Where the Realm of Faith Starts and the Natural Stops!

SPEAKER A You once to every time in the sight of the good or evil sky don't break on you that I choice of life forever with that darkness. And. SPEAKER B The Bible assures us in Ephesians two, verses eight to ten, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Welcome to faith to faith Here are your hosts, Ettienne McClintock and Braedan Entermann. SPEAKER C Dear listener, welcome to the program. Braedan myself are delighted to have your company again today as we unpack further our study from the Bible regarding faith and its importance and understanding where the realm of faith starts and where the natural stops. And sometimes Braedan, there can be an overlap as well, can't there? SPEAKER D Can be, yes. SPEAKER C So for example, we know that athletes who train hard, they can discipline themselves, they go to bed at a certain time, they wake up at a certain time, they eat only healthy foods and all those sorts of things. Yet there are some people who struggle with appetite. They can't stay away from the chocolates and the chips, and they can't stay away from eating in between meals. Matter of fact, they eat all day. They may not like the effect it has on their body, but they struggle with it where another person may or may not struggle with it. So we want to unpack that a little bit today as well. But just before we start our study in the word of God, we just invite you to bow your heads for a word of prayer. Gracious Father in heaven, we are so grateful that we can have another opportunity to have an audience with you through your word and by the Holy Spirit. And we just pray for a fresh anointing of your spirit guide and lead us, help us to understand spiritual things. You tell us that spiritual things are spiritually discerned, Father, and we just want to ask for that discernment. May what is sometimes hard to comprehend, may you make it easy for us to understand by your Holy Spirit. In these things we pray in Jesus name. Amen. SPEAKER D Amen. SPEAKER C So we have a number of stories in the Bible where people have know, sometimes we look at people and we go, wow, that person has it made. They've got it made in the natural world. And even spiritually we look up to these people and disciples in Jesus. They thought if someone was successful, they obviously were blessed by God and they had a one way ticket to heaven, they would be the first to enter heaven. And we have the story where it says jesus talks about the rich people and those particularly who love their riches. Now we think of the rich young ruler, for example, he went away sorrowful. When Jesus said, go and sell what you have. Give to the poor and then come and follow me. Be a disciple, and he wouldn't do that. He'd done all the other things quite well. He said, from my childhood, I've been good in this and this and this and that. But in regards to covetousness, the love of riches, the love of wealth, he had a problem and that became his God and he wasn't prepared to put that aside. So when Jesus said, for the rich, it's difficult to enter the kingdom of heaven, he said, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter. The disciples, they just threw them. They go, well, we think these people have a step ahead of us in regards to entering the kingdom. SPEAKER D And they say, who can be saved? SPEAKER C Yeah. Then the question is, who can be saved? And then Jesus says, with man, this is not possible, but with God, all things are possible. So there is a realm of impossibility for man where God creates that possibility. So for us it's impossible, but for God, it's him possible. SPEAKER D Him possible. I like that. Him possible. SPEAKER C So we want to unpack that a little bit. And of course, we want to look at the overlap as well. In regards to appetite, some people struggle with it, some people don't. Some people have an addiction to certain things other people don't. And we know that God is able to give us victory because ultimately, when Adam and Eve sinned, we know that the higher powers, when we refer to the higher powers we're talking about, the mind was then put in subjection to the lower powers. The lower powers being the physical appetites. And this is normally what we talk about, things that come in through our senses. So what we hear, what we see, what we touch, what we taste. And the devil will use our senses to control the mind. For example, there's music we shouldn't be listening to, perhaps, but the devil will use the auditory ability, that sense. And we will fall in love with the way we feel when we hear that music. And then every time we hear that music, we get that same feeling and sensation. We almost become addicted to those endorphins or whatever the chemical is that the body generates when it hears that music. Or it could be every time I taste chocolate, I just feel fantastic. I feel terrible afterwards, perhaps, but I feel fantastic when I taste it. And it may just be also looking at stuff, stuff that we shouldn't be looking at. Things that actually deprive the mind. And it could even be pornography or anything like that. The devil will use the senses to override the mind. The mind may say, I know I shouldn't be looking at this, but I just can't help myself. So in that realm, we also need help from God. SPEAKER D We do, yes. SPEAKER C Yeah. So we want to be very clear of that. But there's an interesting story in the book of John where Jesus does something which is humanly impossible. This is only something that God could do, and that is give life to the dead. But it's interesting how God asks for the cooperation in the natural realm for the people who are around the story. And perhaps you want to unpack that story for us a little bit. SPEAKER D Sure thing. And I just want to make a comment on just what you were saying before with this overlap with the struggles for someone who's got an addiction to whatever it be drugs, alcohol, pornography, something like that, they've tried over and over again to try to break the power of it. It seems like a simple thing to do, not doing it. But addiction just holds people just in an iron chain. And one of the very clear lessons that we find in the Bible is that in order for us to find healing and to find freedom and learn how to be able to make decisions that last, we need to understand how God views us. The book of Romans, chapter eight begins saying, there is now, therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. SPEAKER C In other words, not walking to the flesh means not being controlled by your senses anymore. SPEAKER D That's right. And when the woman was caught in adultery in John, chapter eight brought to Jesus, he said to her, I don't condemn you. In John chapter three, Jesus says, I did not come to this world to condemn the world. A sense of condemnation and guilt is not a good starting place for growth. When we feel condemned or guilty, we do that to ourselves. We make ourselves feel terrible. We loathe ourselves because of what we do and have done. SPEAKER C Our self respect disappears as well. SPEAKER D And it's a recipe for just long term, just imprisonment, to our fear, lead. SPEAKER C To depression as well. SPEAKER D But once we realize that God cares for us, that was our first presentation looking at how our salvation, our righteousness all comes because God cares. And once we realize that, now we're in a place where we can experience this message of transformation that we've been looking at, and we'll look at in this presentation that God cares. And if we're struggling, if we are overwhelmed, if we just feel like we're chained up and we're like, why can't I just make a decision that will stick? We got to realize that the physical world is very much intertwined with the spiritual. And because of our shame, our guilt, our spiritual death and discouragement, it makes it very, very hard often to make decisions that last. But God cooperates with us, to work in us, to will and to do. SPEAKER C Of his good pleasure and the will can be strengthened as well through exercise and of course in cooperation with God, by surrender to Him, we can actually obtain victories which we couldn't previously. And I think that's right, our previous programs have touched on some of that. And I think about how the senses can overrule the power of the mind. And the mind becomes weaker and weaker the more it gives in. But we're not left there because Jesus gives us victory, he gifts it to us and it tells us at the end of let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And then we are also told in Corinthians, but we have the mind of Christ. And you just read there at Romans chapter eight about, you know, there's no condemnation. Romans chapter twelve. So four chapters on it says there in Romans twelve, s two it says, do not be conformed to the world. So the things of the world are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. So the desires of the flesh through all these things, right, it says, do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So God through the Holy Spirit is willing and able to renew our mind so that we are transformed. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C And I just love that promise. It's been a big encouragement to me because I've had some addictions myself. And even from time to time that chocolate cake looks awfully good and I know it's not going to do me any good. So to be transformed by the renewing of my mind is just wonderful. And it says, then you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So God's will for you can be proven by the renewing of your mind. And that transformation that comes by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. SPEAKER D That's right. And it's learning to just drop to our knees. The highest place we can ever reach is when we drop to our knees. We never stand taller. We never stand taller than when we kneel upon our know. That's a place of surrender. We recognize our great need and we call out, god, I can't do this, help me. And that's what Peter said, lord, save me, I perish, I'm sinking, I'm sinking, I'm sinking. And that's when Jesus steps in to help. Now, in this story, in John chapter eleven, we have a really sad moment, but it's actually not so sad a moment. It has such a great ending. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D The best friend of Jesus, a man by the name of Lazarus, he dies. And there's people crying and for. I think everyone's been to a funeral at some point. They understand just the sadness of losing someone who is loved and appreciated. And Jesus comes and the sisters of Lazarus are so sad. They're like, if only you'd been here, he wouldn't have died. Little did they realize what Jesus was about to do. SPEAKER C Yes, that's right. So they had confidence in Jesus as a great healer, but they didn't actually think beyond that. You know that text you quoted in a previous program that Jesus is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask, or even think. SPEAKER D So they hadn't thought that far, nor. SPEAKER C They weren't able to ask for more. SPEAKER D That's right. They had no idea what Jesus was about to do. And I love that. Jesus always has plans for our lives that are far better than we could ever hope for. And we often limit him. We put him in that box, and he's just planning to do something amazing to bring joy to our hearts. He walks up there to the tomb, and everyone is there and everyone's crying, everyone's weeping. And the Bible says that Jesus wept. It's the shortest verse in the Bible. Yes, Jesus wept. And I love that insight about Jesus character. He's touched by our grief and he's touched by our pain. And then he says something very, very interesting. In verse 38, it says here then Jesus again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, Take away the stone. Very interesting. Jesus says, Take away the stone. This would be quite a large stone. It probably took a few men to move it out the road. Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead for four days. She's like, Nana, Jesus, are you sure you want to do that? He probably smells pretty bad now. It's been four days. The body's decomposing. That would be very awkward to have him, the smell floating around. SPEAKER C So she's still not on the same page as Jesus. She's still not sure what's going to happen. SPEAKER D She's not sure. And then Jesus says to her, verse 40. Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? He's calling her to trust him on this. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D Verse 41. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus, lifting up his eyes, said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. And I know that you always hear me, but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may believe that you sent me. Now, when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, lazarus, come forth. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Loose him and let him go. SPEAKER C Incredible. SPEAKER D Incredible story. SPEAKER C Incredible story. So Jesus does more than they even thought of asking him for. SPEAKER D Yeah, they're just like, one day it's going to be good. And that's So said, you know, I know that one day, he's going to. SPEAKER C Rise again during the resurrection. SPEAKER D During the resurrection at the end of time. And so often we can go, I know it's going to be good one day. I know that I'll have joy one day. I know that I'll be free from this one day. But Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life, the present tense, me. I'm here to be a blessing to your life. It's so interesting. The Bible says that we are dead in our trespasses and our sins. SPEAKER C Yes, that's right. SPEAKER D And we think, oh, one day, one day things are going to get better. But Jesus says, I'm the resurrection. I can give new life to you. By the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, I can give life to you. And I love this. This is a point that we want to make here, that Jesus came to that tomb with the intention by putting trust in the Father to raise his friend from the dead. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D So it's actually going to turn out just fine. And he's walking up there, he's about to raise a dead man whose body is rotting. So this is a massive feat. But then what does he ask the men to do? SPEAKER C Well, this is the interesting thing. He actually says, Take away the stone. SPEAKER D Isn't it so interesting? It's like, I'm about to raise a dead man. Can you get that rock out the road? Just move that rock out the road because I'm wanting to raise a dead man. And then when he comes out, when he's healed, he's like, do you guys want to just take the grave clothes off him? What's bizarre about this? SPEAKER C Well, God who can do anything and can call those things that do not exist as though they do, he could have just spoken and said, roll, rock, roll out of the way, and it could have happened. So why doesn't he just do that? Why does he actually now engage the people around him to do certain things? SPEAKER D I think it's really on what we were looking at in our previous presentation, our previous program, a rock. Those men could move a rock. That was something that they could do. What about unwrapping grave clothes? SPEAKER C Sure, they could do that as well. Physically capable of doing all of that. Actually, matter of fact, that was just following a command. That could have been just a natural command. SPEAKER D That could have been just, hey, that's something very, very simple that they could do. But raising the dead, jesus says, I'll look after that one, I'll look after that one. But he involves us in the whole process. And I wonder if they'd all refused to roll that stone away and the men just said, no, we're not going to roll that stone away. By putting confidence in him and just being willing to trust him, willing to obey him, they rolled that stone away and demonstrated just a willingness to trust and obey. And a miracle took place. SPEAKER C And it's interesting regardless of the conversation that Jesus had with Martha, because he said to her, look, your brother will rise again. And Martha then the response was at the time, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last days. And then Jesus said to no, hang on, I'm the resurrection in the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? And she goes, yes, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son, God who's come into the world. But yet her faith doesn't go any further than that because when Jesus says, okay, we're going to go and we're going to go and raise your brother now you'll see the glory of God. He says, Take away the stone. She goes, no, guys, you don't want to do that. Jesus, do you know what you're up to? He is actually stinking. He's been there four days, he's rotting. You really don't want to do that. Well meaning, but she gets in the way of doing it. SPEAKER D She allows it's a very valid excuse. But what she's doing is she's seeing everything through her natural eyes. And this is where how we limit God. God says with man it's impossible, with God, all things are possible. And so for her it's a very valid thing. She doesn't want to smell her brother in that state. Yes, but if she started to see reality like God saw it, she'd realize like, so what if he's dead? If Jesus wants to raise him, he can do it. SPEAKER C He can do it. SPEAKER D And it's just learning to expect big things from God. This is why we have a very mediocre experience a lot of the time, because we don't expect big things from God. We're trapped where we're just in discouragement, sadness, anger, resentment, all these different things. And we think that's the way it's going to be. And we go one day, one day it's going to be better. One day God will come and fix things up. We don't realize that the resurrection, he who is resurrection itself, is standing there ready to just do amazing things in our lives. SPEAKER C And being a person myself that struggled with negative thoughts and feelings and even depression, when you're in that mindset, that frame of mind, it's very hard to find anything positive in anything. You look at the cup always as half empty, you don't see it as half full. And so therefore you do not move beyond that realm of what you think is physically possible. But when you get into the spiritual realm, the physical dimensions do not inhibit what God is able to do. He's able to do exceedingly abundantly, as we said before, above all that we ask or even think. And then when it comes to the resurrection there of Lazarus, I mean, four days dead. Now, when Jesus raises him, does he come back to life? And he still has some of this decay? There's no decay anymore whatsoever. But there's things that Jesus could have done. He could have done the whole thing, rolled away the stone without any help, taken the grave clothes off. They could have just automatically supernaturally unwrapped it off his body. SPEAKER D Very easy. SPEAKER C Yeah, very easy. But he still engages the people around, say, listen, you do that. That's in the physical realm. Let me deal with the things in the spiritual realm. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Very beautiful. Thank you for unpacking that. Now, there's another story in the Bible, this is one out of the Old Testament that I think of a little bit. And it's a story that we find about Jericho and them going into the promised land and now conquering. And we get this story in Joshua, chapter six. Now, it's interesting. Joshua is walked into the promised land and then he sees a man that stands opposite him with a drawn sword in his hand. So Joshua is quite a brave guy. He goes up to this guy and says, listen, are you for us or are you for our adversaries? Who are you? And then the reply comes there in verse 14 of Joshua, chapter six. He said, no, but as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come. And when Joshua hears, as it says, if he falls on his face to the earth and worshipped and said to him, what does my Lord say to his servant? Then it says in verse 15 then the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take your sandal off your foot for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. Now, it's interesting. When Moses had an encounter with God at the burning bush, he's in this green bush. He sees it from a distance as burning. The bush looks like it's being consumed, but it doesn't. It stays evergreen while the fire is burning it. It's just not burning it up. And he's curious about this. And as he gets closer, says the angel of the Lord called out of the bush to him and then says, take your sandals off your feet for the place you're staying is holy. Then we realize that the angel of the Lord is actually God because he also then bows and worships. And it says that God said or Jehovah said. Now, here we see the commander of the armies of the Lord accepting worship. And we know from the Book of Revelation that angels never accept worship because they are not God. But here this commander accepts worship and then he tells him exactly the same as the angel at the burning bush or God at the burning bush had told Moses. So here he has an encounter with God. This is the Son of God pre incarnate. And then he gives instruction to Joshua he tells them that they are to go around Jericho, they've got to walk around the city six times, and that is over six days. So once a day for six days. But then he says something special on the 7th day. And I'm reading from verse four now of Joshua, chapter six. Sorry, the previous reading. There was Joshua. Chapter five. So my mistake. It says and he said, you take the seven priests, they'll take trumpets and rams horns before the ark. And on the 7th day, you shall march around the city seven times and the priest shall blow the trumpets and it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with a ram horn. And when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout, then the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up, every man straight before him. Now, could people merely walk around a city, blow on some ram horns, the chauffeur. Blow on the chauffeur, the trumpet, and then just shout and this massive, big, thick wall will just come tumbling down? SPEAKER D Not at all. SPEAKER C Now, I've been to the Bible lands and I've seen the ruins of Jericho. They've excavated it. And you can see these are massive, wide walls. There was no way that a bit of noise from a number of people, even if they were a million people, could actually shatter those walls and bring them down. But were they capable of marching around the city for six days, once a day, and then on the 7th day, walking around it seven times and then following the priest, they were to keep quiet during that time as well. You could imagine the people sitting on the wall looking at this and going. SPEAKER D What is what in the world is going? SPEAKER C But they were able, they were capable in the natural realm of doing all those things, weren't they? SPEAKER D Exactly. But what a peculiarity and I think this is such an important story, because there's nothing that really makes sense about it. There's some other stories. You go, that makes a bit of sense. SPEAKER C Chop down a tree, put an ark together, because you're going to go in the ark and there's going to be a flood, you'll be inside the ark, you'll be safe. SPEAKER D That makes that's a bit of logic there. But walking around a city silently walk home, walk around the city the next day, walk home. Repeat that six times. On the 7th time, walk around it seven times. Big blow of the trumpet and then everyone shout at the top of your lung. SPEAKER C You break your silence now and now you shout. SPEAKER D Just shout in public. Just maybe don't try it. Sometimes it may be a bit embarrassing, but shouting at the top of your lungs in a public space when people are watching you, that's very embarrassing. Sure, I'm not speaking from experience, but I imagine that's quite embarrassing. And imagine if the wall didn't fall, how embarrassing. The people on top are like, that was nice. SPEAKER C Yeah. SPEAKER D What was that all about? SPEAKER C It's weird. These people are nuts. SPEAKER D You know what I've come to believe this about? Faith. Faith is a willingness to put yourself in a place where if God doesn't come through for you, you look like a big fool or you're in a lot of danger. And so these guys demonstrate their belief and trust in God by doing something that if he doesn't come through for them, they're just going to be a know. And other times when Peter jumps out of the boat into the water, if Jesus doesn't come through for him, he's going to the bottom of the ocean. SPEAKER C That's right. SPEAKER D So he puts himself into a vulnerable place, and God always catches and sustains his own. When we step out in faith and walk around those walls, the question is, why do they walk around them? SPEAKER C God said to that's right. The command of the armies of the Lord told them to do that through Joshua, and they obeyed. SPEAKER D And that's the simple thing. It's amazing. It made no sense. And sometimes we want it to make sense and we put that as a condition for our faith. We say, I'll only believe unless it makes sense to me. But this story, God shows us that it's not about it all just making sense, it's about just trusting. SPEAKER C Absolutely. Yes. Trusting the command of God and then living by that command. SPEAKER D Living by it. SPEAKER C We will repeat this a number of times through these programs, but faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. They had a command from God. They actioned that command those walls. They didn't throw down themselves. Those walls came down by faith because they believed the promise of God. And we have that beautiful faith chapter in Hebrews, chapter eleven and verse 30, it says, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. That was an act of faith. Could they throw down the walls themselves? No. Could their voices do it? Could the chauffeur being blown do it? No, it couldn't. Could the fact that they walked down once a day for six days and then seven times on the 7th day make any difference? No, not whatsoever. But it demonstrated their faith in the promises because the commander gone out. This is what you shall do. The commander was there with the Lord's armies, and it was God through the army and the commander of God that actually threw down the walls very clear. But it was an act of faith. They did what they could do in the natural realm and they left God to do what he said he would do in the spiritual. SPEAKER D And so the encouragement that we can take from this is that in our lives, if we're struggling, if we're having challenges, just keep walking around. The walls. Sometimes we just like, oh, I don't know what God's plan is, but if we have been asked to do something by God keep walking, keep walking. Keep walking. Even though it doesn't make sense, and you're just thinking, what are we doing? What are we doing? It doesn't make sense. I can't see my way forward. How is this going to conquer the city? Yes, keep walking. Because in humble obedience to what God has said, you're placing yourself in a place where he's going to come through in a powerful, powerful way. SPEAKER C Amen. Dear listener, we hope that you've been encouraged by these beautiful stories of both the Old and the New Testament, where God has done the impossible. And he's asked us to perform certain things which we can do in the natural realm in cooperation with Him, which in effect, actually demonstrated the faith of the people who heard the command, so God loves you. He also says to you that he's loved you with an everlasting love, and therefore with his loving kindness, he has drawn you. So if you feel a response in your heart today to respond to God a disease loving kindness that is drawing you, recognize it and respond to it as God would have you do. Thank you for joining us today on Faith to Faith. We pray that God will bless you. Until next time. SPEAKER B Thank you for joining us on Faith. To Faith. If you would like more information about today's program or if you have any questions, please contact 3ABN Australia Radio by Phoning. 02 4973 3456. Or you can send an email to [email protected] You can also contact us on our 3ABN Australia radio Facebook page. We'd love to hear from you.