In this sermon, the preacher focuses on Hebrews chapter 4 and emphasizes the importance of mixing faith with the word of God. He highlights the example of the children of Israel who heard the word but did not have faith in it. The preacher encourages the congregation to be faithful and obedient to God's commandments, drawing from Deuteronomy 8. He also shares personal experiences of challenges and breakdowns, reminding the listeners of the need to rest in God's promises and not be consumed by worries and anxieties.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, AFPA, 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Oh, what rejoicing in the camp of God. Praise the Lord. What joy to live by faith and allow God's joy to fill our hearts from day to day. Let's stand and have a word of prayer at this time. Father, we do rejoice in You this morning. We thank You, Father. Thank You that You're such a good God. Father, thank You for Your eternal riches and glory in our own hearts and lives today. Father, thank You that we have an eternal home in Heaven. Those of us who are believers, we will spend eternity with You some blessed day. And we thank You that the signs of the times are here. Your return is near. And Lord, we thank You and praise You for saving our souls, for bringing us out of darkness, cleansing our hearts, and Father, causing us to have hearts of love for You, causing our hearts to desire Your Word and desire to obey Your statutes and Your commands. And Lord, that's our heart this morning, oh God, to follow You all of our days, willing to lay down self and sin, the pleasures thereof, Lord, and take up our cross and follow You. So, Lord, be with us as we further share together in this service, Lord. We pray that Your hand would be upon us. We pray, Father, that You would now unctionize my lips and my heart, Father, that I can express Your very heart, Lord, to my dear fellow believers, Lord, that all can be edified and built up and encouraged, Lord, and growth can be made of this body here at Charity Christian Fellowship. Lord, we look to You in faith, believing this morning. Thank You, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. Okay, well, welcome to each one. Welcome to any visitors that are here this morning. God bless you all. What a joy to be together in the house of God as believers, whether we're here, whether this is our home church or we're here as a visitor. We all have experienced the saving power of Jesus Christ. We all have been adopted into the family of God, if we've experienced that, and are a family, whether we're here in this local congregation or not. Let's turn our Bibles to Exodus, chapter 15. Exodus, chapter 15. You know, sometimes messages, sometimes we ministers come to the end of the week and, you know, we need to seek the Lord for a message. But there's other times that God is burning on our hearts a message, and it is fermenting and growing in our hearts throughout the week. And as we come to a Sunday morning, the dam is, how should I say, it's all that you can do to hold back the dam from bursting. And that's one of those times this morning that this message has been growing all week long upon my heart. Let's read in chapter 15, verse 13-19. This is after the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and they were singing praises. I thought about reading the entire chapter, but for sake of time, I'll break in verse 13. Thou in thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength into thy holy habitation. The people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed, the mighty men of Moab. Trembling shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them. By the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone. To thy people pass over, O Lord. To the people pass over which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance. In the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in. In the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. For the house of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea. And the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. Now, let's turn to another scripture in Joshua chapter 6. Joshua chapter 6. I'll read a few verses here. Starting in verse 16. Verse 16. And it came to pass, at the seventh time when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. And the city shall be accursed, even it and all that are therein to the Lord. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye and any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves a curse when ye take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it. But all the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord. They shall come into the treasure of the Lord. Verse 20. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets. And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both men and women, young and old, and ox and sheep and ox with the edge of the sword. Now, one more Scripture in 1 Corinthians 10. I'll read quite a few verses here. There are 16 verses here. I mean, yes, the first 13. Chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians. Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. With many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happen unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it. This morning the title of the message is The Shout of Faith. The Shout of Faith. Very well goes with the theme this morning already that we've heard on following through and obedience to God's Word and following through in faith when we face those impossibilities in our lives. And that's what I'd like to share on this morning. The Shout of Faith. You know, the children of Israel had just crossed the Red Sea. They had just crossed. They had seen the mighty act of God. And they were singing the praises of Zion. They were singing praises. They were rejoicing. They were now on the other side of the sea. In fact, the song should have been on that side of the sea because they were somewhat unbelieving when they came to the Red Sea. But nevertheless, they were singing the praises of God. They were rejoicing in heart. And rightfully so, as they had seen the hand of God in a mighty way part that Red Sea, deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and the hand of evil that Pharaoh and his armies wanted to bring upon them. Let's turn back to Exodus 15. In those verses that I read this morning, that I already read, chapter 15 says here, and where I broke in was verse 13. They seen how the mercy of the Lord had led forth His people which He had redeemed. Verse 13 says, I was guided them in Thy strength into Thy holy habitation. Then began their shout of faith. You know, as they looked to the future, as they looked, they looked and realized the deliverance that God had wrought. And now they looked in faith as they realized the trek through the wilderness that they needed to take and the enemy nations that were before them. And they looked and it says, this was their shout. This was their song of faith. The people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab trembling shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. We can go on down through there. You know, there was a shout of faith in the camp. There was a shout of faith. The children of Israel, they had faith in their hearts as they looked to their future, as they looked to being able to enter the promised land. There was faith in their hearts. There was a mighty faith. They had seen the hand of God delivering them from Pharaoh and opening up the Red Sea before them. There was faith in their hearts and they were shouting that shout and singing that song here in Exodus 15. And also in Jericho, we see a shout of faith as they entered Jericho. There was a shout of faith. They believed God to bring to naught the armies of Jericho and to bring down the walls and to cause a mighty victory to be won there. There was faith in their hearts. They believed God. They believed Him. They believed Him. Despite all those tremendous obstacles that they were facing, they believed God. Like we heard this morning, the impossibilities that David faced with Goliath and the other things that our brother Paul brought out there. So this morning, the shout of faith needs to be continuously on our hearts. You know, as we trek through the wilderness in our lives, whether we're yet in the wilderness or whether we're in Canaan land, that shout of faith needs to be there. That faith that rises up and says, I will conquer. I will be a conqueror in this thing that I'm facing. Whether it's a temptation in your own life or whether it's something that God wants us to move forward in as a church, whether it's with your families, there needs to be a shout of faith in the camp. Just like it was in Israel's day. Here we see that the children of Israel, as we go back to 1 Corinthians 10, very clearly God says, I am giving these things as examples to you. The children of Israel, in essence, they were all baptized, it says. They were baptized in the Red Sea. Under the cloud and under... I forget all the words it brings out there. But in essence, God is giving us an example. You know, many of us have been baptized. We have given our whole life to Jesus Christ. We have sealed it in the waters of baptism. We have declared our faith. And God is bringing in an example there that just like the children of Israel were baptized in the Red Sea. So, we as believers have been baptized into Jesus Christ and into Jesus Christ. And He's given us these examples that we don't fall away like the children of Israel fell away in their time of temptation in the wilderness, which we'll further elaborate on here. We already know that multitudes of the children of Israel after chapter 15, in fact, three days later here, it says, And when they came to Morah, they could not drink of the waters of Morah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Morah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and of course, the waters came forth. I mean, the waters were turned into sweetness there. God is giving us examples this morning. You know, the children of Israel did not continue with that shout of faith. And that's what I'd like to bring out this morning is how God allows us to go through our own wilderness as new believers. He has a promised land in mind. But what will we do in that wilderness is the question. Will we maintain a shout of faith as we're walking through that wilderness of temptation and trial in our lives? What was it that caused them to fall? And how can we avoid falling away in our Christian faith? In essence, like I said, they were all baptized, but how can we hold fast the rejoicing of our hope firm unto the end? Firm unto the end. If we remember the Scripture there in Hebrews, holding fast the confidence and the rejoicing of our hope firm unto the end. Okay, I'd like to study this morning the life of Joshua and Caleb. You know, Joshua and Caleb went through that same wilderness. They went through that same wilderness. They experienced the same things that all of the rest of the children of Israel experienced. They experienced times when for three days or so there was no water and food was scarce. And they experienced those same things. And yet, Joshua and Caleb and their families, plus the children of Israel's children, they were the only ones that were able to enter into the promised land. So there was something about Joshua and Caleb, something about them that carried them through that wilderness. They experienced all the temptations, everything that the others experienced, and yet they made it through and kept their faith in God and kept following through in obedience to the Lord. So I'd like to study the life of Joshua and Caleb here briefly. Let's turn our Bibles to Exodus 17. Here we see the first recording of Joshua in the Old Testament here. Exodus 17, verses 8-10, Then came Amalek and fought with Israel and Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out, men, and go out. Fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. And I'll stop reading there. But here I see a man that was under authority. You know, Joshua was a man. He was a man that was willing to be obedient. It says here that Moses commanded him. Moses said unto Joshua, Choose out men. He made the command to Joshua to move forward, to move on against the army of Amalek. To go out against them. And Joshua followed through with obedience. He was a man under authority. And when given a command, followed through in cheerful obedience. Here we see an attribute of Joshua. He was a man. He was a man just like you and I. He was a man just like all the rest of the children of Israel. But he followed through with Moses' command there in cheerful obedience. No complaining. No murmuring. A trust in his leader and a trust in his God. He had the shout of faith through that wilderness. That's what we see in Joshua here. He continued with that shout of faith. Amalek was... I don't know. I didn't study Amalek exactly how strong of a nation or people they were. But Joshua moved out in faith. He moved out against that army. Against that enemy people there. And of course, we know that the battle was won there. But Joshua was a man under authority. Now let's turn to Exodus 24, verse 13. 24, verse 13, And Moses rose up and his minister Joshua, and Moses went up into the mount. There we see that Joshua was a servant. He was a humble servant. I believe Joshua, he was a man that just desired to do whatever the Lord put into his lap. He was a humble servant. It says he was Moses' minister. He was a servant perhaps bringing Moses food to eat, washing his feet, sending messages out to the people, running errands for them. I don't know what he was all involved in. But again, he was a man that was a servant. He was willing to give himself to the things of just the common day, every life, everyday things that needed his attention and that he needed to involve himself in. And so he was a servant. Here we see that attribute in Joshua very clearly. That he moved forward in faith in that aspect that was laid upon him. You know, a servant is no small thing in the Kingdom of God. This was training ground and testing ground to see if he would be faithful in little. Again, we think this morning, sometimes we think of the life of faith as some great victory that we win in bringing souls into the Kingdom and in revival and God's hand being manifest in great and mighty ways. But not so with Joshua. He realized that I need to move forward in faith in the little things of life. God is calling me at this time to be Moses' minister. And I am moving forward in faith that which God has put into my lap at this time period of my life. And that's very important in this life of faith. That we are faithful in little. Like I said, he that is faithful in little is faithful in much. You know, sometimes we may look also at this Christian life as some huge spiritual warfare. What does the Bible say? It says to overcome evil with good. And so it was with Moses. He was faithful in the little things that were put right into his lap. He overcame. Some of those murmurings and complainings, I'm sure he heard them. He heard them throughout Israel. He heard those same murmurings. Sure, he was tempted at times. We never read that Joshua complained or murmured one time. He was content. He overcame evil with good. It was an attribute of his life here that we see him as a minister of Moses. Exodus 33. Exodus 33, v. 8-11. I'll just read v. 11 for the sake of time. And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp. But his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tapernacle. Here I believe very clearly we see the attribute of humility in Joshua's life. You know, it says here that Moses, he was in the tapernacle here. The presence of the Lord came down. And this was right after the golden calf. And God had told them that he would no longer go with them, but that he would send his angel to go before them. But now the presence of the Lord came down upon Moses in the tapernacle. And here he was before the Lord and he was worshiping. And God was meeting with him. And it says the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And then Moses, he turned again to go back into the camp. Turned again to go among the people and to bring his messages to them. But it says Joshua, he departed not out of the tapernacle. Again, he was a humble man. I'm sure he was tempted. He said, okay, the golden calf had just taken place. And many things had happened. People had died in the plague. And there was action going on. There were things going on in the camp that he was probably... excitement and things that his eyes probably desired to behold likewise and had beheld already. But here he was. Here he was as a young man. It says, when Moses went out among the people, he departed not out of the tapernacle. That to me speaks of humility. He was a humble man. He didn't have to involve himself in everything that Moses was involved in. The temptation could have been, I'm Moses' minister. I need to be seen with Moses wherever he goes. I need to be there. People need to see me likewise. Just as they see and behold Moses. But no, he was humble. He was a broken man. And it said he abode there in the tapernacle when Moses went out. He departed not out of the tapernacle. Perhaps he was enjoying the presence of God. You know, the presence of God had come over the tapernacle in a very real way. And perhaps he was there enjoying just simply being in the presence of the Lord. Okay, let's go on to Caleb. Just a few Scriptures on Caleb. And then I'd like to move on with the message here. Numbers 13 is the first time we see Caleb's name brought up. Numbers 13. Verse 30, And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We'd be not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we. Here we see, and this is the attribute I'd like to bring out about Caleb. A man of courage. A man of courage. Caleb also had the shout of faith as he walked through that wilderness experience. He was a man of courage. He was a man. He looked at that nation of Jericho. He looked at that nation with all of its giants. With all of its impossibilities, brother Paul. You know, he looked at that nation the same as the other ten spies did. He looked at that nation and he said, We are well able. How does it say? Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. He knew the Lord was on their side. He knew that the God of Israel was well able, as they moved forward with the shout of faith, to overcome Jericho and thus enter into the promised land. So we see Joshua as a man of courage. What a difference courage makes. You know, men of faith must be men of courage, brother Emanuel, like you shared last Sunday. We must be men of courage in the face of obstacles, in the face of temptations and trials, which I'll go through more as we go through the message regarding the children of Israel going through the wilderness. You know, I'm reminded one time when I was a foreman at a big roofing company. And, you know, what a difference courage can make. Just to show you this example. I was a foreman there and I had this employee under me as a foreman who, he was just lax in his work. I couldn't hardly get him to, you know, do things right, or he was somewhat lazy. And so we were, I said something to the boss finally and he was about ready to fire him. I said, give him a warning. Give him a warning and give me six weeks and see what he does. And six weeks later, I was amazed at that man. The courage that came up in his heart and the difference that it made as he performed there at the roofing company. When I left the company, I think it was when I left, he became the foreman. What a difference courage can make, you know, in a soul, in a life. Those who are just wiped out and don't have any vision, brother Tim, for life. No focus in life. No real goal. You know, but all of a sudden, this young man had a goal. I'm going to be a roofer. I'm going to prove that I can be a roofer. I'm going to show my boss that I can be a roofer. I'm going to show my foreman. And he blessed us all with his courage. He moved forward in courage and later on became a foreman there. So what a difference courage can make in a soul. Caleb likewise was a man of courage. He had that shout of faith as he looked at that mountain. As he looked at those giants, those obstacles, those things that were before him that looked like they couldn't be defeated. They can't be removed. Impossible. These giants are... I don't know, I didn't study it out, but there were giants in the land at that time 8 or 10 feet tall. But Caleb was a man of courage. He kept shouting the shout of faith through the wilderness and right on into Canaan land as we'll read some more here. But let us be men of courage. Men that have the shout of faith in our hearts. Men and women that have the shout of faith in our hearts at all times, whether we're facing things as a family, as a church, as individuals. These men have the shout of faith right through their wilderness temptations and experience. And yea, as we read after Jericho, many battles were won through Joshua. And Caleb was involved in all of that too, I'm sure. Let's go to... Let's now go to just a few more on Caleb. Joshua 14, verse 6. Joshua 14. For sake of time, I'm just going to read again. I'll start reading verse 11. This was 40 years after Caleb had been sent out as a spy. In fact, it says these 40 and 5 years, so it might have been like 45 years they were already in Canaan land here. And the day came when he wanted to inherit that which was promised him back in Kadesh Barnea. There was a promise made to him because he stood for the Lord and for His people. There was a promise given to him that he could inherit a certain portion of land. Here it says in verse 11, Yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me. As my strength was then, even so is my strength now for war, both to go out and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day. For thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced. If so be the Lord will be with me, that I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. And Joshua blessed him and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephona Hebron for an inheritance. So here we see that Caleb was yet a man of courage. He looked at that inheritance there that was to be given him. And the Anakims were there. Men that are strong people that needed to be defeated in order for him to enter in and take his inheritance. Yet it says he was as strong 45 years later as he was in the day when he had gone up to spy the land. He was as strong. What does that all mean? He went through that same wilderness 40 years they wandered in that wilderness. Temptations and trials of all kinds. Caleb said, I am as strong now as I was 40 years ago, 45 years ago. Man of courage. I believe that shout of faith in his heart kept his soul vibrating with courage. He had a shout of faith through that wilderness. He wasn't among them that complained and murmured and fell away from the Lord through their sin and lusting after evil things. But he was a man of courage throughout the wilderness experience. He kept faith in the Lord. He kept faith alive and bright and hot in his soul. A man of courage. And when it came to the day that God wanted him to inherit a certain portion of land, Caleb said, give me this mountain. Give me this mountain. I'm trying to find the verse there. Yes, verse 12. Now therefore, give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day. Caleb was not afraid. He had been faithful in the little things. He had seen the hand of God move in many ways as he walked through that wilderness. On his behalf, conquering. He had conquered the temptations of the wilderness. He had conquered those evil lusts, those evil desires. Now he was ready to take his inheritance. The calling, in essence, that God was upon his life. The calling, the inheritance that God desired him to enter into. But there was enemies there. They needed to be defeated. And yet, Caleb was full of courage in this... I'm sure he was of an older age here, perhaps. Okay, one more on Caleb. Let's go to Judges 1. Judges 1. And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjah seafar, and taketh it, to him will I give Aksa, my daughter, to wife. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave him Aksa, his daughter, to wife. And it came to pass when she came to him that she moved him to ask of her father a field. And she lighted from all for us. And Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. So here, I believe, is an attribute of giving. I mean, Caleb was not a selfish man. He was ready to give. He was ready to let someone else go up against the city of Kirjah seafar. He was willing to have somebody else have the opportunity. He gave. He gave to a certain individual there. And Othniel, yes, he gave that opportunity to him. And later on, his daughter came along and said, Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a south land, and I also want the springs of that land. I don't just want the land. I want the springs also. And Caleb again freely gave to her. Freely. In essence, he overtook her with blessings. These attributes and many others characterize men who have the shout of faith. You know, we can do it in the natural when it comes to a roof or something we're building. We look at that thing and say, okay, I'm going to conquer this thing. I'm going to conquer this thing. You have a vision. You have a vision how this thing is to formulate and work itself out. And you begin to move forward with a vision on your heart to complete that building or to finish that roof. God wants us to be men of vision. Likewise in the spiritual. Let's by the Spirit of God be this in the spiritual likewise. Men of courage. Men that are filled with vision. Men that are filled with faith. And all kinds of things that we pass through in this Christian walk. Okay, let's turn now to Hebrews. I'm sorry, Deuteronomy. Just a short passage here and then I'd like to go to the book of Hebrews for the rest of the time here basically. Deuteronomy 8, verses 1-3 All the commandments which I command thee this day... These were given to the children of Israel by Moses. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments or no. And He humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but for every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. So I'd just like to share this morning a little on the wilderness. You know, the wilderness, very clearly, God proved the children of Israel through the wilderness. He allowed them to go through a time of testing. He allowed them to go through a time of proving them. He allowed them to go through a time of tremendous temptation and trial. He allowed them to go through that. He wanted to test them to see what they're made of. If they're going to be men of courage and faith such as Joshua and Caleb, or if they're going to be men that wilt when the trials and the difficulties come. He was a man. I mean, these were the children of Israel that God proved them with through the wilderness, through these temptations. He says that He humbled thee. And then I'd like to just read this phrase again. He did this in verse 3, that He might make thee know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. That's God's intention. That is God's intention for our wilderness experiences. He wants us to know. He wants us to understand that man does not live by experiences. He doesn't live by difficulties and circumstances, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what you're facing in that wilderness. God does not want you to latch on to that experience. God does not want you to latch on and think, I'm going to be overcome. On the contrarywise, that the children of Israel were at the Red Sea and they were joyful. They were filled with joy. But it seems like it was according to their experience was their life through the wilderness. According to their experience. Not according to the Word of God. That's what God is. That's God's heart for us. Through our wilderness experiences. And that's the message in 1 Corinthians 10 that He's bringing to us. He says He warns us of falling away in that wilderness. And yes, it's a time of trial. It's a time of tremendous difficulty at times. Three days without water? That's difficult. I think there were three days at times. That's difficult. There's difficulties that the children of Israel face. God was proving them. He was proving them and trying to help them to understand that you don't live by your experience, but you live by My Word. You live according to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua and Caleb, they had that shout of faith. They believed God. They believed His Word. They went through those same difficult experiences. They went through it all. But they believed the Word of God to their own hearts. They believed Him in impossibilities. When times were tough, they believed God. And God calls them to be more than just conquerors. He calls them to become men of God. Do you and I want to be men and women of God? No. For our faith in God, in difficulties, trials. But here it's very clear that God proved them in this wilderness. And Christian believer this morning, brother, sister, maybe you're yet in the wilderness. It doesn't matter if we're in Canaan or the wilderness. I don't really care. But the important part is that we pass the test. Brother, that's the important thing. Are you going to pass the test through that wilderness? We all need to go through it. We were baptized in the Red Sea as believers. I mean, I'm bringing the analogy. The children of Israel were baptized in the Red Sea. All had to go through that wilderness. We all as new believers must go through the wilderness. And it's a time of testing and trial to see are you going to stand when the difficulties come, when the hard circumstances come your way, when you're tempted, tested, proven, face a mountain before you, are you going to have that shelter of faith upon your heart? The children of Israel did at the Red Sea, but I believe many of them were just sheltering that out of experience. Because they had a wonderful experience in being delivered. They should have sheltered on the other side of the Red Sea. And said, Lord, we believe You! Hoping to make a way here. If I'm correct, they murmured some there. I'm not quite sure anymore. But they didn't have that shelter on that side of the sea. They should have. That faith would have been in their hearts. I believe it would have carried them through the wilderness. But here they were just kind of dwelling on their experience. And praising God, yes, for the deliverance that was wrought. But three days later when the difficulties came, they began to murmur. Just three days! Imagine that! Three days later! When they couldn't have the water they wanted, they began to murmur and complain. That was the beginning of their downfall throughout their wilderness experience. Let's turn to Hebrews 4. I should almost make this a two-part message, but I'll see how far we can get here. Hebrews 4. For sake of time, I won't read the whole chapter here. I'll just go down through verse by verse somewhat. The first two verses, let's read them. Hebrews 4. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the Gospel preached as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Brother, sister, those children of Israel, they heard the Word of God. They heard the way to escape their temptation. Moses gave them commandments and statutes over and over again. They heard. But it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it. Not mixed with faith. Thus it says it did not profit them. Where are we at this morning in regards to our difficult circumstances? In regards to our wilderness experience? Maybe some of us are there. We know we're going through the wilderness of temptation and trial. Difficulty. Facing scorpions, it says one place in the Old Testament. You know, they faced all kinds of wild creatures sometimes in that wilderness. The devil, you know, he tempts us. The Bible says we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. More than conquerors. That's the way Joshua and Caleb looked at it. They looked at it as we are more than conquerors. We are well able to overcome, Joshua said, and go in and possess the land. That was the heart of Caleb. Here we see that many of them fell away for lack of faith. Just simply faith. Not having a cheerful heart. Remember Joshua. He cheerfully obeyed Moses' command to go out and fight against Amalek. Cheerfully obeyed. There was no murmuring, no complaining. He believed God. I shall overcome. I'm sure he was fearful. I mean, I'm sure he had temptations to fear. But he went out with that shelter of faith. But it says here very clearly the Gospel was preached. But the Word preached and did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Now verse 3, For we which have believed do enter into rest as He said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest. Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. I'll read verse 4 and 5 also. And he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise. And God did rest the seventh day from all His works. And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest. God is simply saying here there is a land of rest after you've gone through that wilderness. You know, God is bringing in the analogy just like I rested the seventh day from the work of creating this universe and this world. So, there is a place of rest. First, there is a going through the wilderness. First, there is that trekking through those trials and those temptations. Let me read verse 6 again. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein to whom it was first preached and are not in because of unbelief. Then on down he goes. Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, today after so long a time as it is said, today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day. And I believe it's bringing out here in verse 8, you know, of another day. You know, the heart of God is simply emphasizing that there is a place of... I'm sorry, I lost my place here. Yeah, verse 8 brings out clearly, if the Lord would have given them total rest in the wilderness, He wouldn't have spoke of a day of rest that was coming in Canaan. And He makes the analogy in our Christian walk. You know, He's just simply bringing out that if Jesus had given them rest in the wilderness, He would not have spoken of another day that was coming in Canaan. Thus it is in our Christian walk. We have the wilderness to trek through. And yes, there is rest in the Christian life as we walk with God, even through that wilderness. But it is a time of testing. A time of proving. A time of trying. Of God trying us. Trying our faith. I think of how it says in 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5, verses 8-10. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, and walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. So that's the heart of God through our wilderness experience. There is a time when God wants us to be at a place of greater establishment in our Christian walk. A place of greater settledness. A place of greater maturity. But first we must trek through the wilderness. Let's quickly turn to Psalms. I just don't want to miss some of these important scriptures here. Let's turn to Psalms 95. Here it says in Hebrews, that there was a day that David spoke about. It says, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, today after so long a time, as it is said, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Well, this passage of Scripture probably alludes back to Psalms 95. Psalms 95 says, O come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth. The strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His and He made it and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hands. Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, as in the day of temptation in the wilderness when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me and saw My work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said it is a people that do err in their heart and they have not known My ways. Unto whom I swear in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest. In this Scripture, I was amazed as I looked at it. You know, in Hebrews it says we are to hold fast the confidence and the hope of our rejoicing firm unto the end. And here in Psalms, it's a psalm of rejoicing. It's a song of worship. It's a song of kneeling before the Lord our Maker and worshiping Him, praising Him, and giving Him thanksgiving, for we are His people, for we are the sheep of His pasture and the people of His hand. That He gives us that warning. And I thought for a long time, and I've read the book of Psalms numerous times, and I've thought for a long time, why does God bring that in here? Why does David bring that in here? Harden not your hearts. And I see it now, I believe, is that the children of Israel were constantly murmuring and complaining. They didn't have a rejoicing heart. They didn't have a heart of thanksgiving and praise. They had a heart that was not holding fast the rejoicing of the whole firmament to the end. They were not rejoicing in the Lord, brother Paul, the message you preached, the sin of not rejoicing. They were not a rejoicing people. When they faced difficulties and insurmountable obstacles that they thought they couldn't pass through, they complained. And that's God's warning for us in Psalms 95 here. How are we going to respond as we go through that wilderness? Are we going to maintain joy in our hearts? Faith in our soul? Faith. That shout of faith. That note of joy. That heart that maintains worship and dwells in His presence. Or do you allow the temptations to gradually harden your heart? As you just move away. You know, some people throw in the towel. That's the reason I believe they throw in the towel. They think the Christian life is too hard. There's no note of rejoicing, no shout of faith. Eventually, they just think it's no use. Difficulties. Yes, they face difficulties. I mean, these people that throw in the towels, they face difficulties. We all face those temptations and those circumstances that are hard, difficult, and not easy to pass through. But it's how we respond to them that makes the difference. How we respond to them. Hebrews. Let's go back to Hebrews. Verse 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God did from His. I'm going to have to find my place here. Okay, here it says, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. You know, I believe, like I said, the heart of God, as we pass through that wilderness, is to bring us to a place of greater subtleness, maturity, a place of greater establishment in our Christian walk, a place where, like it says there in 1 Peter, where we're at a greater measure of stability. And here it says, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he has also ceased from his own works as God did from His. Now hear me out here. You know, I believe that it says he has ceased from his own works. And those works, I believe, are simply those works of the flesh that keep manifesting themselves. He that has entered into his rest has ceased from his own works. In other words, what I'm trying to bring out is as we're going through this wilderness experience, I believe there are times when we're battling with temptation. Yes, we falter and we fail at times. We sin. But the difference is, will we maintain the shout of faith through that wilderness? Will we maintain faith? Lord, I am struggling with this besetting sin. I am being tempted with it. Sometimes I fall. Sometimes I falter. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I'm just so grieved at myself. But Lord, I am going to continue walking by faith until You see me through this besetting sin. Until I come out the other side. You know, there was a cousin of mine who moved out to another area now. But I just remember his story. He struggled with a besetting sin in his morals. And I just remember him. He shared here one Sunday morning. And he shared how this besetting sin he was so finished with. He was just so tired of it. But he didn't give up. He kept that shout of faith. And I remember at that time his parents were farming. And I remember him saying, I went out to the cornfield. And he was speaking now. Now he was in Canaan Land. He had found the victory. He said, I went out to the cornfield. And I would cry my heart out to the Lord. He was determined, by the grace of God, I'm getting through this thing. I'm getting to the other side of it. I'm being tempted. I'm being tried. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I struggle. Sometimes I'm at the place of my wits end. But I'm going through. By faith, I'm going to conquer this mountain in my life. And he kept that shout of faith on his heart. And he came out the other side. And this is a labor. This is a labor I believe it speaks about in verse 11. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Brethren, sisters, lest any of us fall in the wilderness just like the children of Israel. They fell. Yes, it was difficult. It was hard. The temptation is to give up. The temptation is to throw in the towel. It's no use. The Christian life is too hard. It's just not... I face too many temptations that I constantly have to struggle with. But this is the labor. The labor is that of faith, I believe. That shout of faith. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest. Just like Joshua and Caleb. They labored through that wilderness and they came out the other side. More than conquerors, they came out. Maintaining that shout of faith through the duration of their wilderness experience. Then it says in verse 12, For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divining asunder of soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow, and as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. I'll stop there and then I'll read the rest later. For the Word of God is quick and powerful. And I love this. You know, sometimes you may feel, my Christian brother and sister, you may feel like this temptation that I'm facing, it's too interwoven into my life. It's too much. It's interwoven. That's who I am. I'm just constantly struggling with this thing. I'm constantly just being tempted and facing this scorpion. Like I said, that was a wilderness of wild creatures. Deuteronomy says something about scorpions. But the point is here, the Word of God. This is what I'd like to bring home to our hearts. Faith in God's Word. Man does not live by bread alone. That's what God was trying to prove to them. You don't live by your experience. You don't live. You don't live by your experiences. You don't live according to what you're facing or not facing. You live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. Doth man live? And here I just love this verse in verse 12 here. For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and marrow. Who can separate joints and marrow? You know, they're interwoven. Joints and marrow, they're together so tight. How can you separate them? Even our soul and spirit. You know, who can really know what's the difference of soul and spirit at times? But God says, I'm able to get My knife into that. I'm able to make the division. I'm able to get the knife of My Word into that flesh. Cut it out and remove it. As you live by faith, I'll deal with that flesh. I'll make the division. My Word is quick and powerful to make the division that is needed in something that is, yea, interwoven. What I think is interwoven into my life. God is able to make the division through His Word. And it goes on and it says, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And I like to apply that to some of us who struggle with condemnation and sometimes we don't know what's up and down. We don't know what, you know, is this God speaking to me or is it the devil accusing me? Again, God says, I'm able. I'm a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. My Word, shout that shout of faith as you go through that wilderness because My Word will stand. And it will cut into those areas just like the surgeon's knife goes into that body where the cancer is, where that tumor is at. Interwoven, I mean, you know, it's part of the body, but it makes the division. Cuts it out. So, God's Word is able to go in there and make the division of those fleshly things that you're struggling with. Those things, those temptations that you're battling through this wilderness. And brother, sister, there's a day coming just like Junior. You battle through that thing. There's a land of rest. There's a promised land that God has you to enter into. And I believe that's the rest that He speaks about here for the people of God. Okay, let's quickly just add a few more verses here. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Here in verse 13, the heart of God is bringing out very clearly that everything is open. God knows the very depth of your heart. He knows you. Excuse me. He knows the very depth of who you are and what you're struggling with. He knows all about it. And then in verse 14, He brings out in verse 14 and 15 that we have not an High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, was touched with all the feeling of the infirmities that you're going through and that waterness that you're experiencing. That temptation. It says that He was in all points tempted like as we are. All points. That temptation that you're facing. That trial. That struggle. Shout the shout of faith, for the Lord has experienced it. He knows what you're going through. He understands that temptation. And He is able, as we come boldly to the throne of grace. And I love this. It says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy. You know, almost bringing in that sometimes we fail. We need the Lord's mercies at times as we're going through that wilderness. We need His forgiveness. We falter in our temptation and trial. Yet we're shouting the shout of faith. Sometimes we need His mercies. He says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. God's heart is that we don't fail. His heart is that we come to Him and find grace to walk through that temptation. Through that trial. Come out the other side victorious when we're being tested and tried with that difficulty. So, let us be faithful. You know, Deuteronomy 8. Just turn back there quickly. Deuteronomy chapter 8. Again. I think I'll just read verse 4 and 5 for sake of time. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell these forty years. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks and water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. Here God is saying, here the heart of God is bringing out. Even when you're passing through that wilderness, I will be with you and I will supply your need. He says, your raiment didn't wax old. Your foot didn't swell. You had shoes on your feet, whatever their footwear was at that time. But that foot didn't swell. That hot, dry, thirsty, filled with dirt wilderness where the feet could have got blisters and the body could have worn out through all the dryness and we all know what sand can do to a foot. They could have gotten weary of the blisters on their feet and all the bodily pains they were going through, but no, God met their need. God met their need through that wilderness. He supplied water on time. He gave them raiment. He gave them footwear. Oh, if only the children of Israel could have maintained the shout of faith through the wilderness that they started with at the crossing of the Red Sea. They shouted that shout of faith. Whether it was in their heart or not, I'm not sure, but they said the right words. Lord, these nations, I mean, come on. You took us out of Egypt, Lord. You opened the Red Sea. I mean, these enemy nations that are before us, they're going to tremble. They're going to melt before You, the living God. They shouted that shout of faith at their beginning, but they fell away in the wilderness. And that's a warning to us this morning. You know, a very real warning. Brother, sister, where are we at in our Christian lives? Are we at a place where we're passing through difficulties? Yes, it was great to be saved. It was great to have the waters of baptism enter in and have our faith sealed. Oh, that was great. That was a great day. You look back at it with great joy and you're thinking, boy, thank the Lord I'm saved. But now you're passing through temptations and trials and difficulties. You're going through the wilderness and sometimes people don't understand. Why, Lord? Why do I now... I thought the Christian life was to be easy. But God allows us those temptations and trials and difficulties to prove us, to test us, to see what we're made of. To see if truly we will live by every word of God. Or if we're going to falter when the circumstances get difficult and our faith begins to waver and we think, no, I can't make it. Nope, those mountains are too big for me. Those giants are too big for me. I might as well just throw in the towel. Unbelief. You know, it's too much for me to conquer. Some people get to that place, brother, sister, in their wilderness experiences. But this morning, let's be men of faith. Let's be men of faith. And whether we're going through Jericho... I was going to go through Jericho a little bit. We know that at Jericho, they shouted the shout of faith likewise. They shouted the shout of faith and the walls of Jericho fell. But after that, they didn't inherit all the land. They didn't fight all the Lord's battles. And thus, there was also, even in Jericho, even in Canaan land, there's dangers. There's dangers. They didn't drive out all the enemy nations. Later on, they came back to Vexum and they became thorns in their side. And I forget all the other words there. But let's fight the Lord's battles in faith this morning. You know, as we think of our Christian walk, as we think of the beginning of our Christian life, being baptized, so to speak, in the Red Sea, rejoicing that the Lord has saved us, I've been able to seal my faith in baptism. Let's allow that. Let's choose, I should say, to make that shout of faith a constant part of our everyday lives as we're going through the wilderness. Wilderness on into Canaan land and for the duration of our Christian walk. Let's keep that shout of faith upon our hearts. So, this morning, some of us may be working through things as individuals, some as families, maybe as a congregation. It doesn't matter. Let's maintain a shout of faith in the camp. Let's do it, brothers, sisters. Maybe you're going through difficulties with your family. Maybe at times we go through difficulties as a congregation. Let's maintain a shout of faith through it all. Believe God for the impossibilities, brother Paul. So, whether in the wilderness or in Canaan, let's keep this shout of faith upon our hearts through the duration of our Christian walk. Let us hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of our hope firm unto the end. God bless. Thank you, Mel, for that inspiring word. I think we had another illustration this morning of what it means to be violent. The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence. And the violent take it by force. I really believe that there are times when a little prayer isn't enough. That it needs a shout. Like Mel said. I was thinking of my own life. Something happened in my life a few years ago. I had a van that was getting old for my work and really needed to be replaced, but I didn't think about it. I wasn't planning to keep it. One day I was driving down the road and it just started acting like it was going to die. As I drove down the road, all these worries started coming into my heart. You know, what are you going to do now? How are you going to get to work tomorrow? What are you going to do? This thing needs to be replaced. You don't have any money. On and on. And I just went down that road for a little ways and all of a sudden I just realized, wait a minute. I can't go here. And it's like the Lord just welled up in my heart and I just started shouting Scriptures as loud as I could right there in my van. My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory. And just started shouting and praising God. And driving down the road, I could tell you where I was. I was on Marietta Pike right between Rorsetown Road and Centerville Road. And God met me right at that moment and the peace of God came upon my heart. And I just knew everything was going to work out. This van, yes, sputtering along. It's probably a piece of junk that needs to be replaced and I don't have any money, but God met me and gave me confidence that He was going to meet my need. Well, I think it was one day later. It might have been that day. I had to go down to the buck. And I made a wrong turn. I ended up coming up on 222 instead of 272. And I passed by this nice looking van right beside the side of the road there. And it was like the Lord said, you know, turn in here. Let's look at this. And so I went in, turned in and sure enough, it was a really nice van and it wasn't that expensive. So I called the number up and the guy said, he said, I just put that thing out there. I can't believe it. I just stuck it out there a few hours ago. And of course, I had made a wrong turn even to find it. I never planned to go there. And the Lord provided my need. A few days after that, my sister called me up and she said, I want to give you my car because I can't sell it. And my husband and I just feel like we want to give it to you. Well, I was able to sell the car and pay for the van. Praise God. Isn't that how it works? There's times where we need to shout and in no uncertain terms, just declare our faith in God. I really believe that when he sees somebody do that, it's almost like he stands up and takes notice and says to the angels, you know, you got to do something for that person. And I wish I could say I've always done that and I'd like to do it more. But the kingdom of God suffers violence. The violent take it by force. If you have, like Mel said, if you're facing something in your life that looks like a mountain that there's no way, get somewhere where you can be loud and take the word of God and let the shout of faith come out. Amen. Who has a testimony you'd like to share? Burned in your heart. Anybody else? Raise your hand. Yes. Amen. I feel like Paul's little testimony in the end there actually was about the best part of the message. I, I found myself here this morning and as Mel was reading through the scriptures there in Hebrew, I realized that I'm not resting and there's things that are rolling around in my mind and thinking about tomorrow and what's going to happen and some things I need to do and some things that are not in place to do yet to do what I need to do and then after having a week of just a lot of things go wrong, had probably three or four or maybe half a dozen breakdowns, some of them just small things, others, you know, three, four hundred dollar breakdowns in the shop and then Wednesday evening having on their way to Home Fellowship having a heater hose break in the van and then last evening coming home from a place and the van sputtering and carrying on like Paul was saying and not sure if this thing's going to last another few miles or what's going on and I just realized as Paul was sharing that I'm going down that path and actually I realized it all morning and I didn't know what to do about it and yet when Paul shared that I realized that that's what's happening and I just had to think back and days passed how God provided those kind of things and it just seems to me like, you know, in Paul's case there, God was just waiting for that and, oh, by the way, you need a van, do you? Okay, well, I got one for you and we had an experience like that a number of years ago that sometimes you just need to reflect on some of those things where we were starting a business and we were short in cash and people were calling and asking for their money and it was time for payroll and things like that and so one day my wife and I just took the books out and we laid it open and we said to the Lord, here's where we're at, here's what we're up against we don't know what's going to happen and in the meantime we had some excavating that needed to do we had a pile of dirt there that we wanted to move and we couldn't afford to get anybody in to level it out and anything and so anyway, by the end of that day or was it maybe the next day I get a call from a business associate that just called and he says, do you need any kind of machinery or whatever or maybe even just some cash that you need and I said, well I don't know what you're talking about and he says, well it's the end of the year and I have some extra cash that I need to invest somewhere I'd be willing to buy you a piece of machinery or that'll just give you some cash and you just pay it off as you can and the same day there was an unexpected check in the mail coming and then the same day there was a neighbor came over and they said that they saw our pile of dirt out there they had the skid loader over and they wonder if they could come and they could level that off for us and I said, well I don't really have any cash to pay for it and he says, well no that's okay we'll do it for free and to me it was just like God said, oh so you need money well sure I got money for you and by the way I'm going to move that pile of dirt for you too so I think we just need to rise up in that kind of faith and it was just really I feel courage rising up in my heart just hearing Paul's testament and just realizing that I'm not rejoicing and I'm not resting God bless you Is there somebody else? I'd like to praise God for His grace in our lives through the birth of our little baby Joanna Grace God's gracious gift to us and I was thinking as we look forward to training this little baby and all the things that come with being parents I was just thinking well my wife's grandfather, Amos Rudolph his testimony of how God took care of their family and I said to him God's going to take care of us the same way we have a living faith we have a living Father that we can look to in times of need thank God for that Praise God Amen We have time for one more somebody who has something burning in their heart Yeah, I have a prayer request here this morning I think this would be our chance to as a church maybe to pray for little Ben and his family little Ben today went to his home Amish church and I just thought it would be a good time for us to maybe as a church to pray together for his for his wife and children and it certainly is a wilderness for him and in the area there where he lives there's certainly a lot of giants and I've just been amazed how Ben the Lord knew what he was doing when he when he came down there in that valley and saved Ben's soul he just withstood so many things already so and he's been such a dear friend also in that same church today Levina has been called to that church Levina's just been baptized here a couple weeks ago and this really puts our parents in a you know, they they don't have the encouragement that we do they're not getting encouraged at church like we did today and they have this thing to face let's pray for them and keep remembering them in prayer and that they would come through strong for the Lord and just come through pray for us too as well that's the message this morning so little Ben, Benny and Levina are both called to the church? no, little Ben just went he just went today because he wanted to go to show his love and he just wanted to go and also pray for Levina just ask the church here that they would keep remembering Levina in their prayers because it's not an easy it's not easy for her seeing her family even go through this now she feels the pain in the family ok Tim, did you have a song? do you have one fitting song here? and we'll have, after the song, let's worship the Lord together and then we'll have announcements and prayer