Have Faith When You Don't Believe
Austen Elms 1/20/2026
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27:38
Summary
Using the story of the father who cried, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief,' this sermon explores how faith is a persistent commitment to God that remains even when our intellectual certainty or emotions falter.
Key points
- •Faith is not a static set of intellectual views, but a persistent and active 'contending' with the truth, similar to Jacob wrestling with God.
- •There is a vital distinction between personal faith and inherited tradition; those raised in the church must eventually move from the 'God of their fathers' to their own personal relationship with God.
- •Beliefs are susceptible to emotion, imagination, and logic, but faith is a deeper anchoring that can hold a person even when their feelings or reason are wavering.
- •Faithfulness often precedes feeling; showing up and maintaining spiritual routines (being faithful) is a tangible expression of faith that sustains us through seasons of doubt.
- •God is not intimidated by honesty; like the father in Mark 9, we can simultaneously possess faith while asking God to help our areas of unbelief.
Scripture
Faith vs. Doubt
Spiritual Maturity
Honesty with God
Inherited Faith
Life application
When you experience spiritual doubt or emotional turmoil this week, do not isolate yourself. Instead, follow the father's example by being honest with God about your unbelief while choosing to remain faithful to your spiritual routines and community.
Reflection questions
- What is the difference for you personally between 'believing something' and 'having faith' in it?
- In what areas of your life are you currently 'wrestling' with God or His Word, and how might that struggle actually be a sign of growth?
- Austen mentioned that love is a decision rather than just a feeling. How does this same principle apply to your relationship with God when you don't 'feel' His presence?
- How can we better support those in our community who are being honest about their doubts rather than pressuring them to have perfect certainty?
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Full transcript
0:00you can go ahead and be seated.
0:00Thank you for standing. I feel the love
0:02in this place. I'm thankful to be up
0:04here. I give honor to pastor.
0:08Um he's asked me many, many times to do
0:11this. I've said no many, many times.
0:16So, I figured I'd say yes this time. And
0:19I it's I think I mean it's mostly
0:20because I take it very seriously and I
0:22know this is not something um you all
0:25come here with a serious faith and a
0:27serious
0:29disposition. You want to understand
0:31things and you want to get closer to God
0:32and all of these things. So,
0:36um I'm reading from Mark chapter 9
0:41vers 17- 27.
0:44I want to preach a message about faith
0:47tonight.
0:49There's a lot to it. Turns out there's a
0:51lot about faith in the Bible. So, I'm
0:54going to I have a little timeline here.
0:56I have my timer going. I'm going to try
0:57to stick to it. I'm already running
0:59behind, I feel like. But here we go.
1:02Mark chapter 9:1 17.
1:05Just to paint the picture, Jesus has
1:06just been up on the Mount of
1:07Transfiguration. He's was up there with
1:10John, uh, Peter, James, and John. They
1:13see Elijah. They see Moses. They see
1:15Jesus. All of this crazy stuff happens.
1:18Jesus comes down from that amazing
1:20experience into this situation we're
1:22going to read about right now.
1:25And it says, "And one of the multitude
1:27answered and said, Master, I have
1:29brought unto thee my son which hath a
1:31dumb spirit." Those dumb spirits.
1:36And where and wheresoever he taketh him,
1:39he teareth him, and he foamth, and
1:41nasheth with his teeth, and pineth away.
1:44And I spake to thy disciples that they
1:46should cast him out, and they could not.
1:49Jesus, he answerth him, and saith, Oh
1:52faithless generation, how long shall I
1:54be with you? How long shall I suffer
1:56you? Bring him unto me. And they brought
1:59him unto him. And when he saw him,
2:01straightway the spirit tear him, and he
2:03fell on the ground, and wallowed
2:04foaming. And he asked his father, "How
2:06long is it ago since this came unto
2:08him?" And he said, "Of a child, and of
2:11times it hath cast him into the fire and
2:14into the waters to destroy him. But if
2:17thou can't do anything,
2:19have compassion on us and help us."
2:23And Jesus said, "If thou canst believe,
2:25all things are possible to him that
2:27believeth." In the KJV, it says that. I
2:31like what it says in other versions,
2:32though. Um, in the NIV when you get to
2:35this verse, the father says, "If you can
2:38do anything, please have compassion on
2:40us and to help us." And Jesus said, "If
2:42you can,
2:44what are you talking about?"
2:46>> He's like, "If I can, you don't know who
2:48I am. You don't know everything that
2:50they talk about about me. You didn't
2:51know I turned water into wine. I've
2:53already raised some dead folks. Already
2:55done all kinds of crazy things." He
2:57said, "If you can, anything is possible
3:00to him who can believe."
3:02And it says, "And straightway the father
3:04of the child cried out and said with
3:07tears, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine
3:11unbelief.
3:14Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief."
3:20And when Jesus saw that the people came
3:22running together, he rebuked the foul
3:23spirit, saying unto him, "Thou dumb and
3:25deaf spirit, I charge thee. Come out of
3:27him, and enter no more into him." And
3:30the spirit cried and rent him sore and
3:31came out of him. And he was as one dead
3:33in so much that many said, "He is dead."
3:35But Jesus took him by the hand and
3:37lifted him up and he arose.
3:41Amen. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine
3:44unbelief. I feel like there was a moment
3:46here when this man clearly his faith was
3:50wavering. He didn't know if he believed.
3:54And um he said, "If you can do
3:57anything," right? So, he didn't really
3:59know, but he says, "Lord," and Jesus
4:01says, "If you can believe, all things
4:03are possible. Now is the time for him to
4:04say, "Yes, I believe 100%. I'm all in."
4:08But he was honest. And he said, "Lord, I
4:10believe. Help thou my unbelief." I want
4:12to preach for a few minutes on the
4:15subject, have faith when you don't
4:16believe.
4:19Turn to somebody and say, "You got to
4:21have faith."
4:24>> Amen. I want to preach a message and I'm
4:26already behind. Come on now. I want to
4:28preach a me preach the message that I
4:30need to hear that I've needed to hear in
4:32the past. I know we've got soup with the
4:34saints. We've got chili at the church.
4:36We've got some delightful things in the
4:38back for us. Even though it's not in the
4:4050s. I'm not going to complain about it.
4:43I do love chili at the church. But I I
4:46didn't know from this side of the pull
4:47pit how it's it kind of it's a little
4:49different, you know? It's a little
4:50different. But anyway, so please just
4:52keep your focus. Let's let's gather in.
4:54Let's try to get this. I want this to
4:57impact somebody. I'm preaching if to
4:59nobody else. I'm preaching to me. Um
5:03this is a message about faith, about
5:05belief, about doubt. And um maybe
5:09[clears throat] your faith is unshakable
5:11and you have all your belief ducks lined
5:13up in a row and you have no worries
5:15about that and you never question it.
5:18That's not how it is with me
5:20>> and I know that's not how it is with
5:21with many of you.
5:24But I want to I want to encourage
5:25somebody. Have faith when you don't
5:26believe.
5:27>> How many first generation believers do
5:29we have in here? First generation. You
5:31found it for yourself
5:33from the jump. Amen. Okay. First
5:37generation Pentecostals. How about that?
5:39How many first generation Pentecostal
5:41apostolic do we have? All right. Cool.
5:43So that means the rest of you were born
5:45and raised in this. Is that right? Okay.
5:47Awesome. So I had the ratios off. I
5:50thought there was going to be more of
5:51the first one, but that's fine. Um, I
5:53think there's a distinction between
5:55first generation Pentecostals, first
5:57generation believers, and those of us
5:59like myself who were born and raised in
6:02this truth, uh, in this belief system,
6:06if we can just call it that for now. Um,
6:09I think it's because when you are a
6:11first generation, you find out for
6:13yourself. You have a direct experience
6:15from the beginning. That is that is the
6:17seinal moment for you is you finding it
6:19for yourself. when you are born in it
6:21like myself, um [clears throat] you are
6:24inculcated in it from birth and so you
6:28don't ever have the opportunity to find
6:29it for yourself until you start really
6:31gathering your own senses and gathering
6:33your own really your own identity and
6:35your sense of questioning things and and
6:38all that kind of stuff. Um and I'm in a
6:40kind of a unique situation in that
6:42because I was born and raised in church
6:45in a UPCI United Pentecostal church. Um,
6:48my dad happened to be the pastor, but
6:51not just that, all of my uncles are
6:53pastors. All of my grandpas are pastors,
6:56legendary pastors. I mean, Billy Hale,
6:58he was district superintendent for
6:59Colorado. David Tatum Elms, he was
7:02district superintendent for North
7:04Carolina for many years. He made the
7:05UPCI changed their slogan to the whole
7:08gospel to the whole world by the whole
7:10church. Kind of legendary guys there.
7:12So, um, I was really kind of saturated
7:16in the gospel in this Pentecostal way.
7:19My dad would throw around words like
7:21legacy and heritage and, um, it always
7:24felt like a burden to me. It felt like
7:26it was very heavy. I didn't know how to
7:29handle that. It seemed like a huge thing
7:32to me and I kind of wanted to do like
7:34Atlas and just kind of shrug it off. But
7:37um the
7:39I didn't know until I had kids what
7:41those words really meant, legacy and
7:43heritage. It's not uh it's not supposed
7:46to be like a pressure. It's not a
7:48standard that you have to live up to to
7:50the tea, to the letter, but rather it is
7:52a promise that all of those things that
7:55legacy and that heritage is woven into
7:57you into who you are.
8:00>> Um can [clears throat] I have the lights
8:02turned up a little bit, please? I'm like
8:04struggling to see faces. Okay. Thank you
8:06so much.
8:08And I know when I'm in the crowd, I want
8:09the same thing. So, I'm just going to
8:10while I have the microphone, I'm going
8:12to say it. Um, I'm way behind. I'm so
8:14sorry, guys. Okay, here we go. Okay,
8:17back to what I was saying. So, at a
8:19certain point, though, when you grow up
8:21in church, you have to find your own
8:23relationship with God. It It cannot be
8:25the God of my dad, the God of my mom,
8:28the God of my grandparents. It has to be
8:30my God.
8:31>> And um it has to be personal. And Jacob
8:34is like the perfect [clears throat]
8:35example of this. In Genesis 32, Jacob
8:38had sent his family across the stream.
8:41They were on a journey and um he sends
8:44his family ahead and he stays behind and
8:46he sleeps that night or and he stays up
8:48that night rather and he wrestles with
8:50God, the angel of the Lord. And um a
8:54huge moment in his life. It symbolized
8:57when he moved away from self-reliance
8:59and depending on his own judgments and
9:02his own thoughts and his own plans and
9:04being dependent instead on God. I
9:06believe that is the moment when Jacob uh
9:09well it that's when his name was changed
9:11right his name was changed to Israel and
9:13um Israel meaning we who wrestle with
9:16God. He wrestled with the Lord and that
9:19is when his identity was changed and it
9:20became no longer the God of Abraham and
9:23the God of Isaac but the God of Abraham
9:25and of Isaac and of Jacob.
9:27>> And it was it was a moment for him to
9:31become who feel like I'm doing this a
9:34lot. Who he who wrestles with God. Jacob
9:37uh Jordan Peterson talks about this in
9:38his latest book of the same name. We who
9:40wrestle with God. I was trying to find a
9:42good quote from that book, but he's a
9:44little bit too highbrow for what I'm
9:46trying to get across right now. But the
9:48name of the book is what I'm talking
9:49about. Um, we who wrestle with God.
9:52Jacob was not afraid to contend with the
9:55Lord and wrestle him. And he had a a a
9:57problem with his hip the rest of his
9:59life to remind him that this is
10:00something that I do. I wrestle with God.
10:05See,
10:07I'm sorry, guys. I should have had an
10:08iPad or something.
10:12Um yes. So
10:15contending with the truth is is what we
10:17have to ascribe to is is what we have to
10:19aspire to for. Um faith is not just
10:23having your set of beliefs that you just
10:25blindly ascribe to that you've checked
10:27the box. Yes, I believe this. I believe
10:29this. I believe this. Faith is about
10:31contending with the truth. Contending,
10:33you know, having that reckoning and that
10:35reconciliation with God, that back and
10:37forth. Paul instructs us to uh instructs
10:41the Philippians to work out their own
10:43salvation with fear and trembling. And
10:45so must we. We have to contend with this
10:47Bible. There's a lot in here. And we
10:50have to figure out what it all means.
10:51What it means for me personally, what it
10:53means for you at your workplace, with
10:55your family, with your relationships,
10:57every different facet of your life. The
10:59point of uh Oh, I I didn't get to the
11:02Talmood. Okay. So, the Talmud is a good
11:05example of this. If you don't know what
11:06the Talmud is, the Talmud is a Jewish uh
11:10collection of works uh basically seven
11:13centuries of rabbitic teaching amongst
11:15all sorts of different sects of the
11:19Jewish heritage that talks about the
11:22Bible, the Torah. And it is a collection
11:25of these disagreements ultimately of
11:28what they believed and and what they
11:29thought this word meant. And the point
11:31of it is not the answers, but the
11:33striving and the reckoning of opposing
11:35viewpoints and to get a better
11:37understanding of God. They wrestled with
11:40the word just like Jacob wrestled with
11:42God.
11:43Okay, I'm going to run along. I want to
11:46draw a line between belief, beliefs, and
11:49faith. If you don't understand that by
11:51now, faith is not simply giving no
11:53thought to your ideas, but it is a
11:56trusting, a hope, an in action, a
11:59persistent pursuit of perfection. I did
12:02a preacher thing there. A continual
12:04chase after truth and the divine. CS
12:06Lewis addresses this in his book, Mere
12:08Christianity. If you haven't read it,
12:10read it, please. It is a great book if
12:13you are in any way floundering in your
12:15beliefs. Okay, it really breaks it down
12:17in logical terms. CS Lewis was an an
12:20atheist and one day on a bus ride it
12:22just hit him. He's like whether God
12:24exists or not has nothing to do with
12:26what I believe. So he started
12:28investigating and then he became
12:30Christian because of it. So um in he
12:33basically gives two chapters on faith
12:34and this is what he says in one of them.
12:36What I did not see then and a good many
12:38people do not see still was this. I was
12:41assuming that if the human mind once
12:43accepts a thing as true, it will
12:45automatically go on regarding it as true
12:47until some real reason for reconsidering
12:49it turns up. In fact, I was assuming
12:52that the human mind is completely ruled
12:54by reason. But that is not so as all of
12:56us know. I mean the the
12:59>> I don't want to give an example that
13:01just came to my mind but um many
13:03different times in your life you know
13:05what you believe and you know what you
13:06think and any number of things can call
13:09that into question and panic attacks and
13:12all kinds of different stuff that just
13:13that that make you sway a little bit.
13:16Your beliefs are not the extent of your
13:18faith. Beliefs can be doubted doubted
13:21but they c and they can be disproven.
13:24But faith is unshakable.
13:26Faith is something that holds on to you
13:28and will not let you go.
13:30>> A while ago on my YouTube feed, there
13:32was an old Rostafari man talking to
13:34someone in the street. I love these
13:36little interactions with these Jamaican
13:37dudes on the street. There's this one
13:38dude. Anyway, so um there's a Rastafari
13:41guy talking to someone on the street and
13:43he said, "A belief is a doubt." And the
13:46guy was like, "What are you talking
13:47about? What is how does that how does
13:48that even make sense?" He said, "Because
13:50you cannot believe something and know it
13:52at the same time." And it kind of made
13:54me think. I was like, "Wait a minute."
13:57And I did. I had to I had to chew on
13:58that for a minute. I was like, "Okay,
13:59wait. You can't believe something and
14:01know it at the same time." But it made
14:02me understand that beliefs and doubts
14:05are almost two sides of the same coin.
14:07Every belief can be called into doubt
14:09and every doubt can be turned into a
14:11belief.
14:14Um, just as quickly as you can believe
14:16something, it can fall into doubt. CS
14:18Lewis talks about this as well. He said,
14:21for example, my reason is perfectly
14:23convinced by good evidence that
14:25anesthetics do not smother me and that
14:27properly trained surgeon do not surgeons
14:29do not start operating until I am
14:30unconscious. But that does not alter the
14:33fact that when they have me down on the
14:34table and clap their horrible mask over
14:36my face, a mere childish panic begins
14:38inside me. I start thinking I am going
14:40to choke and I am afraid they will start
14:41cutting me up before I am properly
14:43under. In other words, I lose my faith
14:46in anesthetics. It is not reason that is
14:48taking away my faith. On the contrary,
14:50my faith is based on reason. It is my
14:52imagination and my emotions. The battle
14:54is between faith and reason on one side
14:56and emotion and imagination on the other
14:59side. Do not let your emotions and
15:02fleeting feelings call into question
15:04your faith.
15:05>> Your beliefs will need constant
15:06analysis. Amen.
15:11>> Your beliefs will need constant analysis
15:13and constantly being just constant
15:15justification. But your faith will hold
15:17you when the storm winds blow the
15:18fiercest.
15:21>> I know this is true for me. Faith has
15:22never let me go. And um I can't take
15:25credit for that. I don't think that it's
15:27something that I actively did. But I
15:29remember when I was in high school um
15:32even when I've tried to let go of faith,
15:33it wouldn't let me go. Um I was in high
15:35school, I was not in u perfect alignment
15:38with where God wanted me to be in my
15:41life at all. Um, that song just last
15:44week was kind of about that time. But I
15:46remember I brought my friend to uh Caleb
15:48to church one Tuesday night and just
15:52just for fun and uh just to see, you
15:55know, like welcome to my world. And um
15:57he came, we went afterwards and we
15:59watched the heat game and I saw him a
16:01few days later and he had begun writing
16:03a song and he was wanting to show it to
16:05me and it was about the Jesus freaks and
16:08I remember him like singing it out and
16:10as he was telling me these lyrics it was
16:12kind of making a sound like you know
16:13what what's wrong with these people? How
16:16shallow are they? How dimwitted are
16:17they? But I remember even then when I
16:20was not the disciple God wanted me to
16:22be. I was not the place God wanted me to
16:25be. I remember even then thinking, "Wow,
16:27you really missed it, bro. You you did
16:29you completely didn't see what was going
16:31on there. Those are not stupid people.
16:33Those are not uh there's something real
16:35going on."
16:37>> And
16:38um and I believe that was faith. I mean,
16:40I I've always had that faith. I've never
16:41wanted to have the reductionist view
16:44that this is just emotional fervor,
16:46self-induced, you know, mania or
16:48whatever the case may be, brain
16:49activity. But something real was going
16:52on.
16:54And um
16:57I think it's shallow and disingenuous to
16:59believe that this is all selfdeception
17:01or you know neurological activity
17:03whatever the case may be. I watched a
17:04video by Andrew Huberman a science guy.
17:08He has a podcast. It's kind of sometimes
17:09hard to listen to but on other people's
17:11podcasts he's really palatable and and
17:13and easy to um
17:16grasp. But he made a video about kind of
17:19his religious beliefs and his spiritual
17:21uh approach to things and it's awesome.
17:23I was reading the comments and there was
17:24so many things that I could have put in
17:26this sermon, but um he talks about every
17:28single program or study on recovery from
17:30addiction, from trauma or whatever. It
17:32talks about one of the very first steps
17:34is giving over to a higher power or
17:37giving over to God whatever it is that
17:40you're facing. And it works. It works in
17:43real life. So I believe faith is more
17:45than just a set of beliefs. Don't let
17:48your doubts call your faith into
17:50question. And don't be afraid of your
17:52doubt. Um, contend with it. I've been
17:56reading the book Bea Wolf. Oh my
17:58goodness, I'm gonna have to skip some
18:00things. I've been reading the book
18:01Beaolf. Okay, the the ancient English
18:04story. It's one of the oldest English
18:06stories. Great book. Um, also kind of
18:08hard to read, but it's about this knight
18:10Beaolf, and he's fighting this dragon
18:12Grenle. Grenle has been reigning terror
18:15on the land. Anytime these people get a
18:17little too rowdy in the meat hall, he
18:19just comes out of the shadows and he
18:20just starts killing people, right? And
18:22nobody's been able to fight him. They've
18:24had many a mighty men come against him
18:25with their sword, their shield, their
18:27everything. And nothing can stop this
18:29fierce dragon grenle. So Beaolf is like,
18:32"Okay, I'm going to get a bunch of guys.
18:34We're going to sail across the sea.
18:35We're going to go over and help our boys
18:37over there in the Herat, whatever it's
18:40called." And um he hears about nobody
18:42being able to defeat it with weapons.
18:45And he said, "Okay, I'm just going to go
18:47against the thing with my bare hands and
18:49my the strength of my grip and and you
18:51know, just myself. Just go against it."
18:54And um and he did. He goes up against
18:57it, the thing comes, it kills one person
18:59by the door, and then it like goes to
19:01attack and he grabs it by the arm. They
19:03wrestle. He tears its arm off, it slinks
19:06away, and it and it dies. And um in that
19:09same way, we have to face our doubt.
19:11Your doubt is going to show up when
19:13you're in the hall of joy, festivities,
19:16and triumph, and you feel valor and and
19:19and and you feel valiant and you feel
19:21successful and whatever the case is,
19:23your doubt will show up just when you
19:25think it will not. That's when your
19:26doubt shows up. You cannot be afraid of
19:28it. You have to face it. You have to go
19:30right up against it and contend with it.
19:33>> And in the same way that he couldn't
19:35rely on his weapons, there's no trick
19:37that you can do to overcome your doubt.
19:40My doubt shows up all the time. My doubt
19:42is shows up no matter how many times I
19:45repeat a mantra to myself or whatever.
19:46Your doubt is going to show up. So, you
19:48have to just contend with your doubt.
19:49There's no getting away from it. But you
19:51don't have to be afraid of it. And you
19:52don't have to be ashamed of your doubt.
19:54I say that because there are so many
19:56doubting characters in the Bible. Um,
19:58and I'll mention this person because
19:59this is a big one to me. Sarah was a
20:03big- time doubter, right? Uh, God shows
20:06up to Abraham. He says, "I'm going to
20:07give you a child." He's like 90
20:08something years old. I don't I don't
20:09remember. He's like old. He's old old.
20:11He goes to Sarah who's also very old. He
20:13tells her the same thing. And the Bible
20:15says she laughed. She laughed at the
20:17promise of God.
20:19>> And then later on, God confronts her and
20:20he's like, "Hey, I heard you were
20:22laughing at my promise." She was like,
20:24"I didn't that was that wasn't me." He's
20:27like, "Yeah, you did. You laughed at my
20:28promise." She She was caught in a lie
20:31after laughing at God's promise. But
20:32let's take a look at Hebrews 11. And if
20:35you don't know anything about this,
20:36Hebrews 11 is what many call the hall of
20:38faith. And this is where many people the
20:41the writer of Hebrews starts listing all
20:43these Bible characters who are known for
20:44their faith. She gets her own verse. She
20:47gets her own mention here in the hall of
20:49fame of faith. In verse 11, Hebrews
20:5211:11, it says, "Through faith also
20:54Sarah herself received strength to
20:56conceive seed and was delivered of a
20:58child when she was past age because she
21:00judged him faithful who had promised."
21:03Amen.
21:04>> Despite her doubts, after her doubts,
21:07she reassessed and she said, "You know
21:09what? Because God is faithful,
21:11>> I'm going to choose faith.
21:13>> I'm going to choose to believe that he
21:15can and he will come through on his
21:17promise.
21:19[applause]
21:20>> Faith is more than just a feeling."
21:24>> She had judged God faithful. That's a
21:26decision that she made when I was trying
21:29to understand if Tessa was the one for
21:31me and if I was truly in love with her.
21:34Um, I had called both my my Poppy Hail
21:36and my Papa Elms and they said
21:38essentially the same thing. They said,
21:39"Love is not a feeling. Love is a
21:42decision."
21:43>> Love is a choice. When you don't feel
21:45like loving your wife, you love your
21:47wife anyway. Okay? If you're not
21:50married, don't forget that. That's the
21:53only thing that keeps a relationship
21:55strong and powerful and and together.
21:57It's it's when you choose to love
21:58somebody when you do not feel like it.
22:00But faith is the same way. Faith is when
22:04you choose to have faith despite your
22:07circumstances, despite what you're
22:09facing, despite what's come against you,
22:11you have to choose it.
22:12>> Amen. [snorts]
22:14>> When we don't feel like it, God is
22:16worthy.
22:17>> When we don't feel like it, we ought to
22:20be praising God.
22:21>> Amen.
22:22Um, reality is not beholden to our
22:24language about reality. In the same way,
22:27God is not beholden to our ideas about
22:29God. It doesn't matter whether I feel
22:30like it. God is worthy. It doesn't
22:31matter whether I believe it. God created
22:34the earth. He gave me breath to breathe.
22:36He's given me feet to hold me up. He's
22:38given me a car. He's given me money to
22:40pay for my bills. He's given me a
22:42family.
22:43>> And that's the truth, whether I feel
22:44like it or not.
22:46>> While you may not have all your beliefs
22:48lined up in a row, you need to have
22:50faith, man. Okay. I'm sorry guys. This
22:52church chili the church thing is
22:54throwing me off here. Hebrews 11:6 says
22:56that we must believe that he is and that
22:59he is a rewarder of them that diligently
23:02seek him.
23:04>> Um so this is what we have to do. It is
23:07impossible to please him without faith.
23:09That's what the the verse says.
23:11>> Um something bigger is going on. I want
23:13to reframe this for the person who may
23:15not know what they believe. I've been
23:16there many times where I I feel that
23:19faith and I and I feel uh I have faith
23:23but I don't know what to call it. I
23:25don't know what I believe. And I want to
23:27reframe this for you. Okay. Without
23:30faith it is impossible to please him.
23:32Okay. What do we what are we supposed to
23:33do if I don't feel like if I have faith?
23:35For he that cometh to God must believe
23:36that he is. So you have to believe
23:38something is going on that's bigger than
23:40you. You have to believe in a higher
23:42power, whatever you want to call it, but
23:44we're calling it God. You have to
23:45believe that he is and that he is a
23:48rewarder of them that diligently seek
23:50him. You have to diligently seek him. It
23:53matters to you on a personal level to
23:56try to live your life in accordance with
23:59ultimate truth with the word of God with
24:01the ground of being in whom we live and
24:03breathe. Um this is this is this is
24:07faith.
24:09What else do we know about faith? Faith
24:10is the substance of things hoped for,
24:12the evidence of things not seen. In
24:14order for faith to be substance, it
24:15needs to be substantive. If it needs to
24:18be substantive, there must be a tangible
24:20expression of your faith. My dad
24:22preached not too long ago, faith is
24:24faithfulness. And I I feel like part of
24:27the reason I'm here today, and this
24:29sounds ridiculous, the reason I'm here
24:31today is because I was faithful to show
24:33up.
24:34>> And how many people is that is that your
24:36testimony? Just because you were
24:37faithful to show up, that faith never
24:39lets you go. Um, one of the things they
24:42say when you're facing clinical
24:43depression or whatever the case is, um,
24:46do not forsake your friends, do not
24:49isolate, right? Stay faithful to going
24:51out to pickle ball. Stay faithful to
24:54eating out with your friends. Stay
24:55faithful to family time, movie night,
24:58whatever it is. Stay faithful to those
24:59little routines and activities, and you
25:02will you can get through. So, have faith
25:05and and and have faithfulness. Stay
25:07faithful even when your beliefs are up
25:09in smoke.
25:11>> And last point, we all want to hear,
25:14"Well done, thou good and faithful
25:16servant." It doesn't say, "Well done,
25:18thou good and believing servant." Says
25:20faithful.
25:22>> So you don't have to have all your ducks
25:24lined up in a row. This father certainly
25:25didn't. He was doubting whether Jesus
25:27could even do it. He said, "I believe,
25:30but help thou mine unbelief." He
25:33admitted it to the Lord of Lords
25:35>> in front of all the people in front of
25:37the Pharisees and the scribes.
25:40>> So I'm going to go ahead and close if
25:42the musicians want to come. If you are
25:44struggling to understand what you
25:45believe and I and this is this has been
25:48me and there are many people I know in
25:49this room who have been here and if
25:52you're not there, you will be there one
25:54day. you. Seasons come and seasons go.
25:57And if you feel like the rug has been
25:59pulled out from under your feet, if you
26:00feel like the ground beneath you is
26:02shaking, if you're in a time of flux, if
26:04you've just experienced heavy burdens or
26:08uh unprecedented loss, I want to
26:11encourage you to hold on to your faith.
26:15>> Have faith when you don't believe.
26:17[applause]
26:20>> Talk to God about your doubts.
26:22>> He's not scared of them. He anticipates
26:25them.
26:26>> Talk to God about your unbelief. Find a
26:28new way to approach it. Find a new door
26:30in. I know for me a lot of times
26:32listening to Jordan Peterson's lectures
26:34on Genesis and Exodus and stuff like
26:36this, this helped me kind of get a new
26:38frame around things that helped me
26:40understand and and find a new
26:41appreciation for my Bible. I didn't I
26:44didn't like reading this for many years.
26:45I didn't want to read this. I didn't
26:47really think if I I didn't really know
26:50what this even was. I didn't know what
26:52what this meant, what this signified,
26:56but find a new approach to it. Hold on
26:59to your faith and have faith. Talk to
27:01God about your doubts. Do not let go. Be
27:03like this father who said, "I believe,
27:05God. Help thou mine unbelief."
27:08>> Let's stand up and let's let's let's
27:10bring this [music] to God.
27:12I want somebody to be encouraged
27:14tonight.
27:16I've been there and I know that that
27:17that life hits you hard sometimes and
27:21everything can be called into [music]
27:22into doubt. Everything can be called
27:24into question. But God is still faithful
27:27no matter what.
27:28>> God is still faithful no matter what
27:30we're facing. No matter what we're up
27:32against, he is true and and let every
27:34man be a liar and God be true. Thank
27:37you, Lord Jesus, for being here in my