Transcription
Praise the Lord and God bless each and every one of you. Welcome to another exciting episode of Doers of the Word Ministries broadcast on the Marketplace Network channel. My name is Bishop Reginald Givens and I am the senior pastor of the Word of Truth Community Worship Center. The address is on the screen and listen, I want to invite you to come out and be a part of our service this Sunday. If you come, our services start at 9:00 a.m. and we're out at 11:00. Come on out and after the service, I'd love to shake hands with you and I'd love to say a special prayer for you just for you. Amen.
The title of my message for today is simply I trust in God. Now, I want to share this message with you today and I hope that it will strengthen you in your commitment to follow Jesus Christ. What I'm doing, I am witnessing and the Bible said that this would happen. I am witnessing that there are so many people that are beginning to fall by the wayside simply because they have lost their strength. In 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1, it says, "This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come." Well, I'm here to let you know that the shall come is over. Those days are here. Amen.
Now, the word perilous, if you interpret that word perilous in this particular passage, what it means, it means days of reduced strength. Amen. That means that there are people who just no longer have the strength necessary because they don't read their word, they don't pray, they don't fast. They no longer have the strength necessary to resist the temptations of Satan, to resist what he's trying to get them to do. And that's what makes these days so perilous. So, I'm here to speak God's word to you to keep you strong. Is that all right? As a pastor, this happens to be my job. This is my calling and and this is what God has ordained for me to do. And because of that, I take my calling very seriously.
Now, here is what I know. Stay with me. Here's what I know. When you go to church on Sunday morning, you did not get up early, you did not shower and get dressed and get your kids dressed as well, you did not drive for miles over the dangerous highways to arrive at a building to come in and have a seat and sit for 2 hours. You didn't do all of that just to go home empty. Amen. I I know that's not what you intended to do on a Sunday morning. No, you came to get something. I know you did. Otherwise, you wouldn't even go through all that trouble. Amen.
Now, whether it is hope or healing or deliverance, a particular need that you need met, or even for salvation, or just to establish a closer walk with God. No matter what it is, you came to get something. Amen. Well, whatever it is, I got a word for you today. And I believe that this word will deliver to you whatever it is that you need. Because I believe that the only reason that you are actually listening to this broadcast is to get something from God. And trust me, God's got something just for you.
Now, let me start off by saying this. Testimonies are very powerful and often neglected thing in the church these days. And God encourages testimonies. Amen. A testimony is when someone tells someone else about the goodness and the grace of God and what he has done in their life. That's what a testimony is. It's telling of the goodness of God. It's telling how he has blessed them, how he has healed them, how he has delivered them, how he has made a way out of no way. And if you can't get excited over that, then there's something wrong with you. Amen. Because a testimony has within it the power to help you overcome. Amen.
Notice what it tells us in Revelations chapter 12 verse 11. It says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and what? By the word of their testimony." Amen. "And they loved not their lives unto the death." Amen. Here in this verse is given the reason why the followers of Christ prevailed during the times when the adversary came up against them. Amen. First, they overcame him by proclaiming salvation to sinners through Christ Jesus being crucified. And then next, they overcame him by speaking truth to the lies of the devil. Amen. The lie that says that you were sick and you can't get healed. The lie that says that you were supposed to be broke and not prosper. The lie that says that there are no answers to your situation, so therefore just just give up. Amen. The lie that says that you cannot be victorious in every area of your life. Well, I got news for you. The devil is a lie. Amen. And that is why when you speak truth to his lies, now you begin to overcome.
So, for the sake of my message today, I have a four-word testimony. Just four simple words. That testimony is this. I trust in God. Amen. I trust in God. That is my testimony. And let me tell you why I trust in God. God has provided us with a solid base for living this life here on planet Earth. And guess what? That base that he has provided for us, it is his word. Amen. Which is something that never changes. It never changes because the word is God himself. In Saint John chapter 1 verse 1, it says, "In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God. And the word was God." In Malachi chapter 3 verse 6, it says, "I am the Lord thy God. I change not." God is immutable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change. God's word is the logos. It is the cause as well as it is the effect. It is not subordinate to anything. It is not second to anything. It is supreme to everything.
In Psalm 138:2, the psalmist declares, "I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth, for thou has magnified thy word above thy name." We know his name is great, but his word is magnified even above his name. God has already proven that he has all power in heaven and in earth and that he is true to every last jot and every last tittle of his word. Listen, that's why I trust in God. And if we want to understand what his will is, all we have to do is look to his word. Because his integrity and his character is all encapsulated in his word. For if he did not uphold his promises, he would be a liar. And that is something that our God will never be. In Psalm 89:34, it declares that my covenant will I not break, nor will I alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. My God, that is a powerful word. The things that God has said out of his mouth are unchangeable. And he has never, not once, reneged on one of his promises. That's why I trust in him.
Numbers 23:19 tells us these words, "God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?" You ought to tell somebody God makes good on every last one of his promises. Amen. You see, God never sleeps. He never slumbers. You never catch God on vacation. He's never on the golf course, and he's never absent. Amen. If there's one thing that God will surely make good, it is his word. In Jeremiah chapter 1:12, then said the Lord unto me, "Thou hast well seen, for I will hasten my word to perform it." Amen. Listen, God watches over his word for the very first opportunity available to cause it to flourish in the lives of his people. Amen.
Even when we have issues with his word. How many of you have ever had an issue with God's word where it doesn't even make any sense to us? Amen. Concerning what he's telling us. Have you ever had an issue with God's word? Have you ever wondered and scratched your head and said, "What in the world is God saying?" Uh has God ever told you something and it really didn't make any sense? Well, I got good news for you. If you have, you're in good company. Because Moses had an issue with God's word when he told him to go tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Moses said, "What?" He had an issue, but God still performed his word. Abraham had an issue with God when he told him to go and sacrifice his son. He said, "God, are you kidding? I waited until I was 100 years old for this boy to be born, and now you want me to sacrifice it?" He had an issue, but God still performed his word. Mary had an issue with God when he told her she was going to give birth being a virgin. She said, "Lord, hold up. A man has never touched me, and how you how am I going to have this child?" But listen, God still performed his word.
In 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 13, it says, "If we believe not, yet he abides faithful. He cannot deny himself." And so, that's why I trust him. Amen. God will always honor his word because he cannot ignore the truth of who he is. John 14:6, Jesus said unto them, "I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. That's what I am, and no man can come to the Father unless he comes through me." If he did anything other than what he promised, if he did anything other than what he said, if he did anything other or against who he is, then that would make God a liar. And the God that I serve does not lie. But he shall supply all of my needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. That's why I trust him. And I believe that those are good enough reasons. I really do. I just gave you a few, but I believe that the reasons that I've just given you, I believe that they are good enough reasons why you can trust him, too. Amen.
I want to just have a word of prayer with you as we conclude this message. Bow your heads with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your unchanging word, which is a solid foundation in our lives. We praise your name for your loving kindness, and we praise you for your truth. Trusting your promises, knowing that you will never break your covenant, nor will you alter your word. Heavenly Father, you are not a man who should lie. Your words are infallible, and your words are steadfast. Even when we falter in our faith, Lord, you remain faithful. So, Lord, help us to trust in your word more than what we see, more than what we feel, more than what we sense. More than what we can touch. And Father, we ask these blessings in Jesus' wonderful and mighty name. Let the church say, "Amen."
Okay. All right, y'all.