Galilee Baptist Church

A Baptist Church in Tyler TX

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You are here: Home / Archives for faith

HOLD ON AND WAIT UPON THE LORD!

December 29, 2021 By Reverend Anthony Williams

Have you ever had a day when everything appeared to go wrong? Such days are troublesome and trying and they usually prevail upon the spirit. Those are the days when the car breaks down, the food burns, the children get sick, a fuse blows, the telephone keeps ringing, the newspaper gets wet, and there is a network difficulty in the middle of the “Secret Storm.”

Those are the days when your head begins to pound, your patience gets short, and you throw up your hands in defeat and declare “I’m at the end of my rope.” If you are honest with yourself, on those types of days, you are at your wit’s end.

For days such as those, I want to remind you to hold on a little while longer! God is still on the throne, and He knows your needs.  As the old adage goes, “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on!” Help is on the way! Hold on and wait upon the Lord!

While you are waiting, hold on to your trust, hold on to your faith, and hold on to your patience!

“But they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

 

WE SHOULD HOLD ON TO OUR TRUST

Our text first considers that we should hold on to our trust.

Isaiah was a prophet who preached constantly to the Southern Kingdom about repentance. In his lifetime he had watched as the armies of Assyria had destroyed the Northern kingdom and he preached words of encouragement to Jerusalem as it was being besieged by Assyrian troops.

Though the enemy was all around them with several hundred thousand soldiers; though the chances of military victory were nil and survival slim, Isaiah, at this time the trusted confidant of King Hezekiah, admonished them to keep the faith and hold on!

Jerusalem had reached the end of its rope! The enemy was in front of them and death seemed certain. Their resources were depleted, and their options were used. Their food supplies were running low and their soldiers were fatigued. Jerusalem, at the end of its rope, heard Isaiah encouraging them not to let go of their faith in God but to virtually tie a knot in the rope of their hope and hold on!

 Trusting in the Lord is the option that overpowers all other options!

Though their circumstances ridiculed his very words, still Isaiah told the virtues of depending on God. Every child of God understands this circumstance. He or She understands what it means to be surrounded by problems and troubles and to have only a few options left. But while every child of God knows the feeling of frustration that accompanies this circumstance, every child of God also knows that trusting in the Lord is the option that overpowers all other options.

Waiting for the will of the Lord is not an easy thing for most of us to do. We tend to like our answers neat and tidy, and above all, quick. Yet God often requires us to wait on Him, which makes some of us uncomfortable, if not downright jittery.

Over the years, I have learned that it is always best to wait on God for as long as necessary, as it will guard us against reacting in an irrational way and making poor decisions with disastrous results. The children of Israel often responded to God in rash fashion, but in this case, they got it right. They waited for His direction.

Are you facing fiery furnaces? Trust in the Lord! He will help us come through without a tinge.

Are you facing vast seas of trouble? Trust in the Lord! He will roll back Red Seas of adversity and allow you to cross on dry ground.

To trust in the Lord is to believe that no matter what comes your way, God can handle the situation and will give you strength to face the adversity. No wonder the songwriter wrote “I will trust in the Lord, until I die!”

Isaiah boldly pronounced, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”

Hold on! For they shall mount up on wings as Eagles!

Hold on! For they shall run and not get weary!

Hold on! For they shall walk and not faint!

 

WE SHOULD HOLD ON TO OUR FAITH

Trust is good to hold on to, but we will have a double grip if we tie a second knot, just in case the first one slips by us. That second knot should be the knot of faith.

The most striking and impressive example of faith in God is the experience of Abraham.

Abraham received a promise from God…

Abraham received a promise from God that his family would grow and multiply. The promise brought him great joy and inspiration. As the years passed, however, it seemed that the promise would not be kept. Age and its various associated problems began to take its toll. Even Abraham’s friends began to doubt that God’s promise would be kept.  As problems began to beset him from all sides, many of those around him lost faith in God’s promise, even his wife laughed at the thought of children being born at her age. Abraham kept the faith and despite the impossibility of the moment, he depended on God to keep his word!

Faith is not knowing how we are going to solve our problem but knowing God will make a way! Faith is driving blindly into the future guided only by the Word of God, because David has reminded us that “thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

With faith, millions of Christians have:

  –fought all of their battles

  –resisted all of their temptations

  –endured all of their trials

  –survived all of their tests

  –bore all of their burdens

  –performed all of their ministries.

Through faith, children of God have the inspiration to:

  –resolve their difficulties

  –seize their opportunities

  –tackle their responsibilities

  –withstand their troubles

  –solve their problems

  –confront their enemies.

  –reach their goals

  –conquer their fears

  Abraham held on to his faith and held on to God’s promise!

 

WE SHOULD HOLD ON TO OUR PATIENCE

Finally, our text suggests that we should tie a knot in the rope of patience.

Job was perfect and upright…

Job was a perfect and upright man who suffered many losses as a test of his loyalty to God. Job lost members of his family in tragic deaths. Job lost huge amounts of his material wealth to thieves and enemies.  Job lost his physical health. Nevertheless, through all of his troubles, Job remained faithful to God and patiently waited on God to hear and answer his prayers. Although he became impatient with the advice he received from his friends, he refused to give up on God!

There is strength in waiting on the Lord…

We live in a right now world!

We want material success –right now!

We want answers to questions–right now!

We want solutions to problems–right now

We want answers to questions–right now!

Many of us are impatient. We are so impatient that:

–We can’t wait for water to boil!

–We can’t wait for the car to warm in the winter!

–We can’t wait for the train to clear the track!

–We can’t wait until the end of a church service!

But Isaiah reminds us that they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.

  There is strength in waiting on the Lord!

  There is power in waiting on the Lord!

Job declared, “All the days of my appointed time, I will wait until my change comes.”

 

Wait:

–Though men would push you to be hasty

–Though it seems like the time is too long

–Though men would call you foolish

Wait because Jesus commanded us to, “Watch ye therefore, ye know not the day” that He will return. Wait because one day He’s coming back again!

Wait just a little while longer and everything will be alright!

To learn more about how to establish, or to grow your relationship with the Lord, please complete the Virtual Connection Card on our website.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: faith, Isaiah, patience, trust, Wait on the Lord

PLEASING GOD!

January 16, 2021 By Reverend Anthony Williams

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV): “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (underline added)

From this text, there are three (3) lessons that we can learn about Pleasing God.

  1. The Impossibility of Pleasing God Without Faith. “But without faith it is impossible (unfeasible, unworkable, unattainable, out of the question, not possible) to please Him.” We will not please God if we do not have faith. Religious activity does not always please God. Faithless religious ceremonies do not please God. Faithless giving does not please God. This verse proves two great facts:

    1. It is possible to please God;

    2. Faith is available to all (see John 3:16).

What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says it is “the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is believing God and accepting His invitation.

  1. The Ingredients of the Faith That Pleases God. We must believe that God exists. It is one thing to pray, but another thing to believe God hears. It is one thing to worship, but another to believe that worship is accepted. We must believe God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Faith that pleases God is more than profession (James 2:14). Real faith changes lives (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Faith made Abel worship God

Faith made Enoch walk with God

Faith made Noah work for God

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

  1. The Invitation to Faith That Pleases God. “He that cometh to God must believe” is an invitation in the middle of the aforementioned verse. God continually invites us to faith in Christ. This invitation reminds us of John 6:37 (“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”). This verse is not only an invitation to come to Jesus, but an assurance that He receives all to come to Him.

We do what it takes to please individuals, spouses, children, employers, etc. My question to you today is, “What are you doing to please God?”

The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II. The Pearl Harbor Report demonstrated that not only were an admiral and a general unprepared, the authorities were unprepared and the whole nation was in a lethargy of self-satisfaction. In spite of all the evidence that an attack would come, people were amazed when it did.

This is the approaching judgment of God going to come upon the world; the Bible informs us that judgment is coming. Men are warned to flee from the wrath of God. They are warned that sudden destruction will come upon them, that it will come suddenly as a stroke of lightning from the east and the west and as unexpectedly as a thief in the night. In spite of all these warnings the world sinks in its lethargy of self-satisfaction. It will be awakened by a blow far ruder than Pearl Harbor, for just as the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, so are His judgments.

God simply will not allow any man to know true peace until that man first possesses divine righteousness. One reason for the terrible frustration of mankind is that peace and joy are sought without righteousness. But without the righteousness of God there can be no peace, and without the peace of God there can be no joy.

To learn more about how to establish a relationship with God or to grow your relationship with God, please complete the Virtual Connection Card on our website.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: faith, Hebrews, Hebrews 11:6, pleasing God

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SUNDAYS:
9:00am: Sunday School
10:00am: Worship Service
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6:30pm: Prayer Meeting
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Physical Address

15876 CR 1113
Flint, TX 75762
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Mailing Address

P.O. Box 4066 Tyler, TX 75712

Meet Our Pastor

Pastor Anthony Williams

On October 15, 1989, Anthony L. Williams accepted the call as pastor of Galilee Baptist Church. … Read More.

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