God.

We demonstrate our faith by declaring it. We demonstrate our faith specifically in the proclamation of the gospel. Mark sixteen fifteen, Jesus said to his disciples, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every to every creature. Now, you may have heard that word gospel since you were very young and you may think, well, gospel, yeah, that that has something to do the bible and the word of God. No.

The word gospel means good news or good tidings. What are the good tidings? Well, the good tidings are this, and it doesn't start out sounding all that good. You're a sinner and if you die in your sin, you're condemned to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. That's where it stopped, it wouldn't be good news.

But here's the good news part, even though you're a sinner, condemned to hell, God doesn't want you to go there. God loves you so much. He sent his only begotten son. He demonstrated his love for us by sending Jesus who died on the cross for our what? Sins and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

That's the good news. You're a sinner. Yes, you're on on the way that leads to destruction. But God can change that today. God can change you today if you will humble yourselves and put your faith in Jesus Christ.

God is glorified every time one of his children tells another soul that there is deliverance from hell, that there is a way to be forgiven, that there is hope in a hopeless world. Found in Jesus Christ, The risen Lord. And it is our privilege and our responsibility as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church to preach and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I mentioned in Sunday school, that's not just for the prophets of the Old Testament, not just for the preachers and apostles of the New Testament, not just for the missionaries. That's for every child of God.

Because you are going to meet people this week I will never meet. Who is going to tell them if you don't? I will never meet them. I will never have the opportunity. But maybe you will.

How do we declare our faith in God? We declare it by sharing and declaring the good news. By declaring it from the pulpit on Sunday morning, by declaring it in the Sunday School classes, by declaring it in our family devotions, by declaring it before the world at work and in our neighborhood. How is God glorified? In his children, telling others about him.

And about what he did and will do to save them, to rescue them. Paul said, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. A child of God who is ashamed to tell others the good news of Jesus Christ is not glorifying their savior. A church that is not reaching out to tell others the good news of Jesus Christ is not glorifying God. The preacher that stands in his pulpit pulpit week after week and does not give forth the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is not bringing glory to God.

Praise God. We have the opportunity to glorify him even more in 2016. Maybe than we did in 2015. We'll all take the command that God has given us more seriously. We demonstrate our faith by our verbal testimony.

We demonstrate our faith by the proclamation of the gospel. We declare our faith by teaching others. By teaching others. Lord, turn if you would to Deuteronomy chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six.

I don't have this on the screen. Deuteronomy chapter six. I give you a minute. It's the fourth book in the Old Testament or fifth book. Yeah, fifth book.

Sorry. Deuteronomy chapter six verse four. Hear, O Israel. Deuteronomy six four, hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, one God, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. We'll come back to that in a couple weeks.

In other words, he should have your full allegiance for he is the only true God. And verse six, and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt what? Teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest in the way, when thou liest down, when thou risest up. How can God be glorified in Missouri Avenue Baptist Church by the sound preaching and teaching of the whole council of scripture. Not not just the part that that that we like or the part that makes us feel comfortable.

But the parts that make us feel uncomfortable. The parts that may seem a little bit dry. The parts that may seem a bit hard to understand. But God, we demonstrate our faith in our Lord and savior. And bring glory to his name by teaching the whole counsel of scripture.

Sadly, in some churches, that's something that kind of gets pushed off to the to the side. It's all about activities. It's all about socials. It it it's all about entertainment and it's not about teaching. When I preach, I teach.

In Sunday school, when the teacher's teaching, what should he be teaching? Or what should she be teaching? The word of God. It's not about men's opinions. It's about God's instructions.

It's about God's word. It's about God's commands, about God's revelation of himself to us. He's he's he's given it to us in written form. He's preserved us for it. He's even praise God.

We have a translate into our own language so we can understand it and teach it. We are so privileged. And yet we take it so lightly. How will God be glorified? He'll be glorified in the teaching this year.

Of his word. Matthew 02/1920, Jesus commissioned commandment to his disciples just before he went up. He says, go you therefore and teach all nations, baptize in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you and low I am with you all way even unto the end of the world, amen. Now, the first word teach in Matthew 28 is a different Greek word than the word for teaching later in the verse. The first word is is a word that means to make disciples of, to make converts.

Go you therefore and teach. Teach them what? Teach them the gospel. Give them the gospel. Make converts.

Make disciples. Through preaching the word of God and baptizing them in the name of the father, son, and the holy ghost, and then, the teaching them. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Observe all things. What's all things?

Here we go. Here's all things. Now, they didn't have all of this when Christ gave that commandment, but they had a lot already, and we could teach this the rest of our lives and we'll never quite get it all. There's always more to learn. We're glorifying God in our church and we declare our faith and demonstrate it by teaching all things.

You know, some churches, they just stop with with the the conversion. Oh, you're saved. Praise God. You're going to heaven. That's wonderful and praise God it is.

But that's not the end, that's just the one. It's the beginning of a new life in Christ. A babe in Christ, a new convert in Christ. What do they need? They need the sincere milk of the word that they may grow thereby.

So, we teach God's word. One more verse, Acts eleven twenty six. Speaking of Paul and Barnabas, it says, and when he had found him, that's when Barnabas had found Paul, he brought him unto Antioch and it came to pass that a whole year, they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. That is the people in Antioch recognized these people that they were like who? They were like Christ.

They weren't just saying it. They were also living it. These people who had been what? Not only saved, but taught taught by Paul and Barnabas from the word of God. One of the church's primary responsibilities is to teach the people the word and will of God.

Sadly, teaching often goes wanting in many churches today. Solid, mature Christians are taught Christians. Not untaught Christians. God gave us the whole council of scripture for a reason. You need it and so do I.

We need to be taught. We also can declare our faith in prayer. We can declare our faith in prayer. Read read this with me. Some of you know it.

It's it's the Lord's prayer from Matthew nine. Read read it with me if you would. Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

This is the example of a prayer that Christ gave to his disciples when he was teaching them how to pray and this prayer is a prayer of what? It's a prayer of faith. It's a prayer that demonstrates faith. Our father, that that that demonstrates faith right there. Our father which are heaven.

He is, I can come to him as my what? Father. Because he has declared me to be his son and I believe him. What is that? That's faith.

Hallowed, holy, set apart be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. I believe these things. I believe he will give me my daily bread. I will believe he will forgive me.

I will believe he will not lead me into temptation. And I believe that he will fulfill all of his promises concerning his kingdom. This is a prayer of faith and we can demonstrate and declare our faith every time we pray. Whether we're praying privately in our closet or whether we're praying publicly in church. We should be demonstrating our faith and our prayers.

Turn if you would to first Kings chapter 18. First Kings chapter 18. Yes, we're getting near the end of the message, alright? But turn with me. Hold on.

Little longer. First Kings chapter 18. I want us to look at a prayer of faith. First Kings 18 verse 36 to 38. While you're turning there, there was another man who prayed a fair prayer of faith.

He was a publican. He was in the temple. He in a in a in a Pharisee. The Pharisee came to prayer and he says, God, I thank you that I'm such a nice person and and that I'm not like that guy over there, that that tax collector who's a traitor. It doesn't even belong in here.

It it's not those exact words but at least imply that that's what he was meaning. And and the Bible says the publican wouldn't lift up his head unto heaven but cried out as he laid there. He said, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. The Bible says, that man went home justified. That was a prayer of what?

It's a prayer of faith. Prayer of faith. First Kings chapter 18, Elijah on Mount Carmel. He challenged the prophets of Baal to a duel on Mount Carmel to prove whose God was the real God. They both were to make altars and put wood on the altars and put a sacrifice on the altar and he challenged the prophets of Baal to call down fire from their God to consume the sacrifice upon the altar and they screamed and hollered and danced and sung and and and cried out to their God all day long from the morning to the evening.

No fire. And then when they were done and had failed at evening time This is what verse 36 says. It came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah, the prophet, came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known in this day that thou art God in Israel and that I am thy servant that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, oh Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench.

He didn't just get the sacrifice, the fire consumed everything, and all that left was a burnt spot on the ground. An answer to a prayer of what? Wasn't a long prayer. Wasn't elaborate prayer. Wasn't a fancy prayer.

But what did Elijah do? He declared his faith in God. God was glorified. As he in the answer to that prayer. God wants to be glorified in your life.

Will you believe what he says? Will you demonstrate your faith and your prayers? He wants to be glorified in answering them. But, sometimes we have not because we ask not, and sometimes we have not because we don't ask in what? Faith.

And then, finally, in closing, we declare our faith We can also declare our faith in song. Isaiah Psalm 40 verse three, David said, he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto my God. Many shall see it in fear and shall trust in the Lord. What are the Psalms? The Psalms are what?

Psalms. They're songs. They're the songs of David and others. Recorded for us. Songs that were sung in praise, to bring glory to God, to declare their faith.

For instance, Psalm 23. Psalm 23. My the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

He leadeth me beside the still water. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yey, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth only over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What is that the song about? What is David declaring? His faith. The songs in our hymn book, they're songs of faith. Blessed assurance, Jesus is buying.

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story. This is my song. Praising my savior all the day long.

This is my story. This is my song. Praising my savior all the day long. Blessed assurance. What's it a song about?

Our faith. Now, I belong to Jesus. Jesus, my Lord, will love me forever. By him, no power of evil consider. He gave his life to ransom my soul.

Now, I belong to him. Now, I belong to him. What is, that's a song about faith. We declare our faith. There are some churches that have gotten rid of their hymn books and they've gotten rid of all these songs and oh how much they are missing.

What opportunities to declare our faith. I had a couple more I wanted to read, but I'm going to end with this one because the hour is getting late. My faith has found a resting place, not in device nor creed. I trust the ever living one, his wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument.

I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me. Enough for me that Jesus saves. This ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul, I come to him.

He'll never cast me out. My heart is leaning on the word, the written word of God. Salvation by my savior's name, salvation through his blood. My great physician heals the sick, the lost he came to save. For me his precious blood he shed, For me his life he gave.

I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me. You see, when we sing songs on Sunday morning and Sunday night, It's not just a routine. It's not to make us feel good.

It is to declare our faith and bring glory to our God. And I hope that as you pick up a hymn book in a moment, and you pick up a hymn book this evening, when you hopefully come back to the service tonight, and when you sing songs throughout the week, we won't be singing them for our glory, but for the glory of who? God. But the glory of God. Let's pray.

Dear God, we thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to glorify your name by declaring our faith. Lord, I pray in every way in our testimony, in the preaching of the gospel. Lord, in song, in prayer, that we would declare the glory of our God and our faith in him. But Lord, if there's someone here today, they're not saved. They can't bring you glory by declaring a faith that they do not have.

And Lord, I pray as we close this service this morning and as we sing this hymn of invitation, that they would come. That we might show them from God's word how they might be saved, and how they can put their faith in Jesus Christ today. In Jesus' precious name we pray.