How to Combat the Voice of Negativity | Crossroads Church

Have you ever felt like God forgot about you? Maybe you've been praying for something that still hasn't happened. It's like you've been praying and waiting and praying and waiting and yet God still feels distant and silent. I know I've had seasons like that. Still people. My name is Meeko and thanks for watching Crossroads here with us in the Pando app. We're continuing our origin story series. Today we have our very own Hannah Driscoll and she's going to take us through the story of Abraham and Sarah. God promised them a family and then it took years to happen and every circumstance said it's too late. Abraham and Sarah chose to believe that nothing is impossible for God. By the way, they didn't trust God perfectly along the way and we see that through their story. God has not forgotten about you. Not bad. An origin story is the part nobody talks about. The part before confidence and success. Before anyone knows your name. It's false starts, wrong turns, and total failure. It's the beginning. Every person you admire has one. The Bible may just be the greatest origin story ever told. It's a book about how God meets people at the beginning. In the beginning God creates. In the beginning humanity is formed from dust. In the beginning there is possibility, purpose, and relationship. Then things fall apart. But God rebuilds and enlists humanity in the work of restoration. The Bible is full of people who eventually become known for things like faith and courage, wisdom and sacrifice. We call them heroes of the faith. But none of them started there. The story God tells is about him meeting ordinary people in ordinary places and inviting them into something extraordinary. Today's origin story is about Abraham and Sarah, whose lifetime of obedient next steps change history forever. Well, welcome to Crossroads. I'm Hannah Driscoll and thrilled to be with you in this series talking about these heroes of the faith and their origin stories. But before we go there, I really think it's important that I clue you into a little bit of who I am. And part of that is that I'm not a person who actually likes trends or stays in the trend line, if you will. But I did find a trend that I really do love. It's a TikTok trend. And before I tell you what it is, I actually need some buy-in. I need to know, are you going to help me out? Okay, okay. Thank you. I know that you didn't respond to that down in Lexington. So Lexington, are you going to help me out? Yes, okay. I can't tell you because it requires participation. But trust me, it's not a big ask. It's really simple. This thing is called laugh therapy. Anybody heard of it? Laugh therapy is basically where you're gonna pretend to laugh. And we'll find that in pretending to laugh, we actually

trick our brain into real laughter. So remember that you promised and you wrote it down and everything is recorded. So you said you were going to help me. So I remember you said that. You are going to help me here. All you have to do, you're just going to repeat after me. Here we go. Ha. Okay, that was good. Okay. Ha ha. Now try a ha ha ha. Okay, that worked. Okay. Let's do it different. Y'all look silly. Okay, let's do a ha. Okay, that actually worked. And if it didn't work for you, this will work for sure. Okay, look at that baby. Okay, now if you didn't laugh, there is prayer down front. We want to pray for you. Something is not right. It's so good to laugh. It feels good. Great author William James says, we do not laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh. And laughter is incredibly important to our story today because in it we are going to see that God uses it and redeems it. So let me pray for us. God, in the name of Jesus, I'm so grateful that you've chosen me to be here to speak to the people who belong to you. God, I ask that my words would be clear and helpful and that you will speak so clearly and directly to everyone in this room, no matter where they came, no matter what they believe, you would speak clearly and directly. In the name of Jesus, amen. Amen. Well, we've been learning about the hall of faith and the hall of faith comes to us from the book of Hebrews. And Hebrews 11 tells us that these are people who are sort of like heroes to us. And Chuck and Kyle did a fantastic job. They set up this ideas that faith is something that kind of zigzags between doubt and belief and movement and that faith requires you moving your hands and your feet. And today we're gonna take a look at what I think is the biggest enemy of our faith.

See, no matter where you are, you and I, I'm gonna bet, are suffering from this very thing. And this thing has the potential, not just to affect our faith a little bit, but to altogether ruin it. And that is cynicism. See, in the Bible, God uses all sorts of people. He uses ordinary people, but he doesn't just use ordinary people. He also uses people who we might consider bad. He uses murderers, liars, cheaters, people with a checkered past. He uses people who have a pride problem, people who have a fear problem, people who can't hold their tongue and have to lash out at people. He uses all those people. And today we're gonna see that he uses a cynic. In the book of Hebrews 11, it says, by faith, Sarah, even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful. Now, why does the Bible need to say even Sarah? Because I can sort of hear you now. You're like, Hannah, you just listed like the big dogs of sin, like murder, cheaters, liars. What is Sarah doing as a cynic kind of in this realm?

But let me remind you what cynicism is. According to psychology today, psychologically cynicism often serves as a defense mechanism to protect individuals from hurt, betrayal, or disappointment. People who have experienced repeated failures may develop a cynical outlook as a way to manage expectations, believing that by always expecting the worst, they may never be caught off guard. Now this idea of cynicism runs really deep, right? I see it in my own life. Most mornings I don't wake up like, oh, praise the Lord. I just know that my husband and I, we're gonna agree on everything today. I feel it. I just can feel that my two-year-old, no tantrums. It's gonna be a no tantrum day. No, I wake up with the opposite. I'm ready to fight, ready to have some tantrums. I wake up with that cynical mindset. I see it in the life of the people that I mentor. It's much easier for them to walk around in distrust, not trusting really anybody. It's much easier for them to say things like, I probably won't get that job or I don't think I'm gonna get into that school even before they try. And if you're in this space

and if you're experiencing this service and you're going, I don't know, Hannah, I don't think that I fall in this bucket. Okay, let me get on your street real quick. If you've ever found yourself saying something a little bit like or thinking something a little bit like, man, I just know that Chipotle chips, they not gonna hit today. I can feel it. They not gonna be crunchy. They not gonna have the lime salt factor that I'm looking for. If you're in the boat of the conspiracy theorists, the people who are like, did the lettuce really come from Taco Bell or are they trying to distract us? You might be in a little cynicism. If you find yourself saying, the Bengals will never win. I just know it. If you feel a little bit heartbroken because the Lakers are never gonna win again, LeBron is gone, bye-bye. Right, you feel a little bit sad, but it's also deeper than that, right? It's saying things to yourself like, my boss sucks and this job will never get better. My parents, they're never gonna change. I probably will never have a good relationship

with my kid again. My marriage is pretty much doomed. I'll never get that fulfilling job that I want, so why even try? The AI generation is actually coming up in such a way that they are learning cynicism as a means of survival because they have to constantly question, what's real, what's fake? Can I trust this person talking because are they just saying something that they heard from somewhere else? See, in an era where it's normalized. to distrust, popular to expect disappointment, and downright offensive to be optimistic. We are in a posture where it comes to a head of will we be cynical? Because that cynicism will ultimately not just cause a little bit of a riff in our faith, but it can lead to destruction. But it's kind of nice to know that cynicism didn't just come up like for us. We're not just the only type of people who are cynical. We see cynicism all the way back in the Bible with Sarah. The Bible shows Sarah as this character who has sort of distrust. Now in the hall of faith, it mentions a ton of people and most of them, most of the women are mentioned in that and many others bucket. That's what it says at the end. But Sarah is called out by name.

And we see Sarah kind of qualify to be in the hall of faith much later in life than many of the other people. Sarah, when we think about our heroes, sometimes we think of them coming to their heroism early in life, right? The modern day heroes like Spider-Man, he's a teenager. But Sarah, when she qualifies for the hall of faith, she is not 20, gone are her 30 flirty and thriving years, gone are the forties, gone are the fifties. We meet Sarah when she is 65 and we meet her as Sarai. And she comes on the scene as Sarai. So when I say Sarai today, I'm talking about Sarah, they're the same people. We'll get to that in just a second. She comes on the scene with a guy named Abram, better known as Abraham. And they come on the scene because God starts talking to Abraham and he starts to respond. Here's how it goes. Genesis 12, one says, now the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. Drop down the first four. So Abram went as the Lord told him. And five says, and Abram took Sarai. Boom, that's where we meet her. And we meet her kind of in this context with her husband going on this momentous journey.

But before the journey, the Bible actually mentions her just a chapter earlier. And it's really easy to miss this part because it mentions her in a moment where it's just listing a whole bunch of lineages. And those parts of the Bible read much like a processed food label. It's long, very boring, and you can't pronounce none of the names. Like what is Rebo Flavin? I don't know. But Sarah comes on the scene and this is what it says at the very end of that lineage. It says in 11 and 30, now Sarai was barren and she had no child. Now this is the very first mention. And it's a little anecdote that's put in the lineage. Normally the lineage is just a name and the death and how old the person was. But it chose to list that Sarah was barren and without child. Now I think this is kind of bogus of the writer if you ask me, because they really could have put anything they wanted to put about Sarah. They could have said she was beautiful. She was a good wife and faithful to her husband. She was someone who spoke her mind, but no, they chose to put this little anecdote. And this anecdote would follow Sarah throughout the entire time that she is mentioned in the Bible and throughout history.

And it's also the anecdote that would make it almost impossible to believe that God would promise this barren woman a child, but he does. So here's the AI summary version of sort of what happened. God calls Sarai's husband out to a place that they don't know, right? Genesis 12. And then on several occasions, he seems to be promising some offspring and children. That's Genesis 12, 13 and 15. And he does this when Abram is 75 and when Sarah is 65. And the first time he talks to them, that's how old they are. But then several times later, he keeps saying this over and over. And I don't have time to get into the full story, but just know there's smoke and sand and stars and it's awesome. Go read it for yourself. It only takes 10 to 15 pages, but God is trying to scream at Abram, yo, you are going to have a baby. This tiny little story in the Bible, that's only really 10 to 15 pages of your Bible, packs so much punch that we see it throughout the story of the entire Bible. And God is screaming at them saying, you will have a child. Now, Abraham and Sarai, they married. So I guess they talk a little bit.

You know, you would think, you think that Abram probably told his wife like, hey, yo, check it out. This God, his name is Yahweh. He just came to talk to me and he said, we're going to have a baby. This would have been when Sarah was 65, and Sarah was probably like, okay, you sound a little bit crazy. But the very first time that Sarai hears it for herself, she's actually 89. In Genesis 18, it says, the Lord says, I will surely return to you about this time next year. And Sarah, your wife, she'll have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now, Sarah and Sarai were old and advanced in years, and the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, after I am worn out and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure? Y'all, I love this part of the Bible. Because God ain't even talking to her. My girl is eavesdropping. She just gets the key, key, key. And she's like, who, me? I'm not getting ready to have no baby. I haven't already been through my cramps. That's over. I'm done with that.

Sarah is basically saying, you mean to tell me, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. You mean to tell me the unflow ain't flowing. Ain't nothing been going on for a long time. I don't have a period, period. How am I going to have a baby? This sounds crazy. And so naturally when somebody tells you something that sounds impossible or insane, laughter really is kind of a natural response, right? Because Sarah had already been through the shame and the repeated disappointment of not having a child. It's sort of understandable that she would laugh. See, her laugh is so important because last week we've talked about how if faith is evidence based on confidence, to this point, Sarah's evidence was a bunch of dead babies. Sarah's evidence was repeated disappointment by God. So when she laughs, it's actually from a deeper place. She's laughing from a deep place of not just discomfort, but disappointment. Sarah's laugh is more of a kissing of the lips, like a, you're right. It's more of a nah, bro. It's more of a, I don't see it like that. I wasn't born yesterday. Sarah's laugh is cynical. And Sarah's laugh is so deep and full of cynicism

that herein lies the message that we need to take home today, which is that cynicism is the enemy of our faith. It's funny because we're trained to believe that doubt is the enemy of our faith, but doubt actually leaves you way more open than cynicism ever could. And we see that God responds differently to doubt than he does to cynicism. Because hearing laughter, when God said that impossible thing, that was not the first time that he heard laughter. See, Abraham actually laughed as well. In Genesis 17, 15, it says, "'And God said to Abraham, "'As for Sarai, your wife, "'you shall not call her name Sarai, "'but Sarah shall be her name. "'I will bless her and moreover, "'I will give you a son by her. "'I will bless her and she shall become nations. "'Kings of people shall come from her.' And then Abraham fell on his face and laughed. To said to himself, "'Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? "'Shall Sarah, who is 19 years old, bear a child?' Dropped down to 19, but God said, "'No, Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son "'and you shall call his name Isaac.'" Now, when God responds to Abraham,

it's more like a there, there, buddy. Don't freak out. I promised you this. I promise I'm gonna come through. This is the promise. Don't forget the promise. But listen to how he responds to Sarah. Genesis 18, 13 says, "'The Lord said to Abraham, "'Why does Sarah laugh and say, "'Shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old? "'Is anything too hard for the Lord? "'At the appointed time, "'I will return to you about this time next year "'and Sarah shall have a son.' But Sarah denied it saying, "'I did not laugh for she was afraid.' And he said, "'No, but you did laugh.'" Now let's see the difference here. Doubt is again kind of funny because it actually leaves us open we can zigzag from doubt to faith at times. And when we do that, God doesn't respond to Abraham harshly. He sort of just coaxes him and says, it's okay, buddy, I got you. I can imagine him just stroking his back and saying, I will do what I said I'll do. Here's the promise. Don't forget the promise.

But cynicism runs deeper than that. Sarah's response in it holds the context of that will never happen. And Sarah's response is from a deeper place, right? It is from a deep disappointment. And we know this because she uses the words worn out. And that direct translation from Hebrew is more like wax. And to wax old, what we're talking about there is a garment. Sarah is saying, I'm used up already. My plight in life is that I'm done. I can't be used at all. I'm good for nothing at this point. And then you mean to tell me something crazy. You want to get my hopes up? No, I'm good. She says, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. And the way that God responds to her is not with a coaxing, but with an affirmation of his character. He tells her who he is. He says, is there anything impossible for me? But Sarah's not concerned with his character. See, Sarah's only concerned with what she can see because cynicism wants to dictate our reality. But faith calls us to a different reality. Hebrews 11 one says, now faith is the reality of what is hoped for. The proof of what is not seen for by this is what our ancestors were approved. Last week, when we talked about that faith

being based on confidence, evidence based on confidence. Well, the people in the hall of faith who say they have this great faith, what was their evidence? Because we know for a fact that a lot of them didn't see the promises that God promised them. Many of them died before they even saw, but they still hoped and believed. So what was their evidence? Well, their evidence was the character and the steady nature of God. Their evidence was that they simply believed God for who he said he was and what he said he would do, not what they could see. The problem with cynicism is that it causes quick amnesia. It makes it really difficult to recall anything good that has happened, anything wonderful, anything affirming. And it makes it really easy to recall all the negativity. You can just pull up the last time you were disappointed. You know the last time somebody didn't do what you asked them to do. You just knew that when you came home, the dishes were not gonna be washed even though you asked for it. It's easy to recall the negative stuff. And the problem with cynicism is that because of that amnesia, it doesn't just stay a little dark spot in our hearts, just waiting to be addressed. It doesn't stay in its spot.

No, it blossoms and it grows and it takes over to the point where you and I are no longer just in a little moment of doubt, but we find ourselves in total, total disbelief, in total unbelief of who God is and what he says that he can do. See, when cynicism is done, it will leave us in the ruin of unbelief. And it blossoms until we no longer smile. It affects us physically, makes it really hard to actually laugh. That idea of living a light, abundant life that Jesus promises, that seems super far away because cynicism doesn't let you even touch that. But how do we get there, right? Let's be real. None of us woke up on a single day and decided, oh, I think I'll have some cynical toast crunch today and that's how our lives work. No, that's not how it works. You likely got to this spot because of repeated disappointment, repeated failures, repeated requests and needs that never got met. And see, you and I, we respond to this cynicism in a couple of ways. There's two types of people watching with us and sitting in this space. The first one is cold. This is the person for whom we check off church,

just like a little box, because it's the right thing to do. But if we're really honest, we are cold and we haven't felt the warmth and the love of the Holy Spirit or of Jesus in a really long time. We're functioning with literal, just walking dead mentality in that we don't really believe, we're just cold. And then the second group of us, this is the group for which it sounds really similar to cold, but it's different. This group is calloused. This is the group that's become a professional as spiritual bypassing, if you will. We say things like, oh, praise the Lord, but we really ain't praising. Oh, we say things like, oh, God is so good, but we can't remember the last time we actually believed that, because the last time he failed us, we didn't process that hurt with him. We just swept it under a rug and said, I guess that must not have been God's will. See, spiritual bypassing has got a bunch of us cynics pretending to be Christians. And that's dangerous because cynicism really is leading us to a path of total unbelief. And the problem with us being in either of those categories is that it makes us come to sort of a rule in our head

about who God is. It gives us a fake certainty, if you will. Great author Anne Lamont said, the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess. emptiness, the discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. See, cynicism feigns certainty. It makes it really easy to just make up a rule in our head. If I put God in this box, then he can't mess me up. If I say, you can answer these types of prayers, but I'm not even gonna pray these other types of prayers because I don't know if you'll come through. It just makes it easier to sort of swallow and stomach this whole thing of faith, instead of being in the mess with God, instead of saying, hey God, I don't know why you didn't answer that, but I'm just gonna bring to you this disappointment and allow him to show you that even when we're zigzagging all over the place, his character remains constant. So God responds. He responds to Sarah. He says, is anything impossible for me? And he's saying, that's my character, that nothing is impossible because ultimately that's what Sarah was challenging. She was challenging and saying,

I'm kind of convinced that you're not as good as everybody says you are. She had made up a certainty rule in her brain that was leading her and keeping her from believing all together. And the problem is that it didn't just stop at unbelief. Cynicism blossoms, like I said, and it grows. It affects more than our faith. Later on, Sarah goes on to do some really terrible things that I don't even have time to get into, but she tries to make up the promise for herself. And so she has her maid servant go to her husband. She forces her on him. The girl doesn't even have a choice. And then ultimately she rejects her and the baby. She does some terrible things. See, cynicism doesn't just stop at stunting our faith. It has an uncanny ability to ruin relationships before they even start. It leads us into places of just completely debilitating anxiety. It leads us into depression and isolation because you're just saying, nobody wants to be with me anyway, so I'll just be by myself before they can even reject me. Cynicism blossoms. When I was in high school, I was a part of this phenomena at the time that was just all the rage. All the kids were doing it.

And imagine, you would sit at a computer and you would type out random thoughts in your brain and share them with thousands of strangers and call it a status. Facebook was amazing. And I was participating in this like everybody else. I'm on Facebook. And I remember that I had this kind of signature, if you will, or a hashtag. And I used to just write under everything that I wrote, I believe God. And I would write that little sentence and you would know that I wrote something because I would have that signature. I believe God. And it was something I said with boldness and with authority and with confidence. It's something that I believed. And I can't tell you when I exactly chose to stop writing or saying the words, I believe God. But I imagine that over time, maybe with some age, it just became a lot easier to stop saying it. Because maybe over time I had a few more disappointments, I had a few more moments of bitterness that I was transferring onto God and no longer could I easily say the words, I believe God. Because maybe God had promised me something similar to Sarah at an appointed time and I didn't see the appointed time. See, Sarah's laugh is actually really understandable.

I don't even stand in judgment of it. I totally get it. And maybe you do too, because you're in this room and you're like, Sarah, you're like, God, I've asked you for kids over and over. And we've tried everything and nothing has worked. God, I begged you to save my children and they are still so far from you, it's not even funny. God, I thought that that friendship was gonna last forever. And then they left me. Lord, I prayed, I prayed for you to heal them and you didn't heal them. It makes total sense that we end up in this spot because ultimately cynicism is self-protection. See, you and I, we might have a reason to be in a cynical spot. We might have a reason to be exactly where we are, but let me be clear today. The Bible is anti-cynicism. Jesus is anti-cynicism. All throughout scripture, we see this, that cynicism is not attached to an age or to a tax bracket or to a moment in life. It is lurking at the surface, waiting to snuff out any faith in anything. And here's our anecdote right here all throughout the Bible, Hebrews 12, 15, just the very next chapter, says, see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

First Corinthians 13, seven. Always trust, love, always hope. Matthew 5, 8, blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Well, there's just a beauty in believing God for who he says he is and what he says he can do. There's a beauty in admiring the character of God and recognizing that who he describes himself as all the way back in Exodus, as a God who is faithful to a thousand generations, slow to anger, loving with everlasting love, that's who he is. He's the same God that he describes himself as in the book of Matthew, when he says, I am gentle and lowly, I am kind. I want even little kids to come to me. That's how gentle I am. He is that God. He has that character. So this begs the question, how on earth does a cynical, fearful, deceitful woman end up in the hall of faith? How does that happen? Well, it's simple. She allows herself to be remade. Earlier, right before God gave them the baby, there's a very unique moment that happens in the Bible that does not happen a lot of other places. It's a name change that takes place. And God changes Abraham and Sarah's name.

It's in the Hebrew of Abraham's name is actually Abram, before God's changed it. Now, if you know Hebrew, yay for you, proud of you and everything. But for the rest of us, he had to drop a little bit of a anecdote in the name so that we will remember the promise. He changed the name from Abram to Abraham. Now that ha that he drops in there is representative of the Hebrew word hamon, which means many nations. And many nations matters because it's just God re-upping on his promise, saying, I am gonna bring many nations. You will be the father of many nations. And then he takes Sarah's name and he changes it from Sarai and he gives it an H on the end, a Sarah, which is another promise. Sarai means princess. And so the variation of princess means I'm gonna give you royal nations that will come from you. But then if we take that and we put that in the English translation, I think God did something there that is actually unique and that he did that just for us today. I'm bold enough to believe it. Now, Abram is spelled A-B-R-A-M.

And then God drops a H-A in the middle. And then for Sarah, it's spelled S-A-R-A-I. And then God adds a H. Do we see what God did? He literally goes, ha, ha, ha, right in the middle of their name. See, he is about to redeem the laughter. In Hebrews 2 and 11, it says, by faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. What changed with Sarah? Nothing, except that she had this redeemed laughter that allowed her heart to be soft. And so she considered God as faithful. She simply allowed herself to be remade into the person who could believe God for who he said he would. So not only does God give them a baby named Isaac, which means laughter, then he has the nerve to deposit laughter into their names. He goes one step further to redeem the laughter. In Genesis 21, six, it says, Sarah said, God has made laughter for me. Everyone who hears will laugh over me. And she said, who would have said that Abraham, that to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children. Yet I have born him a son in my old age. God redeems this. See, I think about that moment of me as a high schooler

being the type of person who would write things like, I believe God. And I really think that there was a youthful innocence there. It's one that reminds me of Matthew 18 and three. Truly, I tell you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. See, a faith increase requires faith in God's character. What I'm not up here saying is believe God more. Nope, that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is just like little children, we'll have to learn to trust him again. See my kid, I don't give him every single thing that he wants and it's impossible for him to see the bigger picture. But just after that tantrum, he still looks up and he trusts me. See, maybe God is not gonna give us everything that we want in the timing that he wants, that we wanna have. Maybe we can't see the bigger picture by his invitation to us today. is to trust in the identity of his character, that he is steady and faithful and steadfast. And Sarah, she takes a step in believing this. One that takes her from laughing a laugh of cynicism into a laugh of like, hey, check it out, y'all not gonna believe this. I am 90 with a one month old, look what God did. That's what she's doing. She is laughing with joy and amazement

and it's been transformed. And I think God wants to transform something in us today. Not because he wants us to just forget all of the scars, all the disappointment, no, but because he wants us to bring it to him with honesty. And he wants to walk the road with us and see us through the difficult moments saying to us, I got you, I promise you, I'm not gonna let you go. I know you can't understand everything right now. I know you don't understand why I didn't give you what you asked for, but if you trust me, I will lead you to the end. That's his invitation. When I was praying and kind of prepping for this message, what led me to this whole take on Sarah, this whole message was from a moment. I had this moment with God. Well, it wasn't with God. I was just kind of maybe cleaning up around the house and I was humming this song and I was singing this song in my head, like, he won't fail. It's a popular Christian song. I actually don't even really know what it's called, but it's popular and it's catchy. So I was singing it in my head. He won't fail. He won't fail. And then I paused, I said, hold on a second. Hold on just one minute.

I feel like you have failed me. I feel like there's plenty of times you didn't come through. And I said, I'm not gonna sing that song again until I can get really honest with God and really curious with God, which by the way is something that he loves. And so I got real honest and I got real curious and I said, God, how can I actually sing this song? I don't feel right singing it dishonestly and absentmindedly when I actually do think you failed me. And in the same way he responds to Sarah, his response is about his character. See, that song is just one that I actually want us to sing together today. Not as a little reprise because I know y'all will be loving a reprise so y'all can get to your car and get to Wendy's before it closed and everything. I get that, I feel you, love you, love you. But today I actually want us to participate in it as an act of worship. Because when I pause to have that little conversation with God, it's a recognition that his character, it does not change. I can sing that song with full confidence because it's based on the reality that he won't fail. I want us to sing together and some of us might sing this song through gritted teeth, through tears in our eyes. Some of us are gonna sing this song as a repentance

because we've been kind of in a cynical spot and if we're honest, we really haven't believed in the power of God for a long time. Some of us are gonna sing this song and shout to joy because we remember that God has actually transformed and given us a laughter of joy. I wanna speak this promise over you because this song says when the waves come, when the storms come, you can find yourself anchored to Jesus. Now, if you don't have any storms, congratulations, they're on the way because that's just how life is, baby. But you can stay full confident knowing that God is who he says that he is. Here's a promise to hang on to, Luke 6 21. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Let's sing together. Come on, let's stand together. ♪ Christ is my firm foundation ♪ ♪ He's the rock on which I stand ♪ ♪ Everything around me is shaking ♪ ♪ I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus ♪ ♪ He's never let me down ♪ ♪ He's faithful through generations ♪ ♪ So why would he fail now ♪ ♪ He won't, won't open your heart today ♪ ♪ He won't find your joy ♪

♪ I still got joy in chaos ♪ ♪ I've got peace that makes no sense ♪ ♪ And I won't be going under, no ♪ ♪ I'm not held by my own strength ♪ ♪ Cause I've built my life on Jesus ♪ ♪ And He's never let me down ♪ ♪ He's faithful in every season, yes He is ♪ ♪ So why would He fail now? He won't ♪ ♪ I put my trust in You, God, He won't, oh-oh ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't, He'll never leave you no forsaken ♪ ♪ He won't, yeah, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ ♪ Christ is my first foundation, no rock can break it ♪ ♪ I'm not caught, which is I stand ♪ ♪ When everything around me is shaking ♪ ♪ Oh, I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, He's never let me down, He's faithful through generations ♪ ♪ Time after time, oh-oh, He won't fail now, I put my trust in You, God He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail ♪ ♪ Oh, He's got a believe in today, and He won't put your trusts in Him, He won't fail, He won't fail, Oh no, see it with your own eyes ♪ ♪ He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail, He won't fail no more now, see it with your own eyes ♪ ♪ Oh, He won't, oh no, maybe you're like me, and sometimes the cynicism can run so deep, I need to get my body involved with the truth that I'm singing, so maybe you need to raise your hands or extend them out, as we call out to Him. ♪ Oh, the rain came when, blue my house was built on, and I'm saved with You, I'm going to make it, He's holding you, Oh, the rain came when, blue my house was built on, You can trust in Him Won't let go of your crib, and trust Him. The rain came when, blue my house was built on You Jesus, and I'm saved with You, I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it I'm going to make it through, cause I'm standing strong on You, I'm going to make it through, cause my house was built on You Christ is my first founding, oh yes He is, He's the rock on which I stand, and everything around me is shaking Oh I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus, oh He's never, never let me down, He's faithful through generation, so why would He fail now He won't, He won't, He won't fail no, He won't fail, I know He won't fail, He won't Good people, thanks for joining us today and spending time with us in a word. My encouragement is simple, don't just hear God's word today, take one step because of it. Maybe that's opening your Bible, maybe it's spending a few quiet minutes in prayer, maybe it's forgiving someone, asking forgiveness, simply saying yes to whatever God is putting

in front of you today, whatever that next step is, take it. And if this message encouraged you, we'd love to hear from you, send us a videogram or write to us at prison at crossroads.net, our team reads every letter, we'd love to walk alongside you. Until next time, keep pursuing Jesus, keep opening his word, keep saying yes, one day at a time. See you soon.