Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Hey, guys, this is Naim, and you've reached the Mosaic Church Podcast. So excited that you're part of our listening community and love for you to be even more connected. So check out our website. There's more content there, and there's more opportunities for you get connected in our ministries and events as well. Also, love for you to share this content. If this is blessed to you. I know that God wants to use you to bless other people with it, so share this podcast you will. Lastly, would you consider supporting this ministry? This is made possible by other people's generosity, and I'd love for you to pay it forward. Join us to reclaim the message and the movement of Jesus together. So would you consider giving to this ministry? I know that God is able to do immeasurably more through us when we come together. Thank you so much. God bless you. Enjoy.
[00:00:56] All right, well, thank you, friends. You always make me feel welcome. That's great. How are we doing this morning? Anybody not awake yet?
[00:01:06] Okay, right. Let's just acknowledge that it's all good. It's all good. So we're welcome back to our second week of the series. It's gonna take. It's gonna take a miracle. You know, as I was thinking about this, I thought about my first eating experience, coming to the States. Okay, now, if you're an immigrant, make some noise. Any immigrants in the house? Immigrants in the house. Any bilinguals in the house? All right. Yes. So my first meal. My first meal. I remember because I discovered. I discovered guacamole.
[00:01:37] Guacamole. Friends, any. Any. Any. Any lovers of guacamole?
[00:01:42] Oh, my gosh, yes. And then tortilla chips. Now, I grew up with hummus and pita chips, but then I was like, oh, my gosh. What is this thing? It's amazing. It's amazing. I remember first getting into it, and I was like, oh, my gosh, this is amazing. And I was having it. I was enjoying it. I was with a group of people, and this guy, I didn't know him that well. He was like, oh, man. Man, you're a double dipper.
[00:02:05] Okay, so, okay, okay, first of all, like I said, this is one of my first meals. I had no idea what double dipping meant. Okay, as an immigrant, as a non, English is not my first language. I was like, oh, yeah, man. I'm definitely, definitely. I'm triple dipping this thing. I was just enjoying it. I didn't know what that meant. And then he was like, dude, stop.
[00:02:24] And I was like, I'm like, stop. Stop eating like, what's wrong with that? He was like, you're dipping twice. I'm like. And then I said, I'm sorry. I don't know what this means. I don't know what double dipping means. He was like, when you do it? And he explained it to me, and I said, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're worried about my cooties?
[00:02:43] Do you know what you do, bro? You kiss your dog on the mouth.
[00:02:48] Do you know what that mouth has been? Are you kidding me right now? You're worried about my germs? Seriously? No. I'm gonna dip that thing again and again.
[00:02:58] It's funny, though, because I understand germs. I get it. I raise kids, so I understand that. Trying to explain to kids that, hey, germs exist was it a challenge. Because I remember when our kids were younger, you know, they would look at their hands and I'm like, hey, go wash your hands. And they would look at their hands and they go, they're clean.
[00:03:17] I'm like, no, you've just touched an animal. You just did this. No, they're not clean. They're like, no, it's not dirty, dad. It's not dirty. I'm like, no, there are things called germs. You can't see them, but they exist. They exist. And so it's so hard to explain to them because they're like, no, I don't see it. I don't see it. I don't see it. So it's not really there. You know what's interesting about that is this morning, I wanna talk about this idea about when it comes to faith, because I believe that a childish faith or a faith that's just starting off requires us to really see, to believe, because we have to see it. We don't understand that there might be a different world out there, invisible world, just like germs. Invisible world that infects or affects our visible world. And maturing faith is one that doesn't need to see to believe. It's not about seeing and believing, but it's the opposite. And that's the title of this morning's talk. It's in fact, it's what. It's believing. Believing is seeing that you gotta believe it to actually, in fact, see it. You gotta believe that there is. There are germs out there. You. And you begin to see the effects of them. And the reason why I'm talking about this is because we going through the Book of John and. And we're doing something really different. The gospel of John is, is. Has an intention behind it. John, the writer, he writes this gospel. But there are other gospels as well. There's Mark, there's Matthew. Anybody else know one more? Luke. We got Luke as well. Right. And those gospels are called synoptic gospels, which literally means they are the same. They talk about Jesus's teachings, they talk about his birth, they kind of give the whole story. John, though, goes a different direction. If you read John, he goes a different direction. And he is the guy who lists on purpose seven miracles of Jesus. And not all of them the other guys mentioned, but John wants to mention them. In fact, last week we talked about this idea that John, as he ends his book, he goes, you know what? I just want you to know, I'm writing these miracles. But there were so many other miracles. I just want you to know. Because John's intention with his book is to convince us that Jesus is the God of miracles. He is in fact divine. See, Muslim, I grew up Muslim. And Muslims believe in Jesus, they believe he was a prophet. But in Islam, every prophet, like Moses was a prophet and Jesus, like I said, was a prophet and, and Elijah was a prophet. All these guys have different giftings and they believe, though Muslims do believe, even now, they believe that Jesus was the God of miracles. He was the guy that did all the miracles. And so what's happening here is John is listing these out and what we're gonna do and what we started last week is we're not going verse by verse and we're not going chapter by chapter. We're going miracle by miracle and talking about what does it look like for us to understand and in fact position ourselves to receive a miracle. Like, what does it look like for us to do? What is God saying to us? Because you and I, you and I need some miracles. I mean, some of us, we're like, hey, right now, season is good. It's good, it's good. But then others of us were like, oh, man, I just for this situation to turn around, it's gonna require a miracle. And so what do we do? Do we just go, you know what? I don't have the faith to do it. How do we do this? So what we're doing though is the last couple of weeks, when we ended our last series, I was praying about like, what it would look like for us to believe together. Like, not just like I. It was up to my faith to kind of manifest a miracle. What if, what if, what if there was a collective force? What if we believed together and prayed together for each other for miracles. And so last week we talked about the big ask because of the first miracle of Jesus found in John. And anybody know what the first miracle was? It was what, water into wine. Yeah. So it was a very trivial in one sense. Right, right. Because, okay, wine's wine. I mean, come on, you don't need it. Okay, but. But then the second miracle that we're gonna jump into, it goes from a very trivial one to a pretty tragic one. Like, it goes fast, really fast. And what's interesting is John again mentions where it took place. Now, I don't know if you remember this, but last week I talked about how the location of this miracle of water and wine was significant. There was a lot of political tension even during that wedding. There was a lot of things going on that we just do not understand, do not see. There was a different kind of people that lived there. And what's interesting though, is that was the first miracle. The second miracle in fact, happens at the same place. Now it's a long time later, Jesus left, but he's back there again. And then the second miracle happens at the same place. And so let's jump right into it. We'll put it on the screen for you. It's on your app as well. It's on up here as well. And here's what it says. It says Jesus returned to the city of Cana in Galilee.
[00:08:31] That was where the miracle, the first miracle took place. He says where he had changed what water into. Why? And a government official. Say government official.
[00:08:41] Okay. Okay, quiz for you. A government official. You think he was Jewish or he was a Gentile? Anybody? He was a gentile government official. Who was. Who was in charge? Rome was in charge. So this guy is not a Jewish person. He is an officer of the government.
[00:08:59] So he comes and he shows up, right? And what happens is a government official was in Cana and his son was sick in Capernaum. Capernaum was about 20 miles away. Now, obviously, we would think 20 miles away. That's 20 minutes. Cause some of you guys drive like crazy. You're like, I can get there really quick. But 20 miles back in those days was like probably an eight hour journey. Like, it took a minute. So this government official rushes because he here, he sees that. He realizes that Jesus. He gets word that Jesus is 20 miles away. So he goes after him. And the government official heard that he was there and so he went to him. And what did he do? He goes to him and he says. He says, hey, I need you to come back Home with me to Capernaum. I need you to come back with me. Why? Why?
[00:09:52] Because his son, who's about to die, his. His son is sick and he wants Jesus to come. So Jesus. Jesus told the official this. And now when you read this statement of Jesus, you'd be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here? What does Jesus say? He says this. He says, if people don't see miracles, if they don't see miracles, right? And amazing things, they don't. What they won't. What they won't believe. So he looks at him and says that. Now, you might think it's kind of harsh, but there's something else going on there. It's going on there because he's kind of saying, hey, I know that you know that this is the place that I did the first miracle. So there's a lot of people going, hey, man, I saw this take place. I was at the wedding. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, this is the guy. This is the guy. And so this guy is convinced that Jesus can do miracles, but he needs him to show up with him. He wants to take him with me. He's like, I need you to come with me and go. Come with me and let's. Can you please come heal my son? Why? Because a lot of the other miracles had taken place now that John did not record and that people saw was Jesus showing up, touching people, doing some stuff. But so he was like, I just need Jesus to come. If Jesus just shows up, it will change the game for me. So Jesus says this, he says, you know what? There's a level of belief that people have right now. And the level of belief is that they have to something and then they'll believe. And then he says this because I know this because of what he does next and what he says next, and he says this, right?
[00:11:25] He says the government official said to him, sir, come with me. Come with me before my little boy dies. Just come with me. Just come with me. He's like, if you just come with me. And then Jesus does this and says this. He says Jesus told him, go home.
[00:11:43] Go home. And you're what? Your son will what? He'll live.
[00:11:48] Go home. Your son will live. He says, I'm not going with you. I'm not going with you. Go home and your son will live. And then this statement John writes there, it says here about this guy, he says, the man, what he did, what he what? Believed, believed what Jesus told him and left. He believed something before he saw it. He was like, I'm not coming with you. Like, I don't know about you, but, like, if I. If my son is going to die, I am putting Jesus over my shoulder and taking him. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, I'm not leaving you. Like, if you just. You can't say, hey, it's gonna be okay. He's gonna be fine. No, let's just come. You know, I don't know what's gonna happen. Like, no, you come with me. You come. You come with me. But John says that this man, this official, believed something. He believed something, and then he saw the miracle take place. He believed something before he saw it. So I wonder. I wonder if Jesus is calling us to move from a childish faith that says, I gotta see it. I gotta see it. I gotta see it. If I don't see it, I'm not gonna believe it to a. I wanna believe it. And then I'll see it. I'm gonna believe it, then I'll see it. And so what happens here is. I know this is so true because the description of the miracle could end here. The story could have ended here, but it does not. John keeps on writing, gives us a backstory. So what happens? Well, what happens is the next passage. The next passage, it says here, let's put that up. It says, while the official was on his way to Capernaum. So now he's going back. He's going back. I wonder what he's thinking, right? He. His servant met him and told him that his boy was. What? He was alive. He was alive. And the official asked him. Then the official was like, hold up, hold up, hold up. Let me ask you a question. He didn't even say, how's he doing?
[00:13:40] How's he doing? Is he okay now? Like, there's no, no, no, what happens? He says, he asked him. He asked him. He asked him. Hey, tell me. Tell me what. Tell me, what time, right? Tell me what time his son got better. Like, tell me, what was the time? Like, I don't know. Like, if a dad would do that. Hey, tell me. So what time did he get healed? What? Who cares? He's like, no, I just want to know what time and what did they say, right? He says, well, Mr. Thornton told him the fever left him yesterday Evening at what, 7:00? I mean, if you really want to know, I happen to be checking my watch.
[00:14:25] 7:00, okay? And then it says, john writes this. It says, then. Then the boy's father realized What? That it was the. What?
[00:14:36] Same time that Jesus told him translation. It was the moment he believed.
[00:14:44] It was the moment he believed. John is writing this to emphasize the point that when Jesus says, hey, there are people who just live their lives, live with their relationship with God. They have this version of faith. Maybe it's religion, and they just have to continue to see things and then believe them. And then there are people who go, no, it's a mature faith.
[00:15:15] I believe it, and then I'll act accordingly. It's not like, oh, I can't see that my hands are dirty. They're not dirty. No, no, no, I can't see. Like right now, I can't see God moving.
[00:15:28] I don't see God's hand, but I believe it. I believe he's there. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I can't sense it. I don't. But I. I'm going to believe this. I'm going to believe that he's doing this. And so what happens next says, so the official. His entire family. Because of this, his entire family became believers again. They were Jewish or were they Gentile?
[00:15:58] They were Gentile.
[00:16:00] So this is a big, huge thing. The miracle is not just the boy is healed. The miracle is now this entire Gentile Roman family are now followers of Jesus, which is a big, big deal. And then John writes this, right? This was the, what, second miracle. Second miracle that Jesus performed after he had come back to Judah from Galilee. So what is this? What is this?
[00:16:32] What is it telling us? I mean, it's telling us the big idea of like, hey, hey, we've gotta. We've gotta, you know, we've gotta get to a point where we believe, and then we'll be able to see certain things in our life. And so I wonder, when it comes to our miracle, the job opportunity, the prayer request, the healing that we need, could it be possible for us to see something?
[00:16:55] I'm sorry? To believe something, to be able to see something. Could it. Could that be possible? Like, I wonder for my life because I. I struggle with miracles. I struggle with prayers. I struggle with praying certain things because. I don't know. I don't know about you, but I don't like to be disappointed. Anybody else likes to be disappointed? Anybody? Make some noise if you're like, I just want to be disappointed.
[00:17:18] No, I don't. Okay. I don't want to pray for stuff and then not happen. How many of us have done that?
[00:17:26] Right? We have. We prayed for stuff. And doesn't happen.
[00:17:30] And so it's kind of. It's kind of, you know, unnerving to do a whole seven week series about it because we're like, I was thinking, okay, so we do a seven week series and nothing happens.
[00:17:42] That's gonna be. That's gonna be awkward, you know what I'm saying? Because I can't guarantee this stuff. I'm like, you better do something, you know, like, like we don't know. So what do we learn from this miracle? Okay, so how do, how do we, how do we. How do we believe so we can see God's hand? How do we believe the keys at work see God's hand? Let me give you a couple thoughts, okay? Number one, you have to know with confidence. You have to know with confidence. You got to know something. Like, what do you mean you got to. What do we have to know? And what does it mean by knowing with confidence? Hebrews 11:1 says this, and some of you have read this passage before. Hebrews 11:1. I'm gonna put it on the screen for you, but this is a different translation, okay? I mean, this is. This is kind of interesting. So let's put it on the screen for you. It says here, it says, faith is the sure. Help me out. Sure what? Confidence of things that are hoped for. And a certainty, a certainty of things that are what not seen. It's pretty interesting. Like faith. Faith is. Faith is the sure confidence of things that are hoped for.
[00:18:56] They are the certainty of things that we cannot see. Faith requires us to be confident of things that we've hoped for. The problem is, for some of us, we don't need faith. If you're not hoping for anything, if you've given up hope, you don't need faith.
[00:19:17] But he says, faith is that you live a life hopeful. And now you're moving towards faith. And you know certain things and you know, you can't see them, but you know them in confidence. What do we know? Here's what I would say you need to know this, that there is another world that's at work. There's another world that is at play. So our lives are here, but there's a different dimension going on. There is an unseen world that is at play around us. And whether we like it or not, we are a part of it. We're just a part of it. There are kingdoms that we see. There are things, authorities. There are structures and systems in place here that we can see, we can touch, we can feel, we can vote against or vote for. I mean, there's things that we do here. There's a world, a reality that we live in, and then there's a reality that is unseen, that has also been created. So let me read you this passage of Scripture. It's in Colossians. In Colossians, it says, this. Christ, this is talking about Jesus is the. Help me out. Is the what? The visible image of the invisible God. As if God was saying there is a invisible world. I'm sending to this dimension. Like, I'm sending to earth, a part of me. And I'm gonna put Christ, myself into a human body.
[00:20:48] And I just want you to know, like, he is the image of the invisible God. And He. He. He. He existed before what anything was created. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. For through him, God created everything. In the what? In the what realms?
[00:21:09] Like, different realms. And I know you're like, oh, my gosh, you're watching a lot of marble. No, no, I'm just reading the Scriptures. He's like, hey, hey, hey. He created things in different realms and. And what? On what? On earth. Different realms and on Earth, like, you got to know in confidence, there's something more than this world. It's more than our. Than the life that we live the day to day. It's more than that, he says. And things that we can see and the things we what cannot see. He created all of those. Such as what? Thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in the what, unseen world?
[00:21:57] I know, it blows our mind. Like, come on, man. Because you're like, I live in this world. I get it. I know we live in this world and we gotta get up and we gotta hustle and we gotta make it happen, and we gotta do the things. We gotta do the things. But you gotta know with confidence. And here's why you gotta know in confidence. You gotta have knowing confidence that there is an unseen world. And you have to know it because you need to know who created it. That's what Colossians tells us. He says it isn't an invisible world. You need to know this, but Jesus is supreme over that.
[00:22:32] So I want you to know, I want us to know at the end of the day all the things that are happening in your life.
[00:22:41] Nothing happens to you without him knowing.
[00:22:45] He's not the God that says, you know what? I. I'm so sorry. I missed that.
[00:22:49] I did not see that. I did not see that coming. He sees the things coming. And so to me, sometimes when I'm praying for certain things and I'm Hoping for something. And I'm asking God to show up in a certain area, and I don't see it. I have to remind myself that there's something else at play here. There's something else that I don't. What I don't see. And just because I don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't what exist.
[00:23:20] There is an unseen world, and you and I have to know with confidence. But not only that, friends, it gets a step further as we enter into really asking God to move on our behalf. The next thing you realize is that we have to fight with. Fight with truth. Not just knowing confidence. We have to fight with truth. Let's put that up. Fight with truth. We gotta do that. We gotta fight with the truth of what's going on in our lives. Here's the truth. Let me read First Peter to you. So first Peter says this. It says, keep your mind, what?
[00:23:55] Clear. He says, I need you to keep your mind clear. And then I need you to be alert, okay? He's like, hey, basically, translation. Lock in, lock in. Okay, here it is. Here's lock in here. Lock in, lock in. Okay? Why don't you lock in? Pay attention. Look up here. Look. Look up. He says, your opponent, right? Your opponent. The what? The devil? Now, first of all, I'm reading this and I'm thinking, my opponent, I'm not fighting. I don't wanna fight. Like, am I in the fight? Am I in a fight? My opponent, I wouldn't pick the devil to fight. You know what I'm saying? Like, why am I. Why am I. Can I pick someone else? You know what I'm saying? Like, my opponent, huh? He's in the ring. I'm not getting in the ring. He says, your opponent, the devil, is what, prowling around like a roaring lion? Okay, that's not helping the case of me wanting to not go fight this thing. He's like, your opponent, the devil is prowling out like a lion and he's looking for someone to what, Devour what?
[00:25:06] Hey, I didn't sign up for this, right? You're like, I don't want to fight anybody.
[00:25:13] I just feel like we could just talk it out. You know what I'm saying? Like, why do we have to. Why do we fight about this? He's like, hey, because there's an unseen world, and because God created you, you're in it. You're in. You're part of this unseen world. Your miracle, your healing, your provision, your peace of mind, your sanity. Your peace is all spiritual. There's something going on and there is a force that wakes up, in a sense. And I don't even think he sleeps, but I'm not quite sure, but he wakes up and he thinks of fighting you and destroying you. You. Jesus said it in other translations. He's like. In other passages, he says, hey, hey. I'm telling you, the thief, this devil of yours, he wants to kill, steal and destroy everything in your life. But I've come to give you life and life abundant. You see, friends, this idea of, like, really understanding that you're in a fight requires you to understand that, understand your enemy and where the battlefield is. So when we fight with truth number one, the truth is the enemy is not the people you work with.
[00:26:29] Not the people you work with.
[00:26:32] It's not politicians, it's not politicians.
[00:26:39] It's not your family members, it's not your mom, it's not your mom, it's not people.
[00:26:50] Your enemy is not another group of people.
[00:26:54] Now, in the kingdoms of this world, we have enemies.
[00:26:58] Enemy of the state, country, all that. In the unseen world, you've got only two groups. You got all of humanity, all of us.
[00:27:10] And then you've got your opponent, the devil. And the devil is a real. The enemy.
[00:27:18] And where he fights is not in your home, not in your job, not in your marriage, not in the things, not in a physical space. The battlefield where he wants to fight you is in your what?
[00:27:34] Mind.
[00:27:35] That's why. First Peter, right? What does he say? Lock in. Listen. Listen up. Listen up. I don't know what you're doing, yelling and getting so mad, sending out emails and text messages and putting stuff on Facebook. Guess who is not on Facebook? The devil. I'll tell you where he's fighting. He's in your mind.
[00:27:56] He's the guy who says stuff like, that was the dumbest thing in the world.
[00:28:01] He's the guy who says, you are never going to be enough.
[00:28:08] Never.
[00:28:10] You're never going to be lovable.
[00:28:13] You can't ever be successful.
[00:28:18] You will always struggle with this.
[00:28:23] He's not on Facebook writing this stuff so you'd read it.
[00:28:26] He's saying it to you. And you know this, right? Because you've heard it. And here's the tricky part. Tricky part is you think you thought it.
[00:28:37] You think you thought it.
[00:28:40] I think you heard it. And you couldn't tell because guess what? You're not locked in.
[00:28:48] You're not paying attention.
[00:28:50] You and I, if we're going to have to, like, I can only imagine the father Leaving after Jesus said, hey, your son's healed. He's walking away. He left. He believed him. And could you. Could you imagine the conversations that he's having walking home?
[00:29:08] I mean, thank God one of his guys met him halfway. Could you imagine going the mind game?
[00:29:18] Because all it is, right, God, I'm going to believe you. And then your mind takes over.
[00:29:25] And so, friends, if we're going to believe, then we're going to have to know with confidence. We're going to have to. We're going to have to fight with truth. Truth about what God says about you, about the situation. Truth about God's word. Truth about what Jesus has said. Truth about the miracles. Truth and not lies.
[00:29:46] The enemy wants to just give to you. And some of us have believed a lie. Here's the problem. Here's the problem. Like, we've. Some. Some of us have believed a lie and we live it out as truth.
[00:30:00] Someone said something to us about us which is not true, and we are living it out.
[00:30:09] And that, my friends, that is tragic trouble. Tragic because some of us are convinced God will never do a miracle for you.
[00:30:19] He'll do it for other people, but he will not do it for you. And you would never want to admit this.
[00:30:24] You'd never want to admit this, but you're like, I don't think he'll do it for me. He doesn't love me enough.
[00:30:32] He does not care for me enough. He doesn't know me enough. He's not really that interested.
[00:30:39] That is a lie. That's a lie. All right, let me give you one last thing. The last thing. I think it's so important, and that is you have to risk with hope.
[00:30:50] Risk with hope.
[00:30:52] You know what risking with hope is?
[00:30:55] Faith.
[00:30:57] Wishing with hope.
[00:30:59] Wishing with hope is just praying about it.
[00:31:03] But risking what with hope, that's a whole different thing. Risking with hope goes.
[00:31:11] I'm gonna do something.
[00:31:13] Some of us are afraid to risk because it requires you to be vulnerable to actually say what you want because you're. It just. It's too vulnerable. You're exposing yourself. You're like, I'm not quite sure if I wanna even say this to a group of people that I struggle with this. I'm not quite sure I don't wanna do this. Some of us, we have to take a risk being severely disappointed. You're like, I cannot handle it. I can't handle being disappointed.
[00:31:43] I don't want to do this, but you and I have to have to risk. We have to. We can't just Believe some things and believe some things and not actually do something. The Father had to believe Jesus words. And then what did he do? Did he follow Jesus around?
[00:32:00] No. What did he do? He what?
[00:32:03] He left? He went back.
[00:32:06] He went back. His walk of faith, his walk of going back home was a faith walk, like. It was like, in one sense, fear is what drove him running to Jesus, but he walked back with faith. Walking back, going, I'm moving away, away from Jesus, but I'm really. I'm believing that he is going to get healed. My son's going to get healed. So you see, some of us, we believe, but we got to put our actions, our words, to work at this. Let me read you a passage. This is James, the brother of Jesus. He writes this. Okay? Now let me just tell you before I read this, this is a. He's got a different energy than Jesus. Okay? Okay. This is a younger brother. So he's got a problem. I don't care. Okay? Here's what he says. He says this. It's good that you believe that God is one.
[00:32:59] Huh?
[00:33:02] What does he say? That. What's the next line? He says, even. What? Help me out. What does it say? What? What? Say it. You can read it. You can see it. Even. What?
[00:33:11] Even your opponent believes, that even the demons believe this and they tremble with fear. He was like, you believe, huh? Wow, that's great. Guess who does believe, too. Like, the demons believe, but they don't follow. And then he says, are you. What? This is so bad.
[00:33:33] And this was the nicest translation I could find.
[00:33:38] The other ones was, you're stupid. You foolish. You're a fool. I'm like, What? I kept on looking at translations. James, come on. Could you use another word? No, this is the closest one. So nicest one I could find. What did he say? Are you. What? Are you slow? That's. That sounds terrible, too. Are you slow? He's like, do you need to be shown that faith without actions has, what, no value at all? See, I know we make fun of James, but I think what he's saying here is.
[00:34:11] I think what the intention might be is he's like, hey, if you're going to quote my brother.
[00:34:18] If you're gonna quote my brother's teachings, then live like him.
[00:34:22] Don't quote his teachings. Don't talk about my brother. Don't tell him. Don't talk about how you believe in all the things you. You. The things that you think are amazing. Don't talk about my brother unless you're willing to live like Him.
[00:34:37] That's his energy. That's what he's saying. He's like, I'm not. No, no. The challenge is he's like, I need you to understand that you've got to put some feet to your belief, and that's called faith.
[00:34:53] When your belief causes you to take action, it's literally called faith, because faith is a verb.
[00:35:03] It moves us forward.
[00:35:05] I'll tell you for me, I'll tell you for me, I'll tell you what. Just risking with hope for some of you guys, know, my family, we. I grew up, you know, in the Middle east, but then my family started moving here. Our goal was to establish ourselves in the States. And so one by one, we started coming. My mom and dad, all of us. And at one point, we were all here in the US and we had different visas and things like that. I had already gotten a green card, and then I was applying for citizenship, and so I was the most ahead of everybody else. And my sister had a college visa, and some of us had refugee status and all that. My mom was.
[00:35:48] She had some trouble with her visa, and we had to switch out lawyers, and for a week or so, she was without status because she'd gotten a judgment that was not good. And then. So we had switched. It was a lot of paperwork involved. And so it was. It was kind of a mess. Well, as we were trying to figure this out, something so tragic happened. 9 11, if you guys remember. 9 11. Obviously we do. It was horrific. But right after that, there were some ramifications, especially with. With four immigrants and people who had a Muslim background. They deported so many of us.
[00:36:26] So many of us. And so my mom got a letter that said, hey, you are in violation.
[00:36:33] Report to the next immigration office.
[00:36:39] And, you know, we were like, okay, what's going to happen? So we got the family together. We're like, what's happening? Because we are all settled here. Mom's the only one with this technical issue. I'm going to sponsor them. So what's going to happen? And so then as a family, I have two brothers, two sisters. We sat around my dad as well, and mom, and we're like, okay, is ICE gonna come get Mom? Like, what's gonna happen? You know, she has an. She's supposed to show up at this office. And as we're sitting around, I'll tell you what. I would love to tell you. I was the only pastor in that group. I'd be like, listen, God's gonna provide a way. Let me just tell you another one is on the way.
[00:37:18] I was not singing that song.
[00:37:20] I'm just being honest here. I was like, oh, she's not going to the office. She's not. We're not taking her to that appointment. And my sister was like, what? I said, if we take mom to that appointment, they're gonna deport her.
[00:37:36] And they're like, that might happen. I said, it is going to happen. It's going to happen. And so I'm just being really honest with you guys. They're like, so what are you trying to do? I'm like, you know what? Let's hide in hope.
[00:37:52] Let's just do that. Let's just do that.
[00:37:55] And my sisters were like, no, hey, no, we can't do that. We've seen God do miracles after miracles. And I'm like, listen, if you, if she goes there, she's gonna get deported.
[00:38:06] So we show up, we show up. I'm the only one with a bad attitude.
[00:38:12] Everybody else is like, well, it's gonna be. God's gonna be good. Okay, we show up. Judge like, okay, you're deported.
[00:38:19] Done.
[00:38:21] Meet us here. Immigration officer took her, flew with her to make sure she got on a plane to Pakistan.
[00:38:29] 60 year old woman.
[00:38:31] And then she was gone.
[00:38:34] One year passed and I was like, okay, second year passed.
[00:38:43] Third year, we're on third year and we don't know what's happening.
[00:38:47] All we know is that she was banned because of her technicality. She was banned and we don't know how long. And so I had to go in and sneak into Pakistan because of my background, because of the asylum that I have, it was a mess.
[00:39:05] But I went in there, talked to the American embassy and all that came back, and I came back with less hope. I was like, I don't think mom is coming back. I think she's banned from the US forever.
[00:39:19] And then one day, mom calls me up, she's like, I got a visa.
[00:39:26] I was like, she's like, I got a letter. I'm reading it right now. I said, it's in English. You don't read English.
[00:39:33] What are you doing? What are you doing?
[00:39:37] I was like, find someone who reads English. Okay. She's like, oh, okay, okay, okay. I was like, yeah, yeah. And then I talked to my cousin, he was like, hey, what does it really say? He's like, I think that's a visa. I was like, send me a picture. Like, do it. And here it was. Three years later, she got a visa and came here. And she's been good. I just want you to know that sometimes risking is the scariest thing we can ever do.
[00:40:03] But it's worth it.
[00:40:05] It's worth it.
[00:40:07] It's worth it. I've seen God do miracles, and sometimes it takes three years, but they show up. So let's risk.
[00:40:15] Let's say God, I don't see it, but I'm gonna believe. And because I'm gonna believe, I'm gonna see you work in my life. Can I pray that over you? Let's pray together.
[00:40:29] Lord God, thank youk so much.
[00:40:33] So much for our lives, so much for who youo are. Thank youk, thank youk that yout are the God who. Who wants to do miracles in our life. You want to surprise us with hope.
[00:40:47] So, Father, I pray that for the some of us who have not risked being vulnerable, haven't risked being disappointed, would risk this morning, God, some of us would understand the fight that it takes to get to where we need to go, the fight that it takes, the mental fight that is required for us to believe and to allow your kingdom to come. Even Jesus praying said, I wish there was another way. If there's another way, I don't want to. I don't want to drink this cup. And then you said, your will, not mine.
[00:41:33] So, God, I get the fight for some of us, God, we need to know.
[00:41:41] We need to know. We need to be. We need to acknowledge the fact that there is a different.
[00:41:48] An unseen world.
[00:41:52] An unseen world.
[00:41:57] God, thank you. Allow us to speak your perspective, your thoughts, your feelings, your name over all the things that we are facing.
[00:42:17] God, I pray, God, that you would increase our level of faith.
[00:42:25] You would erase the boundaries that we've put in our lives of what's possible, and we be able to see the things that are invisible.
[00:42:35] God, speak to us as you respond this morning.
[00:42:43] Thanks for listening to this message from Mosaic church in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more audio and video content, visit us at MosaicChurch TV.
