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Belief Without Seeing · In the Stillness Podcast

• 0:00
  Hey y'all, it's friendly. Happy Friday.
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  I'm so excited that we're going into the weekend and I pray you
• 0:07
  are feeling strong and have just had the best week.
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  I'm super excited for what we're diving into today and I'm really
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  glad you're here. Today's passage, it's on the
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  shorter end, but it does carry a lot of weight and it's one of
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  those that's just very crisp and to the point.
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  It's direct and I think it is a good challenge for us on how we
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  approach our faith, our belief, and what we're actually looking
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  for from God. So let's get right into it.
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  We're going to be in Matthew chapter 16 verses one through 4.
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  The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by
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  asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
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  He replied, When evening comes, you say it will be fair weather,
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  for the sky is red, and in the morning today it will be stormy,
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  for the sky is red and overcast. You know how to interpret the
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  appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of
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  the times. A wicked and adulterous
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  generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the
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  sign of Jonah. Jesus then left them and went
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  away. OK, so to fully grasp what's
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  happening here, I think it's good to get a little background.
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  I did some research more into the Pharisees and Sadducees and
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  looked at some commentary so that I could bring that to y'all
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  for better understanding. But basically, what's happening
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  here, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they're coming to
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  Jesus. They're asking him for a sign
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  from heaven. And normally these two groups
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  are in opposition. They do not like each other.
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  The Pharisees I touched on in a brief in a episode prior to
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  this, very briefly, but they are religiously focused.
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  So they care a lot about rules and traditions and their
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  appearance from the outside. And Jesus had called them
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  hypocrites because they could not even live up to what their
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  own standards were. They could not practice what
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  they were preaching. But the Sadducees, on the other
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  hand, they're more politically focused, so they value logic
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  over faith, and they did not put as much emphasis and weight on
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  the supernatural. So these are two different
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  groups. But The thing is, they had a
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  common enemy in Jesus. Jesus and his truth threatened
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  both of their ideologies. So they come together, they
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  become allies, not because they agreed, but they both wanted to
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  get rid of him. So they had already dismissed
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  Jesus's miracles as either coincidence or they had claimed
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  that he was doing them through evil powers and practices, and
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  this was because in their minds only God could do supernatural
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  signs from heaven. But the funny and sad part is
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  that they completely missed the point that Jesus was the Son of
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  God and that he could do all these things.
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  And so their issue, it wasn't their lack of evidence or signs,
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  it was their heart and hearts that caused them to have
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  stubbornness and pride. And This is why they just
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  completely missed it. So Jesus response, he's pointing
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  out something I think is really interesting.
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  Interesting. He tells them that they can look
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  at the sky, they can act accurately predict the weather,
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  but they are completely missing the clear signs of who he is and
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  why he is on the earth. And so in other words, layman's
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  terms, you're really great at reading the forecast, but you're
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  blind to the truth that is literally right in front of you.
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  And so then he touches on the sign of Jonah, and this is
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  actually super cool. So Jonah being thrown into the
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  sea, this is pointing to Jesus's death.
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  Jonah being in the fish for three days, this is pointing to
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  his burial. And then Jonah being spit out
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  onto land, this is pointing to Jesus's resurrection on land
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  after three days. That was the sign that he's
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  referring to in this passage. And so Jesus refuses to give
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  them anything more because he knows deep down, like he knows
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  that they've already decided they're not going to believe
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  him. And even a miracle or a sign
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  would not change this. So right after this, the passage
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  directly following, I'm not going to read it just for the
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  sake of time, but Jesus is warning his disciples to be on
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  their guard. He is telling them that there's
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  going to be more false teachings to come, but specifically here
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  with the Pharisees and Sadducees.
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  And I think that this is because he's really trying to harp on
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  lack of faith. It is contagious.
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  And so for us, just a direct application, we need to be
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  really wise about who we're listening to, who we're letting
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  speak into us and who we spend our time with, who are our
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  surroundings. And so here's the thing, we
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  actually have so much evidence, guys, so much evidence as Jesus
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  says, the Messiah. And it's easy to say that, but I
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  really just want to touch on some things that we have to put
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  it into perspective. The Old and the New Testament
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  complete records. We have miracles then and we
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  have miracles today. There are so many personal
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  testimonies. We have over 2000 years of
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  complete church history. There are fulfilled prophecies
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  that have unfolded and are continuing to unfold in our very
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  moment. But there's a line that is
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  drawn. God can save anyone and soften
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  any heart. Yes, I fully believe that.
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  But people also must be willing to accept the truth.
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  And The thing is that our belief, it's rooted in faith.
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  Miracles don't convince someone who has already convinced
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  themselves that they're right. In Jesus, he talks about, he
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  says blessed are those who have not seen and yet still, yet
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  still believe. This is in John 2029.
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  And then we look at Hebrews 11/1 and he's saying in the Passion
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  translation, I really love this translation.
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  Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the
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  foundation needed to acquire the things we long for.
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  It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.
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  Boom that is so clear and written.
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  God still performs miracles today.
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  I believe He confirms things for His people.
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  I've experienced that personally.
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  I'm not going to go into all the details of that right now, but
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  those signs are not the basis of our faith.
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  And so I want to end with a few things that the timing of this
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  is crazy. I was on my Instagram, my
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  limited time screen time scroll last night of Reels, and I
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  actually came across this one that really just captivated my
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  attention. And I did some further research
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  into them, but I want to lay them out for you because it's
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  amazing. Your spine, it has 33 vertebrae.
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  And Jesus lived on the earth for 33 years.
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  So the structure that is physically holding you up,
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  helping you stand, helping you sit, it reflects the years that
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  he was held here for us. OK another one, your DNA
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  chromosomes, did y'all know that they're actually held together
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  in a cross shaped structure? OK here is the last one.
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  I'm going to give you your blood cells.
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  They often appear with crown like patterns.
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  Y'all this is reminding us of the crown of thorns that he wore
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  on his head that pierced his skull that poured out his blood.
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  God is in every detail. You do not need more signs.
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  So here's the reflection. Maybe ask yourself right now,
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  because this is something that I was reflecting on just a few of
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  these questions. Are you doubting God right now?
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  Maybe it's for healing or provision or deliverance.
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  Have you already given up in your mind?
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  Are you waiting for God to prove Himself before you choose to
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  believe? Do you trust the truth of His
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  word that it is real, that it is alive and it's pointing to His
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  return? Y'all, these are, it's a lot,
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  it's a lot to take in, but it is so important for us to think
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  about. So I am going to go and close in
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  prayer. So bow your heads or whatever
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  you're doing. Just think about these words for
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  a second. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you
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  that you are not unclear. It says in your word, you are
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  not a God of confusion, but of peace.
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  And so would you forgive us for times that we have demanded
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  proof? Instead of choosing to trust you
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  when our pride or doubt has taken root, would you just let
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  that disintegrate and soften our hearts?
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  Would you help us and teach us to walk by faith, not by sight,
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  and to believe that you're present and you're faithful in
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  every single detail of our lives?
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  Would you strengthen our belief and help guard our hearts?
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  I pray that we would draw closer to you and as we draw closer to
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  you, that you would draw closer to us.
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  As your word says, we ask this all in your name, Jesus.
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  Amen. OK, so that is Friday's episode.
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  I'm praying for y'all as you finish out the week and go into
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  the weekend and I will see y'all in the next one.