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00:00Now available, Dr. David Jeremiah's new 365-day devotional, Moments with God.
00:06This beautiful soft leather devotional features daily devotions that include scripture readings
00:11and biblical insights to help you spend time with God each day, yours for a gift of any amount.
00:17Or for a generous gift of $120 or more, you'll receive the Moments with God 4-pack,
00:23perfect for sharing with others.
00:24Request Moments with God today.
00:30Are you feeling powerless?
00:53Powerless to control your destiny, the fate of our nation, your career, financial security,
01:02and even your daily life?
01:06We are in a spiritual battle for our hearts and minds, sometimes with little strength to
01:16be victorious.
01:23What if I told you there is one who can empower you to prevail over the emotional,
01:29physical, and spiritual chaos in your life?
01:32One who can give you the power to be more than a conqueror, more than a winner, more than
01:41a victor, but an overcomer.
01:45As an overcomer, you are no longer defined by your trials, but by your victories.
01:50As an overcomer, you put on God-given armor that both protects you from the enemy and empowers
01:59you to conquer your greatest obstacles.
02:01We're called to be overcomers, men and women.
02:06We're called to walk in victory and strength and peace and love.
02:11Sometimes I hear people say when I ask them how they're doing, I'm doing okay down under
02:15the circumstances.
02:16But we don't belong under the circumstances.
02:18We belong above the circumstances.
02:21We're not undercomers.
02:22We're overcomers.
02:23Amen?
02:25Live a life of unstoppable strength, unmovable faith, and unbelievable power.
02:33Discover how you can be an overcomer.
02:41Unstoppable strength, unmovable faith, unbelievable power.
02:46These are the qualities of an overcomer.
02:49Discover the eight steps to unlocking God's power in your life in David Jeremiah's book,
02:54Overcomer.
02:55Feeling powerless, hopeless, anxious, tempted?
03:00The message in Overcomer can help you start living victoriously.
03:04Request Overcomer today when you give a gift of any amount in support of this program.
03:09And if you give a generous gift to the ministry of $75 or more, you'll receive the comprehensive
03:14Overcomer study set, which contains the Overcomer book, Dr. Jeremiah's complete teaching series
03:20on DVD, including his interview hosted by Sheila Walsh, a correlating study guide, and
03:26the Warrior's Prayer bookmark.
03:28Plus, with any order of the Overcomer book or set, you will receive the Super 8 Overcomer
03:33cards, stunning cards highlighting the God-given powers of an overcomer.
03:38Be defined by your victories.
03:40Be strong in the power of God's might.
03:42Be an overcomer.
03:44Order Dr. Jeremiah's book, Overcomer, or the complete study set today.
03:52Thank you for watching Overcomer here on Turning Point.
03:55In appreciation of your viewership, Dr. Jeremiah would like to send you the Warrior's Prayer
04:00bookmark absolutely free.
04:02Contact Turning Point today.
04:04And now, here is Dr. Jeremiah with his message, Overcoming Fear with Faith.
04:12When he was in college, my friend Ken Davis delivered a talk to his speech class on the Law
04:18of the Pendulum.
04:21This law says that when a free-hanging weight swings back and forth,
04:25it will swing a shorter and shorter distance due to the effects of gravity and friction.
04:32Eventually, it will stop and hang dead unless it's restarted.
04:36To demonstrate, from a pivot at the top of a blackboard, Ken hung a three-foot string with
04:43a small weight attached at the bottom, creating a simple pendulum, setting the pendulum in motion
04:49so that it would swing parallel to the blackboard.
04:52He made a mark on the blackboard at each outward point where the pendulum reached its arc.
04:57As the pendulum continued to swing, the length of each arc decreased, causing the marks to
05:03grow closer and closer to the center of the blackboard.
05:06That demonstrated the law of the pendulum in action.
05:11The law states that a swinging pendulum never again reaches the point from which it began,
05:16its previous arc.
05:19Ken declared,
05:19Who believes that statement is true?
05:23And a show of hands indicated he had convinced both his professor and his class.
05:29But Ken wasn't finished.
05:31Next, he asked his professor to stand with his back against the wall.
05:36And using a much heavier weight, which he had previously attached to the ceiling with a strong
05:40rope, he pulled the weight from its center point and held it one inch from the professor's nose.
05:46And he let it go.
05:47And the weight swung away from the professor, reached the end of its arc, and started back,
05:54heading straight for the professor's face.
05:56But it never came close to touching the professor because he scooted out of there in a hurry.
06:01The sight of the weight heading straight at him was more than he could take,
06:06and he dove out of the way.
06:08Now, the professor said he believed in the law of the pendulum.
06:13But he wasn't willing to put his faith in the test.
06:17Ken's point was, faith can only be proven by our actions.
06:24For followers of Jesus, a lack of faith is seldom a matter of disbelief.
06:30It's usually a matter of fear.
06:33As C.S. Lewis wrote, faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted
06:40in spite of your changing moods.
06:44Our moods, that is, our emotions, like fear, exert influence that, unless we master them,
06:50they can destroy our trust in what we know to be true.
06:53Now, we usually think of faith as a biblical or theological term.
07:00But we live by faith every day.
07:02Even if we didn't know God, we still live by faith.
07:05Think about flying, for instance.
07:08The faith it takes to step into a metal tube and hurl through the air at 30,000 feet above
07:14the ground while going 500 miles per hour.
07:17And the terminology defining air flight doesn't help.
07:22For instance, we end our flight at a terminal,
07:26which the flight attendant assures us we'll reach as we make our final approach.
07:36Then we're told to stay seated until the plane comes to a complete stop.
07:40And I've always wondered what an incomplete stop would feel like.
07:45I mean, who comes up with terminology like this?
07:48I mean, we don't help matters by choosing the airline that offers us the cheapest flight.
07:53Yet, despite all these opportunities for fear,
07:57most everyone in this room has gotten on an airplane
07:59and trusted people you've never met, you've never vetted,
08:05you don't know anything about them,
08:06and an aircraft which you don't know if it's been maintenanced right or anything.
08:11You just get in.
08:13That's what we call blind faith.
08:16Every day, you act on faith in human life.
08:20If you put your faith in the pile of an airplane,
08:23surely you should be able to figure out a way to put your faith in Jesus Christ.
08:27So we come to this fourth military implement
08:31that's in this series of war things that we're talking about from Ephesians 6.
08:34And in 6.16, here's what it says,
08:38Above all, take the shield of faith
08:41with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
08:47Now, when Paul wrote that, he was describing a large shield
08:52a Roman infantry used to protect their whole bodies.
08:55And you've probably seen movies about this or you've read about it.
09:00These shields were four feet tall, two and a half feet wide,
09:04and they were made out of leather that was stretched over wood.
09:08They were reinforced with metal at the top and at the bottom.
09:12And in ancient times, enemy warriors would dip the tips of their darts or arrows
09:17into a solution of lethal poison.
09:20Even if these darts only grazed a soldier's skin,
09:23the poison would spread through his bloodstream,
09:26and he would be dead in a moment.
09:27On other occasions, the enemy would dip their darts in pitch
09:32and ignite them and shoot them into the Roman camp,
09:35setting it on fire.
09:36So having a shield to protect yourself from these darts
09:40which came from outside was really critical.
09:43And of all of the implements of warfare
09:45included in Paul's list in Ephesians 6,
09:49this is the only piece that is given a specified purpose.
09:53Paul tells us that the purpose of the shield of faith
09:56is to protect us from the fiery darts of the wicked one.
10:02And if you're a Christian, throughout your lifetime,
10:05you will be bombarded by thousands of fiery arrows
10:08launched by Satan and his helpers.
10:10And the only way to protect yourself is through faith.
10:14This is the victory that overcomes the world,
10:17even our faith.
10:19So how does faith work?
10:22How do we get faith?
10:24How do we develop faith in our lives?
10:26How does it overcome fear?
10:29Someone has said that faith is an active practice
10:32built on belief.
10:34The future's made real for men and women of faith.
10:37Faith is not ambiguous.
10:38It's not unsure.
10:39It's a concrete conviction.
10:41Sometimes you hear people talk about faith
10:43and you get the idea that it's sort of a hope-so, wish-so,
10:45kind of a nebulous thing.
10:47But faith isn't like that at all.
10:49Faith is an attitude based upon fact.
10:53By faith, we move forward
10:55even when we do not know what's ahead.
10:58We take our faith from the Word of God
11:00and we know the destination is clear.
11:03Faith says that what God has promised is going to happen.
11:06And it's so certain that it's almost as if it's already happened.
11:10Faith treats things that are hoped for as a reality.
11:13That's what Hebrews 11, 1 means
11:16when it says faith is the substance of things hoped for,
11:19the evidence of things not seen.
11:22You may be among many of us
11:24who sometimes feels like your faith is kind of small.
11:28But Paul tells us that we don't have to be happy
11:32with our faith where it is.
11:34How do we increase our faith?
11:37How do we grow our faith?
11:38How can we find in the Word of God
11:40the principles that will help us not have little bitty faith
11:44when God wants us to have great faith?
11:46I know that faith can be increased
11:49because Paul looked forward to the increase
11:52in the Corinthians' faith.
11:54The Bible says he longed to visit the believers in Thessalonica,
11:57watch this,
11:58to strengthen what was lacking in their faith.
12:01And in his second letter to them,
12:03he commended them for the growth in their faith.
12:06I don't know if I've ever heard this before,
12:08but you know faith grows.
12:10You can grow your faith.
12:11Your faith doesn't have to be small.
12:14God wants our faith to grow
12:15and to be better than it is now.
12:17So here's what the Bible says is necessary
12:21for your faith and my faith to grow.
12:23To grow your faith, you need preaching.
12:27You say, well, Pastor, I expect you to do that
12:29because that's what you do.
12:31But I'm not making this up.
12:33This is right from the Word of God.
12:34The Apostle Paul said,
12:36faith comes by hearing
12:38and hearing by the Word of God.
12:42He did not mean all who hear the Word of God
12:44become believers.
12:45What he meant was that faith can't exist
12:48unless there's a message
12:49or a report of facts and events
12:52that lead us to believe.
12:54If you never sit under the sound
12:56of the Word of God through preaching,
12:58you are missing an important opportunity
13:00to grow your faith.
13:02The Bible says, faith comes by hearing
13:06and hearing by the Word of God.
13:09When God, watch this,
13:10when God tells us to do something and we do it,
13:13we strengthen our faith.
13:15We strengthen our ability to believe him.
13:17We discover that he's for us
13:19and he's directing us in the things that we should do.
13:22Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God.
13:25Say that with me.
13:26Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
13:30So, to grow your faith, you need preaching.
13:33All you pastors here,
13:34I just did a shout-out for you.
13:36And your people need to come to church
13:38and hear you preach so they can grow their faith.
13:41Number two,
13:43this isn't as exciting.
13:45To grow your faith, you need problems.
13:49I guess that means all of us are candidates tonight
13:52because we all got problems, right?
13:53None of us wants problems.
13:56I mean, I don't wake up in the morning and say,
13:58Lord God, give me some problems today
14:00because I know he's already in the process of doing it.
14:05We want life to be smooth.
14:07We'd rather not have problems.
14:09We want happy relationships,
14:12fulfilling jobs,
14:13great health,
14:14obedient children,
14:15and problems get in the way of all of that,
14:17don't they?
14:19Problems hit us like storms
14:20and they bring waves of fear and disruption.
14:22I don't like problems.
14:24I wish I didn't have so many of them all the time.
14:28But problems are God's way of driving us to him.
14:33Problems drive us to the Lord
14:35and teach us to lean on the Lord.
14:37They grow our confidence in the unseen reality of God
14:40and in his involvement in our lives.
14:44God uses problems to deepen your faith
14:47and to deepen my faith.
14:48Ideally, we reach out to Jesus as a first resort,
14:51not the last.
14:53I get so tired of people coming to me and saying,
14:55Dr. Jeremiah, we worked on this and worked on it
14:57and I guess the only thing we have left is to pray.
15:00And I want to tell them,
15:01you've just been reduced
15:02to the most powerful influence in the world.
15:05When we pray,
15:07we enter into all that God can do.
15:09And we pray in faith believing
15:11that God can make a difference
15:13because we know from our past experience
15:15that that is true.
15:17So we grow our faith through preaching
15:20when we hear the word of God
15:21and we grow our faith when God sends us some problems.
15:25What do you do when problems come?
15:27If you're like all of us,
15:28you probably say,
15:29Lord God, make this go away.
15:31Or maybe we get introspective and we say,
15:33Lord God, why?
15:36But I'll give you a new interrogative.
15:38Lord God, what?
15:40What are you trying to teach me
15:41through all these things that I'm experiencing right now?
15:44When you use that interrogative,
15:46then God can go to work in your life
15:47and stretch your faith and grow your faith.
15:50And guess what?
15:50When God carries you through a problem
15:52and you look back on it,
15:54it gives you the muscles to believe him
15:56the next time you go through some problem
15:58because you know he was with you back then
16:00and he's going to be with you in the future.
16:02So we grow our faith through preaching.
16:05We grow our faith through problems.
16:08We grow our faith through people.
16:11We need people.
16:12Let me tell you something.
16:14Faith grows better in community
16:16than it does by itself.
16:18We grow better together.
16:19Amen?
16:20That's what the church is all about.
16:22That's what groups are all about.
16:23That's what ministry teams are all about.
16:25Don't be an isolated person.
16:27Don't put yourself in a position
16:29where you only have you.
16:32Put yourself in a position where you have others
16:34and the others have you as well.
16:37To grow our faith, we need purpose.
16:39Daniel Ritchie was born without any arms.
16:43It was challenging for him just to function
16:45by using his feet and his toes
16:48to dress and groom himself,
16:50to eat and open doors and drive.
16:52But he did it.
16:53His greater challenge was dealing with the attitudes
16:56that were toward him by the people he met.
16:58He endured stares and insults and rudeness,
17:01and his family was even asked to leave a restaurant
17:03because his eating with his feet
17:05offended other people in the dining room.
17:08The worst was the assumption,
17:10sometimes expressed directly,
17:12that he was a helpless mistake,
17:15a misfit, insufficient to lead a full life.
17:18As a result, Daniel came to believe
17:21that he wasn't worth anything,
17:23and he developed a hatred for himself
17:25and for the people who hated him.
17:28Daniel was not a Christian,
17:31had almost no friends.
17:33One night, a classmate took him to church.
17:36That evening, the preacher gave a simple devotional
17:39on the love of God for all people.
17:41He quoted Psalm 139, verse 14,
17:44I will praise you, for I am fearfully
17:46and wonderfully made.
17:48Marvelous are your works.
17:50And that message penetrated Daniel's heart,
17:53and he realized God created him for a purpose,
17:55and that he was a marvelous work of God,
17:57every bit as much as those who had arms.
18:00And that night, Daniel Ritchie gave his life to Christ.
18:04And shortly afterward, he felt called to the ministry.
18:06He now preaches and speaks at churches
18:09and conferences and youth events
18:11in the U.S. and all over the world.
18:15As he put it, he uses his empty sleeves
18:18to point people toward God.
18:20I love these stories because they not just tell us the truth,
18:31they show us the truth.
18:34God often gives us a purpose that requires us
18:37to trust him in special ways.
18:40That's one reason why Jesus loved to give his disciples
18:43tasks and challenges to build their faith.
18:45He always did that.
18:47He would take them out in the middle of a storm
18:48and go to sleep in the boat.
18:51What was he doing?
18:52He was teaching them faith.
18:54Were they going to worry about the storm
18:55even if they had the creator of the universe in their boat?
18:58Yeah, they did.
19:00And he told them they didn't have much faith,
19:01and that was true.
19:03He sent them out two by two to preach
19:06and cast out demons and heal the sick.
19:08On one occasion, he commanded them to feed 5,000 people
19:11with only five loaves of bread and two fish,
19:13and another to do the same with 4,000
19:16and seven loaves and a few small fish.
19:18And then at the end of his earthly ministry,
19:20he sent them ahead to Jerusalem
19:22and told them to wait
19:23because the Holy Spirit was going to come.
19:25God gives us a sense of purpose
19:27as his way of stretching and strengthening our faith muscles.
19:32When I meet people across the country
19:34who know what we do in radio and television
19:37and at our church,
19:39one of the questions they often ask me,
19:41did you envision this when you first started?
19:43And I sort of smile at that
19:45because, no, I started in a mobile home church
19:48with 35 people.
19:50Could I have seen what God was going to do now?
19:53Absolutely not.
19:54But all along the way,
19:56God kept putting things in front of me
19:59that I couldn't in my own mind and heart believe,
20:03but that I knew God wanted me to do.
20:06It was build this building,
20:08grab hold of this station,
20:10take this expectation.
20:11And every time I took a step of faith,
20:14Almighty God showed me
20:16that's what he was teaching me.
20:18We learn faith by stretching our faith muscles.
20:21If we're only going to trust God
20:23for what we already have,
20:24we cannot grow our faith.
20:25We need projects.
20:27We need problems.
20:28We need challenges.
20:29To trust God for what we cannot see ourselves
20:32capable of doing
20:33and then watching God do it.
20:35To grow our faith, we need problems.
20:39And to grow our faith, we need people.
20:42And to grow our faith,
20:43we need purpose and perspective.
20:46What perspective do we need?
20:48The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith.
20:51And Jesus said to them,
20:54if your faith is as small as a mustard seed,
20:57you can uproot and cast a mulberry tree into the sea.
21:00Now, I've heard that preached on
21:02and misapplied many times.
21:05In other words, Jesus was saying this,
21:09it's not the size of your faith that counts,
21:12it's the size of your God that counts.
21:15Jesus' disciples needed the proper perspective
21:18in order to grow their faith.
21:20I get an object lesson on perspective
21:22whenever I drive my car.
21:24With power steering,
21:26I can turn my two-ton automobile around
21:28with one finger.
21:29Not because my finger is that strong.
21:32But because the power steering in my car is,
21:35my finger just acts to engage the power,
21:38and that accomplishes the task.
21:40That's how faith works.
21:43Lifestyle Ministries founder Ron Dunn said it this way,
21:46faith has to have an object.
21:48Too many people, the important thing is to believe,
21:51and what you believe is secondary.
21:52I've had people say, well, I have faith.
21:54What is your faith in?
21:55Well, I just have faith.
21:56And it comes out, they have faith in faith.
21:58And that's it.
21:59They have faith in faith.
22:00They have the notion that there is something mystical or magical
22:04in the mere act of believing,
22:06a sort of Shazam that transforms mortals into Captain Marvel.
22:11But the truth is, faith has no power.
22:14It is not faith that moves mountains.
22:16It is God.
22:17Biblically speaking, faith is a mere human activity.
22:21It possesses no virtue, holds no merit, contains no power.
22:25The power of faith is in God.
22:28So don't sit around and say, well, my faith is too small.
22:31It's not your faith.
22:32You just need to get a bigger God in your head
22:34and realize that God is able to do above and beyond all that you can ask or think.
22:38When I was going out witnessing, back when we started the church in Fort Wayne,
22:43almost every night, I used to use this illustration about faith
22:47because faith is really critical to somebody becoming a Christian.
22:50If they don't understand faith, they can't become a Christian.
22:54So you have to work on it.
22:55And I have all kinds of questions.
22:56Well, somebody gave me this illustration.
22:57Here it is.
22:58Suppose you went to Minnesota in the wintertime to go ice fishing.
23:02I want to give you a question.
23:05Would you rather have a little bit of faith in two feet of ice
23:10or a whole lot of faith in an inch of ice?
23:17I ask that question everywhere.
23:18And you know, the majority of people would say,
23:21I think I should have a whole lot of faith in an inch of ice.
23:25And I would write down, don't ever go fishing with that guy.
23:28You know?
23:29Isn't that an interesting thing?
23:30And it isn't how much faith we have.
23:33It's how secure the object of our faith is.
23:36I'd rather have a little bit of faith and two feet of ice.
23:38I feel secure doing that.
23:40How about you?
23:41Instead of having a whole lot of faith and a little tiny bit of,
23:44you can get wet if you do that.
23:47But that's really the key.
23:49That's the perspective we need.
23:51The Bible says we have not because what?
23:53We ask not.
23:54When was the last time you asked God for something
23:56that required a little faith on your part?
23:58Sometimes we just ask God for stuff that we know we can get on our own
24:01so we can give him a little credit along the way.
24:04What if we stretched ourselves?
24:06What if we said, God, I don't know how this is going to happen.
24:08I don't know where this is going to come from.
24:10But I know that you are strong and powerful.
24:13And I believe you can do this.
24:14And I'm going to believe you to do it.
24:16And by God's grace, we put him to the test.
24:19Problems are not big or small in God's sight.
24:23But it's our perspective that needs enlarging
24:25so we can see God as capable of responding to the faith that we have.
24:31No matter how small and insufficient you think your faith is,
24:35men and women, keep praying, keep trusting, keep seeking the Lord.
24:39Remember, it's the object of your faith, almighty God,
24:43not the size of your faith that's important.
24:45Shift your focus from yourself to him
24:47and then go and ask him for great things.
24:53Dr. Jeremiah will return with one more inspirational word
24:56to close today's Overcomer program right after this.
25:00A new day has dawned.
25:03Hope is on the horizon.
25:05Discover eight ways to live a life of unstoppable strength,
25:08unmovable faith, and unbelievable power
25:11in Dr. David Jeremiah's book, Overcomer.
25:14In a world where we often feel so powerless,
25:17applying these straightforward spiritual truths
25:19will awaken the power of God in you
25:21so you can conquer life's everyday challenges
25:24and become an Overcomer.
25:26You will discover how to overcome falsehood with truth,
25:30anxiety with peace,
25:32fear with faith,
25:34and more.
25:35Request Overcomer today
25:37when you give a gift of any amount in support of this program.
25:40And if you give a generous gift to the ministry of $75 or more,
25:44you'll receive the comprehensive Overcomer study set,
25:47which contains the Overcomer book,
25:50Dr. Jeremiah's complete teaching series on DVD,
25:52including his interview hosted by Sheila Walsh,
25:55a correlating study guide,
25:57and the Warrior's Prayer bookmark.
25:59Plus, with any order of the Overcomer book or set,
26:02you will receive the Super 8 Overcomer cards,
26:05stunning cards highlighting the God-given powers of an Overcomer.
26:08Stop living in defeat.
26:11God created you to be an Overcomer.
26:14Order Dr. Jeremiah's book,
26:15Overcomer, or the complete study set today.
26:21And now, with one last word for today's program,
26:24here is Dr. Jeremiah.
26:27Remember, you were called to be an Overcomer.
26:30You were called to walk in victory and strength
26:33and peace and love.
26:36In this important series,
26:37we're discovering exactly how to live as an Overcomer.
26:42But the first and most important step of that journey
26:45is to put your faith in the ultimate Overcomer himself,
26:49Jesus Christ.
26:51Faith and close fellowship with Christ
26:53will give you the strength and the courage
26:56to conquer any challenge.
26:58To help you begin or to develop a closer relationship
27:02with Jesus Christ,
27:04please allow me to send you two free gifts from Turning Point.
27:08One is a booklet called Your Greatest Turning Point,
27:11and the other is our monthly devotional magazine
27:14called Turning Points.
27:16We will gladly send them both to you free of charge
27:19if you will contact us here at Turning Point today.
27:23In addition, you can order Dr. Jeremiah's legacy work,
27:28the Jeremiah Study Bible,
27:30a beloved study Bible,
27:32and the culmination of Dr. Jeremiah's decades of teaching,
27:35helping you to answer,
27:36what does the Bible say?
27:38What does it mean?
27:39And what does it mean for me?
27:41Available in multiple translations and formats,
27:44there is a Jeremiah Study Bible for everyone.
27:47Also available for children,
27:48Dr. Jeremiah's Airship Genesis Kids Study Bible.
27:51Order yours today.
27:53Next time on Turning Point.
27:59You have to come to this process and say,
28:02Lord God, I need your input into this thing.
28:04I need your wisdom,
28:05and I'm saying to you up front,
28:07whatever you tell me to do, I'm going to do it.
28:09Lord God, I'm going to sign the bottom of this paper.
28:11You fill in the top part.
28:13Whatever it is you want me to do, I'm ready.
28:14I'm going to do it.
28:16The heating heart.
28:17Join us next time for Dr. Jeremiah's message,
28:20Overcoming Confusion with Wisdom.
28:23Here on Turning Point.
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