R410 Faith With Vision

God has an encouraging word for you and me today. The Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton in a message because your faith with vision will be headed to Hebrews chapter 11 just a moment with her, listening to Dr. Don Wilton well-known author evangelist Pastor's recent book salaries with Billy is one you can take a look at right now.

Had tewonline.org large, like a copy of God's word this morning and turn with me to the letter to the Hebrews Chapter 11 Hebrews Chapter 11. I want to speak to you about a very difficult subject faith with vision doctrines.

Any time we talk about vision we going to struggle somewhat because it's one thing to say that you and I believe in God. It's one thing to say that we have put our faith and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But it's an entirely different thing to have the vision to be able to do what we know God is placed upon our hearts without knowing where we going.

Hebrews chapter 11 in verse 20 God's word tells us about one of his great servants by the name of Isaac. You can read about Isaac in the book of Genesis is is a remarkable story about faith with vision, but I think that the consummate of his vision is expressed herein.

The whole of faith. Hebrews chapter 11 in verse 20. Look what happens read it with me. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, not regarding their presence, but regarding their future.

He was looking ahead, and in fact if I might just tell you for a moment when Isaac did this, he was a very old man fact the Bible says that he was blind in his age.

He was very weak.

He was old and not too long after this he was carried into the presence of Almighty God.

Hebrews chapter 11 in verse 25. Three. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau with regard not to the present.

He had already done that to remember. But with regard to their future with regard to a time that that he wasn't even going to be around to enjoy that remarkable is going to be of something that Isaac would never benefit from himself per se because he would've been with God in heaven. Faith with vision. Number one, you must hear above the Lord. Many voices around you want to put your faith to work you go to listen to God above the noise number two you need to obey God.

Contrary to human reason that many opinions today. But God's opinion is the one that we need to listen to number three. We need to do, despite the lack of company you going to put your place to work you gotta do what God wants you to do.

Even if you're by yourself.

Number four. You need to go on despite potential opposition and discouragement, perhaps even the editor there all some of us to this week we faced in discouragement of some kind or another. I have to say that keep on Doug give up number five you going to put your face to work you must accept God's judgment without questioning his justice and number six you must look ahead to the promises of God. Why, because God is the God of covenant. God is the God of promise, God is going to do exactly what God says he will do so it is that we now come to this question of vision.

And that's a difficult subject to deal with. Can you imagine going to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer and saying to them I want you not only to have faith but I want you to exercise vision. I want you to look at head beyond your current circumstance saying that to somebody who's in a lot of pain as being diagnosed with a terminal disease is not a very easy thing to appropriate in the practicality of our lives is can you imagine going to a businessman, I'm going to say to you if you're in business today I want to encourage you to take your faith and combine it with vision. Why, because they are cinnamon they are inextricably intertwined with one another, faith and vision are amalgamated together in the heart of God's people fail one and the same thing you want your business to grow and to expand if you want your profits to exceed your losses if you want to do much better at what you doing last not only believe in your product, you must not only believe in the people who work for you but you must exercise vision. You need to step beyond the boundary of human limitation and analyses you need to define all you need to counteract the bookmakers you need to develop a moment of practicable denial that gambling ever works because it doesn't, you need to come to a fresh understanding that God does not accommodate the spiteful lottery in any formal fashion.

God is not the God of good luck, God is the God of absolutes. God is the God of covenant. God is the God of absolute certainty.

God is the God who says listen I do what I do because I am air that's this will and in so doing we are encouraged to bring faith in action together here in the summary statement about Isaac and the later to Hebrews. We are brought to focus on Isaac's most important characteristic is faith and vision. He pronounced blessing on his sons, not for the present, but for the future. Why number one because he had faith in God and number two because he believed God's prediction. Well, let's talk about it for a moment this morning as I made a suggestion to you that in order for us to have faith with vision and in order for our faith to have vision we must employ several biblical principles we must have a groundswell of understanding going to give them to you. I'm going to give you several biblical principles about faith and vision. And then we going to talk about it together. Number one, a believing faith is seeing a believing faith is seen as some of you going to cite now wait a minute Foster I know what faith is. But how can I bring faith and vision together.

I'm going to say to you that what Isaac teaches us and what God's word fundamentally expounds to us is that a believing faith is seeing number two, a living faith is pleasing to God. Number three ice submitting fighting is new, call eight testing fighting is strengthening number five I dampened faith is defiling number six and accepting faith is accomplishing and number seven and I love this and changing faith is ultimately honoring to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's have a look at this, just briefly this morning. Number one faith with vision principle number one, a believing faith is see this man. Isaac was remarkable you go back to Hebrews if you just flip over the page with me.

Hebrews chapter 11 in verse one.

Look at that now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see how the two functional elements that come into place. First of all is a living hope, and second of all, is a bland hose thereto elements are first of all God's Word tells us that we need to have a living hope. What is a hope I hope is looking forward for something out there but the second thing God says if it's going to be faith and vision.

We gotta be willing to be unable to see. Can you imagine that and imagine that I went to the Nautilus fitness center yesterday which is my favorite place to go would work out and try and get the cobwebs out of my mind. There was a man with a very fine gentleman who is blind and he got on the treadmill next to me and my wife and he was jogging on the treadmill holding on.

He was blinded and I couldn't help thinking Jeremiah and trying to shed a few pounds and trying to at least lighten the load somewhat inclined to not look like a beached whale and trying to be concerned about everything pertaining to this machine that's got me running at 150 miles an hour and I got a man next to me who can neither see nor know in any kind of detail the details that surround him and get the urgency and the apparent joy and all the things that went on with this man as he stood there, a blind man jogging on the treadmill next to me challenged my heart. God's word says listen if I'm going to have faith with vision.

I've got to be willing to be blind I want to be willing to put my complete faith and trust in the God in whom I have placed my faith see what is the adage that we hear in the world, but it simply lists seeing is believing God's word says.

Believing is seeing. Most of us today, myself included, you come to me and you say to me. Listen Don about this and this and I promise you, you can do that and that also.

Let me see it and if I see it I believe that, do we believe God is not. We believe that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could all scream and frankly, we believe that automatically what is God telling us to do. God is saying to us, listen to me friend, it's not seeing is believing believing is seeing and if you have given your heart to Jesus Christ and you trust them implicitly racial case principle number two. Living faith is pleasing love this passage here because the Bible says to us, my friends, that our vision is not based upon our success vision. The exercise of our faith is based upon our willingness to live out our Christian experience. Look at Hebrews chapter 11 in verse six. What is it's either without faith it is what see that there everybody got a Bible this morning. Without faith it is occasionally impossible to please God without faith. You might just run into trouble. What is it cited in our folks listen we are Bible believing people without faith it is impossible to do what to please God, moms and dads watch me if you're a parent and you are bringing up sons and daughters. If you don't exercise faith with your sons and daughters you cannot please God, business person today.

If you are a business person and you have a Christian business and it is run on Christian principles and you will honoring God with your life if you do not exercise faith with vision. You cannot please God, church, First Baptist Church of Spartanburg South Carolina. If we are not prepared to put our faith into action. We cannot and we will not please God. That's with the word of God sees.

We've got to be willing to say it is leaving referred it's not whether we are successful. Isaac certainly failed many times did me doesn't mean to say that we are always doing things will God wants us to live our vision one wise old man said to me many years ago. He said Don if you want to be a visionary, you need to put your belief into practice. You need to believe implicitly that God is able. That's putting your belief in the practice that's being willing to cite, listen, I know that I'm hurting physically. I know that I've been I've been diagnosed with cancer. I know that I have heart disease.

I know that I'm going to place surgery. I don't know whether I'm going to get better. I don't know whether God is going to heal me.

I don't know what's going to happen down the road but I do know that I belong to God and I am fuel up all of these hand. That's a living flight back to living faith, but you can turn on your television set. Today you got preachers on TV who are denying a living faith by saying listen, why don't you just come up on the platform here. I'm just gonna cost my hands on you. I'm gonna blow in your face you gonna follow the people are going to catch you and you going to be healed, not because of anything that you done because God is God to heal you. That is not a living.

Listen frames. The Bible teaches divine healing.

God heals us because he's God.

And if I'm going to put my faith and vision together. It means because he is God that I rest my case. God forgive you eruption will be back with more of today's message with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But as we rest our case in God. We know that in this life we face opposition to not face alone. We can be fortified with you haven't heard about it.

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Dr. Wilson and Dr. Weir's we hear the details on how you can get your copy are you spiritually dressed for today's battles discretion word of God eclipsed us on how to prepare insights spiritual somehow reminds us in Ephesians 612 for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places joined Dr. Welton's fortified powerful message series to help you understand the spiritual battle here in teaching how to put your spiritual armor nine to further equip you, you will receive the bonus strategy to how to detect and defeat by Warren we are speaking, 866-899-WORD 866-899-WORD 9673 and request fortified in the strategies of Satan for a gift of $25. Thank you for supporting The Encouraging Word as we continue to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Number the numbers 866-899-WORD to get your copy of fortified were also just for prayer. That's 866-899-WORD 9673 now back today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton God came to Moses and said Moses gonna get the children of Israel out of Egypt. Can you imagine that after living five vanity. Could you talk about us that that's a good start and I cannot cannot cannot cannot speak and I cannot sing, cannot cannot cannot cannot do all these things he said Moses listen man throw that brought down and pick it up. You got in your hands the rod of God. Now go now go number three submitting faith is doing Isaac's face. My friends was not inventive. No sir, he didn't invent anything.

See, we think, if you want to have vision would you faith. You gotta be and in vain for you.

Gotta be the next Livingston. I presume you gotta be the next great missionary to China. You gotta be the next pasta you gotta be the next not not not Bible says I submitting faith is doing faith.

That's a vision faith. He is faith. Isaac's faith was not inventive. It wasn't creative. It wasn't adventurous.

I want you to just think about Mount Moriah Genesis chapter 22. Abraham kind Isaac and Satan Isaac. I want to work with me Mount Moriah. I'm going to try you are put you on an altar and I'm going to stab you to death because God told me to do, what would you do to Betty Kime lost you to do that. It's I could we sit down and have a little talk about this that now folks I want to show you something. How old was Isaac when Abraham merely offered him as a living sacrifice to God. How old was he 33 years of age. I see pictures all the time, that have this little boy on an altar. He was a little boy folks. He was a 33 year old man. This was a man who was living his fire.

And what about his faith, his faith and his vision was a submitting faith Abraham exercise the initiative. Isaac submitted that's bringing faith to gun vision together. How old was Isaac when he met Rebecca girls when he met this beautiful young lady and fell in love with her and married her household was Isaac 50 years old. Now some of us think he was 14 and 15. The he was 50 years of age. It was 17 years off after he was nearly sacrifice but God provided the way on Mount Moriah we talking about Amanda folks to boarding faith and his vision together.

I submitting faith is doing. Number four testing. Faith is frankly testing faith is strengthening our mentioned Mount Moriah. He was tested. What was the result of the testing of the faith of Isaac, the strengthening of his vision. The strengthening of these wall when he met Rebecca at the age of 50. You can go and read about it in Genesis chapter 24 E. faith again was tested and what about here at the end of these lack. He was an old man. He was blind. He was he was wary he was incapacitated. He was weak and yet he was tested. Listen to what Peter says in first Peter chapter 6 for chapter 1 in verses six and seven. In this you have reason to greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trial. These trials have come Garrett is you ready for this so that you all play if greater worth than the goal which perishes even though refined by fire may be proven genuine and may result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

What Peter cited the apostle site. He said listen said if you want to translate and amalgamate your faith into vision you got understand the principle that a testing faith is strengthening people from time to time, say why is this happening to me.

Perhaps because God is strengthening your faith. I had someone come to me just a couple of days ago inside of me foster. Please help me to understand this.

I'm trying to live according the word of God. This is what I've done being faithful and yet all these things are happening and I had been reading this passage and I looked at him and I said to my dear brother, far be it from me to ever say this to you because of your predicament, but I want you to know that your faith is being tasted and when your faith is being tested. You know what's going to happen you going to be strengthened that we going to see how this works in a market because we going to get up to the final few moments of Isaac/that's when we going to really see a lot shine a lot, shine number five for the principal I dampen faith is defined I dampen faith is defining you go back into Genesis. Remember when Isaac was going to blast his firstborn son Esau, and how Jacob deceived him, and he ended up placing Jacob instead of Esau's faith was dampen can't read it for yourself fact, folks, if I'm not too unclear here.

I think I read in between the words they little but I think Isaac was a little bit that he ended up placing Jacob instead of Esau. You see, his faith was dampen but what came out of the strengthening of his vision. The solidifying of his faith.

Someone told me one time. Listen the quality of your faith and vision is not determined by when you're determined by when you're down you see folks, it's easy to win the national championship in football, but I'll tell you something. It's not easy to lose if you want to see the quality of the football team and its program. Don't watch it when they winning the national championship.

It's easy to run around the end zone, holding up number one and telling everybody how wonderful you are. It's another thing entirely to sit on the bench having been beat you want to see the quality of someone's life.

Watch them when they faith is dampen what is the Bible teachers when our faith is dampened it defines us. It sets those blocks of excellence number six and accepting faith is accomplishing Paul put it like this. He said all things work together for the good of those that love God, to those who are the called according to his Isaac was willing to accept, whether on Mount Moriah weather with the sons whether he was hunting Rebecca.

It didn't matter what circumstance was in the Bible says and accepting faith is accomplishing. And then there is a final principle here, and aging faith is ultimately honoring.

Do you know that Sharon Hebrews chapter 11 as we read in Genesis. Isaac was a very old man folks I tell you what there is something remarkably significant about senior adults who have walk with the Lord Jesus, who have loved him, who have proved him and then all their sharing others on siding you convert, you can. I know you can because of the listen I can call my sons and daughters and you can call your sons and daughters in and give them every kind of advice you want to, but I'm going to tell you something. Folks, there is nothing more significant than when Granny and grandpa Walken and grandpa looks of that grand silence is go for its conference call son Cove comfort because I know I know God indeed trust God is God and God is using this broadcast to let you know he loves you as a plan for your life. You've heard the teaching preaching from Dr. Don Wilton to the pulpit steps in the studio to share his are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Christ. Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now.

Dear God, I know that Iversen and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross today, I repent of my sins and by faith I receive you into my in Jesus night, my friend. I welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting new if you just gave your life to Christ praying along with Dr. Wilton. Or maybe dedicated to life, you need to know that not only are we excited that the angels in heaven are choices for your choice to follow Jesus.

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