How To Overcome Defeat Through Faith (Series #18)
Dear Visionary Leader: In Hebrews 11:1 we read, “Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.” What is your report card like today, so far as faith is concerned? A? A+? C-? One young man came to his professor and said, “Professor, I don’t believe I deserve this F.” The professor said, “Neither do I, but it was the lowest grade I had.” Is that the kind of faith you have? What kind of a report card would God give you today if God today had to measure you? By faith, the elders obtained…
Read MoreMaking Faith Decisions For Transformation (Series #17)
Dear Visionary Leader: We read in Hebrews 11:31, “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace.” Here we have the story of the transformation of a harlot whose name was Rahab. Here’s what the Gospel did for this woman. The transforming power of the life of faith! Nature forms us, sin deforms us, the world conforms us, education informs us, but faith transforms us. I want you to notice the situation Rahab found herself in. She was a pagan living in spiritual darkness. She was a harlot living in spiritual degradation. She was a Canaanite destined for sure…
Read MoreWalking with Joshua: The Difficulties of Faith, Series #16
Dear Visionary Leader: God wants us to become members of the Hall of Fame of Faith. Membership is available to those walk by faith and not by sight. When God comes to measure our lives, He is going to say, “According unto your faith, be it unto you.” We will be summed up, not according to our fame, not according to our fortune, not according to our friends, not according to our feelings, not according to our fate, but according to our faith. In Hebrews, chapter 11:30 we read, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days.” Jericho lay before the children of…
Read MoreThe Discernment of Faith with Moses; The Hall of Fame of Faith Series #15
Dear Visionary Leader: We will learn from one of the greatest visionaries of all time. His name was Moses. Because Moses saw the invisible, he valued the imperishable, and he did the impossible. He was a man that had an incredible vision. Faith is a bridge to the future. The title of this message is The Discernment of Faith. Helen Keller, who was born blind, was asked by someone, “What could be worse than being born blind?” She said, “To have sight and not to have vision.” I wonder today, do you have a vision? The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” What is…
Read MoreWalking in the Hall of Faith of Fame Series #14
Dear Visionary Leader: We are living in a time of plagues and promises. In Hebrews 11:27-29, we read: “By faith, Moses, when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood,…
Read MoreWalking in the Hall of Faith of Fame Series #13
Dear Visionary Leader: In Hebrews, Chapter 11 there is a mighty listing of the heroes of the faith. We come now to two heroes that you may not know. Have you heard of Amram and Jochebed? They were the parents of Moses. Their claim to fame was not that they were the parents of Moses; it is that they believed God! It was their faith that pleased God. If you want to please God, you’d better learn how to believe God, “for without faith it is impossible to please Him.” When we greet one another around the church, we frequently say, “Say, how are you feeling?” But I think the…
Read MoreBack to Basics: 12 Ways to Deepen Your Communion with God!
Dear Prayer Partner, So often we find that,in the hustle and bustle of life, it is easy to complicate the simplest of things! Now and then, it is good to get “Back to Basics” and check that we are not complicating God trying to work in our lives. With things in the world being hectic and hard to navigate, we thought it would be nice to get “Back to Basics” in prayer. It will be best for you to find a quiet place to be with God and reflect on the following Twelve Ways to Deepen Your Communion with God.
Read MoreWalking in the Hall of Fame of Faith with Joseph
Dear Visionary Leader: The word and concept of “vision” is also related to the word “provide” or “provision”. One of the more commonly recognized biblical names of God is Jehovah Jireh, the Hebrew phrase for “The Lord will provide”, or “God is our Provider”. The word provide means to “pre-see”. It comes from the Latin prōvidēre to foresee,provide for, equivalent to prō 1+ vidēre to see; it means to “pre-see.” God is able to pro-vide because He is able to pre-see! The problem with flawed finite humanity is our inability to see beyond the now. We are so limited in our vision. We are myopic. We are so near sighted and short sighted that we cannot see beyond the now. And so, we are preoccupied and often so worried…
Read MoreHall of Fame of Faith Series: The Dependence of Faith
Dear Visionary Leader: I heard a story about Mohammad Ali being on an airplane, and the stewardess came through and said, “Sir, buckle your seatbelt. We’re getting ready to take off.” He said, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” She said, “Yes, and Superman don’t need no airplane either.” Many of us think that self-sufficiency is a virtue. The truth of the matter is that self-sufficiency is not a virtue, it is a vice. In Hebrews chapter 11:21, we read, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” In the previous chapter, we saw Jacob as…
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