Victorious Faith

Pastor Corey delivers his weekly message titled "Victorious Faith"

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Victorious faith, we've titled it today. Victorious Faith. And I know I let you be seated just a moment ago, but I've got to figure out a way to keep you standing from the time I say amen. So I need to go right into the scripture most of the time. I've done that in the past. But would you stand again with me in honor of the reading of God's Word? Hebrews chapter 11, verse 29, and then we're going to go to Exodus chapter 14, and we're going to read another fairly lengthy passage. And I've done this on purpose because I think that in the world we live in today, we talk a lot about the Bible, but we read very little of it publicly. And the Bible tells us to pay, give, give special attention. Timothy, I'm sorry, Paul tells Timothy to the reading, public reading of Scripture. And it seems like we're in such a hurry so many times in the life of the church that we don't slow down and read Scripture. Let Scripture speak for itself. I mean, you know, you really haven't come here today to hear what I have to say. You've come here today to hear what God has to say through me. And that's what's important. And so I want us to read some of these stories in the Old Testament as we learn about the lives of faith of the people of Hebrews chapter 11 that the Bible talks about. And uh and it's important for us to see in context what they've gone through. So we're going to look at it today and read a little bit more of the passage of scripture. So, Hebrews 11, verse 29, as we continue in Hebrews 11 about the heroes of faith, we're talking about Moses, and we've preached several messages on him already. And in verse 29 it says, And by faith the people, meaning Israel, the Israelites, by faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. So in one little verse, in one sentence, the author of Hebrews gives us a synopsis of everything that happened within a couple of chapters in the book of Exodus. So he says here that the Israelites, God's people, Moses by faith, led them through the Red Sea. There was an underpass created by God. And he didn't just make them go under the water. He actually walled off the water. They walked through dry on dry ground, through the Red Sea, and the Egyptian army was drowned. But we need to see the faith, the victorious faith of Moses and the people. So go with me to Exodus chapter 14, beginning in verse 1. And the Bible says, Then the Lord said to Moses, Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Herotha. Or I'm sorry, Pi Haroth. I had it right. Man, I studied it all week. Harhiroth. Harihiroth. Okay, Harihiroth. Between Migdal and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea directly opposite Baal Zephon. And Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them. So we pick up the story right here. As you know, Moses went to Pharaoh and several times declared to him, God has declared, let my people go. Let Israel, God's people, be free from the bondage of slavery that you have put them through here in Egypt. Let them go home. Let them go to the promised land. And Pharaoh refused, and plague after plague came until finally the plague of the firstborn came, and we know that to be the Passover, and we preach a whole message on that. And now the Israelites packed up what they had and they took off with Moses leading them. And here we pick up the story. And in verse 4, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, but I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. So the Israelites did this. Now, again, before we read any more, catch this, don't miss this. Many times God will use ungodly people to accomplish his purposes so that he can get the glory, and everybody can see that there's a God in heaven. And a lot of times we as God's people don't fully understand why evil is taking place. And you know, it's going on in our society today. We are losing our freedoms by the hour. Our nation fought a revolution over the very things that we are going through today. The freedoms that we are losing every day under the disguise of public health. Over a virus that has a 99.6% survival rate, which the flu doesn't have that strong of a survival rate, and we're shutting down the world as a result of it, so that tyrants can gain control over our lives so that they can suppress Christianity. And it's very possible that God is allowing some of this to happen so that the tyrants will see that there is a God in heaven and God will get glory. And maybe it's because God is trying to get his church to once again put their faith in him and not in government. And not in men. So that was God's plan. In verse 5. And when the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services. So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took 600 of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who were marching out boldly. Now many ask, why would God harden his heart? Because Pharaoh was given opportunity after opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to bow down to the God of heaven, but he chose not to. And so God hardened his heart for his purposes. The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops, pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near this town, opposite Baal Zephon. Figured if I couldn't pronounce it earlier, I wasn't going to get it right the second time. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, Was it because there was no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, Leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians and to die in the desert. Moses answered the people, Do not be afraid. Stand firm, and you will see the deliverance of the Lord that the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today will you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you need only to be still. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the victorious faith of Moses and many of the leaders of Israel, though many of the people who were willing to go back to Egypt and be slaves rather than be free. So we thank you that we have this example, and we pray that you would speak to us through your word today, and I pray it in Christ's name. Amen. And bless you, my friend. Faith. Victorious faith. There was a time in the Christian life where we spoke a lot about victory. There was a time in America where we spoke a lot about being victorious. As a matter of fact, we live in a society today now that crowns everybody a champion. Everybody gets a trophy. And so when they grow up, you know, as kids they get trophies, and when they grow up, they expect everything to be handed to them. So much so that now, even the uh, and I'm not gonna call anybody the president-elect because we don't have one yet, one way or the other, until the election is certified, and that won't take place yet for another couple of weeks. But until then, we have one of the candidates who said that he wants to pay off all student loan. Well, why should we as taxpayers have to pay for for somebody's decision? Why don't they come out? If that's the case, then what about us who have credit card debt? Can't they pay that? What about our mortgages? Can't we get our mortgages paid for? We're living in a world where everybody wants everything for free, but there's no such thing as something for free. Somebody paid for it somewhere along the line. And so, because of that, it's almost as though we're intimidated to live the victorious Christian life that God has for us. And I'm not saying that we are to be braggadocious or arrogant. As a matter of fact, it's totally opposite because it doesn't come from us, it comes from God, and we're going to see that in just a moment. And I'll be real honest with you, as a pastor living in 2020, I've tried to keep it together for a long time, and it's starting to come out in my sermons now. I'm starting to leak oil a little bit, like you. I mean, I'm starting to have to have enough of a lot of it, but in 2020, I am so sick of Christians living in defeat. I'm sick and tired of being under an oppressive hand of satanic and demonic activity that says that I can't be a Christian and I can't live my life and I have to be defeated. And then when you look at Scripture and you see these people, even many of them who didn't have the victories that we see here, that the people of God had right here, some of them the Bible says that they were sawn into. We're going to look at those in a few weeks. They were, their children were taken from them and slaughtered. And yet, even then, they didn't turn away from God, and they still believed and they still trusted God. These are the unnamed believers in the Old Testament that stayed faithful to God. And they are they are unnamed, but God knows who they are and knows that they stayed faithful. They were even victorious in their faith, even though they didn't receive the promise of the Messiah that they were so looking forward to. So I introduced this message today to say this. When God wants to give us victory in our lives, we've got to quit fighting Him on it. And we need to join Him on it. So how do we live the victorious life? How do we have, in this context, how do we have victorious faith? Because I believe this the day you get saved is the day you join yourself to Jesus and He joins himself to you, and that's the day you join yourself to victory. So let's look at it. Number one, what does a victorious faith look like? The first thing is this victorious faith isn't afraid. It isn't afraid. Now, guys, I'm not just picking, cherry-picking these things. We're in Hebrews 11. We've come to the verse in verse 29 that says that by faith they crossed through the Red Sea. So what do I do? I take my Bible and I go back to the story in Exodus chapter 14, and I read Exodus chapter 14, and I see the scripture just jumping out at me. And it's actually paralleling some of the things that we're going through today. And I see right here where it says in verse 13, actually in verse 12, well, when the people of God, here's a picture, here's what you got to see. So the people of God were leaving Egypt, marching away, and all of a sudden they get to this impasse, they get to this big barrier called the Red Sea. What are we gonna do here? And all of a sudden behind them is the Egyptian army. So they're caught between death on that side and death on this side. They're between a rock and a hard place. What are they gonna do? And they got fearful when they saw the Egyptian army come in. They got scared. And rather than turn to God or what have you, they started complaining to the leader, to Moses, what have you done to us? I mean, were there not enough graves in Egypt? We could have all died in Egypt, but you brought us all out here so we could all get slaughtered right here in the desert. What's wrong with you? And remember with Moses, he saw the impossible, he treasured the imperishable so that God could do great things through his life. And what does Moses say to the people when they are terrified of what's getting ready to happen? And Moses answered the people do not be afraid. Do not be afraid, he says. Stand firm, and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. Can I say this as a pastor? Can I say this as your pastor here today, and as a fellow sojourner of someone who walks in the faith like you? Do I get afraid sometimes? Yes. But I will say this it is not of God when I get afraid. Because the Bible says, What shall I fear? If God is for me, who can be against me? What am I afraid of? I had somebody ask me Friday night at a football game. Pastor, have y'all reopened yet? And man, I just wanted to just pull my hair out when he said that. Have we really opened yet? I feel like I still need to repent for us closing for eight weeks. I really do. Now I understand, knowing what we knew then, we did what we thought was right, and it was a hard decision to make, and we had some discussion about it, and I leaned upon you heavily, and I had to make a decision, and I wanted you to make the decision for me. But all you all said, but Pastor, it's in your hands and we support you. And I'm like, gee, thanks. That Wednesday night I remember we had. And we did the best we could. I was looking at the numbers and what I was being told, and what I was being told may have been, you know, the best information at the time, but they said, no, one in ten people in your congregation will die if what happened in Italy happens here. One in ten people. I'm like, well, we got we we've got to close down. We didn't know what we were dealing with, and we were listening to what we were being told, and we went along with it because we thought it was the proper thing to do. Now looking back, now looking back, we reopened on Mother's Day. And this person, have y'all reopened yet? I'm like, yeah. Well, aren't you afraid? Aren't you afraid people are gonna get sick? No, I'm not. I'm not afraid people are gonna get sick because those who have got it, some of them had some pretty good symptoms. We have one lady in here in particular, she spent some time in the hospital. It was pretty serious for her. I'm not saying that the thing isn't serious, but you know what? I know people who get the flu who die from that too. I know people who get a lot of other things. And so my point is this God didn't create us to put a covering on our face to live the rest of our lives that way. He created us with a no so we can breathe fresh air. He created us with touch. If you notice, people were constantly wanting to touch Jesus, and he was constantly touching them. People need human interaction. And people will say to me as a pastor, well, don't you care about the community? I care about the community. I care about the kids who don't go to school, who need to go to school, who need interaction. I care about the older person that's at home that can't see their family, and they're dying on the inside in their heart. They're dying of loneliness. I care about the person that's fallen into depression. I care about the person that has a business whose livelihood is ruined. I care about the people who have heart disease who refuse to go. I just talked to a man last night at a restaurant who needs to go get a heart checkup and he needs to go back. He's got a serious heart deal. But because they told him, well, you've got to be treated like a COVID patient, you come in the back door, and he says, I'm coming in the front door of the office, and if you can't accept me coming in the front door, I'm not going. And he didn't go. And you say, well, that's pride on his part. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. But at some point, we gotta, we gotta, we gotta live our lives and we can't be afraid. Can you imagine the early Christians when, well, if if you're gonna make, you're gonna make the religious leaders mad if you go and preach the gospel over there. You're gonna, oh, the Roman Emperor, he's gonna want to kill you. What did they tell? I think it was Peter and John. After they brought healing to the man at the gate, beautiful in Acts chapter 3 or 4. What did the authorities tell him? They laid hands on him and beat him, and the authorities said, Whatever you do, you do not speak of Jesus anymore. And they said, You do what you have to do, but we can't help but speak of the things which we've seen, heard, and experienced. And we're gonna talk about Jesus and we're gonna tell them they weren't afraid. And so here, the people of God in this situation were afraid. And Moses said, Do not be afraid. If we're Christians, I mean, if we are a Christian and as Christians, we should not be afraid like the world. Even when we lose a loved one, the Bible says that we're not to sorrow like others who have no hope. Even when we face death, the death of a loved one, I'm not saying that we shouldn't cry. I'm not saying that we shouldn't, it shouldn't hurt us. Absolutely. We, you know, but we know that our loved one, if they're Christians, where they're going, and we know that we're gonna see them again. And not just see them again, but we're gonna be in an eternal state, worshiping the Lord Jesus, living where the lion will lay down with the lamb. What a beautiful place that'll be. There will be no need for the sun because Jesus will be our light. Isaiah 41, 10 says this. I don't know what the Bible says here. So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Have you ever heard this? Or have you ever said this? You saw somebody going through something very difficult in life, maybe a tragic loss of a loved one or what have you. And you have said this because I know I've said it, and you've probably said to that person, I could never go through what you've gone through and and come out as strong as you have. What a what an example you've been. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And you know what I've learned over the years? Yeah, you can. Because God will give you what you need when you need it. You don't have to be afraid of what you don't know yet. You don't have to be afraid of what you don't what you haven't experienced. Oh, I know it's a terrifying thought to think of some of the things that other people have gone through that we might have to go through it, but I will tell you that the Bible says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Our God will always be with us. I know that scripture says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. What is there to be afraid of? My dad has a saying. He says, He goes, I'm afraid. Of four things. All right. He says, I'm afraid of Bigfoot, snakes, or something else. And then he says, and your mama. Not not. Oh, he says, Bigfoot snakes, God, and your mama. Not necessarily in that order. He says, that's what he's afraid of. The apple doesn't far fall fall far from the tree because I'm afraid of snakes too. However, I still go in the woods. I still go hunting. And I hunt in Florida. Where there are plenty snakes. And a lot of them that could put a hurting on you. And it doesn't stop me. And the same way about the world that we live in, man. There are a lot of things that could scare us. But you got to decide how you want to live. I've always told you this. You know, I don't have a problem with flying to go somewhere. I got a problem with the sudden stop, with crashing. And I get in an airplane and I think like this sometimes. Well, it may not be my day, but what if it's his day? Get him off the plane. And you know what? One of the reasons that I think a lot of us get nervous about flying is we're not in control. But don't you think for a moment that God knows all that? So let's just say everybody on that plane, God was calling them home. It was their time to die, an appointment to die. And they didn't get on a plane, but let me tell you something. All of those people, wherever they might be across the country or even the world, they're going to die that day. Doesn't matter if they're in a plane or not. So what are you afraid of? I still get on an airplane to go where we need to go. Doesn't bother me. I want to live a victorious life. And the people of God had something very serious that they were afraid of. Number two, victorious faith. Victorious faith understands who truly fights our battles. Victorious faith has an understanding. A person with victorious faith has an understanding of who truly fights our battles. Look at what the Bible says in verse 14 of Exodus 14. It says, the Lord will fight for you. The Lord will fight for you. Don't look at the second part, but just the first part. You understand who fights your battles. The Bible tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Look at Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 13. What the Bible says here. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may take your stand against the devil's schemes. Now check this out. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything to stand, the Bible says, then stand, therefore, in verse 14. In other words, you understand the nature of the battle, and when you understand the nature of the battle, you understand who fights your battles for you. The reason some of us never feel victorious in our faith is because we're constantly fighting the battle in the flesh. We're constantly trying to strong arm the enemy. We're constantly trying with our own brain power to outmaneuver him. We're constantly trying in our own fleshly power to say no to that temptation when we've surrounded ourselves with it. You know, it's amazing. There are several types of fights that we fight in our faith. The Bible says that there's some things that we're to battle, we're to struggle, or we're to battle against something with faith. We're to put our trust in God, trusting Him on that. There are some things the Bible says that we are to fight the good fight. Right here. And there are some things that we have to flee. The Bible says flee sexual immorality. In the Old Testament, we have the story of Joseph, who was in a very tempting situation. And he fled because he knew that he could not trust his flesh, and he knew that he was doomed if he dishonored God. And there's some things we have to flee. You can't surround yourself with all kinds of sin and think you're going to be victorious over it. So what you have to do is you have to put on the whole armor of God, the Bible says. And that's a whole different message about those things and about what the armor is all about. But the Lord will fight for you. So that brings us to number three, which these two go together. Two and three are twin brothers here. Number three, victorious faith is still, still in the sight of a spiritual battle. Look at what it says here in the second part of verse 14. You need only to be still. To be still, to be quiet. To not move. The hardest thing for us to do as Christians is to give it over to God. Because we think it is our responsibility to fix everything. And it's not. Let me ask you this. You may have felt better about this, but when you had a major disagreement with someone or a major conflict with somebody, and it kind of goes something like this maybe you find out that somebody said this about you, and all of a sudden, boy, you find it out, and it really makes you angry, and you can't wait, you can't even go to sleep on it. No, no, we're gonna meet right now. And you're like, no, I don't think we ought to. And uh, or somebody says, no, you know, somebody will tell you you shouldn't, and you're like, no, we're gonna meet right now. And I'm just telling you, and you you may tell me different, but but I believe that ultimately none of those confrontations usually end well, and you usually, as you get your right mind, or sorry that you went and did it, because you did it in the flesh. I had somebody call me one time, and and and here's the setup. I said, we need to meet to resolve this conflict. And I said, Well, I don't really think that we're gonna resolve it. Because you have your way of looking at it, and I have my way of looking at it. And I'm not gonna really say that it's that you're wrong and I'm right, or I'm wrong and you're right. It's just different. No, we're gonna meet, we're gonna solve it. And then here's what he proposed. He said, I want you to meet me at Oakview Middle School parking lot. Now, what does that sound like to you? Sounds like a fight, right? I said, So you're gonna bring lounge chairs? What are we gonna do? And he goes, we're gonna sit in the back of my pickup truck and we're gonna hash this out. And I said, I don't think that's wise. I said, because you're not gonna change my mind because I knew where I was standing and I knew where I was coming from. I said, and I told him, and I said, and you're emotionally charged about this situation, and if you push the wrong buttons in me, I will be also. And I said, if I meet with you, you're gonna push them. And he goes, we're gonna meet. I need you to meet with me. And to my better judgment, I went. I went because I didn't want to be called a coward or anything like that. I mean, you just think about we're gonna meet it. I'm like, why can't you come meet in my house? Come sit in my living room. We're gonna drink come to your house. No, no, no. He wanted to meet. I mean, it's sound like two teenage boys meeting somewhere in the ball field in the back having a fight. And I knew nothing good was gonna come out of it, and he started in. And here's what I said to him. I said, brother, I don't think we need to go there. And here's what he said to me. He jumped up. We were sitting on the wheel well thing of his truck, and he jumped up and he got in my face. And he said, H. E. double hockey stick, yeah, we're gonna talk about it. He went, yeah, we're gonna talk about it. And when he said that, I said, back off, Jack, and I unloaded. And I unloaded all of it on him. And I said, The love that I have for you over all these years kept my tongue tied because it wasn't worth bringing these things up. And I said, Because I brought him up, you will never forgive me for what I just said to you. But everything I'm saying is true. And I don't know if he's ever forgiven me. But my better sense and my spiritual sense told me to be still and let God fight the battle. I let that guy strong arm me in the meeting when I knew better. And nothing good came out of it, and it ruined a friendship. See, victorious faith doesn't fight like humans fight. Victorious faith fights on our knees. Victorious faith takes a step back. Let's put this in God's hands. And you see, a lot of people don't want to go that direction because they want it fixed now. But you see, God isn't confined by time. He doesn't have a limited amount of time. God is more concerned with timing. The Bible says when the fullness of the time had come, he sent forth his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Timing. So a victorious faith understands not only who fights our battles, but learns to be still in the side of a spiritual battle. When I was working with FCA and we were putting on those camps in the summertime, and I was working with uh brother Tommy Keeler, and uh two teams in our area went against the FCA rules. When we met, when we meet for FCA, it's to get everybody better, not to fight. But the two coaches had schemed together that they were gonna get there, and they were pretty good. Both of those two teams are really good. Several guys from those two teams are playing in the pros. One of them is Laramie Tunzel, played for Columbia County High School. And they got they got in a fight. And I jumped in the middle of it to try to break them up. And I'll never forget somebody grabbing me by the pants and by the shirt and hauling me out. And it was Tommy Keeler. And I said, What are you doing? And he goes, just just be still. Let them let them get it out. They don't know who you are, man. It's a fight going on, and they're gonna kill you. I mean, they don't know. He said, that we we don't have the gear they got on. Get out of here. And I remember him saying, just be still, and he just stood there like that. And I was like, man, we gotta stop them from fighting. He said, just be still. And it all cleared up. And I just thought, if we're gonna say that God fights our battle, then why are we gonna get ahead of God and try to fight it for him? We've got to be still. I don't know what battle you're going through. So whatever it is, trust me. God wants to do it. And you'll never be victorious getting in the flesh, getting ahead of God, fighting it on your own. Okay? Look at what um Psalm 4610 says. Love this verse. He says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth. So he says, Be still. Be still. And know that I'm God. I know this is gonna sound very unspiritual, but it works. When you've got a heavy situation on you and you're going through a difficult time, get outside, go find you a place, a quiet place where you can hear nature, you can hear the birds chirping, get away from where all the cars are moving, where you heavy machinery is going. Just just get get away from the buzz of the air conditioning. Turn the air, turn the the television off. Put your phone down. Just go. Take a couple of deep breaths. Let it all out. Close your eyes. And say, God, clear my mind of all these things. I want to be still and I want to, I want to know your presence. And I'm telling you, folks, God supernaturally, when I've done that, he's been there for me, strengthened me beyond anything I could ever imagine. Calm my spirit down. Because listen, the Bible says that the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. I'll never forget that I had a man confront me one time. He ended up punching me that night. But he confronted me and he goes, You and me, we're gonna step outside. We're gonna step outside, you and me. He wanted to go fight me. And I was like, sir, yes, we are gonna step outside. But here's what we're gonna do: you're gonna step outside and you're gonna walk to your truck, and I'm gonna step outside, and I'm gonna walk to my truck, and we're gonna go home. So I agree with you. We need to step outside. And then he whacked me right in the head. But be still. And that whole situation, it took a year for me to be able to talk to that man after that situation. But I had to be still and wait for God to set the meeting up. I tried three times to have a meeting with that man to show him some love and some grace. But God worked it out. And you know what's crazy? We're friends today. Let me give you the final thing. Number four. Victorious faith. Victorious faith trusts that the plan of God will always bring glory to God. A person with victorious faith will trust the plan of God, that whatever God's plan is for you in your life and what you're going through ultimately will bring glory to God. Remember a couple of years ago, year and a half ago, we preached through Philippians and we came to the understanding that Paul said basically this about his life. He said, It doesn't matter what happens to me, as long as two things take place, as long as the gospel goes forward and God gets the glory. Those are the two things Paul understood about his life. It doesn't matter what happens to me. It's really of very little regard to me, what happens to me, as long as through my circumstance and situation, that I have a chance to bring out Christ and to share the gospel, and that God gets all of the glory. So a person that has victorious faith understands that it's all about God's glory. I love what verse 4 says. God says, I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. So the Israelites did this. And then in verses 21 through 31, I'm not going to read it all to you at this point, but verses 21 through 31 tells the story of what happened and how God opened the Red Sea and caused the waters to become like a wall. And allowed the people of Israel to walk to safety through the Red Sea and onto the other side. And then the Egyptian army was allowed to pursue the Israelites. And as they were pursuing them and they got onto that dry ground, and when they all got in there, God allowed the waters to come in on them. And the entire Egyptian army was slaughtered. What Moses said was right. Don't be afraid. God will fight the battle for you. You be still. You just watch what God will do, and he will bring glory to himself. In your life and what you're going through and what you have been through may seem very painful to you, and it's the reality is it is painful. But you and I have to trust the plan of God that ultimately your circumstance as a Christian will bring about the glory of God and the opportunity to share the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what victorious faith is. A victorious Christian faith will trust. Will trust the plan of God. As you grow as a Christian, you can't continue to kick and scream like a toddler who doesn't get his way. You have to grow up. And in growing up, okay, this can go my way. Okay. I don't understand it. Hmm. Okay, somebody did this to me. Hmm. Somebody scheming against me at work, and they got the promotion rather than me. And they got it through through ill-gotten gain, through lying and this and that. Hmm. What should I do about it? Be still and let God take care of it. Because He knows. You say, Pastor, that sounds so simple. Oh, it's hard. But it's biblical. And I don't mean to say this flippantly. But try it. Employ it into your life and see what happens. See the peace that you have. And see how different you see the world when you see things. Trust the plan of God that He will bring glory to Himself. God wants to use you to bring glory to him. He wants to use me to bring glory to him. However, he's got to do it. See, victorious faith is not easy, but it's worth it. I mean, what a deal, right? What a deal. We don't have to stress. Oh, what peace we often forfeit, the Bible. I mean, the old song says, the old hymn. Take it to the Lord in prayer. The peace that we forfeit because we worry about it. Ultimately, God will get the glory. I paid $770. I'm not telling you that to feel sorry for me. This is just a fact of life. We all, whenever stuff goes bad electronically on your vehicle, get ready to pay. You know it. Shade tree mechanic can't even fix that. $770. I got my truck fixed because of some module that cost $490. And then, you know, their expertise with their computers and all of that, they had to do it, do what they had to do. Put it all back together. All right, it's good to go to Missouri. You go. Well, on my way, on my way back from Missouri, everything they fixed went haywire again. I called them one minute after they opened, because I was driving all night. And I was mad, but I said, you know what? I can't control it. It is what it is. I can drive it home, but it's a problem. My thought was, they better not make me pay another $770. Because Pastor Corey will not be Pastor Corey anymore. He will be Corey. The citizen of Newberry. So I called the man and I said, hey, look, the very thing I brought it in for, here's what it's doing. And I could hear it in his voice. He goes, oh boy. And I said, um, I want to make an appointment to bring it in. He goes, nope. He said, bring it in at your convenience. Well, he shouldn't have said that to me because I got things to do with my truck, you know? So I've yet to bring it in. So I was thinking last night, when can I bring it in? Monday or Tuesday, but if I bring it in Monday, I'm without a vehicle, and I'm going through all of that, and I've got this to do or that to do, and I want to do this. And then I started stressing out. And I came up with a plan. My plan was if they said, well, Pastor, you know, there was something we missed and it's going to cost you an extra $450, I'm like, scorched earth policy. That was my flesh speaking. But I had already determined last night in my mind that I was going to do this. Y'all know that I give y'all a lot of business, but I'm not happy. Fix it. Boy, I had all this planned. And then I got on my knees before church this morning, and God said, You're not doing that. You're going to bring it in there and you're going to be the man that I called you to be. But God, what, what, what? Aren't you preaching about trusting the Lord today and being still? You steal that mine and trust me. And I started thinking, heck, maybe they'll give me some money back. Doubt it, but miracles can happen, right? You never know. So you see, even something as simple as that, the enemy was trying to take my victory away from me. And to get me set up for a bad witness. Can't happen. It shouldn't happen. We are victorious Christians. We can do this with God's help. Right? And I respect if you don't want to hug me, but I'm going to hug you because I ain't afraid of what you got. We're going to have church because this is what the Bible teaches us. Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves. We're going to meet with our family because family's important. And the Bible teaches us about, you know, how we're to have that together, that oneness. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm going to live victorious. How about you?

unknown 49:06

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 49:07

You want to? 2020, it is what it is. And I'm not looking to 2021, oh, it's going to be so much better just because the calendar changed. I'm looking to today to be what God wants it to be, and I'm going to make the most of it the way God wants it to be. And I'm going to live my life until He calls me home. And I want to be victorious in that. Because the circumstances will change as time goes on. Let's be victorious, y'all. Would you stand and bow with me in an attitude of prayer? Well, Father, we are grateful that we have your word. We have the experiences of the children of Israel. There's so much to unpack about what they went through there. But you've led me to this victory. They had a victory right there on the shores of the Red Sea and through it and on to the other side. And then problems happen. Thank you that Moses has mentioned in Hebrews 11 about his great faith. Thank you that we could see in verse 13 and 14 where he reminds the people, do not be afraid. Watch what God will do for you. Help us, Lord, to have that kind of faith and to be victorious no matter what we are going through. Now, with our heads bowed for just a moment, you saw today Joel Coppick went through the waters of baptism representing the fact that his old life was what it was. He went through the waters of baptism, which represents he was buried with Christ through baptism. And when he came up out of the water, it represents that he is a new creation, clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, ready to live a new life. If you've never received Christ as your Savior, you can have a victorious faith. And it starts right there. With trusting Christ as your Savior. If you're already saved, Christian, you've been living defeated. You don't have to. I preached the message. I'm not going to preach it again. You don't have to. So this altar's open to you. Go into Thanksgiving this week, being victorious. Don't worry about what you can't do. Just go do what God's led you to do. Some of you changing jobs, some of you having situations. Come lay it at the altar and get victory today. And we pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen.