Believing When You're Not Seeing

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Download the uns stap and use the 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:20.840 code I heeart fifty at sign up to receive a 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.400 fifty dollars bonus when you find your account. That's code 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.400 iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:29.319 for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:30.120 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:33.920 If you won't get tired of doing the right thing, 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:38.160 if you won't let what you see talk you out 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:41.559 of what you know, then your due season is coming. 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:46.000 You will read if you don't fame Hi. This is 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:50.120 Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. We enjoy 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:52.760 spending this time with you. I know you're going to 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:54.440 leave encouraged and inspired. 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.680 Make sure you subscribe to get new messages every week 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:00.040 and follow us on social media to stay. 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:04.000 We appreciate your support. It helps keep the ministry going. 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:10.760 Enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.120 to come into your homes and if you're ever in 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.160 our area, please stop buying. Be a part of one 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:19.200 of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:22.160 right at home. I like to start with something funny, 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:25.040 and I heard about this man that was very stingy 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.680 with his money. Just before his death, he made his 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:31.600 wife promise that she would have him buried with the 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:36.160 fifty thousand dollars he had saved. His wife reluctantly agreed. 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:39.960 At the funeral, right before they closed the casket, she 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:44.240 snuck in this small wooden box. Her friend said, surely 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:47.280 you didn't just bury the money. She said, of course 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.919 I did. I'm a Christian. I can't lie. The friend said, 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.520 you mean you just buried fifty thousand dollars. She said, yes, 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:58.720 I did. I wrote a check and say it like 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:01.880 you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.560 it says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.880 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:11.720 I will be taught the word of God. I'll boldly confess. 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:15.880 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:19.840 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.480 I want to talk to you today about believing when 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:28.200 you're not seeing. It's easy to believe when things are 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:32.480 going our way. We're getting good breaks, our health is improving, 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:36.560 our child is turning around. When you can see it, 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.320 it doesn't take much faith. The test comes when you 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:44.400 can't see any sign of what you're believing for. You're 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:48.560 working hard, but doors aren't opening. You're praying, but the 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.240 medical report isn't improving. You're doing the right thing, but 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.760 your marriage isn't getting better. You know, God put the 0:03:55.800 --> 0:03:58.960 promise in your heart. You know he gave you the dream, 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:03.360 but no sign that is happening. If you just saw 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.960 a little improvement, if you just felt a little better, 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:09.800 at least you would know that what you were doing 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:14.920 was helping. But many times before a promise comes to pass, 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:19.039 you have to go through a season of silence where 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.839 you're not seeing anything changing. You'll be tempted to think, 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:27.880 is what I'm doing even working, Is my believing, my praying, 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.839 my giving even making a difference. This is when many 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:35.839 people get discouraged and give up on what they're believing for. 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:40.719 But just because you don't see anything happening doesn't mean 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:45.600 God is not working behind the scenes. Things are changing 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:49.720 that you can't see. God does much of his work 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:54.160 in secret. You can't see him lining up the people 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:59.080 you need. You can't see him arranging good breaks for you. 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:02.839 You can't see him sending the angel with your promise, 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:07.120 putting the healing, the promotion, the vindication on your schedule. 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:11.880 All you can see is, Joel, I'm praying and nothing's happening. 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:16.280 I'm doing my best, but nothing's improving. You're in a 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:20.680 season of silence. The question is are you going to 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:25.400 get discouraged and quit believing because you're not seeing, or 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:28.320 are you're going to dig your heels in and say, God, 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:32.040 i may not see anything happening, but I'm not moved 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.560 by what I see. I'm moved by what I know, 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:37.960 and I know what you promised me is on the way. 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.360 If you'll stay in faith. At some point you're going 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.839 to see what God was doing behind the scenes. Suddenly 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.920 things are going to shift in your favor. What happened? 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.440 You saw what God was up to all those months 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:58.560 even years you didn't think anything was happening. Behind the scenes, 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:03.479 Things were coming together, And sometimes it hasn't happened yet 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:08.600 because another person involved is not ready. God is working 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:12.400 on someone else who's a part of your story, or 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:16.960 when that obstacle wasn't changing you didn't realize it. But 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.160 God was using the obstacle to change you. You were growing, 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:25.839 getting stronger, developing patients. If he would have removed it sooner, 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:29.800 you wouldn't be prepared for where He's taken you. But 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:34.400 the scripture says, don't get weary in well doing, for 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:38.400 in due season you will reap if you faint. Not 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:43.239 It doesn't say you may reap. There's a good chance 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:47.320 you'll reap. God says if you won't get tired of 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.680 doing the right thing, if you won't let what you 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.599 see talk you out of what you know, then your 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:58.800 due season is coming. You will reap if you don't faint. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.240 Odd wouldn't have told us to not get weary in 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:07.320 well doing if he didn't know it would be easy 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:11.160 to get tired of doing what's right. It's easy to 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.360 get worn down. Think it's never going to work out. 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:17.520 My marriage is never going to make it, my business 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.920 is never going to grow. No, get your fire back. 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:26.040 Your due season is closer than you think. In the scripture, 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.520 it compares the life of a believer to an eagle. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.640 When a mother eagle is going to have a baby, eglet. 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:37.920 She lays an egg for thirty five days. She has 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:41.240 to sit on the egg to keep it warm. She 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.760 never feels the baby eglet kick. The egg never grows 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:49.800 any larger. There's no sign that what's on the inside 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:53.440 of the egg is alive. The mother eagle could think 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:56.480 if it was alive, at least it would move a 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:00.520 little bit, at least I would hear something. But day 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:05.320 after day the mother eagle sits unmoved by what she 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:10.480 doesn't feel, unmoved by what's not changing. On the thirty 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:15.400 fifth day, after no signs of life, suddenly the little 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:19.440 eagle it starts pecking out of the shell. Before long 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.960 it hatches, healthy and whole. But think about the faith 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.600 it takes for that mother eagle to sit on an 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:33.440 egg that seems dead. Unlike a person. When a lady 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.920 is going to have a baby, we have all these signs. 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:41.040 Their stomach gets bigger, their feet may swell, their back 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:43.559 may hurt, they may get meaner. I mean, they may 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:49.360 have morning sickness. Their womb begins to grow. Over time, 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:54.280 it's obvious you can see the baby is developing. When 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:57.959 Victoria was pregnant with Jonathan, we were driving down the 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.719 road and I turned on some music. Just like clockwork, 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:05.440 he started kicking in the wound like he was keeping 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:08.160 beat to the music. You could see a leg coming 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:11.480 out here and elbow coming out there. We had no 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:15.200 doubt that he was coming those last six months. We 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:18.640 never once thought, I wonder if he's in there, I 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:22.200 wonder if he's alive. We didn't have to wonder. We 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:26.840 could see it. If God brought promises to pass, like 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:31.200 a person giving birth, it would be no problem to 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.560 stay in faith. It would be easy to thank him 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.520 that it was on the way. But most of the 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:41.040 time it won't be like a person. It will be 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:44.680 like an eagle. You're going to have to believe something 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.160 is happening when you can't see any sign of it. 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:54.880 You're going to have to sit on that promise, believing, expecting, praying, thinking. 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.440 When you're not getting any kicks, when you're not seeing 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:02.280 any growth, the egg is not moving, you don't hear 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:06.520 any sounds. Deep down, you have to know something is 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:10.760 happening that you can't see. After a couple of weeks, 0:10:10.960 --> 0:10:15.360 the mother eagle could think I'm wasting my time. By now, 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:19.280 something should be happening. I don't see any sign that 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:23.120 what's in this egg is alive. But there's something in 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:27.680 her DNA, something put in her by the Creator that says, 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.720 I don't have to see a sign, I don't have 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:34.000 to feel a kick. I know my baby is alive. 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.760 I know my duce season is coming. I know on 0:10:37.800 --> 0:10:41.680 the thirty fifth day, this baby eaglet is going to hatch. 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.680 You may have promises that you've been standing on for 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.760 a long time, dreams God has put in your heart. 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.439 Every circumstance says it's never going to happen. What you're 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.880 believing for is dead. It would have kicked by now. 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:01.160 You would have seen some improvement, some growth. No, don't 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:05.840 believe those lies. Keep sitting on that egg, Keep thanking 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.240 God that is coming, Keep talking like it's on the way, 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:14.439 Keep expecting things to change in your favor. Our attitude 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.480 should be what God promised me. May look dead, but 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:21.320 I know, like that eagle, what He put in my 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:25.960 spirit is still alive. It doesn't have to kit. I'm 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:29.079 not moved by what I feel. I'm not moved by 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:32.800 how long it's taking, by what's not working out. I 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.000 know what God started in my life. He's going to 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:41.240 finish what am I saying. Quit being discouraged because you 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:45.720 haven't felt a kit. Nothing is wrong. That doesn't mean 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.800 it's not going to happen. You have to trust the process. 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:55.160 While you're waiting, things are growing, things are developing. God 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:59.800 is bringing it together. He works in secret. You may 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:03.720 not see any improvement. You may not see what God 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:07.760 is up to. If the mother eagle could peck a 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:11.680 little hole in the shell and see her baby, it 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:15.240 would be so much easier to believe. I saw him. 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:18.160 He's in there. Now I can sit on this egg 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:24.360 with confidence. The problem is the eaglet wouldn't survive. Some 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:29.040 things have to develop in the dark, in secret. If 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:32.640 you could see the promise coming, if God showed us 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:35.360 what he was up to, yes, it wouldn't be as 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:39.680 difficult to believe. But that wouldn't take any faith. You 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.559 have to believe when there's no sign on the outside 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:48.040 that what's on the inside is still alive the promise 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:51.800 God put in you. That egg, so to speak, is 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:55.080 not going to move, not going to grow, not going 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.800 to kick. You may not see any signs of life 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:03.120 until the thirty fifth day, until you're due season. When 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:07.480 suddenly that baby eglet is going to hatch. But there's 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:11.480 something God has put in your DNA where you can 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:15.800 believe when every circumstance says it's not going to happen. 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.920 The odds may be against you today. Your dream seems impossible, 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:25.400 medical reports not improving. You've struggled with the addiction for years. 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:29.480 Looks like the promise is dead. You're tempted to walk 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.160 away from the nest, forget about the egg hasn't seen 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:36.640 any signs of life, or God is saying go back 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.720 and sit on it. It is still alive. Don't let 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.800 the circumstances fool you. Just because you don't see anything 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:49.160 happening on the outside doesn't mean something is not happening 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:53.319 on the inside. Well, Joel, I've never felt my baby kick. 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.960 It's not going to kick in the egg. God bursts 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.480 things like an eagle, not like a person. We have 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:04.839 to walk by faith and not by sight. The Israelites 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:08.320 were traveling through the desert, headed toward the Promised Land 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.160 when they came to the city of Jericho. This was 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.880 the last city that stood between them and the city 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:20.880 of Canaan, the land God promised them. Jericho was surrounded 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:25.080 by a huge stone wall. It was so thick that 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.040 chariots could ride on top of it. God told Joshua 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:33.560 to have the Israelites march around the walls for seven 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:37.600 days without saying a word. These two million people went 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:40.560 out and once a day started walking around the wall. 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:47.120 First day, nothing happened. Second day nothing. It was hot, dusty. 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.400 They were already tired, worn out from traveling through the desert. 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:55.200 Went around the fourth day nothing. The fifth time nothing. 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:59.160 I can imagine, they started to get discouraged, thinking, what 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.800 are we doing out here? We look like fools. Nothing 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.720 is even happening. It wouldn't have been so difficult to 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.880 believe if while they were walking around they saw a 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.840 little crack in the wall start to form. Maybe the 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:18.200 fourth time around some of the rocks up top broke apart, 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.600 the next time around, the foundation begin to loosen up. 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.560 If they would have just seen a sign that things 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:30.480 were improving, something to encourage them, a little crack here 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:35.240 and there. But nothing was changing. They were sitting on 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:39.200 that egg, doing what God asked them to do, walking 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:43.960 around a city, not complaining. They were doing their part. 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:48.560 Why wasn't God doing his part? God works in secret 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:53.920 in that egg. You can't see the eaglet developing. The 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:58.320 Israelites didn't like it. They were uncomfortable. But here's the key. 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:02.440 They kept doing the right thing. They didn't get weary 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:07.560 in well doing. On the seventh day, the seventh time around, 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.520 still no sign of the wall weakening. Still look just 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:15.600 as strong, sturdy, like it did before they started. But 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.640 when they completed that seventh lap, suddenly the walls came 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:23.920 tumbling down. They came into their due season, their thirty 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:28.440 fifth day. But too often we'll stay in faith if 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:32.400 we see the wall cracking, we'll believe. If our boss 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:36.400 starts treating us better, if our health starts improving, we're 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:40.080 waiting for the baby to kick. God, give me a sign, 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.120 show me something that you're going to turn this around. 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.600 What I'm saying is you may not get a sign. 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:50.040 That's when you have to dig down deep and say, 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.320 am I going to get up off this egg? Am 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.560 I going to let what I'm not seeing convince me 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.200 what I'm believing for is dead? It's too late, the 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:03.680 obstacles too big. Or Am I going to do like 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:08.280 the Israelites and keep marching even though there is no sign? 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:12.960 Keep thanking God, even though it's not improving. Keep expecting, 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.960 even though the baby is not kicking. You keep doing 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.320 the right thing, and your thirty fifth day is coming. 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:24.200 What you thought was dead, you didn't see any signs 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:28.479 of life. Suddenly, that baby eaglet is going to burst forth. 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:31.960 A friend of mine that I grew up with, was 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:35.800 believing to have a baby for many years. She and 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:39.800 her husband had tried and tried with no success. We 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:43.120 were all standing in faith with her, believing and praying, 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.879 but no baby. She'd gone to doctors. They told her 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.399 there was nothing more they could do. She wouldn't be 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.680 able to have children. She's a little bit older than 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.880 I am, and I was in my forties. I thought 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:59.840 it's too late now, surely she'll accept it and move 0:17:59.880 --> 0:18:03.040 on on. Maybe she can adopt, Maybe she can do 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:07.840 something else with children. That never entered her mind. She 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:12.080 was always talking about having a baby. It was never if, 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:16.520 it was always when she even made a baby's room 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:20.800 in her house, had it all decorated ready for the child. 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:25.159 She was constantly thanking God that her baby was on 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:29.160 the way, talking like it could happen tomorrow. She could 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:33.240 have easily walked away from the nest thought This egg 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:37.359 doesn't just look dead. It is dead. Would have happened 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:41.320 by now. But when God puts a promise in your heart, 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:45.520 you have to have a never say die attitude. You 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:49.639 may not see how it can happen. It seems too late, 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.800 you're too old, the obstacle's too big. You can come 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.600 up with a thousand reasons why it's not going to 0:18:56.680 --> 0:19:00.840 work out. Don't talk yourself out of it. Do like her, 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:04.960 Keep thanking God that it's on the wave, Keep believing 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:09.199 when it's not improving. Keep sitting on that egg, not 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:13.320 moved by what's not changing, walking by faith and not 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:17.960 by sight. Twenty years later, she walked in one day 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:21.960 and said I'm pregnant. She wasn't saying it by faith. 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:24.960 It was a reality. She not only gave birth to 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:28.680 one baby, she gave birth to twins at fifty three 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:34.760 years old. Now, don't walk away from that nest. Don't 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:38.560 get discouraged because you haven't felt a kick. God is 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.480 working on the inside. What you can't see is the 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:47.520 promise is growing. It's developing. The outside looks the same. 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:51.080 You may not see any improvement. But if you will 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:54.760 stay in faith life with her, what God has spoken 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:59.719 over you is on the wave. God told Abraham that 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:02.320 he and his wife Sarah was going to have a baby. 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.560 Sarah had been burying all these years now they were 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:09.960 way too old to have children. But the scripture says 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:15.160 Abraham considered not the weakness of his own body nor 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:20.240 the deadness of Sarah's womb. When Abraham looked at that promise, 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:25.080 everything in him said, it's dead. You're way too old 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:28.639 to have a baby. All the circumstances said it would 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:33.720 never happen. But here's the key. Abraham considered not what 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:38.600 looked dead. He wasn't moved by what he saw. You 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:42.240 may have situations that look like they'll never work out. 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:45.120 You don't see how you could get well, how you'll 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:49.320 meet the right person, how you'll break the addiction. If 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:54.080 you only consider that, you'll get discouraged and quit believing 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:58.640 you have to do. Like Abraham, don't consider your circumstances, 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:04.040 consider your God. I'm sure many times Abraham was tempted 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:07.560 to walk away from the nest. They didn't see any 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:11.240 sign of it happening. Year after year went by with 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:15.680 no baby. They never felt a kick, never saw Sarah's 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:20.800 womb growing in the meantime, Abraham made mistakes, had a 0:21:20.840 --> 0:21:25.240 baby with another lady that wasn't the promised child. Twenty 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:29.120 five years after God gave him the promise, God came 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:32.919 back to Abraham and said, now Sarah is going to 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:37.200 have a baby. A year later, at ninety years old, 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:41.800 she gave birth to a son. What's interesting is no 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:45.760 one had ever had a baby at that age. It's 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:49.520 one thing if you had seen it happened before, If 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:53.040 you knew your neighbor had given birth at close to ninety, 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:55.760 or you saw in the news a lady gave birth 0:21:55.760 --> 0:21:59.200 at ninety, at least you could look back and say, God, 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:01.399 you did it for them, I know you can do 0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:04.359 it for me. At least you would know it was possible. 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:09.160 This had never happened. They had no point of reference. 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:14.119 God has some things in your future that have never happened. 0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:17.120 You're going to be the first one in your family 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:21.880 to step into new levels of influence, the first one 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:25.680 to run a successful business, the first one to break 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:29.600 the addiction, the first one to keep your marriage together. 0:22:30.640 --> 0:22:35.800 But when we've never seen this, it's easy to dismiss it. Joe, 0:22:35.920 --> 0:22:40.680 this egg is never going to hatch. No use praying, believing, expecting. 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.879 It's never happened before, No life with Abraham and Sarah. 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:48.639 You're about to give birth to something that you've never seen, 0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:52.040 something that's going to catapult you to a new level, 0:22:52.400 --> 0:22:56.040 something where people can see. The favor of God is 0:22:56.080 --> 0:22:59.800 on your line. Now. Instead of considering how big you 0:22:59.840 --> 0:23:03.880 are obstacles are, why don't you start considering how big 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:08.040 your God is. He flung stars into space, he spoke 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:12.880 worlds into existence, and what you're up against may seem impossible. 0:23:13.240 --> 0:23:16.520 But God can do the impossible. He can make things 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:20.760 happen that we could never make happen. Victoria taught to 0:23:20.800 --> 0:23:25.000 a young lady named Sabrina. At seventeen years of age, 0:23:25.080 --> 0:23:27.879 she went into check on her nine month old son 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:32.439 and discovered he wasn't breathing. She grabbed him, rushed to 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:37.800 the neighbor's house, and frantically started doing CPR. Unfortunately, the 0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:42.080 little boy didn't make it. When the prosecutors saw the 0:23:42.080 --> 0:23:46.479 bruises on his chest from the CPR, they accused the 0:23:46.600 --> 0:23:51.520 mother of abuse that caused his death. The neighbors told 0:23:51.560 --> 0:23:54.520 how that wasn't the case, but they didn't believe them. 0:23:54.800 --> 0:23:58.000 A year later, she was found guilty of taking her 0:23:58.040 --> 0:24:02.800 son's life and sentenced to death. Eighteen years of age, 0:24:03.160 --> 0:24:06.240 sitting in a prison cell twenty three hours a day 0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:10.159 didn't look like she could fulfill her destiny. Her dream 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:14.320 seemed dead. No woman had ever been released from death row. 0:24:15.200 --> 0:24:18.520 Six years later, by the grace of God, she was 0:24:18.560 --> 0:24:22.440 granted a new trial. This time, the neighbors were able 0:24:22.520 --> 0:24:27.439 to testify about the CPR. A medical examiner found the 0:24:27.520 --> 0:24:31.040 little boy had a kidney disease that he believed caused 0:24:31.040 --> 0:24:35.439 the death. December of nineteen ninety five, after six years 0:24:35.480 --> 0:24:39.680 on death row, a jury found her not guilty. She 0:24:39.840 --> 0:24:45.000 was completely exonerated and became the first woman ever to 0:24:45.040 --> 0:24:49.119 be released from death row. I'm sure there were plenty 0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:52.720 of lonely nights in that prison cell where thoughts told 0:24:52.760 --> 0:24:56.879 her you'll never get out. It's never happened before. You 0:24:57.000 --> 0:25:00.080 can be the first. You can be the one to 0:25:00.119 --> 0:25:03.560 set a new standard. Don't be moved by what you 0:25:03.680 --> 0:25:07.680 don't see, by what you don't have, by who's against you. 0:25:08.240 --> 0:25:11.320 God being for you is more than the world being 0:25:11.400 --> 0:25:16.120 against you. Now, maybe you're about to step away from 0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:19.679 the nest. You know what God's promised you, But it 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:24.840 seems impossible. Nothing's changing. Surely it would have happened by now. 0:25:25.400 --> 0:25:28.960 If you walk away, you're going to miss what God 0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:32.760 is about to do. You are closer than you think. 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:36.760 Your thirty fifth day is going to happen, sooner than 0:25:36.800 --> 0:25:40.800 it looks. You may not see any sign of it now. 0:25:41.720 --> 0:25:45.280 When that baby eaglet is in the egg, you can't 0:25:45.320 --> 0:25:48.600 tell when it's about to break out. Nothing on the 0:25:48.640 --> 0:25:52.680 outside looks any different. The shell seems just the same 0:25:52.760 --> 0:25:56.840 as it's been day after day. But then suddenly, when 0:25:56.880 --> 0:26:00.320 you didn't see it coming, when everything looks the same, 0:26:00.640 --> 0:26:03.760 the door will open, your health will turn around, the 0:26:03.880 --> 0:26:06.760 right person will show up. You don't know what God 0:26:06.840 --> 0:26:10.560 is up to behind the scenes. I read where this 0:26:10.680 --> 0:26:14.159 mother eagle has to keep the temperature of the egg 0:26:14.440 --> 0:26:18.359 at one hundred and five degrees. If she doesn't maintain 0:26:18.480 --> 0:26:22.679 that temperature, the eaglet won't develop. So she sits on 0:26:22.720 --> 0:26:27.280 the egg day after day. She could be out gathering food, 0:26:27.800 --> 0:26:31.960 building another nest, but she knows it's vital to keep 0:26:32.000 --> 0:26:35.760 the egg warm. In the same way, you have to 0:26:35.880 --> 0:26:39.960 keep your promise in a warm environment. The way you 0:26:40.040 --> 0:26:44.639 do this is through praise and thanksgiving, Father, Thank you 0:26:45.080 --> 0:26:48.359 that what you promise me is on the way. The 0:26:48.400 --> 0:26:51.919 medical report doesn't look good, but Lord, thank you that 0:26:51.960 --> 0:26:56.080 you're restoring health back into me. Business is slow, but 0:26:56.160 --> 0:26:58.879 I'm not moved by what I see. Lord, Thank you 0:26:59.160 --> 0:27:01.639 that I will lend and not borrow. Thank You that 0:27:01.680 --> 0:27:07.040 what I touch will prosper and succeed. Sometimes our promise 0:27:07.160 --> 0:27:11.679 is taking longer to develop because we're complaining instead of 0:27:11.720 --> 0:27:15.480 praising God. Why is this taking so long? When is 0:27:15.520 --> 0:27:17.920 this ever going to change? Now? You have to get 0:27:17.960 --> 0:27:22.199 your promise in a warm environment. Like my friend with 0:27:22.280 --> 0:27:26.080 the baby for twenty years, she sat on that promise. 0:27:26.520 --> 0:27:30.280 She was constantly thanking God that the baby was coming. 0:27:30.960 --> 0:27:34.800 Abraham did this. He could have complained, God, we're too 0:27:34.840 --> 0:27:38.040 old to have a baby. Why don't you find somebody else? 0:27:38.600 --> 0:27:43.160 Or the scripture says Abraham grew strong in faith by 0:27:43.200 --> 0:27:46.520 giving praise to God. I can hear him all through 0:27:46.560 --> 0:27:50.199 the day. God, it looks impossible, but I know you 0:27:50.240 --> 0:27:53.400 can do the impossible. Thank you that the fruit of 0:27:53.480 --> 0:27:56.840 Sarah's womb is blessed. Thank you that what you promise 0:27:57.000 --> 0:28:01.760 me I will become that father of many names is 0:28:01.840 --> 0:28:05.800 your promise in a warm environment. Are you keeping it 0:28:05.880 --> 0:28:10.399 in an atmosphere of faith, of praise, of thanksgiving. You 0:28:10.520 --> 0:28:13.800 have to maintain the proper temperature for the promise to 0:28:13.880 --> 0:28:17.720 come to pass. I know many of you have been 0:28:17.800 --> 0:28:22.800 doing this. You've been faithful year after year, believing when 0:28:22.880 --> 0:28:27.280 you don't see anything changing. Get ready, Your thirty fifth 0:28:27.359 --> 0:28:31.120 day is coming. God is about to do something unusual, 0:28:31.720 --> 0:28:36.320 something that's never happened for you. Now my challenge, don't 0:28:36.359 --> 0:28:40.280 walk away from the nest, don't get weary in well doing. 0:28:40.640 --> 0:28:44.680 Keep believing even though you're not seeing. If you'll do this, 0:28:45.120 --> 0:28:49.720 I believe and declare what you thought was dead, things 0:28:49.720 --> 0:28:53.320 you didn't see any improvement, They're about to suddenly come 0:28:53.400 --> 0:28:58.920 back to life, healing, promotions, breakthroughs, marriages, the fullness of 0:28:58.960 --> 0:29:02.800 your destiny in Jesus' name, and if you receive it. 0:29:02.960 --> 0:29:07.480 Can you say amen today what I'd like to give 0:29:07.520 --> 0:29:11.320 you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:29:12.000 --> 0:29:16.680 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I 0:29:16.840 --> 0:29:21.960 repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I'll make 0:29:22.040 --> 0:29:26.160 you my lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that 0:29:26.240 --> 0:29:29.840 simple prayer, we believe you've got born again. Get in 0:29:29.920 --> 0:29:36.200 a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. Thanks 0:29:36.200 --> 0:29:39.040 so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll 0:29:39.080 --> 0:29:42.479 subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep 0:29:42.560 --> 0:29:44.840 you encouraged and inspired all through the Wink. 0:29:45.040 --> 0:29:47.240 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:47.240 --> 0:29:48.760 with those all around the world. 0:29:49.040 --> 0:29:51.400 Visit Joelosting dot com or click. 0:29:51.200 --> 0:29:54.040 The link in the description to partner with us today. 0:29:54.280 --> 0:29:56.720 We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 0:29:56.800 --> 0:29:59.600 be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying 0:29:59.640 --> 0:30:02.800 for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll 0:30:02.840 --> 0:30:03.640 see you next time. 0:30:07.160 --> 0:30:09.720 More than ever before, people are turning to the church 0:30:09.720 --> 0:30:13.320 for their mental health struggles. 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