Faith Factory: How to become a miracle worker

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Who you are listening to, what you are listening to and how you are listening are all important determinants if you want to retain the ability to produce faith in your heart.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Started talking about the faith that works. Hebrews 11, verse 6. Hebrews 11, verse 6. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. So whoever comes to God must believe that he is. Must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. The Bible is clear. If you plan, intend to please God, you need faith. If you ever wish to please God, if you ever had a desire that you want to do something that is pleasing to God, if it ever crossed your mind that you would like to put a smile on Jesus' face, you like to put a smile on God's face, the instrument you need is faith. You see, you can please God without wisdom. The Bible tells us that wisdom is the principal thing. Yes, but you know you can please God without wisdom. But without faith, it is impossible to, yes, if you don't have wisdom, your life may be a taskter, your life may not be put together, but you know, you give your life to Christ and you are just going with emotion. You may be able to please God without wisdom, but without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. So today we want to move on. Let me do a quick recap of what we have done so far. We talked about what Bible faith is not. You see, many of us have had this experience. You thought you had faith, and then that thing did not work. You thought you had faith, you thought your faith was strong, were believing God for that thing, and then it didn't work. Maybe you did not have Bible faith. So we started talking about what Bible faith is not. We said Bible faith is not action, Bible faith is not just action. Hebrews 11 verse 29. Hebrews 11 verse 29. The children of Israel crossed the Red Sea as on as on a dry ground, and the Egyptians attempting to do the same were what? They were drowned. Hebrews 11, 29. So faith is not just action. Faith is not, oh, I saw that person doing that thing, so let me just copy them. Let me just take a step of faith. No, that is not Bible faith. Bible faith is not action. We also said that Bible faith is not taking a risk. Bible faith is not taking a risk, it's not that it's not it's not open for the best. That's not what that's not what Bible faith is. We also said that faith is not a leap in the blind. Faith is not a leap in the blind. Faith is not it's not just you know, you don't know what it's going to be, you just jump into it. I give the example that we used to hear this a lot when we're growing up that you know, um the the marriage market is a black market. Is that the marriage market is a black market? So you just go to the place and you just you know close your eyes and you just pick something, and when you get home, you hope for the best. You know, faith is not like that. Faith is not just opening the blind and just speaking for the best. No, that's not what Bible faith is. And so, what did we say Bible faith is? We said Bible faith is acting on the word of God. Bible faith is acting on the word of God. There is no faith if you cannot tell us what word of God is undergarding it. You don't have faith if you cannot tell us what is underpinning your faith. This will help you. This is how to become a miracle worker. This is how to become a miracle. You have a word of God that underpins your faith and your confessions. We said that faith is obeying God's word, and we said faith is cooperating with God. God told Moses when they got to the to the bank of the Red Sea, He said, Lift up your rod over the sea. If Moses had not lifted up his rod, the sea may not have parted. So, yes, faith is us cooperating with God, doing what we have to do to cause a miracle in our life, to cause that divine intervention in our lives. It is cooperating with God. There is something you must do, there is something I must do for us to have the results that we want. We also talked about how do you acquire faith. I'm just doing a quick recap before we get into the message of today. How do you acquire faith? You acquire faith through the word of God. Somebody said through the word of God. Yes, you acquire faith through the word of God. If you are looking for any other means to acquire faith, um, that is illegal. Any Bible faith must be acquired based on the word of God. And what do you do with the word of God? The word of God is so big, 66 books. Where do I start? Well, you start by reading it and then you study it. After you studied it, then you listen to preaching and teaching by anointed men of God. You listen to preaching and teaching by anointed men of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. You read books of proven authors. That is how this is how you you acquire faith. You read books. The Bible says in Ezekiel chapter 2, verse 2. Ezekiel chapter 2, verse 2. As he spoke to me, the spirit entered into me. You see, as he spoke to me, what happened? The spirit entered into you. So you can catch the spirit of faith as you are listening to somebody. Yes, you can catch the spirit of faith as you read a book, as you read testimonies, you can catch the spirit of faith. And we said you walk with people that have strong faith. You walk with people that have so you walk with people that have testimony of proven faith. You walk with people that have that have been in the fairy furnace and they were not burned. You walk with people who have quenched the the the feariness of fire through their faith. You walk with people who have stopped the mouth of lions, those are the people you work with. You don't work with people that keep dragging you down, that keep telling you it's impossible. No, you work with people of faith. And last week we talked about faith blockers. We talked about things that inhibit our faith, things that hinder our faith. Why we want to please God, there are some things in our lives, there's some things in life that we must pay attention to. I call them the faith blockers, they block your faith, they render your faith impotent. What are some of those things? Sin is primary of those things. There is something about sin that makes you run away from God. There's something about sin that makes you that makes you eye, that makes you cower in the face of holiness, that makes you cower in the face of purity. Sin. So if you have sin in your life, you have unrepented sin in your life, you cannot have the kind of faith that you need. You cannot have the kind of Bible faith when you have sin in your life. You see, we said faith is the culmination. Faith is the culmination of the actions we take based on our confidence in God. What is faith? Faith is the culmination of the actions we take based on our confidence in God. Well, you cannot have a confidence, you cannot have confidence in the God that you are running away from. Adam, where are you? The Lord came in the cool of the day. Adam, where are you? He said, I heard your voice and I did what? And I hid myself because he had sinned, he had rebelled against God. You cannot have faith in a God, you cannot have confidence in a God that you are running away from. So if you have unrepented sin in your life, you deal with it if you want your faith to produce, if you want your faith to work. We also said offenses is something that can render our faith impotent. Offenses will render your faith impotent. You see, you deal with offenses the same way you deal with demons. If you if your attitude towards offenses is that you can have them around, your faith will be impotent. Your faith will be impotent. The devil knows that every time you have you have the need of faith, you need to believe God for something big, something strong, something that will move your life forward. What does he do? He fashions offense and brings offense into your life. Somebody cuts you off in traffic. That happened to me. I was going for a walk. I was going for a walk, I was praying, going for a walk. And I mean, I had the right of way to cross the zebra. And this guy almost eats me and he started honking again. I was like, oh my goodness. Where do you start? You know, when the devil knows that you are in need of faith, what does he do? He fashions offense, it brings offense your way. And when you allow offense, your faith becomes impotent. Your faith becomes impotent. And we said foolish arguments. There are those who have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. You don't engage in foolish arguments, don't engage in foolish arguments. There are arguments that don't just move things forward, you you you you stay away from it. That's what the Bible tells us to do. Stay away from people who are always arguing. Arguing is Jesus, I mean, how can you have three gods? Well, we that we are Christians and we are still trying to understand Trinity, not to talk of you that you are not a Christian, you know, you know, so you stay away from foolish arguments that don't add to your faith, and finally, we stay away from pride. Pride would make our faith impotent, fright, pride will make our faith impotent. Why? Because God resists the proud, but it would also give grace to the humble. God resists, how can you have faith in the God that is resisting you? You know, it just doesn't work. How can you have faith in the God that is that you are in contention with? How can you expect the God that you are in contention with to deploy his resources in your in your direction? No, he doesn't do that because he resists the proud. But what does it do to the humble? It gives grace to the humble. These are some things that hinder our faith, amongst many others. These are some things we considered that hinders our faith. Today we want to talk about faith factory. How do you produce faith in your heart? How do you produce faith in your heart? How do you produce faith in our heart? If you can learn this, you'll become a miracle worker. If you can learn this, if you understand this, you will become a miracle worker. The goal, our goal at the landmark church is to equip us, equip us, equip us with knowledge, equip us with insights so that we can live the kind of life, the kind of victorious life that God wants us to live. You see, to live the kind of victorious life that God wants us to live. So that you're not always running to a pastor or running to a prophet. You produce faith in your heart, and then that faith produces results in your life. Somebody say amen to that. I said somebody say amen to that. Right? Faith factory. Let's call that faith factory today. How we produce faith in our hearts. Father, speak to us this morning. Send us a word in Jesus' mighty name. We have prayed. Acts chapter 14, verse 7 to 10. Acts chapter 14, verse 7 to 10. Acts chapter 14, verse 7 to 10. And they were preaching the gospel there. Can we reduce it a little bit? And they were preaching the gospel there and in Lystra. Lystra is one of the cities in the region of Galatia. Listra is one of the cities in the re in the region of Galatia. Um, just like you have the DMV area and you have many towns in the DMV. Lystra is one of the cities in the region of Galatia. And they were preaching the gospel there, and in Lystra, a certain man without strength in his feet. Somebody say without strength in his feet. Without strength in his feet was sitting a cripple from his mother's womb who had never walked. He says, This man heard Paul speaking. Paul observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand up straight on your feet, and he leaped and walked. Paul observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand up straight on your feet, and he leaped and walked. This man, even though he did not have strength in his feet, he had strength in his heart. Even though he did not have strength in his feet, he had what? Strength in his heart. With the heart, man believes. With the heart, what man believes, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. The most important place where you need strength is in your heart. Let me start by saying that. You may not have strength on your feet, but if you still have strength in your heart to believe God for something, then that situation has not has not ended. You see, this man was the author of his own miracle. This man was the author of his own miracle. Paul only supported and aided the completion of what had already started in the man's heart. Paul only supported and hated what had already started in the man's heart. Perhaps this man, as he was hearing Paul speaking, he was shuffling, he was shuffling his feet. Paul looked at him. He was was he was trying to do something. He was trying to do something. Paul saw that it was the beginning of his own miracle. This man was the author of his own miracle. He started it, he started in his heart. You saw it. He said, Look at it. He had Paul, and Paul observing him intently, seeing that he had faith to be healed. He had faith to be healed. And that's the first thing I want to say to us this morning that you must take responsibility for your own miracle. You must take responsibility for your own miracle. Somebody say amen. Yes, you are your own number one miracle worker. You are your own number one miracle worker. I'm saying that the miracle you are expecting in your life, you are going to have to work for it. I don't know if you want to hear this this morning. I said the miracle you are expecting in your life, you are going to have to work for it. See, that's why it says miracle worker. You are looking for a miracle worker, but you don't want to work for it. You have to work for your miracle. You see, gone are the days where you just bring yourself to a man of God and they lay hands on you and vow. The miracle doesn't happen. No, those days are gone. Those days are gone. There is inflation in the realm of the spirit. There is inflation. There's inflation in the realm. I say that partly jokingly, but trust me, there is inflation. What you could get for five minute prayer before. You can't get it for five, you can't get it again now for five minutes prayer. By observation, you know that there's inflation now. You don't cost, things are costly now. So gone are the days when you just you know come and just say, Oh, pray for me. No. What you could get before by just passively showing up to a man of God, you can't get it anymore. Things are different. I'm saying that you can't expect a miracle, you can't expect a divine intervention from God, and you are not ready to do anything to make it happen. That's what I'm trying to tell you. You have to be ready to do something to make it happen. You have to be ready to do something to make it happen. This man was a participant in his own deliverance. I was reading the book by Derek Prince, and he was saying that the people in his ministry of ministering to um the oppressed and the and the um demonized, he said the people that get the most results and the quickest results are the people that have that have decided themselves that they have a problem and they have named it. They name it, they don't say you don't come to a pastor and you say, Oh, I have a problem, you know. I I just I'm drawn to women that are not my wife, or I'm drawn to the opposite sex. No, you name it. You have a problem of loss, you have a demon of loss that we need to cast out. The people that name their issues, they are the quickest to get delivered. And the people that are actively participating in the process of deliverance, they are the quickest to get delivered. But if you like it, if you like the problem and you are just passive about it, you are you know, you don't care if it goes, you don't care if it's no, your deliverance will take a longer time. The people that name their issues that say this is my problem, and I need I need a solution to this problem, they get the fastest results. You don't scum, you don't say, Oh, I have an issue, you know. I I cut, you know, you say you you have you have a problem with lying, you name it. When you name it, then it's easy for you to address it. You have a handle to address that thing, you are actively participating. Are we saying it is wrong to go to a to a man of God for prayers? No, we're not saying that. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that is there any sick among you, let him call the elders of the church to pray for them. So, yes, we still go to pastors or leaders to pray for us, but we are saying that you must be a participant in your own miracle. What the pastor should do should only be to complement what is already taking place in your heart. Is somebody hearing what I'm saying? I said, Is somebody hearing what I'm saying? Yes, the pastor just compliments what is already taking place in your heart. We join faith with you, and that's why we teach the word of God, so that faith can be built in our hearts. You see, so you go to a man of God, you say, such and such reasons are the reasons are the are the scriptures I know that God will heal me. These are the reasons why I know God will deliver me, because you have done the work. These are the reasons why I know that I will not be barren in this land. You see, you've done the work. These are the reasons why I know that I will I will get married because you've done the work. These are the reasons why I know I will I will be I will get a job because you've done the work. As long as you can generate faith in your heart, that situation is not completed. Write that down. As long as you can generate faith in your heart, that situation is not a forgone conclusion. Write it down. As long as I can generate faith in my heart, that situation is not a foregone conclusion. Yes. This man, he did not have strength in his legs, but he had faith in his heart. He did not have strength in his legs, but he had faith in his heart. Man looks at the outward, God looks at the heart. That's what that's what we found out in in the book of Samuel. Man looks at the outward, God looks where? At the inside. As long as I can still generate faith in my heart. That situation is not a foregone conclusion. Don't be so quick to to write off a man that can still generate faith in his heart. Yes. Don't be so quick to write off a man that he may be crippled in his legs, but if he can still generate faith in his heart, that situation can turn around. Yes. Don't be so quick to write off somebody that you know their outside does not look like it. Give them time. As long as they can still generate faith in their hearts, that situation can be changed. Somebody say amen. How is faith produced in your heart? Let's look at this story. Let's look at a little closer at this story. How is faith produced in your heart? Number one, who you are listening to. Who you are listening to. I'm gonna share three things. Who you are listening to. How is faith produced in your heart? That Acts chapter 14, verse, verse 9. Acts 14, verse 9. Look at what it says. Acts 14, verse 9. It says, This man what heard Paul speaking. Somebody say, Heard Paul. Say it louder. Say heard Paul. Yes, this man heard Paul speaking. He was listening to Paul. He was listening to Paul. So when it comes to our faith, when we were much younger, we used to say that variety is the spice of life. You say variety is the spice of life. And this is true in many regards. You know, in friendship, for example, you you know, you want variety. The reason you like one friend may not be the reason you like another friend. When I was in school, above my law university, you know, there were friends that we liked because of their intellect, they can help us with homework and assignments, right? I mean, how many people know what I'm talking about? Yeah, we like them because they can help us with homework assignments, so we like them for that. We like some friends because um they can feed us, they can give us food. Yes, there are some friends that we like because they can give us food. So you want a variety of friends. I'm afraid that I think I was liked by some of my dubious friends because of how well I cook beans. And I'm afraid, even in my house today, some people I think some people still like me because of how well I cook my beans. I hope their love is not limited to that. You know, some people like me because anytime they show up, I can cook beans for them. That's how they like me. I realize that if I want this man to do any other thing for me, it's like he's nowhere to be found. They just like me because there's always beans in that king's room, you know. So we like friends for different things. There are those we like for so you want the variety, but when it comes to your spiritual life, variety may not necessarily be the spice of life. When it comes to your spiritual life, when it comes to the sustainability of your spiritual experience, variety may not be the spice of life. Who are you listening to? Who are you listening to? Who are you listening to? You can't and you shouldn't open yourself up to everyone shouldn't open yourself to it's not every video that YouTube suggests to you that you click on, it's not every video that YouTube suggests to you that you click on. You hear what I'm telling you? Some things will corrupt you. They will corrupt you. They will corrupt you. If if the video you are always clicking on, you are so quick to click on, is the one that says, Pastor Adebo ye blasted. And you quickly go on, you quickly start clicking it, start listening to everything, Pastor Adebo ye blasted videos that are only designed for um control. Controversy. Videos that are that the intent behind them is controversy and division. You can't continue feeding on things like that and expect to have faith. You can't feed on those things for a week and then at the end of the week you are like, oh, where's where's my faith? Well, your faith has gone with all the things you have been watching. Who are you listening to? Who are you listening to? This is why, by the grace of God, God is helping us at the landmark job to set up the church as a place where people can be empowered primarily by the instrument of the word of God. It's not set up for entertainment, it is empowering people by the instrument of the word of God. Who are you listening to? You don't just pick any literature to read, you don't just speak any book to read. No, you you you have to have a filter when it comes to who you are exposing yourself to. You have a filter. This is good for me, this is bad for me. There are some videos. Once you watch them, you can't be the same again. You can't be the same again. So this man was listening to Paul. Now the question I want to ask myself is who was Paul or who is Paul? Who is Paul that this man was listening to? Paul is a person that has evidence of what they are talking about. Paul is who somebody that has evidence of what they are talking about. He has evidence of what is what he's talking about. Acts chapter 14, verse 3. He says, Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. Paul has an evidence for what he's talking about. Those are the people you listen to. People that have evidence of what they're talking about. You can't listen to somebody, you can't want to get out of poverty, and you are listening to somebody who is in poverty themselves. For example, when it comes to ministry and church growth, there are great ministries that we have around the area in North America, in this in this vicinity, that we pay attention to because they have evidence of what they're talking about. You know, I look to our father in the Lord, for example. You see how he has lasted in the ministry, lasted over the years, growing in leaps and bounds. Pastor Yadeboy gave his life to Christ since 1973. I was not born yet. 1973. Since he's been pastoring since 1975, he has spent 50 years as a general vassia. Evidence. Evidence of what he's talking about. Evidence of what he's talking about. So you listen with people, you listen to people that have proven proven results. You don't listen to people that have only have you know a ministry of correction. No, you listen to people that have a proven result. And it doesn't have to be a pastor of a church necessarily, it doesn't have to be a pastor of a church, it could be a friend that have proven their faith. Those are the people you listen to, people that have proven their faith. You listen to them. For example, the fact that I am in this country today, as you know, is a testimony of the faith of faith in God. You know, at the point when I was trusting God, you know, I was things were so bleak. I was already considering going back to Nigeria. I was like, I mean, this thing is not going to happen. I mean, I was just I was already considering going back to Nigeria, you know, but scriptures began to come alive in my heart. Wherever the soul of your feature tread, I will give it to you. Whenever the soul of your feature tread, I will I remember I would drive to Baltimore from Bowie, I would drive to Bob to the UCI's office and I will take my Bible, take my phone, and I'll be walking around the UCS office and I'll be speaking the word of God. Just walking around the place. I'm sure anybody saw me that time, like what's going on? Speaking the word of God to that thing, calling my file forward. Calling it forward, calling it forward. Drive there in the code. I'll go, you have no appointment, you can't come in. Until the thing came out. The day my um naturalization certificate came out, and I gave it to mommy Adiya kunu. She was like, Wow, this is a miracle. She said, This is a miracle. She said, There are people that have been in this country for decades that don't have this. This is a miracle. Testimony of faith in God. Testimony of faith in God. So I can now encourage somebody who is going through the same thing, encourage them with the same comforts by which I've been comforted. Somebody say amen to that. Who are you listening to? You don't listen to anybody, you listen to people that have proven results, they have evidence of what they're talking about. Number two, how do you produce faith in your heart? This man heard Paul. Who are you listening to? Number two, what are you listening to? What are you listening to? What are you listening to? You're not just listening to any kind of preaching. No, you listen to the good news of the kingdom. That's all you listen to. You listen to what? The good news of the kingdom. That's what Jesus came to preach, and that's what he said we should preach. Matthew chapter 4, verse 17. From then on, Jesus began to preach. Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Luke chapter 4, verse 18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim the captives, to proclaim that captives will be released. That the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. Jesus asked us to preach the good news. You don't listen to people, you don't listen to things that only condemn you. You see, in Jesus' um mission statement, you see it right there. There is there is an inherent thing inside that mission statement, and it's that it wants to set people free. Jesus wants to set people free. I thought somebody will say men to you. He doesn't want you to be in bondage, it wants to set you free from sin, it wants to set you free from sickness, it wants to set you free from the from the opinions of man. Jesus, it wants to set you free, it wants to set the poor free. And so if you keep listening to things that are contrary to the mission of Jesus, you cannot have faith. Faith cannot be produced in your heart. You listen to things that are congruent, that are in alignment with the message of Jesus, which is freedom. The Bible says in Galatians chapter 5, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. It is for freedom that Christ has set us. Jesus came to set you free. Somebody said Jesus came to set me free. Say it again. Say Jesus came to set me free. Yes, that's the good news. That's the good news. We were all bound by Satan, bound with shackles of sin until he came and he set us free. That's the good news. Anything that whips up sin consciousness so much that you feel condemned, you run away from it. Anything that makes you feel less than God sees you. I don't know if you are hearing something now. Anything that makes you feel less than, makes you feel little, makes you feel inadequate, that's not God's idea for you. That's not God's, that's not God's mind. The Bible says in Romans chapter 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. You are free from the law of sin and death. Sin shall no longer have dominion over me. Hallelujah. Sin shall no longer have dominion over me. I'm not condemned. You see, you have to start from that place that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This is the goodness of the kingdom that you are the righteousness of the Christ. There is nothing I need to do, there is nothing I have done that qualifies me to call God Father. The only thing that qualifies me to call God Father is what Christ did. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That's where you start from. That's the liberty that you have in Christ. So I don't listen to things that whip up sin consciousness that makes me feel that I can never amount to it, that I can never meet up. I don't need to meet up. Christ met up. If there's a word for that, I don't know. Christ already met the standard. So I don't need to meet up. Christ already met the standard. So I am more conscious of the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus than I'm conscious of the law of sin and death. I am more conscious of the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus than I'm more conscious of the law of spirit and death. The Bible says, Walk in the spirit that you may not fulfill the lust of the flesh. It is walk in the spirit that you may not fulfill the lust of the flesh. It does not say, do not fulfill the lust of the flesh so that you can walk in the spirit. I don't know if you hear what I'm saying. He didn't say do not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Oh, pay attention to your flesh that you don't fulfill its lust so that you can walk in the spirit. No, he said, walk in the spirit, and then you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. I am conscious of the righteousness of God that I am in Christ Jesus. Somebody say amen to that. You listen to things. What are you listening to? Things that expose you. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 34. First Corinthians chapter 15, verse 34. Awake to righteousness and do not sin. I listen to things that awaken me to righteousness. Not things that whip up sin consciousness. I listen to things that awaken me to rightness, awake to righteousness and do not sin. I listen to things that build my faith. I listen to things what that build my faith. Paul preached and it produced faith in the heart of this man. Paul preached and it produced faith in the heart of this man. What we preach and we teach at the landmark church must produce faith in the heart of people. It must produce faith, it must not produce condemnation. And at the personal level, you must make up your mind that you will not listen to anything that makes you think less than who God says you are. Somebody say, Amen. Yes. You don't listen to anything that makes you think less of who you are. No. The real gospel of the kingdom is convicting. It is convincing and restoring. The real gospel of the kingdom is what? It is convicting. It will convict you of sin. It is convincing and it is restoring. That is the real gospel of the kingdom. Those are the things we listen to. God expects the real gospel of the kingdom will challenge you to do better, but it will not but it will show you the way to do better. It will not say you are done. No. The real gospel of the kingdom will challenge you to do better. And you should do better. I should do better. But it doesn't condemn us, it restores us. Number two, the real gospel of the kingdom is empowering. So we've said, who are you listening to? You listen to people. How do you produce faith? That's what we're talking about. How do you produce faith in your heart? Who you are listening to, the contents you are you are you are um consuming, who you are listening to, who are they? Do they have a track record of faith in their lives? As their faith produced results, as their faith quenched the mouth of lions, you see, as their faith stopped the mouth of lions, as their faith quenched the fury of fire, so that the people you listen to, and then what you are listening to, you listen to the gospel of the kingdom, you listen to the gospel of the kingdom because that is what sets free. And finally, how you are listening to it, how you are listening to it. So we said who you are listening to, what you are listening to, this is how you produce faith, and how you listen to what you are listening to. How you listen to what all of this is based on faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. How are you listening to it? See, this is a little technical. So uh more technical at first glance. If you look at that Acts chapter 14, verse 9, it says, and listening as Paul preached, this man was listening as Paul preached, looking straight at him, Paul realized that he had faith to be healed. It seems faith can be perceived, faith can be visible, faith can be perceived, and faith can be visible. Have you seen people that you know just their demeanor, just their demeanor, you get into their prayer, just their demeanor is defeating. Their demeanor is just defeating. You get into their space, there's no life, there's no life, there's no vitality. They're not expecting better, they're not expecting greater. This man, he was expecting better, he was expecting greater. It was like this leg, yes, I was born like this, but if I if I move it like this, if I shake it like this and shake it like that, maybe strength will come. Expecting something better. Well, how are you listening to it? This word listening, it means three things. It means three things. Number one, how you are hearing it. So, number one, you hear it, number one, you hear it, number two, you consider it, and number three, you comprehend it. This is how you listen, you hear it, you what consider it, and then you comprehend it, then faith is produced. This is how you produce faith in your heart. You hear it, somebody say hear it, consider it, say consider it, and then you comprehend it. Yes, that's how faith is produced. See, if you are going to be a miracle worker for yourself, you are going to have to do some work, and I'm showing you the work that you have to do. You're gonna do some work, you are going to be a miracle worker, if you will not be running ether sketa, when the storms of life come, you are going to have to do some work. Yes, you're gonna have to do some work. You hear it, you consider it, and then comprehension comes. When comprehension comes, when conviction comes, then faith is produced. How are you listening to it? These three things must come together for faith to be produced in our hearts. The three things you hear the word, you consider the word, and you comprehend it, and then faith is produced. Let's do let's do an example, Matthew chapter 5, verse 14. How do you hear the word of God? Consider it, comprehend it, and then faith is produced. Matthew chapter 5, verse 14. What does it say? It says, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. You are the what? You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Now, I hear this, then I begin to consider it. I begin to ask myself, who is speaking here? What kind of statement is this? You are the light of the world, that is a statement of fact. There is no eaves, there is no buts, there is no maybes, there is nothing there. It just says, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. So it is a statement of fact. Okay, now who is speaking here? Okay, I realize if I have a red letter Bible, I realize this is Jesus speaking here. Okay, so Jesus is the one speaking. Can Jesus lie? Oh no, Jesus cannot lie. So who was he speaking to? He was speaking to a crowd, it was not even speaking to only his disciples, it was speaking to a crowd. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill, cannot be hidden. Oh, so Jesus is the one speaking. Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, he's the one that was there from the foundations of the world. John chapter 1, verse 2 to 5 tells me that it was in the beginning with God, all things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of man, and the light shines in the darkness, and darkness does not comprehend it. I am considering this now. You see, I'm considering this. You are the light of the world. Who is speaking? Jesus is speaking. What is the nature of Jesus? He doesn't lie. It is the devil that is the father of lies. So if Jesus cannot lie, how does this apply to me? So if he says I am the light of the word, I can either agree with it or disagree. That is, this statement that Jesus has made, it it encompasses everybody, you and me, encompasses all of us. It is now up to us to exclude ourselves. Yes, it is up to me now to see. I'm not considering this now. This is considering, I'm considering it, I'm I'm mulling it over, I'm thinking about it. You are the light of the world. Okay, so if I'm the light of the world, what if I don't have light right now? How do I get light? Then I see that John chapter chapter 1, verse verse 2 to 5, and say, okay, is in him was life, then the life was the light of me. So if I need light, then I go to him that has life, so that his life can give me light. You are considering the scriptures, you are considering it, and when you consider it like that, then you comprehend it, then faith is birthed in you. He continues to say that no one sets light a lamp, and this and those what it's it puts it under the bushel. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. So God has no plan to hide me. God has no plan to hide me, God has no plan to cover me up. No, God, God doesn't have that plan. So this is you considering the scriptures, considering the message. So when a word comes to you, you you hear it, you hear it, and then you begin to consider it. You or meditate on it. You meditate on it, and after you've done that overall, I mean, there are still scriptures that we're still meditating on today. The light has not come forth yet. You're still meditating on it, and you continue, it's it's work. You continue to meditate on it until the light breaks forth. And when the light breaks forth, that's when you can stand and say some things and do some things that you know others may not be able to do. Because you have heard it, you have considered it, you have comprehended it, and faith has been born in your heart. The reason why many don't have faith is because they have not taken time to consider the word of God. That's the reason many people don't have faith. They've not taken time to consider the word of God. So faith does not just come by you randomly opening your Bible and you know confessing, oh, I'll be the head and not the tell, I'll be the head and not the tail. No, have you considered it? Was it addressed to you? You know, that's how faith comes. You consider it. What does it mean to be the head and not the tail? Who has the capacity to make me the head and not the tail? Is it God? Is it man? Is it my boss? You consider it so you hear it, somebody say hear it again. You consider it and then you comprehend it, and then faith is produced. And once faith comes alive in your heart, God is bound to fulfill the word. Once faith comes alive in your heart, God is bound to fulfill his word. I've shown you how faith is produced because the the it's the word of God that um underpins that that faith. And I have no doubt that this year your faith will produce outstanding results in the name of Jesus. I said this year your faith will produce outstanding results. I said this year your faith will not fail in Jesus' name. I said this year your faith will not fail in Jesus' name. In a matter of time, you will hold in your hands the physical proof of your testimonies and your miracles in the name of Jesus. I said, in a matter of days, you will hold in your hand the physical, tangible proof of your faith in God in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. The Bible says in Psalms 118, verse 15 the voice of rejoicing and salvation will be heard in the tent of the righteous. I'm praying for you this morning that only the voice of rejoicing and the voice of salvation will be heard in your tent in the name of Jesus. I said there'll be no sorrow in your life this year, there'll be no sorrow in your family this year, in the name of Jesus.