Faith we have, but belief we to be brought to. It must be divinely empowered. God goes with us and we are carried through waters.
(John 2:12; Hebrews 11:1)

Speaker: Renaldo Brown
Date: 2026-08-30
Time: Sun 6:30 pm
Sermon #13197

P. Renaldo Brown –

Good evening. Let’s all stand. Turn with me to John chapter 1. Please continue to pray for our pastor in Canada and P. Gary. Safe trip, safe return home.

 

Let’s do this in reverse tonight. Instead of me reading to you and I and I and you read silently, I’m going to read silently and you read to me. Let’s try that out. It’s the child in me. I like to be somebody to read to me, you know. Okay. So, turn to John chapter 1:12. Can you read that together to me? Okay. It’s on the screens behind me. On the count of three. Ready? One, two, three. John, just the one verse. Okay. Now, turn to Hebrews chapter 11:1. I think we should work on our corporate reading skills. There’s got to be a class for that somewhere in the Bible school.

 

How many of you have Bible? You listen to the Bible in your car. You listen to the Bible being read to you. So, you’re not used to reading it yourself. You’re used to having it read to you. Okay. All right. Ready? Hebrews 11:1 only. One, two, three. Okay. Let’s pray. Oh, and of course. P. Duke gave us the address. Thank you. Okay. (Prayer). 

 

You may be seated. For the less inclined, this is duct tape. Going to fix some things. Oh, no. I’m joking! Just joking. Okay. For those who don’t know what duct tape is, is there anybody in the room who doesn’t know what duct tape is? Well, I mean, hillbilly chrome. I mean, there, some cars, it’s a vital part of the car. There’s a thousand uses for duct tape. 

 

In fact, Christ, even spiritual Chris Arman’s Bible, this is a Bible cover for Chris Arman’s Bible. So, if you see his little Bible, the entire cover is duct tape. So, interestingly enough, duct tape can be used for anything and anywhere. How many have duct tape in your home? Okay, almost the whole room. Okay. There’s almost nothing you can’t do with duct tape. 

 

Well, there’s a scientist who tried to put that to the test. His name is Max Sherman, and he decided to test duct tape. So, he used duct tape and a variety of heating and air conditioning systems to measure its durability. And this is his report about the tests. 

 

#1. Duct tape failed all the durability tests consistently, often catastrophically, when used for a duct system. I don’t know how it got the name, because it’s horrible at sealing duct work. He goes on to say, you could use it for anything but air ducts. 

 

He says, I use it all the time, just not for air ducts. What makes this so interesting tonight is that people promote the use of duct tape, but scientifically it cannot be used for the very thing it was designed for. It’s useful for many things but it cannot fulfill its original purpose.

 

And faith is like that. The world, even the church, we use faith for so many things except the thing that God has ordained our faith for. We use it for everything, right? Anything I want to do, I’m going to use my faith to make it to push the issue. I trust in so many people and so many things. 

 

But Hebrews 11:1 talks about faith. And it says that faith is, that’s the thing that jumps out in that verse to me. Faith is. But the more you read the chapter, the more it reads that faith does more than faith is. You see the same thing in 1 Corinthians 13. It’s not so much about what love is, but what love does. Faith does. 

 

It’s really what Hebrews 11 is all about. What faith does and that’s what belief is. Belief is what faith does. Trusting is what faith does. That’s why Jesus died that we would have belief. Not that we would have faith. We had faith before we had Jesus. But believing is the activity of our faith. Believing is the engine work of our faith. Believing is the thing that pleases God, not just having faith. It’s believing. 

 

That’s the thing that those guys in Hebrews 11, those followers went through all those different scenarios and they were heroes of the faith because they used their faith. What made them heroic was that they used it. What makes you heroic is that you use it. it’s what angels look in at. 

 

Angels stare in to see you use your faith. They don’t stare in to see you make mistakes. People might look in but angels don’t look in. And if I can be – just thinking about this thought about what faith does. Believing. 

 

Being a bit transparent tonight. When I look at my life, I realize often my faith doesn’t – it’s shocking how easy I can not believe a situation, not believe God for something. How fragile is our faith. How easy it is not to trust. How easy to not flat out believe God. 

 

God gives you a word about a situation or a person or a thing and you flat out don’t believe him. Just don’t believe him. It’s not that we lack faith because we have faith. What we lack is belief. I lack belief for so many things. Shockingly simple small things you just don’t trust God for. And no one knows that but you and him. But you know it. 

 

You find yourself like that father in Mark 9:24. He’s got a sick son and he comes to Jesus as a parent would do. You want the best for your child. So, you’re going to gather up, bundle up your sick child and come to the one person who should be able to help. And the only reason why you’re coming is because you believe that they can help. But even though you believe they can help, you still have doubt. 

 

How many things have you brought to God and you know that God could do something but you have doubt that he will do it. So, the father walks in with his son. He says, Lord, I believe but help me in my unbelief. Help me. I lack belief. 

 

See, faith is our gift from God positionally as a human being and as a Christian. Faith is our gift from God. But believing is ours progressively through relationship with Jesus Christ. I wake up in the morning in faith. I don’t wake up believing. I find that in my relationship with God. 

 

And because we’re human, we don’t learn well, We learn slowly, unevenly, stubbornly. We don’t always believe God for the right things and we don’t always believe God the right way. We don’t always believe God at all. How much of our day do we spend not believing God? Believing that he is but not believing him for, that’s the context of verse 6 of Hebrews 11. 

 

Our faith doesn’t please God. Our belief is what pleases God. That’s what pleases God. That’s what’s attractive about my life when I believe God. When I believe him. Those weak moments that you have where you barely have an inch of trust in God and you don’t know how it’s going to go. 

 

You’re like, Ah, come on, God. It’s only you. I don’t know. And God’s like, Yes, that’s it. That’s the highlight of the day, not how many books you read, how many psalms you can quote. Did you trust me? That’s the floor of our relationship. 

 

Faith doesn’t really please God. Faith that’s used pleases God. That’s what’s attractive to God. And our advantage in learning and this is important, because often you come to church, people say trust God. And the first question you push back is, How? We make the assumption that we know how to trust God. 

 

Imagine if God stood in heaven and said, Trust me. That’s not how God does it. See, the thing is, faith is not something that is built upon our efforts. Otherwise, the people who could trust God the most are the ones who would try the hardest. But God is actually teaching us to trust him. We are actually learning day by day to trust God. 

 

We don’t know how to trust god. You didn’t get saved and have a capacity. You had a capacity, but you didn’t have a skill in trusting God. We don’t know how to trust God. And everything that comes in my life is a different lesson from God and teaching me how to trust him. 

 

So, you’ll never outgrow that lesson, because there’s always some new way God wants to teach me to learn how to trust him. God is not only asking me to trust him. He’s teaching me to trust him. We’re learning how to trust God. So, really when we grow, we don’t grow in faith. We grow in belief. You don’t get more faith, but you grow in the application of the faith that you already have from God. 

 

We’re learning how to apply it. We’re learning how to believe God in different scenarios, in different situations. We’re learning how to trust God. We’re learning. Our advantage in this learning and trusting God is God himself. He’s both the lesson and the teacher. We’re learning. 

 

And that’s why we can’t fail. He’s the lesson and he’s the teacher. So, there’s no failure. There’s only learning. Paul said it best in Philippians 2:13. He said, it is God. That’s our advantage and how we learn how to trust God. The advantage I have in trusting God is God. The lesson I have in trusting God is God. The capacity I have in trusting God is God. It is him.

 

He’s the one who frames our faith with his grace. He’s the one who leads our faith by his Spirit. It’s him. He’s the one that motivates our faith by love. It’s him. If you grew at all in faith, it’s because of him. There’s no glory to me. There’s no skill to me. “I’ve been serving God for 20 years.” You did nothing. I’ve accomplished nothing. You have nothing. What can you bring to God and say you did? Nothing. 

 

Ephesians 2:10 says even the work that God has called you to, he planned in advance and it was already his credit before you did it. God got the credit before you actually even did the work. It’s him. It’s him. 

 

He’s leading us forward in believing him. God is leading us in trusting him. He’s leading us in teaching us to trust him. Right? And you’ll have your moments in Mark 9:24, moments when you’re like that father. And you’ll have them. And I’ve had them, and you’ll have some more because faith class is not closed yet. You’re still in class. We’re still learning. 

 

And when those moments come, you can run back to Philippians 2:13 and you can be very brief and you can say, It’s God. My faith is weak, but it’s God. My faith seems small, but it’s God. I have a hard time trusting him for this. This is too much. And it is still God. It is still God. 

 

And when I can think about it in that way, it is God. It redirects my focus from my lack and it leads me to his liberty. That he is God no matter how much I trust him. That he will reign in my life no matter how much I trust him. And all I’ve got to do is let him lead me in trusting him. Let him lead me forward. 

 

I’m not chasing God. I’m being led by God. It’s from my side. It seems like I’m running 100 miles an hour, but God is gently leading me. Bread crumbs of grace. He’s just kind of dropping them down really lightly, like just leading me. 

 

When you see the relationship between Adam and God in the Garden, you can see God just leading him. Okay, name the animals here. Okay, do this. I’ll meet you here every day at this time. He just leads him. Just leads him. He leads us. 

 

Isn’t that the story of our life? It is God, really. Isn’t that the story of our faith? Isn’t that the story of our ministry? The four most important words in the Bible about our faith, coincidentally, are the first four words of the Bible: In the beginning, God. 

 

In the beginning of my trouble, in the beginning, God. In the beginning of my struggle, God. In the beginning of this church, God. In the beginning of my day, God. In the beginning of my failure, God. And in the beginning, it’s always him. 

 

When you get confused with what is going on in your life, open your Bible to the first four words. Let that be your devotional. Let that be your meme. Let that be your mission statement. Let that be your exclamation point. What’s going on at morning devotional? Wake up. Coffee. In the beginning, God. Simple.

 

It is God. Because when God is on the scene, everything changes. When God is on the scene, no one escapes. And God is on the scene. It’s not about my will, my plan, my way. I’ve done all this or I’ve done all of that and all this is happening. I don’t understand it. It’s okay. 

 

In the beginning, God. Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end, Creator, originator of the world. It’s him. That’s the starting point. That’s where my life begins. Right at the beginning of the Bible, God makes it clear. Open your Bible. Here I am. Right in your face. Right in your face. 

 

Before I talk about redemption, before I talk about justification, before I talk about the church, Israel, me. How about me? Before you start arguing doctrine, me. All your plans. What’s my gifts? What’s my calling? Where’s my church? Who’s my pastor? Me. Right here. Right now. Me. How about that? How about in the beginning, me. 

 

But I got to figure out how I’m going to get that school, job, husband, children. In the beginning, me. Says it’s me. But your prayers are my, my, my, my and his response is me, me, me, me, me. Preaching me. 

 

Life begins with him. Life continues with him forever. It’s him. In the beginning, it’s him. And we are learning to do that. We’re learning to see those first four words. We’re learning to trust God. You were not born again trusting God. You were born again with a capacity to trust God. And you grow in that capacity. We grow in that capacity. 

 

And we learn Psalm 16:8. We learn how to set the Lord before our face. The psalmist said, “I’ve set the Lord always before me, because he’s at my right hand and I shall not be moved.” Why is it personal pronoun I shall not be moved? Because God doesn’t move. I do. 

 

I’m weak. I’m frail. I can move. He doesn’t move. So, I make the decision in the moment to put him in the front to do the first four.  I put him in the front. I learn to trust God. This is what trusting God looks like. You put him in the front of your situation. 

 

You put him in the front of your relationship. You put him in the front of your sin. You put him in the front of your dilemma. You put him in the front of your confusion. And he speaks with his character and his words in his life. He speaks. 

 

And when the moments happen, and they do, Revelation 2:4-5, when he’s not in front, we forget. All your Bible will not protect you from forgetting. All your Bible school will not protect you from forgetting. All your years, this never happens. It will happen. 

 

Maybe today to quote P. Schaller, you never outgrow stupid. It’s right there. It’s right there. I’ve been doing this for 90 years and you can still be stupid. Enjoy that. Welcome to humanity. When that moment happen and the Lord – there’s no Psalm 16:8 in front of me, and the Lord is not set before my face, in that moment, I can, 2 Corinthians chapter 10:5-6, I can revenge disobedience with obedience and put him right back. 

 

Don’t regret the previous moment. Revenge the next moment. Bring him back. Bring him back. Don’t get confused about what happened. Forgetting the things which are behind. Bring it back. Bring him back. 

 

Romans 11:36, “for of him, through him, to him are all things. To him be the glory forever.” That’s it. It’s him. Our faith moves forward because of him. Our faith moves forward with him. Our faith moves forward by him. If you can trust God tomorrow, it’s because God helped you to do it. It wasn’t because you just were so skillful. I’m a strong Christian. No, God literally led you to trust him. And in the maturity of that lesson, you learn how to trust God.

 

So, there’s one skill we walk into the church and we assume we know how to do, it’s trust God. And if there’s one thing we miserably faith at all the time, it’s trusting God. And God says, hey, instead of you trying to do without me, let me teach you how to do it with me. Let me lead you. Let me lead you, right? 

 

That’s the first lesson in the church, learning how to believe God. Mark 11:22, to believe. That’s the first lesson. And the very God who gave us faith to believe is the very God who’s teaching us how to believe and what to believe. The very God. We’re not just asked by God to believe. We’re not just equipped to believe, but God is teaching us how to do that. This is the activity of our life. 

 

Why are you alive today? To learn how to believe God. Because that lesson is not going to be in eternity. That’s a time lesson. Because faith is inside of time. So, I can only learn this lesson in time. So, every day, in every way, in every moment, I’m learning how to trust God. Learning how to do that. This is the activity of our life.

 

You may wonder why when Christians get born again for the first time, all the time. Anyway, when they get saved, they first book we give them is what? Gospel of John. Why do we give them the Gospel of John? #1. It talks about Jesus Christ than most of the four Gospels. 

 

#2. Because 98 times in the Gospel of John, faith is a verb. It’s not just the possession of faith. It’s trusting. It’s believing. And when, if you read the Gospel of John from the beginning to the end, 98 times John is saying, Believe, believe, believe, believe, believe, believe. He’s stimulating the mind to trust God.

 

John says, Don’t just be content to have faith, but be bold enough to use it. Be bold enough to use it. At the beginning of the Gospel in John 1:12, what does it say? He says, Believe. And at the end of the Gospel in John 20:30-31, from the first mention to the last mention hermeneutics he says it, believe. He says believe. In John 1:12. He said begin believing. And in John 20, he says please continue to believe. And that’s the lesson in my life. 

 

My life is not I’ve learned that. I can quote Scripture. I’ve learned doctrine where I know I’ve learned to trust God. If I’ve learned to trust God, I don’t have to know everything. If I’ve learned to trust God, a lot of things that seem to matter, don’t matter. Not so much. You learn to trust God, your stress levels will drop. They will. 

 

Because trusting god means that I don’t trust something else. I’m not so worried about other things. And if there’s a hole in my faith, it’s trusting God. The area that I really want to grow in is trusting God. Active faith. 

 

And in that lesson that we’re learning to trust God, there’s a hidden lesson. There’s a hidden lesson. That as we’re learning to trust God, we’re also learning to know God. Were learning to know God as we learn to trust God. 

 

So, you cannot say I’m learning God if you’re not learning to trust God. So, the first lesson is learning to trust God. As you learn to trust God, it builds a capacity for you to know God. And the capacity you know God is measured by the capacity you can trust him. Otherwise, it’s just knowledge, really. As we grow in one, we grow in the other. 

 

As we grow in our capacity to trust, we grow in our capacity to know, right? We grow in our capacities. Colossians 2:19 says it well. We increase in the increase of God. I like the translations with that verse. One translation says grows with a growth which is from God. Another translation: grows with the growth that can only come from God. Another translation: as it grows by the power of God. And this one I like. Really nice. As God causes it to grow. 

 

So, God as he’s teaching me to trust him in the lesson of teaching me to trust him, I’m also getting to know him. So, principle of increase God is saying this, spiritual growth is atmospheric. In the atmosphere of my relationship with Jesus Christ, in that relationship, he’s teaching me two things: who to trust which is him and who he is which is grace. Who he is and who to trust. 

 

And this growth is not self-imposed. You cannot make your faith grow. Have you tried? Don’t raise your hands. Have you tried? Have you tried to duct tape? Have you tried to duct tape your faith and build it, hold it together? 

 

Remember being in Sunday school? I’m going to make my faith grow. Or you look at somebody else’s life and say, Man, their faith is really growing. Wow. How do you know? Their mind can be racked with doubt and gossip. “Oh, they’re so spiritual.” You don’t know. Really, you don’t. 

 

Growth is not self-imposed. It’s divinely empowered. God empowers our faith to grow. He helps our faith to grow. How? God is leading me. God is leading you. He’s leading us in faith to trust him by faith to grow in faith so that it’s not a projection or it’s not a motivation of my will as much as the submission of my will. 

 

That’s how our faith grows, through the submission of my will, not the ability of my will. No one in this room can make their faith grow. You can feed it, but you can’t make it grow. Like you can put all this fertilizer and all the right soil for a tree, but God is the one that makes the tree grow. 

 

You ever had a plant, you do everything right and it still dies. That’s just God correcting you. He’s like, I’m the one that gives life. You can go to Home Depot and buy everything you want to. If I want it to live, it lives. If I don’t want it to live, it’s dead. Enjoy that. 

 

So, God says your faith will grow because I empower it. So, not because you’re trying so hard to be a good Christian and trust God. No, no great Christian was built that way through self-effort, because then guess what happens? You get the glory. 1 Corinthians 1:29, “no flesh will glory in his presence.” So, if you’re glorying in your faith and how much you trust God, God’s going to break that. Gonna break that. 

 

And it’s a good picture of this lesson, this double lesson between learning how to trust God, which you never outgrow, by the way. It’s not too simplistic for you to learn how to trust God. “Well, I can give you categorical doctrine for days.” Can you trust God? You know a lot about God’s mind, but can you trust his character? Can you trust him? That’s the lesson. That’s the lesson. 

 

And there’s a good picture of this lesson of trust, learning how to trust God at the same tine learning who God is in Ezekiel chapter 47. Let’s turn to Ezekiel 47. I’m almost done. One more hour and we’re done. Just joking. Just – it’s okay. I just say, I just saw Ryan look at me. One more hour. He’s like, his eyes go huge. He said, Oh gosh. Okay. 

 

Let’s look at vs. 1 of Ezekiel 47. And just a little background here. Ezekiel is prophesying through visions to the nation of Judah. And he has six major visions. The first four are not good. They’re visions of judgment. But the last two, that’s where the hope comes in. 

 

And I love that about God. He always says the judgment, but then he gives you backdoor hope, and says, I got to discipline you, but I got something coming that’s better than the discipline. He always does that, right? The great comeback. 

 

And of the two visions, this chapter 47 is kind of like the back half of the second vision, almost the end of the chapter near the back of the book. It’s about the temple. And in the temple, he speaks about this river of life. And then this river of life, ironically, it flows from a temple. 

 

What’s shocking about that is in Israel, there are no rivers. #2. What country has rivers that flow from a building? Nevertheless, the temple of God. But this is what’s happening in the vision. Okay. Vs. 1. Ezekiel 47:1-2. You’ll notice he’s being led the whole time. He keeps saying he brought me. He doesn’t say it, it doesn’t say Ezekiel went. It says the person brought him.

 

And I believe this is the radiant man from the guy who’s bronze appearance in Ezekiel 40:3. I believe this is the same guy. At any rate, he’s bringing Ezekiel. Ezekiel doesn’t move unless this guy is moving him. And it seems Ezekiel moves in step with this guy. Same pace, same place. He’s moving with him.

 

And if you – in the Hebrew, it brings it out here. The water that comes from underneath the door, it seems like it’s increasing in momentum and speed. So, it seems like Ezekiel’s movement and the water’s movement are both increasing at the same time. They’re both moving slow and they’re moving faster. 

 

So, it appears as he moved in faith, the water increased in size and speed. Faith moves. Things move. Faith moves. Things move. It’s an amazing lesson. But Ezekiel doesn’t know about the water increasing. Ezekiel’s just following the radiant man. He’s just following the guy with the bronze appearance. He’s just following. He’s being led by faith. He’s following the guy by faith. And by faith, he’s following him right in.

 

Meanwhile, the water’s increasing and things are moving. And you and me, we’re just following God. It’s not my job to figure out how this is going to work, how that’s going to work. That’s not my job. I have one job. Follow him. Trust him. If I can do that, things move. Things move. Things move. 

 

Let’s go to verse 3 cuz I read the first two verses. Vs. 3. That’s the same man from vs. 1. That’s so good right there. It doesn’t say he brought me to the waters. It says he brought me through the waters. And the water was to his ankles. 

 

A thousand cubits is about a third of a mile. But I love the way that he brought him. He didn’t just say, There’s the water. He said he brought him through it together. They went through the water together. When Ezekiel’s water was to his ankles, it was also to the ankles of the unnamed man. He didn’t say go get in the water. They got in the water together. I love that. 

 

The river was not something for Ezekiel just to stare at, to look at and say, Hmm, that’s amazing. No, get in the water, Ezekiel. More importantly, follow me. We’re in the water together. They’re both in the water to their ankles. That is learned faith. God leads me into an activity. He doesn’t direct me but he leads me. And then I have the faith to follow. I have the faith to go, and I have the faith to go with God. There’s nothing God wants me to lead me into that he will not go with me, and there’s nothing he will not guide me through. Nothing. 

 

The water’s at their ankles. This is interesting. I like the water at the ankles. But children, this just is proof you’ve been in the water. They go to the beach, and they just want to get their feet in the water at the ankles. Okay, that’s enough. It’s too much. Or for those that don’t like the beach, you just want to put your feet in the water, get the sand off, and then go sit down and read a book, but you’re not serious about the water. 

 

I call this curiosity level. And when you’re learning how to trust god, you have this curiosity level. I think I’ll trust God and see what happens. We’ll see. I’m still sussing Jesus out. How is this going to work? Ankle level. But he brought me in together. We’re both at the ankles. And he says, Let’s go a little deeper.

 

He wants, God doesn’t want to lead you out. He wants to lead you on. He wants to take you a little further. But you say, Guys, up to my ankles here. Let’s go. Let’s go. And when you’ve been walking with God for a while, you’ve been in the water to your ankles, you can trust him for the knees.

 

Now, when you get to the knees, that’s a little different. If you notice, by the way, the deeper the water gets, the slower you move. You were running through the water at your ankles. But now when it’s at your knees, you’re kind of, you’re kind of, it’s first of all, you’re walking slower, right? You were, you were walking before and now you’re kind of wading and you kind of look at this. Now, you’re kind of aware. You understand that you are not really in control of this situation. 

 

You begin to feel the power of God on you in your life. Have you ever felt the power of God in your life? He’s convicted you about something. He’s given you a word in season. He’s told you no. and you’re like, really? No. Okay. Fine. You kind of get all stubborn. You like, you know, but I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to forgive him. I’m sorry. 

 

You don’t want to. You don’t want to do it. you’re knee but now you’re at knee level. You feel God’s power in your life. You’re like, okay, God. Psalm 42:7, “the deep calls into the deep.” And now you’re starting to believe. 

 

Then you get, then you get engaged. That’s waist deep. When you get engaged waist deep, not only do you feel the power of God’s leading in your life, others can see an effect on you. Cuz when the water’s to your waist, I can see you can barely move. You can, you can’t move more than a meter or two or three feet, and people can see that you’re limited. What starts to happen at the waist level is divine limitation. 

 

Because you’re led by faith, you do less. But end up doing less because God is leading you. You actually accomplish more. Have you notice that? That when you do things with God, it seems like you say no to a lot of things, but when you say yes, bing. It’s amazing. It’s amazing. Now, you’re learning dependence on god. 

 

You’re not just trusting God for the things you can’t do. You start trusting God for the things you can do, and you trust him anyway. Then the water starts getting higher. You begin to increase in the increase of God. Then you reach a place where you’re completely submerged. 

 

Vs. 4. I love that statement, “and brought me through.” Vs. 5. There’s going to be a place where John 3:30-31 becomes a reality in your life. When you feel overwhelmed in a good way. When you feel captured by God about something. It might not be everything, but in a situation, you feel captured by God. Like, I’m just with God in this. I have no strength. I have no capacity. I’m just with God in this. It will go as it will god. And I will be with him because I trust him. 

 

I have little to say. I have little to comment. I don’t have a lot of words. I’m just trusting god and it will go as and if the current takes us like this, then so we go. I’m with him. And by the way, the whole time in this vision, the unnamed man is in the water with Ezekiel. At no time in Ezekiel in the water and he’s by himself. 

 

At the ankles, it was him and Jesus. At the knees, it was him and Jesus. At the waist, it was him and Jesus. At the loins, it was him and Jesus. Up to the neck, it was him and Jesus. And everywhere you and I go, it’s him. It’s you and Jesus. To the point where you get overwhelmed where knowing God and trusting God become one in your experience. 

 

Where you’ve gone beyond your ability. Where you cease to support yourself. You’ve given up your will for his will. This is where God wants to get us. And I’ll close with this. Our faith is not a production of our will but rather a submission of our will. And we are learning how to submit our will to God. And when we do, we find the object and the teacher of our faith has been carrying us all along. 

 

We discover the hidden blessing of knowing him. So, to know him begins on the road and learning how to trust him. And as we do through storms, through everything that goes right and wrong, God says, I’m not asking for perfect behavior. I’m asking for trust. Trust me. 

 

Let me teach you and lead you how to trust me. And whatever happens in your life, that’s the lesson. That’s the lesson. He did this. That’s the lesson. She said that. That’s the lesson. Let’s enjoy the lesson of God and find him. Amen.

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